Category: Riptide Publishing

A Stella Review: One Under (Porthkennack#9) by JL Merrow

RATING 3,75 out of 5 stars

London Underground worker Mal Thomas is staying in Porthkennack to recover from a traumatic experience. Getting some more bad news from home is the last straw—until big, blond museum curator Jory Roscarrock steps up to offer some comfort.

A doctor of English Literature, Jory should be in a prestigious post at a top university. But a youthful indiscretion has led him to abandon academia to come back to his home town, Porthkennack, and the controlling family he’s never really felt a part of. He’s delighted to find a kindred spirit in the young Londoner.

But Jory’s family hurt Mal’s best friend deeply, and while Jory’s desperate to repair the damage, his own mistakes threaten to keep them apart. Meanwhile Mal’s torn between his feelings for Jory and his duty to his friend—and his fears that a failed relationship could be more than his shattered confidence can take.

As always, JL Merrow stories are a pleasure to read. With time I learnt to love his writing style and although once in a while I have to google some of her “oh so British” words, I approach every new release with high enthusiasm.  One Under was no exception, I found the novel perfectly written, amazing second characters, the romance part felt pretty realistic to me. I particularly liked how well delined were Jory and Mal, I was able to know them and their minds very well.  They (and all the cast) were positive persons, it was clear from their actions and their thoughts.

That said, I gave this story a lower rating than the first book the author wrote in the Porthkennack series , Wake Up Call, and her books in general. I have to say I am having trouble trying to understand why. The only explanations I can give is, while on an objective POV (mine) I can list you everything that works here in the novel, through all the reading I felt a sort of detachment from it and couldn’t truly feel and not just see the emotions. I know they were there into the plot, I read the characters feel that emotions. It was me the one who didn’t feel them. And to adore a book I need to be involved and engaged. I missed this.

Still, I can’t not recommend One Under and all JL Merrow titles.

The cover art by Garrett Leigh is nothing special, it fits and follows the series style but nothing more interesting about it.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 281 pages

Published March 19th 2018 by Riptide Publishing (first published March 17th 2018)

ISBN 1626496862 (ISBN13: 9781626496866)

Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: One Under (Porthkennack #9) by J.L. Merrow

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

 

London Underground worker Mal Thomas is staying in Porthkennack to recover from a traumatic experience. Getting some more bad news from home is the last straw—until big, blond museum curator Jory Roscarrock steps up to offer some comfort.

A doctor of English Literature, Jory should be in a prestigious post at a top university. But a youthful indiscretion has led him to abandon academia to come back to his home town, Porthkennack, and the controlling family he’s never really felt a part of. He’s delighted to find a kindred spirit in the young Londoner.

But Jory’s family hurt Mal’s best friend deeply, and while Jory’s desperate to repair the damage, his own mistakes threaten to keep them apart. Meanwhile Mal’s torn between his feelings for Jory and his duty to his friend—and his fears that a failed relationship could be more than his shattered confidence can take.

The Porthkennack universe is one that I deeply love.  A seaside small town in Cornwall, with a long history of smuggling and sea bourne carnage in its past, it’s behind the facade of the pleasant shops, pubs, and yes, even a museum or two, the stories here show that some haven’t entirely left that way of life behind.  With each new tale, some historic, most not, the town’s people, the culture of the place, the “society’, and the dynamics continue to unfold.  Aren’t’ we lucky!

In One Under by JL Merrow, the angst driven characters are Mal Thomas and Dr. Jory Roscarrock, each with elements in their past their are trying to recover from and move past.  For Mal, his are far more recent.  A man committed suicide in front of the underground train he was driving and it’s left him traumatized, unable even to get into a car.    For Jory, it’s his family and their past.  From a father who committed suicide, a mother’s death, to older siblings who seem to hate him and relationships that don’t work out, his issues too seem buried in his past.

