Discover That The Right Man Is Lane Hayes’ The Wrong Man (cover reveal and contest)

Book Name: The Wrong Man
Goodreads Link
Author Name: Lane Hayes

Author Bio:

Lane Hayes is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to a well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles both be men! Lane discovered the M/M genre a fews ago and was instantly hooked. Her first novel was a finalist in the 2013 Rainbow Awards and her third received an Honorable Mention in the 2014 Rainbow Awards. She loves travel, chocolate, and wine (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband and the coolest yellow lab ever in an almost empty nest.

Where you can find Lane:

Website: https://lanehayes.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https:www.LaneHayesauthor
Twitter: @LaneHayes3
E-mail: mailto:lanehayes@ymail.com

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook and Paperback

Blurb:

Successful owner of an upscale boutique in fabulous West Hollywood, Brandon Good swears by his personal edict to “live in the present.” After a bad break-up, he agrees to dog sit to keep his mind off his ex. Never did he expect the dog to belong a man from his past, the only man to ever truly break his heart.

When Jake Westley relocates to join the WeHo fire department, the last thing he anticipates is reuniting with his secret high school love. Thrilled with the prospect of reconnecting with Bran, Jake feels no guilt in using his charming old dog as an unwitting matchmaker. As they rekindle their friendship, it becomes clear the intense attraction they once felt is stronger than ever. But as hard as they try to leave the past behind, painful memories resurface. Bran will have to confront his fears and consider the possibility that the man he swore was absolutely the wrong one might be perfect after all.
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt:

Again, I questioned my sanity. Something was odd in my world for sure. My heart was beating double time when he finally turned onto my street. A quick escape was my best bet. I had my fingers wrapped around the car door handle and was ready to rip my other hand from his grasp when he slowed down. He must have sensed my intent to bolt, because he held on to me until I was forced to give him a “what the fuck?” look.

“Let me walk you to your door.”

“Jake, let’s not do this. Please. I really don’t want this evening to get any weirder than it already has been. Thank you for tonight. For dinner and pretending to—”

“Hey, nothing is weird here. It’s dark, and I’m walking you to your door—”

“I’m a big boy. I’ve got this.” I detached my hand from his grip and opened the door.

“Thanks again.”

When I reached the sidewalk, he was waiting for me. The man obviously was hard of hearing.

“You are stubborn.” I gave him my best evil eye before I trudged up the path ahead of him.

“Me? You’re the difficult one. I’m trying to be nice—”

“You don’t have to prove you’re nice to me. I get it. That doesn’t mean—suit yourself.”

“Humor me.”

I fished my key from my pocket as I approached the well-lit front porch.

“Here I am, safe and sound. No need for worry,” I said flippantly as I turned to Jake.

“You ca—”

I swallowed my words. He was closer than I expected. Much closer. I felt the warmth from his body but wasn’t prepared for the hunger I saw in his eyes. I licked my bottom lip nervously. I knew what was going to happen, and though I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, I wasn’t going to stop him. He bent slightly and brushed his nose against mine. I felt his breath on my lips as I waited for him to close the distance between us. Neither of us moved. He smelled delicious, that intoxicating combination of soap and a hint of musky cologne I’d noticed the morning he hugged me in my kitchen. I could have happily buried my nose in his shirt or in the curve where his neck met his shoulders. I closed my eyes and leaned in the tiniest bit closer, expecting him to take over. He still didn’t move.

“Aren’t you going to ki—”

And then he pounced. He crashed his mouth over mine and snaked his arms around my waist, fusing our bodies together. His hands traveled up and down my back while he licked a sensual line across the seam of my lips, requesting entry. I heard myself moan as his tongue danced and collided with mine in a lustful assault. I arched into him instinctively. Jake lowered his hands to my ass, drawing me in tightly as he thrust his hips forward. The friction was hot, and his demanding kisses had my head reeling. This was nothing like our frantic make-out sessions years ago.

Just as that errant thought surfaced to remind me whom I was grinding against like a teenager on my front porch, Jake turned his full attention to my mouth. I was painfully hard, but he was right. We shouldn’t be doing any of this. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I bit at his jaw and then licked my way to his ear, flicking the lobe gently with my tongue until I felt his teeth at my neck. I made a strangled sound and went limp in his arms. He was overpowering in a subtle, almost unexpected way. I was two seconds away from ripping his shirt when a car went down my street blaring hip-hop music at an obscene volume. I pulled away and rested my forehead against his shoulder. We stood quietly catching our breath for a moment.

