Book Name: The Superstar Author Name: Patricia Logan
Author Bio:
Patricia Logan resides in Los Angeles, California along with her husband, four children, her grandchild and ever increasing number of cats. When not being stage mom, baking cookies, or scooping kitty litter, she writes steamy, award winning, gay erotic romance and tries to lead her readers on a journey of discovery with more than a little angst.
Storm Ellison is the sexiest man on two legs. The gorgeous young star of “Trapped on an Island”, the hottest reality show on television, is instantly recognizable the moment he leaves his palatial mansion. Paparazzi follow him everywhere, leaving him no peace or privacy, selling his pictures to the tabloids, and cementing his reputation in the press as a slutty gay playboy. As Storm prepares to sign his first major movie deal, his manager decides he needs protection. What he doesn’t expect, is to be attracted to the cold bastard who’s now running his life.
Balthazar Grant, freelance bodyguard, is a huge, handsome, rough and ready former Marine, trained by the best, and willing to step between Storm and anyone stupid enough to come at him. Always stoic and serious, Taz lends a deadly presence to Storm’s entourage whenever he ventures out in public. Storm doesn’t want a bodyguard, much less one who won’t let him live his fast and loose lifestyle with impunity and he’s certainly not one to be dictated to by an overconfident Marine who has opinions about everything including who he should hook-up with.
When a deadly threat hits Storm’s world, he’s suddenly living his own reality show, only this one has an outcome which doesn’t involve being voted off an island. Will Storm wake up before it’s too late and will Taz be able to fight his attraction to the handsome young superstar while trying to convince him he’s in very real danger? The pair will soon learn that reality is stranger than fiction.
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, M/M Romance
The Superstar Excerpt:
Jules grinned again. “You like Storm, Taz. You LIKE like him!” she raised her voice and Taz looked around to see who else could have overheard her.
“I like him fine, Jules; I work for the guy,” he replied, intentionally misunderstanding her.
“No, Taz, you are ‘in like’ with Storm,” she reiterated. She reached up and took hold of his sunglasses, dragging them off his face. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t like Storm like that, big guy. Whoa, those are some dreamy eyes,” she sighed.
Taz felt embarrassed and exposed without his shades and hated the fact that she could see the very real truth in his eyes when all he wanted to do was deny it. He averted his gaze, staring out onto the dance floor only to regret it immediately when he noted Storm’s arms wrapped around the twink, his lips being plied by the smaller man’s as their lower bodies ground against each other to the beat of the music. The moment he saw them, he frowned.
“See? That’s what I’m talkin’ about, Taz. You can’t stand the way that other man touches Storm. You want him for yourself,” she said emphatically.
Words: 82,000
Tour Dates/Stops:
Tour Dates/Stops:
19-Nov
Multitasking Mommas
Michael Mandrake
My Fiction Nook
20-Nov
Tara Lain
Cate Ashwood
Parker Williams
21-Nov
Hearts on Fire
Love Bytes
Queer Town Abbey
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
24-Nov
It’s Raining Men
Velvet Panic
Prism Book Alliance
25-Nov
BFD Book Blog
26-Nov
Inked Rainbow Reads
Molly Lolly
Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-book copy of ‘The Superstar’ by Patricia Logan. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the Rafflecopter link provided for the entry form and for all additional contest details.
Hi, everyone, thanks for having me on this tour for Gabriel’s City! Don’t forget to leave a comment at the end of this post to win a chance at the ZOMG Smells giveaway! Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Spoiled young aristocrat Colin Harwood has always enjoyed flirting with danger, but he’s always been able to retreat to safety—until bad decisions and a chance encounter plunge him into a world far more savage than his own. Gabriel is an urban legend, famous in the underworld for his unpredictability and violence. He’s also a believer fairy tales, and quick to decide to the handsome stranger who came to his aid must be good luck. With few other options remaining, Colin will need to keep his wits about him to learn to survive in Gabriel’s City.
Gabriel’s City Blurb:
For spoiled young aristocrat Colin Harwood, the port city of Casmile is a buffet of easy pleasures. But when he steps into a pub brawl to help a dangerously outnumbered young man, he is drawn into the seedy underbelly of the city the young man calls home.
Gabriel is a cutpurse and a knife for hire, practically an urban legend. His vision of Casmile is touched by a strange combination of faith and madness, driven by fairytale logic and a capacity for love that he often must suppress to survive. He’s always worked alone, but when a dashing dragon who calls himself Colin saves him in a bar fight, he pulls Colin into his world.
Gabriel’s city is nothing like the refined, socialite existence that bored Colin senseless. Colin finds adventure and excitement there—and maybe even love. But with his layers of finery stripped away, nothing remains to protect him from poverty or danger—except Gabriel. So he must choose: go back to the civilized young man he once was, or fly free as Gabriel’s dragon.
Laylah Hunter is a third-gendered butch queer who writes true stories about imaginary people in worlds that never were. Most of hir work deals with queer characters, erotic themes, and the search for happy endings in unfavorable circumstances.
Hir mild-mannered alter ego lives in Seattle, at the mercy of the requisite cats and cultivating the requisite caffeine habit, and dreams of a day when telling stories will pay all the bills.
Giveaway! I have the good fortune to be friends with the charming people who run ZOMG Smells, who make, as their tagline says, “Fine nerdy scents for fine nerdy people.” They have created a set of perfume oil blends inspired by the characters of Gabriel’s City, and I’d like to give some away at the end of this tour! You’ll get seven 5-ml bottles, one of each of these scents, including a nice spectrum of masculine through feminine notes. Leave a comment that includes your email address to enter!
The Battle of Troll Bridge
There are a lot of stories embedded in the narrative of Gabriel’s City. Some of them are told in the book and others are only mentioned, because I’m pretty sure I can’t get away with pulling a Tolkein and interrupting the main story with folklore every few pages. But this one seemed like a good insight into the way Gabriel approaches the world, so here it is: his account of the Battle of Troll Bridge. It’s a bit gory. But only a bit.
“And if nothing more clever has come along, why, he must be living there still,” Colin finishes. It’s the way tales always end, nothing particularly interesting, but Gabriel sighs contentedly all the same. “Does that make it your turn?”
“Mmm. It does.” Gabriel leans back, looking up at the old stones of the bridge overhead, as if some cue is written there. “This was not so many years ago, maybe a handful, maybe less. It was a strange winter in Casmile that year—which means colder than this, but dry.”
