A MelanieM Review: Reading the Signs by Keira Andrews

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Pitcher Nico Agresta is desperate to live up to his family’s baseball legacy. Since he was a teenager crushing on his big brother’s teammate, he’s known he can’t act on his desires. His father made it clear there should be no queers on the field, but if Nico can win Rookie of the Year like his dad and brother did, maybe he can prove he’s worthy after all.

At 34, veteran catcher Jake Fitzgerald just wants to finish out his contract and retire. His team doesn’t have a prayer of making the playoffs, but who needs the stress? Jake lost his passion for the game—and life—after driving away the man he loved, and he swore he’d never risk his heart again.

Then he’s traded to a team that wants a vet behind the plate to tame their new star pitcher. Jake is shocked to find the gangly kid he once knew has grown into a gorgeous young man. But tightly wound Nico is having trouble controlling his temper in his quest for perfection, and Jake needs to teach him patience and restraint on the mound.

When their push and pull explodes into the bedroom, Nico and Jake will both learn how much they’ll risk for love.

As my Nats head into the playoffs, this was the perfect story to settle into…romance, baseball and a chance to see this game I love yet again through another’s eyes. Keira Andrews did not disappoint me.

Vet catcher Jake Fitzgerald is burned out. Fitz is ready to leave the game. Then he’s traded and what was to become the end of his career instead becomes a game changer. The team’s new star pitcher? A troubled hothead, Nico Agresta, someone Fitz new before. I loved how Andrews tumbles the reader not only into the game and the team but the lives of the main characters all at once.

We get a feel for the new team dynamics, the feel of the playhouse, the management, Jake’s history and Nico’s too.

A reader doesn’t have to know, understand or particularly love baseball (although its a huge plus) to adore this story. Andrews spells it out enough in the story for those new to the sport to understand what’s going on. If you’ve played any sport, you can understand the pressure these athletes are under to perform. More so, if they are coming from a tradition bound family like Nico. The depths of character are built up within the story, a element I really appreciated as I watched the characters grow.

The bdsm element here is one that makes sense. Its also very sexy. At first I have to admit, I was started and had to think about the relationship, and where and between who it was taking place. Maybe in other hands I might not have “bought” it, but Andrews made her case for it and I connected with both MCs and their love for each other.

This story is all about passion. Passion for each other, passion for America’s sport, the game of baseball, passion for family. Keira Andrews takes two separate men, one burned out, one in trouble and brings them together in Reading the Signs…a story I can absolutely recommend because of the emotion, the connection I felt towards them both…and the game I love. Its all there. I couldn’t ask for more.

Cover art. I love this cover. Its tremendous. One of my best of the year.

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Book Details:

ebook, 293 pages
Published September 22nd 2016 by KA Books
ISBN139781988260082
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Midlife Crisis by Rob Rosen

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

midlife-crisis Jack is thirty-five and single once again. He is not, as he as quick to point out, going through a midlife crisis. Still, it would be nice to have a partner. And so he sets out on an adventure to find the one-time love of his life, Bing, a man he hasn’t set eyes on in more than fifteen years, a man who has seemingly vanished off the face of the planet. With the help of his family and friends—plus the family dog and, of all people, his high school bully—he goes searching for Bing, only to unearth an ages-old mystery that puts them all in grave danger. In this hysterically funny tale of romance and self-discovery, the question remains right on up to the surprise ending: can we return to our past in order to better our future?

I often forget Rob Rosen’s ability to crack me up until I pick up another book of his, then the memory snaps back into place, along with the laughter as I read his characters hilarious wry, snarky and often wildly funny thoughts and dialog that flows out of their mouths and stories.

Midlife Crisis is another Rob Rosen gem. Jack, a college professor has just had his last long relationship (6 months) breakup. And his emotions are a jumbled mess about it. On one hand, he wasn’t in love with the boyfriend, in lust with the sex, ok. But not with the man. So time to say goodbye. But another failed relationship? That’s that one that hurts and Jack is trying to see where he’s gone wrong with all the past relationships in his life because none have worked. And hey! Jack’s hitting 35, the gay midlife crisis number (according to Jack). No long a cute twink, his best cruising dayz behind him, he’s reaching gay old age (in his head). Listening to Jack’s thoughts rambling on, leaping from one snarky peak to the next without ever hitting a valley of connectivity, is hilarious.

