Category: Uncategorized

A MelanieM Review: Pack Up Your Troubles by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 4. 75 stars out of 5

A collection of WWI stories from Charlie Cochrane.

THIS GROUND WHICH WAS SECURED AT GREAT EXPENSE
An officer thinks he finds love in the trenches, but is it really waiting for him on the home front?

HALLOWED GROUND
A doctor and an army chaplain spend the night in a foxhole and discover there’s hope even in the darkest situations

MUSIC IN THE MIDST OF DESOLATION
And an old soldier discovers that there are romantic problems to solve even after you’ve cashed in your chips.

If you have ever read any of Charlie Cochrane’s historical novels, you know not only of her intense interest in WWI but her incredible ability to bring it vividly to life. To take not only the years that encompass WWI but those that preceded it as well as the years afterward where the impact on the survivors who came in many forms, and those who remembered shaped the course of many nations and weave it memorably into her stories.

When it comes to WWI and the men who went to battle, whether they were officers or those on the front line, she takes us into their lives in the trenches.  We feel their fear, their hopes, the lives shattered in a split second and get that war is ugly, anonymous, and death has many faces.  We feel both the intimacy of the men and their yearning for home.

And their fear for it as well.

All of that makes THIS GROUND WHICH WAS SECURED AT GREAT EXPENSE my favorite story of the three. Five stars plus as it takes us directly into the battlefield as well as the mens live before and post war.  It’s grim, the men undergo live changing experiences, and loss.  The characters are people we hurt for, believe in, and finally feel relief and happiness there at the end.  It’s an amazing story and so well written you can almost hear the sounds of battle ringing in your ears.

Next up is my second  favorite, also because of the realism and ability of the author to open her character’s up and expose their vulnerabilities…to each other and her readers in such a way that’s touching and authentic given the circumstances.  Such a moving story.  Again 5 stars for HALLOWED GROUND.  The author got the inspiration from visiting a chapel and those details carry over into the story.

The stories go from the most grim and realistic working their way towards an almost supernatural story,  MUSIC IN THE MIDST OF DESOLATION, that’s hard to describe.  Here the author plays with the lines between the afterlife and the living and two soldiers from different eras with a mission to accomplish.  It’s lighter in tone with WWI still but for me, there were some missing elements as the end where we didn’t find out what happened to a character or two. So  the addition of this story with the other two just didn’t completely work for me.

Now I know from the author’s guest blog that the three stories titles all came from WWI poems.  If you’re interested, check out more of Charlie Cochrane’s guest post on the subject here.  I myself am a fan of Siegfried Sassoon, another WWI author and poet as well as Wilfred Owen who the author loves so much.

I highly recommend this remarkable collection as well as the other historical novels by Charlie Cochrane.  The author has a way of putting you next to these men, letting you feel their experiences, empathize with their conditions and lives that will leave an impact on you long after the book is over.

Cover art is  perfection with the use of poppies,a symbol of Remembrance from famous poem called ‘In Flanders Fields’.  against the white background.  Blood red.  Haunting indeed.

Sales Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Book Details:

Kindle Edition
Published May 9th 2018 by Williams & Whiting
ASINB07CZKTX6G

Release Day Blitz for Something About You by Riley Hart (excerpt and giveaway)

 Something About You RDB Banner

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

RILEY HART

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 06.19.18

Something About You Cover

COVER DESIGN: X-Potion Designs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Wilson Models

 

BLURB

Lucky Tyler Holloway has never felt particularly lucky. Frankly, he’s about as regular as can be. He works construction with his brothers, loves his small-town life, and shares a close bond with his family—especially his grandmother. Okay, so maybe he has a few secrets in his closet, like his bisexuality…and that other thing he doesn’t talk about… Maybe that’s why he’s always felt a little like an outsider.

Grayson St. Claire has it all: a dream job in LA, money, freedom. Saint has no attachments, which is just the way he likes it. Still, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he missed his deceased parents who were the only family he had… Until he gets an e-mail from some guy named Tyler revealing the existence of a grandmother he’s never met, and prompting Saint to drop everything to drive across the country.

