A PaulB Review: Max, Brad, and Maisie Mystery Series by L.G. Fabbo-Gonnella

Series Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

murder-in-the-string-of-g-2Author L. G. Fabbo-Gonnella spins the classic noir murder mystery for modern times in the Max, Brad and Maisie series.  Max and Brad are two young (early 20s), struggling actors trying to break onto Broadway who work in a local pub to pay the bills.  When signing up to audition for a role in a new play at a renovated theater, they encounter the ghost of Maisie, a burlesque dancer who was murdered in 1959.  This begins an unusual friendship between the three as go about trying to emulate Hercule Poirot and Topper at the same time. 

Brad is a straight male of Italian heritage who fancies himself a ladies man with a thing for voluptuous women.  Max often complains that he thinks with the head in his pants instead of the one on his shoulders, which can get him into trouble.   

Max is a gay male who is searching for something meaningful.  Having moved to New York from Kansas, he finds a friend in Brad and they decide to room together.  He knows that they should not get involved in trying to solve these mysteries, but as Ethel always seemed to go along with Lucy, he backs his friend whole-heartedly.  He just hopes that they don’t get killed in the process.

Maisie doesn’t have that problem as she’s already dead.  Previously tied to the theater where she was killed, she know moves around with “her boys” as they try to solve the mysteries that they encounter.  While she was a burlesque performer, she is still a lady.  She laments the decline of civility in the modern world but finds a hobby in watching wrestling on television.

In Murder in the String of G, the trio set about to prove that Maisie was in fact murdered and whom committed the crime.  In Murder in the Square Circle, Maisie insists that she and her boys investigate when her favorite wrestler is charged with the murder of his rival in the ring.  In Murder in Noir, the boys finally have parts in an upcoming Broadway play (bit parts, but you have to start somewhere).  The boys find blackmail notes tossed on the floor and decide to investigate further. 

To say that these three are not Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot would be an understatement.  While they have good instincts as to what paths to follow, it seems they always stumble unto the proper solution to the mysteries.  Add to that the fact that Brad somehow seems to find himself naked and tied or handcuffed to a bed and you see that they should not be in the private investigating business.  If you are nostalgic for classic mysteries, give this series a try.  I will state that the books could use a more thorough editing but was not a major problem. 

Dustin Kime does a good job with the covers of the three books.  For String of G, the ghost of Maisie is superimposed on the backdrop of the Cassandra Theater where she was murdered.  For Square Circle, a young wrestler is on the cover.  And for Noir, the lead actor for the boys’ play is featured in a classic noir pose.

Buy links:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7SOOKM/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A7SOOKM

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EC0ZY0A/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EC0ZY0A/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUSMEKM/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EUSMEKM/

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murder-in-noirBook Details

Murder in the String of G

EBook, 127 pages

Edition Language:  English

Published:  December 2012 by Amazon Digital Services

ASIN: B00A7SOOKM

A Lila Review: The Impossible Boy by Anna Martin

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

the-impossible-boyThis is not your average love story.

Ben Easton is not your average romantic hero. He’s a tattooed, badass, wannabe rock star, working in a perfectly horrible dive bar in Camden Town. His life is good, and he’s totally unprepared for how one man will turn it upside down.

Stan isn’t your average heroine. As a gender-fluid man, he proudly wears his blond hair long, his heels sky-high, and his makeup perfectly executed. A fashion industry prodigy, Stan is in London after stints working in Italy and New York City, and he quickly falls for Ben’s devil-may-care attitude and the warm, soft heart Ben hides behind it.

Beneath the perfect, elegant exterior, Stan has plenty of scars from teenage battles with anorexia. And it only takes the slightest slip for his demons to rush back in while Ben is away touring with his band. With the band on the brink of a breakthrough, Ben is forced to find a way to balance the opportunity of a lifetime with caring for his beautiful boyfriend.

The Impossible Boy is more than a romance. It’s the story of a young man adjusting back into life when dealing with anorexia. And how his sexuality, love life, and career were affected by it–before and after. It can be considered a coming of age novel set in London.

