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 Audiobook Review : I Heart Boston Terriers by Rick R. Reed and Tom Askin (Narrator)

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Love at first sight can work for dogs as well as humans.

When Aaron finds Mavis, an emaciated and timid Boston terrier, at a pet adoption fair, his heart goes out to her—irrevocably.

When Christian, who is manning the adoption fair for the Humane Society that fateful autumn Saturday, finds Aaron, his heart goes out to him—irrevocably.

I Heart Boston Terriers is all about embracing love, whether it’s for someone who walks on four legs, or someone who walks on two. The Boston terrier Mavis’ journey back to wholeness and finding her forever home runs parallel to the story of two men discovering one another at just that perfect moment—a moment that defies logic, propriety, and common sense.

But then when do the dictates of love follow a rational course?

Come along for a journey about a man and his dog and see how that journey teaches him the truth about love and making a caring connection that just might last a lifetime.

I have listened to other of Rick R Reed’s contemporary romances that had dogs at the heart of the stories and loved them so I was particularly looking forward to I heart Boston Terriers. After all Reed’s own Lily is well known so I knew his affection for the breed and love for her would carry over into the story. Which it did.

In fact, for me, Mavis is the most endearing character here and the one I connected with the most. Everyone else I had an issue with, but Mavis? Nope, absolutely loved and deeply care for this abused creature looking for her forever home who for better or worse ended up with Aaron and his sister (who I disliked the most) as a impulse adoption.

Ok, now see, all my dogs are rescues. At adoption fairs here, minimum fees start at $250 not $75 but that could differ state by state. There are home visits, all sorts of things to make sure that the people adopting the animals are a good fit. Some of that comes across here, in that yes, they would have taken Mavis back (most rescue agencies will). But sending a dog home with somebody who doesn’t have the means to support him? And who is living with someone else? Uh no. Red flags all around.

I actually liked Aaron for realizing he wasn’t ready to adopt a dog but instead his sister pushed him into the adoption. That sister. Ok, honestly, this whole thing with Mavis would have ruined any relationship I would have had with that sister. But some things just didn’t ring true. She’s supposedly a “shoe whore” who overspends because she must have her designer shoes. Got that. But people that crazy over shoes handle them in certain ways. Even in a one room apartment, those shoes are gods! They buy even the poorest of shoe racks, keep them pristinely in their boxes, labeled. I mean, honey, those are Jimmy Choos! Or Manolo Blahniks or whatever designer brands you covet. What you do not do? Lay them on the floor for a traumatized dog to destroy. Not in a million years. Especially her favorites. So she can overreact like a total horror of a sibling, throw out all sorts of dire threats, use the imbalance of power that should ruin any relationship permanently against her brother, and genuinely create a nightmare where none was needed.

A total turn off.

The relationship between Aaron and Christian didn’t strike as me as better because instead of helping Aaron, Christian seemed too busy trying to get into Aaron’s pants. How about just helping Aaron and Mavis because they needed help? What a novel idea.

So yes, Christian had a heart, volunteered at a rescue organization but he seemed to push his own agenda first.

Then there was that ending or lack of one for both Aaron and Mavis. This is one book where an epilogue was definitely called for.

Finally, there was the narration. It was the first time I had listened to a story narrated by Tom Askin and I’m not sure I would do so again. His narration and voices just didn’t work for me. Combine that with a story that I was also having issues with and you come up with an audiobook I just can’t recommend.

If you love the writing of Rick R. Reed and dog stories, check out Lost and Found on audiobook and give this a pass.

Cover art: Reese Dante. I loved this cover. It, as well as the blurb, drew me to the story. Heartwarming and perfect in every way.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Listening Time: 1hr., 43 min.

Audible Audio, Unabridged, 2 pages
Published February 22nd 2018 by Dreamspinner Press (first published January 12th 2012)
ASINB079YB2QDT
Edition LanguageEnglish

RELEASE DAY BLITZ: Invitation to the Blues (Small Change #2) by Roan Parrish (excerpt and giveaway)

Invitation to the Blues (Small Change #2)

Publisher: Monster Press

Release Date (Print & Ebook): March 28th, 2018

Length (Print & Ebook): About 81,000 words

Subgenre: Contemporary romance

Content warning: depression, suicide, thoughts of worthlessness, food issues

Links:

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2GdIBgN

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2EnDP3V

Ibooks: https://apple.co/2BFfDaM

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2C9aiJP

Angus & Robinson: http://bit.ly/2Cudrzz

Book blurb:

Eight months ago Jude Lucen fled his partner, his career, and a hospital in Boston after a suicide attempt. Now back in Philadelphia, he feels like a complete failure. Piano has always been his passion and his only escape. Without it, he has nothing. Well, nothing except a pathetic crush on the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

Faron Locklear came to Philly looking for a fresh start and has thrown himself into tattooing at Small Change. He’s only met Jude a few times, but something about the red-haired man with the haunted eyes calls to him. Faron is blown away by Jude’s talent. What he isn’t expecting is the electricity he feels the first time they kiss—and the way Jude’s needs in bed speak directly to his own deepest desires.

