Category: Uncategorized

A MelanieM Review: Sound of Silence by Mia Kerick and Raine O’Tierney

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

 

High school senior Renzy Callen hasn’t uttered a word in years. He likes being invisible to all around him; it keeps life safe and predictable. In his attic bedroom, he experiences a world far from the drama of his family. He doodles, listens to music, and contemplates the troubled souls he observes when attending self-help meetings designed for people with problems he doesn’t have. Renzy lives his life like a spectator, always on the outside of life’s games, looking in at others.

Everything changes when Seven and Morning Moreau-Maddox relocate from their glitzy lives in Paris to boring, picturesque Redcliff Hills, Missouri. Tall, platinum blond, and as put-together as a pair of European high-fashion models, the sophisticated siblings befriend Renzy, drawing him in and then pushing him away. What starts as nothing more than a means to an end for Seven, however, quickly becomes something more. Could icy-hearted Seven be thawing for the silent, quirky charm of Renzy Callen?

Determined to find the cause of Renzy’s selective mutism, the three teens set off on a road trip, during which they discover that flawless physical facades can conceal the most scarred souls, and that sometimes silence is better than golden.

It’s not often a contemporary story can astonish me with elements of uniqueness but Sound of Silence by Mia Kerick and Raine O’Tierney certainly did.  Several times over.  Starting with the protagonists themselves,  the three wounded teenagers at the heart of this story, Renzy Callen, Seven and Morning Moreau-Maddox.

I can’t imagine where or how the authors came up with these characters, now marked so indelibly into my heart and mind, but starting with Renzy Callen, who hasn’t talked in years, his inability to utter a sound and his method of communicating is the soul of the story.   He tries to blend into his surroundings, ghosting through his life, invisible until he  comes to the notice of Morning Moreau-Maddox, ateenager traumatized from a brutal rape,  and through association to Morning, her brother Maddox, her constant companion and protector.  Sleek, blond, seemingly self possessed, Morning recognizes a kinself with herself in Renzy, both dealing with their own traumas in different ways but still alike.  For Maddox, Renzy presents a puzzle to unravel as well as one more person to act as guardian over.

This book operates on so many levels and it’s done so well, it’s actually hard to reviews.  The characterizations are highly unusual, layered, remarkable.  You have three separate voices that are guaranteed to stay in your head for quite some time.  Especially as they grow over the course of the story, events forcing them to look at themselves, reexamine the dynamics of their own relationships from those of the siblings to that of the young lovers Renzy and Maddox.  It is one complex relationship after another.  Plus the close friendship  that Morning has with Renzy.  And that’s not even starting to get into the odd parent or should I say emotionally detached or worse parent relationships these teenagers have.

Like twisting vines of ivy, the various story threads, wind their way through each other connecting and intertwining in surprising and sometimes heartbreaking ways to uncover the truth behind Renzy’s selective mutism.  It will also lead to new paths for Morning and Maddox as well.

Such an amazing novel.  The writing is smooth and so well done that you don’t notice how quickly you’ve been drawn into the lives of this incredible trio until you realize it’s 2am and you haven’t stopped reading.  I loved the ending.  Like everything else about this story,  the changes and growth of the characters to the last sentence, everything works and makes you want to read it again just to to watch it unfold all over again.

I highly recommend Sound of Silence by Mia Kerick and Raine O’Tierney.  It’s truly one of those books you won’t want to miss.

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson.  Cover art is just as unusual as the book.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Harmony Ink | iBooks

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 214 pages
Published January 23rd 2018 by Harmony Ink Press
ASIN B076QB8CXH
Edition Language English

BOOK TOUR Off-Campus Setup by Maria Vickers (teasers and excerpt)

Title: Off-Campus Setup
Author: Maria Vickers
Genre: M/M College Romance
Release Date: March 7, 2018
Levi Cox left it all behind to go to school in California, but nothing could prepare him for what he discovers when he gets there. Between the university screwing up his living arrangements, the weird meddling old woman who runs the boarding house, and the fellow student who instantly catches his eye, life in Cali is more than he expected, and he isn’t sure he’s ready for any of it. College was supposed to be an adventure, but this might be more than Levi can handle. 