The book is divided into two parts. The first sixty-four percent is more of an introduction to Stan’s and Ben’s life and romance. I’d have been okay if the book ended there. Not that the rest isn’t worth it, but the second part felt like an addition or a longer view to a well-established relationship.

We spent a lot of time experiencing the story as Stan. And perhaps, that’s one of the reasons I find a disconnected between the two parts of the story. Almost like he blocked us from what was really happening, just like he was doing with the rest of the world. But by the end of the story, it’s easy to see that we were indeed blocked. It was part of Stan’s coping mechanism and we need to understand it like Ben had to.

The amount of detail in the story could be a bit overwhelming, but just like Stan, it was like learning more about the country, new people, and himself. One thing I appreciated was how the symptoms of Stan’s anorexia were presented as part of his personality, and not as a checklist to diagnose his medical condition.

This story is mostly sweet. It has a very young adult feel even when the main characters are older than what’s expected. There’s a slow burn that becomes love making; never fucking. They go on dates, spend time together, talk about work, and hang around with friends. The topics discussed are serious but there’s not a lot of angst. If not for Stan’s anorexia, this could be a fairytale romance.

All the secondary characters are great. The bandmates acted as normal young people trying to get into the spotlight. They’re not perfect, but they do work well together. They look out for each other and are a family. I do need to accept that my favorite character in the book was Tone, not the MCs. He’s more than Ben’s & Stan’s best friend, he’s the reason they understand each other. Plus, he’s lovely.

Overall, this is a good read. Just be sure you’re looking for something more than a simple romance story. It’s slow-paced and some of the switches between scenes can be quite abrupt, but it brings the story together in the end.

The cover by Garrett Leigh is beautiful. It fits Stan perfectly, not only physically, but emotionally.

Sale Links: Dreamspinner | Amazon | Nook

ebook, 204 pages
Published: January 17, 2017, Dreamspinner Press (Perchance to Dream)
ASIN: 1635332052 (ISBN13: 9781635332056)
Edition Language: English

 

A Jeri Review: Afraid to Fly (Anchor Point #2) by L.A. Witt

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

afraid-to-fly_600x900Two Navy men, both damaged in similar but different ways while on the job. Afraid that no one will put up with them and their problems long term, they find each other.

Travis was a Naval pilot until he landed his plane in the ocean instead. Grounded to a desk job with chronic back pain, he just wants to get through his day. Clint was a drone pilot on a classified mission when something went wrong. To this day he is haunted by it and the fact that it is SO classified he cannot talk to anyone about it, not even a therapist. So while he is physically fine, the PTSD wakes him every night.

Some of the things I really liked about this book: that there are boring desk jobs in the military, that both main characters were closer to middle aged than “legal”, and that you can suffer from PTSD even if you weren’t on the front lines.

Travis does everything he can to not seem like he is in so much pain because even with a desk job, he can be given medical discharge from the Navy. And when you are way closer to 40 than to 18, starting a career over is not something you want to look forward to.

That being said, I felt that it was very repetitive and that Clint was almost too good. He never complains at all about how Travis’ pain rules everything. Including, and especially in the bedroom. Of course when you love someone you love who they are, but dealing with chronic pain like that can and does get to the partners as well. Trust me, I know from experience. I wanted Clint to get at least frustrated once about the situation. But he kept saying “It’s fine, I understand”.

A lot of times I see books with trigger warnings and I don’t worry about it because I didn’t think I was the type to be triggered. Even when something in a book hit a little to close to home (me). But chronic pain I think might have to be my trigger warning because I wanted to be upset and frustrated for Clint.

Another person could have a totally different take on this. Admittedly, my opinion is skewed because of real life.

Afraid to Fly is the sequel to Just Drive, but can very easily be read as a stand alone.

Cover art by L.C. Chase works perfectly for the story.

