Category: Publishers

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: A Fortunate Blizzard by L.C. Chase

Rating: 5 stars out of 5    ★★★★★

A Fortunate Blizzard coverThis story was outstanding! Heartwarming and heartbreaking, it made me smile, and it made me cry, and I didn’t want it to end. I love these guys!

Trevor Morrison is dying. It’s a few days before Christmas, and his doctor has just told him that it’s likely his last. She didn’t use those exact words, but she did tell him that his kidney function is getting worse, and the dialysis he’s undergone for the past seven years may not be able to keep the kidney functioning much longer. She’s also given him a pamphlet on making the decision to go off dialysis and die naturally, virtually pain free, a decision he’s been leaning toward making. All this wonderful news is joined by more wonderful news—a blizzard is going to make it impossible to fly out of Denver to visit his family in Connecticut for Christmas.

When he gets stranded on his way to the airport, and the shuttle manages to get to a hotel, he meets Marcus Roberts in the bar. Marc is an attorney and a workaholic who is frustrated that he’s stuck in a hotel when he could have just stayed at his office and kept working. But his assistant forced him out, and now his car is out in a snowbank on the turnpike, and he’s stuck in the hotel. At least he has a room, something that is no longer available to the new arrivals.

One look at Trevor and Marc is struck by the need to get to know him. Initially inviting him to his table to talk, and later, inviting him to his room to share the comforts of the hotel room and other things that might arise, Marc eventually realizes that being forced out of the office that day may be the best thing to ever happen to him.

Trevor is very hesitant to allow anyone to get close to him, but Marc manages to squirm his way under Trevor’s defenses, and when the airport is still not open the next day, Marc invites Trevor back to his home to await Trevor’s rescheduled flight out the day after Christmas. Trevor is very clear that this is only a casual encounter, and Marc agrees, but when neither of them is prepared for it, their emotions complicate the casual and make it more.

They spend Christmas together, and Trevor, a renowned artist, manages to get Marc’s creative spark going by using their artistic skills to decorate for Christmas. Marc has not had a Christmas celebration in many years. Estranged from his mother, a woman who stifled his artistic creativity and shunned him for his sexuality, Marc hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in years. However, with Trevor encouraging him, he begins to think that he might have a future in which he can enjoy artistic pursuits and not just use work as his twenty-four hour a day focus.

All good things end, and when Trevor is gone the day after Christmas, Marc realizes that his priorities need a major overhaul, and one of the first things on his list is to find Trevor and convince him that their future is not impossible.

