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A Stella Review: Of Gods and Monsters: Hades (Of Gods and Monsters #2) by Wulf Francu Godgluck

RATING 5 out of 5 stars          ★★★★★

******WARNING*******
Hades of Gods and MonstersThis is not a story about a hero, or some bad boy-badass-antihero.
This is a love story between two monstrous villains and one valiant kid, held together by their entwined heartstrings.
It won’t be pretty.
It won’t be pleasant.
There’s no fluffy good feelings about it.
It will rip out your heart and never give it back.

Breno Hades el Oscuro took no bullshit from anyone. He ruled the crime world of the United States. When the King fell, what was left in the ashes was not the small boy that grew up without his father, not the same kid that chose a life of crime at seventeen, nor was it the King who had killed and clawed through a river of blood to stand at the top.

The King was dragged from his throne of bones into a deep dark pit, leaving only the raw flesh of a savage monster to crawl out of Hell.
One that knew love, but didn’t want it again.

Kemono Orochi was destined to inherit the legacy of his father, known as The Dragon’s Tongue. It was an inheritance he never wanted it, never desiring the power that came with the title of Dragon. Kemono ended it all by tearing off the Dragon’s head, watching the serpent’s remains be consumed in hellfire. Now tormented by the scars of his past inflicted by his father, he is struggling to come to terms with the Akuma he has become.

One that wants to devour everyone in his path to protect the only one that matters to him.

The only person that had ever made his icy heart beat.

His heart. His love. His beautiful pride.

Rex Hunter dreams of becoming a principal ballerino…all fierce, like a Phoenix. But this Phoenix has lost his wings and fallen prey, straight into the clutched claws and callus hands of two vicious beasts. Each bore the blackest of hearts, each desiring to keep him safe, cherished and loved unconditionally. Or was Rex just destined to be the goo that would stick two shattered souls together and prevent them from forever falling to pieces?

There will be blood, gore and nasty shit.

There will be watersports, crude, angry, sometimes sensual and other times just downright dirty and dysfunctional sex.

BUT…

There will always be LOVE…

Because even villains understand the tortured scars love leaves in its wake.

Let’s start this review saying I loved the book a lot and when I finished reading it, I hated the author a lot. As an after thought I should have seen it coming but in my defence I was so enrolled in the story, I was blind to little details I should have been more careful with. Nonetheless in the following days when I was finally able to let the anger go, I realized that maybe it was the right choice and it is one of my favorite books I’ve read lately.

I’m honestly not sure what to write in this review because I don’t want to spoil the story. If you’re a fan of Wulf’s work, you know he is very good at surprising us with unexpected characters and developments, so just two words, be ready. I wasn’t.

Of Gods and Monsters: Hades is a story about betrayal, about second chances at love, enemies to lovers, about a monster with a cold heart that can maybe still beat for someone. It’s about a beautiful young man and the need to be human again. It’s the story of three lives, interwoven in times and fate.

The story of Hades takes place four years after Menoetius. In these four years, Hades has found and let go of who could have been the love of his life, he was betrayed by a brother and forced to live in a prison fighting ring.

Four years has passed from the day Rex has left Japan and the place that was his home and life for twelve years, where he kissed Kemono, the young man he watched become a cold hearted killer. The day he was escorted to the airport and put on a plane to the States. With his cat, Bacon, he’s now living under the Dragon’s Tongue “care”, a powerful criminal organization.

And four years ago, Kemono has killed the one who kept him away from Rex and turned him into a monster, the new dragon.

After four year spent in hell, Hades comes back to his apartment and find it occupied by a little ginger, Rex. And of course he needs to scare the young man to death. First impressions matter.

There is a lot going on this book, there are quite some second characters to keep track of, but it’s never chaotic because every new event, every new person is welcomed and fully explained.

The characters in this story are not easy, all of them have really heavy baggages on their shoulders (no one excluded), all of them are fucked up in different ways. I love knowing there are more books planned and that I’m going to meet them again and follow them in their journey to the love land. Cause they are all getting their HEA.