Sales Links

Riptide Publishing

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Book Details:

ebook, 347 pages
Published January 16th 2017 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN 1626494991 (ISBN13: 9781626494992)
Series:Anchor Point #2

Brandon Witt on Writing and his new novel ‘Nachos & Hash (Mary’s Boys #1)'(guest blog and giveaway)

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Nachos & Hash (Mary’s Boys #1) by Brandon Witt
D
reamspinner Press
Release Date: January 25, 2017

Cover Artist: AngstyG

Available for Purchase at

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Brandon Witt here today talking about writing and his latest story, Nachos & Hash.  Welcome, Brandon!

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My writing has always mimicked my own life.  Maybe that’s true for all authors.  Maybe it’s just me being self-absorbed. Let’s hope it’s all authors…

For me, my life is split into two separate parts.  Actually, there’s way more than two, but in this sense, just the two.  I grew up in a small farming Ozark town of 3,000.  I moved to Denver, which I thought was the biggest city in the world at the time.  I love Denver, but if it wasn’t for my nephew, I’d be moving again.  It feels too small to me now.  I want SanDiego, Seattle, New York, San Francisco!  Though I’m an introvert who doesn’t want to talk to people, I do love living in a city.

My writing often follows that same path.  My books are set either in small, rural towns or large cities.  I’m fascinated with the difference between them.  How the rules of society and interaction are so varied and distinct.  They really are very separate worlds.  And the people who adamantly prefer one over the other are typically very different types of people. 

In Nachos & Hash, I wanted to play around with the two men who were relatively new to the ‘big city’ life of Denver. Both of whom are from small Midwestern towns.  Both of the characters are young (Cody being 21 and making him my youngest character yet) and both are coming of age in very different ways. And believe me, coming of age in a city instead of small town is a dramatically different experience.

Cody and Darwin both capture different parts of me when I was coming out and coming of age, though both of them came out quicker than I did.  Cody is 21, but a young 21 in a lot of ways, at times almost feeling childish.  Darwin, at 24, is an old 24, at times making choices far beyond his years.  If you put both of these men together, you get the mess that I was through my twenties.  In so many ways younger and more naive than my peers. And scared shitless.  But on the other hand, I was vastly more mature and ‘old acting’ than my peers.  There was huge split in my experiences that made both of these things happen at the same time. I guarantee, at times, you’ll want to shake Cody for being too childish and likewise roll your eyes at Darwin for being such an old man.  However, I firmly believe age is just a number and few of us fall into where we are supposed to be all of the time.  It’s in that awkwardness, that transition from country-life to city-life, from childhood to adulthood, with all of it’s ugly twists and turns that I think will make you both relate to Cody and Darwin and allow you to fall in love with them.

One random person who comments will receive a $5 Amazon gift card!

Please come along to Joyfully Jay on the 23rd to get a sneak peak at the entire series.

Nachos & Hash Blurb

Darwin Michaels is living his dreams in the Mile High City. While Denver offers the perfect job, scrumptious dining, and whirlwind dating options, Darwin is losing hope he’ll find the right man to spark his interest for more than a one-night stand—until he sets eyes on Cody Russell.

Cody has just accomplished his life’s goal—get the hell out of Kansas. In one fell swoop, he lands a job at Hamburger Mary’s and gets a newfound family and the chance to be with other gay people! All that’s missing is someone special. But when Darwin shows his interest, Cody is sure it’s too good to be true. After all, what can Darwin possibly see in the high school dropout serving him nachos?

As Darwin falls in love, Cody struggles to realize his worth. When his past threatens the fragile life he is building, Cody spirals into a moment of dark desperation. But Darwin is determined to show Cody that love and family and home are there “for him… will Cody accept what is offered?

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About Brandon Witt

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Brandon Witt’s outlook on life is greatly impacted by his first eighteen years of growing up gay in a small town in the Ozarks, as well as fifteen years as a counselor and special education teacher for students with severe emotional disabilities. Add to that his obsession with corgis and mermaids, then factor in an unhealthy love affair with cheeseburgers, and you realize that with all those issues, he’s got plenty to write about….