Colin nods. He remembers the winter Gabriel’s talking about; there were barely any winter rains, and the next year’s harvest was poor.
“And there was a boy in the city who had the favor of the Lady, but not much else to speak of.”
How many people get to hear the tales of Gabriel’s exploits from his own mouth? “He must have had his wits about him,” Colin says.
Gabriel’s smile flickers knife-quick and disappears as if he’s pocketed it again. “Oh, always. The Lady wouldn’t love someone who couldn’t find his way back out of trouble.
“But times were hard, and the winter had been strange, so the boy had nothing to keep off the rain when one afternoon he was caught in it. He had no coin for taverns, but he was close by the river, so he darted down to take shelter beneath a bridge.”
He pauses there, and Colin thinks his arched brow might be prompting a response. “But the trouble with sheltering under a bridge is that you might run afoul of a troll.”
“It’s nearly guaranteed, in the winter,” Gabriel agrees. “The troll under this bridge was called Black Tom, and he was a nasty thing. Huge and hulking, snaggle-toothed and mean. This was his bridge, and he meant to share it with no-one.
“He said as much, in his booming growl, when the boy came tumbling down the bank to take shelter from the rain.
“It’s raining, the boy pointed out to him, and I don’t plan to stand out in it.”
“I bet he did.” Colin can imagine the way Gabriel would have sounded then, the petulant tone that means he’s only moments away from making someone bleed. “That can’t have pleased the troll.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “He wasn’t kind in the least, and nor was he clever.” His expression turns cold and guarded. “He said he couldn’t see why he’d want to let someone under his bridge who was too scrawny even to make a good meal.”
Colin feels a chill that has nothing to do with the stone at his back. He’d bet that wasn’t really the appetite Black Tom wanted to satisfy. The cold winter he remembers was four years ago; he was having his first polite fencing lessons that year, and Gabriel was already facing this. “What did you do?”
“The boy laughed at him. When your enemies are big and mean, it helps if they’re also angry, because then they forget whatever cleverness they had. Black Tom was easy to anger. He struck out at the boy, a vicious blow, but the boy was too quick for him, and dodged it. Again he tried, and again he missed. But as he reared back for a third strike, the boy slipped on a patch of wet moss and fell. The troll was on him in a moment, claws at his throat.”
Even though he knows how this story ended, Colin finds himself tense. “And then?”
“Then he’d made a terrible mistake.” The grim satisfaction in Gabriel’s tone makes Colin brace for the worst. “He’d forgotten to watch the boy’s hands, hadn’t he? And he had such a soft underbelly. So easy to cut up.”
“And then you pushed him into the river,” Colin says, hoping they can skip the rest of the killing.
“He lost his grip on the boy’s throat,” Gabriel goes on, undeterred. “And he tried to grab the knife, but he had always been too slow. It went up beneath his ribs, here, and then blood started running from his mouth, and even if you’re a troll, you’re done for then. The boy pushed him away as his strength failed, and then watched all the strength run out of him, until he was finally still.
“The boy had come there with the Lady’s favor, and he still had it. So he thanked her, and rolled Black Tom into the water, where She turned him to stone.”
“That’s—” But it would do no good to say that was impossible, would it? Colin bites his tongue.
“So the troll was defeated, and the boy had his shelter, and if nothing more wicked has come along, why,” Gabriel spreads his arms, taking in the scene, their place under the bridge, “perhaps he shelters there still.”
Book Name: Chestnuts Roasting Anthology Goodreads Link Authors Names: Toni Griffin, Angel Martinez, Silvia Violet, Freddy MacKay
Four authors, four different perspective on the holidays. Now for something a little different. Instead of a full author interview, I asked each of the authors one question. Where did your inspiration come from? Here are their answers…
Angel Martinez:
Yes. Everywhere. Everything. A conversation, a painting, a moment on the street, Freddy daring me to try something – there are no limits or predictable patterns for inspiration. I use a lot of science news and folktale as starting points, but those are certainly not my only inspirations.
Silvia Violet:
My story is set in Baton Rouge. I lived there for six years so all the celebrating Christmas when it still feely summery outside comes from personal experience. A scene with a barista asking out a guy who considered himself straight just popped into my head one day. I wrote it down, knowing I’d use it eventually and when I started thinking about Christmas stories, there it was.
Freddy MacKay:
I decided I wanted to write a fantasy, so I went shopping for mythical creatures. I like to go for the more obscure, lesser used/known creatures. When I found my “demon” I was hooked because I knew I hit something different and fun for me to write.
Toni Griffin:
My story, Wreath of Fire, is book two in my Smokey Mountain Bears series. It’s my only series set outside of Australia and the reason for that is in 2012 I visited Gatlinburg TN and the surrounding areas. I met some amazing people, had the time of my life in one of the most relaxing, picturesque settings I could have ever imagined. This place needed to be put down on paper. When the idea for the Cabin for Two anthology was being thrown around I knew exactly what I wanted to write. A Bear in the Woods was born. It’s taken me a little while to get back to the characters and write book two, but I can guarantee you won’t have to wait as long for book three.
Author Group Bio:
Mischief Corner Books is an organization of superheroes… no, it’s a platinum-album techno-fusion group…no, hold on a sec here… Ah, yes. Mischief Corner is a diverse group of authors who met on a mountain in Tennessee and decided since we probably were too easily distracted to rule the world that we’d settle for causing a bit of mayhem instead. In addition to making mayhem, we publish books with a diverse range of genres and topics… we live to break molds. MCB. Giving voice to LGBTQ fiction.
Christmas means different things to everyone, but most often it’s all about pulling loved ones close and brightening the gloom. The fire’s crackling. The snow is piling up outside, even if it’s only in your dreams. Time to snuggle up with some cocoa and some stories carefully crafted by the Mischief Corner Crew to warm hearts and cockles.
Wreath of Fire: Smokey Mountains Bears 2 – Toni Griffin:
Michael’s trying to start a new life away from his abusive father, but he’s drifting and not sure what he wants. When he accidentally starts a kitchen fire, the hot new fireman who comes to the rescue is not only another bear shifter. He’s Michael’s mate. Michael desperately needs to get his act together and figure out what he wants if he has any hope of claiming the bear fated to be his.