The story is a continuous story of messy, hard scenes. Not for everyone. It’s on the line of Menoetius but different and in my opinion so much better.

There are some things I’m very strict about in my MM books and they are often have been a deal breaker to me, this second installment has a couple of them, but I didn’t care. As I already said, the story took me completely, I couldn’t put it down for a moment. My opinion on the author is the same, he’s amazingly talented.

I can’t wait for the next one. I want to know more about Richard (and James I hope), but it seems that Monroe, a NYPD chief, has just fallen in love with someone.

Cover Art by Wulf Francú Godgluck. It’s well done and fitting, I can totally see Hades in it. And I like the black and the red together.

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe) | Amazon

Book Details:

Published January 22nd 2016 by Wulf Francu Godgluck
Kindle Edition, 319 pages
ASIN B018WUWI18
Edition Language English

Of Gods and Monsters series

A Paul B Review: Crash (Demon Elite #1) by April Kelley

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

CrashElijah Spade’s life got complicated after his mother’s death.  Having had virtually no contact with his mother’s relatives due to their criminal activities, Elijah is now caught up unwillingly in their plans.  Forced to help kidnap another gay man at a club, Elijah decides that is one man is going to die do to his actions, it should be him for helping out his relatives.  However, the attempted escape fails and Elijah and the victim are both captured.  Not knowing what happened to the mark, Elijah is thrown into the family dungeon where he lingers for weeks on end.  Hope comes when a fellow prisoner escapes and sends in help to rescue Elijah.

Crash Morgan is an assassin for the Demon Elite team.  His job is to kill the worst of the worst in society.  Those who die by his hand need to die.  So when his boss tell him that his next assignment is to watch and question a young man who is in the hospital, Crash initially objects.  When goes to the hospital room to watch over Elijah, Crash feels instantly protective of him.  Crash realizes that the man in the hospital bed may have to go to jail so any feelings are inappropriate.  Besides, it is against company policy.  As Crash gets to hear Elijah’s story, he cannot help but feel sorry for the guy.  His feelings for him start to grow also.  So when a pair of dirty cops sent by Elijah’s family show up, Crash takes matters into his own hands and escapes the hospital with Elijah.  Now can he keep them both alive to see if what both men are beginning to feel will grow?

This is the first book in the Demon Elite series by April Kelley.  The story revolves around an elite squad of men who contract out their services to right injustices in the world.  I thought her portrayal of what would be symptoms of PTSD in Elijah was well written.  Elijah’s anxiety attacks and his fear of Crash leaving him were realistic given the circumstances of his imprisonment.  Crash’s mother, who seems to act as a mother to the team, immediately bonds with Elijah after she learns what has happened to him.  The author also sets up future books with a twist that puts the integrity of the Demon Elite team in question.   It will be interesting to see how Crash and company takes on “the big bad.”

Sales Links:   eXtasy Press |  Amazon

Book Details

Kindle Edition, 122 pages
Published January 8th 2016 by eXtasy Books
ASINB01A2O3KZU
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDemon Elite #1

Series:  Demon Elite

A Stella Review: THE UGLIEST SWEATER by Gillian St. Kevern

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

The Ugliest SweaterDan’s favourite festive sweater is so ugly, it’s cost him not one but three boyfriends and sent him back to his parents’ place for the third Christmas in a row. About to give up hope of ever having a Christmas date, Dan meets Jake, a hot guy with a rock and roll edge. Jake is infatuated with Dan’s sweater but vanishes before Dan can decide if Jake is for real or really in need of an eye-check. After all, no one has ever liked the sweater.

Dan’s sweater is rocketed to national attention, when Jake’s radio colleagues launch a hunt for the mystery man in the hideous jumper. Dan jumps at the chance to meet Jake again, and they hit it off in a big way, to the accompaniment of intimate gigs, exclusive clubs, and the paparazzi. Dan falls hard, but despite obvious mutual attraction, Jake refuses to take him back to his apartment. Is the relationship real – or a ratings stunt? After all, Jake has a reputation for cool that Dan, a lowly gym instructor, could never approach. Is a fondness for tacky Christmas clothing the only thing they have in common? Or does uber-cool Jake hide a Christmas secret of his own?

“Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” Dan looked down at himself. “It’s only a sweater.”

Aston snorted. “That is ‘only a sweater’ the same way the Titanic was a bit of a wreck.”

Dan forced a laugh. “You can’t compare a sweater to an actual tragedy.”

“That sweater is an actual tragedy. Honestly, Dan. Have you gone blind?”

I honestly can say this story disappointed me a little, maybe my hopes were too high, because I fell in love with the gorgeous cover and then I read the blurb and thought The Ugliest Sweater could be original and sweet. What I got was a lovely reading with cute characters (main and secondary too) but nothing more. Even in stories so short, I need some characters’ background or just an epilogue to see where the relationship has gone after the first sex night together. While here I got none. As a matter of fact, the ending felt to me rushed and very unexpected, I turned page on my kindle and there was the author’s bio. It was frustating.

That said, if I try and forget about these things, I had a good holiday story, sweet and fluffy. I was looking for a light book because  I was coming from a heavy reads, and The Ugliest Sweater was perfect, it took my mind away from dark places and filled it with colors and gingerbread smells.

Plus the cover art by Aria Tan caught my attention at first sight. It’s super cute and adorable.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 65 pages
Published December 14th 2015 by NineStar Press
isbn13 9781911153108
Edition Language English

 

A Paul B Review: Setting His Owl A-Twitter (Wolves of Stone Ridge #33) by Charlie Richards

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Setting His Owl A TwitterRocky Nelson is a bouncer at a bar about an hour from Stone Ridge.  For the past few weeks, a young man has been hanging around the bar.  Each night, the young man would ask Rocky to dance.  However, he refuses each time.  It would break two rules.  First, he never dances at the club where he works.  Second, he does not get involved with party boys.  As he has seen this guy every shift he has worked the past few weeks, the guy must qualify, right?

Hector is one of the bird shifters that was rescued a couple of months ago in Europe.  The self made flock was then moved to Stone Ridge under the protection of the wolf pack that rescued them.  While travelling to Stone Ridge, the flock stop sat a club to release tension of being held captive for a number of years.  There, Hector meets his mate in a bouncer named Rocky.  However, every time he asks Rocky to dance, his mate turns him down.  The rest of the flock convinces Hector to let the mate pull work and not to give up hope.

When a co-worker tells Rocky that he thinks Rocky has misread the cute guy hanging around the bar, Rocky rethinks his position.  The next time Hector comes up to ask him to dance, he once again refuses but then asks Hector out for a bite to eat.  While he finds it strange that Hector does not have a cell phone, he chalks it up to one of the gay’s idiosyncrasies.  Then he thinks that he himself has a past that will have an impact on any future relationship with Hector.  Will each man accept the past the each brings to the relationship?

This story continues to explore the members of the flock that was rescued by the Stone Ridge pack.  I have a feeling that the focus on the series will be centered around these bird shifters as most of the wolf shifters in the pack have been mated.  The innocence of Hector almost requires a strong man both physically and mentally to protect him and he finds this in Rocky.  Rocky has been burned by a past relationship, which fuels his mistrust of club people for dates.  The story is solid, which I expect from Ms. Richards.  I look forward to see which of our birds is next to be mated.

Cover art.  Strong cover, gorgeous photograph of owl and man.

Sales Links:  eXtasy Books | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 106 pages
Published January 15th 2016 by Extasy Books
ISBN139781487406097
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series:  Wolves of Stone Ridge

Goodreads link:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/63445-wolves-of-stone-ridge

Rock n Rock and Ghostly Love? Check out Rock N Soul by Lauren Sattersby & Get a Inside look at the Inspiration (guest post and giveaway)

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Rock N Soul by Lauren Sattersby
Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Buy it Here

Hi, I’m Lauren Sattersby, and this is the blog tour for my very first novel, Rock N Soul! I’ll be featured on various blogs over the course of the tour, and I’ll be sharing deleted scenes, playlists, answers to questions, and some of my thoughts on what it’s like to write a ghost story and make it both hot and romantic. Comment on each spot to be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card to buy some books from Riptide Publishing!