Saint and Tyler couldn’t be more different. Tyler hates the guy on sight, but there’s something about Tyler that gets under Saint’s skin. It’s not until they get to know one another that everything begins to change. But the Holloways and St. Claire’s have secrets, and their pasts are tied together in tragic ways they don’t know about. The odds are stacked against them and between their distance and their differences, Lucky and Saint have to admit that love alone might not be enough.

Goodreads – Something About You

Something-About-You---Teaser-3

Something-About-You---Teaser-4

EXCERPT

Fuck. He really hated Sienna right now. But the truth was, Tyler was attracted to Saint, and he sort of hated himself for it. Saint represented everything that annoyed the shit out of Tyler. He was arrogant and full of himself. He had money, and he wanted everyone to know it. He obviously had a grudge against or didn’t understand small-town life. They were too different, so the attraction didn’t make much sense. You don’t have to know or like someone to think they’re sexy. Ugh. Truth.

He shifted uncomfortably. “You’re crazy. I don’t even like the guy.”

“And?” Sienna asked. “Since when do we have to like someone to be attracted to them? I know you’re Mr. Nice Guy, but hate sex is some of the best sex you can have. Billy and I—”

“Can you not?” Tyler cut her off. “I don’t want to hear any more about your sex life with Billy, and there’s no chance I’d have sex with Saint—hate sex or not.” Jesus, were they really going to do this? “Plus…even if I wanted to have sex with him—which again, I don’t—I’m not into fucking someone I don’t like, especially the first time I’m with a man, and I’m sure he’s straight anyway.” Just like everyone assumed Tyler was straight…and he had himself until he’d admitted the attractions he’d felt.

He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. He wanted to go back to before he’d admitted to Sienna he thought he might be bi. Well, he was pretty sure he was obviously bi. But it just felt…strange to have this conversation with her. To discuss his sexuality, which he was still working through himself, a sexuality he hadn’t yet explored outside of a kiss. How in the world did someone know if another man was gay or bi anyway? Hell, the man who kissed him had done it without any confirmation from Tyler. How had he known it wasn’t a quick way to get his ass beat—or worse?

Sienna reached over and patted his thigh. “Oh, my dear, sweet friend. You are so innocent sometimes. He was totally checking you out.”

“He was?” slipped out before Tyler could hold it back. “I mean, I don’t care if he was. I’m not interested. This isn’t a game to me, Si.”

She sighed, and he could see the guilt in her eyes. “You think I don’t know that? I want you to have every experience, though.” She moved the bowl from between them and leaned against his side. Tyler wrapped his arm around her, Sienna’s head in the crook. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a little much sometimes. I definitely don’t want to push away the one person who always stays. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

“Hey.” He tilted her head toward him. “I’m not the only one who stays, and I’d never leave you. I hope you’re not talking about Billy either. You walked away from him, and you should have. That’s nothing on you.”

“I know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She snuggled into him again, and he thought, not for the first time, how much easier life would be if he were in love with Sienna. Not just because she was a woman. There were other single women in town, and if he were interested, he could date them. He had dated some of them, but he and Sienna had always gotten each other on a different level. They understood each other and cared about each other. They had fun together, but anything other than friendship wasn’t there between them. Not on Tyler’s side, nor hers.

“I don’t ever want anything to hold you back. You’re the best person I know. Why shouldn’t you have every experience possible? Why shouldn’t you know what it’s like to be with a man? And he’s sort of the perfect person because he’s leaving and he wants to jump your bones. I could see it.”

Riley Hart Logo 3

Riley Hart is the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s a hopeless romantic, a lover of sexy stories, passionate men, and writing about all the trouble they can get into together.

She loves reading, flawed characters, and hanging out with her husband and children, who she adores. She and her family live in Southern California, soaking up the sunshine while also missing seasons. Not a day goes by that she isn’t thankful she gets to wake up and do what she loves.

Life is good. Riley also writes young adult and new adult under the name Nyrae Dawn.