I love how Rosen lay’s out Jack’s life and his thoughts about how its played out. It helps off course to have Jack’s best friend weigh in on the matter with his own funny judgements. Soon Jack has made the fateful decision that the love of his life, Bing O’Malley, must be found. That the former teen love might hold the answers to the problems of his current relationship woes seems both silly and familiar and all too real. Yep, its off to his hometown, his folks (who I couldn’t get enough of ) and a gassy Bassett Hound named Chompers.

Let the hilarity ensue. How it does.

Also some very hot sex. Many wild goings on, a murder mystery, the Shriners, the mob, even the FBI, as Jack pursues the boy who he loved and who left him, the new hot guy helping him, and a slew of crazy clues all swirling about Jack’s past. Plus there’s tons of laughter thrown in.

The writing’s fast paced to keep up with the action ~ in and out of the bed. I was finished before I knew it or I was ready for the story to be over. I loved Jack, his parents, Chompers…everything about Midlife Crisis. And yes, Jack found the answers he was looking for. Ready for some love and laughter? A murder mystery and hot sex too? Pick up Midlife Crisis by Rob Rosen, you won’t be disappointed.

Cover art works for the character and story.

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Book Details:

ebook, Smashwords edition, 182 pages
Published August 20th 2016 by Fierce Publishing
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

commitment-ranch-by-ba-tortuga A fist fight, a snowstorm, a stolen kiss in the barn… and a second chance at love.

Ford Nixel has two law offices, two fancy condominiums, and all the right connections. In short, he has everything he wants.

The last thing he needs is his Uncle Ty’s stake in the Leaning N, a ranch that’s been in the family for generations. Ford hasn’t even been to the ranch in over a decade, not since he left his boyfriend Stoney behind and headed back to college alone.

Ford arrives at the Leaning N to find Stoney, now a single father, right where he left him. A fist fight, a snowstorm, and a stolen kiss in the barn later—Ford knows none of the heat between them has dissipated.

Dreamspun Desires and B.A. Tortuga! A combination I wouldn’t have thought would have worked and yet its a winner across the boards. Using the lovers reunited trope, Tortuga uses the potential loss of the family ranch to bring lawyer Ford Nixel back home to a ranch he hasn’t seen in over 10 years and the man he loved and lost.

Its a premise guaranteed to draw a reader in and it does so here. In Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by B.A.Tortuga, the author uses her considerable skills of characterization to set down her MCs from (as she would say) the get go. The readers get a quick look see at Ford Nixel’s world and understand the hardworking, loner he’s become. I wanted to know more about the man, so wrapped up that personal time is low on his priorities. And when the phone call comes from his Uncle Ty, things start falling into place for the reader and Ford.

Tortuga is a wonderful storyteller. Her narrative unfolds at a pace that lets our curiosity build along with our affection for the characters as we meet them. When the story’s location transfers to that of the Leaning N Ranch and Stony (and family), meeting him, his adorable boy, the chef…all those people have their own revelations and histories. It’s like walking into a place and being welcomed. You take it all in, while being there, absorbing pieces of each of them, while focused on the main romance and trials of Ford and Smokey.

That romance! Its a torturous bunch of misunderstandings, some of which I never quite understood myself. That would be the Uncle’s part in it. Never did get that. But the way in which each man had to work through their misgivings, past histories, and issues of trust? Believable and got straight to my heart. The health problems with the uncle, along with the special needs of the child? All handled with a light, caring hand that worked beautifully within the story without weighing it down. Plus I loved that ranch. I could see that working ranch and the people who helped run it in my head so clearly that I was ready to book a week for myself.

There are, as with every Tortuga novel, wonderfully layered secondary characters and potential couples. As this is the first in a series, I am wondering which and where the next book will take us. The Leaning N Ranch is open for business. Its first story was a terrific romance. I can’t wait to see what the second one brings. I absolutely recommend Commitment Ranch (Leaning N #1) by B.A. Tortuga.

