An Ali Audiobook Review: A Second Harvest (Men of Lancaster County #1) by Eli Easton and narrator Will Tulin

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

David Fisher has lived by the rules all his life. Born to a Mennonite family, he obeyed his father and took over the family farm, married, and had two children. Now with both his kids in college and his wife deceased, he runs his farm alone and without joy, counting off the days of a life half-lived.

Christie Landon, graphic designer, Manhattanite, and fierce gay party boy, needs a change. Now thirty, he figures it’s time to grow up and think about his future. When his best friend overdoses, Christie resolves to take a break from the city. He heads to a small house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to rest, recoup, and reflect.

But life in the country is boring despite glimpses of the hunky silver fox next door. When Christie’s creativity latches on to cooking, he decides to approach his widower neighbor with a plan to share meals and grocery expenses. David agrees, and soon the odd couple finds they really enjoy spending time together.

Christie challenges the boundaries of David’s closed world and brings out feelings he buried long ago. If he can break free of the past, he might find a second chance at happiness.

This was a really lovely stories about second chances and the fact that you’re never too old to reinvent yourself. These two men, who on the surface had nothing in common, actually found they had a lot of the same hopes and dreams. What starts as a friendship turns in to a really sweet romance. I really liked both of their characters and I found their romance to be realistic and believable. I loved watching the two of them fall in love.

While I liked Christie a lot, David is who stole the story for me. I could totally relate to him as I grew up in a similar environment and I know first hand how stifling and oppressing it can be. The scenes of him with his National Geographic magazines, always dreaming of other things, made my heart hurt for him. I was so happy for him when he made up his mind to break free and make huge changes in his life.

The writing was engaging and drew me in from the very first chapter. As I’ve said, really enjoyed both of the MC’s and I found their romance to be super sweet and touching. I didn’t have any complaints about the book and I went through the entire audio in one day as I cleaned and did yard work.

The book was narrated by Will Tulin and I liked him a lot. He is a new to me narrator but one I will definitely listen to again. He get a great job on both of the MC’s as well as all of the side characters. I think his narration really added to the overall story and I would recommend this.

Cover by Bree Archer: The cover was done by Bree Archer and I like it a lot. I think it is eye catching and really beautiful. It is also a great representation of the story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Listening Time: 7 hrs 40 min

Audiobook
Published June 7th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press LLC (first published July 1st 2016)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesMen of Lancaster County #1

An Alisa Review: Black Magic Glitterbomb by Sage C. Holloway

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Benji Seung is not one of the good guys. He commands dark magic; he looks out for himself before all else; he kills rival mages and steals their coffee makers. Life is good–or at least as good as it’s going to get for a guy whose soul grows more tainted with every passing day.

Everything changes when he accidentally rescues Kit, a wide-eyed young man down on his luck and living on the streets. With serious reservations but no better options than to leave Kit at the mercy of the elements, Benji takes him in and then can only watch as ominous events around them gain traction.

With an unknown adversary gunning for him, and Kit in the line of fire, the last thing Benji should be thinking about is romance, but he finds it impossible to resist the carefree troublemaker. Together, these two fight for their lives against black magic, diabolical schemes, and evil cupcakes.

This was a good story. Benji is just a mess of contradictions, he practices black magic but refuses to do blood magic which is the worst of all and from the beginning he will do anything to protect Kit from other magic users. Kit is quite innocent and accepting but will stand his ground on what he wants.

We see this story from Benji’s point of view, so we can see how he struggles to accept help let alone allow Kit a place in his life. He was hurt when his ex, the man who got him into magic, left him with no word. We see as his walls begin to breakdown and accept Kit into his world but he is lucky that Kit is so open and accepting because he still isn’t quite sure what to do about it. For the “seriousness” of the threat against Benji (and now Kit) this story was quite light hearted, which was just the kind of thing I was looking for when I read this.

Cover art by Natasha Snow is beautiful and gives a great picture of Benji.

Sales Links: Loose Id | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 91 pages

Published: May 29, 2017 by Loose Id

ISBN: 9781682523438

Edition Language: English

In Our Romance Spotlight: Love and Other Hot Beverages by Laurie Loft (giveaway)

Love and Other Hot Beverages by Laurie Loft
Riptide Publishing

Cover art by L.C. Chase
Available for Purchase at Riptide Publishing

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Laurie Loft here today on her Love and Other Hot Beverages tour. Welcome, Laurie!

