Tag: A MelanieM Recommended Story

A MelanieM Review: The Gallery: The Permanent Collection (The Gallery #1) by Megan Derr

 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Welcome to the Gallery, where powerful beings enjoy peace, quiet, and the company of each other, where they are free to love as they choose, be it one, many, or anything in between.

The Permanent Collection comprises those paintings which never leave the Gallery. The beings within these paintings have bargained with the Curator to stay on forever in return for gifting him their powers, resources, or knowledge. They help the Curator in running the Gallery, and provide sustenance for the Curator.

Today’s featured pieces include: The Assistant, about a lonely, misunderstood young man and the unusual new job he is offered by the mysterious curator; The Tycoon is about a rough and powerful man who went missing several years ago, and has every intention of remaining so; Three Kings once walked away from their kingdoms, and now spend their days with each other; The Bastard Son is about a man who once fled betrayal and heartache, and now uses his deadly skills and famous sword to defend the Gallery. And in The Demon Slayer, an angel arrives to find the gallery under attack, and soon one demon is slain while another falls…

I have always loved this concept.  The idea of pictures actually being alive and here Megan Derr carries it into an unusual gallery.  This is the first Collection with another installment in the works.  This one introduces us to Rex upon his entrance into the Gallery.  And as he starts to understand it’s peculiarities and occupants, so do we.  It’s also presided over by one very special owner.

Rex, who’s identity is key here becomes a thread that ties all the paintings together, along with its owner.  It’s a unifying touch that pulls all the stories together as a whole, as well as creates a foundation for the set to follow.  I truly loved Rex and wished we knew more of his background.  Perhaps that’s coming still in the Semi-permanent Collection Gallery of Stories to follow (the one that he originally played a part in).

Each painting forms very quick tales of passion and love, flashes of depth (a man alone in a tower) to a twist  on King Arthur to three Kings…all different in taste.  I wanted more of some, not of others.  But with another book to come and an overall arc appearing, I’m hopeful that I’ll see more of these occupants as well.

This us just such a juicy novella…it wets your appetite for more.  More of these fascinating paintings, more of the owner and Rex of course.  And more from Megan Derr.  You just can’t go wrong.

Cover art:  Aisha Akeju.  Not a fan.  Most of the paintings in the gallery are formal and this should have reflected that.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Author’s Note: A few of these stories were freebies on my website. All have been edited for re-release and some, like The Tycoon and Three Kings, have undergone significant changes.

Kindle Edition, 65 pages
Published May 9th 2018 by Less Than Three Press, LLC
ASINB07CQ1SXBZ
SeriesThe Gallery #1

A MelanieM Review : Captain Merric by Rebecca Cohen

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

A tale of pirates, lost love, and the fight for a happy ending.

After he’s set adrift and left to die by his mutinous crew, the last person Royal Navy officer Daniel Horton expects to come to his rescue is Captain Merric. An infamous pirate, Merric is known as much for stealing his victims’ hearts as their jewels. Daniel’s world is about to be turned upside down when he recognises Captain Merric as none other than Edward Merriston, someone he thought he’d never see again.
Edward can’t believe Daniel Horton is aboard his ship. While Edward is willing to do anything he can to get a second chance at their happy ending, Daniel isn’t interested in digging up the past. But Daniel is one priceless treasure Captain Merric isn’t about to let go of without a fight.

Captain Merric first appeared as short story in a pirate-themed anthology. Now completely rewritten and extended he is ready to set sail again.

There’s nothing more fun than lust and love on the high seas so I was happy to sink into the new release Captain Merric by Rebecca Cohen.   I’ve enjoyed many of Rebecca Cohen’s historical romances in the past and this one turned out to be just as delightful.

It has not only a lusty pirate but one who turns out to be the the ex lover of Royal Navy officer Daniel Horton, one that Daniel had long thought dead.  Captain Merric, ne’ Edward Merriston, had also been laboring under some false assumptions about his old lover making their reunion highly emotional and  fraught with danger to them both.

I have always loved Cohen’s ability to bring her characters to life.  Whether they are shouting in anger, or trying to convince the man they have always loved to kiss him again, you believe in them.  And feel connected to them emotionally.  The story switches pov so you are able to see all the turmoil and actually fracturing of the foundation each man’s has built up over the years apart as the real story behind their separation comes out.  As this is going on, you get the glimpses into the pirate’s life that Edward has been living, quite happily as it seems.  From the island he lives on to the crew of his ship, we get the full picture of the man now called Captain Merric.

Poor Daniel Horton has lead a much colder, hard life and that is also left by the lack of explanation in the storyline.  It sort of works here.  But I wish that we would know if that contributes to the fact that none of his crew attempts to help him at the beginning of the book other than one person.  More of Daniel’s past would have made Daniel a more rounded character just as Edward was.