I love these men, especially Mal.  What a wounded soul he is.  And Jory too, a solid, intellectual giant who is so clueless at times you wish you could shake him.  I thought the characterizations were terrific.  Mal as the traumatized train driver suffering from PTSD was easily a sympathetic figure.  His “dithering about” his relationship with Jory over it’s impact on his best friend honestly irritated most of the time.  You wished the communication was far better between these two men.  However, taken into consideration the mental and emotional state of Mal, I kept coming back to the idea that anyone who was suffering from PTSD as bad as he was and in the shaky emotional frame of mind, wasn’t going to be making the most rational of decisions.  So yes, perhaps, Merrow was (whether I liked it or not) right on target here too.

Same goes for Jory, his relationship with his frankly appalling older siblings and his willingness to remain static in parts of his life.  Odd but again  given his weird background, perhaps not.  It takes these two men coming together to get them moving forward again in both of their lives,  first separately and then finally as a couple.

 

Cover by: Garrett Leigh.  The covers by Garrett Leigh are amazing.  From the composition to the color tone, she captures the heart of the characters and the location.  Love it.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 249 pages
Expected publication: March 19th 2018 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleOne Under
ISBN 1626496862 (ISBN13: 9781626496866)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Porthkennack #9

Tour and Giveaway: One Under by JL Merrow

One Under (Porthkennack #9) by J.L. Merrow

Riptide Publishing
Cover Art: Garrett Leigh

Purchase Links:  Riptide Publishing  | Amazon

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host JL Merrow here today to talk about her latest story, One Under. Welcome, JL.

✒︎

 

Hi, I’m JL Merrow, and I’m delighted to be here today as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of One Under, the second of my contemporary MM romances in the multi-author Porthkennack series. One Under features a romance between two characters readers of my first Porthkennack book, Wake Up Call will have already met: Mal Thomas and Jory Roscarrock—although you’d be forgiven for not recalling Jory’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in Wake Up Call!

 

About One Under

 

London Underground worker Mal Thomas is staying in Porthkennack to recover from a traumatic experience. Getting more bad news from home is the last straw—until big, blond museum curator Jory Roscarrock steps up to offer some comfort.

 

As a doctor of English literature, Jory should be in a prestigious post at a top university. But a youthful indiscretion led him to abandon academia to come back to his hometown, Porthkennack, and the controlling family he’s never really felt a part of. He’s delighted to find a kindred spirit in Mal.

 

But Jory’s family hurt Mal’s best friend deeply, and while Jory is desperate to repair the damage, his own mistakes threaten to keep him and Mal apart. Meanwhile, Mal is torn between his feelings for Jory and his duty to his friend—and his fears that a failed relationship could be more than his shattered confidence can take. Jory must convince Mal it’s worth risking everything for their love.

 

About JL Merrow

 

JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.

 

She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novella Muscling Through is a 2013 EPIC ebook Award finalist. She is a member of the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.

 

Connect with JL:

Giveaway

 

To celebrate this release, one lucky winner will receive their choice of a book from JL’s backlist! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 24, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Permanent Ink (Art & Soul #1) by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn /Kirt Graves (Narrator)

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

At twenty-three, Poe Montgomery is going nowhere. He still lives in his father’s basement and spends most of his time tagging with his friends. When an arrest lands him in debt, Poe accepts the front desk job at Permanent Ink, the tattoo shop owned by his father’s best friend, Jericho McAslan. Jericho is nearly twice Poe’s age, but with his ink and prematurely graying hair, he quickly takes the starring role in Poe’s hottest fantasies.

Jericho is known for his ability to transform poorly designed tattoos into works of art, but he was once as aimless and misdirected as Poe. Wanting to pay it forward the way someone once did for him, Jericho makes Poe his apprentice and is determined to keep things strictly professional. Easier said than done when Poe makes his interest—and his daddy kink—abundantly clear.

Jericho can’t resist Poe or their intense chemistry for long. But between the age gap, tension with Poe’s father, and Poe’s best friend calling him a sellout, they’ll need to ensure they’re both on the same page before they can rewrite their rocky start into something permanent.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while and was excited to get the chance to review it.  For the most part there wasn’t a big amount of drama in this story but that was fine with me.  Poe hasn’t found any real direction for his life but Jericho gives him the chance to find one or at least clean up his life.

