A MelanieM Review: Genetic Snare (Details #2) by Laura Baumbach

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Betrayal, passion, adventure, primal sex, and a fight to the death.

Mating a 26th century Oracan Bounty Hunter with a 18th century pirate has its little glitches.

Bounty hunter Talos bows to pressure to bring his mate home for the completion of his strict warrior culture’s bonding ritual. Aidan, displaced 18th century Earth pirate— light-fingered, sly, charming and understandably naive about the new world he’s been thrust into— can’t wait. Even if it turns out someone wants him dead. The 26th century looks different, but it turns out to be a lot like his old life!

I will admit that maybe my review is colored by the fact that I’ve waited so, so, so, long for this damn book. I mean I read the first one back in oh, I don’t know either 2006 or 2007, when it first came out. Loved it! I mean there was a ginormous space alien on a hunt who talked like Sam Spade, then an 18th century swashbuckling pirate wooshed out of time and sea (literally) who becomes a naughty, captivating mate, and so much more. And oh, yes? Tentacle sex of a sort.

By the end of Details of the Hunt (Details, #1), I was just as ensnared as Aiden was. Thoroughly hooked on their romance, mating, and Laura Baumbach’s curious couple and her world building. She then promised us a follow up, because they had mated and there was a ceremony Aiden and Talos had to undertake on Oracan to be official, and there was still potential mysteries floating about. So yes, needed that next story. All the fans anxiously waited, sent texts, and waited some more. But the sequel never appeared. And years went by. I think most of us probably thought it was forgotten under the stress and pressures of running MLR Press.

So imagine my wonder at seeing that a finished copy was available at MLR. Be still my heart. Yes! Talos and Aiden were back! As was the intergalactic intrigue, the new bonding, the planetary politics, and all the other wild story threads Baumbach had left swirling around the couple. So many things to remember that I needed to go back and reread my paperback copy of the first book as a refresher. And I’m glad I did. (I’ll review it again soon.)

That’s the only thing that I can see will absolutely confuse people. This is not a standalone story. While the author did some back history here, it’s just not enough to completely bring a new reader up to speed. At certain times, they will feel totally “out to sea” as Aiden still does. There’s also multiple povs that carry over from the first story, again you need to know who they are and where they fit in with Aiden and Talos. I’m not sure this book let’s the reader in on those elements with enough depth to make those people as real as they were in Details of the Hunt.

What this story does is give Talos and Aiden their acceptance among the Ocacans and Talos a long awaited homecoming. You get more of a feel for their society and culture during the highly anticipated bonding rituals (which I wish were extended a little more), and only whetted my curiosity for more of them. I loved the Oracans I do see, I wanted more of the planet and history,and of the couple after the ceremonies. From those Baumbach gave us, those pieces of Oracan culture, like the inking, were interesting touches that begged for the reader to be let in for more. More time, more information, just more. I bet Aiden felt that way!

It’s hard to address certain aspects of the story without giving away spoilers. I guess after all this time, I’m just so happy to have it, that my biggest complaint is that there is more of it. I could have used double the story. No real way to be objective on this one. Maybe after a longer amount of time has passed and I can revisit it again. Until such a time happens, I’m just so thrilled to have them back. Just make sure you read the Details of the Hunt first, then onto Genetic Snare. Lucky you!

Cover art by Spacepixel carries over from the first story which I liked very much.

Sales Links: MLR Books | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 175 pages

Published November 25th 2017 by MLR Press

ISBN13 9781934531075

Edition Language English

URL https://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=LBGNTCSN

Series Details #2

J.M. Dabney’s is back with Sin & Saint and an Interview Not to Miss! (author’s interview, excerpt and giveaway)

SIN & SAINT

EXECUTIONERS BOOK 4

J.M. DABNEY

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 12.26.17

COVER DESIGN: Winterheart Design

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview with J.M. Dabney

Triads are familiar territory in Powers, Georgia as each series has one, each unique in their own way. Still the triad of Sin, Saint and Camden Pelter has a further twist in that two of the triad is a set of twins. Was that always planned? Will this pattern continue into the next series?

Sin & Saint was always planned as a triad. When I started mentioning them in previous books in my head I couldn’t separate them into two books. Their closeness signaled to me that they’d find a partner to share. Although, they are identical to me they were still individuals with different needs and personalities. As of right now, Trenton doesn’t have triad book, but Scary and Hunter’s books weren’t planned triads either.

You’ve talked somewhat about body positivity and that’s an important element here (and elsewhere in the series). Do you think that message will come across?

To be honest, I hope it comes across well. With Saint his personality was largely focused on his timid nature rather than his softness. Even though I write fiction my focus is to create real people. Having my readers see themselves in the characters. I believe my previous books dealt more with body positivity than Sin & Saint. I kept the emphasis on the differences between the twins rather than their bodies.

As the last book in the Executioners series, you did you feel you accomplished all your goals you wanted for the series? And were all the loose ends tied up narratively that you wanted to close in Sin & Saint?