There are some things that, for the sake of the story, I just accepted, in terms of timing or coincidence, or just plain no I don’t think they would have accepted that.  But I was enjoying the story too much.  And I  loved the way the author got the men back together at the end.  What a lovely and downright sneaky touch.

When it comes down to it, I loved the characters, the writing flowed so smoothly that you were finished with the story before you realized it, the descriptions were colorful and made you see it clearly.  Ah, I just loved this romance!  I think you will too.  It’s definitely one I recommend.

 

Cover art:   Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design did a wonderful job.  Pirates!  And yes that’s Captain Merric all right.

Sales Link: Universal Buy Link

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 200 pages
Published April 6th 2018 (first published August 14th 2011)
Original TitleCaptain Merric
ASINB07BLLY5HD
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Hangover from Hell (Hangover #1) by Zakarrie Clarke

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A Hangover from Hell is exactly what greets rock star Callum Carter upon being rudely awoken by his partner, artist Daniel Flynn on the last morning of their ‘On the Road’ trip along Route 66.

They have been together for five years, after meeting when the infamous ‘enfant terrible’ was commissioned to paint Callum’s portrait.

Theirs is a story of lust, laughter and all-consuming love, although this remains a closely kept secret; until the morning they wake up in Las Vegas. Married.

Dan has no memory of this miracle taking place–only one thing seems certain–he has somehow managed to pull off a masterpiece on the mischief front, and inveigled Cal down the aisle..

I enjoyed Hangover from Hell (Hangover #1) by Zakarrie Clarke.  Bad boy rockers, quixotic artist lovers, oodles of miscommunication, and a wonderful premise.  They woke up married in Vegas after being together on the down low for 5 years.  That’s sort of irresistible. I had to know how this ‘unknown to me’ author was going to handle it.

Turns out, after a little disjointed beginning, really well.  We jump right into the morning after and everyone is just waking up from what had to have been a wild and wooly night of sex, drugs and rock n roll.  Then our boys get a look see at the new rings flashing on their hands and tiny spurts of memory of Elvis and a chapel start to come back.  Yes, it’s very funny.

The jumpy, disjointedness comes in recounting who exactly these men are and their history with one another. That part of the narrative could have a more fluid feel to it. That comes in small flashbacks scattered throughout the story while the men are dealing with the ramifications of their marriage in Vegas (that’s turned into a media frenzy).  The whole story actually occurs just over the course of a couple of days.

I thought the author did a great job with the characterizations and the dialog.  Each is easily distinguishable and I loved each man’s personality. Daniel Flynn is a  particular favorite of mine and I could clearly see him as the artist he was written to be.  The same goes for Callum the rocker and they both had genuine chemistry between them.

This is the first in the Hangover series so I’m interested in where the author will take it. That means I’m definitely in line when the next story releases.  In the meantime, I’m recommending Hangover from Hell (Hangover #1) by Zakarrie Clarke to all lovers of contemporary romance and bad boys in love.

Cover art is simple but nice.  I liked it.

Sales Links:  MLR Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 1 edition, 276 pages
Published March 9th 2018 by MLR Press (first published March 8th 2018)
Original Title Hangover from Hell
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Hangover #1

A MelanieM Review: Nobody’s Prince Charming (Road to Blissville #3) by Aimee Nicole Walker

 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

 

Fire and ice. Oil and water. Vodka and decisions. That’s what Darren McCoy and Wren Davison are: two opposites that shouldn’t mix well. Dare believes in fairy tales, true love, and happily ever after. Wren believes in fast cars, freedom, and no-strings sex. What can these two men possibly have in common? A magnetic pull strong enough to obliterate logic and reason.

For more than a year, Dare and Wren have worked together at the Curl Up and Dye Salon. Dare has pursued the mysterious, brooding man, and Wren has resisted his provocative charm. Then one day, something happens that allows the men to see each other in a new light. Wren learns that Dare hides a heavy heart behind his brilliant smile. Dare realizes that beneath Wren’s gruff exterior beats the heart of a prince.

Passions ignite once the men stop fighting their attraction, but will it be enough to overcome their differences? Is Wren the prince that Dare is looking for? Can Dare teach Wren that true love does exist?

Nobody’s Prince charming is a modern-day fairy tale where some princes ride Harleys, and castle walls are built to scale. It is the third book in the Road to Blissville series but can be read as a standalone book. This book contains sexually explicit material and is intended for adults eighteen and over.

Nobody’s Prince Charming is the first story that I read in Aimee Nicole Walker’s Road to Blissville series and it looks as though I’m going to have to remedy that because I found this story  charming and heartwarming.  Everything I look for in a contemporary romance.   It’s the third i the series but works perfectly as a standalone.  It’s not necessary to have read the others to have any backstory here.