 


Nathan Orion wants to have fun. That’s what he lives for and it’s exactly what his college years are supposed to be about. He’s happy with living the single life and being carefree…that is until the new student at his grandmother’s boarding house crashes into his life. Now he’s been recruited to show the new guy around, and if Nathan has his way, it won’t be just on-campus.

Will there be more, or is this only an illusion? Two men thrown together, not expecting anything, but possibly finding so much more than an off-campus setup.

“This book was very enjoyable!” – Under Covers Book Blog

“Such a fantastic book!” – Goodreads Review

“If you love M/M stories, you will love this one.” – Cranky – The Book Curmudgeon 

 

Prologue

 

 

Levi

 

I remembered everything very clearly. The first time we met, our first kiss, the first time we were discovered in the same bed by a nosey grandmother with bright yellow hair, and then the fallout when I realized everything was nothing more than a wishful fantasy that was never supposed to come true.
And now I as scanned this room to make sure nothing got left behind, I realized how much I’d changed and how far I’d come. My imaginary world exploded, leaving me shell shocked and pissed off.
This wasn’t the first time I’d fallen prey to feelings, wasn’t the first time I’d been hurt, but it would be the last.
I took a step out of the room and closed the door behind me. This part of my life was now over, and a new one had just begun.
***

 

Nathan

 

Life as I knew it had disappeared. Poof. Gone without a trace. And any other of those sayings people tended to overuse.
It was my own fault really. I should have expected it, should have seen it coming, but I hadn’t. And now everything had changed. Good or bad. I didn’t know yet. Should I be thanking her or blaming her? Both maybe?
As I closed the door on the small space I’d called my bedroom for the past few years, I realized for the first time I didn’t know what I was going to do or what would happen tomorrow…and oddly enough, that thrilled me.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

Maria Vickers currently lives in St. Louis, MO with her pug, Spencer Tracy. She has always had a passion for writing and after she became disabled in 2010, she decided to use writing as her escape. She believes that life is about what you make of it. You have to live it to the fullest no matter the circumstances.

From a young age, she has always loved books and even dreamed of being an author when she was younger. Growing up in the Navy, she used to weave tales for her siblings and her friends about anything and everything. And when she wasn’t creating her own stories, she had a book in her hand. They transported her to another world. She hopes that with her books, her readers have the same experience and that they can relate to her characters. 

Getting sick changed her life forever, but it also opened doors for her that she thought would always be out of reach.


HOSTED BY:

Book Blast for David – Beginnings by B. J. Smyth (excerpt)

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: David – Beginnings

Author: B.J. Smyth

Publisher: Self Published

Cover Artist: Benjamin Smith

Genre/s:  Contemporary Gay Erotic Romance

Length: 31 024 words/110 pages

Blurb

When opposites attract things get hot in this MM Erotic Romance series.

Read the first four stories about David and Bradley from the first night they meet to their first Christmas together.

DAVID

David is sweet and loveable, but he doesn’t have much luck when it comes to meeting guys. All his recent hookups have ended up as one-night stands.

Bradley is a fit, wealthy guy who is dominant in the bedroom. Bradley knows what he wants, when he wants it and how to get it.

David is in for one hell of a ride tonight with a hot session in Bradley’s basement room.

DAVID – Raw Heat

The next weekend continues the story of David’s hot MM adventures with Bradley as they learn more about each other in Bradley’s basement room.

Then we catch up with them six months later, David and Bradley have met several times now and things between them are slowly developing as they get closer.

DAVID – Business Trip

Bradley invites David on a trip to a business awards ceremony in New York. This is the first time David experiences Bradley’s work world and he is in for a very enjoyable ride as he enjoys Bradley’s wealthy lifestyle.

Hot MM moments in their hotel suite in-between meeting work colleagues at the ceremony bring them ever closer.

DAVID – Secret Santa

Bradley invites David to his house for the Christmas celebrations where David meets Bradley’s family for the first time. Another snapshot of their lives as things between them become more serious.

Love grows when opposites attract.

Buy Links – Available on KU

Amazon US 

Amazon UK 

Goodreads

Excerpt

‘Do you like the place?’ Bradley asks.

‘Like it? I love it. If Mandy could see me now, she would be gobsmacked.’

Bradley pulls me into his arms, hugging me tight as his lips brush against mine.