A Christmas Cactus for the General – Angel Martinez
Exiled to Earth for perhaps the worst failure in Irasolan history, General Teer must assimilate or die. Earth is too warm, too wet, too foreign, but he does the best he can even though human males are loud, childish louts whom he can’t imitate successfully. When a grieving seaplane pilot strikes up a strange and uneasy friendship with him, he finds he may have been too quick to judge human males. They are strange to look at, but perhaps not as unbearable as he thought.
Holly Jolly – Silvia Violet
I’m not gay. I just notice men sometimes. Everybody does, right? I notice Dane a lot, like every time I’m near him, but just because I think he’s an attractive man that doesn’t mean I like him, does it? I’m also not a fan of Christmas. Too many years “celebrating” with my Bible-thumping family ruined the holiday for me. So what if I envy all these cheerful souls dashing about with smiles on their faces? I don’t have to like Christmas, do I? If anyone could get me in the Christmas spirit, it would be Dane with his easy, relaxed manner and his gorgeous smile. If that were going to happen, though, I’d have to find the courage to talk to him and to admit that maybe I don’t know myself all that well after all.
Snow on Spirit Bridge – Freddy MacKay
Alone in Japan, Finni is struggling against the constant distrust, avoidance, and xenophobia he experiences every day. He misses home. He misses his family. Nightmares come all too frequently because of the stress, and well, Christmas is just not Christmas in Japan. Not how he understands it. Distressed by how miserable Finni is, his roommate, Mamoru, offers to be Finni’s family for Christmas. Little does he know how much one agreement would change everything between them, because both of them kept secrets neither ever dreamed were true.
Categories: Contemporary, Fantasy, Humor, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy (Please note: Not all tags refer to the collection of stories.)
Excerpt From Snow on Spirit Bridge by Freddy MacKay
Chapter One
There should be snow. Lots of it. Moreover, it should be below freezing with clouds, not this sunny and fifties crap. People should be huddled together and hurrying to get inside. It didn’t feel like Christmas otherwise.
With a sigh, Finni glanced around the train platform.
If he’d been home in Chicago, snow would blanket the streets and salt would crunch under his feet. Shop windows with mannequins would line the Magnificent Mile with Christmas winter scenes. The tree would be up at his parents’, decorated with bright lights and homemade ornaments he and his siblings made over the years. One or two presents would lie under the tree as a teaser for the younger cousins. Warm drinks would be waiting for him as he stepped through the door and brushed the snow off his coat. His family would smile at him and voices would call out to him.
If he’d been home in Chicago.
Tokyo wasn’t home.
A big, bustling city, yes, but not home.
As people hurried from one shop to the next, got on and off the trains, and ran about in their jackets and sweaters, Tokyo couldn’t have been farther from home. Yes, decorations were up at cake shops and at the department stores, but they weren’t the same. The plastic Christmas trees seemed more likely to come alive and hunt people down than give off a relaxing pine scent. They didn’t give off the same cozy family feeling Finni connected with. Everything was geared toward couples.
Since when was Christmas about couples?
A pang of loneliness ate at Finni’s gut. All he wanted was his parents, his brothers and sisters, and his cousins, aunts, uncles, and some snow. He needed to see everyone was happy and okay. Was that too much to ask for?
A chilled wind blasted Finni, and he looked up, expecting the train, but nothing rattled down the tracks. Other people grabbed their coats and hunched. Some young girls squealed and huddled closer to each other. Finally, a shiver wracked Finni, clueing him in to the unusual temperature drop.
Temperatures had plummeted from the fifties to almost thirty since he’d arrived on the platform, not normal weather. In only a T-shirt, even Finni felt the cold.
Finni sighed, closed his eyes, and concentrated on sunshine and warm thoughts. He almost laughed under the circumstances. The people would think he was odd and leave an even bigger circle around him. One more oddity to make Finni miss home even more.
The swoosh and rattle of a train making its way down the tracks caused Finni to open his eyes, watching expectantly with the others.
About damn time. Usually the trains didn’t run late unless something untoward happened. Like a jumper, which occurred more often than Finni comprehended. He risked a glance around and saw the people more relaxed, the extreme temperature flux now gone, just an oddity to discuss among themselves.
The train hissed to a stop, the doors popped open, and everyone hurried on, ready to leave the unusual drop in temperature behind them. While the men and women bumped into each other, the girls giggling as they passed Finni, he still got a wide berth as he ducked through. The crowd moved and swayed in a loose circle around him until Finni got to his spot by the doors and faced the window.
Once again, the seat next to him remained empty, no one sitting down even though the train was packed. Not every foreigner got quite the same treatment he did, but his size—not to mention the blond hair and blue eyes—made people’s reaction to him more extreme. Finni ignored the slight, though it stung more than it had the past couple of months. He’d learned not to notice when people stared or jumped in surprised when they looked up at him or moved away as soon as they noticed him after they sat down. Better to stay quiet and pretend nothing happened than draw attention to the behavior. It only made things worse.
Except today, the unfounded fears of the people he’d rode the train with since his move mid-October dug into him like claws. He sighed, leaned against the windows, and closed his eyes, exhausted.
Sleep wasn’t easy lately. Nightmares waited for him, ones that made it harder to be away from his family. He yawned, fighting off the weariness, but the rocking of the train called to him like a siren to a sailor.
No matter the direction he looked in, Finni only saw white. The snow beat down on him as he cried out. Torrents of wind spiraled all around him, the weather mimicking his heart.
Why hadn’t anyone come? The sky was dark. Someone should have found them by now. He trembled in the cold and felt so tired. He just wanted to sleep.
But he couldn’t. Not yet.
Finni tried to call out, but his voice had given out long before the sun went down.
He clutched Gunder to him. Realization had finally sunk in, but as he sniffed, Finni knew he’d never let Gunder go. No matter what.
He should’ve kept up with him. Kept Gunder in his sights, but his brother ran so much faster than he did. His legs were so long and big compared to Finni’s scrawny ones. Someday, he’d be bigger than Gunder, though, he just knew it. Then he’d be able to outrun his brother.
When they were grown up, three years wouldn’t be that big of a difference in age.
“Hear that, Gunder?” Finni asked in a whisper, pressing his face against his brother’s. “I’m going to be bigger than you someday. Be able to run faster. So…so…so…”
He broke down, sobs torn from his chest. How did they get home? Finni just wanted Mom and Dad. He just wanted to go home with Gunder.