This is also a lighthearted story in that there’s very little angst or deep drama in the situations that occur there.  Serious ones, yes, but none with the all-encompassing gritty, dark realism found in other stories.  I love those too, mind you.  But it’s nice to have warm and light, with a good smattering of fun and laughter (that’s where Grandpa and euchre games figures in) for good measure.

No, this is a sweet, wonderful opposites attract romance.  I fell in love with the characters, main and secondary alike.  Aimee Nicole Walker has created a delightful small town and filled it with characters you love to spend time with.  It’s a joy to watch them meet, sizzle with attraction, and then fall slowly in love.  Yes, I definitely have to seek out those other stories.

In the meantime, I recommend you pick up and read Nobody’s Prince Charming (Road to Blissville #3) by Aimee Nicole Walker.  I think you will agree with Dare that Wren is exactly what he and the reader needs.

Cover art: Jay Aheer.  Love that cover. So hot and works for the story and character.

Sales Links:

AMAZON US: https://amzn.to/2GEVRiv

AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/2E7iyq1

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1 edition, 238 pages
Published March 21st 2018 by Chasing Rainbows Press LLC
Original TitleNobody’s Prince Charming
ASINB07C8KQGW6
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesRoad to Blissville #3

A MelanieM Review : The Left Hand of Calvus (Warriors of Rome #1) by Ann Gallagher

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Former gladiator Saevius is certain fortune’s smiling on him when a Pompeiian politician buys him to be his bodyguard. But then his new master, Laurea Calvus, orders Saevius to discover the gladiator with whom his wife is having an affair. In order to do that, Saevius must return to the arena, training alongside the very men on whom he’s spying. Worse, he’s now under the command of Drusus, a notoriously cruel—and yet strangely intriguing—lanista.

But Saevius’s ruse is the least of his worries. There’s more to the affair than a wife humiliating her prominent husband, and now Saevius is part of a dangerous game between dangerous men. He isn’t the only gladiator out to expose the Lady Verina’s transgressions, and her husband wants more than just the guilty man’s name.

When Saevius learns the truth about the affair, he’s left with no choice but to betray one of his masters: one he’s come to fear, one he’s come to respect, and both of whom could have him killed without repercussion. For the first time in his life, the most dangerous place for this gladiator isn’t the arena.

In The Left Hand Of Calvus Ann Gallagher has recreated the ancient city of Pompeii, complete with corrupt politicians, cheating wives, and the desperate, hard and often short lives of gladiators and the ludus. Gladiator Saevius’ fate changes when he’s sold as a bodyguard to Pompeiian Politician Laurea Calvus.  Thinking himself free of the fighting, it turns out that his new master, wants a spy within the ludus of the famed and infamous lanista Drusus.  To fulfill his master’s orders, it’s back into the arena as a gladiator that Saevius must go.

I loved how vividly alive Pompeii feels here, from the overcrowding, poverty, and  stench that arises in the poor section of the city to the behavior of the powerful  at every level of society and its impact on others (political, social, and even economic).  It gives the  story such a wonderfully rich foundation as well as framework for the story and characters.

It also gives most readers an additional point of reference because we are well aware of what awaits the citizens of Pompeii in the future adding a layer of urgency and poignancy.

For me  it’s less a romance and more a wonderful piece of historical fiction that happens to have an element of romance in it (if you are looking for sex you won’t find it here).  Much of the story revolves around a central mystery and two characters both pulling at Saevius for his  loyalty and control.  One is the politician that owns him and the other is the lanista Drusus who in a manner also “owns” him as Saevius fights for him in his ludus.  The more the gladiator finds out, the more confused he (and the reader) become because nothing is as it seems.

The author builds the suspense, there are many agonizing moments as Saevius often teeters on the brink of discovery.  And there is one masterful plot  twist at the  end that worked perfectly within the storyline and was still a stunner for the reader and the character.

My only slight hesitation here in giving this story five stars was that I wanted to see a little more development in the relationship between Saevius and Drusus.  I think that needed a little more time and depth.    However, all the other relationships, characters, and dynamics here were so well done that I read straight through until the story was complete.

Cover art: LA Witt.   I liked the cover but I seems very old fashioned, more like a college cover.