Then Jake pressed a soft kiss on my cheek and stepped away. “Good night, Bran. Thank you for… well, just thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

I stared after him like an idiot, watching him open his door and start the SUV. I heard the familiar hum of distant traffic and smelled the fragrant sweet star jasmine from my neighbor’s garden. Everything looked and seemed to be in place, but something was different.

 Pages or Words: 220 Pages

Tour Dates: January 9, 2015

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams, My Fiction Nook, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Amanda C. Stone, Inked Rainbow Reads, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Fallen Angel Reviews, Cate Ashwood, Havan Fellows, The Hat Party, The Blogger Girls, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Bytes, Lee Brazil, Kristy’s Brain Food, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Up All Night, Read All Day, Christy Loves 2 Read, Hearts on Fire, Charley Descoteaux, MM Good Book Reviews, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, 3 Chicks After Dark

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $10 Gift Card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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A MelanieM Review: The Blinding Light by Renae Kaye

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Jake Manning needs another job and needs it desperately. He’s paying off his mother’s loans and keeping his sisters fed and on track with their lives but the job he’s working at isn’t enough and he just got fired from the last job he had. Housekeeping? A piece of cake as that’s all he’s done all his life as the parent figure to his kids sisters. So any housekeeping job, even one with a person who makes the other housekeepers quit, is great. But nothing in Jake Manning’s life has prepared him for Patrick Stanford, a fussy, arrogant, rude… and blind man.

Born without sight, Patrick is used to being accommodated, and his demands had his previous housekeepers quitting in large numbers. But in Jake, Patrick has met his match. Jake makes his house spotless, finds his demanding notes amusing and threatens to swap all the braille labels on his groceries and run off with his guide dog unless he behaves. And what’s more, Jake doesn’t act as though being blind means living a restricted life.

Patrick finds Jake’s scent irresistible, Jake finds Patrick gorgeous and they love being together. His sisters are starting to life their own lives, Jake’s mom looks to be on the path to sobriety, after all his sacrifices, can it be that Jake will finally be able to live his own life and have the future he wants?

The Blinding Light is another terrific tale from Renae Kaye. Her complicated main characters of The Blinding Light are Patrick Stanford, a “nose” for a high priced perfume company with degrees in Chemistry, a guide dog and not much else in his life. Patrick has been blind from birth and Kaye takes us directly into his home and the typical life he leads with furniture and objects that must staying exactly where they are, braille readers, and the adjustments that people without sight have to make in their lives. It’s straightforward, fascinating, and full of insights (no pun intended). His backstory is as complicated and layered as Patrick himself. I really liked that dimension to this character. He was real, snarky, intelligent, and finally pretty open hearted in his outlook.

Then there’s Jake Manning. Forced by his mother’s continued irresponsibility and bad parenting, combined with her substance abuse problems, Jake has been the glue that holds his family together. With sisters at all ages including a baby, Jake has been their parent, their means of support, their everything…to an extent they are not even aware of. That’s where the loan comes in. Kaye has burdened Jake with a load of family complications and issues and yet he is still a positive, aggressively happy young man. And I think that’s my only problem with Jake. Where’s the frustration and anger? Jake just takes the pounding that life is giving him and continues to make ice cream floats instead of dents in walls. I loved his character, don’t get me wrong. But he just felt too good, too forgiving and that bothered me.

The side characters are as good as the main ones, although they really only exist to lightly support the relationship between Patrick and Jake and Jake and his family. How it all comes together works, although again, that ending just felt a little forced. Still, I found their relationship and the snappy, funny dialog between them charming and delightful. That goes especially at the beginning when Jake and Patrick are just trading notes to each other, parts of that is hilarious.

The Blinding Light is well written and a lovely read. It flows easily and quickly to the resolution. And for all that I wanted there to be a tad more reality in Jake’s reactions to his family’s situation, I enjoyed watching them come together and their HEA at the end.

I recommend The Blinding Light, along with The Shearing Gun and Safe in His Arms. You can’t go wrong with a Renae Kaye story. Happy Reading.