‘Well, now we’re finally alone, we can have some fun,’ he says as his cock stiffens against my leg.

I kiss him back, pulling him tighter against me. ‘Where would you like me, sir?’

‘Come with me.’ Bradley takes my hand and leads me back into the living room, walking me over to one of the blue leather chairs. Standing me in front of the chair, his hands caress my face as he kisses me, his tongue exploring deep into my mouth. He pulls away from me and slowly unbuttons my shirt, admiring my smooth, hairless body, as my chest and belly are revealed to him. I hear a moan of approval.

‘I see you did as I asked,’ he says in a soft whisper.

‘Yes, is this smooth enough for you?’ I ask.

Sliding his hands around my waist, he kisses and nibbles at my neck. My cock stiffens in my pants as his hands slide to my belly. His right hand gliding up to my nipple, he squeezes it hard, making me wince in pain. I feel his mouth move down from my neck as he drags his wet tongue along my skin, until he reaches my nipple, softly circling it with his tongue.

He removes my shirt from my shoulders and it drops to the floor. Bradley lowers himself to the floor, kissing my chest and belly on his way down. Undoing my belt and jeans, he pulls them to the floor. His face presses against my stiff cock in my white briefs and he kisses my cock through the material.

‘Shall I see if your cock is smooth as well?’

‘Yes, sir,’ I reply. My breath quickens as my cock throbs in my pants.

Bradley slides my pants to the floor, releasing my hard cock.

‘Very nice,’ he says as he sees my hairless cock and balls.

His tongue circles the head of my cock, pushing my foreskin back off the head as I moan with pleasure.

‘Sit down,’ he says in a commanding voice.

About the Author

B.J. enjoys writing MM Erotic Fantasy to tease and entertain his readers. Having experienced many of the situations in real life he brings these into his books. Preferring to have mature characters in the stories, escaping the cliché of college boy romance.

I Hope you read and enjoy my MM Erotic books as much as I enjoy writing them.

If you already enjoy MM books or are just curious about MM love. Why not have a browse of the books, you may surprise yourself.

Follow the rainbow to your dreams.

Social Media Links

Facebook  

Twitter

BOOK BLAST SCHEDULE

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Book Blast PRIDE OF LOVE by Kevin Dwyer (excerpt)

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Pride of Love

Author: Kevin Dwyer

Publisher: Alibris

Release Date: June 3, 2014

Fiction or Non Fiction: Fiction

Genre/s: Contemporary, Literature & Fiction, Coming of Age

Length: 143 Pages

Blurb

Twenty-five-year-old Jesse Coleman endures a heinous act on him. After the case is dropped, his mother, Claire, accedes to his request to move. Leaving behind his old life, he is left with a disturbing scar on his back. Hopelessness comes in on him and he takes off the bracelet that he has worn his whole life, which means something to him. Looking for a new beginning, Jesse who dresses differently meets Jaden who dresses like an outcast and the two fall in love with each other. With love from their mothers and good friend Liz, they try to bury their pasts behind.

Buy Links

Author’s Website

Amazon US 

Amazon UK   

Barnes & Noble  

Goodreads 

Excerpt

The talk show host woman sits on the stage with a fancy couch alongside her with a mother and young grown-up son. The supervisor with the headset on counts down from five to one with his fingers, and the cameras go live. There is audience applause and then a pleasant smile comes on the host’s face. “Thank you for tuning in on the Tina Live Show. I’m Tina and my guests today are Claire along with her son, Jesse Coleman.” Tina sets her attention on Claire and Jesse. “Thank you for joining us today.”

“Thank you for having us,” Claire replies back with a smile, then looks at her son, Jesse. She slides Jesse’s brown hair bangs to the side from his forehead. “You comfortable being here, sweetie?”

Jesse sets his focus on Tina, who is looking on with the smile diminishing away. “Yea . . . I’m all right,” Jesse says.

Tina takes a moment and gathers words to say, then looks at the audience looking on in their seats. “About a year and a half ago, Jesse Coleman was attacked from behind in a wooded area. He was beaten and his back was cut open. Basically, he was left for dead. What’s so horrifying about this attack is that the cut on the back spelled a word.” Tina looks over at the two sitting right across from each other.

A nod comes from Claire’s head, like she’s reliving the day. “Yes, the cut spelled out a word. It was not a cut in his back . . . more like a butcher does. My son’s back had to be stapled shut.”

