Review:  Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice (Once Upon a Holiday story) by R L Merrill 

Rating: 4.75🌈

Immediately upon opening the book, I love this format, the story is divided into the four equinoxes of the year, starting with Spring.  It’s a wonderful method of showing progression of the characters’ relationships and developments in their lives while folding in meaningful celebrations of the year.

I also had to go for tissues more often than expected, not knowing fully about the history of USMC vet Luther Sorenson, the unit he’d served in and the full story of the losses that followed him home. It’s so well written, soft in details, a wealth of sparsely communicated pain, loss , and love for a career and those who were unable to make it out. Including his K9 partner. 

The foster aspect of Luther is beautifully captured. From Luther’s skittish memories to his fabulous trans sister from the same system, Violet, who is the core member of his family, and his new foster 8 yr old daughter, Mila, each is a remarkable factor in this story.  Merrill has crafted in each one a memorable quiet gem. Through subtle character building, layers of background and small details combined with a nuanced personality that’s allowed development throughout the storyline, we’re able to see the characters grow, stumbling, achieving new milestones, and getting them into the new paths.

That includes former Air Force soldier Doug Cross, a security coder now in business for himself.  Part singer, goth artist, and a person helping out his friends with their dog rescue, it’s at a Bay city fair where adjoining booths , the rescue team and Luther’s artwork, force a meeting.

From there, from Equinox to equinox, a relationship or really, an interlocking group of relationships are slowly being formed.  There’s meaningful adjustments, adult communication, necessary talks about their histories and his health, his daughter. Everything is just as important and real.  The fears and the challenges.  The surprises and the heartwarming wins.

It’s watching Mila go from a fearful 8 year old at the beginning to a young girl so happy and excited in her heart at the end.  The families formed, standing together in the firelight of that Solstice fire. More tissues. 

Yes , there’s a furry one too.  I really wanted more of him. 

In fact this entire book is so great, so moving, and magnetic in its emotional appeal that I wanted to explore more of each Equinox stage. Dive deeper in how the changes occurred that lead to the beginning of the next Equinox stage. 

My hope is the line at the end where there’s a promise of more to come. 

I’ll be there to see what happens. 

A beautiful story, outstanding work, a definite recommendation. 

Cover design by Kelly York, love this cover so much 

Once Upon a Holiday series – 8 books:

Once Upon a Second Chance by Davidson King

Once Upon A Mistletoe Kiss by Sammi Cee

Once Upon a Holiday Vacation by Annabella Michaels 

Once Upon a Lullaby Lane by K York

Once Upon a Christmas Con by Skylar M Cates

Once Upon A Christmas Song by Mary Calmes

Once Upon a Yuletide Romance by RJ Peterson

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice by R L Merrill 

Buy link

        Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice: A Crafty Tale

    

Blurb 

From the author of the award-winning novel You Can Do Magic: Carnival of Mysteries and Publishers Weekly’s BookLife quarterfinalist Earthquake Ethan comes a heartwarming holiday tale of found family and sacrifice. Two wildly opposite veterans connect over a shared love of art, rescue dogs, and a very special foster child.

Settling in the Bay Area after his stint in the Air Force, Doug Cross’s new titles include business owner and member of a goth-punk band. And, apparently, professional do-gooder. When his housemate needs funds for her dog rescue, he willingly whips up goth-inspired dogwear to sell at a local craft fair. He gets a rather cool reception after offering a helping hand to their booth neighbor, however…which is a shame, because the bearded artist is the first man to turn Doug’s head in a while.

Marine vet and single foster dad Luther Sorenson is struggling to keep his family afloat—and himself on his feet, literally. He’s selling his paintings at the fair when his body betrays him, and he’s forced to ask for help from the goth guy next door. Doug made a humiliating experience seem easy and innocuous, and despite their differing opinions on the military…Luther can’t stop thinking about the charming man. His killer makeup skills and the way he rocks a kilt aren’t helping.

The men embark on a tentative relationship, but as the seasons change, so do their circumstances. Navigating a new relationship is hard enough. Add in an adorable foster daughter, a new job, a business emergency, and a grumpy dog…and the two vets/artists will have to get creative if they want to carve out time for love.

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice is a part of the multi-author series Once Upon a Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love.

  • Publisher: Celie Bay Publications LLC; 1st edition (December 10, 2024)
  • Publication date: December 10, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 154 pages

Check out this new release “Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice“ by R.L. Merrill (tour and excerpt)

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice - R.L. Merrill

R.L. Merrill has a new MM romance out (gay, bisexual/genderqueer), part of the multi-author Once Upon A Holiday series: Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice. And there’s a giveaway!

From the author of the award-winning novel You Can Do Magic: Carnival of Mysteries and Publishers Weekly’s BookLife quarterfinalist Earthquake Ethan comes a heartwarming holiday tale of found family and sacrifice. Two wildly opposite veterans connect over a shared love of art, rescue dogs, and a very special foster child.

Doug Cross spent the first half of his life attempting to appease his career-military father. After a stint in the Air Force and a successful career in cybersecurity, he’s traveled the world in search of fulfillment. He believes he’s found it in the San Francisco Bay Area with a room on an urban farm, a new spot in a goth punk band, and the support of his extended family. He’s always been a helper by nature, so when he learns that his housemate’s dog rescue is in trouble, he creates goth-influenced dog accessories to sell at the Treasure Island Arts and Crafts Fair in hopes of raising much-needed funds for the pups. He also lends a helping hand to his neighbor at the fair, and the two have a potential meet-cute…that quickly fizzles, leaving Doug wondering why his charming personality failed to make a new friend.