Jude and Faron fall fast and hard, but Jude has spent a lifetime learning that he can’t be what the people he loves need. So when the opportunity arises to renew his career in Boston, he thinks he has to choose: music, or Faron? Only by taking a huge risk—and finally believing he’s worthy of love just as he is—can he have the chance for both.

The Small Change series is set in the Middle of Somewhere universe and features crossover characters from that series. Each book can be read on its own.

Content warning: This book contains explicit discussion of depression, anxiety, attempted suicide, and feelings of worthlessness.

Excerpt:

My problem with Faron was that he was stunning.

He was tall and taut, with broad shoulders and an elegant neck. His tawny brown skin was flawless and he had dreamy, gray-brown eyes that always seemed to focus on something in a plane beyond this one. His riot of corkscrew curls was sometimes loose, but today was caught up in a topknot. It had been bleached nearly white when I first met him and was now growing out. His cheekbones were high and broad, casting shadows that made him look like he was candlelit from every angle. His mouth was lush and full, and his rare smiles turned his chiseled beauty to a warmth so engaging that you didn’t ever want him to look away from you.

His beauty was a problem because it made me want him and I hated wanting anything. Desire was the beginning of disappointment.

It wasn’t just his looks, though. I could’ve handled that. I’d known a lot of beautiful people.

No, it was everything.

He was graceful and forceful at the same time. His focus was intense, whether it was on the things that only he saw or on whoever he was listening to. And he made me feel calm—as if he held the whole world in his hands and slowed it down or sped it up to whatever speed I was going.

It was intoxicating: a promise of peace as long as I was in his presence.

A hope.

And hope was even worse than desire.

About Roan Parrish:

Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.

When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.

Connect with Roan:

Rafflecopter code to win 2 e-copies of any back catalog book by Roan Parrish:

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Blog Tour for Bones of Belief (The Chronicles of Darius #13) by Jess Thomas (excerpt)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Bones of Belief (The Chronicles of Darius, Book 13)

Author: Jess Thomas

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Jess Thomas

Genre/s: M/M Romance

Length: 111,215 words/645 pages

Release Date: March 1, 2018

Goodreads

Blurb

The Jewel has many protectors and a large family, but it still isn’t complete. Trend, a white wizard, is in limbo and can be seen only by Vega, Enif, and Darius. Dorian, one of the newest clan members, can only hear him and none of them are able to tell anyone else about him. Darius knows he needs Trend to help complete the family and fulfill his destiny. He desperately wants to have him home, but there is a major problem, Hippson’s timeline. Meanwhile, Trend’s mate, Grendolin, has searched everywhere he knows in order to find him, including some very dark places, with no luck, but he never lost hope, never lost his belief that he will be with his true mate one way or another.

Can Darius beat the timeline? Must he follow the wishes of those in power who think they know better?

Darius’s quest of self-discovery continues as his talents grow to astounding proportions. Even the mighty Hippson and Bunthar don’t know what to make of Darius’s abilities or what the dreaded timeline holds for the Jewel, his mate, and the rest of the clan.

Become part of Darius’s clan and share his continuing journey in Bones of Belief.

Excerpt

For so long, I’d seen myself looking like a gray and leathery alien. In fact, I’ve seen myself looking like this since I was nineteen when I was part of a distant nightmare simply called The Pits. There, Cold Ones lived alongside dark wizards and all manner of evil things that destroyed planets for their own needs. Cold Ones enjoyed destroying anyone with strength and just for the sake of killing generally.

Although the Eiravian people were more advanced, they had sent me to a time on Earth when we lived and died by the sword, where gladiators and slaves had the misfortune to be simply entertainment. My appearance had drifted away to the point that I didn’t know it anymore. Now I tended to look at my appearance as I walked down the hall, the man who walked in the mirror’s reflection wasn’t someone I knew. It had been a long, long time since I’d seen who I really am. I was skinny, but the muscles and weight were coming back on, and the peach skin of my brothers and sisters had replaced the gray skin. My leathery appearance had disappeared in my reflection. The only thing that seemed the same was my blue eyes that appeared to glow power and a large scruffy beard.