“Mom!” His voice barely made it out, but he had to try. “Dad! Somebody!”
Nothing. He was alone. All alone.
Mom. Dad. I don’t want to be alone.
He screamed and the wind picked up, whipped around him in a cyclone. The temperature dropped farther.
“Finni! Gunder!”
Who was that?
“Finni! Where are you boys?”
“Gr-gr-grandpa?” Guilt warred with hope. He should hide. Everyone was gonna be mad. So, so mad. They’d never like him again.
The wind’s moaning stopped. The snowflakes stirred no more. Grandpa’s huge, hulking figure appeared.
“Grandpa,” Finni cried out. The hiccups came as he tried to get it all out. “G-G-Gunder fell through the ice… I-I-couldn’t reach him. Gunder…he… I-I-tried to g-g-get us home.”
“Oh, oh. Oh, Finni,” his grandpa said quietly. Tears ran down his cheeks.
Oh no. Grandpa was mad.
“My little boy.” Grandpa wrapped his big arms around them and kissed his forehead. “My poor boys.”
Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: First prize: $25.00 GC (choice of Amazon or ARe) and a choice of Tote or Mug from the MCB Redbubble store (choice of graphic). Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the link provided for the entry form and for all additional contest details.
Second prize: $5.00 GC (choice of Amazon or ARe) and choice of sticker from the MCB Redbubble store
Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway
For the Choose the Charity contest, check out all the details below. The Three of Hearts is one of three stories in this heartwarming holiday collection from Jane Davitt, Kelly Jamieson and Sydney Croft.
Book Title: Three of Hearts!
Author: Kelly Jamieson
Share the Love Collection, authors Kelly Jamieson, , Jane Davitt, and Sydney Croft
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Titles available for pre-order.
Haylee Tremayne is tired of the road. The concert tour for Three of Hearts was a success, but she’s confused by the inexplicable tension between her bandmates, Ben and Lucas. She’s also ready to go home to her boyfriend in Nashville. Time off would probably help everyone relax, even if it is Christmas, a season with too many bad memories.
But right before their last concert, Haylee discovers she’s been dumped for a sexy girly-girl. Story of her life: all guys see is tomboy Haylee. At the after-concert party, she drowns her sorrows and—desperate to feel feminine for once in her life—asks Ben and Lucas for a threesome. And it’s just as sexy and fun as she hoped.
Back in Nashville, Ben and Lucas prove again and again that their first night wasn’t a mistake. But the tension between them is still high, and on Christmas Eve, their ménage takes a stunning turn. When it all falls apart, Haylee is terrified that their crazy relationship might cost them the band, their success, and worst of all, each other.
Each year, Riptide Publishing releases a holiday collection in support of an LGBTQ charity. Twenty percent of all proceeds from the Share the Love collection will be donated to the It Gets Better Project.
This collection would not be possible without the talent and generosity of its authors, who have brought us the following holiday stories:
Three of Hearts by Kelly Jamieson (releasing November 17) Lucky Strike by Jane Davitt (releasing November 24) Three the Hard Way by Sydney Croft (releasing December 1)
About Kelly Jamieson
Kelly is a married mother of two who lives a very ordinary life outside of her imagination. When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading. She also likes to cook, and that means she likes to read cookbooks and cooking magazines. In the summer she enjoys spending time gardening, and in the winter she likes to read gardening magazines and seed catalogues. She loves lying on the beach or on her deck with a glass of wine and a good book. She also loves to travel. As you can see, pretty much all of her activities involve reading somehow! Although she doesn’t have as much time for it anymore, she also loves to shop, especially for clothes and shoes. Some think she’s obsessed with shoes but that is not true (although her husband would point out that there is no room left in our closet).
She loves to hear from readers, so visit her on her website, tweet her on Twitter, leave her a comment on Goodreads or Amazon or her blog, or email her at info@kellyjamieson.com.
Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a $25 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 7. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.
Every year, Riptide Publishing releases a Holiday charity bundle with themed stories by bestselling authors. Twenty percent of the net proceeds of each bundle goes to a charity that serves the LGBTQ population.
For 2015, the theme will be Holiday Surprises, and we’ll have stories by HelenKay Dimon, Christine d’Abo, and Marie Sexton. But we don’t have a charity yet.
We need YOUR help to choose the 2015 charity. Nominate your favorite LGBTQ charity below and Riptide might choose it as the 2015 Holiday bundle charity!
The chosen charity for 2015 will immediately receive a $5,000 advance against royalties (paid in 2015 on announcement of the award recipient). The charity will continue to receive 20% of all lifetime net sales income from the 2015 holiday charity collection, in the form of a monthly royalty check.
Three honorable mention charities will each receive a $250 donation.
Forced into early retirement from his career as a SWAT officer for the city of Detroit, James Deacon knew that when he failed it would be a fall of epic proportions. He’s been living life by the tips of his fingers for over twenty years, and his new gig organizing a group of misfit military types into a functioning team—including his reluctant ex-fiancée—won’t return him to stable ground anytime soon. Trevor Barrow has been on the move for the last seven years—hitting the road when relationships became too real or too much work. He’s home now, working in the hazardous world of bike messengers in the Motor City, and the only one of his eight siblings who knows he’s returned is his sister Cat. It’s not as if reconnecting with them matters anyway, because it’s likely he’ll be gone again soon. Both men are lugging some heavy baggage, but when they chance upon each other in a dive bar it’s hard to deny their flaws are more like symbiotic quirks. Trevor’s backpedaling instincts and Deacon’s dance-dance party past may just be intersecting at a time when things are about to get explosive in Detroit.
I didn’t like this book. I found myself wanting to end it multiple times throughout reading it. I gave these ratings based on the basic level of relationship between Deacon and Trevor. The entire book felt disjointed to me. It was weird, and not believable. I didn’t buy into the corporate espionage angle one bit or that a 16 yr old boy would get emancipated from his mother and for 7 years was able to travel to 93 countries. What did he do to gain money, shelter, protection, and knowledge? I can’t believe that would have unless he had a fairy godmother out here protecting him and supplying him with endless funds. Then after being gone from home from 7 years, he’s able to return and start up a bike messenger service. Really, because it’s that simple? Trevor talks about these friends he’s got, and how he’s able to live in an upscale apartment building and have his own company at 23. He never once talked about formal education, any type of training. The one relationship he held dear to his heart the author decided to make a muck out of it. I didn’t like it, I felt it was too easy to place the blame and take away the only faith and trust in someone.