One of the things I always love to know about the authors I follow and the novels I read is the answer to the burning question: “So what did you listen to while you were writing this story?”

For me, the answer is always “absolutely nothing,” because I can’t write at all while there’s music playing—I find it distracting and I end up focusing on the music more than the words I’m trying to put on the page. But in the moments between the actual writing bursts, I listened to a lot of different kinds of music, ranging from metal to classic rock to punk and all the way down to fluffy pop music that Chris and Tyler would be ashamed of me for. But don’t let their “super-cool rock music fan” personas fool you—these boys got all weepy in my head over some really sappy stuff!

So here’s what inspired me while working on Rock N Soul:

  • “Lithium” by Nirvana—Tyler’s not actually hallucinating Chris or going crazy, but I imagine that this would be the song he’d be singing in his head during the occasional moments early in the story when he doubts his sanity.
  • “Straightjacket Supermodel” by Eve to Adam—If you want to know what I imagine Incite the Masses sounds like, this is it.
  • “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse—This might be a little “on the nose” as the boys would say, but it fits Chris to a T anyway.
  • “Sparks Fly” by Taylor Swift—Tyler and Chris are both rock fans so they would never admit that they like this song. But deep down… they do.
  • “Do I Wanna Know?” by Arctic Monkeys—The theme song of the confused “oh, shit, I might be in love with this guy” portion of the novel.
  • “Superhero” by Jane’s Addiction—Because Tyler and Chris do need each other desperately, and they both have very strong personalities.
  • “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams—For the moments when Chris got all nostalgic about his past, his family, his band, and his music.
  • “Statues of Ourselves” by Semi Precious Weapons—It’s a song about not caring about what’s expected of you and making your own story, and Tyler and Chris definitely do this!
  • “Rockstar 101” by Rihanna—For obvious reasons. I mean, Chris doesn’t wear high heels or anything, but he still just oozes sex appeal so it still works!
  • “Red” by Taylor Swift—I imagine this is how Tyler felt when he thought Chris might not be around anymore. Plus it mentions Maseratis!
  • “Immortal” by Eve to Adam—This would be the song that Incite the Masses would write about Chris after his death, and the new bassist would hate it.
  • “Save Rock and Roll” by Fall Out Boy—If someone made a movie of Rock N Soul, I’d want this to play over the end credits!

About Rock N Soul

I’m Tyler Lindsey, and until recently, I had an okay apartment, an okay girlfriend, and an okay job as a bellboy at a respectable Boston hotel. Then rock star Chris Raiden died right before I brought his room service—stiffing me on the tip, by the way—and my life went to hell. My fifteen minutes of fame was more like five seconds, and my girlfriend left me in disgust.

But even worse—Chris is haunting me. Not the room where he died, like a normal ghost. No, somehow he’s stuck to me and is insisting on taking care of a bunch of unfinished business in California. So now I have to traipse across the country with the world’s most narcissistic ghost.

But . . . I keep having these weird thoughts. Thoughts about how much I like the way he makes me laugh. Thoughts where I kind of want to kiss the emo-narcissist, even though he’s a ghost and an asshole and I can’t touch him anyway. And even if I could, what will happen when he finishes his business and nothing’s keeping him here anymore?

About Lauren Sattersby

Lauren Sattersby works as a budget manager by day, but while she’s at her desk mindlessly crunching numbers, it’s a good bet that she’s also writing M/M romance in her head and counting the minutes until she can get home and write it all down. She is a grammar enthusiast, which is why she has a Master’s degree in technical writing, but that tends to scare friends away so she keeps that to herself.

Lauren lives in Wisconsin with her partner and their three terrible cats. She’s a recent transplant from a thousand miles further south, so she still gets crazy excited about snow. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found playing video games or scouring the countryside looking for interesting birds.

Connect with Lauren:

Website: laurensattersby.com
Facebook: facebook.com/laurensattersby
Twitter: @LaurenSattersby
Tumblr: laurensattersby.tumblr.com
Email: laurensattersby@gmail.com

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Rock N Soul, Lauren is giving away $25 in Riptide credit! Your first comment at each stop on this tour enters you in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 23, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Follow the tour for more opportunities to enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to leave your email or method of contact so Riptide can reach you if you win!