The last of a series is always the most stressful and bittersweet. I felt I tied up the elements that I needed to while adding new ones, but it’s really up to the readers whether I answered all their unanswered questions. The Executioners were a little heavier in content than Twirled and Brawlers. My goal was to give the Executioners their happy ever after and I believe I accomplished that.

When can we expect the first book in the new series? And who’s the focus?

Trenton Security Series book one is planned to release no later than February 2018. Livingston Francis has made several appearances, his first was in Hunter (Brawlers 4) and he came more out of the shadows in King’s story. Livingston fits my usual character. Damaged and a bit of an asshole. He’s a severely scarred man and how he came to be scarred won’t be revealed until his story.

Although, I showed him quite a bit I tried to keep him as much a mystery as possible. I will say the Trenton Security will contain the usual snark and craziness that readers found in the other three series, but Trenton’s content is darker and possibly triggering in nature. Trenton will be a bit more standalone as it’s the end of the spin-offs but still have the cameos of a lot of familiar names.

Thanks for the great interview. Now more about Sin & Saint….

BLURB

Eric and Ellison Gant better known as Sin and Saint were opposite sides of the same coin. They epitomized the nicknames given to them by their friends in the band Executioners. One thing Sin and Saint did well was fight and being inseparable means they had a lot of disagreements, but one thing they agreed on was Sheriff Camden Pelter was theirs. The older, stoic man didn’t agree, yet they were determined to change his mind.

Camden Pelter had the daunting job of turning the Powers Sheriff Department around. The residents of the Georgia town didn’t have much faith or respect in the Deputies serving them. That’s where he came in and he was determined to do his job. That was easier said than done with two annoying brothers Sin and Saint who dogged his every step. No way in hell was he getting mixed up in the chaos that were the Gant Twins. Now if only if he could get them to listen and realize they didn’t have a chance of changing his mind.

Hostile Whispers Press

EXCERPT

Saint didn’t want to get off the bike. Camden smelled like leather, sweat, and spicy cologne, but it could be the man’s leather jacket that was wrapped tightly around him. He’d dreamed of being that close to Camden for almost three years since he’d seen him the first time. Camden was dressed in tactical gear. Looking badass and sexy, commanding. He’d wanted to crawl into the man’s lap and never get up.

When he’d mounted behind Camden, he’d tried to keep as much distance as possible between them, but Camden moved him closer. His brother saw something he wanted, and he went for it, except when it came to Camden. Sin was as terrified as him but played a good game. They’d never wanted the same person before. They always talked about it, and when it happened, they would be the one for them.

They hadn’t anticipated, well, Sin hadn’t anticipated their one putting up such a fight. He wasn’t like Sin. He wasn’t confident or outgoing, he wanted someone who would love and take care of him—someone to make decisions. Sin joked about his Daddy issues. He knew Sin didn’t mean anything by it, but it hurt.

Camden had told him what to do—that he would eat. That he would sit beside him. He’d gotten hard at the commanding, gruff voice.

His chest hurt as Camden slowed to a stop. The man helped him off, and he stood beside the bike as Camden removed the helmet. He started to remove the jacket.

“No, keep it, I’ll get it next time.”

“Next time?”

“You stop by.”

“Okay.” He started to back away, but Camden’s huge hand wrapped around the back of his neck.

He found himself plastered to Camden’s side. He twisted his hands in Camden’s uniform shirt. Tilting his chin, he waited for the kiss. He wanted those firm, full mouth on his. Calloused fingertips pinched his chin, and the hand on his neck kneaded the muscles.

Another kiss landed on his forehead like before they’d left. Camden pulled back, and he looked into the man’s gorgeous green eyes. He was so close he could see the yellow flecks around the pupils.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Lips brushed his left cheek, then the right, and Camden moved lower until the man’s mouth hovered over his.

“No—”

A hard tug at his hair stopped him.

“I said you’re beautiful, Ellison.”

“Thank you.”

He lowered his gaze then jerked it back up when Camden retreated.

“I’ll wait here until you’re inside.”

J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes mainly LGBT romance and fiction. She lives with a constant diverse cast of characters in her head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. she lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure she does them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and she makes sure her characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more she wants from telling her stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Amazon Author Page – www.amazon.com/J.M.-Dabney/e/B006QZIFLE

Facebook Author Page – www.facebook.com/J.M.DabneyAuthor/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/jmdabney_author

Website – www.jmdabneyauthor.com

Publisher – www.hostilewhisperspress.com

Publisher Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/Hostilewhisperspress/

Publisher Twitter – https://twitter.com/HostileWhispers

Reader Group – www.facebook.com/groups/585182991553194/

GIVEAWAY

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Tour Blitz for Sin & Saint (Executioners #4) by J.M. Dabney (excerpt)

SIN & SAINT

EXECUTIONERS BOOK 4

J.M. DABNEY

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 12.26.17

COVER DESIGN: Winterheart Design

BLURB

AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/2C2d2rO

AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/2BthE6H

EXCERPT

“Sin and Saint, don’t they have real names?” Even though the names seemed perfect, he didn’t like them, and he wasn’t going to call his—nothing his was in this bar.