Cover Artist Bree Archer. I get where the artist is going with this design but it is just too hazy to be a great cover. Covers should pull you in with a compelling design. While the elements sort of go with the story, it just doesn’t do the job well. And actually the models don’t resemble in clothing or age at all.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 212 pages
Published July 14th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press (first published July 13th 2014)
ISBN139781627988131
edition languageEnglish

Cover Reveal for Jess Buffett “Always Been You” (book tour and Contest)

Book Name: Always Been You
Book one of a series
Release Date
Goodreads Link
Author Name: Jess Buffett

Author Bio:

Jess Buffett was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. She is a mum of two, married to her high school sweetheart.   Jess is a hopeless romantic who is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance with a happy ending—anything with hunky men in all their glory, whether they be Shifters, Vampires, Cowboys, or the boy next door.   A caffeine addict who shamefully can’t make a decent cup of coffee to save her life, Jess believes in soul mates, happily ever afters, and in love at first sight, but that sometimes people need a second or a third for the brain to catch up.

Where you can find Jess:

Website:

Twitter
Facebook Author Page
Friend on Facebook

Publisher: Reckless Lovers Press
Cover Artist: Jess Buffett

Sales Links: Keep an eye on her website – http://jessbuffett.wordpress.com for details

Blurb:

After recovering from a shooting that took the lives of his best friends, Seth Hall returns to his hometown for the first time in eleven years with his two children in tow. Intent on setting up a happy, stable life for them, he vows not to allow his past to intervene with their future. That is until Jared, the boy who had broken his heart all those years ago, returns to his life a full grown man who knows exactly what he wants…Seth.

Jared Stewart thought he had lost his only chance to be with Seth after a series of misunderstandings and mistakes. When Seth finally comes home and back into Jared’s life, Jared vows to do anything it takes to keep him there. However, while Jared and Seth grow closer, they discover that not everyone is so happy for them.

Will they be finally able to make a life for themselves together? Or will they be torn apart again, by people they thought they could trust?

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

Seth was practically screaming in the other man’s face by this point. He couldn’t believe the guys nerve. Out the corner of his eye Sal made an appearance, but hesitated in the doorway, obviously unsure as to whether or not he should interrupt.

Lightning fast, Jared grabbed his wrist, using it to pull a struggling Seth closer until they were flat up against each other. He leaned in close to Seth, whispering into his ear. “Let’s get a few things straight. I have never felt sorry for you. I did not choose a school far away from you until you told me to. Everything we discussed stayed between us, and I would never have freaked over kissing you. And I’ll be damned if I let you run away from me again.”

Seth’s eyes widened at the same time Jared crushed their lips together, searing him right down to his toes. Jared’s arms became steel bands, and they held him tight. Dear god! He did not see this coming.

Pages or Words: 60,000 words

 Tour Dates: January 7th, 2015

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, The Hat Party, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, Hearts on Fire, Carly’s Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Cate Ashwood, Love Bytes, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kristy’s Brain Food, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Sinfully Sexy, Iyana Jenna, Elin Gregory, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, MM Good Book Reviews, Andrew Q. Gordon, Velvet Panic, 3 Chicks After Dark

Wake Up Your Wild Side, Lee Brazil, Queer Town Abbey, Foxylutely Book Reviews

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Always Been You’ and a $10 Gift Card

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A Mika Review: In Too Deep by Kate Sherwood

Rating: 4 stars out of 5:

At first glance, Cade and Aiden hardly seem like a match made in heaven. Their worlds couldn’t be further apart. Cade is quiet, serious, and determined to succeed; Aiden’s a party-loving frat boy. Cade comes from a rough home and worked hard to get the scholarships that make it possible for him to attend college; Aiden’s had it all thrown in his lap by supportive, kind, and wealthy parents. Cade wants nothing to do with Aiden, but from the moment they meet, Aiden is determined to find a way to bring their different worlds together.   Aiden manages to persuade Cade he’s a decent guy, and a tentative friendship becomes much more. But a trip to Aiden’s family cottage puts Cade in the path of a ghost from his past, and a dark secret he never expected to face again. Cade did what he had to do to escape his dead-end life, but now he sees he didn’t leave it as far behind him as he thought.

First off, it needs a really good proofreading. That’s first, besides the grammar issue this is one of the best Kate Sherwood books IMO. I truly loved these two. It was definitely angst filled all throughout the story. Both boys were truly lovable. I think I heart Aiden, because he was so persistent in what he wanted. He didn’t take no for an answer, and yes it was times that he should have walked away and forgot about Cade, but I understand wanting to love that 1 person who inspires you to be a better person. Aiden was very brazen to keep going after someone who seemed so stand offish from the beginning. I liked Cade, I hate what he had to go through as a child and young man, but I applaud him for never giving up. His adolescence was super hard, but it didn’t deter him from wanting to be a better human being.