Tina puts her attention on Jesse. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. You’re a strong man to live from that.”

“Yea . . . ,” Jesse replies back; he is wearing plain clothes with brown shaggy hair covering his head. “Others say that I cheated death.”

“How old are you?” Tina asked.
“I’m twenty-six, but I was twenty-five when I was attacked.”
Tina looks around his arm area. “Can you explain what that bracelet you have on means?”

Glancing down at his arm, Jesse lifts up the arm and shows a blue, white, and green sown bracelet with “Pride of Love” stitched in black in the colors. “Pretty much means take pride in yourself and love yourself.” Jesse sets his eyes on Tina through his glasses. “I’m gay, and that is the little thing that defines me. I was attacked for being who I am. Wasn’t bothering no one. Just kept to myself.”

Tina looks over at Claire with a blank stare down. “You all right, Claire? Looks like it’s hard to talk about.” “Yea, I’m fine. After the first court hearing, it was best to leave and start over and I’m thankful for that.”

“How did you deal with the attack? I’m a mother of two,” Tina tells Claire. “I mean it had to be tough on you, emotional wise.”

“Hope . . .” Claire wipes her eyes with fingertips. “Jesse found what he needed when we moved. Found someone that understands him. Small world, don’t you say?”

About the Author  

Kevin Dwyer self-published his first novel called Pride of Love in the year of 2014 in which it got an overall of 3+ star on BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com. Kevin rewrote the novel into a screenplay and was a finalist in the Tea Dance screenwriting contest and one of the top 5 winners in the 2016 International Las Vegas screenwriting contest (winner in LGBT category.) Pride of Love was a February Platinum Award winner in 2018 for best screenplay in the Mindfield Festival.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website

Twitter 

BOOK BLAST SCHEDULE

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

A MelanieM Review: Promise Me We’ll Be Okay by Nell Iris

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

Six hundred and ninety-five days. That’s how long it’s been since Jude’s fiancé broke off their engagement. With the help of his brother and his all-encompassing love for music, Jude glued the broken pieces of his heart back together, but when his ex shows up on his doorstep late one evening, Jude fears it will fall apart again.

Two years ago, Vincent made a terrible mistake. He left the love of his life for stupid, ill-advised reasons. It took a traumatic event to bring what was truly important in his life into focus. Older and wiser, he’s now ready to do whatever it takes to win Jude back.

Their chemistry is as explosive as ever, but will they be able to work through the real issues? Can trust once broken be rebuilt?

 

I thought Promise Me We’ll Be Okay by Nell Iris was a sweet contemporary romance. In the trope of lovers reunited and second chance at love that so many people love, myself included, it’s the story of Jude and Vin’s love affair broken off by Vin leaving Jude crushed.  Now two years later Vin reappears wanting a second chance, saying he had made a huge mistake.  And Jude give it to him.  That’s the story in 92 pages.

I liked the premise.  Lovers reunited with a second chance at love is always a favorite theme of mine.  You have a support system for Jude in his brother and sister in law who helped pick up the pieces when Vin broke it off.  There is a nice start of seeing Jude as a teacher which I wish there was more of seeing that it’s his love of teaching and Vin’s inability to recognize it’s importance that leads to the split.

I think the shortness of the story works against it here.  It’s a likable story but Jude after being crushed to the point of not functioning and still in recovery mode after 2 years, immediately takes him back.  Which I found exceedingly strange without a strong narrative to support it.  Also Vin’s excuses for the breakup, while valid, haven’t exactly disappeared nor does he put forth any well thought out ideas of how he will cope in the situation exactly.  I don’t know, perhaps his character just needed a little more depth here. And again, you get little of Jude as a teacher, something so central to  him as a person and as a part of their breakup.  Instead you get music? How did that feed into Jude’s supposed lack of ambition?

No a longer story to help with the holes in the narrative and perhaps flesh out the charactions would have left this a richer story.  But as it is, its an immensely likable one.

Cover art is nice and certainly has all the right elements, right down to the long hair on the character of Jude.