“Sin is Eric, and Ellison is Saint, but I don’t think they answer to them. Last I heard their mom started calling them Sin and Saint.”

“I won’t be calling them Sin and Saint.”

“Does that mean you’ll be calling them because they’re headed this way. Good luck.”

He nearly hollered for Twitch when the little man darted away. He was a grown ass man so he could handle two pretty boys. Their platinum blond hair tousled around their beautiful faces. Fuck, he caught sight of himself in the mirror behind the bar, and he looked old, well, ancient compared to them. The silver patch in his goatee stood out starkly and reminded him he wasn’t in his twenties or even thirties anymore.

Just don’t be an asshole, Camden, he ordered himself. His hand locked tight around the bottle as the most beautiful men he’d ever seen flanked him on either side. Their slim bodies pushing in beside him, and he instantly knew which one was Sin. The boy pressed in tight to his side, while Ellison, Saint, kept a bit of distance. In his peripheral, he noticed the innocent pink that stained Ellison’s cheeks and he wanted to reach for him. Chase the spreading color under the pads of his calloused fingers.

“Well, hello, sexy, you’re new.”

Eric’s soft fingertips stroked up his bare arm only being stopped by the rolled cuff of his dress shirt. His stomach tightened.

“Camden.”

“You’re Scary’s cousin.”

Ellison’s voice was softer, tinged with a hint of shyness that made him want to turn to him.

“Why don’t you come home with us, Camden?”

“Why don’t you go play with someone your own age, boy?”

He didn’t know where the brusque tone came from, but he didn’t want to be some notch for boys with Daddy issues. It was a rage in his abdomen. An emotion he’d never experienced before burned through his veins, and he couldn’t think beyond getting as far away from Eric and Ellison as he could. Part of he wanted to put them over his knee for propositioning some strange man in a bar. The other part of him, the one he needed to rein in, wanted to take them home.

“Twitch,” he called for the bartender and pulled enough from his pocket to cover his few beers, plus a generous tip.

“Goodnight, boys.”

Eric looked at him like he was insane to turn them down and maybe he was, but he was a grown ass man, and he knew what he wanted. Ellison avoided glancing at him and instead of embarrassment or shyness, the young man looked ashamed. He pushed back from the bar and started to walk away.

“Goodnight, Camden.”

Ellison’s sweet voice called to him, and he imagined what it would sound like when the boy screamed his name as he was buried balls deep. Angry with himself, he strode toward the door.

He knew what he wanted, something or someone only his, someone to care for and make happy. A quick fuck he wasn’t and twenty-one was too fucking young for what he had in mind. That didn’t keep his mind from wandering to the twin temptation he’d left back at Brawlers and it didn’t disappear even as he drove in the opposite direction of Powers, Georgia, and from the things he knew he couldn’t have.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SOCIAL MEDIA

Amazon Author Page – www.amazon.com/J.M.-Dabney/e/B006QZIFLE

Facebook Author Page – www.facebook.com/J.M.DabneyAuthor/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/jmdabney_author

Website – www.jmdabneyauthor.com

Publisher – www.hostilewhisperspress.com

Publisher Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/Hostilewhisperspress/

Publisher Twitter – https://twitter.com/HostileWhispers

Reader Group – www.facebook.com/groups/585182991553194/

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Slip (Recovery #2) by BA Tortuga

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Love is a fragile thing, and it can slip through your fingers if you don’t hold on tight….

When Zack Jung’s AA sponsor and friend commits suicide, he’s desperate to hold it together, and there’s only one place he can turn. He calls Josh and Kris, and they take him back to their ranch outside Santa Fe.

A cowboy to the bone, Cimarron Duran cherishes his orderly life and routine. He likes his neighbors, Kris and Josh, but he has less than no interest in the hipster personal trainer who comes to stay with them—or at least, he plans to fight his interest in favor of his solitary life and his art.

But some things are as inevitable as the weather, and when Zack and Cimarron finally come together, they find they don’t want to let go. It won’t be easy, though, for two men with pasts like theirs to forge a happy future together.

When it comes to writing men fighting their demons, B.A. Tortuga is immediately that author whose characters come off as people leveled by life, wounded, and so believable that I expect to hear them cough and laugh and sometimes curse soundly right off the page or in my case my Kindle. Her stories… their stories are gritty, full of passion and fire, and yes, pain.

None of that is more true that Slip, the second in B.A. Tortuga’s Recovery series. The meaning of the title of the story isn’t clear until the very end. Oh but the getting there. The author takes us and her characters, Cimarron and Zack on quite the journey in Slip. It’s a revelation really because through her scenes with these hurting, damaged men we get to almost taste the rain, feel the biting cold, revel in the wildness of a primal dance, and feel the tug of not only passion but the healing nature of love that occurs over time through the relationship between Zack and Cimmaron.