✒︎

I’m Laurie Loft, author of Love and Other Hot Beverages. Welcome to my blog tour, and thanks for being here! I’m excited to give out super cool prizes to two people who make thoughtful comments to any of my blog posts: one French press (an item which features prominently in my novel), and a $15.00 Starbucks gift card. Either way, you’ll enjoy plenty of hot beverages!

There’ll be seven posts in which I’ll discuss my book as well as unrelated items. Comment, and we can get to know each other a little better.

About Love and Other Hot Beverages

After a rough breakup, Todd Addison wants time alone to grieve. While still dreaming of winning back his ex’s love, he moves across the country and finds work with a construction company. The last thing he needs is the cute office boy developing a crush on him, especially since he’s back in the closet.

Sebastián Nye can’t help feeling sorry for the obviously brokenhearted Todd. Though rebuffed repeatedly, Sebby chisels away at Todd’s resistance, determined to help him forget—a task potentially beyond anyone’s capabilities. He never meant to fall for the poor guy, but he does. Hard.

Desperate to hold on to Todd, Sebby hatches a sneaky plot guaranteed to end Todd’s heartbreak—if Todd doesn’t bail and ruin everything. Just when things can’t get more complicated, Todd’s ex wants him back. And Sebby’s abusive ex is just waiting to catch Sebby alone. Todd and Sebby must decide what’s worth fighting for, what’s worth sacrifice, and what’s worth compromise, or their relationship will begin and end with a broken heart.

Love and Other Hot Beverages is now available from Riptide Publishing.

About Laurie Loft

Laurie Loft lives in Iowa, endeavoring to write stories to give you that rush. Her husband, cat, and dogs kindly tolerate this odd activity. Her first M/M novel came about because of a minor character in a straight romance who just took over and demanded his own book. Laurie enjoys NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and other forms of writerly torture. She finds inspiration in her NaNo friends and her fellow Riptide authors. When not writing or working at her mysterious day job, she can often be found screaming at tangled cross stitch threads.

Connect with Laurie:

● Website

● Blog

● Twitter: @Laurie_Loft

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Love and Other Hot Beverages, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Starbucks gift card and a French press from Laurie! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 8, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

A Jeri Release Day Review: What’s the Use of Wondering? By Kate McMurray

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This is the second book in the series WMU, a young adult series set at a small college. There is some character cross over from the first but this one can be read as a stand alone easily.

Logan’s life is all about violin. Trying to live up to the dreams of his parents, he spends his life playing and practicing. So he is a bit apprehensive when he gets a new roommate. But Peter isn’t what Logan believes.

I have to say, Peter put up with a lot of bs from Logan. He was so rude at the start- and all because of the giant chip on his shoulder. Peter could have lashed out or flat out ignored Logan, but he continually offered an olive branch to find common ground. Even though the common ground was obvious.

There was some tough love in there as well between the two of them. Encouraging each other to do what they want and be themselves. Living up to the expectations of your parents has to end in order to be truly happy.

Logan and Peter really were a good compliment to each other. While it started out as an opposites attract kind of thing, they really had more in common than they knew. Building a relationship on that commonality was what made this such a sweet read.

I have to say I loved that musical theater continued in this book from the first. Being a theater junkie and proud drama geek, it brought back some amazing memories.

Cover art by Aaron Anderson. Lovely and eye-catching.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 182 pages
Published July 3rd 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ASINB071K9XC3S
SeriesWMU #2

Amy Lane Sharing “too quiet” kid stories on her Manny Get Your Guy Tour (author guest post)

Manny Get Your Guy (The Mannies #2) by Amy Lane
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Art by Paul Richmond
Available for Purchase at: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

♡

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is so happy to have Amy Lane back again, this time sharing “too quiet” kid stories on her ‘Manny Get Your Guy‘ tour. Welcome, Amy!

…too quiet… Part 3 by Amy Lane

So my last two posts in the tour have been “too quiet” kid stories—and seriously, most parents have a zillion of them. Somewhere in my archives I’ve got pictures of not one, but TWO little girls who thought it would be a laugh riot to get into mom’s makeup when they were bored. Squish’s picture has lipstick everywhere on her face. Chicken’s has mascara EVERYWHERE—right after her bath. Never turn your back on them—something will attack.

But in a bustling household, sometimes, you just can’t be everywhere at once. And sometimes, little things get overlooked.