Deacon character’s threw me off a lot, whereas with Trevor I understood why he was closed off. Deacon’s character seemed unauthentic throughout the entire book unless they were in some sort of physical state. The story seemed to be told out of sequence. They kept referencing the Audra Price incident as his reasoning from getting fired from his job of 20 years? What did he do that was so wrong? From my understanding of what was said in the book was whispering in Miss Price ear about what she did; it felt like a gimmick and not realistic. The crux of the story was basically Deacon working for “The Dictator”, this wsapowerful man in Detroit who owned lots real estate and businesses. Why does one need an paramilitary/ swat team to deliver correspondences all over the city? The corporate espionage plot was so unrealistic for me. I felt like the author spent way to much time on it, and it didn’t solve, answer or satisfy me with the story.
“Don’t look elsewhere; look to what you have. And what we have is each other. Always. I know we live our lives as individuals. I can look out into the world and see that. I’m not an idiot. But I also know that thirteen billion years ago, there was no ‘we.’ There was only an ‘I.’ Everything that exists now existed then. Everyone who exists now existed then. There is only one of us. And that, Brendan, is not New Age bullshit. That’s physics. To our detriment, we emphasize our individual spirits and journeys over our collective spirit and journey. We teach our children that life is a process of learning, but if we’ve been around since the beginning of time, what could there possibly be left to learn? We only need to remember what we already know. Our struggles are not born of ignorance, but of forgetfulness. If you want to attract love, the first step is to embrace the idea that we are all connected to each other.”
Trent Days never wanted a life in the spotlight, but with the talent he has for baseball, the spotlight found him. He’s branded the Eskimo Slugger, awed by those he meets… and he hates it.
An unfortunate injury sends him back home where he meets Brendan, a law student with a flare. A skip on the record brings them back together, and be it auras or sparks, something keeps them together. It makes no sense, but within days they form an irreplaceable bond, one that will never break, not even when time stretches and lives come and go.
The question is, how do you measure the success of your life? Is it the number of home runs you hit or how many bases you steal? Or is it the lives you touch and the people who love you?
Before I go into my review, I want to note that I read this without reading The Nothingness of Ben or The Return first. Many people highly encourage doing so, but I took the dive and decided to try it without them. Do I think my experience suffered from it? Perhaps. I think there were nuances I likely missed, and that the last part with Trent and Brendan would’ve been more emotional for me had I been through the other books and experienced it there. Still, I enjoyed the book.
When I’m reading, I save page numbers for quotes. I can usually tell how much I liked a story by the number of quotes, and I’ll just say that this one has quite a few.
At first, I was hesitant. The beginning was a bit lackluster for me, including a slip-up in which the author named one of the characters before he actually introduced himself. It took me a while to actually buy into them, but once I did, I flew through the reading.
It’s important in a romance to have the main characters stand out, but I also love a good cast of side characters, and this was chalk full. The author did a brilliant job of weaving the life into their stories and making me care. I fell in love with Bill Walsh, Quincy, and of course Stanton and Hutch.
I will say that if you haven’t been spoiled as to the a particular theme of the book reincarnation, the chapter before the last one will be a bit of a shock to you. Hints are dropped throughout the story, but I’m not entirely sure I would’ve caught it as much if I hadn’t been spoiled previously. It’s sad on its own, but hopeful when you know the underlying story.
I’m very excited to read the other two books now and then maybe come back to read this again and find the little things I missed. Overall an enjoyable read that had a lot of heart.
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond. On the note of the cover, Paul Richmond did a great job of capturing an image that I think speaks to the story. There’s significance to the number 8 and it’s vague enough to let the reader have some imagination, while still capturing one of the characters.
ebook, 230 pages
Published September 29th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 163216227X (ISBN13: 9781632162274)
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.bradboney.com/
Benjamin Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, has enjoyed his life of wealth and leisure. And he had every intention of continuing that lifestyle until a frantic phone call from sister interrupts his idylls in New York City. His widowed mother’s secret gambling debts lead her to forgery, putting up Crofton Hall as collateral. Now the family faces the possibility of foreclosure by the bank, and Benjamin is forced into opening their beloved estate to the public. But he must act fast and he has no idea how to accomplish turning her into a historical venue.
Enter Ashley Niven. A friend of Benjamin’s sister, Ashley has experience managing events, and he also loves history. Ashley is also in need of a job when his current employer cuts back in the staff. Being in charge of opening Crofton Hall is a dream come true, one he has held from the moment he saw the estate. But its not just the charms of Crofton Hall that Ashley finds himself drawn to but to the dashing Earl of Crofton as well.
Much like Crofton Hall herself, there are layers to be discovered under the charming fascade of Benjamin Redbourne, if only Ashley can lower his barriers of self defense enough to undercover them.
Crofton Hall has many secrets, and something hidden for over four hundred years is about to change all their lives.
Picking up Saving Crofton Hall was a true delight. First I was returning to a setting made familiar with The Crofton Chronicles, a trio of stories set in the mid 1500’s that revolved around the lives and relationship of Anthony Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, and actor Sebastian Hewell. I adored those stories and this author’s ability to bring those times and her characters vividly to life. Secondly, I hoped to have more insight into Crofton Hall’s history to discover any additional details of Anthony and Sebastian’s life together. Did I get it? Hmmmm, yes in a totally unexpected and wonderful way, something I will let the readers discover for themselves.
Saving Crofton Hall brings that grand old estate into modern times, along with the Redbourn family. Benjamin Redbourn is the 16th Earl of Crofton, his father having recently passed. The oldest son and heir, Benjamin has been blithely yet determinedly pursuing the wild life since an earlier breakup left him devastated. His search of the fast life and faster men have taken him far aboard, leaving Crofton Hall in the hands of his mother unequipped to handle it with a younger brother and sister unable to deal with their mother and the situation. Once more, Rebecca Cohen delivers us into the middle of this historic and charming estate but this time to a family facing ruin and the loss of everything that has been in family for hundreds of years, including Crofton Hall.