Once again we see people who have children, but can’t stay safe enough to raise them. I know a ton of people probably would have DNF the book because of the attraction seemed so one-sided, but the introvert that Cade was needed someone to fight for him. Cade needed someone to care enough to break him out of his comfort zones, and I loved that about Aiden. Aiden is super nice, comforting, he’s sweetheart. I didn’t see a mean bone in his body, I liked that he stood up for Cade in front of his mom. I even adored him for not apologizing for being fortunate in his life to never have to want.

I knew reading this there was something that Cade was hiding about himself, and the big reveal was realistic, things like this happen in every day life. I liked how the author wrote the scenes after everything came to play out. I do wish we had some epilogue to see how they are a year later. I really enjoyed reading this book. I recommend this book to all angst readers, and people who like HFN or HEA, people are fight for their great true loves!

Cover Artist Christy Caughie created this cover, I don’t quite know if I pictured Aiden as a blond even though Cade referred to him as the”golden boy”. I do think boy guys were represented well, and it fits with the story.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It here

Book Details:

ebook, 234 pages
Published December 1st 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632161253
edition languageEnglish

A Sammy Review: Rival Within by S.J.D. Peterson

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

“Sometimes it’s those unexpected storms that pop up out of nowhere that leave you the most satisfied after they pass.” Ben looked up at Tom with hooded lids. “Wouldn’t you agree, Officer?”

Tom pulled Ben’s keys from his pocket and handed them to Ben. “And sometimes they leave the most destruction,” Tom said coldly and opened the door.

Thomas Webber takes his vows in life seriously. He’s a proud officer of the law, a loving father, and he provides for his wife. He also vowed a long time ago to resist a temptation that resides deep within himself. That all changes one night when he comes across William Benjamin Parker, a stranded traveler with a hard edge and an irresistible edge.

When a storm hits the small town, the two are left stranded beneath the police station. It’s too much for Tom to resist, and finally he breaks down and gives into the desires he’s been hiding for so long.

But it’s the 1950s, and being gay only gets you ostracized or worse. And Tom’s got a family and a life to live.

Can these two weather the storm, both within each other and out in the world?

He wasn’t afraid of the new storm rolling in. The one that had blown through in the form of William Parker had already caused Tom’s complete destruction.

I was so excited for this. A new S.J.D. Peterson and a story line that sounded oh so promising. I literally couldn’t wait to read it… so I didn’t.

And I’m very sad to say that it was a big let down for me on many fronts. The first chapter was your usual character building one, in which we get to know Tom and the pressures he faces as a father, husband, and officer who has a secret. After that, the book went right into the storm and I found it to be completely unrealistic and all too sudden for me. It really felt off. For example, Ben strips down in the cell and is wearing just a towel when the storm hits. Uh… what? And then a bottle of oil magically appears when it is needed, and again, I was left to ask “what?”

Another issue I had is that the title is Rival Within – which implies that someone’s greatest rival is their inner demons, in this case, that would be Tom’s inner demons. This held up for a few chapters, and then suddenly, Tom was at peace with himself following an impromptu blow job (a hot one, but still). He’d spent his entire life building this hatred up, and for it to crumble so easily felt like it wasn’t doing the story justice. It was just too easy. With the ending, I was also a bit angered at how easily <spoiler>.

Finally, this is meant to be a historical novel. It’s set in Tennessee in 1952. I love historicals. They have a way of transporting you to a different time and place when done right. In this case, it could’ve been any year, even present, in any small town across the United States. I sensed when the author was trying to pull in bits of history, but it didn’t really work. The small town thing still exists, and this didn’t transport me anywhere beyond middle-of-nowhere United States. At one point, a character even puts a camera in his pocket. Granted, I’m not an expert of the 1950s, but I have a hard time imaging a camera that fits in ones pocket.

This book tries to tackle a lot of pretty deep topics. For one, it has an obvious theme of adultery, which you can tell just from the blurb. But it also has a really heavy amount of religion to it, which I expected, but if you’re someone who is uncomfortable with organized religions in your story, this really won’t be for you. It also has a bit of post WWII issues for a returning soldier, and then out of nowhere comes pedophilia – see spoiler for more on this. A character (not main) is caught with an underage boy. In order to blackmail him, they have another underage boy perform a sexual act with him and take pictures. It’s not really in detail, but if you’re triggered by even the idea, I wanted to let you know it exists. There is also some of what I would consider heavy alcohol use, bordering on abuse. It’s not framed that way in the story, and it could very well be the time frame, but it did stick out to me.