Sometimes as I was walking down the hallway, I’d step backward and then forward, to actually see if my appearance stayed the same in the mirrors. The spell was breaking, and we would soon celebrate Finnal’s birthday. I always asked him what he wanted, and he’d always reply he got what he wanted. Therefore, this year I was going to give him what he asked for…me.

Buy Links – Available on KU

Amazon US

Amazon UK

About the Author

Author Bio: Jess Thomas was born in the mid-west and she has a natural love for nature and animals. A gentle creature born to loving parents who believed in seeing the world for all its beauty, she learned the imperfections in life were something to be treasured and seen as a learning experience. An artist from an early age, she went to art school where she got a degree in drawing and painting, photography, and in Art Education. In 2009 she laid down her paintbrush and she picked up writing and channeling her creative energy in a fresh direction. A new writer, she pours sensitivity and her love of the world she has created into her emotions and the characters who live there.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

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A MelanieM Review: Flamecaller by Caitlin Ricci

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

When the emperor has his father killed, it’s the breaking point for Haruo, who sets out from the island of dragon shifters where he lives in search of revenge. The tournament being held to marry off the emperor’s son seems a perfect opportunity—what better way to get close to the father than through the son, after all.

Three things drew me to this story. That incredible cover, the author, and that synopsis. I have read Caitlin Ricci’s stories before and enjoyed them. That fact, combined with the intriguing plot, had me eagerly starting into chapter one.

Sigh.

What I found was more along the lines of an author’s outline for a novella than an actual story that was complete with fleshed out characters, relationships that had some depth to them, back histories that went beyond the shallow, and a foundation that made some sense.

This surprised me considering the author, which is why Flamecaller seems more like an outline of a story than an actual one. The potential here is marvelous, especially with regard to the emperor’s son. But do we get any of the necessary background on him to make sense of his actions or subsequent feelings? No. Does the author give the readers any understanding of how certain important plot elements as I will call them (no spoilers) run genetically through family lines? No. Nothing. She just throws facts out there and leaves them unsupported and whole sections of her story moorless. That goes for the whole island is crying thing as well and Haruo’s family. See statement above.

I won’t even get started on that ending which is preposterous no matter how fairy tale-ish this story became.

No, my hope is that sometime in the future, this gets pulled back, and properly rewritten into the novel it’s crying out to be. Unless you are a hardcore Caitlin Ricci fan, I’d wait and see if that happens to read this story imo.

Cover Art :Michelle Seaver. This cover is absolutely gorgeous as well as pertinent to the story. It’s one of the things that drew me to read the blurb. Love it.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 45 pages
Published March 14th 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684311965
Edition Language English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: The Little Library by Kim Fielding

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

I loved this story about Elliott, a young college professor who was badly deceived and used by his lover and mentor and now struggles to fight his way back to the career path of his choice. And Simon, who was injured on the job and is now fighting his way back to his career path as well—and if it can’t be as a cop, as he was before, at least he hopes to find something that fits. He most definitely doesn’t want to work with his parents in their restaurant, not only because that’s not his chosen vocation, but also because he can’t meet their high personal expectations for him—that he’ll find a nice, preferably Assyrian, young woman, settle down, and raise babies for them.

What I liked most is that these two guys seemed to be pretty normal—the kind of guys you might meet in your neighborhood, or on the job, or even have as a family member. They are gay, but they’re not atypical—neither are porn stars, or con men, or werewolves—they’re a college professor and a cop. Granted, the college professor spends a lot of time immersed in his books when he’s not teaching one of the online community college courses he’s now reduced to overseeing. He lost his highly regarded, research-oriented position with a university when his lover and mentor was discovered to be embezzling and he was inadvertently caught up in the backlash. Now, he’s searching to get back into a tenure-track position and idling away his free time by shopping for more books to feed his book-buying (and reading) addiction. He tries to “behave” and exercise willpower, as many addicts would do, but it’s not until he decides to try something he’s seen elsewhere that his life takes on new purpose, and as a side benefit, he meets a pretty sexy guy with a bum knee.