Facebook

Website

Blog

Twitter

Newsletter

GIVEAWAY 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Vibrant Promotions Logo

A MelanieM Review: Life Itself by Elizabeth Bones

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

 

Tavali is a mage, a master thief, and his antics have just accidentally released one hundred demons across the dimensional plane. Now Tavali must recapture the errant demons, accompanied by a sentient sword determined to make him see the task through.

But fixing a mistake is always far more difficult than making it, and even love, magic, and a bossy sword may not be enough to save the day…

I thought that Life Itself by Elisabeth Bones a charming fantasy story.  Mostly adventure with some romance thrown in (one already established when the story begins), Bones weaves a tale of a young mage/thief who’s mission is to set right something he has caused to go tragically wrong. In this case, because he wanted to prove that he was more talented than others, he set loose 100 demons that had been imprisoned by a Goddess in a mirror. Now he’s tasked by said furious Goddess not to rest or return home until all have been recaptured.

It’s quite the undertaking and the Goddess has sent a sentient sword to keep him focused and moving always onto the  next demon.  Luckily for Tavali, he also picked up a loving partner, Suran, as well. So the hunt for the demons has two people and one imperious sword doing the Goddess’ bidding.

I found myself wishing Bones had been a little clearer on the world building here.  Apparently, the sword takes them from world to world chasing the demons which scattered all over the galaxy or  various dimensions as it were.  By the time the story beings, Tavali is extremely weary having recaptured all but 8.

I would have liked to have more of past demon hunts or something but except for the one where Tavali meets his prince/lover we don’t get much back story.  And that’s a shame.  Most of Life Itself revolves around one demon hunt.  Good thing its a good one.

Bones creates a wonderful child character, a life force magic, and a demon to contend with for Tavali.  In many ways I almost wished for more of this girl and her world.  I found her charming, courageous, and someone I absolutely connected with.

In fact, most of my issues with this story is that I wish it were longer so that the author could add in more elements to her world building, back history to her characters, and just perhaps give us those last demons that remained to be hunted down.

I will certainly be on the lookout for more stories by Elizabeth Bones and recommend this one to all lovers of adventure and fantasy.

Cover art: Aisha Akeju.  I like the cover, its visually pleasing and speaks of magic.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published May 23rd 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684312351
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Three More Nick Nowak Mysteries (Boystown #2) by Marshall Thornton

Rating: 4. 5 stars out of 5

 

The Boystown Mystery series continues as Chicago private investigator Nick Nowak finds himself involved in three new cases. He’s asked to help a young man who murdered his stepfather but refuses to assist in his own defense, hired to find the murderer of a dead porno star, and, in a case that traps him between the two men he loves, must search for a serial killer’s only living victim. Set in the second half of 1981, Nick juggles his deepening relationship with Detective Bert Harker with the return of his ex, Daniel Laverty. Which man will he choose? Or will he be able to choose?

In this second collection of stories, the character of Nick Novak continues to develop, revealing more of himself and the tangled web of emotions and relationships he’s caught up in.  Nick is unable to let go of his past and his first love, Daniel Laverty.  The trauma under which they parted has a great deal to do with that and the fact that Nick has never effectively dealt with it.

Now there’s a man who is demanding his time and attention, Detective Bert Harker, a  police officer he met through a case.  Much like Nick, when he was on the force, Harker is determined to stay in the closet until retirement not only because he saw what happened to Nick but also due to the rampant homophobia daily on display in the Chicago PD. Thornton delivers a wrenching portrait of a man who no longer trusts his own feelings, who isn’t able to recognize his own state of emotions with regard to love, and uses sex to deflect finding any answers within himself.  Anyone who is available for quick sex in any form is used for physical and often emotional release, whether  Nick admits it or not.

That includes friends with their own “boyfriends” and issues, clients, former clients, and odd hookup with a source of information.  Nick sets a new low for lack of professionalism and he knows how dangerously he’s skirting the boundaries.  Nick is still very much a main in pain and very slowly  trying to recover from the loss of his job, family, and lover.