Our cable service provider is Comcast. I know—this doesn’t SEEM like it has anything to do with childcare, but bear with me. Because in our neighborhood, we can have Comcast or Direct TV, and at one point in time—back when Squish was a baby and Zoomboy could fit in tiny places—we thought we were getting Direct TV.

The two bozos they sent to drill holes in our house and restring all our cables and generally screw up our entertainment system were not only not very bright—they were also not very FAST. They instilled maximum damage, but it took them nine hours of walking in and out of my relatively crowded, busy house in order to do it. And in the meantime, I had to make dinner and give baths and generally try to run my house while Mate said things like, “Do we HAVE to drill the hole?”

Anyway…

Around about hour seven, it got to be “too quiet.”

We were missing a kid.

Strange people had been going in and out of our house all day and WE WERE MISSING A KID.

MANHUNT!

Lock the dog in the bedroom, the big kids were looking under the bed, in the closets, behind the shoes, Squish was clung to, on somebody’s hip, as the whole family wandered our 1000 foot square house with increasing panic, screaming ZoomBoy’s name.

WE COULDN’T FIND ZOOMBOY!

The panic.

Seriously.

The panic.

Mate ran a circle around the block, and we couldn’t find him.

He ran the half-mile, larger circle.

Nothing.

I got into the car and turned on my brights and tooled around the neighborhood. Holy God, my kid was missing, I was going to have to call the police, I was going to have to issue an amber alert, I was going to have to…

Slow down as I was pulling into my driveway because he was running out of the house looking really pleased with himself.

“Mom! Mom! I hid between the coffee table and the couch and NOBODY FOUND ME!”

I almost smacked my child in the face.

“Were… uh… were we uh playing hide-and-seek?” I asked, spots floating in front of my eyes.

“No. I just thought I’d hide.”

“Uh, okay, hon. That was, uh, special. Maybe next time, tell somebody we’re playing that game? Mom was really worried.”

“Okay. Where’d you go?”

“TO FIND YOU!”

“But I was in the coffee table!”

“I know that now.”

“Are you okay?”

“I need to go cry on Dad now.”

“Can the guys go?”

“Yes.”

“Are they done?”

“I don’t care.”

“Good. They’re loud.”

So, yeah. Too quiet.

Also, a lesson in how no matter how hard you try as a parent, you never have it nailed down.

By the way—Direct TV? Didn’t work. We had no service for the first 48 hours and when we complained they told us we’d forfeit our deposit if we quit now.

We forfeited the deposit, fixed the hole in our wall, and never ever strayed from Comcast again.

And we made it a family rule that you could never, ever, ever start a game of hide-and-seek unless you told people that you were hiding first.

Yeesh… I have to admit, I feel bad giving Taylor four kids and chaos for this book. I mean, I survived it, but poor Taylor.

He’s not going to know what hit him.

It’s a good thing Brandon’s there to help.

Blurb

The Mannies

Starting over and falling in love.

Tino Robbins’s sister, Nica, and her husband, Jacob, are expecting their fifth child. Fortunately, Nica’s best friend, Taylor Cochran, is back in town, released from PT and in need of a job.

After years in the service and recovering from grave injury, Taylor has grown a lot from the callow troublemaker he’d been in high school. Now he’s hoping for a fresh start with Nica and her family.

Jacob’s cousin Brandon lives above the garage and thinks “Taylor the manny” is a bad idea. Taylor might be great at protecting civilians from a zombie apocalypse, but is he any good with kids?

Turns out Taylor’s a natural. As he tries to fit in, using common sense and dry wit, Brandon realizes that Taylor doesn’t just love their family—he’s desperate to be part of it. And just like that, Brandon wants Taylor to be part of his future.

Sequel to:

The Virgin Manny

Blurb:

The Mannies

Growing up and falling in love…

Sometimes family is a blessing and a curse. When Tino Robbins is roped into helping his sister deliver her premade Italian dinners when he should be studying for finals, he’s pretty sure it’s the latter! But one delivery might change everything.

Channing Lowell’s charmed life changes when his sister dies and leaves him her seven-year-old son. He’s committed to doing what’s best for Sammy… but he’s going to need a lot of help. When Tino lands on his porch, Channing is determined to recruit him to Team Sammy.

Tino plans to make his education count—even if that means avoiding a relationship—but as he falls harder and harder for his boss, he starts to wonder: Does he have to leave his newly forged family behind in order to live his promising tomorrow?