The solution? He builds a “little library” a small set of enclosed book shelves on a post in his yard. Rearranging the furniture in his home so he can spy on the people stopping by gives him pause, but he does it anyway, and he’s rewarded with making new friends. Among them a little girl and her mom and that sexy guy with the bum knee that he’s seen as he’s been out running. That guy is Simon, and the two form an immediate friendship that leads to a very slow-burn relationship. I appreciated the way the author set this relationship up—no hurry to the bedroom, no over-the-moon heartthrobs—just a slow, gentle exploration of each other, starting with kisses and leading slowly to more.

And as they grow closer, it’s evident that Simon’s closet is not where Elliott wants to be. He was very hurt by his former lover and he won’t be hidden again. But Simon’s family feelings on homosexuality and strong cultural and religious beliefs don’t allow for room to negotiate and he desperately fears losing his parents if he comes out. In the meantime, Elliott is still searching for a university where he can settle in to research and get his career back on track, and it’s starting to look like that might happen in Nebraska.

Again, the author does not make the solution magical. These guys have to work for all they have both together and individually. It’s just not simple. It’s real. And I loved them. For me, the hallmark of a well-written book with endearing characters who face and overcome difficult life situations is when I can not only remember the story days later, but I can also recall their names. This one is a winner—proven by the above standards several days after I finished the story. And it’s going on my list of best of 2018. Well-written, with a host of amazing secondary characters, two outstanding main characters, and a variety of interesting experiences, added to slow burn, which is one of my favorite themes, I can easily highly recommend this one to lovers of MM romance. If you like it slow and you like your characters to be people you’d like to get to know, by all means choose this story.

~~~

The very attractive, colorful cover by LC Chase depicts the torso of a man holding an open book while standing at a “little library.” It’s one of the reasons—beside the fact that I love this author—that I chose this book.

Sales Links:

Amazon | Smashwords

Book Details:

self published by the Kindle Edition, 1 edition
Published March 26th 2018 by Kim Fielding
Original TitleThe Little Library
ASINB07BJL6NMB
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Caryn Release Day Review: The Architect and the Castle of Glass by Jade Mere

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

It’s been a while since I’ve read fantasy, and this book definitely lives up to the genre. The universe created is a little bit middle east, a little bit steampunk, a little bit of magic in a world just entering an industrial age. The cast includes a spoiled but genius aristocrat, his eccentric brother who sees things not of this world, a reclusive and secretive prince and his insane mother, and the man who calls himself brother to the prince. It’s long (as a fantasy book should be), and this is the first in a series, but it does end with closure of the initial story arc, and no cliffhanger (thank God, because those drive me crazy!)

The protagonist of the story, Takhi, starts out as an arrogant, selfish, entitled jerk. He’s the son of the ambassador, wealthy, aristocratic, given all the things wealthy men can give to their children. The only thing he wants, though, is to be a famous architect. His country is peaceful and meditative, and has been essentially sealed off from the largest and most modern country, Vatalokit, and that is the only place Takhi feels his genius will be appreciated. So he runs away, convinced that the only reason he is not already renowned as the greatest architect is because his country is backwards and resists innovation. Although I knew that he was going to be humbled and come out a better man – because that’s how fantasy works and this book follows the formula – I have to admit the process took so long I almost gave up on him. Truthfully, that’s probably more realistic, but I kept getting angry at him until the end of the book for being so conceited and self-absorbed, and because it led him into quite a few TSTL (too stupid to live) situations.

Takhi was recruited to serve as architect for the prince of Vatalokit, to convert his castle into a weapon. The castle itself is almost like another character – it is made of obsidian, dark, brooding, and strangely alive (Howl’s Moving Castle kept coming to my mind, but really it is nothing like that!). People who stay in it too long tend to go a little crazy. At the castle, Takhi met Rye – a man the prince rescued from the slums and who is now the closest thing the prince has to family. Takhi didn’t know why the prince wanted such a weapon, and didn’t believe the flimsy reasons the prince gave, but he thought only of making a name for himself, and was going to do that however he could.