Once More into the Dark Night of Romance with Morticia Knight’s ‘Searching For Shelter (exclusive excerpt and contest)

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Searching For Shelter (Sin City Uniforms #6) by Morticia Knight
 Release Date: January 19, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Cover Artist: Posh Gosh

Blurb

Teen shelter volunteer Rich searches for love until Diego, from LVMPD Search and Rescue, finds him.

After declaring his love life officially dead, Rich wonders if maybe he should stick with his shifter book boyfriends instead. It’s not as if he has much free time to date anyway. Between working long hours at a coffee shop, guarding his sodas from his hygienically challenged roommates, and running the programming at the Vegas LGBTQ teen shelter he founded – how could there ever be space for love in his life?

Diego Espinoza enjoys taking his downtime from working Search and Rescue, at the Lucky Cup coffee shop. He can set up his laptop, peruse good sport climbing spots and observe the blond barista he’s been pining over for a while. He imagines that the pretty boy has more offers than he knows what to do with, so it takes Diego time to work up the nerve to approach him.

Rich isn’t so sure about the rough looking Diego – even if he’s always thought he was hot – but once he decides to gives Diego a chance, there’s an immediate heat and connection that takes him by surprise. As they learn more about each other and try to find the way to a future together, strange and scary things start to happen.

It isn’t until Rich is injured in a bizarre accident that it becomes clear that there’s someone out there who not only doesn’t want Rich to find love – they want him dead.

 

Pages or Words: 145 pages, 51,039 words
Book may be read as a standalone
Categories: Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Erotica, M/M Romance, Mystery, Thriller

Excerpt

Espinoza regarded Rich. “I heard you tell your coworker, Artie, that you were excited about your first date with some guy named Jay, that it seemed like you really clicked online and you couldn’t wait to see if things would work out with him in person.”

Rich’s jaw hung open. The guy had a lot of nerve. “You’ve been eavesdropping on me?”

Espinoza pointed to the area by the espresso machines where the creams and sweeteners were kept. “I was adding sugar to my coffee and you were making a drink.” He shrugged one shoulder. “You had your back to me, facing Artie at the register.”

And that little creep never let on that a customer was standing right behind me.

Rich didn’t discuss personal issues on the floor where customers might hear him. He kept his voice down in general, but had he realized Espinoza was right there, he wouldn’t have spoken at all. Rich pressed his lips together, his frustration and anger growing.

“That’s none of your business.”

Espinoza nodded, still eyeing him in a way that made Rich want to drop his pants.

“You’re right. It’s not. But I’d hoped to have the chance to take you on a date, see if we hit it off.” There was an odd shift in Espinoza’s eyes as they went from intense to melancholy. “I understand. I guess things worked out with Jay and I missed my chance. My own fault for waiting to get up the nerve.” Espinoza straightened, his demeanor back to how he’d always been as a customer. “In that case, I’ll take my usual after all.”

Rich’s gut twisted. He fiddled with the stack of cup sleeves, a wave of shame passing over him. It wasn’t as if Espinoza had pinched his ass or grabbed his crotch. He’d invited him to dinner, for chrissake. Rich had been out with scads of losers he’d never seen before when he’d gone on his Internet dates. Yet, someone he’d seen several time a week at the coffee shop for months, who’d always been polite to him, had asked him out and Rich had been snippy and rude. His recent dating history had transformed him into a cynical queen at the tender age of twenty-six.

“Actually, that’s not true. In reality, things with Jay-“

“Sorry I was late, there was a stalled car in one of the lanes on the Boulevard. Damn tourists.”

Artie breezed in the same way he always did – as if he was never to blame for a thing and that Rich should merely be grateful that the great and powerful Artie had arrived to serve coffee to the chosen few. Rich gritted his teeth, the cup sleeves bursting out of his hands, scattering across the counter, the rest falling to the floor. Espinoza bent over to retrieve them. Rich bit his knuckle at the sight.