Luther Sorenson is a disabled Marine veteran who is struggling to keep his family afloat—and himself literally on his feet. His sister convinces him to sell his wood paintings at the fair as a way to supplement his income. He’s a single foster dad to eight-year-old Mila and is desperate to give her everything she deserves. His body doesn’t always cooperate, however, and having to ask for help from the goth guy next door at the art market could have potentially been humiliating. But Doug makes it easy, and Luther can’t stop thinking about him in between markets. Doug seems like the kind of person Luther could add to his support network. Not to mention, his superb makeup skills and the way he rocks a utilikilt have Luther smitten in no time.

A brunch “business meeting” turns into adult summer camp, and Doug and Luther embark on a tentative courtship while navigating the challenges of parenthood and owning a small business. But as the seasons change, the two men find in each other what they’ve always desired: love, family, and acceptance. On the night of the winter solstice, will they choose to combine forces and step into the unknown together?

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice is a part of the multi-author series Once Upon a Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love.

About the Series:

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice is a part of the multi-author series Once Upon a Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love.

Universal Buy Link

Giveaway

R.L. is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47321/

Excerpt

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice meme - R.L. Merrill

“I had a bad dream.”

Eight-year-old Mila Saavedra stood in the doorway of Luther’s room with a stuffed dinosaur hanging limply from one hand. Her other hand was pressed against her stomach.

Luther turned over and sat on his yoga mat with his arm out, gesturing for her to come closer. The brief seconds she hesitated to move toward the mat gutted him. Once she settled on a course of action, she approached him, not front on but coming around the mat to stand nearer his side.

“What happened in your dream?”

Mila sat cross-legged and folded her hands in her lap with Terry D’actyl against her body. It was still tough to get her to make eye contact, but Luther knew better than to push that issue. It hadn’t worked with him as a young man, and he was determined not to make the same mistakes as the foster parents he’d lived with.

“I went to school and no one was there to greet us. I went to my classroom and no one was there. No one came to take us to lunch. I sat at my desk all day, and no one came. And at the end of the day…” She ducked her head, and Luther heard the shaky breath she took in.

“At the end of the day, I come to get you.”

She shook her head.

Luther let out a breath. As much as he hated to revisit his past, Mila’s social worker, Miss Vanessa, told him from the start that building rapport with his foster daughter would likely require him to find ways to connect with her around their shared experiences.

The whole reason he’d become a foster parent was to help other kids avoid having those kinds of shared experiences.

“I used to have dreams like that, too.”

She lifted her head long enough to look at him from under her thick bangs, and then she looked at his feet. “What did you do?”

Luther definitely didn’t want to get into all of the negative ways he’d coped as a kid. That was in the past. But he could tell her about the ways he coped with life now.

“When I have bad dreams now, I exercise, or I go work in my studio. Those are things that make me feel better.” He let out a breath and thought how much he wished he could spend the day with Mila, but he’d signed on to work the art market on Treasure Island one weekend a month, and today was his first day. He’d gone over and parked his trailer in his spot the previous night, so he could scope the place out. He’d been a little nervous about registering to become a vendor, but once he’d stepped out of his truck and breathed in the San Francisco Bay breeze, he’d allowed himself the briefest moment of peace. The view of the San Francisco Bay at sunset was breathtaking, the weather was forecast to be mild, and he’d finally have a chance to see what—if any—kind of money he could make selling his wood paintings.

It had been his sister’s idea for him to try selling the art he usually reserved as gifts for his closest friends. Violet helped him research vendor opportunities, got him registered for this one, and helped him get everything set up to run a business. She volunteered to stay with Mila on the days he’d be at the fair. If he hadn’t already known how incredible his sister was, well…now he knew she was an absolute gift.

“I like to fix things,” Mila said quietly. She reached over and tentatively touched a tiny hole in the hem of his sweatpants. “My tummy feels better when things are all right.”

Luther’s own stomach clenched at her words. “Mine does, too. What do you think would make things all right this morning?”

She glanced at him under her bangs. “I wish I could sew,” she nearly whispered. “I could fix your pants.”

Luther wanted to reach out and take her hand, but Miss Vanessa had suggested he wait for her to engage with him when she was ready. She’d been with him for six months now, and they’d made huge progress, but he was determined to do everything right so she could have a chance to heal. He wanted to make things safe for her, give her a place to find herself.

“These old things?” He tugged at the cuff and showed her the inside. She gasped at the barely attached threads. “Don’t you worry about these. I’ve had them since before I was in the Marines.” There was a hitch in his voice as he mentioned his previous calling. He cleared his throat. “If you tried to sew these holes, the material would likely disintegrate in your fingers. Auntie Violet will be up soon. She’s an expert at sewing.”

That got him a timid smile. “Would she teach me?”

“I’m sure she will. She taught me.”

Her eyes bugged out. “You know how to sew?”

Luther let out an exaggerated sigh. “Marines know everything, remember?”

She groaned and squeezed Terry tight. Then she turned him around and pointed to a seam on the critter’s back that was barely hanging on. “Do you think I can fix this?”

Poor Terry had been through it. Luther had gently tried to replace him, but every morning he’d find Mila’s arms wrapped around the beat-up pterodactyl. He was the only toy she’d been able to bring with her when Miss Vanessa took her from her unsafe situation, and Luther knew the two of them had seen some shit together.

“I do. Now,” Luther said, looking at where she still had a hand on her stomach. “What can we do to fix your tummy?”

She tilted her head as though it was a difficult decision, but Luther knew her answer.

“Pancakes?”

“As if it would be anything else. Come on,” he said, knowing that cutting his exercise time short would bite him in the ass later, but he was determined to give the world to this little girl, no matter the price he paid.

He managed to push himself up off the floor without cursing and he took it slow as he straightened his back, stretching his arms above his head.