Nachos & Hash Links

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Giveaway

One random person who comments will receive a $5 Amazon gift card!  Don’t forget to leave your email address should you be the one who Brandon chooses.  Contest ends January 27, 2017 at midnight.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Blog Tour Schedule:

Jan 5- The Novel Approach

Jan 9- Tam’s Two Cents

Jan 11-Mary Newman’s Blog

Jan 12- SusanMacnicol.net

Jan 19- Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Jan 23- Joyfully Jay

Jan 24-Love Bytes

Jan 25 – (Release Day!)

Jan 25- Divine Magazine

Jan 26- Prism Book Alliance

In Our New Release Spotlight: Quarry (The Vampire Guard #2) by Elizabeth Noble (author interview and special excerpt)

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Quarry (The Vampire Guard #2) by Elizabeth Noble
D
SP Publications

Available for Purchase at

DSP Publications

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 and Google Play

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Elizabeth Noble here today. Welcome, Elizabeth. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your latest novel.

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Thank you for having me on your blog today! I loved the questions you sent.

Are you a planner or a pantzer when writing a story? And why?

The short answer to the first question is yes. I do a bit of a combination and my story planning is something akin to chaos. Honestly, sometimes I don’t know how I pull it all together to create a book. I know there are authors who have detailed outlines for every chapter.

I’m not one of them.

Generally, I start out with a few scene ideas that turns into a plot. Then I’ll complete a rough story synopsis and general outline for the book as a whole. My outlines or story overviews are mostly a few lines of this, that, and something else that needs to happen somewhere begin Chapter 1 and The End. I take those few scene ideas and write a story around them. No one is more surprised than I am at how I interconnect those scenes. It’s a discovery and journey I love taking with each and every book.

As to the second question, the why…I really have no idea. I’ve accepted that’s simply the way my mind works. I’ve tried various method of detailed outlines or mind maps and they turn into a log jam every time.

How early in your life did you begin writing?

Honestly? Before I could write. I remember when I was very little making up and telling stories to anyone and everyone who’d listen. I think at that time in my life I was a constant chatterer and probably drove those around me nuts. I lived with my grandparents and though I have siblings I spent very little of my life with them. So, in essence, I grew up an only child. My grandparents, particularly my grandfather, loved books and encouraged my storytelling. I think they were happy when I learned how to write, however. I was always gifted with pads of paper and pencils!

Were you an early reader or were you read to and what childhood books had an impact on you as a child that you remember to this day and why?

I don’t remember being read to, but I’m sure I was. I do remember reading books even before I started school, and I remember my grandmother teaching me to read. She used to get frustrated when I was in early grade school and only brought home books on birds and wildlife from the library instead of storybooks.

The books I loved the most as a child were ones like Black Beauty, King of the Wind, Call of the Wild and Lassie. After those I loved books by Jules Verne and read all of them.

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Blurb

The members of the Vampire Guard—Jonas Forge, spy and soldier turned cop; computer hacker extraordinaire Blair Turner; Declan, thief, con man, and ex-pirate; and medical examiner and werewolf Dr. Lucas Coate—face a dangerous and elusive enemy.

And this time, it’s personal.

Over the course of three hundred years, a man has touched each of their lives in ways they are only just realizing. When a hunt for a psychotic killer in the present resurrects memories and clues from the past, they discover how they have been affected and are bound by the existence of a ruthless vampire criminal. Now, while preventing a heist at a high-tech art show and thwarting several large-scale explosions, the team must employ their unique blend of science and supernatural abilities to put an end to the machinations of the man toying with their lives.

This time, he won’t slip through their fingers.

This time, it’s more than a case. It’s a hunt, and Forge, Blair, Declan, and Lucas won’t stop until they’ve captured their quarry.

Excerpt (this was one of those scenes that lead to the rest of the book):

Jonas laid his hand on Declan’s shoulder for a few beats. “It’s okay.” He settled on the ground beside Blair and pulled him close. “You’ll be fine.”

Blair reached over and ran two fingers down Jonas’s cheek. “You’ll do okay without me.”

Jonas sighed and shook his head. He shifted his weight so he squatted as much as possible behind Blair instead of beside him and slipped his hands under Blair’s arms.

“Ready?” Declan asked. Jonas nodded.