God help me.

He quickly gazed down, haphazardly gathering the remaining bits of cardboard, hoping to disguise the flush in his cheeks as Espinoza straightened.

“Here you go.”

Rich accepted them, the brief touch of Espinoza’s roughened fingers against his almost causing him to shiver. Almost.

“T-thank you.” He tittered nervously.

Perfect. I was hoping to sound like a dork.

“You were saying about Jay?” Espinoza had his eyebrows arched, his gaze radiating ‘sultry’ once again.

Buy the book: Pride | Amazon  | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble

Meet the author:

Author Morticia Knight spends most of her nights writing about men loving men forever after. If there happens to be some friendly bondage or floggings involved, she doesn’t begrudge her characters whatever their filthy little heart’s desire. Even though she’s been crafting her naughty tales for more years than she’d like to share – her adventures as a published author began in 2011. Once upon a time she was the lead singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She currently resides on the northern Oregon coast and when she’s not fantasizing about hot men she takes walks along the ocean and annoys the local Karaoke bar patrons.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

19-Jan MM Good Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

20-Jan 3 Chicks After Dark

21-Jan Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Happily Ever Chapter

22-Jan Sassygirl Books

25-Jan Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog

26-Jan V’s Reads

27-Jan Open Skye Book Reviews, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Let’s Get Ready To Romance

28-Jan Molly Lolly

29-Jan Inked Rainbow Reads, Carly’s Book Reviews

1-Feb The Novel Approach, TTC Books and More, Love Bytes

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Signed copy of ‘Searching For Shelter’ and a $25 gift card.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.  
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In the Contemporary Spotlight: Jude Sierra’s ‘What It Takes’ (author interview, excerpt and contest)

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What It Takes by Jude Sierra
 Release Date: January 14, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Art: Nelli I, Cover Design: C.B. Messer

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Jude Sierra, author of What it Takes. Hi Jude thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

  • Tell us something about your character’s friends. They’ve grown up in a small town, so they have a small group of friends that Andrew keeps in touch with as an adult – that Milo reconnects with when he comes back home. Ted is a fun guy. He’s kind of the class clown but in an irreverent ways. Their other friend Sarah is a steady, down to earth girl. She’s a good friend who is honest and direct and also a really steady presence in their lives.
  • What is your character’s favorite meal? Favorite dessert? Favorite snack food? Milo has a soft spot for baked goods, particularly any made by Andrew’s mother. He loves snickerdoodles and macaroons. Andrew loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Even as an adult, they are his go-to food. He takes some ribbing for it, but nothing can come between him and his lifelong love of a good old-fashioned sandwich.
  • What activity does your character absolutely hate? Andrew isn’t a huge fan of exercise for the sake of exercise, particularly things like running or biking. He likes being outside in nature, but at a slower pace.
  • What other author’s book do you think your character would be good in? Selfishly, I wouldn’t mind seeing them in Courtney Lux’s Small Wonders. Although I think as kids, their particular dance might leave Trip eyerolling hard core and perhaps not biting his tongue.
  • What’s your favorite decade and why? Well I’m a fan of the 80’s, but that’s because I was born in the 80’s which gives that decade a leg up automatically. I kid. I think that nostalgia can make decades we weren’t alive for seem awesome but the realities are more complex than that, which makes me want to name a decade I know, which limits my answer. I have to say that the late 90’s were brilliant though. Pop culture wise, you had Friends, the X-Files, the rise of boybands and some great alternative rock as well. Lots of great books – including the first half of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Good stuff.

Blurb

The connection was instantaneous.

Mere moments after Milo Graham’s family relocates to Cape Cod, he meets Andrew Witherell—launching a lifelong friendship built on a foundation of deep bonds, secret forts, and plans for the future. When Milo is called home from college to attend his domineering father’s funeral, he and Andrew finally act on their mutual attraction. But doubtful of his worth, Milo severs all ties with his childhood friend. Years later, the men find themselves home again, and their long-held feelings will not be denied. But will they have what it takes to find lasting love?