From the amazing intimacy of the conversations that make us feel as though we’re standing in the room listening to something wonderful unfold to the flow of the narrative that seems as natural as the setting that surrounds the men themselves, we feel a part of this couple and their journey towards love and a home together. I became heavily invested in their future and their happiness because they felt so real.

There’s also the frank treatment of substance abuse here. How does a person live with the fact that he’s an alcoholic? How does one live with an alcoholic? The manner in which it’s folded into the story is perfect as well as realistic.

In short, I can’t rave enough about this story. From the superb characterizations to a romance that will ignite your senses to a love story that you’ll tuck into your heart…Slip is a story to remember. You don’t have to have read the first one in the series but it helps to give you a better knowledge of the people you meet here in this story. I highly recommend them all.

Cover art by Maria Fanning. Love the cover. Incorporates the right elements and does a nice job with the characters.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 246 pages

Expected publication: December 22nd 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN13 9781635338027

Edition Language English

Series Recovery #2

A MelanieM Review: Rhino Ash (Saturday Barbies #2) by Lindsey Black

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Ashley Jameson always tries to do the right thing, but that’s hard when your nephew keeps eating crayons, your niece is dressed as a pudding and your obnoxious older brothers crash the church’s Sunday brunch with the guy you’ve been crushing on for five years. Going to work to fight fires is a welcome relief from family obligations, until the Riot Squad arrives to investigate and Ashley once again finds himself dealing with his siblings. Oh … and Finn Hale.

But Finn’s dark past continues to haunt him. As work gets increasingly busy with a string of arson attacks on illegal immigrants, Finn steps in to be the shoulder Ashley needs to lean on, but Ashley struggles to do the same for the man he loves. Juggling family and work can be difficult, but Ashley soon discovers that the real challenge is when it’s not a struggle at all … because you’ll do anything for the ones you love.

I fell in love with Lindsey Black’s writing through her debut novel Fishy Riot (Saturday Barbies, #1). That story introduced us to the crazy Jameson clan (police officers, doctors, EMT, firefighters) and assorted extended family members, including partners, children (vastly entertaining little ‘monsters’) and more. It was an enthusiastic, marvelously engaging romp! I adored the clan, the adventure, the mystery and humor and wanted more immediately. But had to wait until now to see what and who in the Jameson family was going to get their story told next. Lucky us! It’s Ashley Jameson, the odd child out in names (Tay, Hay, Shay, etc) and youngest of the large pack who finds his HEA here in Finn Hale, his twin brothers partner in the Riot Squad.

One of the things I love about this author is her ability to bring me to laughter one second and tears the next. That’s totally in keeping with the characters here and the situations they find themselves in within this story and in Finn Hale’s case, deep within his backhistory. The themes of family, pain and recovery, even the self doubt that Ash carries within him about how his own family sees him. These are layered, multidimensional characters who easily get to you because they feel so real, so human. I found myself wanting to slide into their Saturday family barbeques myself if only to be a part of the craziness.

It’s not just the family appeal that comes across but the grit and pain of the business of firefighting or what they come across during this investigation. It’s heartbreaking and the descriptions here telegraph the exhaustion, the heat, the intensity the firefighters feel as they enter the buildings, flames all around, floors collapsing, to save the people within…and sometimes don’t.

Rhino Ash (Saturday Barbies #2) by Lindsey Black proves that the first book and this author was indeed a glorious find and now a series to hang onto. So is this amazing author. I need more, so much more from her.

If you haven’t read Fishy Riot, grab that one up first and meet the Jameson family and then come here to Rhino Ash for the next Saturday Barbie! I’ll be going back to reread them both together as I can’t get my fill I recommend them that much!

Cover art by Angsty G is perfect in continuing to brand the series while containing elements for the story. Love it.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, first edition, 276 pages
Published October 27th 2017 by Netherwood Press
ASINB076QYSS1N
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Saturday Barbies:

Fishy Riot (Saturday Barbies, #1)

A MelanieM Review: Drama Detective (Nicky and Noah Mystery #5) by Joe Cosentino

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Theater professor Nicky Abbondanza is directing a Sherlock Holmes musical in a professional summer stock production at Treemeadow College, co-starring his husband and theatre professor colleague Noah Oliver as Dr. John Watson. When cast members begin toppling over like hammy actors at a curtain call, Nicky dons Holmes’ persona on stage and off. Once again Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to figure out who is lowering the street lamps on the actors before the handsome couple get half-baked on Baker Street. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fifth novel in this delightful series. Curtain up, the game is afoot!