It’s still sex, drugs, murder, and the 80’s surrounding Nick Novak and his cases so in the background you get a roll call of the news of that era, playlists that will still sound familiar, and  many gadgets/electronic devices that thankfully are now consigned to museum status (think typewriters to mimeographs).  Thornton’s stories are both familiar and yet just placed far enough in the past to give us a perspective that will have a chilling impact as certain events and facts start to intrude into these stories and these characters lives.

The murder cases are fascinating. And they will continue to impact Nick in the books future down the road. How they are solved, the step by step process, the grunt work, how Nick work’s it out…the reader is there with him making all the connections.  All the stories are told in first person narrative.  It’s that gritty, wry, dark voice of Nick that drives these stories.  Nick perseveres when no one else will, despite an inner voice telling him not too. He knows when his actions are indulgent or destructive and yet he does them anyway.  And when he finally gives way and acknowledges some small insight into his inner turmoil?  It becomes shockingly brilliant portrait of a man at a crossroads in his life.

Nick and all those you will meet here will leave a lasting impression on you.  That I promise.  The writing is superb, the characterizations phenomenal, and the stories will leave a lasting impact, all the more so when taken as a whole.

This is the last book that includes a collection.  From here each novel goes to complete stories with one case and Nick dealing with his increasingly complicated personal life.

A note about the sex, promiscuity and “cheating”.  This is the 80’s and the gay scene in Chicago.  This is not romance.  This is a time of sex, tons of hookups, where being monogamist was more perhaps “hetexronormive” and less gay. It was a time of bathhouses, swinging, cocaine, and so much more.  It was also when the first small rumors starts of a illness that seemed to hit only gay men, called at first the “gay flu”.

So if you as a reader are looking for a romance or won’t read books with cheating, here’s a couple of things to consider.  One, this isn’t a romance and,. secondly, its hard judging the sexual morality of era like the 80’s from today’s perspective. They were coming off of times where they had been hiding who they were, many fearing for decades for their lives if it was known they were homosexuals.  The 80’s were a veritable floodgates of freedom compared to the past.  And the sex was a reflection of that. So, anyway, still perhaps this might not be the book or series for you but I hope you will give it a try.  Otherwise you’ll be missing out on a incredible series.

I highly recommend this collection. Indeed I say that about the entire Boystown series and its author Marshall Thornton.   More to come.  Stay tuned.

Cover art again is more about the tone and less about the era and theme.  Works for branding but I’m not really a fan.

Sales Links:Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 241 pages
Published January 9th 2015 (first published July 28th 2010)
ASINB00R09EV6I
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBoystown #2

Series:

Boystown Bundle 1 – 3 – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #4 A Time For Secrets – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #5 Murder Book – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #6 From The Ashes – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #7 Bloodlines – Amazon US | Amazon UK (ON SALE for 99c)
Book #8 The Lies That Bind – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #9 Lucky Days – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #10 Gifts Given – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #11 Hearts Desire – Amazon US | Amazon UK (PREOR

Release Blitz for Expecting (Pine Wood Falls #1) by Sarah Havan (excerpt)

RELEASE BLITZ AND REVIEW TOUR

Book Title:  Expecting (Pine Wood Falls #1)

Author: Sarah Havan

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Melissa Liban

Genre/s: m/m romance, non-shifter Mpreg romance, secret omegaverse

Length:  65,000 words/262 pages

Release Date: June 21, 2018

It’s the start of a series but can be read as a standalone.

Goodreads

Blurb

Conrad Mayfair is finally becoming comfortable in his own skin, so he wants to tell his best friend Mason that he’s gay and in love with him. He can’t seem to get the words out, though. But soon the flirting starts, followed by a weekend of marathon sex, and the shocking news a few months later that Conrad is going to be a father.

Something’s going on with nineteen-year-old Mason Donnelly. He seems to be developing breasts, has felt sick for months, and is constantly tired. After a doctor’s appointment to try to figure things out, his life flips upside down. He learns not only is he intersex, but he’s also pregnant, a condition only made possible because Mason is an omega and Conrad is his alpha.