“We can do this,” Lucas said. He, along with Ori and Kai, positioned themselves with Declan at various points along the chunk of concrete pinning and trapping Blair. Even with all four of them, it was a strain lifting what had at one time been a wall. They got it up far enough so Jonas could haul Blair out.

Blair shouted through clenched teeth and shuddered. He reached around and gripped Jonas’s shirt with one hand. Shifting him carefully, Jonas hefted Blair up and held him in his arms.

“I don’t want you to die,” Blair whispered. He rested his head on Jonas’s shoulder and ran his fingertips over Jonas’s cheek again. “Declan promised he’d take care of you.”

Jonas raised his eyebrows and sighed. Declan pinched the bridge of his nose for a few seconds and said, “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

Jonas leaned to the side and stared down at the dark puddle under the chunk of concrete. “I see.”

Blair gasped a few times and touched Jonas’s face again. “Don’t die. You don’t have to die if I do.”

“I have no plans on dying, and you’re not going to either. Not today anyway,” Jonas said softly.

“Normal folks die from blood loss. You vamps are cool. All you do is become delirious.” Lucas patted Jonas’s arm. “Get him on the stretcher so I can see what we need to do.”

Once Blair was on the stretcher, Lucas ripped the material covering his leg. Bones stuck out in places they shouldn’t have, and his leg bent sideways right below his knee.

Lucas reached up and put his hand on the side of Blair’s neck. “The good news is, you’re a vampire, and this will be healed in a week or two. The bad news is, you’re a vampire, and there isn’t a lot I can do about painkillers.”

Blair licked his lips and nodded. “Quick. Do it quick.”

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About the Author

Elizabeth Noble lives by the adage “I can’t not write”. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t make up stories and eventually she learned how to write them down. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage.  Using a real love of scifi and urban fantasy highlighted by twisty plots she crafts stories taking place in a slightly altered version of our world.

When she’s not chronicling the adventures of her many characters Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She shares her little brick house with an adorable canine princess and her tabby cat side-kick. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Indians!) and gardening. She can often be found working in her ‘outside office’ listening to classic rock and plotting her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.

Elizabeth received several amateur writing awards. Since being published, several of her novels have received honorable mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Her novel Jewel Cave was a runner-up in the 2015 Rainbow Awards in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards.

Please visit Elizabeth Noble at:

Visit The Vampire Guard:

  • The Vampire Guard website: http://bit.ly/232TyHH
  • Email members of The Vampire Guard:  jr.vampx@gmail.com

Other links:

Release Blitz & Review Tour for Anna Martin’s The Impossible Boy (giveaway)

The Impossible Boy – Anna Martin

 
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh
 
Length: 67,000 words
 
Blurb

This is not your average love story.

Ben Easton is not your average romantic hero. He’s a tattooed, badass, wannabe rock star, working in a perfectly horrible dive bar in Camden Town. His life is good, and he’s totally unprepared for how one man will turn it upside down.

Stan isn’t your average heroine. As a gender-fluid man, he proudly wears his blond hair long, his heels sky-high, and his make-up perfectly executed. A fashion industry prodigy, Stan is in London after stints working in Italy and New York City, and he quickly falls for Ben’s devil-may-care attitude and the warm, soft heart Ben hides behind it.

Beneath the perfect, elegant exterior, Stan has plenty of scars from teenage battles with anorexia. And it only takes the slightest slip for his demons to rush back in while Ben’s away touring with his band. With the band on the brink of a breakthrough, Ben is forced to find a way to balance the opportunity of a lifetime with caring for his beautiful boyfriend.

 
 
January 21 – Urban Smoothie Read
January 23 – Bonkers About Books
February 1 – Romantic Fanatic
February 3 – Bayou Book Junkie
 
Author Bio

Anna Martin is from a picturesque seaside village in the south west of England and now lives in Bristol. After spending most of her childhood making up stories, she studied English Literature at university before turning her hand as a professional writer.

Apart from being physically dependent on her laptop, Anna is enthusiastic about writing and producing local grassroots theatre (especially at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she can be found every summer), visiting friends who live in other countries, Marvel Comics, learning new things, and Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.