A singer is belting out “Acting Butch on Baker Street”, there’s a Scotland Yard kick line, and yes, bodies falling, well, like murder victims in a Holmes story. Be still my heart, we are back at Treemeadow College, murder’ s afoot and Nicky Abbondanza, husband Noah Oliver, son Taavi, friends and family are all back and center stage in a fantabulas high camp, and larger heart murder frolic!

Drama Detective (Nicky and Noah Mystery #5) by Joe Cosentino continues with all the wonderful hilarious humor and murderous fun I’ve come to expect from this series but with the addition of Taavi, their adopted son (Drama Luau (A Nicky and Noah Mystery #4) something more has entered the series, an enlarged heart. We always had the love between Nicky and Noah, but it was sometimes on the charming, adult romance Nicky and Nora type of “love”. But with Taavi who often needs reassurance of family, stability, and love, a sense of emotional heft entered that brought a depth to this series without taking away from the high camp and fast paced adventure that’s also a trademark here. So be prepared to want to cuddle a character or two as well as laugh out loud!

With a Lestrade striding about the stage, a Moriarty on the loose, and Taavi as a Baker Street Irregular, Cosentino has conjured up the play Is Holmes a Homo? as the vehicle for murder most foul. I’m halfway surprised it’s not an actual play already. The play goings on are hilarious as always as director Abbondanza tries to get the thing staged, bodies start to fall, all the parental units arrive in Vermont, and oh, by the way, did I mention that Tony, Nicky’s brother is staying with them and is the choreographer? As the hilarity and misunderstandings rachet up, the murder mysteries get more complicated. Would we expect anything less? Why no!

Cosentino ties up all the storyline threads in a marvelously humorous epilogue that has me wondering how he’s going to top this next. Drama Detective (Nicky and Noah Mystery #5) by Joe Cosentino is high camp, warmed hearted, murderous fun! A series that, like Nicky and Noah themselves, keeps getting better with each story as they adjust to each other, grow, and yes, continue to love, act, and investigate murders now as a family. I think this is the best yet!I can’t recommend the series and this story enough!

Sales Links

Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | MyBooks

Cover Design by Holly McCabe is wonderful. I love the movie theatre old style to it. Great job.

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 178 pages
Published October 28th 2017 by Amazon Digital Services
ASINB0755PKXNG
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Nicky and Noah Mystery #5

Series:

Drama Queen (Nicky and Noah Mystery #1)

Drama Muscle (Nicky and Noah Mystery #2

Drama Cruise (Nicky and Noah Mystery #3)

Drama Luau (A Nicky and Noah Mystery, #4)

Drama Detective (A Nicky and Noah Mystery #5)

A MelanieM Review: Bitten by Desire (Regent’s Park Pack #3) by Annabelle Jacobs

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Two lovers from rival packs. Have they come together only to be forced apart?

Alec Knight, a beta in the Regent’s Park pack, guards his heart carefully. Ghosts from his past keep him alone and angry, any hope of a relationship impossible while guilt from the pack wars still haunts him. With the anniversary drawing near, Alec needs a distraction.

As a lowly member of the Primrose Hill pack, Mark Appleton isn’t used to having his alpha’s attention. Lately he’s had more than his fair share, and not for the right reasons. Despite growing suspicions that all is not well, Mark tries hard to do better, but constant criticism leaves him desperate for a stress outlet.

Sex is a good way for shifters to let off steam, and while their packs attack each other with accusations and lies, Alec and Mark work out their frustrations in bed. Pillow talk and shared secrets lead to a closeness neither was expecting, but when pack relations reach an all-time low, any future for them seems out of the question.

If they want to be together, they’ll have to go against their alphas’ wishes—except Alec won’t and Mark can’t.

Bitten by Desire, the third in the Regent’s Park Pack by Annabelle Jacobs, is my favorite by far. That’s saying a lot because I’ve loved them all. But these two shifters, Alec Knight of the R Pack and Mark Appleton of the PR Pack really got to me.

First, there’s the Romeo and Juliet aspect of their situation or in this case Romeo and Jules as their two packs are at war. Mark has already been a victim of his Alpha’s heinous behavior and need to win at any cost, putting Mark at forefront of a Council investigation into both pack’s recent actions. It also brought him to Alec’s attention as part of the storyline in Bitten By Design (Regent’s Park Pack, #2). In Bitten by Desire, the pull Mark and Alec feel towards each other intensifies as Alec is unable to stay away from Mark, no matter the consequences.

Jacobs gives us both shifter’s perspectives, letting us feel the danger of the situation and the inevitability that drives them forward…yes, it’s the mate bond already forming. It’s primal, sexual, and so very hot! Alec also has an angst filled past that’s haunting him, keeping him in an unsettled state, along with his uncertain feelings for Mark and the stress of the Council’s investigation. The author’s writing drops us into the hearts and minds of these men, letting us feel the push/pull of the mating bond as it strengthens…and it’s every bit as sexy and wild as it sounds.