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As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this one is a keeper. I highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary M/M romance, especially to those who enjoy a tearjerker, hurt-comfort, men with disabilities, and those who just want a book that they can devour from beginning to end with no interruptions. Don’t miss a chance to read this one!

~~~
Cover Art by L.C. Chase is a beautiful portrayal of two young men, one kissing the cheek of the other, set against a backdrop of a snow scene with an empty park bench— a scene mentioned as being one of Trevor’s art creations in the book. It’s the perfect cover for such a wonderful story.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 175 pages
Expected publication: November 2nd 2015 by Riptide Publishing
original title A Fortunate Blizzard
ISBN13 9781626493391
edition language English

An Ali Audiobook Review: Frat Boy and Toppy (Theta Alpha Gamma #1) by Anne Tenino and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)

Rating: 4.5 star out of 5
Frat Boy and Toppy AudiobookBrad is great at meeting other people’s expectations. But his own? Not so much. Take the gay thing. Okay, so yeah. It took a morning meeting with a frat brother’s hairy, naked ass for him to admit it, but he knows the truth about himself now. Let the gay life commence.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. He hasn’t quite determined how to come out to anyone, even Sebastian, the geeky-hot TA in his history class. Sebastian is everything Brad is not. Intellectual, suave, hairy. Out. And he doesn’t seem interested in Brad, even when Brad makes a fool of himself trying to catch his notice.

Score one for foolery: Sebastian does more than notice Brad; he takes him to bed. Brad’s been with plenty of girls, but with Sebastian, the sex is something else entirely—hot, mind-blowing, affirming, and a little domineering in a way that drives him wild. But when great sex turns into something more—dare he admit the “L” word?—Brad must face the crushing realization that Sebastian doesn’t feel the same. Unless, of course, he does. After all, even grad students can be idiots about matters of the heart. 
What a fun read this was. These two characters were just great. They both had depth and were likable and funny. Watching them begin a tentative relationship was great. Neither trusts the other’s social group and they live different lifestyles. Brad still hides his sexuality and Sebastian very much does not. Despite their differences they find they have enough in common to build a friendship and eventually love. 
This was one of my first reads in the m/m genre and when I had the chance to review this on audio I was honestly a little worried. My tastes have changed and I wasn’t sure if this would hold up to the test of time. I’m happy to say I loved it just as much this time around. I adore both Brad and Sebastian as they fumble their way into a relationship that neither saw coming. There’s some funny dialogue, a sweet love story, little angst and some smexy times. 

I liked the narrator a lot and I thought he did a great job on all the voices. He really sounded like what I thought Brad & Sebastian would sound like (Sebastian’s “yeah?” at the end of his sentences was super charming and kind of hot on audio). The sex scenes were really smoking hot on audio. I mean really hot.( Like I felt guilty listening to this at work hot). This is one of those books where I think the narration actually adds to the story and this is one I highly recommend be done on audio. 
Cover artist L.C. Chase‘s cover is perfection.  I  wouldn’t change a  thing.
Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing  |  Audible | Amazon |  iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook
Published (first published March 25th 2012)
Original TitleFrat Boy and Toppy
SeriesTheta Alpha Gamma #1
CharactersBrad Feller, Sebastian DeWitt settingPacific Northwest (United States)

 

A BJ Review: Lost and Found by Z. A Maxfield

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

LostAndFound_500x750Lost: one dog and two men in need of each other. Found: love.

RV resort security chief Ringo never believed in love at first sight . . . until he saw Gavin playing his sax on the beach for the tourists. But their on-again, off-again affair—even counting all the great makeup sex—doesn’t come close to the relationship he wants. All he really wants for Christmas is a commitment from Gavin.

Instead he discovers that Gavin has had surgery without telling him, so he lays down a relationship ultimatum while Gavin recuperates. Complicating matters even more, Gavin’s beloved dog Bird runs away, and Gavin blames Ringo for the disappearance.

While Ringo throws every resource he has into finding Bird, he learns deeper truths about Gavin—how hard it is for him to trust and how little faith he has in love. Maybe if Ringo can find Bird, he can salvage Gavin’s faith. Maybe this Christmas, they can all find each other.

(20% of all proceeds are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.)


I loved this story for so many reasons, and it could have been a five star read for me. First, the setting in a Southern California RV resort was both unique and perfect. It not only shows a lot about the main character Gavin’s personality, but is a rather unique profession for the other MC to work there. And as someone who lives in SoCal and has a family member who actually lives in one of those down in near the beach. SCORE!

Adored both of the characters. They were original, flawed, a bit broken… they felt like real, ordinary guys just trying to make it. Ringo, with his big ethnic family and kind heart, was just so sweet. The way he kept giving Gavin chances rather than giving up on him, the way he looked inside to try and see why he was doing the things he did, the way he saw that the was hurting himself even when he was lashing out at Ringo. I adored how he thought things through and tried over and over rather than giving up on something, and the story of how that came to be a part of his personality from a childhood event felt right.

Gavin, also from an ethnic background but rather than growing up in a close and supportive big family, he’d been neglected and had a hard childhood. Now on his own except for his dog, Bird, he finds it hard to trust that someone can really care for him enough to stick with him and often pushed people away. Yes, he was a badly flawed character with anger management and trust issues that caused himself and others around him hurt. But that was only a part of him, and Ringo saw behind that to all the good and beautiful parts that he hid behind that. Well, these two together just worked for me. The unusual dynamic between them blew me away. The ending was beautiful, but still I would love to read more about them.

The one thing that kept the story from being a five for me was the way Bird was handled. I’m a complete dog person, I own quite a few, and I’d really wished that Bird had been more of a character from the start. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until close to the end that he actually came alive as a character on his own. Before that, he was just Gavin’s dog. In fact it was pretty far into the story before we are even told his breed, which is a chocolate lab, or given any real description of him. In the end, he does get to come alive, but it could have been so much more of a rich and emotional story if we’d been given more about him closer to the beginning. If he’d been a real character from the start.