Sales Links:Universal Buy Link

Book Details:

ebook, 1st edition, 92 pages
Published March 3rd 2018 by JMS Books, LLC
Original TitlePromise Me We’ll Be Okay
ISBN139781634865869
Edition LanguageEnglish

The Ballerino and The Biker by Rebecca James Release Day Blitz (excerpt and giveaway)

The Ballerino and The Biker RDB Banner

The Ballerino and The Biker

Rebecca James

M/M Romance

Release Date: 03.10.18

TheBallerinoAndTheBiker-400x600

Cover Design: Reese Dante

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FcjM4E

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2Fl642Y

Blurb

Most of his young life, Morgan Wentworth has dreamed of becoming a principal dancer in a prestigious corps de ballet. After years studying the art in Milan, Morgan comes home to New York City to apprentice with the Manhattan Ballet Company only to be hit by the unexpected death of his older brother, Jake. The grieving dancer learns his life is threatened by a dangerous rival motorcycle gang and that pierced, tattooed, HOT biker Zeke Ivers has been assigned by Jake’s MC to guard him. Saddled with the constant presence of the infuriating man, Morgan juggles the demands of an exhausting dance schedule as well as his new responsibilities as CEO of his family’s multi-million-dollar company. He never expects to develop an attraction for the straight, obnoxious biker, but that’s exactly what happens.

Estranged from an abusive family, Zeke Ivers has lived at the Sentinel’s club house and worked on cars since he was a teen. When fellow club member Jake Wentworth and a rival club president’s girl are killed on Jake’s bike, the Sentinel’s president delegates the protection of Jake’s little brother, Morgan, to Zeke. Zeke would do anything for the club that pulled him off the streets, but Morgan’s a ballet dancer, for Christ’s sake, as well as annoying as hell. Still, Zeke finds himself inexplicably drawn to the young man. The more attracted Zeke becomes to Morgan, the more the biker is forced to examine his sexuality and decide whether two people from opposite sides of the tracks could possibly have a future together, or if Zeke should do what is fast becoming too painful to consider: let Morgan go.

The Ballerino and The Biker Teaser 2

The Ballerino and The Biker Teaser 3

Excerpt

For another week after the shooting, I continued escorting Morgan to his long-ass rehearsals where he didn’t rehearse, just watched intensely, and his classes where he danced until he was slick with sweat and breathing hard. And I continued studying him, memorizing every expression that crossed his face. His high cheekbones, full lips, and expressive eyes captivated me, and I’d quit asking myself why. Scared I was letting him distract me too much, I renewed my efforts to watch the exits. I’d learned the face of every person who was supposed to be around and kept a watch for those who weren’t.

The list of people wanting me to fix their cars was growing, but I never had any time. Several of the guys offered to take a day or two watching Morgan for me, but I didn’t trust the kid in anyone else’s care, and besides, there was my cover to consider. I was supposed to be a reporter doing a story on Morgan. Why would someone else show up in my place? Anyway, I knew the layout of the building, knew the corps de ballet’s schedule, and I knew Morgan. I would take care of him.

Saturday came around, and I once again thanked God the fucking masochist ballet company let the dancers have Sunday off. I planned to spend mine sleeping, unless Morgan got other ideas. The kid looked exhausted, so I doubted it. Halfway through the day, the big guy, chief of the ballet or something, announced some chick named Katie had had to leave and called Morgan in to dance her part during rehearsal. My gut twisted. How was the kid supposed to dance a part he’d only watched a few times, and a female part, at that?

But Morgan did it. He filled in for the girl like he’d been dancing the part himself every day since he got there, and I was in awe. I could tell the chief guy was impressed, too, or at least satisfied. I got the feeling he’d been testing Morgan, otherwise why the fuck hadn’t he asked one of the female apprentices to fill in? At the end of the night, like a proud daddy, I tossed Morgan a candy bar from the machine in the hall.

Morgan looked at the Hershey bar like he didn’t know what to do with it.

“For doing so great at the spur of the moment,” I told him. A smile lit up his tired face that made the embarrassing moment worth it, and he unwrapped the candy bar. He broke it down the middle and handed half to me.

“For putting up with all this,” Morgan said. Our eyes met. The whole thing felt so goddamn cheesy, I grumbled and didn’t speak again until we were pulling out of the Arts Center.

I hated the scared look Morgan had every time we walked outside the building since the shooting. I wanted to rip Spoons’s face off for putting it there, and I would if I got a chance.