Available at: Amazon

Blog Tour Dates:

June 24 – MM Good Book Reviews

June 27 – My Fiction Nook

June 28 – Open Skye Book Reviews

July 1 – Boy Meets Boy

July 3 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

July 5 – Love Bytes

July 6 – Long and Short Reviews

STRW Interview with M.A. Church on her new release ‘Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius’ (author interview and excerpt)

Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius by M.A. Church
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza

Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have M.A. Church here today talking about writing, characters, and her latest release,

Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius. Welcome, M.A.!

✒︎

Our Interview with M.A. Church

How much of yourself goes into a character?

A lot. Many of my characteristics, thoughts, feelings, and reactions are built into my characters. Actually, both my main characters have many of my personality traits.

Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write? Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures?

Absolutely! Research plays a vital role. I mainly write paranormal and sci-fi, but I spend a lot of time checking mythology. I’m a firm believer in you have to understand a myth before you can flip it on its head. If I’m writing about werecats, I feel it’s necessary to the understand habits and reactions of felines, whether they’re big or small. Many of my paranormal stories are based in present day, so I have to make my shifters fit into that environment.

I do enjoy research, but I love making up worlds and cultures. It’s one reasons why I’m so fond of sci-fi. But even with that, research plays a key role in making the unbelievable believable.

Have you ever had to put an ‘in progress’ story aside because of the emotional ties with it? You were hurting with the characters or didn’t know how to proceed?

I have but not recently. There was a scene in Shadows in the Night where the main character’s mother was dying. I struggled with it because it was close to when I lost my mom. It caused some bad moments, but I got through it. Frankly I think it made that scene much stronger.

Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?

I’m good either way. I like HEA, but sometimes the story just isn’t set up for that. I’d much rather have an ending that is HFN than to force HEA. As long story ends with the characters happy, I’m good, even if all their issues haven’t been resolved.

How do you choose your covers?

The main thing I look for is something that highlights my story and picks up the feeling of the book. I want something that portrays a very basic element of the book so readers know at a glance what my story is about.

Do you have a favorite among your own stories? And why?

I’d say it’d either be The Harvest series or Trouble Comes in Threes from the Fur, Fangs, and Felines series. The Harvest was originally written right after my mom passed away. The books kept me from losing my mind.

Trouble Comes in Threes doesn’t have that memory connected to it, but it was the first threesome I ever wrote. It was well received, fortunately. And I did worry about how to portray a threesome believably.

What’s next for you as an author?

I have a book coming from Dreamspinner in October called Dragon’s Hoard. It’s part of the new Dreamspun Beyond line, and I’m very excited about that.

At Sixes and Sevens is under contract with Dreamspinner and will *probably* be out in November. It could be October, though.

Blurb

Clay McDonald finds the perfect car on Craigslist and is quick to send the seller a text:

Is your penis still for sale?

AutoCorrect strikes again. Damn—he should’ve proofread. How embarrassing.

Luckily Darrell Anderson, a mechanic and the owner of the Prius, is more amused than offended, and the two men agree to meet. When they do, the attraction is instant, and a date is arranged. But a series of mishaps, misunderstandings, and misplaced assumptions sorely test the new relationship.

In a contemporary romantic comedy about the perils of technology and dating in the modern world, a text that went so wrong might just lead to something so right—but only if Clay can refrain from jumping to conclusions and give love the benefit of the doubt.

Excerpt

“Whoa, whoa. The truck is fine, and there’s nothing wrong with it. You didn’t hear me because I drove the Prius. Which means you’re going to need to take me back up to the shop since I left my truck there.”

Darrell groaned. Of all the rotten, underhanded…. “Oh, come on. Seriously? You just ruined my Saturday.”

Bert laughed, a cocky little grin on his face. “Hey, I told you it had to be parked here.”

Darrell continued to grumble as he went back to arranging the food. “I was trying to forget about it. Does that mean you posted the ad on Craigslist?”

“As a matter of fact, I did this morning.” Bert opened his beer. “It should be up already.”

Of course it was. “Lovely. Just what I want to do on my weekend off. I’m assuming you put my cell phone number on the ad?”

“Yup.” Bert sipped his beer, then put it down on the counter. “Look, if something comes up, just let the call go to voicemail.”

Darrell poured a soda for himself. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

Bert smirked, then drank some more of his beer as he studied Darrell.

“What?” Darrell demanded as he opened the chip bag.