So that’s all of my bones to pick with the story, but it did have positives. I enjoyed Marna and how she was depicted. I expected one thing and got a complete other, and I was happy with that. I also think it had a lot of potential in general with the plot, it just didn’t come through. As a whole, it was flat.

I will not give up on S.J.D Peterson, though. One of my favorites are by Peterson, this just wasn’t one of them.

The cover art by Anna Sikorska is pretty nice. I think Anna really hit the right note with the grunge aspect, and I appreciate the use of font. It’s simple but the blurring works for the story. The problem is that there’s a heavy area around the left eye that stands out, and not in the best of ways. Furthermore, I thought this was meant to be Ben, but Ben is known to have a scar across his face – something notably missing from the cover.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) Amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: December 29th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632164254
edition languageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Fair Play (All’s Fair #2) by Josh Lanyon

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Roland Mills, father of ex-FBI agent Elliot Mills, has always been an activist, extremely liberal in his views and actions. Fifty years ago, Roland belonged to a violent protest group and now, when Roland is about to publish his memoirs, someone is willing to kill to prevent him from doing so.

It took the death of his mother, and Elliot Mills’s own injury to bring father and son back together. Now the threats against his father’s life has Elliot reaching out to those in his father’s past, an action that brings him up against the FBI and his lover, FBI Agent Tucker Lance.

Now living together, Tucker and Elliot are still trying to find their way to a solid relationship and these threats against Roland threaten that solidity once again. Tucker has never agreed with radical Roland on much, but when it comes to wanting Elliot to stay out of the mess Roland has gotten into, he and Roland agree for once that Elliot needs to let it alone. As the danger closes in, it threatens not just Roland’s life, but that of Elliot’s and their relationship as well.

The first book in this series, Fair Game, remains a favorite read of mine. I loved the complicated characters, the angst filled past, and the tumultuous circumstances that brought such strong, intelligent men together. Adding to that, Josh Lanyon completed his cast of characters by giving Elliot a compelling family history with a 60’s activist father, and beloved deceased mother and a host of wild and chaotic personalities that swirled around his father and the university they both teach at. And then Lanyon piled on some horrific murders to boot!

At the conclusion of Fair Game, Tucker and Elliot agreed to give their relationship another try and this story, Fair Play, picks up with Tucker already living in Elliot’s house on the island. Their relationship is passionate and committed, yet both men are still obviously adjusting to all new aspects of their cohabitation. I have always loved this author’s ability to create such layered, fascinating characters and then bring them to life through sharp, thoughtful dialog and emotional interplay. We feel Elliot’s and Tucker’s hesitations, those halting advances towards openness and vulnerability that is so hard for them both, in scene after scene. It makes their journey back to each other feel real and sometimes painfully slow. That makes it extremely gratifiying when they can move past these realistic moments in their relationship to something deeper. And all the while, they are trying to deal with Roland’s intractability, fear, and an unknown killer on the loose.

The father/son dynamics between Roland and Elliot that Lanyon has brought into this series is as compelling as the one between Tucker and Elliot, and its not always a given that the relationship will survive the actions of each other, as diametrically opposed as they often are. I loved the mystery that goes along with the attempts on Roland’s life, it leads into the past and the idea that all actions have reverberations that will continue into the present and beyond. We also see the potential for the villain in the first story to make a reappearance soon. That alone gave me the shivers.

In Fair Play, we are there as Tucker and Elliot solve complicated mysteries and move deeper into their relationship. The suspense is gripping, and the emotional involvement never lets up. We are engrossed in the hunt for the would-be assassin while also heavily invested in Tucker and Elliot’s sometimes shaky partnership and well being. Fair Play is immensely satisfying, totally entertaining, and a wonderful read. I highly recommend not only this book but the first in the series as well. Start with Fair Game to see what brings Elliot and Tucker back together and then continue on to Fair Play. What a ride awaits you in the All’s Fair series from Josh Lanyon.

Cover Artist is a great job in overall tone and concept.