“If it makes you feel any better, he ain’t gonna try the same thing twice,” I said to Morgan as he inched closer to me on the walk to the car.

He looked at me. “You mean he’ll devise another way to kill me?”

“Well, yeah.” We climbed in, and I headed for the Midtown Tunnel. I’d been changing up our route, even if it took longer to get home going a different way.

Morgan sank down in the seat and fiddled with the edge of his sweatshirt. “I can’t go on like this. I’m so fucking stressed out.”

“The way I see it, you ain’t got much choice,” I said. “You wanna be a dancer, so you gotta go to school. You wanna stay alive, so you gotta have me with you. Thing is, you gotta trust I’ll take care of you and relax.”

Morgan brought up his knees to his chin. He was like a fucking bendable toy. I bet he could put both feet behind his head. His face was broody.

“It’s gonna be okay, kid,” I said. “I got you. Concentrate on spinning around and looking pretty.”

Morgan groaned. “Shut up.”

I laughed, feeling suddenly light.

Rebecca James Logo

I’ve always loved to write and have written since I was a child, usually to entertain my family. I enjoy writing m/m romance because there’s nothing hotter than two men in a loving relationship. I write contemporary romance but am not limited to that. I enjoy writing alpha/omega and vampire stories, and I wouldn’t rule other things out. I’m very prolific, so look for a lot of things to come!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/rebeccajamesgayromance/about/?ref=page_internal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjamesromance1

Website: https://rebeccajamesgayromance.wordpress.com/

GIVEAWAY

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

MichelleSlagan---VibrantPromotionsLogo---FiveStarDesigns---150ppi

VIBRANT PROMOTIONS

https://www.facebook.com/VibrantPromotions/

PARTY ROOM

https://www.facebook.com/groups/773588662829726/

Release Blitz – Out Of The Ocean by Lynn Michaels (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Universal Buy Links
 
Length: 26,500 words approx.
 

Cover Design: Decorous Anarchy Studios

 
Blurb
 

Cal Bigsby spent his life working the fishing boats and ignoring who he really is and what he needs to be happy.


Prescott ‘Scott’ Vandenburton is being primed to take over Daddy’s company, but he craves a life of his own. His only escape is sailing his yacht.


When a freak storm hits, both are forced to think about life from a whole new perspective.


Shipwrecked, fighting for their lives, and finding unexpected love.

Excerpt


“Well, we do have some food here,” Scott said, as Cal sorted the nets.


“Yep.”


“I have some crackers and a can of smoked oysters. Want that for breakfast?”


“Nope.”


“Aren’t you hungry, Cal?”


Cal grunted. “You need to ration that food. Who knows how long we’ll be out here.” There was no way Cal was going to take food from Scott. He couldn’t.


“Uh…you mean we.”


“Huh? No.”


“Don’t grunt at me. This is serious. You’re sharing this food with me. Now what do you want to eat?”


Cal ignored him. Scott meant well, but his own instincts wouldn’t let him compromise. No matter what happened, Cal had to do everything he could to protect Scott, make sure he survived. Nothing else mattered. “Have some crackers, Scott. I’m busy.”

 

Author Bio


Lynn Michaels lives and writes in Tampa, Florida where the sun is hot and the Sangria is cold. Lynn is the newest addition to Rubicon Fiction, and she loves reading and writing about hot men in love. She writes paranormal and contemporary MM Romance


Facebook Page
Amazon Page
Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

 

Release Blitz: Would It Be Okay To Love You Box Set by Amy Tasukada (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Universal Buy Links
 
Length: 287 pages
 
Blurb



A robot fanboy. An erotic voice actor. Will their secrets overwhelm their love?


Sato doesn’t get out much. The anime company accountant spends his days at a desk and his nights working on his own small-scale robots. His geeky life is like a dream, but it has just one piece missing…


The world only knows outgoing playboy Aoi for his moans. The budding voice actor has sworn off relationships since they’ll only distract him from his budding voice acting career. That was until he met Sato.


As Aoi’s popularity rises and secrets about his past begin to reveal themselves, can the accountant and the voice actor rise above their problems to create something real?

Excerpt
 

After a few more minutes of searching, Sato found two model kits worthy of assembling. He liked one figure more, but the other would be more challenging. After all, he couldn’t spend his entire New Year’s vacation watching anime like last year.