Crofton Hall continues to act as an important character in this story. Objects found along her halls or in the gardens, will instantly bring up fond recollections of those earlier stories, much like visiting an old friend will make older shared events and joint memories fresh once more. The hall also serves as an intimate and immediate frame of reference for Benjamin Redbourn. As the 16th Earl of Crofton he faces challenges to his family and estate the previous owners would never have thought of while retaining those responsibilities and duties that come with the title. Benjamin remains a combination of the old and the new, history and honor, with a sense of entitlement that gets an adjustment in face of an unthinkable loss. I liked Benjamin immediately. He’s a good person hit with a series of personal and emotional shocks, the first of which is a mother with a hidden gambling problem. He’s believable, relatable, and sexy. I adored him.
Next up is Ashley Niven, another character who makes this story and romance both real and endearing. Like some of those drawing room comedies, Ashley’s drawn towards Benjamin and spends an inordinate amount of time fighting his own impulses…much to our delight. Lively dialog ushers in two men in flux. Each has qualities that mesh with the other and how they find their balance makes their romance and relationship sweet, sexy, and as charming as Crofton Hall herself. And the scenes with Ashley, Benjamin, and the people who come to “rent out” Crofton Hall are some of the most poignant and humorous scenes described. When the members of the local UFO society have their meeting at the Hall, its as funny as you would expect, then its followed by a wedding so moving that sniffling is sure to occur. But the character of Ashley also has quite the unusual pedigree and that surprising background just adds more spice to an already delicious dish of a story!
There’s Mrs. Weather, Billins, Kitty, and so many others that give Saving Crofton Hall the feeling of a close-knit community pulling together to save home and hearth. None feel extraneous to the estate or the story, more a needed ingredient that gives a depth that would be missed without them.
Here is a story rich in history and appreciation for family and tradition. Saving Crofton Hall is the first in a new series, Stately Passions, by Rebecca Cohen that features various estates in the UK. I can’t wait to see where this terrific author takes us next. While Saving Crofton Hall can certainly be read as a stand alone, for the wealth of history and romance lurking in the halls and foundation, pick up the three stories that make up The Crofton Chronicles. I have listed them all for you at the bottom of this review.
I highly recommend Saving Crofton Hall by Rebecca Cohen, an author with an ability to make history feel alive, and give modern times a rich patina of culture and tradition that sets her narratives on strong foundations from which they can grow and become memorable.
Cover artist: Reese Dante. Terrific cover, and that estate looks exactly the way I pictured Crofton Hall.
Journey into the paranormal world with Third Eye, the latest story from Rick R. Reed!
Check out the blurb and excerpt and don’t forget to enter the contest at the end of the blog!
Book Name: Third Eye Goodreads Link
Author Name: Rick R. Reed
Author Bio & Contact:
Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love. He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). Raining Men and Caregiver have both won the Rainbow Award for gay fiction. Lambda Literary Review has called him, “a writer that doesn’t disappoint.” Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever “at work on another novel.” Web: http://www.rickrreed.com Blog: http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rickrreed. E-mail: jimmyfels@gmail.com
Publisher: DSP Publications
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Sales Links: amazon
Third Eye Blurb:
Who knew that a summer thunderstorm and his lost little boy would conspire to change single dad Cayce D’Amico’s life in an instant? With Luke missing, Cayce ventures into the woods near their house to find his son, only to have lightning strike a tree near him, sending a branch down on his head. When he awakens the next day in the hospital, he discovers he has been blessed or cursed—he isn’t sure which—with psychic ability. Along with unfathomable glimpses into the lives of those around him, he’s getting visions of a missing teenage girl. When a second girl disappears soon after the first, Cayce realizes his visions are leading him to their grisly fates. Cayce wants to help, but no one believes him. The police are suspicious. The press wants to exploit him. And the girls’ parents have mixed feelings about the young man with the “third eye.” Cayce turns to local reporter Dave Newton and, while searching for clues to the string of disappearances and possible murders, a spark ignites between the two. Little do they know that nearby, another couple—dark and murderous—are plotting more crimes and wondering how to silence the man who knows too much about them.
Cayce was just about to put the paper aside when another article—and a familiar name in the byline—caught his eye. “Teenager Reported Missing,” by Dave Newton. It wasn’t so much the headline that got his attention but the picture of the young girl beneath it. Pretty. Long blonde hair. And disturbingly familiar.
Even though Fawcettville was a small town, the girl’s name, Lucy Plant, didn’t ring any bells. Perhaps Cayce had waited on her at the Elite, the diner where he worked. But still, no specific recollection came back. Cayce couldn’t visualize the girl sitting at the counter, nor at one of the booths.
And yet she looked so familiar, as if she were someone Cayce was friends with, or even a relative.
Cayce scanned the story. The girl had been reported missing by her mother yesterday afternoon, just before the storm that had caused such a turn in Cayce’s own life.
There were no clues. The girl, at least according to her mother, could not possibly have been a runaway. “Lucy’s a good girl,” Amy Plant had told Fawcettville police detective JT Simmons. “She wouldn’t even go down the block to visit a friend without telling us first.”
The last time anyone had seen Lucy Plant was when her mother looked outside the living room window. Lucy had been playing with her Barbie dolls on the front lawn.
Cayce closed his eyes. He remembered, suddenly, the storm coming, and not knowing where Luke was. He sympathized with the girl’s mother and the panic she must have felt when she couldn’t locate her daughter.
A ceiling fan. Beneath his closed lids, Cayce saw a ceiling fan. He didn’t know why. He didn’t own one himself, and the one in his parents’ living room was an entirely different model from this one, which was white, with a plain globe. His parents’ fan had four frosted-glass light fixtures and faux wood blades.
Cayce kept his eyes closed, watching the ceiling fan whirl, its blades blurring and becoming singular. There was something wrong with the fan. It didn’t work quite right.
Cayce felt nauseated and opened his eyes. His face was glazed with sweat. His stomach churned, and he was afraid he would vomit. Why was seeing a ceiling fan so disturbing? Or was this some sort of aftershock, an effect of his accident?
Cayce didn’t think so.
He glanced down at the face of Lucy Plant and sucked in some air. “Oh my God,” he whispered, “she’s dead.”
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One of my favorite authors and series is back! Today Rebecca Cohen, author of The Crofton Chronicles series, is here with the blurb and excerpt of her latest story in the Crofton Chronicles series, Saving Crofton Hall. I have an interview with her and a contest for all of you to enter. Check it all out below!