Author Bio

R.L. Merrill

R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after. Ro writes inclusive contemporary romance, paranormal, and horror-inspired music reviews. A mom, wife, daughter, former educator, and advocate for social and reproductive justice, you can currently find cruising in her Bronco with Great Dane pup Velma, being terrorized by feline twins Dracula and Frankenstein, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…

Author Website: https://www.rlmerrillauthor.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/rochellerlmerrill

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/rlmerrillauthor

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rlmerrillauthor

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/rlmerrillauthor

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/R.L.-Merrill/author/B00PI6Q1LI

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Review:  The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Rating: 5🌈

The Pairing is one of my top two books of the year.  A absolute masterpiece of a book, a gastronomical tale and a oenophile’s dream journey that’s a bisexual and nonbinary romance of rediscovery and enduring love set upon the landscape of some of Europe’s most beautiful and ancient cultural heritage sites and tiny restaurants. 

There really aren’t enough pages or words to describe how much I love this. 

Just be prepared to be hungry, and thirsty and , frankly feeling like you need something, want something, because you’re not eating, drinking, being there smelling the aromas, luxuriating in the heat or atmosphere of any of the scenes or moments the characters have pulled you into. It’s a sensory experience, an overload of energy and emotional experience on so many levels. That’s how vivid the writing, how gloriously beautiful the characters and how deeply their story envelopes you into the journey. 

At its most basic, it’s a story of two childhood friends who loved each other. Became lovers for two years, parted angrily on an airplane ride to London, on their way to a special food and wine vacation. It was supposed to be a start of many things together but it was an end. 

Four years later, the two people unexpectedly use the vouchers for that same vacation and see each other once again. 

It sounds simple but it’s anything but. 

Author Casey McQuiston brings the reader into the lives of longtime friends and now exes, Theo Flowerday, assistant sommelier and 

Kit Fairfield , pastry chef, in an imaginative format. Half the book belongs to the perspective of Theo, a California native and assistant sommelier who has finally decided to move on from the past, take the vacation they had planned to go on, and put an end to a failed relationship they have never fully recovered from. We see the beginning, the end. And then the entire new journey four years later from Theo’s perspective. 

At midpoint, at a certain time in the vacation and this couple’s renewed relationship, McQuiston switches the narrative over to Kit, appropriately, where we follow the same path.  First their beginning. The end . And then his perspective on how they reconnected and what the years have done to them, the changes, as well as the misunderstandings and mistakes made.  By both. 

Theo is at first described as bisexual but it’s no surprise to the reader that part of the conversation and story is Theo’s acceptance , or more embracing their identity as a nonbinary person. Kit , throughout the book, is a clearly bisexual man who has a deep sense of self and the enjoyment of sex.   

Sex, along with wine, food, art and the landscapes, is as much a part of the story as the characters. Theo and Kit have sex, and not just with each other. For those uncomfortable with this aspect of the story or the characters, remember they aren’t in a romance at the time and Europe looks at relationships differently in some ways.  Plus vacation romances are, as they say, a thing. It all plays out sensually and believably true to heart. 

I fell into the story, the lives of the characters, and the incredible journey the author takes us on, a map having been provided at the beginning of the book should the reader want to follow along. 

I saw places where I’d visited through a new standpoint, had fresh views on artists and history tossed around that had me thinking and reaching for my own old references and notes. And then submerging myself in this cornucopia of narrative sensual characters, fully developed elements and places that can’t be appreciated in one reading.  

I might need to book myself a vacation. 

I’m highly recommending this as one of my top two books of the year. A narrative masterpiece of the senses. 

Enjoy.

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Pairing…The Pairing: Special 1st Edition: McQuiston, Casey: 9781250862747

Blurb 

LIMITED FIRST PRINT RUN–featuring sprayed edges with a stenciled script design. Only available for a limited time and while supplies last.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Casey McQuiston’s latest romantic comedy, two bisexual exes accidentally book the same European food and wine tour and challenge each other to a hookup competition to prove they’re over each other―except they’re definitely not.

Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, in love, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other’s lives once and for all.

Time apart has done them good. Theo has found confidence as a hustling bartender by night and aspiring sommelier by day, with a long roster of casual lovers. Kit, who never returned to America, graduated as the reigning sex god of his pastry school class and now bakes at one of the finest restaurants in Paris. Sure, nothing really compares to what they had, and life stretches out long and lonely ahead of them, but―yeah. It’s in the past.

All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened, good for 48 months after its original date and about to expire. Four years later, it seems like a great idea to finally take the trip. Solo. Separately.

It’s not until they board the tour bus that they discover they’ve both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they’re trapped with each other for three weeks of stunning views, luscious flavors, and the most romantic cities of France, Spain, and Italy. It’s fine. There’s nothing left between them. So much nothing that, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is totally game. And why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition?

But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can’t have.

“The summer’s best romance novel.” – Rolling Stone

“Spicy, sexy and absolutely delicious.” – People

“Move over ‘hot girl summer’ – ‘hot bisexual summer’ is ready for its moment and Casey McQuiston’s new novel The Pairing is here to usher it in.” – USA Today

  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (August 6, 2024)
  • Publication date: August 6, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 395 pages

 

 

 

 

Review:  The Devil’s Dilemma (Tales from the Tarot) by Alex J. Adams 

Rating: 3.75🌈

The Tales from the Tarot series delivers another interesting new paranormal romance in The Devil’s Dilemma by Alex J. Adams.  I did enjoy Adams’ story about a bored Devil casino owner and a mysterious lucky visitor making way too many successful bets.  It’s got an abundance of interesting elements to the narrative, the characters themselves have an equal amount of unusual aspects to their histories and current lives to make this a book that engages the reader’s imagination and attention. 

I especially enjoyed the character of Austin.  Morally gray, but fairly good, loving, but not especially with perspective qualities or introspection. Awful criminal bent friends being the first example.  The Devil is strangely evil.  Bored , incredibly powerful but as the plot progresses, this aspect of the Devil’s character becomes oddly weaker when presented with the events and villainy that arises. 

That’s the issue with a lot of the storylines and characters here. Adams has created some very promising characters and plot threads but doesn’t really fully explain or execute them to their full potential.   