Poe is a bit resistant to finding another outlet for his art but soon finds how much he can really do with tattooing.  Jericho was rescued by someone when he was in trouble when he was younger and thinks that’s what he’s doing with Poe.  I loved seeing these two work through their feelings while trying to navigate their current friendships.  It was great to be able to see how both of these characters felt about each other and how they are willing to compromise.  I look forward to reading more in this series.

This is the first story I have listened to by Kirt Graves and he did a great job narrating this story.  He did a wonderful job of portraying the characters’ emotions and feelings.  The different voices he used for the characters helped me to keep track of what was going on and the characters’ personality.

Cover art by Natasha Snow is great and I love the visual of Jericho.

Sales Links:  Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 7hrs 7min
Published February 20, 2018 (ebook first published August 7, 2017) by Riptide Publishing
Edition Language: English

 

In the Spotlight: Cutie Pies by Barbara Bell (giveaway)

Cutie Pies by Barbara Bell

Riptide Publishing
Cover Art: L.C. Chase

Release Date:  March 19, 2018

Purchase Link:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

 

 

Hi, I’m Barbara Bell, romance author extraordinaire, and welcome to the blog tour for my debut novella Cutie Pies! Over the next week I will be travelling the internet sharing some thoughts on my book. Follow along and join the discussion!

 

About Cutie Pies

 

Joey works at Cutie Pies, the smallest adult store in Sydney. After his parents kicked him out years ago, the haphazard shop became his home away from home and is the only place where he can embrace his queer, quirky, and—okay—sometimes a little awkward self.

 

When Mick, a new-to-town customer, walks in asking for a dildo, Joey thinks it’s all a part of the day’s work. Except Mick’s large dark eyes, shy smile, and kissable lips—along with the ten-inch dildo he bought—quickly win him a starring role in Joey’s nightly fantasies.

 

Joey can’t stop thinking about him, and Mick’s continued visits to the store make him even harder to forget. Mick is shy and sweet, but also secretive and uncertain. As the two grow closer together, Joey starts to wonder what Mick really wants from him, and whether he can risk falling in love with someone who might not be free to love him back.

 

About Barbara Bell

 

Barbara Bell grew up on a sheep farm in rural Australia, moved to Brisbane when she was nineteen to study film, and now lives in Sydney with an ever changing cast of housemates and a colony of bees.

 

She is an avid traveller, a proud geek, and loves telling stories about human relationships and how strange and silly (but also beautiful) they can be. She began writing when she was eleven years old and believes it’s probably too late to break the habit now.

Giveaway

To celebrate this release, one lucky winner will receive a copy of Cutie Pies! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 24, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries

A Stella Review: Cutie Pies by Barbara Bell

RATING 3,5 out of 5 stars

Joey works at Cutie Pies, the smallest adult store in Sydney. After his parents kicked him out years ago, the haphazard shop became his home away from home and is the only place where he can embrace his queer, quirky, and—okay—sometimes a little awkward self.

When Mick, a new-to-town customer, walks in asking for a dildo, Joey thinks it’s all a part of the day’s work. Except Mick’s large dark eyes, shy smile, and kissable lips—along with the ten-inch dildo he bought—quickly win him a starring role in Joey’s nightly fantasies.

Joey can’t stop thinking about him, and Mick’s continued visits to the store make him even harder to forget. Mick is shy and sweet, but also secretive and uncertain. As the two grow closer together, Joey starts to wonder what Mick really wants from him, and whether he can risk falling in love with someone who might not be free to love him back.

Cutie Pies is the first book I read by this author, I was curious as soon as I saw the cover and the title, too cute to pass on. This story was very lovely, easy and quick, especially well written. Sure, there is nothing too deep or developed in the plot, just two guys, Joey and Mick,  that met in the sexy shop where Joey was working and liked each other. So they decided to see if more could begin between them. I liked how cute (absolutely the key word!) the characters were, how they were shy and scared sometimes. And then I loved the epilogue, it gave me a glimpse of what happened after their HEA. But it’s not just this, there were important second characters, which I so hope will get their own story, and some basic background on the MCs that showed how a good job the author did with this release.