Sales Links: Carina Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy it Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 250 pages
Published November 10th 2014 by Carina Press
ASINB00KV5Z7M0
series All’s Fair #2

All’s Fair Series:

Fair Game
Fair Play (All’s Fair #2)

A Mika Review: All That Heaven Will Allow by D.W. Marchwell

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5:

Jimmy Campbell has owned his own bar for the past twenty years. While his past is troubled, his present and future make life worth living. He has good friends, more than enough money, and he volunteers—along with his Yorkie, Bozo, and his Maine coon cat, Miss Alicia—at the local hospital every Friday. He couldn’t ask for more. That is, until he meets Derek “Dizzy” Roberts.  Derek is a musician who tours the country with his band. He’s an ex-cop, was married once, and has the bitter ex-wife and two spoiled children to prove it. He’s finally living his dream, and that includes bedding all the groupies who think he’s every bit as good as his music. He doesn’t worry much about the future, until he meets Jimmy.  The two men begin a long-distance romance, sneaking weekends here and there, until a tragedy forces them to realize they might lose the only thing they both want–a future together. Now, they’re asking for everything heaven will allow.

I loved everything about these two. I liked that it was 2 guys over 40 years old. Yes both had bad previous relationship but they came into this one only with each other in mind. It was definitely instant love, but at their respected ages I’m pretty sure they knew what was what. This was my first read by this author and I’m glad I really enjoyed it. It felt really slow paced in the beginning, more character driven than the romance and I was okay with that.

Both mc’s were equally great in their own ways, but Jimmy definitely stole the show for me. I’m not an animal person by far but what Jimmy was able to do with his heart and for other people is amazing. He was super patient, honest, loyal, and all about second chances. He was super caring, and he just came off as the perfect guy. I mean I don’t think he said one negative thing the entire book, and he definitely pulled at my heart strings for sure. Sure he had his issues, damages and reasons for wanting to start something with Derek but I’m super happy he gave into it, because it made him a happier man.

When Derek is first introduced it’s him offering himself as a player name Dizzy. LMAO, I thought he was super charming, but of course all that charming was just a facade for the man underneath. Their first interaction with each other had me rooting for Jimmy and snorting at Dizzy because he just got served big time.

All in all, they made their romance work for them. Dizzy finally got the family he wanted, James finally had someone who love and appreciated him. A couple things bothered me, Derek’s previous relationship and children story line didn’t get wrapped. I felt like it was just left off, and I would have liked to seen some type of mending of the sorts. It was a lot of misspellings in the book; I did think they needed a better proofreader. I didn’t tear up surprisingly. I would recommend this book to CR readers, just an easy read between two older guys. I like reading about older guys. I find that they tend to communicate a lot better, and that’s mostly what I’m looking for.

The cover artist Bree Archer created this cover, and I liked the picture because it was full circle for the two guys. I did feel like the one portraying James wasn’t since in the book he was a full blond, other than that I really liked it.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published November 21st 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632161673
edition lang

Lone Wolf Has Come to Bluewater Bay! On Tour with Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt (book tour and contest)

Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/Aleksandr Voinov/L. A. Witt blog tour for the latest installment in the Bluewater Bay series, Lone Wolf!

Contest: Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of one eBook off each of our backlists (excluding Lone Wolf) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 28th, and winners will be announced on December 29th. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

LONE WOLF Blurb:

Hunter Easton is screwed. Fans, producers, and his agent are all chomping at the bit for the next book in his wildly popular Wolf’s Landing series, but he’s got epic writer’s block and is way behind deadline. Then he reads The World Tree, a fanfic novel by his online friend “Lone Wolf.” It isn’t just a great story—it’s exactly what the series needs.

Kevin Hussain is thrilled when “Wolf Hunter” wants to meet up after reading The World Tree. When Wolf Hunter turns out to be Hunter Easton himself, Kevin is starstruck. When Hunter tells him he wants to add The World Tree to Wolf’s Landing, Kevin is sure he’s being pranked. And when their online chemistry carries over—big time—into real life, Kevin is convinced it’s all too good to be true.

The problem is . . . it might be. The book deal, the sex, the money—everything is amazing. But fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Kevin is left wondering if Hunter really loves him, or just loves his book.

Book Details:

Buy It Here! A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Highly Recommended Read
Author: Aleksandr VoinovL.A. Witt
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62649-239-4
eBook release: Dec 22, 2014
eBook Formats: pdf, mobi, html, epub
Print ISBN: 978-1-62649-240-0
Print release: Dec 22, 2014
Word count: 96,000, Page count: 358
Type: Standalone
Cover by: L.C. Chase
This title is part of the Bluewater Bay universe.