Plus yes, there’s the fact that Mark’s Alpha is plotting against the R Pack. Annabeth Jacobs continually ramps up the suspense and the danger around Mark and those around him the entire story, keeping the readers right on the edge. This was a successful element here and my only disappointment was the sentences doled out at the end. For me, I thought the Council was too light handed considering what Howell and his Betas had done. But perhaps that was just me. Or maybe there’s more to come. I hope so. I love this series and for me Bitten By Desire is one of the best. The writing is excellent, the romance primal, hot and shifter perfect, and the storyline full of suspense and happy endings! For the fullest reading pleasure, start with the first story, Bitten By Mistake and work your way to Bitten By Desire! I highly recommend them all.

Cover Design: Natasha Snow is nice and hot. But I’d like a little more detail.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition

Published October 12th 2017

Edition Language English

Series Regent’s Park Pack #3

Bitten By Mistake (Book #1) Amazon US | Amazon UK

Bitten By Design (Book #2) Amazon US | Amazon UK

Bitten By Desire (Book #3)

A MelanieM Review: Bull (Brawlers #3) by J.M. Dabney

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Welcome to Brawlers Bar…

They said men only get better with age, distinguished and all that BS, but Archer “Bulletproof” Woods hadn’t gotten better. At fifty-six he was still as much an asshole as he’d been in his twenties and thirties, hell, maybe he was worse. Being a bouncer at a bar called Brawlers suited him just fine and he even tolerated the rest of the crew who’d taken up residence in his house when they’d had nowhere else to go. He was big, growly and homely that kept the parade of men passing through Brawlers at arm’s length for the past decade. One night changed all that.

What he’d thought was happily ever after turned into a nearly five year nightmare. Gregory Charles appeared to have it all, a successful business, sophistication, and a perfect marriage. His friend and best employee, Landon, begged him to come out to a friend’s bar to celebrate Landon’s anniversary. What could it hurt? A night without contemplating the hell that would come down on him the moment he served his husband with divorce papers would do him good. That is until he met the brooding older man staring into a whiskey straight ignoring everyone around him.

Watching for trouble was his job and Gregory screamed mistake as soon as the long, lean and handsome man sat down beside him. But he also knew when someone was in over their head and Gregory needed someone to watch his back. That someone was Bull, only time would tell if he’d have to fight Gregory as much as the man after him.

Bull‘s story is the one I’ve been waiting for. I’ve love the huge, hulking father figure ever since I became aware of the Brawlers and their extended family. It’s Bull and his house whose been the home and focal point of so many of these stories. And it’s been Bull who’s been such a steadying influence on those around him when everything felt like it was being destroyed for them. Yet Bull was ever lonely, alpha among alphas, and you wanted to get the know the person called Bull. In Bull (Brawlers #3) by J.M. Dabney I finally got that story.

The solitary man isn’t the one I was prepared to find. He’s hardly anywhere close to the men he houses, although he clearly understands them and the violence that drives them. Instead Dabney gives us a man full of pain and loneliness, hating it, yet perhaps thinking that his time for something more has passed him by because of his age. The sadness is overwhelming. Then Gregory appears at Brawlers, helping to celebrate Landon’s anniversary and a connection is made that changes everything.

Gregory is a complicated character (they all are here). Explaining more about Gregory actually gives away too much of the the plot for my comfort, however, let’s just say trying to serve divorce papers to a husband isn’t always the easiest thing when the husband refuses to accept them. This is a hurt/comfort story and deals with issues of domestic violence and control.

Bull’s situation (he’s divorced with a grown child he hasn’t seen in awhile) plus his age all determines the manner in which he views his actions towards Gregory and any possibility of a relationship. Gregory’s own demons also need to be dealt with by Gregory himself and others. Broken, bruised men are the heart of most of Dabney’s stories. For most, life has made them hard and violent, but for some, it’s left it’s marks in other ways.

The relationship dynamics here make any romance unsure and slow as it should be. I loved the struggle and the carefulness taken to ensure more pain wasn’t inflicted. I like that there is an awareness of the age issue, it’s addressed, and they move forward. Was it a little rushed towards the end? Perhaps, but the whole is darn near perfect.

I think Bull is one of my favorite Brawler books of the series. Of course, I do love the whole series and the one that follows it. I have them all listed below. Check them all out and check them off as I review them. I highly recommend them all.