The entire book was really well written, steadily paced with a natural plot evolution. I got irritated at Takhi many times and wanted to skip past the consequences of his stupidity, but it was worth it in the end to hang in there. The romance aspect of the story is almost peripheral, with only hints of interest from Rye and Takhi, and they are not together until the very end of the book. There was more written interaction between Takhi and his twin brother Sorjian, who actually became my favorite character. The reveal of the secrets of the castle, and the prince’s plotting, was abrupt and the only really jarring exception to the plot progression, and left several threads hanging, but I think those will be taken up in the next books in the series, and I’m looking forward to reading them!

Cover art by the author is typical of a fantasy book, pretty, and probably why I kept picturing Howl’s Moving Castle every time I thought of it….

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 230 pages
Expected publication: March 27th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781640802629
Edition LanguageEnglish

KIM FIELDING on Modesto, Story Locations, and her new release ‘The Little Library’ (guest blog)

The Little Library by Kim Fielding

Release Date: March 27, 2018
Cover art: L.C. Chase

Buy links:

Amazon | Smashwords

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Kim Fielding here today talking about her latest release The Little Library. Welcome, Kim.

✒︎

Hi! I’m Kim Fielding and I’m very excited to announce the release of my newest novel, The Little Library! Set in California’s Central Valley, this story stars a guy with a slightly obsession with books. What’s not love about that, right?

I live in California. I’ve lived here for 25 years, but my husband is a native and my daughters are something like 5^th generation Californians on his side. Thanks to movies and TV, people all over the world have at least some vague impressions about this state. Hollywood. Surfers. San Francisco. Redwoods. Death Valley. And all of those things really are here, of course. But California is a big state—its land mass is greater than that of Japan or Paraguay and only a little smaller than Sweden or Morocco—and there are parts of it that even most Californians aren’t familiar with.

I live in one of those parts: the San Joaquin Valley. In case you’re not a geography whiz, this is part of the Central Valley, lying flat and hot between the Sierra Nevadas and the coast ranges. About 4 million people live here, and there are a few larger cities (e.g., Fresno and Bakersfield), but most of the valley is rural. My new book, The Little Library, takes place here, in Modesto.

So what’s this area like? Well, we’re a couple of hours from beaches and redwoods. Celebrities are few and far between (although notable Modestans include Jeremy Renner, George Lucas, and James Marsters). Our winters tend to be cool and foggy, while our summers are oven-hot and bone-dry. People here tend to be more politically conservative than in the Bay Area. Housing prices are reasonable by California standards.

This is a heavy-duty agricultural area. We grow almost all of the country’s almonds and a whole lot of grapes (Gallo Winery is headquartered in Modesto). We have tomatoes, melons, feed corn, chickens, and dairy cattle. My subdivision, in a town about a half hour south of Modesto, sits on what used to be a bean field. Ours is a climate that allows backyards to sustain orange and apple trees, and rosemary and oregano become large shrubs.

This isn’t the most beautiful part of California, and it’s certainly not the most glamorous. People pass through here on the way to other places—Yosemite, Sacramento, LA—and few people would put the San Joaquin Valley at the top of their vacation wish lists. Still, I believe that almost every place on the planet has at least some charms, and interesting people live everywhere. Even in Modesto.

My decision to set The Little Library in Modesto was a deliberate one. Like their hometown, my protagonists—a failed academic and an ex-cop—aren’t flashy. Neither of them is wealthy, and they don’t look like they’ve stepped off a fashion runway. But they’re dealing with some universal issues. Fear of failure. Family conflicts. Uncertainty about their future. And, of course, the search for love.

Do you live somewhere nobody knows about? Or maybe you live somewhere famous but outsiders have misconceptions about your area. Please share in the comments!

***

About The Little Library

Elliott Thompson was once a historian with a promising academic future, but his involvement in a scandal meant a lost job, public shame, and a ruined love life. He took shelter in his rural California hometown, where he teaches online classes, hoards books, and despairs of his future.

Simon Odisho has lost a job as well—to a bullet that sidelined his career in law enforcement. While his shattered knee recovers, he rethinks his job prospects and searches for the courage to come out to his close-knit but conservative extended family.

In an attempt to manage his overflowing book collection, Elliott builds a miniature neighborhood library in his front yard. The project puts him in touch with his neighbors—for better and worse—and introduces him to handsome, charming Simon. While romance blooms quickly between them, Elliott’s not willing to live in the closet, and his best career prospects might take him far away. His books have plenty to tell him about history, but they give him no clues about a future with Simon.

***

About the Author

Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

Follow Kim:

Website: http://www.kfieldingwrites.com/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/KFieldingWrites

Twitter: @KFieldingWrites

Email: Kim@KFieldingWrites.com