Conrad and Mason are introduced to a new way of life they knew nothing about. While Conrad is willing to jump in and accept it, Mason isn’t so sure. Together, they have to decide if it’s a life they truly want.

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US 

Amazon UK 

Excerpt

Mason

“Do I see stubble?” my best friend Conrad asked. He lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, shirtless, his abs on display for all of their six-pack glory. Images of me running my tongue over them flashed through my head.

I rubbed the side of my jaw. “You sure do. At the age of nineteen, I’m finally becoming a real man.”

“Dude, you’ve been a man. Just a hairless one. Are you still hairless everywhere else?” He smiled and sat up, crossing his legs.

“God, Conrad.” I turned around in my desk chair and folded my arms over my chest, pretending I didn’t want to share the information. He knew I’d cave and tell him, happened that way every time.

“Well?”

“If you must know, no.” I glanced over my shoulder at him.

“Chest hair?” he grinned and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands.

I spun around to face him and shook my head.

“Ah, down there.”

“Okay, we need to stop talking about this and that hair has been there for a couple years now.”

“You’re my best friend. We should be able to talk about everything.”

“Some things, I don’t want to talk about.” I turned back toward my desk, trying to complete my assignment for the class I had later in the day. I loved taking a fiction writing course, but I didn’t like when we had to write papers analyzing books we had read in class, thus me still working on my paper.

“It’s not like you’re the only one who’s had delayed puberty.” Those words, how I loathed them.

“I swear to God I’m going to punch you,” I said over my shoulder.

“All right, sorry. I know it’s a touchy subject for you.”

“And yet, you decided to have a conversation about it.”

“Just curious.”

I sighed and turned back toward Conrad. “But now, I feel ready to, you know.”

“Have sex?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged. “Well, yeah.”

“Because you grew some facial hair?” Conrad rubbed his palm over his jaw which caused my cock to stir in my pants. I had fallen in love with him years ago, and my feelings for him lately had gotten a lot stronger.

“Maybe it’ll make me look older, more rugged, more desirable.” Because I was a sophomore in college and still looked like I belonged in high school.

“If you’re going to be with someone, they should want to be with you no matter what you look like.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re six-foot-four and have been all manly since you were like thirteen. I’m five-foot-five, incapable of building my pecs. Instead I have perky nubbins. Like what the heck is that about? And my Adam’s apple isn’t even all that visible. All of that doesn’t scream sex appeal,” I said, looking over at Conrad who screamed of sex appeal. Besides his gorgeous body, he had the perfect shade of medium brown hair that he kept short with his bangs a bit longer which he always styled up. Hair I had wanted to run my fingers through so many times before. And his smile, a bit mischievous but always so genuinely happy.

About the Author

Sarah Havan grew up in the Midwest and still actually lives there. She has an appreciation for having all four seasons. She writes all kinds of romance, but most recently has focused on gay romance in her writing.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website

Twitter

RELEASE BLITZ SCHEDULE

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

A MelanieM Review: Demon Familiar (Wanted #1) by Bellora Quinn and Sadie Rose Bermingham (repost)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Sometimes when you don’t know what you want, life gives you what you need. 

When Neil Markovic witnesses the murder of his mother by Bone Men his world is thrown into turmoil. On the run from the assassins that killed her, his sorcerer father and the police, Neil finds help in the form of a tall half fae alchemist named Malachai. Mal seems more accepting than most of Neil’s demon bloodline, but curiously immune to his charms.

Malachai Valentine, disgraced scion of a noble Leprechaun clan, back in the Old Country, is happy living as an anonymous scrap dealer. Using his talent for alchemy to make fuel and potions, most days he doesn’t even think of his ruinous past. When a scared young man with a fancy car crashes into his life, at first, Mal thinks he can do without the hassle. But as Neil begins to get under his skin, Mal starts to reassess his hopes and ambitions.