Cover design by Winterheart Designs is perfect for Bull, how I love these covers.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 199 pages
Published May 16th 2017 by Hostile Whispers Press, LLC (first published 2017)
ASINB06Y2GHQPH
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBrawlers #3

Twirled World Ink Series – first series

Berzerker (Twirled World Ink #1)

Trouble (Twirled World Ink #2)

Scary (Twirled World Ink #3)

Lucky (Twirled World Ink #4)

Brawlers – second series:

Crave (Brawlers, #1)

Psycho (Brawlers, #2)

Bull (Brawlers, #3)

Hunter (Brawlers, #4)

Executioners – third series

Ghost (Executioners, #1

Joker (Executioners #2)

King (Executioners #3) – not out yet

Sin and Saint (Executioners #4) – not out yet

A MelanieM Review: Psycho (Brawlers, #2) by J.M. Dabney

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Welcome to Brawlers Bar…

Life wasn’t easy when you were certifiable, Gerald “Psycho” Clemons lived on the fringes of society. Five years he hadn’t thought twice about riding with a group who saw most laws as flexible. When the leader of the group turned crazier than Psycho, he stepped in and made the man pay. He’d never been rewarded for his temper before, yet that’s what happened when he earned a permanent place and a job as a bouncer. Everyone walked a wide circle around him, and he liked it that way. One look from his cold black eyes and he had people backing up. Then he met a man who had to be crazier than him.

Decadence Bakery was Ben Morin’s dream come true, and he loved it, but he grew tired of his lonely existence. Six months earlier he’d turned on the open sign and hopefully changed his life for the better. Ben loved his small cottage in the middle of nowhere even with the 3 a.m. rumbling of motorcycles and loud music at the farm next door. Although one thing he didn’t love, was his new hobby of watching one of the terrifying men next door. What could a little harmless peek now and then hurt?

Sweet and older wasn’t his type, but Psycho couldn’t deny the need to possess the beautiful baker. It was stronger than even the insanity he barely kept at bay, could he have a man who looked passed it or would Ben run like all the rest?

J.M. Dabney’s explorations of the strange, sometimes twisted road to love between men who’ve been abused, hardened by life and their soulmates continues with Psycho. The second story in the Brawler‘s series (see all connected series below), Psycho is employed at the Brawlers bar/club as one of their security men. He does whatever it takes to keep the bar running smooth and it’s employees safe. He’s also is one of those men barely under control at any given moment, only his boss Elijah, who seems to have ‘adopted’ him, easily brings Psycho back from the edge.

Dabney gives Psycho a profoundly disturbing, yet I suspect intentionally vague backhistory. The author gives us just enough elements of Psycho’s background and upbringing if you can call it that to make one nauseous, letting the reader’s mind fill in the horrific blanks of how that could traumatize any child that survived it. Yes, the name Psycho certainly fits the man. It also makes his lack of socialization, verbal skills, and inability to recognize all the normal group/personal interactions and their subtleties understandable. It’s just all beyond him, and the rage that’s constantly with him is one consequence of that.

Here’s a brute whose actions and personality seem simple yet the truth is he’s anything but. I loved that about this story (and series). Dabney’s ability to create such brutalized, abused men, yet let us see beyond the surface into their backhistory into the trauma that made them, and the way in which they still find the person that accepts who they are, despite their violence and still with the capacity for love. Here Psycho’s man is Ben the baker.

Ben Morin isn’t quite the norm here. Yes, he’s gotten out of a relationship and there will be some wonderful growth for him as a character, surprising growth. Yet Ben, intelligent, accepting, loving Ben (with a little help), finds a new circle of friends and a home within the Brawlers circle and love, eventually, with Psycho. There’s also an ex involved in a surprising thread here, but I won’t reveal who it is and how it comes into play. I was astonished myself how much I liked this aspect of the story. And I admit I must have brushed over this when I came across it in the Executioners books. Huh. But watching these two get together is such a pleasure that sometimes I found myself just laughing out loud over the sheer joy and fun that was involved here.

Reading Psycho (Brawlers, #2) by J.M. Dabney was such a wild, wonderful experience! I laughed so hard at places, wanted to cry over the abuse that made Psycho the man that he is, fanned myself a lot over the sexy scenes and was just so beyond happy at the HEA for all involved. When it comes to a J.M. Dabney story, you get a village. By that I mean, all your beloved characters are going to make appearances, which is great by me. I’m working myself backwards in the series but you don’t have to. I’ve laid them all out for you below. It certainly helps to know who everyone is because not only do they make appearances in each other’s stories and their relationships have matured (as they have) as the series advance. The town of Powers, Georgia also undergoes a dramatic transformation from series one Twirled World Ink to series three Executioners. So no, you really can’t call any of them standalones. What I do call them is highly recommended. Getting reading now!

Now onto Bull (Brawlers, #3), review coming soon.