Sales Link: Universal Book Links

Book Details:

This title is part of the Warriors of Rome collection.

ebook, 175 pages
Published November 5th 2012 by Riptide Publishing (first published November 3rd 2012)
Original TitleThe Left Hand of Calvus
ISBN 193755161X (ISBN13: 9781937551612)
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/left-hand-calvus
SeriesWarriors of Rome #1
CharactersDrusus, Saivius settingPompeii (Italy)
Italy

Literary AwardsRainbow Award for Best Transgender Novel (2013)

A MelanieM Review: Knightsgift by J. Hepburn

Rating:  4 stars out of 5
Three knights, each bearing the Knightsgift that gives them power and life, ride to the aid of a small village where people are disappearing in the forest. One knight seeks the aid of a herbalist, a sharp-witted, strong-willed woman, who can tell him what the Sheriff will not…
Knightsgift is the first story I’ve read by J. Hepburn but based on the characters, themes, and worldbuilding I found within this tale, it certainly won’t be the last.  In fact, I’m hope that the author is considering making this the first in a series about the Knights here, the Healer, and the backstory into the training they all undergo when the Knightsgift comes to each of them.
The Knights here are already battle-hardened experienced Knights, years away from the time the Gift came to them.  These three Knights seem to travel together often on missions for the King, so their friendship and ease with each other speaks of a deep kinship.
The Knights are Heskan, Tahis and Donaar, and Tahis is the Knight we get to know the most intimately of the three.  Donaar, the fierce, indomitable female knight is second leaving Heskan the one with the least storytime.  Their mission is to solve who or what is behind the disappearances/murders of villagers in Sweetwater.
However, things are rarely simple and the state of Sweetwater itself is murky and needs further investigation.
I loved these Knights, the Herbalist Tala, and most of the “lowly” villagers of Sweetwater.  Hepburn came up with great characters, lively, believable, some endowed with a magic that flows from them, and an entire village of people depending on each other to get by because they knew help was not coming from the “upper echelons” in town and rules  set down to see to their safety.  The author was able to show the emotional cost and close knit relationships of all the people of the village to each other in a short story.  I believed in them all.
There’s several elements here, important ones I hesitate to mention.  One is about the nature of Tahis and how that Knight perceives themselves.  I just love how this is done, it feels natural, and the potential for a relationship with Tala is just one more reason I would love to see this story become the first in a series.  The second is the Knightsgift itself.  There are some astonishing revelations that the author unfolds later in the story that cry out for more backhistory and more exposition.    Again, more stories please.
Finally, there’s the reason behind the missing villagers….I needed a little more, not much because some of that was outstanding, grant you.  But why there?  This story came so close to a 5 star tale for me….
Knightsgift by J. Hepburn is a story that still intrigues me.  My mind is still jumping to all these places the author has led it to with their incredible imagination, great characters and wonderful plot.  If you’re looking for heat and hot sex, this is not the book for you.  But if you’re looking for a wonderful fantasy with LGBTQIA characters, a possible romance in the future, and, hopefully more to come?  This is the story for you.
Cover art:  Kirby Crow.  Cover is simple and elegant.  I liked it.
Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press  | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook
Published January 3rd 2018 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684311682
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: A Cop for Christmas by Jamie Fessenden

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Mason Collier isn’t big on authority figures. When Office Steve Coleman pulls him over and gives him a speeding ticket, he doesn’t react well. He’s even less happy when he discovers the cop lives next door to his parents’ house.

No matter where they turn this holiday season, Steve and Mason keep running into each other, and whenever they talk for more than a minute, they piss each other off. But from wayward dogs to Christmas tree hunts to maple syrup festivals, it proves impossible to avoid each other in the small town.

If Mason can see the good man behind the badge, he might just get a cop for Christmas.

A Cop for Christmas by Jamie Fessenden is a sweet holiday romance, complete with overly energetic young lab and a cringe worthy meet/greet that every young couple loves to relate later on in their relationship.

The author does a lovely job of enveloping us in the atmosphere of the small town, snow, maple syrup and all so it’s very easy to fall in love with it’s inhabitants as we meet them along with Mason as he sees the place his parents call home.  The characters here are all well-crafted, so the loving family dynamics of the Collier family feels real as does the lonely trailer of Officer Steve Coleman next door.

I enjoyed every bit of the journey Mason and Steve take to their HFN ending…we will see more of them and how it plays out in the sequel A Viking for Yule.  There’s  some unexpected suspense, lots of romance, and more.    This is a small town and people who definitely deserve several visits back to see how everyone is settling in, and I’m not just talking about Mason and Steve.

Jamie Fessenden’s holiday stories made an  impact on me this Christmas season.  They are sweet, heartwarming, full of hope, romance, and love that will last past the New Year’s.  Read A Cop for Christmas and then head to A Viking for Yule.  I highly recommend them both!

Cover art by Reese Dante is terrific and works for the story and characters.

Sales Links:Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 123 pages
Published November 19th 2016
Original TitleA Cop for Christmas
ASINB01NB9811M
Edition LanguageEnglish