Bert slowly sho✒︎ok his head, an overdone look of pity on his face. “You’ve got all the symptoms.”

Darrell knew he was going to regret asking, but just like a moth to the flame, he couldn’t resist. “All the symptoms of what?”

“BBS.”

“As sure as I’m standing here, I know better, but okay….” Darrell scrubbed his hand over his face. “I’ll bite. What is BBS?”

Grinning madly, Bert took another sip of his beer, then with exaggerated patience, put it on the counter. “Blue ball syndrome. Dude, you desperately need to get laid. You’re grouchy, your sense of humor has left the building, and quite frankly, your one-liners need a couple more lines.”

Darrell tilted his head back, stared at the ceiling, and sighed helplessly. “I had to ask, didn’t I?”

About the Author

M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

When not writing, she’s on the back porch tending to the demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two grown children.

She is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: MA churh http://www.facebook.com/pages/MA-Chur…
Dreamspinner
My Blog
Website http://machurch00.blogspot.com
Twitter nomoretears00
Goodreads

Sean Michael on Memories, Writing and his release ‘Making a Splash’ (author guest post and excerpt)

Making a Splash by Sean Michael
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Valerie Tibbs | Tibbs Design

Available for Purchase at

✒︎

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Sean Michael here today on his Making a Splash tour. Welcome, Sean!

✒︎

Thank you to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting me today.

In Making a Splash, Austin is a natural diver. In fact, he’s at a public pool, showing off for his friends when Vince discovers him. He’s on the three meter board.

I can remember when I was around ten, I jumped off my first five meter platform. Thinking back on it, I’m surprised I actually not only made it up there, but then jumped given that I now have a crazy fear of heights. I don’t even like standing on a chair to reach for something at the top of bookcases.

However, this time I not only climbed, I also jumped. Now, I had never jumped from this high and no one had ever told me how I should do it. I remember jumping and going deep enough that my feet touched the bottom of the pool. I did push up but not very hard and I didn’t think I was going to break the surface in time to take the breath I needed. What a panic! I did not go for a second jump.

Of course, now I know that I should have spread my arms as soon as I hit the water and if I made it to the bottom, I should have pushed up hard. Live and learn.

I’m jealous of Austin and his ability to play so freely not only that high up, but doing tricks in the air at the same time.

Sean Michael

smut fixes everything

Blurb:

After a scandal of Olympic proportions, Vince Dawson lost his job as a diving coach and is on a downhill slide. So when he sees Austin Brody at a local pool, diving like a trained athlete, he thinks he’s found his ticket back to the big leagues.

Austin thinks Vince is crazy for wanting him to dive competitively. He dives for beer and smokes, while working double shifts as a welder. Still, he’ll give training with Vince a shot.

But Austin isn’t willing to let Vince rule his life, and Vince—used to hopeful young athletes folding under pressure from him—finds Austin baffling… and hot. Even if they can work together and become more than friends, they still have a long way to go before they’ll be ready to compete.

Excerpt:

Vince stood as he watched the kid climb the ladder, moving to get a better viewing angle of the board, one that would also afford him an excellent position to see Austin’s entry. Man, the kid moved like he didn’t know it was challenging to swing all that height up on his hands on a springboard. A springboard. No one in their right mind did handstand dives on a….

Two twists. Two and a half somersaults and then into the water like a knife.

Jesus fuck.

Vince was headed for the water before he could say “I don’t follow diving anymore.” He pushed his way past the kids gathering around, eyes on the tall, skinny blond. “Who’s your coach?”

“Huh?” A big pair of green eyes met his. “I don’t play ball.”

“I sure as hell hope you don’t.” He nodded toward the diving board. “I’m talking about diving. No way you picked those moves up on your own.” No fucking way.

“Nope. Practiced ’em on the trampoline.” Austin hauled himself out of the water.

“All by yourself.” He didn’t follow diving anymore, Vince reminded himself. He was done.

“Yep. I like jumping. Hell of a rush.”

“Tell you what. You show me the toughest dive you know how to do, and I’ll buy you dinner.” With a captive audience and without all the other people trying to get a piece of the kid, maybe he could convince Austin that he was exactly what Austin needed in a coach. Or at least he could if he were still in the diving world. Which he wasn’t.

“Dinner like McDonald’s or dinner like shrimp and steak?”

He chuckled. Kid was smart too. He took a mental look at his bank account and wished he hadn’t.