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bau3S9

A complete list of Kim’s books: http://www.kfieldingwrites.com/kim-fieldings-books/

A Highly Recommended Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words story. Find our review here.

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT TOUR Moon Illusion by Michelle Osgood

Title MOON ILLUSION (The Better to Kiss You With 3 ) by Michelle Osgood

Publisher: Interlude Press

Release Date (Print & Ebook): March 22, 2018

Buy links:

Interlude Press Web Store: https://store.interludepress.com/collections/moon-illusion-by-michelle-osgood

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2tddArC

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moon-illusion-michelle-osgood/1127756493?ean=2940155070726

Apple: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moon-illusion-michelle-osgood/1127756493?ean=2940155070726

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/774932

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/moon-illusion-1

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Moon-Illusion-Michelle-Osgood/9781945053566 /?a_aid=InterludePress

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781945053566?aff=InterludePress

Book blurb:

Nathan Roberts was just your average polyamorous librarian living in Vancouver until his best friend, Deanna started dating a werewolf. While hosting the small pack in his apartment while they hid from the underground network of Huntsmen, Nathan enjoyed a casual fling with Cole, the pack leader’s brother. But now, he may just be falling for him.

When his neighbor is murdered, Nathan is convinced the death is linked to the supernatural, but Cole and their friends deny any paranormal connection. This leads to a fracture of trust in their relationship, and Cole’s pack is left to deal with an unknown killer on the loose. As Nathan pursues answers on his own, he must come to terms with the truth, and his feelings for Cole.

Exclusive Excerpt for Scattered Thoughts:

Content warning: Blood

Nathan flung out his arms to catch himself, but it wasn’t enough. His palms slid against the floor; his forearms and butt landed with enough force to bruise before his head cracked against the cement floor. Stars burst across his vision. He had one breathless, suspended moment of relief that he was relatively intact until pain radiated like a halo from the back of his skull.

Nathan groaned. His eyes blinked open. Ow.

He sat up gingerly. His hands and arms were wet with something dark: a viscous liquid that was the unpleasant color of blood. Ew.

Now he’d have to shower before his nap. And, maybe, the way his head pounded sickeningly, he’d also have to throw up the pad thai he’d just eaten.

He’d let go of the garbage and the recycling as well as his phone on his way down. They all seemed to have landed clear of the mess that Nathan slipped on, but empty containers were strewn across the floor.

Careful of his sure-to-be-bruised body, Nathan eased himself up. When he wobbled to his feet, the smell caught him—hot copper, like a penny left sitting in the sun.

Not looks like blood, but is blood.

The pad thai threatened to come up then and there. Nathan gritted his teeth against the swell of nausea, closed his eyes, and breathed through his mouth. He realized his mistake instantly when the heavy scent coated his throat. He gagged and lurched to the side. He grabbed the nearest recycling bin to steady himself and took several deep breaths through his nose. CARDBOARD PAPER ONLY the bin announced. Nathan focused on the crisp shape of letters until the immediate need to puke passed. He wasn’t ruling out puking later. In fact, he suspected it was likely.

After one more deep breath, Nathan steeled himself and turned.

Blood, more than he’d ever seen, more than he realized was possible to see, coated the floor like spilled paint. Five liters. Just over five liters—that’s how much blood could be in the human body. His brain helpfully offered up an image of a plastic, four-liter milk jug and a second one-liter carton. When he thought about it like that, with the neat, sanitized whiteness of the two-percent milk he used to drink as a kid, the amount seemed terribly innocuous, hardly anything. But the amount on the floor, the amount that pooled on the concrete, that drew his eyes unerringly to its center, there was nothing innocuous about that, nor about the body.

It was a body. That was one thing Nathan was certain of, even if the rest of his reality was slowly tilting sideways. It was a body and not a person, because people couldn’t survive losing all that blood—four point seven to five point five liters, depending on size—just as they couldn’t survive losing their heads or both their hands without immediate medical attention. And whoever this was had lost all the above.

It was total overkill. To kill someone—and it wasn’t as if Nathan planned on killing someone, but it paid to have some idea how to kill someone just in case it was ever necessary— there were a hell of a lot of easier ways to do it than behead them. Besides, it wasn’t as though swords or axes or other traditional beheading tools were common in 2017 Vancouver.

Axes.

That thought sparked in Nathan’s mind. The only people he’d seen who carried axes were the Huntsmen. And sure, they were metaphorical axes rather than literal axes—they were tattoos of an axe—but if the Huntsmen could get their hands on automatic weapons, an actual axe was hardly a stretch.