 

Pages or Words: 274 pages
 Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

Excerpt

Andrew gladly lets Milo drive his car; he hates driving, especially when he can play radio DJ and watch the scenery go by. He looks at Milo: the way the fading light before dusk changes the tone of his skin; the way the muscles of his arms stand out and his lips curl as he sings along, awfully, to the radio. Milo smiles at him and Andrew flashes a brief one back, wonders how obvious he’s being, and looks back out the window at the slipping sand that spills onto the road and the ramshackle businesses along the road.

“So what got this bee in your bonnet?” he asks suddenly.

Milo shrugs. “You sound like my grandma.”

“Awesome; I like her. Let’s focus.”

“So… okay.” Milo clears his throat and his fingers tighten on the wheel. “I um, think I have something to tell you. But I’m—”

“Is everything okay?” Andrew interrupts, scanning his memory for any signs of additional distress Milo might have displayed in the last few months.

“Yeah. Well. I mean, um… whatever. But I—”

“What? You’re worrying me.”

Milo sighs and pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant with a giant crab on the roof. “I can’t do this and drive.”

“Okay,” Andrew says slowly, then unbuckles his belt and turns to face him. Milo’s face is a little drawn.

“So, I think I might be gay,” Milo blurts. “I mean, I know. I know I am.”

There’s a full minute of silence in the car while Andrew tries to work the words out. Static screeches in his ears, fleetingly numbing his reaction. Focus. He has a few seconds to control his face, to tamp down that sprout of irrational hope seeding despite the chaos, and be ultimately supportive.

“Um.” Andrew licks his lips and tries to pull himself together. That seedling wants to grow into something bigger, and he can’t let it. He looks at Milo’s face, which has morphed into something more vulnerable and worried. Hope is a hollow bell in his chest, ringing loud and dissonant; he wants to vibrate out of his skin with the inappropriateness of his own reactions. This is about Milo, not him. “You aren’t worried that I’m mad or something, are you?” he manages to say.

“I don’t know. Um, your face is doing… a thing,” Milo replies.

Reflexively Andrew puts his hands to his cheeks. His fingers are cold. Okay, so he definitely doesn’t have his face under control. “No, I… wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” Andrew’s brain, sometimes faster than his mouth, is careening backward. “Maybe I should have had a clue.”

“Oh?”

“Well, for starters, you kissed me back.”

Buy the book:

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Meet the author:

Jude Sierra began her writing career at the age of eight when she immortalized her summer vacation with ten entries in a row that read “pool+tv.” She first began writing poetry as a child in her home country of Brazil, and is still a student of the form.

As a sucker for happy endings and well-written emotional arcs and characters, Jude is an unapologetic bookaholic. She finds bookstores and libraries unbearably sexy and, to her husband’s dismay, is attempting to create her own in their living room. She is a writer of many things that hope to find their way out of the sanctuary of her hard drive and many that have found a home in the fanfiction community.

She is currently working on her Master of Arts in Writing and Rhetoric and managing a home filled with her husband, two young sons, and two cats. Her first novel, Hush, was published in 2015 by Interlude Press.

Where to find the author:

What It Takes will be published by Interlude Press on January 14, 2016. Connect with author Jude Sierra at JudeSierra.com, on Twitter @JudeSierra, on Goodreads at goodreads.com/Jude_Sierra, and on Facebook at facebook.com/JudeMSierra.

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

14-Jan: Book Lovers 4Ever, Lee Brazil, Inked Rainbow Reads

15-Jan: Havan Fellows, Love Bytes, Hearts on Fire

18-Jan: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, A.M. Leibowitz

19-Jan: Velvet Panic, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

20-Jan: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, The Novel Approach, Kirsty Loves Books

21-Jan: Molly Lolly, MM Good Book Reviews

22-Jan: BFD Book Blog, Happily Ever Chapter

25-Jan: Nautical Star Books, My Fiction Nook

26-Jan: Emotion In Motion, Bayou Book Junkie

27-Jan: Full Moon Dreaming, Alpha Book Club, QUEERcentric Books

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Interlude Press web store gift card + WIT ebook; plus__5 eBook editions of WIT.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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