Although her most recent work is in the LGBT Adult Fiction genre, in the past Anna has worked on a variety of different projects including short stories, drabbles, flash fiction, fan fiction, plays for both children and adults, and poetry. She has written novels in the Teen/ Young Adult genre, Romance, and Fantasy novels.

Anna is, by her own admission, almost unhealthily obsessed with books. The library she has amassed is both large and diverse; “My favourite books,” she says, “are The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.” She also several well-read copies of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park books and re-reads the Harry Potter novels with almost startling regularity.

Anna claims her entire career is due to the love, support, pre-reading and creative ass-kicking provided by her closest friend Jennifer. Jennifer refuses to accept any responsibility for anything Anna has written.

 

http://www.facebook.com/annamartinfiction
http://www.pinterest.com/annamartinficti/
http://instagram.com/missannamartin
http://www.twitter.com/missannamartin

 Giveaway

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A Stella Release Day Review: Permanent Ink by Jaime Samms

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

permanent-inkPermanent Ink by Jaime Samms, released by Dreamspinner Press, is a second edition, I haven’t read the first one so I’m not sure how much or if it was revisited. I usually like what the author writes so I was really curious about this new to me novella. Plus “opposite attracts” is a trope I truly love in my books.

I found Permanent Ink to be a good story. The characters were well developed considering the length of the novella, just sixty pages. I particularly liked the secondary characters, Angel and Jack, the little scenes with Angel’s mum. All of them were what friends and family are supposed to be, the love they shared is pure and strong.

There were a couple of things that kept me from rating the story more than 3.25 stars. First of all I would have preferred to have Dwayne POV too. Eric’s one wasn’t enough. I struggled understanding what was going on in Dwayne mind and his POV would have helped me a lot. For example to actually see the desire they seemed to have for each other. In fact apart from the sexual parts, did they like each other? Did they want to be together? I had no idea what they were feeling. A couple of”I love you” spoken in the epilogue didn’t satisfy me at all. I wanted more from the MCs and sadly I didn’t get it.

That said, Permanent Ink is a good story, well written from one of my favorite authors. It just misses the fire that make me really love a book.

The cover art by AngstyG is awesome, it caught my attention and together to the author name, brought me to be interested in the story, I wasn’t even interested in the blurb.

Sales Links

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Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 63 pages
Expected publication: January 18th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press (first published February 1st 2011)
ISBN 1634777794 (ISBN13: 9781634777797)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Release Day Review: In Your Court (World of Love) by Reece Pine

 
Rating – 1 Star out of 5
 
in-your-court-by-reece-pineRegan a.k.a Ray is in Ho Chi Minh City (a.ka. Saigon), Vietnam as a volunteer basketball coach at the Ho Chi Minh Central Crane School for a week. But this week is also Ray’s goodbye to a sport he has loved for too long but is now unable to play because of his crippling back ache.  So for one week he is going to play through the pain and when the week ends he plans to curl up and pay for it.  He has everything worked out but what he didn’t take into account was falling in love, unfortunately a distance as large as the Pacific Ocean isn’t going to be easy to ignore.
 
Have you read the blurb for this story? If you haven’t, read it, it is painfully accurate and also 80% of the story.
 
The book is written in a lingo which as the book is written entirely from Ray’s perspective translates into I have no idea why Ray thinks and talks like this.
 
This story is extremely disjointed and vague. It is so vague that  having read it I still have no idea what Xin does for a living, why or how Ray was in Saigon and also who both these characters actually are. I mean yes the story does inform us about these things but if you stop and think about it you will be completely befuddled. Let’s take Xin’s job for example he tells us in many words that he is a glorified translator but later on we find out that he matches companies with tax-deductible sponsorship opportunities, makes connections, talks to a lot of people and since he speaks multiple languages he translates for his father, but in all this mess of words I still don’t know in any concrete sense what it was Xin does for a job and how that translated in him being in Vietnam coincidentally on the first day of Ray’s stay there. Also if volunteers other than Ray had been there in Crane School, why the hell did they need a translator for Ray when they had managed without one before?
 