“Like dinner anywhere you want.” After all, he didn’t follow diving anymore, wasn’t going to get back into coaching. But if he did? This was the person he’d want to do it with. It would be worth breaking the bank for.

“It’s a deal.” Austin held his hand out to shake.

About the Author

Best-selling author Sean Michael is a maple leaf–loving Canadian who spends hours hiding out in used book stores. With far more ideas than time, Sean keeps several documents open at all times. From romance to fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi, Sean is limited only by the need for sleep—and the periodic Beaver Tail.

Sean fantasizes about one day retiring on a secluded island populated entirely by horseshoe crabs after inventing a brain-to-computer dictation system. Until then, Sean will continue to write the old-fashioned way.

Sean Michael on the web:

WEBSITE: http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
BLOG: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites/
TWITTER: seanmichael09
INSTAGRAM: seanmichaelpics

Its July, Happy 4th. This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Its July, Happy 4th.

Yes, its officially July. Summer is well under way. For those of us in the States or celebrating abroad, this is the start of a long weekend extending into next week, Tuesday which is the 4th. Roads have been packed with people getting away as have the airports and railway stations. Celebrations and get togethers, picnics and parades, all will be going on this weekend and into next week, ending with fireworks everywhere. Why the 4th? John Adams thought it should have been July 2! And wouldn’t recognize the celebrations on July 4th.

A quick history lesson: “The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.” Thank you, History.com

Also:

John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Happy Fourth of July! Have a safe and happy weekend.

Also to our neighbors to the north, Happy Canada (Dominion) Day! The US is not the only one celebrating our independence! Per our wonderful internet “Canada became self-governing on July 1st, 1867, with the passage of the British North America Act (BNA Act) in the British Parliament. The holiday was originally known as “Dominion Day”. It was changed to Canada Day by the Canadian Parliament on October 27, 1982.”

Did you know? The U.S. and Canada share the largest un-defended border in the world. So congratulations and Happy Canada Day too!

Winner Announcement!

~Pride Father’s Day Celebration Giveaway – Last Week~

We wanted you all to give us your best suggestions for books involving LGBTQIA families or LGBT people with children stories. What a great list of books you presented us with. Here they are in no particular order….

STRW Great LGBTQIA Dads/Parents/Family Book Recs!

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels
What Remains by Garrett Leigh
Bonfires by Amy Lane
Until September by Chris Scully
Back to You by Chris Scully
Snow & Winter series by C.S. Poe
All’s Fair by Josh Lanyon
Stone and Shell by Lloyd A. Meeker
Good To Know series by DW Marchwell
Shaking the Sugar Tree series by Nick Wilgus
It’s Christmas Everywhere But Here by Liam Livings
Making Ends Meet by SL Armstrong
Just Like This by Taylor Lewis
The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney
Nested Hearts series by Ada Maria Soto
Ranger Station Haven by S.A. Stovall
Faith, Love and Devotion series by Tere Michaels
The Rebuilding Year series by Kaje Harper
But For You by Mary Calmes
The Christmas Wager by Jamie Fessenden
All the Wrong Places by Ann Gallagher
Frog by Mary Calmes (not a dad but mannies count right?) yes they do!
Southern Comfort by Lola Carson
Flaunt by E. Davies
The Harvest series M.A. Church (children don’t show up until the second book and in the spin-off sequel we to see the kids grown and finding their own mates <3)
A Matter of Time series by Mary Calmes
THIRDS by Charlie Cochet (the Dex and Cael’s Tony)
The Mannies series by Amy Lane (and because it also had great dads too)
Road to the Sun by Keira Andrews
Disasterology 101 by Taylor V. Donovan
The Tyack and Frayne Mystery series by Harper Fox

And Fur Kids, just because yes, they count:Pets
Tell Me It’s Real by TJ Klune
Sinner’s Gin by Rhys Ford
Finding Matt by J.D. Ruskin (no kids, but Bear the dog was awesome, almost the best part of the book).

So many great comments and recommendations. Let me know if you have any more to add to our list! Thank you all for participating! New giveaway up next week.

Our winners for this contest are Trix and ami! Thank you both. Stella will be in touch with you both about your gift cards!