“It’s really hard to pick one sometimes, isn’t it?” Sato said.

“I guess so,” the teenager said.

Sato bit his lip. Usually he wouldn’t hold a conversation with random strangers, but the teen clearly loved Gundam as much as he did. Why else would he linger as much as he had?

The teenager lifted his sunglasses and perched them on his black beanie. Blond hair peeked out from under the hat. He smiled at Sato, showing the dimples on his cheeks.

“They let you dye your hair in school now?” Sato blurted out without thinking. “A friend of mine got in trouble when he lightened his to brown.”

“I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh, please excuse me, I didn’t mean…” Sato bit his lip.

“Is it because I’m short?” The dimples disappeared, and a mischievous glint appeared in the man’s green eyes. “Maybe you’re just really tall.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry so much. I once bought my friend a pack of cigarettes and a cop popped out of nowhere and said I was too young to use the vending machine. He went into this big lecture, then I showed him my ID and he thought it was a fake! He threatened to call my parents and everything.”

Sato gave a weary smile and rubbed the back of his neck. Knowing the blond was close to his own age zapped away what little social courage he possessed.

The man’s gaze met Sato’s, then wandered down his body without shame. Sato’s face grew hot, and his heart thumped in his ears.

“So is everything else about you as big?” he asked.

“I—ah…”

The guy was actually flirting with him? Sato’s technique consisted of vaguely making eye contact and hoping the other person realized he was into him. The way the blond’s crooked smile spread across his face didn’t make Sato’s heart beat any quieter.

In the accounting department, the most out-there anyone got was wearing a khaki suit. Sato had never even talked to anyone bold enough to wear colored contacts and dye their hair so drastically. He pushed up his glasses but couldn’t squeak out a reply.

“So which one did you decide on getting?” the blond asked.

Sato swallowed. The man still wanted to hold a conversation with him?

“I think this one.” Sato picked a five-hour do-it-yourself kit. It would take him three if he was lucky.

“Nice choice.”

Sato rubbed his sweaty palms against his coat. “I—ah—which one are you getting?”

“Oh, these.”

He held up a few manga graphic novels. The cover of one had a man clinging onto another man, his private parts covered by a conveniently placed bedsheet. They were boys’ love novels. Sato’s tongue twisted into a Windsor knot like his tie.

If the guy was reading them, then he surely had to be gay, or at least bi. Though the fact he’d flirted with Sato had to be the biggest giveaway.

Sato’s breath caught in his throat even thinking of buying a gay manga himself.

Sure he’d dated people who were out before. There’d been that upperclassman in high school, but that had only lasted three days. His college boyfriend had lasted longer. They’d been in the same trigonometry class and had even studied together. Then he’d stopped taking Sato’s calls after the final exam. Sato tugged at his tie. He couldn’t really count those as meaningful relationships.

The man stared at Sato.

“So you’re not getting a kit?” Sato asked.

“I ducked here to hide from them.” The blond pointed to the door where the group of women walked out.

“All of them?”

He laughed. “What can I say?”

 

Author Bio


Amy Tasukada lives in North Texas with a calico cat called O’Hara. As an only child her day dreams kept her entertained, and at age ten she started to put them to paper. Since then her love of writing hasn’t cease. She can be found drinking hot tea and filming Japanese street fashion hauls on her Youtube channel.


Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Website

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

 

A MelanieM Review: Family Matters (Brandywine Investigations #4-5) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

With his career firmly established and his reputation as a successful PI growing, Hades should have the perfect life with his human lover, his faithful ferryman, his dogs and the parts of his family still speaking to him. But murder and chaos are never far away for death lords as his nephew Dionysus and his oldest friend Charon are drawn into the maelstrom.

Includes: Books, Bulls, & Bacchanals: Brandywine Investigations #4 Midwinter Dancing: Brandywine Investigations #4.5 Pack Up the Moon: Brandywine Investigations #5

With Angel Martinez’s fertile imagination, she has created a universe in which Lord Hades gets a divorce, gets kicked out of the underworld and starts a detective agency.  Of course, there’s so much more to it than that.  It involves so many gods and goddesses hanging out in the “real world” as well as on the Olympic plain, all doing their thing.  It’s fun, it’s a madhouse of murder and mystery and the author often turns well-known mythology on it’s head time after time.  Yes, it’s also absolutely marvelous great times.