Book Name: Saving Crofton Hall Goodreads Link
Author Name: Rebecca Cohen
Up Close with Rebecca Cohen and all Things Crofton Chronicles…
Q. Rebecca, I loved the Crofton Chronicles and was so happy to see this book come up. Why continue this series, what about this place and people wouldn’t let go of you?
RC: I’m so glad you enjoyed the series, I loved writing them. Sometimes it is easy to move on from characters and a setting, and sometimes isn’t. And I knew once I finished The Crofton Chronicles that there were more stories to be told about the Redbourn family and their home. I did think about writing in another historical period, but once I had the idea of a modern Crofton, I thought I could sneak in references to the earls that came in between. The idea of an old family with an interesting history was too much fun to pass up, and Crofton Hall is just as intriguing in her own right.
Q. How far are we in the timeline from the original story?
RC: Saving Crofton Hall is set in modern-day England, with Benjamin Redbourn as the 16th Earl of Crofton. Making it just over 400 years after the original series.
Q. At the end of the third story, we saw how it all worked out for our original lovers, Sebastian and Anthony, where do these relatives come into the story?
RC: I don’t want to spoil the plot, but let’s just say it wasn’t just Crofton Hall I couldn’t let go of completely.
Q. Historical romance can be a tricky genre to write in, especially when the author is setting her stories in several different eras. Do you have a favorite time period to write in? Or several? What about those eras pulls to you set your stories and character within their cultural framework?
RC: I love the Tudor and Stuart periods, so it’s unsurprising I set The Crofton Chronicles during the Elizabethan era. The political intrigue of the Elizabethan court and the Golden Age have always fascinated me, and characters of the time are so vibrant. The Tudors were utter bastards as monarchs, and Elizabeth I’s courtiers had to walk a fine line to keep in her good books. The gap between rich and poor was even wider than now, and social hierarchy was strict and unbending. Add in William Shakespeare, and there is no other period of history that can compare for me.
Q. Will there be more Crofton stories ahead? Are you thinking of doing more modern times stories?
RC: Saving Crofton Hall is the first in the Stately Passions series, where Crofton Hall will be the backdrop to a number of different couples and their romances. There’s still plenty to learn about the Redbourn family, and Ben and Ashley will be about in the background, but will see a different side to Crofton Hall, including below stairs.
Q. From Manderly to Pemberly, there are many famous estates in literature. I loved Anthony and Sebastian, and Crofton Hall, so much a third character in their stories. Is there a Hall or Manor you have visited in England that acts as a standin for Crofton Halls and is it open to the public?
RC: Crofton Hall is based on three different stately homes all open to the public: Harvington Hall, Sudbury House, and Hatfield house. Of these only Harvington Hall was built during the period of The Crofton Chronicles but Hatfield House is the basis for the Crofton Hall of today, with it gorgeous state rooms and beautiful grounds. It’s even in Hertfordshire, where Saving Crofton Hall is set.
Q. Favorite story from your childhood that has impacted you as an adult and as a writer? Or perhaps it’s an author as well?
RC: I loved the Chronicles of Narnia, Paddington Bear and I had a lovely book of Eastern European fairy tales. Basically I had a real passion for reading and I still do. I think my love of books in general inspired me to write, all the new worlds and fantastic tales ignited my imagination. It’s something I hope to pass on to my son, and I’m discovering so many new children’s books through him. The Gruffalo anyone?
Q. What would be your favorite romantic hero from literature? Or how about romantic poet?
RC: Although not the lead ‘hero’ I adore Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing and I also loved Dartanian from The Three Musketeers. I love the poem Fire and Ice by Edmund Spenser (so much I used in The Actor and the Earl).
Q. What’s next for Rebecca Cohen?
RC: I’ve a Sci Fi novel about a novice planet builder who is reunited with his lost love going through submission, so keeping my fingers crossed for that. On the WIP front, I’m currently working on a novella series based around an amateur dramatics group in London.
STRW: That’s both surprising and wonderful. I can’t wait for it to come out. Now for all the readers out there, a closer look at Crofton Hall and all those who love that dignified lady in Saving Crofton Hall!
Author Bio:
Rebecca Cohen is a Brit abroad. Having swapped the Thames for the Rhine, she has left London behind and now lives with her husband and baby son in Basel, Switzerland. She can often be found with a pen in one hand and a cup of Darjeeling in the other.
Benjamin Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, has no intention of giving up his beloved ancestral home without a fight. Faced with his mother’s gambling debts, forgery, and the possibility of foreclosure by the bank, Ben vows to make Crofton Hall pay for herself. But opening an Elizabethan manor house to the public isn’t a one man job. With time running out, Ben needs help—and fast.
Ashley Niven has experience managing events, and he also loves history. Being in charge of opening Crofton Hall is a dream come true. As he works with Ben to prepare the house as a venue for lavish weddings and receptions, Ashley finds himself drawn not just to the charm of the house but to the dashing Earl of Crofton. Even if Ashley can look past Ben’s playboy reputation, he fears an affair could prove too much of a distraction.
But Crofton Hall has many secrets, and something hidden for over four hundred years is about to change all their lives.
Ben lost his balance and landed heavily on his arse in a nearby chair.
“How the hell did you manage that? I only agreed to borrow five hundred thousand, and that was for essential repairs, and the estate could easily repay the loan in ten years.”
“I approached the bank with a business case for a visitor attraction.
They were very enthusiastic.”
“What gave you the right?”
“Your father left us both in charge of Crofton Hall, Benjamin,” she said sharply.
He glowered at her and she deflated.
“I needed the money, and the only way I could get it was to tell the bank I wanted to open Crofton Hall to the public.”
“And they agreed to lend the money without my permission?” he asked carefully, hardly believing his mother’s audacity, but getting the feeling he knew what she was going to say next.
“They might have been under the impression that you’d agreed to it, and I was acting on both our behalves.”
“Really. And how would they have thought that?”
“Your signature isn’t exactly hard to copy.”
Ben covered his face with his hands, understanding what his mother had done.
“I know I shouldn’t have, not without your permission, but I was desperate. And the bank thought our business plan was excellent.”
He looked up at her. Elena’s eyes were red from crying, but there was still an edge of defiance in her face. “How much is left?”
She shrugged. “A few thousand, maybe.”
“And you used Crofton Hall as security?”
“Yes.”
The anger flashed through him, burning through his usual amicable nature. “How could you have been so stupid? Were you even thinking past your own selfishness?”