Cover art by Winterheart Designs is terrific. I just love the covers for this series, this one included.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 119 pages
Published April 18th 2017 by Hostile Whispers Press, LLC (first published 2017)
ASINB06XV7TLTX
Edition Language English
SeriesBrawlers #2 setting Georgia (United States)

Twirled World Ink Series – first series

Berzerker (Twirled World Ink #1)

Trouble (Twirled World Ink #2)

Scary (Twirled World Ink #3)

Lucky (Twirled World Ink #4)

Brawlers – second series:

Crave (Brawlers, #1)

Psycho (Brawlers, #2)

Bull (Brawlers, #3)

Hunter (Brawlers, #4)

Executioners – third series

Ghost (Executioners, #1

Joker (Executioners #2)

King (Executioners #3) – not out yet

Sin and Saint (Executioners #4) – not out yet

A MelanieM Review: Crave (Brawlers #1) by J.M. Dabney

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Welcome to Brawlers Bar…

A quick pit stop for a comfortable bed to sleep turned into an eight-year stay. Vincent “Crave” Butler hit the road the day after college graduation and hadn’t looked behind him since. He’d swore to never stop moving, but the night he drove into Powers, Georgia changed the course of his life. He’d hit a bar called Brawlers with its rundown exterior and pride flag beside the door, the next day he had a job. Second in command to the Head of Brawler security, Crave found the place he didn’t have to run from. No one would call Crave sane. He lived to make people as uncomfortable as possible just for his own twisted amusement. That all changed when a certain cute as fuck bartender walked in for an interview.

No one wanted Twitch Harrison around. He was small, femme and annoying on his best days, downright abhorrent on his bad ones. When college turned out to be a no-go, and the parents canceled his credit cards he’d needed a job. Walking into Brawlers, the roughest gay bar in his hometown, was like a game of pick the thing that didn’t belong—him. The two owners, Scary and Tank, hired him on and four years later he was still that thing that didn’t belong. No one made it more apparent than bouncer Crave Butler who didn’t hide the fact he barely tolerated Twitch’s presence.

Crave threatened every man who thought they’d get the pretty Twitch but would Twitch rather be in their beds than his? Only one way to find out and he hoped Twitch was ready for forever because that’s what Crave was determined to have.

Crave (Brawlers #1) marks the new start of my backwards journey towards the starting point of all of J.M Dabney’s interlocking series. I say new because (you all know I can start at the most awkward moments in a series) I actually found this author through their first story in their latest series The Executioners and that story blew me away. That was Ghost, a remarkable introduction to the town of Powers, Georgia that was swiftly followed by the equally 5-star novel Joker (Executioners #2). Yes, I was well hooked by the author, the town, and the backhistory of the people and couples I was meeting that I only had bits and pieces of. Then I find out there’s not one but two preceding series that give me all the back stories and history I could want. Be still my heart. So here we go backward one series, one book at the time.

Brawlers is a bar/club and each story in the series is named after a guy who works there and forms a part of the Brawler family (note: Executioners is a band that plays in the club). J.M Dabney specializes in brutal, damaged men, people whose lives have been full of trauma and ugliness. Their bodies often reflect the scars their lives have left on them emotionally and mentally. Some are self abusers (cutters) and others have sealed themselves off, preferring isolation to emotional pain. Crave is one of the huge, rough, scary ones. Hired as a bouncer, he’s brutal, violent, loves to fight, and has his reasons to be this way. The author is clear on this. Her characters aren’t thugs but men twisted and harmed by life, redeemable under the facade. Unable to communicate like most people, when he does say anything, it’s with no filters and guaranteed to start a fight. It’s very safe way to stay behind walls but it makes it hard when there’s someone you want to protect as Crave finds out with Twitch.

Twitch is tiny, complicated and in pain. I fell in love with this character immediately. He telegraphs both his vulnerability and the utter devastation he feels. He’s trying in so many ways to work through the damage done to him by his upbringing and more. Twitch has found the unlikeliest of homes and support at Brawlers if his past will leave him alone.

Dabney takes these most unlikely of mates, brings them together in somewhat combustible circumstances (a bar like Brawlers where fights are common and the local police are corrupt at this point in the series) and makes it believable and heart wrenching. Both men damaged in very different ways and yet looking for real love and stability. Crave is someone who not only know what those scars are on Twink’s wrists and sides, but recognizes what they stand for. He understands the dark places he see in Twitch because he has them as well. This is not an easy romance. It can’t be with characters like these and surrounded by others just as broken or out of the norm as they are. There are fights, misunderstandings, pain galore.

I also found it fascinating because as the first story in the second series, many of the elements that make Ghost and Joker so great are being laid down here, so I’m watching the evolution of a town and “family”, one I’m already familiar with as I started with a present time novel. So I’m getting a time capsule effect here.

J.M Dabney has three connected series. Twirled World Ink (a tattoo shop) which is the first series which spun off into Brawlers the bar/club and now into Executioners which is the band who plays at Brawlers. All the characters appear in all the stories so it helps to read all the books. I see the potential for another here after the Executioners with a Security Company. Right now each has four books each. I’ll be reviewing them all. It’s quite the universe! The stories are gripping, the sex is hot and the characters are unforgettable.

If you love your hurt/comfort, your damaged men looking for love, you will love this story, this series and this author. Follow along as I lead you through the books and loves of the men of the connected series of J.M Dabney!

Cover art is perfect for Crave. Love it.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 129 pages

Published March 21st 2017 by Hostile Whispers Press, LLC

ASIN B06XJQCZW9

Series Brawlers #1

setting Powers, Georgia(United States)