Basically the story seems to make no sense. Things seem to happen just because they are planned to happen that way and the strings calling the shots are not so invisible. I couldn’t for the life of me understand Ray’s motivations or what he wanted from life and that is despite being in his head all the time so it was almost impossible to get a grasp on Xin, he might has well have been an alien.  Also while Ray’s condition is one of the only things in this book that is spelt out, while the science made sense, I had no idea how the disease translated to Ray and his life.
 
One of the aspects of this book was the culture shock. The author talks about the differences in culture but the problem was that at no point in the story did the differences seem to end at no point in the story was there the realization that we are all just people no matter how different, in fact the differences just seemed to be building on till they became almost insurmountable.
 
The first half of the story which is the part in Crane School adds absolutely nothing to the story. The story actually doesn’t start till Ray’s obligations with the school are over so technically Ray and Xin fall in love over 3 days, the worst part is I would have accepted it if it was written in a convincing matter but yeah that never happened.
 
I just can’t understand why Xin and Ray fell in love. They have nothing together that would equate a good relationship and they have no chemistry. The first sex scene in this story is around the 60% mark and it was the slowest sex scene in history, the scene spans 10 plus pages and was just so boring, why, just why was this so long and so detailed. Unfortunately the subsequent sex scenes were no improvement.
 
One of the reasons I picked up this book was that I thought this book would focus more on the relationship between Xin and Ray and would centre around their decision to stay together despite odds and I was hoping we would get to see them take a leap of fate as they rearrange their lives around being together but that was a pitiful 5% of this book and the answer was a yes without any thought, planning, knowledge or understanding.
 
If you ask me just skip this book the only pleasure I got from this book was when I was pounding my frustration into this review. The characters are vague, they story makes no sense and the blurb reveals all there is to know.
 
Cover Art by Garrett Leigh. I liked the cover but the guy on the cover fits no description of Xin’s and I’m pretty sure that is not supposed to be Ray.
Sales Links
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Book Details:
ebook, 120 pages
Expected publication: January 18th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1635332249 (ISBN13: 9781635332247)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesWorld of Love settingVietnam

A Caryn Release Day Review: The Mighty Have Fallen by Bonnie Dee

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

the-mighty-have-fallenThe book opens up with Trevor Rowland quoting the Bible (because I am a nerd, I looked it up, Samuel 1:25, KJV) “How are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle!” referring to himself.  He had been a wealthy, celebrated stage actor when he suffered a stroke that left him completely blind.  To add insult to injury, while he was still in rehabilitation his boyfriend ran away after emptying their bank accounts, and Trevor found that he had been swindling him all along.  Trevor is feeling pretty low – he used to have it all, and now he’s disabled, poor, and feeling like an ass for not recognizing that his boyfriend was so shallow and dishonest. He is depressed, angry, bored, scared, and frustrated.

The same page introduces Jack Burrows, a blue-collar East Ender who moved in with Trevor one month ago mostly to split the rent, but partly to help Trevor out with household chores.  He is almost annoyingly optimistic and cheery, and has decided it is his mission to get Trevor to find meaning in his new life.  He does so by suggesting that Trevor look into doing voice-overs, and amateur drag queen performance.  Which Trevor immediately does and his attitude and his life turn around almost instantly.

So at this point, I was already sitting back and considering the story very detachedly, because it felt forced and awkward.  The reader is dropped into the story literally at the moment that Trevor is transforming his life, so the backstory is all told instead of shown and I wasn’t convinced.  I also did not feel the realities of losing one’s sight as an adult was portrayed very realistically – Trevor usually acted like a sighted person, so when the cane actually was mentioned it seemed intrusive.  I recently read Running Blind, by Kim Fielding and Venona Keyes, and that portrayal of a man who lost his sight (also from a stroke, imagine that) was much more credible.  Then there was the insta-love aspect – I really hate insta-love because I think it is a cop-out so an author can avoid plot and characterization – although I know that is not unusual for this author.  I was dubious about the whole business of Trevor doing a drag show, despite the extensive monologues about how it equated with his previous career and why the music he chose to lip-sync was so meaningful.  Jack’s character was too perfect, and though the accent did help to bring his voice to life for me, it slipped frequently (for an amazing example of the accent done well, and the contrast between posh and uncultured voices, read Glitterland by Alexis Hall)

When I realized that I was comparing this book to others just to see how it fell short, I knew it was going to be a miss for me.  The conflict before the happy ending was the usual misunderstanding blown out of proportion – so overused – and the drag show, which should have been a pinnacle of the story, was unimpressive.