For every single thing that happens that I think is a good idea, there is one where I also go “what happened to that character “ or why didn’t whatever come into play.   Something gets dropped. 

There’s a lot going on here, so much that the author brought in crossover characters from another series and books to help explain certain plot points, to the characters and readers.   So yes, this is an enjoyable story, it just feels like more should have been written into it or aspects of the characters better defined.

Tarot card is obviously The Devil. 

Cover art: Fae Quin . Fabulous as always 

Cover design: Amanda Meuwissen

Tales from the Tarot- 22 books 

🔷 Where Fools Have Tread by Jennifer Cody❤️

🔷The Magician’s Heart by J.P. Jackson

🔷Cleric of Desire by Amanda Meuwissen❤️

🔷The Nephilim’s Touch by Morgan Lysand

🔷King of Hollywood by Fae Quin

🔷My Minotaur Daddy: An MM Romantasy by Laura Lascarso

🔷Across Space and Time by Kit Barrie

🔷Chariot of Souls by Morgan Mason

🔷By Rude Strength ❤️by K.L. Hiers

🔷Found in Obscurity by A. M. Rose

🔷Twisted Fates by Adam J. Ridley

🔷No Justice for the Damned by Hellie Heat

🔷The Angel’s Kiss by Nicholas Bella

🔷Death Song by B. Ripley 

🔷Arcanum ❤️by Ashlyn Drewek

🔷The Devil’s Dilemma by Alex J. Adams

🔷Camelot’s Tower by Brooke Matthews

🔷A Highland Gargoyle’s Lucky Star

❤️by Chloe Archer

🔷Trust in the Moon ❤️by Delaney Rain

🔷Raising the Sun ❤️by Eryn Hawk

🔷Zero Judgment by Kota Quinn

🔷The End of the World by Drake LaMarque

Buy link

        The Devil’s Dilemma

    

Blurb 

Dante

That cheating low life. I swore when I got my hands on him, his life wouldn’t be worth living.

How dare he steal from me? Doesn’t he know who I am?

Only coming close to him, seeing him shudder at my touch. I’m drawn to him in ways I never imagined.

He’s an enigma and not at all what he seems.

But what I made him do. He’ll never forgive me, he’ll hate me, but if that’s all he can give me… I’ll take it.

Austin

He was filthy rich! He didn’t need the money, probably wouldn’t even miss it. How wrong could I be?

Now here I am, unable to flee and I hate him for what he made me do.

But I can’t help myself. I crave his touch and attention. I need everything he can give me.

I think I love him, but if this is all he can give me… I’ll take it, gladly.

DEVIL’S DILEMMA IS A STANDALONE MM ROMANCE NOVEL AS PART OF THE MULTI-AUTHOR COLLABORATION TALES FROM THE TAROT. THIS BOOK IS BASED ON THE MAJOR ARCANA CARD THE DEVIL.

HEA GUARANTEED.

TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR VIOLENCE, CAPTIVITY, KIDNAPPING AND STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

  • Publication date: October 10, 2024
  • Language: English
  • File size: 2758 KB
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Screen Reader: Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Print length: 215 pages

Review:  No Business Like Snow Business (Christmas Falls, Season 2) by J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry

Rating:  5🌈

There are some authors and stories I just savor.  I read them slowly, joyfully anticipating the next chapters and narrative twists that the writers have planned for the characters and storylines. I’m so engaged in this world and the lives unfolding here that I’m often lost , scene by scene, moment by moment. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a heartrending scene or as in the fabulous novel, No Business Like Snow Business (Christmas Falls, Season 2) by J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry, a romantic holiday journey of self discovery and family.  All in that amazing small town of Christmas Falls.

Yes, I’m an absolute fan of J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry, they are auto reads of mine. And this contemporary romance just is one more example why. 

We’ve met Harvey Novak, head of the Christmas Falls Historical Museum, before in previous novels. But here, Harvey shines and becomes one of the most beloved characters in the town.  A lover of the town, of Christmas and history, and of mysteries, Harvey is the perfect person to turn to when Sterling van Ruyven comes to town, old photograph in hand, with a family mystery to solve. And maybe to find himself as well.

Sterling, wealthy, out of his element, determined, is a character who undergoes such tremendous growth. It’s a journey the reader takes with him, as Christmas Falls and Harvey, take him in hand, show him the kindness and warmth and love he’s been missing.  Just thinking about it makes me want to go read the story all over again. 

It’s the various residents we’ve already met, the places so familiar, the streets decked out for the Festival, and the spirit with which the people there look after Sterling, and Harvey. 

There will always be favorites in the Christmas Falls series, both of them. But this is in my very top. 

Highly recommended. A must holiday read.

Christmas Falls, Season 2:

The Snuggle is Real by DJ Jamison Flake It til You Make It by Beth Bolden ❤️

12 Dates of Christmas by Brigham Vaughn 

Here Comes Santa Paws by Lee Blair 

Under the Mistle-Foe by Rye Cox Christmas Beau by Amy Aislin 

❤️No Business Like Snow Business by J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry 

Frost Impressions by Kelly Fox

Promise Yule Be Mine by Rhys Everly Mingle All The Way by Hayden Hall

Christmas Falls, Season 1:

Grinch Kisses by DJ Jamison Snowbody Loves You by Jacki James Get Frosted by Amy Aislin 

Silent Knight by Beth Bolden 

Under the Mistle-Tome by Sammi Cee 

Clausing a Scene by Casey Cox 

No Elf-ing Way by Hayden Hall 

Ready, Set, Glow! by Rye Cox 

Scrooge You! By Brigham Vaughn

Buy link

        No Business Like Snow Business

    

Blurb

Harvey Novak loves living in Christmas Falls. He loves his job running the Festival Museum too, except when it means he has to deal with his ex, who’s putting together the town’s newest tourist brochures. There are a lot of things Harvey is willing to do for Christmas Falls, but playing nice with the guy who cheated on him isn’t one of them. 