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, July 2:

Its July, Happy 4th.
This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, July 3:

DSP GUEST POST Amy Lane
DSP GUEST POST M.A. Church on Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius
DSP GUEST POST Sean Michael on Making a Splash
A Julia Review:The Last Ranger of Sarn (The Journals of the Huntress Book 1) by Ed Ireland
A Jeri Release Day Review: What’s the Use of Wondering? By Kate McMurray
A MelanieM Review: Feral Dust Bunnies (Offbeat Crimes #4) by Angel Martinez
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Imperfect Harmony by Jay Northcote and narrated by Mark Steadman

Tuesday, July 4 (Happy Independance Day to all those in the US and abroad)

BLOG POST Two-Man Advantage by Leigh Carman
Release Blitz Force of Nature (Coming About #4) by J.K. Hogan
Release Blitz for Meg Harding’s Finding Home
RIPTIDE TOUR & Giveaway: Love and Other Hot Beverages by Laurie Loft
A Kai Review: Misdemeanor by CF White
An Ali Audiobook Review: A Second Harvest (Men of Lancaster County #1) by Eli Easton and narrator Will Tulin
An Alisa Review: Black Magic Glitterbomb by Sage C. Holloway

Wednesday, July 5:

Blitz Tour: Haven’s War by Parker Williams
Blog Tour: Burning Boundaries, by Bellora Quinn and Sadie Rose Bermingham
DSP GUEST POST SJD Peterson on Something’s Brewing at Joe’s
A MelanieM Release Day Review: Ahava Is Love (World of Love) by Avery Duran
A Stella Release Day Review: Making a Splash by Sean Michael
A Stella Review: Haven’s War (Safe Haven #2) by Parker Williams
An Alisa Release Day Review: Santa’s Naughty Helper ( Lawyers in Love) by Ari McKay

Thursday, July 6:

RIPTIDE TOUR & Giveaway: Spun! (The Shamwell Tales #4) by J.L. Merrow
DSP Publications blog tour Xenia Melzer
An Alisa Review: Admiring Jesse by Shawn Lane
A MelanieM Review: Behind the Mask by Elizabeth Coldwell
A VVivacious Review: Oversight (The Community #2) by Santino Hassell
An Ali Audiobook Review: Vassily the Beautiful (The ESTO Universe) by Angel Martinez and Greg Boudreaux (Narrator)

Friday, July 7:

DSP GUEST POST Avery Duran on Ahava is Love
Release Blitz for Luna David’s Saving Sebastian
Release Day Blitz for Lying Eyes by Robert Winter
Review Tour for TC Orton ‘s Iudicium
A Julia Review: Iudicium by T.C Orton
A Jeri Review: A Way with Words (Memories with The Breakfast Club ) by Lane Hayes
An Alisa Review: Prise de Fer by A.R. Moler

Saturday, July 8:

A MelanieM Review: The Werecat Trilogy by Andrew J. Peters

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Manny Get Your Guy (The Mannies #2) by Amy Lane

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Starting over and falling in love.

Tino Robbins’s sister, Nica, and her husband, Jacob, are expecting their fifth child. Fortunately, Nica’s best friend, Taylor Cochran, is back in town, released from PT and in need of a job.

Jacob’s cousin Brandon lives above the garage and thinks “Taylor the manny” is a bad idea. Taylor might be great at protecting civilians from a zombie apocalypse, but is he any good with kids?

Turns out, Taylor’s a natural. As he tries to fit in, using common sense and dry wit, Brandon realizes that Taylor doesn’t just love their family—he’s desperate to be part of it. And just like that, Brandon wants Taylor to be part of his future.

Manny Get Your Guy (The Mannies #2) by Amy Lane is a sweet, heartwarming romance. I’m just in love with this series! The first, The Virgin Manny (The Mannies #1), with Channing Lowell and Tino Robbins gave us the foundation families and characters with Tino as the original Manny. It was a terrific story but I have to admit I loved this one better. Taylor Cochran was a shallow, sort of bad guy in that story. Here in Manny Get Your Guy Tay gets his redemption, a new family, and a HEA love. Yep, I’m all behind that. That’s Tay on the cover with one of the Nica brood and it’s a perfect representation.

Taylor’s horrible upbringing, his deep friendship with Nica, his issues with his sexuality and his injuries while in the service are all brought up and inspected here. We see what made Taylor act the way he did in the first story and the growth he shows here. It’s an incredible range of character development and it works to not only bring the reader closer to Tay but also to make us see just how badly he needs the family slowly forming around him.

Brandon, with his snap judgements, actually was harder for me to like, funnily enough. It wasn’t until he got over them and decided that Taylor was ok with with children that I started to connect with Brandon as well.