Although I liked the story a lot and it was exactly what I was looking for in that moment, I gave it a little lower rating, because in my opinion having only Joey’s POV wasn’t enough, I missed knowing what was going on in Mick’s mind. I think with a book not so long like this one, the double POV works better and gives a completeness I didn’t find here. Still I will definitely keep my eyes open for the author’s upcoming releases.

If you’re looking for a light story, give Cutie Pies a chance, truly adorable.

The cover art by L.C. Chase is perfect, in the style and in the colors. I love it.

SALE LINKS:   Riptide Publishing | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 116 pages

Published March 19th 2018 by Riptide Publishing (first published March 17th 2018)

ISBN 162649746X (ISBN13: 9781626497467)

Edition Language English

Riptide Publishing – A New Statement

Riptide Publishing – A New Statement

 

As the situation as Riptide Publishing has progressed from bad to worse and many authors are still pulling their books from the publisher, here is the latest statement from that house:

 

 

What does that mean for  some of your favorite authors?  Well, you will need to go to their author and FB pages to see who exactly is leaving.  Some authors like Garrett Leigh, LB Gregg, Alexis Hall, Lisa Henry, Cari Z (some of her stories will remain as she explains on her FB page) KJ Charles, Christine d’Abo, Vanessa North, Roan Parrish, JA Rock, among others have stated they are pulling their stories.  Authors that have stories linked to series like the Porthkennack or Bluewater Bay universes will have those stories remain with Riptide Publishing, can they can’t “unlink” them as the Origin World itself belongs to the publisher. Others still like Ally Blue are caught up with contractual obligations and have no other option but to stay. So many complications. I feel for them all.

Many are offering these authors free covers, editing services, help with self publishing, promo work etc. Help will be needed as you can imagine.  Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is offering up our sidebar space to all the ex Riptide authors (no cost) for them to help promote their new releases on a rotating basis as well as Book Spotlight Promos too to replace the tours they’ve lost.

Riptide Publishing has closed down for  all new submissions.  What does this mean for their future? I have no idea.

Even now other authors are coming out with their own stories of horror about Sarah Lyon, the racism they experienced and more.  I don’t think this is over yet.

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is going to honor our commitments to the authors at Riptide Publishing to review the stories we have in house and the tours we have scheduled.  We in no way want to hurt the authors that are innocent here.

What we will do in the future is under heavy discussion at the moment should we be asked for any future tours if Riptide Publishing survives.  That it will remains to be seen.  More work is needed starting at the top before people can believe in them again. But to do that you need to survive, and that’s looking bleaker by the minute.

Pertinent Links:

 

Riptide Publishing Tour and Giveaway: Wheels and Heels by Jaime Samms

Wheels and Heels (Stories from the Hen and Hog #1) by Jaime Samms
Riptide Publishing
Cover by: Christine Coffee

About Wheels and Heels

 

As a teenager, Ira Bedford fled a troubled home life and people who didn’t understand his penchant for feminine things. In the city, he fell in with Cedric, who found him work as an underage stripper. It took him years to escape Cedric’s influence and try to build a life of his own.

 

Now, he just wants to be left alone to create his art. But Cedric’s on-going harassment means Ira had to drop out of art school, is squatting in a friend’s apartment, and is still relying on his allure as a sexy, skirt-wearing exotic dancer to pay his bills.

 

Then he meets Jed. Part-time bartender and the apartment building’s superintendent, Jed is just the right mix of strong, kind, and protective to pull Ira out of hiding. He also welcomes Ira into his chosen family at the Hen and Hog Pub. But Ira yearns for more. Still, he doesn’t dare to hope that Jed will want him and his questionable past, his skirts and high heels, his hang-ups, and the profession he seems unable to escape. But Jed will do anything to prove him wrong.

 

Available now from Riptide Publishing!