Nathan crept forward, careful to edge around the blood as much as possible. He should feel something, he knew: guilt, fear, horror. But curiosity fueled him and, for now, it had pushed aside everything else, even nausea, and replaced it with a much simpler need: to know.

Why behead a human? Why behead a human and take their hands? It didn’t make sense. Real life wasn’t an episode of Dexter. If you wanted to kill someone, there were a thousand easier ways.

Say what you wanted to kill wasn’t human, though. Say it was superhuman. Supernatural.

About Michelle Osgood:

Michelle Osgood writes queer, feminist romance from her tiny apartment in Vancouver, BC. She loves stories in all media, especially those created by Shonda Rhimes, and dreams of one day owning a wine cellar to rival Olivia Pope’s. She is active in Vancouver’s poly and LGBTQ communities, never turns down a debate about pop culture, and is trying to learn how to cook. Her novels The Better to Kiss You With (2016) and Huntsmen (2017) were published by Interlude Press.

Connect with Michelle: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

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Length (Print & Ebook): 210 pages / 61,000 words

Subgenre: Contemporary Romance: Paranormal, LGBT/Urban Fantasy

Author’s content warnings:

Moon Illusion by Michelle Osgood

Additional Themes

Insomnia, paranoia, alcohol and marijuana use

Chapter 5: Graphic violence and an animal death during a dream sequence
Chapters 7-8: Gore
Chapter 16: Animal death
Chapters 18-20: Graphic violence during a dream sequence
Chapters 33-44: Domestic abuse, graphic violence, stalking

Blog Tour – The Rescuer by Eric Huffbind (excerpt and giveaway)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: The Rescuer (2nd Edition)

Author: Eric Huffbind

Publisher: Self Published

Cover Artist: Jennifer Craig

Genre/s: Contemporary Gay Male Romance.

Length: 59,000 words/212 paperback pages

Goodreads

Blurb

Christopher’s striking green eyes and handsome good looks didn’t buy him happiness, but he learned to survive off of them to maintain his expensive lifestyle. Now, after he has nearly destroyed himself, he’s in the fight for his life…

A Contemporary Gay Male Romance – Newly Released 2nd Edition

When Christopher Parker checks himself into the Watermeadow Rehabilitation Center, he was frightened for his future and what was to become of him. Haunted from his past, he knows that he has to take this step in his recovery or face his likely death as the alternative. He never expected to find his social worker, Jason Calhoun, incredibly attractive. Christopher dreams of finding a man to love and who will treat him with decency. Although Jason does fit the bill, he knows that this relationship is strictly professional. Completely out of reach for a failure like himself.

Jason, who is a hopeless romantic, is in the endless pursuit of Prince Charming. Always unlucky in love but finds solace in the care of his patients. He loves being needed and having patients that depend on him. Jason comes to realize that the guys he dates always need to be rescued, much like his patients. A strategy that he’s learning is a poor choice.

Jason discovers that Christopher has become tangled up with a famed billionaire. As a billionaire, he can afford anything he wants, which seems to include even the ability to buy true love. Suddenly, he fears that everything he has worked so hard for, both romance and career, is being threatened by his new nemesis.

If you enjoy stories that pull you in and have you caring about the characters and what happens to them, then this is the book for you. It promises to have you laughing, crying, & smiling!

Buy Links

Queer Romance Ink https://www.queeromanceink.com/book/the-rescuer/

Excerpt

Feeling a set of lips gently pressing on his forehead, Christopher woke up to someone kissing him. He found a strange man gazing down on him; his eyes weren’t quite in focus yet.

“How are you feeling?” asked the stranger.

Christopher suddenly sprang up from the bed recognizing in a split second whose voice it was. “Sam! What the fuck are you doing here?” Eyes now focusing at one-hundred percent.

“I was just checking in on you. I wanted to know how you were feeling? Can’t a friend pay a visit?”

It was Samuel Barron or “Sam” as his cohorts called him. He was a powerful CEO of one of the nation’s top five-hundred corporations, namely Viatone. They were makers of pharmaceuticals. In the years Christopher had known Sam, Viatone had grown to a five-hundred-billion-dollar company.

Sam was a bit more than just a CEO of a huge corporation. At one time, he was one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors—a gorgeous hunk of a man to feast your eyes upon, despite his advancing years. His looks held up like a fine bottle of wine. Women all over the country would swoon over every magazine photo, television news spot, and social media post. And it wasn’t just the women. Every gay man’s dick would jump into action each time they saw an image of this man; Christopher had been among that crowd.

Mr. Barron exuded pure charisma everywhere he went and in everything he touched. He’d been one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors. However, that status changed five years ago, when he married Patsy Rossmiller.