I’ve taken the two stories that make up Family Matters separately.  They both take place in the Brandywine Investigations universe and have some of the same characters, in that Dio and Leander, along with Hades and Ti makes appearances in Pack Up the Moon.

Books, Bulls, & Bacchanals: Brandywine Investigations #4: Rating: 5 stars

Everyone assumes life’s one big party for Dionysus, but even the god of wine and orgies has problems. His anger management issues are out of control, and his siblings suggest a visit to the Eternal Library to find a cure. The library of the gods is a strange and confounding place, though, one that Dionysus has avoided for centuries, and his certainty that the library hates him is confirmed when a killer strikes during his visit.

Life as the only librarian is blissfully peaceful for Leander, giving him the security and quiet he so desperately needs. Considered a monster as a child, Leander’s memories of his imprisonment in the Labyrinth left deeply carved emotional scars. But when a young woman is murdered in his library, he needs to emerge from his self-imposed seclusion to help find the killer who might still stalk the hallways.

Forced to keep company with Dionysus, Leander swings between whether the unpredictable and charming little god will keep him safe or drive him to distraction before the killer is found.

I absolutely loved this story.  Here again the author takes two well known mythological figures Dionysus and the Minotaur and puts her own spin on their characters, personalities, and back histories.   Personally, I like her take on them  better.  Dio as he’s called is a slightly damaged, loving chaos god whose brain was scrambled by what you might call an acid trip.  He wants to be loved and accepted for who he is.  Hard when part of that includes orgiastic events that he needs to feed his life force.  For too many lovers, that’s been  breaking point along with a certain impossible to contain destructive anger.  One that explodes when he finds his human assistant dead in the Underworld Library.

Leander, head librarian at The Eternal Library, is the Minotaur.  However, here, instead of a fierce monster, he was an abused teenager, unjustly imprisoned by his family and betrayed by Theseus.  He’s a figure of utter shyness, poignancy, with a good measure of PTSD thrown in.  All in a huge minotaur’s body.  All he wants is his books, his garden, and to be left alone with his red panda assistants (so  fantastically  adorable).   But one murder, several robberies, and that’s quite impossible.

The authors characterizations, wonderful plot, sweet romance, and all the suspense make this a 5 star romp that both endearing and edge of your seat exciting.  Loved it.

Pack Up the Moon: Brandywine Investigations #5 Rating 4.5 stars out of 5

Charon, Hades’ ferryman of the Dead across the River Styx, has watched Hades himself and several of Hades’ nephews all find love.  And quietly wished for love himself.  To pass in the normal world, he runs Stygian Funeral Home when he isn’t helping solve mysteries with Lord  Hades.  Then it happens, he has a run in with the raccoon demi god Azeban and his crow Kaukont and everything starts to go terribly wrong.  Or right after a very mixed up fashion even for a Chaos god.  With the world and all its souls hanging in the balance, can love and a ton of goddesses and Chaos gods save the day?

Chary, that wonderful Chaos god who has appeared in all the stories, now gets his own romance.  Long overdue and I’m so happy with the results.  No less than the utter end of the Death Lords and the World could be at stake here.  And the resolution and unlikeliest of heroes is also a Raccoon.  Well, a raccoon god and a crow.  There’s  the Martinez humor, a great deal of pathos in two characters who never thought they’d find love and do with each other, near death experiences, and a wonderful drum dance of goddesses and this story came very close to perfection.    Perhaps I wanted a little more comeuppance for the evil deeds done but maybe that ‘s not possible when you are talking about gods.

If you love mythology, Angel Martinez and her wild takes on everything from murder mysteries to every known god pantheon there is, this is the universe and stories for you.  Grab them all up while you are at it.  I highly recommend them all.

Cover art: Rebeckah Murray.  I like this cover.  Clearly different from the norm.  That Leander and Dio on the front.  I liked it.

Sales Links:  Mischief Corner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 502 pages
Published February 28th 2018 by Mischief Corner Books
ASINB079QZG71P
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Brandywine Investigations #4-5

Please note: Books, Bulls & Bacchanals has been re-edited with a few story adjustments for this edition.