I love the cover by L.C. Chase! It has the perfect feel for the story…capturing the California beach feel with the Hispanic character and his sax, even his attire is perfect as described. Cover scores a five out of five stars for me.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon


Book Details:  

ebook, 140 pages
Published December 2nd 2013 by Riptide Publishing (first published November 30th 2013)
ISBN 1626490856 (ISBN13: 9781626490857)
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Champagne Kisses by Lynda Aicher

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Champagne KissesThe Christmas Eve wedding Evan Cleary pulled together in four weeks is crashing down around him and taking his fledgling event planning business with it. With an empty altar and over a hundred guests arriving soon, he turns to the resistant, gorgeous brother of the runaway groom for help.

When Richard Patterson’s flamboyant brother storms out hours before he’s scheduled to marry his equally dramatic partner, Richard is left dealing with the fallout. The last thing he wants is more drama, yet he can’t deny his attraction to the effeminate event planner trying to salvage the wedding.

Evan thinks his crush on Richard is a lost cause, but one steaming kiss later, he learns different. What starts as a night of hot sex turns into a connection neither expected. But Evan knows their relationship is hopeless unless the ultra-conservative Richard can embrace every part of him—both in private and in public.

Short, sweet and sexy, this Christmas novella is the very definition of  opposites attract. Lynda Aicher starts off on one side of the spectrum with Evan Cleary. Flamboyant, some would say delicate to the point of being effeminate, Evan has worked hard on this Christmas Eve wedding which was to launch his event planning business…even though it had disaster written all over it, starting with the couple in question.

His opposite is Richard Patterson, masculine, solid, gorgeous, someone who has never been attracted before to someone of Evan’s “type”, until now, an attitude that doesn’t sit especially well with Evan.  It’s a night of emotional meltdowns, harsh attitudes, and revelations set amidst a wedding that  anyone would call the wedding of your dreams.  Aicher has described it in detail and I’m sure more than one reader sighed in response.

I liked the clash of personalities which included that of Richard’s  brother and Evan, which had a friendship here too.  There is a bit of hot domination play here and enough drama to satisfy those who need it in their relationship stories.  All in all a satisfying sexy romp.

My only issues?  Some very iffy word choices, a very big no if you are at all familiar with my reviews.  Two words that should never appear with regard to the male anatomy…canal and channel.   And they both appear here.  I just start waiting for the tugboats to appear.  Or river barges or things of that nature.  It almost got this story knocked down to a 3 star but no, the rest of it was charming. When they appear, close your eyes and move swiftly past.  Other than that, this story is a keeper.

Cover art by L.C. Chase is nice but doesn’t have enough details to make it stand out from any other cover.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 83 pages
Published December 14th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleChampagne Kisses
ISBN139781626493759
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL

A MelanieM Review: Jackson & Nick (Storming Love: Wild Fire #6) by Laura Baumbach

Rating:4 stars out of 5

Jackson and Nick coverFireman Jackson Kain and ER physician Dr. Nick Kirby would both like nothing better than to leave behind their high-pressure NY City lives for a just a few days in the peaceful wilds of Northern Ca. Two ordinary men exploring their growing relationship in glorious, undisturbed beauty of nature. Before this trip is over, both men will need all their specialized abilities and training to survive their romantic interlude turned WILD FIRE.

Recuperating from an work-related injury, NY City fireman Jackson Kain convinces new boyfriend Dr. Nicolas Kirby to spend a few days at a secluded California cabin in the woods far away from the hustle and bustle of their stressful worlds.

Nick is a cautious man with protective walls around him that persistent, persuasive Jackson is determined to breakdown, scale or tunnel under. These few days are Jackson’s best chance to convince Nick he is sincere and reliable in all things, including matters of the heart. Unfortunately, both men are going to get more opportunities to prove themselves than either bargained for.

What was supposed to be a relaxing break from the world to get to know one another better turns into a struggle for survival, that pits both men against nature and time.

Another story in the Storming Love series by MLR, this one is highlighted by the fact that its author is Laura Baumbach, an author I love.  Secondly, this is the first new story from that author in a long while so I was so happy to get this story and start reading.  I quickly fell into the author’s style of writing and the two main character’s relationship, which is still in the first stages of working things out and seeing if they mesh with each other.  They are at that first crucial big step, the first vacation away with each other.  This time a trip with a cabin in the woods…de-stressing time for one who is a doctor and a last minute relaxing vacation for another who’s been out on work related injury leave.

Baumbach lets us fall easily into their lives, showing us the rush, pressure, and fears of the 24/7 lifestyle that consumes Dr. Nicolas Kirby and the determination of Fireman Jackson Kain to have Nick put that behind him and enjoy the time together.  And they do, for a while.

We get sweet and sexy scenes and then the scramble is one to survive and outrun the forest fire.  Its a white knuckle trip all the way, mixed in with relationship dynamics and personal  revelations.  I had invested enough of myself in this couple that I was with them emotionally as they fought through the fire and their own fears.

My only issue is that the story was too short. I was connected to these men, their situation was dire, their relationship still new and there was so much to explore here and  plus, hey, its was  Laura Baumbach!  I wanted much, much more.

Still I love the Storming Love series.  They are exciting, wonderful romances and really you just can’t go wrong here.

Why not start your exploration of the Storming Love series here with Jackson & Nick (Storming Love: Wild Fire #6) by Laura Baumbach.  It’s a fast, sexy, story and then go find the others.

Cover art by Kris Jacen is a great representation of the story, setting and with a hint of the characters.

Sales Links:  MLR Press |  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 73 pages
Published October 8th 2015 by MLR Press, LLC
ASINB016DXVWLS
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesStorming Love: Wild Fire #6