The children here are a real plus! They are genuine, funny, and their interactions with Taylor made me laugh and sometimes cry. Amy Lane does this family thing so well, pulling at our hearts with so many elements in play, children, family, romance and more. It all works.

It also makes me wonder where the series will go next. Goodness knows Nica has enough children for 4 mannies. I can hardly wait for book three.

I highly recommend Manny Get Your Guy. Its heartwarming, tender, well-written and wonderful. That cover says it all.

Cover art by Paul Richmond. This has to be one of my favorite covers. As the most famous nanny in the world would say ” Practically Perfect in every way.”

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 236 pages
Expected publication: July 1st 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781635336474
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Mannies #2

A Stella Release Day Review: A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania) by TJ Klune

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

Sequel to The Lightning-Struck Heart

Once upon a time, the wizard’s apprentice Sam of Wilds got his happily ever after in the arms of his cornerstone, Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart. A year has passed, and while Sam’s been captured five or six more times since then, things are pretty great. His parents are happy, Gary and Tiggy still eat sass for breakfast, Randall is somehow alive despite being older than the gods, the King rules with a gentle hand, Kevin the dragon is as gross as ever, Morgan sighs a lot, Ryan continues to be dashing and immaculate, and Sam is close to convincing Prince Justin they will be best friends forever.

Life is good.

Until it’s not.

Because Vadoma, the leader of the gypsy clan and Sam’s grandmother, has come to the City of Lockes with a dire prophecy written in the stars: a man of shadows is rising and will consume the world unless Sam faces his destiny and gathers the five dragons of Verania at his side.

And she brings along her second-in-command, a man named Ruv.

Ruv, who Vadoma says is Sam’s true cornerstone.

I was waiting for this book since I finished The Lightning-Struck Heart in the 2015. I was waiting for Sam to take me on his beautiful world with his amazing friends. TJ didn’t disappoint me. He did great, again.

I spent a whole week on A Destiny of Dragons , I dosed the reading not only because I actually didn’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to truly enjoyed each single word. And IMO that’s the key of the success of TJ Klune’s writing especially in these kind of stories: each word is perfect, each sentences is hilarious, every new chapter is a surprise. The reader can’t try to imagine where he was going to bring us, because everything is unpredictable and over the top. And I can’t have enough.

I couldn’t wait for meet again Gary, he is still sassy and beautiful as ever, still in love with Kevin, no matter what he claims. And then Tiggy, with his big heart and his readiness to smash things and people. But I have a confession to make, someone else stole my heart in this book and it was inevitable, I’m pretty sure no one will be able to resist at a fourteen years old emo snake dragon. I want Zero to be the main characters in the next book in the series. He deserves so much from life and I bet Sam will take care of him, since he is such a good boy. And good boys always win, right? Well I can tell you me and Ryan were pissed more than once with our beloved (apprentice) wizard.

I feel to of course recommend this series, it’s funny, light, full of amazing characters, most of all it’s packed with feelings, every kind of feeling you can think of.

The cover art by Paul Richmond is simpler compared to the cover of the first book and I like it, but maybe simple and clean don’t fit the story a lot.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 400 pages

Publication Date: June 30th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13 9781635335576

Edition Language English

Series Tales From Verania #2

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Love and Other Hot Beverages by Laurie Loft Riptide Publishing

Cover art by L.C. Chase Available for Purchase at Riptide Publishing

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Manny Get Your Guy (The Mannies #2) by Amy Lane Dreamspinner Press

Cover Art by Paul Richmond Available for Purchase at: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

…too quiet… Part 3 by Amy Lane

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Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius by M.A. Church Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza

Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press

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Making a Splash by Sean Michael Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Valerie Tibbs | Tibbs Design

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Its July, Happy 4th.

Winner Announcement!

STRW Great LGBTQIA Dads/Parents/Family Book Recs!

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, July 2:

Monday, July 3:

Tuesday, July 4 (Happy Independance Day to all those in the US and abroad)

Wednesday, July 5:

Thursday, July 6:

Friday, July 7:

Saturday, July 8:

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Love and Other Hot Beverages by Laurie Loft
Riptide Publishing

Cover art by L.C. Chase
Available for Purchase at Riptide Publishing

Manny Get Your Guy (The Mannies #2) by Amy Lane
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Art by Paul Richmond
Available for Purchase at: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius by M.A. Church
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza

Making a Splash by Sean Michael
Dreamspinner Press