When a real-life Christmas mystery falls into Harvey’s lap, it offers the perfect distraction. And the guy with the mystery is pretty distracting too.

Sterling van Ruyven has come to Christmas Falls to look for his long-lost uncle, and enlists Harvey’s help to track him down. It’s all business—if there’s an extra van Ruyven heir out there somewhere, Sterling needs to know about it. He isn’t expecting to actually enjoy spending time in this ridiculous Christmas-themed town with the cute guy from the museum.

Their fun flirtation turns into a holiday fling, but that’s all it can ever be. Harvey’s heart belongs in Christmas Falls, and Sterling hasn’t found his yet. But maybe Christmas is the time for miracles after all.


Christmas Falls is a multi-author M/M romance series set in a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie.

  • Publication date: December 3, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 202 pages

Review: Once Upon A Christmas Song (Once Upon a Holiday story) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 3.5🌈

I was looking forward to Once Upon A Christmas Song by Mary Calmes, a novel in the multi-author Once Upon a Holiday series.  And after reading it, I’m finding it hard to rate.

The story has many of the best elements of Calmes writing and some of her aspects of her work that just don’t seem as well thought out.

First the best of this book.  That’s the setting, New Orleans, which is beautifully rendered in atmosphere and realistic locations.  Then it’s the wonderful found family of La Belle Vie, the bar/restaurant that’s the home and heart for an entire group of people.  Calmes makes this key setting a hearthstone by folding into the workplace the multidimensional people who work there and are considered family of its owner, Chris Gardner.

Chris, his bar/restaurant and found family? Fantastic!  The issue arrives with the holiday romance aspect.

That’s a rockstar who left Chris (and the friends there) behind to find fame and fortune. Which he found along with drugs, alcohol, and addiction. Now 2yrs later, without any communication, Dawson West has arrived expecting open arms and to pick up the relationship where they left off. A ending that, reasonably, devastated Chris and took him a while to recover from.

What works here is (spoilers) Chris’s initial reaction and responses to Dawson’s nonstop entreaties to pick up immediately on the romance between them as if nothing happened because Dawson went to rehab. Now’s he’s out and a “new person “. It’s he’s back! And his band mates are just as strangely written as enablers or clueless with regard to relationships and specifically to their own personal relationships with Chris. 

If Calmes had decided that the story was about forgiveness and recovery, a friend relationship, and rewritten the ending, this might have worked. But Dawson is a problematic character, albeit one we’ve seen before in certain Calmes stories. The flip side to the golden boys every one loves. 

Dawson, an ambitious singer in a rock band, rises to the top of the charts, then , along with his fellow musicians, becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, burning himself and them out. The story goes into a little more detail but the catch is that Dawson went to rehab, along with a band mate/friend twice, to return to Chris and home. Got clean because of Chris.  Two years after break up , and recently release from rehab. No mention of getting clean strictly for himself. Because what happens to addicts when plans fail if they went through rehab for the wrong reasons?

And now he’s constantly pressuring Chris to get immediately together, like there’s no past, because they “love” each other. Etc. Chris asks for space and time to think and talk. Immediately no, keep the pressure on, don’t respect Chris’s decision or wishes to make decisions based on his own personal feelings.  So many flags. And the author seems to realize that but it’s temporary stop in rational plotting.

While having Chris explain why the space is necessary or even why talking about the differences (he’d lived a full satisfying life in the singer’s absence) is required , a relevant part of the conversation here, Calmes then negates everything that is solid about this aspect of the story and has Dawson rolling right over Chris, abetted by the “friends”, and a child manipulated by the singer. That left a sour impression on me.

So for every well written piece of this story there’s an equally less thought out aspect that works against it.  It’s a love this character, no, this really isn’t working for me type of story. 

The series connecting element, The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, has a larger role here. But unlike other series of this kind, while the married couple (adorable) and that bus are amazing, they never seem to fit well into any story.  They are either too big an element themselves or too quirky to fit into the plot that’s already in place.  The connection either needs to be a more simplified one or more suited to the specific series , like a seasonal object. Just mo. Give them their own story.

Cover design by Kelly York

Once Upon a Holiday series – 8 books:

Once Upon a Second Chance by Davidson King

Once Upon A Mistletoe Kiss by Sammi Cee

Once Upon a Holiday Vacation by Annabella Michaels 

Once Upon a Lullaby Lane by K York

Once Upon a Christmas Con by Skylar M Cates

Once Upon A Christmas Song by Mary Calmes

Once Upon a Yuletide Romance by RJ Peterson

Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice by R L Merrill 

Buy link

        Once Upon A Christmas Song

    

Blurb 

Chris Gardner has a good life in New Orleans. He owns a club in the French Quarter, has a wonderful crew of people who call it home, loyal, caring friends, and even gets his kid fix by helping to take care of his chef’s daughter. What he doesn’t have is that special someone to share his days and nights with. He thought he did, once upon a time, but that man left to find fame and fortune, became a rockstar, and never returned. And that’s fine. Life isn’t a fairy tale. Now if only he could find a band to play music in his club at night, that would be a Christmas miracle.

Dawson West had to leave to see if his dreams could become reality, but what he didn’t count on was that once he had the world at his feet, he’d miss the man who’d held him tight. Between the endless climb toward greatness and the pitfalls of addiction, Dawson lost himself for a while, but that doesn’t mean he stopped loving Chris. Not wanting his love to see him broken, he makes certain he’s clean and sober when he finally comes home. Going radio silent while becoming the man Chris deserves seemed like a good idea at the time, but now…

Now, Chris has a problem. Dawson is back, out of the blue, and if Chris lets him return to rocking his club, is that an invitation for his heart as well? How can Chris ever trust again, even if it is the season?