Harassed by megalomaniac fae and stalked by sorcerous killers at every turn, Malachai and Neil must fight to be free, and to find what they both truly wanted.

Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, murder and non-consensual sex.

When I finished Demon Familiar, I just wanted to do a little teeth gnashing.  Where, oh, where, was the next book in this series? Oh, wait…not to be published until August 2018.  Let the wails commence.  That’s because at the end of this gritty, sometimes tender, occasionally horrific but always, always riveting story I wanted nothing more than for it (and this couple and other characters) to continue.

Demon Familiar by Bellora Quinn and Sadie Rose Bermingham is the first in their new Wanted series and as such left some fairly large mysteries looming large while the overall arc for this story was resolved.  Yes, I was completely satisfied yet I knew just as Mal and Neil’s relationship was going to grow and deepen so would their journey that would continue to explain each of their back histories.  And I can’t wait.

The authors were masters at the tease here.

They gave us intriguing (and so often appalling hints as to events in Mal’s past and elements from Neil’s, that had our own speculations leaning from the tortuous to the downright insane.  And probably being right.  On top of that, they weave Gaelic mythology into an alternate city of  Detroit that’s just familiar enough to be both alien and mundane.  What a marvelous location.  It felt like a character itself with its atmosphere and vivid descriptions.

I loved the way the authors carefully built the relationship between Mal and Neil, while exposing both characters to the readers (alternating pov).  This is a big cast, full of fae, gremlins, demons, and more.  Not high fantasy but more urban fantasy,  the gritty underbelly of society for many.  Think pimps, drugs, whores and thieves.  And with that comes non-con for a section.  It’s only a section but its there and I expect to see it again for reasons I will not go into in the upcoming stories.  Maybe wrong but I don’t think so.  People and beings are in part a commodity in certain sections of town here.

They have just started their world building and it’s only going to get better because the foundation is already rock solid.

I thought it ended a little too soon but I’m hoping the next book picks up directly after the events of this one.  My mind is buzzing over a few clues here and there, and the mysteries left unsolved.  I want more of these characters and more of Mal and Neil.  I want their backstories and I want their future.  I can’t wait for this series to go forward.

Pick this one up which I highly recommend and join me in waiting for the next one to roll out.

Cover art: Posh Gosh.  The red head works for Mal but in no way does the dark haired character work for the incandescent youth Neil.

Sales Links: Pride Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 244 pages
Expected publication: June 19th 2018 by Pride Publishing
ISBN139781786516695
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesWanted #1

A VVivacious Review: Just A Year (Just A #2) by Jena Wade

Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Seth and Maddox have been in a long term relationship for a year and a half and just when they think that they can finally be together, Seth’s career drags him in another direction. But as Seth and Maddox keep reminding themselves it’s just for a year. But as it turns out life has other plans for these two…

I guess this story is the culmination of the lesson that Seth had begun to learn in the first book that, time and tide wait for no one. I also liked the fact that while Seth realises that his approach to life might need to be tweaked he still remains to be the guy who plans out everything he can in his life, now, just with the experience of knowing that not everything will work out the way he wants it to.

Seth and Maddox have been in a relationship for quite some time now and seeing them together and in love is amazing. I’m really happy for these two.

This story is further proof that Seth has learnt his lesson of not judging things based on isolated incidents but trying to really see things as they stand instead of painting everybody with the same colours.

I liked how this story contrasted the two sides of  “an entire year” with “just a year”. The former being a realisation of how much life could change in a year and the latter dismissing a year in relevance to a lifetime. I also liked how both Maddox and Seth were yo-yoing between these two points of view.

Overall this was an enjoyable read with another lesson to be learnt at its heart.

Cover Art by Silver Heart Design Studio. I liked the cover.