Cover art by Paul Richmond. Another terrific cover in the Dreamspun Desires group.

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Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Expected publication: September 15th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773683 (ISBN13: 9781634773683)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesLeaning N #1

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Obsidian Moons (Obsidian #2) by Jon Keys

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Sequel to Obsidian Sun

After achieving the impossible and releasing their people from the Varas slavers, Anan and Terja, a spellweaver and spellspinner, start the arduous journey back to their homeland. A winter trek across the grasslands is dangerous enough, but the traitor, Xain, is tasked with recapturing the slaves, and failure will mean his death. As added insurance, the Varas High Regent hires a Triad of legendary Ubica assassins and assigns a full regiment of his personal guards, along with their captain, to the task. Their mission is clear: recapture the escaped Talac slaves destined for the Varas pleasure houses—and the bed of the High Regent—at any cost.

The newly freed Talac travel toward their homelands with the full knowledge they are likely being pursued. The flight westward is fraught with new and unexpected dangers as Anan and Terja struggle to save their tribe. The battle for shelter, food, and a way to defend themselves becomes an all-consuming task, but they are reminded by the avatars of their gods that all is not as it appears.

The sequel to the amazing fantasy epic Obsidian Sun (Obsidian #1), Obsidian Moons, enlarges on the peoples, cultures and religions of the world that Jon Keys started in his first story. In Obsidian Sun, we met Anan, a spellweaver and Terja a spellspinner of the Talac people and followed them on a tale of blood revenge and rescue while learning about their culture, their religion, their part of the world and yes, their enemy, the Varas, a frightening people.

Keys forgot nothing in building up his universe from the grasses and insects to the climates. It was an jaw-dropping bit of artistry and the story laid on top of it was just as incredible. Even more amazing for being his first published novel.

Now comes Obsidian Moons. How does it stand up?

Very well.

While I jumped into the first story immediately, this novel took a bit to get into. Keys re-accounts some of the past history for readers unfamiliar with his tale (by no means should you skip the first story, this is not a standalone). It felt denser, less forward moving in the narrative than the first. Of course the first started with a massacre, so that’s hard to top.

But while I was getting reacquainted with all the familiar characters, the wonderfully magical and fascinating like Anan, Terja and the Talac (even Xain, that traitor), Keys starts introducing his new elements here. Again all marvelous additions to his world building. Keys brings in other cultures, religions, magic even. Keys gives us a triad of contract assassins from Ubica to hunt the escaped Talac (a vocabulary is supplied in the front which is maybe not necessary but definitely worth checking out), and a wild mountain tribe Meke, a separated tribe that…well, that part of the story is better left to the saga, and more. Each addition comes fully established, down to the clothes they wear, the weapons they carry, and the deities they worship. All blended so smoothly into the narrative that its seamless.

While the enemy is hunting for the escaped Talac, we see the growth in both Anan and Terja, individually and in their relationship that was born out of a blood revenge oath. Yes, there is multiple points of view here but it works and never feels too jumbled or too much to keep track of. In fact, sometimes I wished for less because this is a scary, daunting, and pain-filled journey. Not without cost of life. Some of those voices will be lost.

It won’t take long to get back into this saga and these people as they are hunted across some of the harshest terrain this world has to offer. Jon Keys brings it all vividly to life. Every snow bound step, all the predators after them. The loss of hope, and the hope found once more. Its an incredible story. And it ends just as another journey is about to begin. I can’t wait for that novel and that story too.

Jon Keys has an incredible saga here. One you should put on your TBR list if you are a lover of fantasy. Or of love and hope. Its an amazing tale. Start with Obsidian Sun and then come here to Obsidian Moons. I highly recommend them both.

Cover Artist: Paul Richmond. I loved the first cover. Found that one amazing. This one doesn’t live up to that one’s standards imo.

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Book Details:

ebook, 220 pages
Expected publication: September 12th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634777182 (ISBN13: 9781634777186)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Obsidian – add to your Goodreads shelf here:

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