Once Upon A Christmas Song is a part of the multi-author series Once Upon A Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. What links these books together is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love.

  • Publication date: December 3, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 151 pages

Check Out the Tour for “A Unique Request” by Mickie B. Ashling (new release and excerpt)

A Unique Request - Micke B. Ashling

Mickie B. Ashling has a new MMM contemporary romance out, The Basque Trilogy book one: A Unique Request. And there’s a giveaway!

Mickie has reduced the price of A Unique Request to $1.99 while the book is on tour.

Seven years have passed since Paul Alcott and Mick Henley separated, but hearing the familiar voice reinforces what Paul has known all along―he still loves Mick and wants him back.

Hope flares upon receiving a dinner invitation, but his dream evaporates when he learns that Mick is in a relationship with Basque jai alai player, Tono Garat.

To make matters worse, Paul’s services as a book editor are solicited to help Tono through the final revision of a love story he’s written.

Paul refuses until Mick reveals he’s been diagnosed with a fatal disease, and the novel is Tono’s only means of coping.

Paul and Tono resent each other, but they can’t deny the strong sexual attraction between them. Will they overcome their differences to provide the loving support necessary to sustain the man they love or will their animosity destroy Mick’s final days?

Warnings: Second chances, bittersweet, fatal disease

Get It On Amazon | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads

Giveaway

Mickie is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47320/

Excerpt

A Unique request meme - Mickie B. Ashling/

A Unique Request

Mickie B. Ashling © 2024

All Rights Reserved

Paul stood outside the door, debating his decision to show up. He had a bottle of red wine in one hand and a bunch of colorful wildflowers in the other. He’d given in to a moment of sentimental weakness, and now he wondered what the hell he was doing. He turned to leave when the door was yanked open by a fractious brunet with a scowl on his face. “¿Sí?”

“Hi. I’m Paul Alcott.”

The stranger scowled and scrutinized him from the top of his shining head down his designer-clad body.

Paul was unfazed. He was just as curious about the man who’d replaced him in Mick’s life. He inspected him like he would any rival, noting the chestnut-colored hair curling around his neckline. His upper body was hidden behind a loose T-shirt, but the corded muscles of his forearms were a clear indication of what was underneath. He was striking, no doubt about it. The heated gaze was bad enough, but it was his luscious mouth that sent Paul’s mind straight to the gutter. He was shocked by his body’s quick response to this stranger, despite the obvious antagonism. He brought his hand down, covering the evidence of his growing interest with the flowers.

The Spaniard blinked and rewarded Paul with a tentative smile. “I’m Tono Garat,” he announced in a heavily accented voice.

“Nice to meet you.” Paul nodded. “Is Mick around?”

“Yes, of course. Come in, please.”

Tono spun around, and Paul zeroed in on the rounded ass covered in tight white shorts. No garter lines meant he was naked underneath, and Paul couldn’t help but notice.

“Paul!” Mick called out, rushing forward and hugging Paul tightly. “God, it’s been too long.”

“I know,” Paul said, falling under Mick’s spell within seconds. It had always been so good between them, and despite the years and the distance, the sentiment remained the same. “You’re still as gorgeous as ever.

“Oh, stop. You always were good for my ego.”

“The years have been kind to you, my friend,” Paul continued, taking in every part of Mick. He did look great, trim and fit, clean-shaven. His hair was a little longer than Paul remembered, but the dark curls framed Mick’s tanned face, making the violet-tinged eyes pop.

“You don’t look half-bad either.” Mick’s voice shifted, and the words came out like a soft caress. He toyed with a lock of Paul’s silky hair, curling it around his finger. “When did you let your hair grow?”

“After my father died; no more memos about looking professional.” Paul smirked as he recalled Paul Senior’s edicts.

“Shall I take the bottle?” Tono interrupted, looking uncomfortable. Perhaps he was aware of their long history, but seeing the chemistry was a different matter altogether.

“Sure,” Paul replied, handing over the wine.

“I made a pitcher of sangria. Would you like a glass?” Tono asked, never taking his eyes off Paul.

“Sounds good. I’m assuming it’s authentic.”

“I made it from scratch,” Tono huffed.

“Come on,” Mick stepped in, trying to diffuse the situation. He took Paul by the arm and led him out to the tiny patio that had a wrought iron table for four and several wooden planters filled with assorted vegetables. The tomatoes were almost ripe and hanging from branches held up with green sticks. The Weber grill was off to one side―a tribute to summer and warm evenings.

“This is nice, Mick. I had no idea this was out here.”

“Not too many people do. I guess the owners were into gardening, so I benefit. It’s what attracted me to this unit in the first place.”

Paul sat down and stretched out, loving the sight of Mick after so long. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Living La Vida Loca.” Mick smiled. “I’ve been writing, of course, but mostly enjoying my life.”

“Sounds great. Are you still working on your sequel?”

“Yes, as well as something new.”

“Oh?”

“I’m helping Tono with his book.”

Paul gave Tono a frosty look. “You’re a writer?”

“I’m not,” Tono replied, placing a large wineglass with chunks of fruit in front of Paul. “I’m a professional jai alai player, but I’ve written a romance, based on my relationship with Mick.”

“A romance?” Paul turned to Mick for the answer. “Why?”

“Because I’m dying.”

Author Bio

Mickie B. Ashling

MICKIE B. ASHLING is the pseudonym of a multi-published author who resides in a suburb outside Chicago. She is a product of her upbringing in various cultures, having lived in Japan, the Philippines, Spain, and the Middle East. Fluent in three languages, she’s a citizen of the world and an interesting mixture of East and West. A little bit of this and a lot of that have brought a unique touch to her literary voice she could never learn from textbooks.

Since 2009, Mickie has written several dozen novels in the LGBTQ+ genre—which have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and German. Audiobooks and foreign translations are available at Amazon and Audible. Her award-winning novels have been described as “gut- wrenching, daring, and thought-provoking.”