Author Bios:

EPIC Award winner and Lambda Award finalist Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he works as a financial editor. His genres range from science fiction and fantasy to thriller, historical, contemporary, thriller, and erotica. His books were/are published by Random House Germany, Samhain Publishing, Riptide Publishing and others.

If he isn’t writing, he studies sports massage, explores historical sites, and meets other writers. He single-handedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects. His current interests include special forces operations during World War II, the history of chess, european magical traditions, and how to destroy the world and plunge it into a nuclear winter without having the benefit of nuclear weapons.

Visit Aleksandr’s website at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com, his blog at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com, and follow him on Twitter, where he tweets as @aleksandrvoinov.

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky.

This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.

L.A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

Mika’s Best Books of 2014

It’s that time of the year for the Best of Lists. Here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words its the books that have stuck with us, made us laugh, made us cry, made us think and dream.

Mika’s Best of 2014!

I had two favorite books of the year! But after those, I have listed, in no particular order, the other memorable books that I couldn’t put down.

Only Love by Garrett Leigh (Fav Book of The Year)
Spencer by J.P Barnaby (FAV Book of the Year)

Broken Pieces by Riley Hart
Loving Jay by Renae Kaye (Down Under Showcase Author)
Stay With Me by S.E. Harmon
Stories Beneath Our Skin by Veronica Sloane
When All The World Sleeps by Lisa Henry
Mark Cooper Versus America by Lisa Henry (Down Under Showcase Author)
Say Something by B.A. Tortuga
Watch Me Break You by Avril Ashton
John & Jackie by TJ Klune
The Art of Breathing by TJ Klune
Bloodline by Jordan L. Hawk
Rack & Ruin by Charlie Cochet
The Devil’s Ride by K.A. Merikan
Tangled Minds by Posy Roberts

A Mika Review: Tangled Mind by Posy Roberts

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

For years, Beck Lund has taken care of his volatile boyfriend, Brady, always putting Brady’s needs above his own and walking on eggshells to keep the peace. After Brady overdoses on heroin, his death devastates Beck. Thankfully, Beck’s best friend, Timothy Kallis, finds him the help he needs. Beck slowly starts to recover and moves in with Timothy to get back on his feet, but he’s oblivious that Timothy is secretly nursing romantic affection for him.  Beck focuses on his own healing for the first time in his life. After months of challenging his codependent tendencies and learning how to stand up for himself, Beck finally starts to trust his gut and hopes to one-day love again. Timothy is patient throughout, taking care of Beck in ways no one ever has. But if Beck can’t recognize Timothy’s affection for him, it might be too late for them to move beyond friendship.

I loved this book. Wow, I am thoroughly impressed with this book. Posy Roberts definitely brings the emotions out of you. I love her Northern Spark series too. That was such an realistic fiction series, and I truly adored it. This book was such an easy read as it was the right pace for me. Not too fast, or slow but just right It was easy to fall in love with Timothy. He was this perfect guy. I mean he did not once push boundaries, he was there for Beck, he did not judge him.

Beck was such an amazing guy. How did he put up with being in a relationship for 11 years and it all being about the other guy? I applaud his strength, his will, and his heart. This book touched on a lot about grief, guilt, and death. The beginning of the story was hard to read since it was from Beck’s point of view, it was everything he had to endure. I could not imagine being in love, or dedicating myself for so long to one person who is not in love with you first. I mean it is almost like Beck having to sacrifice him in order to be in a relationship. Throughout all grief he endured was Timothy standing in the background willing to help, listen or just be a friend to Beck.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I truly loved it, I found myself crying at some parts but it was elation for Beck mostly. He had to learn how to be about Beck. He should growth from the beginning towards the end. Why 4.5 stars instead of 5? I loved it for sure, but I did feel like I need an epilogue at the ending. While I was happy with ending, I just didn’t want it to end, but it is classic Posy for her to cut it off. Crosses fingers we at least get a novella about these two.

Cover Artist: Maria Fanning did a lovely job, poignant and perfect.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) amazon Buy It Here
Book Details:

eBook, pages

to be Published December 24, 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632164667
Edition Language: English

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Excerpt:

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Author Bios:

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Mika’s Best of 2014!

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