Cover art by Bree Archer is nice but way too dramatic for this story.

Sales Links

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Book Details:

ebook, 112 pages
Expected publication: January 18th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1635332370 (ISBN13: 9781635332377)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Kim Fielding on Rocky Horror and her release Love is Heartless (Love Can’t Series #2) (guest post and giveaway)

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Love is Heartless (Love Can’t Series #2) by Kim Fielding

Dreamspinner Press
Cover art by Brooke Albrecht

Available for Purchase at

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Kim Fielding here today.  Welcome, Kim!

~

Kim Fielding on Rocky Horror!

It’s just a jump to the left….

When I was in high school—back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth—my friends and I used to go to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was playing at the Clinton Street Theater in Southeast Portland (where it began playing in 1978 and still shows every Saturday night!), which was way across town from our suburb. But we’d pile into vehicles and make our way across the city. Sometimes we dressed up (that’s me, far left, as Janet). Sometimes after the movie we’d go to Carrow’s for coffee and cinnamon rolls.rocky

What was the appeal of Rocky Horror? Well, participation was fun. I still remember all the lyrics and callbacks. Rocky himself was awfully sexy in his little gold Speedos, and Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter was perfection. And of course it was cool to stay out really late. More than that, though, I think the film spoke to those of who were… different. The crowd at the Clinton Street wasn’t made up of the cool kids—the jocks and the preppies and the cheerleaders. Sitting in the audience were boys who liked to wear girls’ clothes, people of all shapes and sizes and eccentricities. At Rocky, nobody shunned us for being weird. We’d stand out in the cold, waiting for the theater to let us in, and for that time we were colleagues. For suburban teens in the early eighties, Rocky was subversive.

Life went on. I grew up, moved away, found my own place in the world. But Rocky still has a place in my heart. So when a local theater had a midnight showing this summer—outdoors—I took my 16-year-old daughter. We sang along and tossed playing cards and had a wonderful time. The venue was sold out, some of the audience members ancient like me but many of them younger, and it was a blast. Rocky still speaks to the eccentric, I think.

In my newest book, Love Is Heartless, Colin takes Nevin on an impromptu date to Rocky. At the Clinton Street Theater, in fact.  Colin loves musical theatre anyway, so he’s a fan from way back. But Nevin had a hardscrabble childhood and an adulthood without much whimsy, so this will be his first time.

Are you a Rocky fa-an? Which character is your favorite?

Blurb

Small but mighty—that could be Detective Nevin Ng’s motto. Now a dedicated member of the Portland Police Bureau, he didn’t let a tough start in life stop him from protecting those in need. He doesn’t take crap from anyone, and he doesn’t do relationships. Until he responds to the severe beating of a senior citizen and meets the victim’s wealthy, bow-tied landlord.

Property manager and developer Colin Westwood grew up with all the things Nevin never had, like plenty of money and a supportive, loving family. Too supportive, perhaps, since his childhood illness has left his parents unwilling to admit he’s a strong, grown man. Colin does do relationships, but they never work out. Now he’s thinking maybe he won’t just go with the flow. Maybe it’s time to try something more exciting. But being a witness to a terrible crime—or two—was more than he bargained for.

Despite their differences, Colin and Nevin discover that the sparks fly when they’re together. But sparks are short-lived, dampened by the advent of brutal crimes, and Colin and Nevin have seemingly little in common. The question is whether they have the heart to build something lasting.

Buy links:

Dreamspinner Press

Find Kim!

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KFieldingWrites/

Twitter: @KFieldingWrites

Author bio:

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.

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