Author Website: https://www.mickieashling.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/mickie.ashling

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickieashling

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217416171-a-unique-request

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/mickie-b-ashling/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mickie-B.-Ashling/author/B004QSCN3E

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Review:  Inviting Bedlam (Demon Bound Book 2) by Grae Bryan

Rating:  4.75🌈

Well, this was the best yet. Crazy, sinfully sexy, twisted and beautiful. Yup, a definite winner.

Grae Bryan’s Demon Bound series is carefully working its way through not only a damaged Russian American mafia family but a small group of hell bound demons.  Each story ends up with a bound mated pair from each group/family and each story has been so incredibly emotional and different from each other.

The Koslov crime family, three brothers , is a severely damaged group of people. Each a massively damaged product of their late conservative Russian mob boss father and his powerful patriarchal legacy.  The younger brothers, now having removed themselves emotionally and physically, have left the running of the family business to Ivan , the oldest and the one who has most resembled their father.

In Ivan, the author has created such a complex, flawed dynamic character. Unlike the other brothers, he enjoys his status while still being angry and bitter about his brothers’ ability to leave him behind in the family business. It’s a charged, charismatic personality, flawed, powerful, and undeniably appealing. And it needs an equally powerful personality in a demon. And it gets it.

But not the one either the reader or Ivan expects. Which is one of the greatest pleasures of the book. 

Ivan has found himself at odds with various criminal elements, mostly due to his brother’s actions. He has had several unpleasant encounters and emotional jolts.  Which leads to a summoning of Nix, one of the group of demons bound together.   Nix is everything. 

In Nix, the author cuts loose narratively, letting the vibrancy of the character, the sheer force of Nix’s personality and presence almost steal the show.  And if it weren’t for the equally strong presence of Ivan to crash up against, Nix would. But together? This book flames hotter than anything else I’ve read lately. Ivan never wanted a male lover before but can’t keep his hands off Nix? Absolutely believable. Nix decides Ivan is his? Yes, absolutely. 

Not a wrong choice here. Nix’s advice and the manner in which Bryan gives Nix a personality that’s lacking the human moral compass so that the demon is able to be that perfect fit for Ivan, a crime boss who matches him so well. 

I delighted in their relationship, that dark journey that’s sexual, bloody, and violent but very compelling and satisfying.  It’s one that develops in astonishing depth and ways that makes it hard to imagine that this couple is confined to just one book. 

I absolutely wanted more. And while the next couple is intriguing, this one is hard to beat.

Inviting Bedlam (Demon Bound Book 2) by Grae Bryan is a must read for lovers of dark paranormal romance and the series as well. I’m highly recommending both.

Cover designed by MiblArt.

Demon Bound:

🔹Wrecking Havoc #1 (Kai and Sascha) 

🔹Inviting Bedlam #2 (Nix and Ivan)

🔹Calling Chaos #3 – May 1,2025

Buy link

        Inviting Bedlam (Demon Bound Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Ivan Kozlov doesn’t make mistakes, no matter what his brothers might say. Mistakes in his world mean death. So while he may have summoned the wrong sort of demon to aid him in cementing his empire, binding himself to the creature with an irreversible contract, that doesn’t mean he can’t make use of him. Except the seductive incubus he’s summoned seems to want more from Ivan than just a piece of his soul. Nix wants Ivan’s body, his desire, his faults and his regrets. But giving those things to him would be a mistake. And one Ivan might never recover from.

Nix has been waiting to be summoned again for ages. And while he might have had to trick his handsome mob boss to make it happen, he’s not going to waste the opportunity while he has it. Only now that he’s here, he doesn’t just want to stay in the human realm. He wants Ivan—his greed and his rage and his lust. And if Nix has to fix Ivan’s life to make that happen—if he needs to handle the dangers in his business, mend the broken bits left by Ivan’s father—then that’s what he’ll do. Even an incubus can be useful to a mobster, if given the right incentive.

INVITING BEDLAM IS A HEATED, MM PARANORMAL ROMANCE WITH A HEA AND NO CLIFFHANGER. IT CONTAINS A REPRESSED, CONTROLLING MOB BOSS AND THE NAUGHTY INCUBUS DETERMINED TO MAKE HIM CRACK, BROTHERS WHO WON’T COMMUNICATE, MORE DEMONS THAN IVAN ASKED FOR, AND A PAIR OF PANTIES IVAN WOULD LIKE TO SET ON FIRE. WHILE EACH BOOK FOCUSES ON A DIFFERENT COUPLE, THE SERIES IS BEST ENJOYED IN ORDER.

  • Publication date: October 25, 2024
  • Language: English
  • File size: 3936 KB
  • Print length: 268 pages

Review:  The Christmas Keeper (Laurel Holidays Book 6) by V.L. Locey

Rating:  5🌈

V. L. Locey’s Laurel Holidays novels are a must read for me , and this season’s release has to be my absolute favorite of all.  The Christmas Keeper, Laurel Holidays Book 6, just resonates with me on multiple levels. 

 All the heartwarming Locey elements are here and elevated. From the realistic, beautifully crafted small Pennsylvania town and community, as well as the wonderfully layered characters and holiday traditions.  Locey weaves all these elements together to create a truly heartfelt romance that makes you feel so much a part of the season and the lives of a town and couple that you forget all are fictional.

Brann Argraves, a man whose previous relationship has soured him on romance and the holidays, is returning home from his sister’s wedding, when he helps a man in need at the small airport near home. 