Elena cowered in her seat.
“You’ve ruined us, destroyed this family!”
“I didn’t mean—”
Ben didn’t want to hear her feeble excuses. “Oh, that’s all right, then. We’ll tell the bank, you didn’t mean it, and they’ll forget all about it.”
Ben reined in his anger. Taking deep, slow breaths, he clenched and unclenched his fists as he regained his calm. He watched Catlin pace up and down. Harry stood slumped against the fireplace, shell-shocked. Now was not the time to panic. He needed to know exactly how much trouble they were in and deal with it.
“Get me the paperwork.”
Without argument, Elena jumped to her feet and scurried over to the writing bureau in the corner. From the folds of frills and ruffles of her blouse, she fished out a key on a chain and unlocked the bureau. She drew out a sheaf of paper.
“It’s all here.”
“Right, let’s hope my economics degree wasn’t for nothing.” Ben snatched the papers. “I suggest you all keep your distance until I’ve finished reading.”
He sank into a chair by the unlit fireplace, blocking out the angry thoughts as he scanned sheet after sheet. The figures danced before his eyes, and he saw the terms and conditions his mother had agreed to. The interest, compound interest, and payback terms were listed and categorized in black and white with no way of denying the facts. They were in deep shit, the bank would be at the door within weeks, and Ben seethed internally at his mother’s gall.The effort she’d put into defrauding the bank was amazing, the business case had been full of fine details and promised an excellent return, but little help would that do them now.
Unless….
Ben stared around the sitting room; generations of Redbourns had sat in here. Men who’d fought at Blenheim, Waterloo, and El Alamein —they would never have given in and surrendered Crofton Hall in the face of adversity. And it wasn’t about to happen while Ben was Earl of Crofton either. As much as he wanted to rail against it, their only hope was to
convince the bank they were following through with the idea of opening the house to the public.
“We can probably sell the London apartment. That’ll raise around two million. Our trust funds are protected, so we can’t release the equity from those. If we’ve any hope of holding on to her, Crofton Hall is going have to earn her keep.”
Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-book of Saving Crofton Hall. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the
Rafflecopter Code below for the entry form and for all additional contest details:
For Nicholas Cartwright it was just supposed to be a typical night clubbing. Dancing, hot men, and if he got lucky and hooked up? Even better. Then the man he left the bar with turned out to be his true mate and everything went to hell. His mate rejected him, driving Nick away, demolishing all his dreams and hopes for the future. That was six months ago. Now Nick has tried everything he can to forget that night and the fact that he has a mate that doesn’t want him. But he can’t and he is suffering, swamped with the need for the mate his wolf calls for and the pain and humiliation of knowing he’s been rejected.
Thayne Whitedove has always been a wanderer, a lone wolf who takes comfort in the casual hookups and the rare visit home to his pack’s lands. Then Thayne commits a fatal mistake, one that is following him from place to place in deadly pursuit. The only way to correct his mistake is to accept the one thing he’s never wanted… his mate. Thayne must decide whether to keep running or to stay and fight for Nick’s forgiveness and acceptance.
Burying himself in his work, Nick pushes himself to the point of exhaustion while finding the touch of another unbearable. Suddenly his mate needs his help, and Thayne may be asking for more than Nicholas can find it in himself to give.
Forgiving Thayne is the first story I have read in J.R. Loveless’s True Mates series. The first story, Chasing Seth, dealt with veterinarian Seth Davies and his mate, Kasey Whitedove. This couple figures prominently in this story and the author is careful to include enough information and back history on both of them that I didn’t feel that this story suffered by skipping over book one. In fact, one of the main characters in Forgiving Thayne, Thayne Whitedove, made appearances in that story as he is Kasey’s brother, to set up a foundation for this one.
The only section where the world building might feel a little incomplete (the full history of the shifter natures of Seth and Nick) seems to be explored more fully in book one. My curiosity and interest in this author’s shifter universe will send me to the beginning of this series and Chasing Seth for additional information. Otherwise, I feel that this story can be judged on its own qualities and it has many good ones.
The Whitedove family is part of a Native American shifter tribe that expects a strict adherence to the tribal rules and regulations. Running a foul of the highest of those laws puts Thayne in direct conflict with his family and tribe. In addition, an old promise has kept Thayne moving from place to place with limited connections to home and territory. I loved the richness of Loveless’ setting and shifter lore. This author has built a deep mythology for their shifters and uses it as a framework for Forgiving Thayne. The setting, especially the town of Senaka and the Wolf’s Den bar, lend an authentic tone to the events and characters that appear in this story. Building on this supernatural structure, Loveless creates a key component of the plot and narrative that feels logical, yet still surprising. In fact, I wish more of this aspect of the story had been expanded, to include more details and the reasoning behind it. It was one of the more intriguing elements here and it made the story for me.
I think most of my issues dealt with the main characters, especially that of Thayne. His actions and dialog is that of a gold plated jerk, a judgement that should have been disappeared once his reasoning and back history is revealed. But that aspect of his character remains intact for the majority of the story primarily because the rationale created by the author and the consequences of old actions just never make any sense. Without going into too much detail or spoiler territory, the basis for a promise that has severe implications in adulthood never felt solid and his continued actions and poor judgement calls felt more contrived than believable. To make this element even flimsier, the “aha” moment was diluted by a complete lack of drama that included the reactions of an old friend. That person we believed in. Thayne? Not so much.
What holds up this romance and makes it work is the character of Nicholas Cartwright. He’s lovely, angst ridden, and totally vulnerable in a way that the reader will connect with. He saves the romance and the relationship because no matter how the reader will feel about Thayne, Nicholas is there to pull it all back together.
There is a third story on the horizon, Protecting Kai (True Mates #3). I shall be in line when that one comes out and will pick up and start reading Chasing Seth to complete the back history and make sure I have all the series key components in mind.
Do I recommend this story? Yes, especially to those lovers of shifter romances. J.R. Loveless throws in some fascinating new touches to wolf shifter lore and her characters have a certain sass and depth I find necessary and interesting. So check it out and let me know how you feel, about Chasing Seth or Forgiving Thayne!
Cover Artist: Anne Cain has some nice touches and does a good job of branding the series with the same elements.
Tour Dates/Stops: 
The Eskimo Slugger
Saving Crofton Hall
Forgiving Thayne