Sales Links:

Amazon US 

Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 87 pages
Published May 12th 2018
ASINB07D22KPVF
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesJust A #2

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Denim (A Material World #4)by KC Wells

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

KC Wells has hit my favorite hot buttons with this story—two sweet older guys, one a sexy construction worker, and the other a bear who has no concept of his own appeal.  Both in their thirties but with two diametrically different views of the world, when Tony spots a cute bear headed into his nearby work site, he has to wolf whistle, right?  Too bad it takes days for Harry to realize he’s the object of the whistles coming from the construction site where the cute guy with the muscles is working.

This story is a journey of discovery for Harry, who begins as a guy with a poor outlook on life—dead end job in a dead end neighborhood with no good future prospects. Forget men—his clubbing days are long gone since he moved back home to take care of his ailing mother who passed away a while ago.  He hasn’t even cleaned out her closets and family memorabilia. Why bother? 

Tony, on the other hand, recognizes his value and enjoys his family, though he’d rather not still be living with his mother at age 30. But he’s full of life and he loves a bear—specifically the one he spots every day, so he sets his heart on Harry and won’t take no for an answer. Fortunately, it works, and though it takes time, he eventually convinces Harry that he really wants him and desires him exactly as he is.  Too bad Harry’s self-esteem is so low that he can’t help believing that Tony would like him better if he were thinner. 

That plan doesn’t work well, thankfully, and by the end of the story, it’s evident that this couple is truly meant for one another.  I appreciated the author’s treatment of Harry’s issues, not making light of his very real fears, but showing the consequences of the actions he chose to make changes.  Tony is a sweetheart with a hoard of friends, many of whom we meet and get to enjoy, and Tony’s persistence, love, and support bring Harry to the peace and contentment he never believed he’d have. 

I recommend this to those who enjoy MM romance among the over 30 group, especially those that feature characters struggling with personal issues and self-esteem.

~~~~

Cover by Meredith Russell features a close-up of a young man in a denim jacket, open to reveal his smooth chest. This represents Tony, the sexy construction worker—spot-on and attention-getting and in keeping with the series theme.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 229 pages
Published June 7th 2018
ASINB07DM7DDC9
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesA Material World #4 settingEngland
Croydon, England (United Kingdom)

An Alisa Review: Expecting (Pine Wood Falls #1) by Sarah Havan

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

Conrad Mayfair is finally becoming comfortable in his own skin, so he wants to tell his best friend Mason that he’s gay and in love with him. He can’t seem to get the words out, though. But soon the flirting starts, followed by a weekend of marathon sex, and the shocking news a few months later that Conrad is going to be a father.

Something’s going on with nineteen-year-old Mason Donnelly. He seems to be developing breasts, has felt sick for months, and is constantly tired. After a doctor’s appointment to try to figure things out, his life flips upside down. He learns not only is he intersex, but he’s also pregnant, a condition only made possible because Mason is an omega and Conrad is his alpha.

Conrad and Mason are introduced to a new way of life they knew nothing about. While Conrad is willing to jump in and accept it, Mason isn’t so sure. Together, they have to decide if it’s a life they truly want.

This was a very sweet story and I loved the concept of this taking place in the real world.  Mason isn’t sure about the changes that are happening to his body but he definitely appreciates how Conrad reacts to them.  Conrad has been trying to figure out how to tell Mason how he feels and their hormones seem to get the best of them which pushes them both in the right direction.

Mason has always been thought of as a “late bloomer” but finds out he is so much more and isn’t quite sure how he feels about that.  Now that Conrad has come around to his feelings he is ready to grab Mason and not let go forever.

These two were just so cute, we get to see them coming to terms with themselves and learning more about themselves and each other that bring them even closer together.  I could feel Mason’s confusion and frustration at learning something new that made him doubt how he had felt his whole life but how wonderful it was once he accepted the changes that were happening in his life.  I loved Conrad’s unwavering support and his ability to go with the flow that counteracted Mason’s nerves.  This was a wonderful start to a new series and I can’t wait to read more stories what they come out, I hope we get to see Thomas find his HEA.

The cover art by Melissa Liban is absolutely adorable and perfect for this story.

Sales Link:  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 262 pages

Expected Publication: June 21, 2018

Edition Language: English

Series: Pine Wood Falls #1