Brann is a perfectly realized character, from his wounded personality with raised shields to the well drawn family who are concerned about him.  Every detail of his life fits, his great realistic rescue geese, his small sparse cabin , bare of most usual personal touches expected from someone that’s well settled and happy. It all speaks to the character Locey has built and who will evolve over the course of the story.  The excellent attention to character building continues with Kenan Gardet, a busker singer in a small airport , with a history of substance abuse, who’s trying to chart a new path for his life. Kenan is a moving character, but his equal is Brann in surprisingly strong depths of personality traits and support in terms of narrative foundation .  In short, they work as believably wounded people finding their way towards recovery and each other. During the holidays, Kenan’s Jewish traditions and those of of Breann’s he’s rediscovering, which will bring them closer together.

Honestly, The Christmas Keeper (Laurel Holidays Book 6) by V.L. Locey will be on re-read, and not only for the holidays, it’s just that comfort story that you embrace.

And one I’m highly recommending, no matter what or if any holiday you celebrate.

Laurel Holidays series:

The Easter Redemption 

The Christmas Extra 

The Christmas Oaks #1

The Christmas Pundit #2

The Christmas Tenor #3

The Christmas Rescue #4

The Christmas Keeper #6

Buy link

vllocey.comhttp://vllocey.com › the-christmas-…The Christmas Keeper (Laurel Holidays #6) 

Blurb

A grumpy pub owner is about to have his chilly heart warmed by a down-on-his-luck country singer.

Brann Argraves has never left the charming village of Whiteham before nor does he wish to. As the owner of the Whiteham Taphouse, he is content to spend his life serving drafts of beer to the locals, shooting darts with his buddies, and shutting himself away in his cabin for the duration of the holidays. Who needs all that ho-ho-ho, any who? His sister, on the other hand, not only yanked him out of his happy yet somewhat solitary bubble, but she’s also reveling in it. Planning a winter wedding was plain foolish, Brann feels, as is making people fly to some frozen wasteland in Canada to tie the knot. Now, he’s never been happier to return home after the wedding and get back to his bar, his darts, and his little home on the outskirts of town.

Landing at a wintry airport smack dab in the middle of a nasty snow squall, Brann and his weary fellow flyers are entertained by a handsome, rumpled man busking outside the airport. There’s something almost magical about the man’s dark, sad gaze as well as his angelic vocals. Perhaps it’s the residual merry-merry of his sister’s nuptials, or maybe he recognizes a lonely kindred soul, but Brann steps way out of his comfort zone when he offers the man a warm place to sleep above his bar. Kenan Gardet settles into the pub with ease and Southern grace. The down-and-out singer quickly proves himself an asset to Brann’s business as a good barkeep and as a nightly draw on stage. What he didn’t expect was Kenan capturing his heart one plaintive song and gentle kiss at a time.

The Christmas Keeper is a standalone grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, insta-love, gay Christmas romance with a bah-humbug bar owner, a recovering country crooner, a small town tavern chock full of unique townsfolk, two geese who are not feeling the Christmas spirit, a gingerbread house bake-off, and a sweet as plum pudding happy ending. 

Content warning: This story has references to past substance abuse.

  • Publication date: November 30, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 186 pages

Review:  Under the Mistle-Foe (Christmas Falls Season 2) by Rye Cox

Rating: 4🌈

Under the Mistle-Foe by Rye Cox is another adorable holiday romance in the multi-author series, Christmas Falls, now in its second season.  A frenemies to lovers story, it’s more a tale of a misunderstanding from school than an actual enemy relationship.  But the real theme is one of grief, mourning, and finally recognition of its impact , on families and homecoming at the holidays 

Remy returns home after learning of his father’s injury and need for him at the family diner. The loss of his mother and his grief caused him to leave his home for a job elsewhere. Jett, a man who had never left, has always had a huge crush on Remy since school, something that factored into his actions towards Remy being awkwardly inappropriate and unsolicited then. 

The story follows the men as they reconnect, as well as Remy struggles with the town and memories he left behind, including the father who loves him. 

There’s much about the story that’s beautifully heartwarming and moving. When it dwells on loss, and Remy’s realization that he was still mourning her loss, then he uses her love for the season to move forward, those moments are special and believable. 

The romance is cute, the men adorable, and if it’s a bit quickly pulled together, well, it’s the Christmas season and a small town story.  Many of the elements are lovely and the town sparks with joy and familiar characters. 

It’s another terrific tale in a heartwarming series. 

Christmas Falls, Season 2:

The Snuggle is Real by DJ Jamison Flake It til You Make It by Beth Bolden ❤️

12 Dates of Christmas by Brigham Vaughn 

Here Comes Santa Paws by Lee Blair 

Under the Mistle-Foe by Rye Cox Christmas Beau by Amy Aislin 

No Business Like Snow Business by J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry 

Frost Impressions by Kelly Fox

Promise Yule Be Mine by Rhys Everly Mingle All The Way by Hayden Hall

Christmas Falls, Season 1:

Grinch Kisses by DJ Jamison Snowbody Loves You by Jacki James Get Frosted by Amy Aislin 

Silent Knight by Beth Bolden 

Under the Mistle-Tome by Sammi Cee 

Clausing a Scene by Casey Cox 

No Elf-ing Way by Hayden Hall 

Ready, Set, Glow! by Rye Cox 

Scrooge You! By Brigham Vaughn

Buy link

        Under the Mistle-Foe

    

Blurb 

Under the mistletoe with my enemy? What else can we do but kiss?

A family emergency brings me back to Christmas Falls after running away from the loss of my mother six years ago. Not much has changed, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad, especially when it seems my high school enemy hasn’t gotten over his habit of circling around me.

Jett is everything I’m not, so full of confidence like he’s never done a single thing wrong in his life. He vibrates life, and I have to admit his presence distracts me from being back in Christmas Falls. What I didn’t expect is for him to take all my attention.

He’d gotten under my skin back then and he’s only dug in deeper since, and I can’t let anyone find out how much I love that fact. Now if only he’d stop stealing my heart with his crookedly perfect smiles…

Christmas Falls is a multi-author M/M romance series set in a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie.

  • Publication date: November 26, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 210 pages