 

About Jaime Samms

 

Jaime has been writing for various publishers since the fall of 2008, although she’s been writing for herself far longer. Her Stories about men falling in love are the stories that she loves to read, so it seemed to make sense if she was going to write, they would also be the stories she wrote.

These days, you can find plenty of free reading on her website. She also writes for Various Publishers.

 

Spare time, when it can be found rolled into a ball at the back of the dryer or cavorting with the dust bunnies in the corners, is spent crocheting, drawing, gardening (weather permitting, of course, since she is Canadian!), or watching movies. She has a day job, as well, which she loves, and two kids, but thankfully, also a wonderful husband who shoulders more than his fair share of household and child-care responsibilities.

 

She graduated some time ago from college with a fine arts diploma, and a major in textile arts, which basically qualifies her to draw pictures and create things with string and fabric. One always needs an official slip of paper to fall back on after all . . .

Connect with Jaime:

Website: http://jaime-samms.com

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000982219151&ref=tn_tnmn

Livejournal:http://dontkickmycane.livejournal.com/

Deviantart: http://dontkickmycane.deviantart.com/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/#!/JaimeSamms

Amazon Author page: amazon.com/author/jaimesamms

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Wheels and Heels, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 17, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

In The Spotlight: New Heights by Quinn Anderson (tour and giveaway)

New Heights by Quinn Anderson
Riptide Publishing

Cover art: L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here at Riptide Publishing

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Quinn Anderson here today to talk about her latest novel New Heights. Welcome, Quinn.

Thanks for joining me on my book tour! I’m Quinn Anderson, author of the Murmur Inc. Series and On Solid Ground. I’m here to share some inside information about New Heights, coming out March 12th, including fun facts and more. Leave comments on the tour posts for a chance to win a $10 Riptide Publishing gift card!

 

About New Heights

 

After attending a friend’s wedding in New York, James Thompson is eager to go home, even though no one will be waiting for him at the gate. He has no expectations for his trip back to Charleston other than long lines, security, and bad airplane food. But when an annoying—albeit hot—stranger cuts him in line, James is determined not to be a pushover for once.

 

For Mika “It’s Mee-kuh, not Micah” Bailey, today’s just another day of boring work travel. That is, until his flight gets delayed, and some irritating (but handsome) guy keeps hogging all the good power outlets. Which means war. In the middle of an airport. In New York. What could go wrong?

 

Eventually, they declare a truce, and as they get to know each other, their attraction overwhelms them both. Terrified of what he’s feeling, Mika suggests a no-strings hookup, but serial-monogamist James wants more. If they don’t fight for what’s right in front of them, their romance might be canceled before it ever takes off.

 

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

 

About Quinn Anderson

 

Quinn Anderson is an alumna of the University of Dublin in Ireland and has a master’s degree in psychology. She wrote her dissertation on sexuality in popular literature and continues to explore evolving themes in erotica in her professional life.

 

A nerd extraordinaire, she was raised on an unhealthy diet of video games, anime, pop culture, and comics from infancy. Her girlfriend swears her sense of humor is just one big Joss Whedon reference. She stays true to her nerd roots in writing and in life, and frequently draws inspiration from her many fandoms, which include Yuri on Ice, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Buffy, and more. Growing up, while most of her friends were fighting evil by moonlight, Anderson was kamehameha-ing her way through all the shounen anime she could get her hands on. You will often find her interacting with fellow fans online and offline via conventions and Tumblr, and she is happy to talk about anything from nerd life to writing tips. She has attended conventions on three separate continents and now considers herself a career geek. She advises anyone who attends pop culture events in the UK to watch out for Weeping Angels, as they are everywhere. If you’re at an event, and you see a 6’2” redhead wandering around with a vague look on her face, that’s probably her.

 

Her favorite authors include J.K. Rowling, Gail Carson Levine, Libba Bray, and Tamora Pierce. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, cooking, spending too much time on the internet, playing fetch with her cat, screwing the rules, watching Markiplier play games she’s too scared to play herself, and catching ’em all.

 

Connect with Quinn:

Giveaway

 

To celebrate the release of New Heights, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 17, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!