“You’re no friend!” Christopher shouted back in his most snide and angry voice. “And you’re not welcome here, you motherfucking son-of-a-bitch! Get the fuck out of my room! Better yet, get the hell out of my life!” He made no attempt to hide his feelings. Clearly, he was overwhelmed with upset; downright hostile and belligerent.

“Sweetheart, I’ve been worried sick about you,” Sam said.

“I’m not your sweetheart. Not now—not ever,” Christopher shouted with increasing volume. “You’re not worried about me—you selfish asshole. You’re concerned about your reputation. What would this country think of you if they knew the truth? The country—hell, what would the world think if they found out. That’s all you care about. That’s all you ever cared about.”

“Look, you’re not the only one who’s in a position of power, and you know it!” The bastard CEO snarled back.

That was one comment Christopher did not want to hear, and it was the last straw. He couldn’t take the presence of this man, not a single second more. He burst into tears yet again all the while he screamed as loud as he could.

“Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!” Over and over, he yelled with increasing intensity. In no time at all, the third-floor staff came racing into Christopher’s room; including Jason. Nurse Judy immediately saw the presence of Sam Barron, as did everyone else. She didn’t have the slightest idea what was upsetting her patient to result in such a tumultuous reaction. Looking directly at the unwanted visitor, she calmly said, “Mr. Barron, I think you had better leave.”

It wasn’t as if she or anyone needed to be introduced to this man. Who wouldn’t recognize him? Sam Barron’s notoriety spread everywhere, particularly in the healthcare community. But what the fuck is this man doing in Christopher Parker’s room at Watermeadow of all places was crawling through Jason’s head. He just couldn’t understand what their connection would be.

Mr. Barron knew he was outnumbered, so he nodded graciously and left as instructed. Christopher shouted after him, “And don’t come back—ever! I never want to see you again!”

He now dissolved into a puddle of tears. Eying Jason from across the room, Christopher ran over and flung his arms around the man, weeping uncontrollably; desperately needing to be in the arms of a friend. And although his new case manager wasn’t precisely a friend, he somehow knew he wouldn’t be rejected. His weight, having grabbed Jason so suddenly, pulled them both tumbling to the floor.

Trying to calm him down with a soft, “shhhhhh, listen to me, if you don’t want Mr. Barron coming back again, I can have him barred from the facility, at least while you’re staying with us.” The loud sobbing continued on Jason’s shoulder. “Would you like that?”

Christopher replied in a faint whisper, “Yes, please.”

Holding onto him tightly, he delivered a telling nod over to Judy. It was evident Christopher was overpowered with anger and anxiety that even the Ativan couldn’t assist with. In a complete state of bewilderment, she indicated she would call security at once, preventing the return of this apparent nemesis. Jason was also just as bewildered as he looked over towards her. Despite Sam Barron’s status in this world, he’d be damned if the man would interfere with a patient’s recovery. He was a tremendous advocate where his patients were concerned. “You just cry as much as you need to.”

Christopher tightened his grip around him even more while continuing to soak Jason’s dress shirt with tears. But Jason didn’t mind being clutched so tightly. It made him feel whole inside; that his life had meaning and purpose. It’s what he was good at—being there for others when they needed him. He treasured being needed; he always did.

After ten minutes of constant sobbing, Christopher finally calmed down. The ongoing sniveling had quelled. Jason eased him off the floor and back into bed. “Lie down and rest for a while. Are you feeling better now?” He received a nod back that indicated a positive answer. So, Jason brought Christopher’s feet up onto the bed and pulled the blanket across him. In his experience, a huge crying jag was exhausting.

Jason shut off the lights in the room and closed the door as he exited. He had a stack of paperwork sitting in his office, which needed his attention. One thing was certain in his mind, there weren’t going to be any elves coming around to take care of it for him.

About the Author

Eric Huffbind is a man of many talents. He is a hopeless romantic, licensed registered nurse, has been a travel agent, and the eternal social butterfly. Among his passionate interests are history, genealogy, romance, and travel. Like so many other individuals, he has a long bucket list. On the list, to no surprise, was writing a novel. So this, his debut novel, is a lifetime of raw emotions: be it love, happiness, sadness, tears, joy, anxiety, fear, disappointment, or achievement.

Although, the story in The Rescuer, focuses on the romantic relationship of two gay men, regardless of your sexual orientation, this novel is meant to rekindle the true spirit of romance and love in your heart. If Mr. Huffbind’s story moves you through an array of emotions, and it touches your romantic spirit, please share the book with a friend.

Mr. Huffbind was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and has remained in southwest Ohio for his entire life. His current residence is in West Chester Township, Ohio. He shares his life with his husband, an autistic son, and his beautiful Pomeranian.

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