A MelanieM Review: Rain and Whiskey (Stormy Weather #1) by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

rain-and-whiskey Galen Frost buys a house and a bait shop in a small Florida town to get away from his life as a semipro football player. When he meets good-time bartender Shane Barton, the heat between them is instant and intense—like the burn of good whiskey.

Galen and Shane don’t have much in common beyond their healthy libidos and their love of a good time, but the intoxicating heat brings them together like rain on the ocean, whipping up a frenzy of weather… good and bad. When trouble blows ashore, they will have to ride out the storm that breaks between them as Galen’s past rears its ugly head.

I first read Rain and Whiskey way back when so I was beyond delighted to get reacquainted with Len and Shane of B.A. Tortuga’s Stormy Weather series. Turns out I had missed them something fierce.

From the moment Shane and Galen lay eyes on each other in Miss Lynn’s bar where Shane is tending bar there is no keeping these two apart! In true Tortuga style, they almost combust right on the bar floor but make it to Galen’s new home in the swamp and Bait shop. Its heat, sweat, and sex…all delivered in that wonderful Tortuga vernacular and style!

Shane grabbed a bottle of Cuervo and started pouring a round of shots, laughing at Vic’s lame-assed joke about titty bars and avoiding Old Man Roberts’s roving hands, all the time moving to the music, knowing his ass in those jeans in the big mirror behind the bar? Money in the bank, baby.

Everybody who was anybody stopped by, chatted him up a second, grinning and trying to talk over the music. Jake kept giving him that “how do you do that,” stupidass, monkey-face look. Shit, he’d been tending bar here for a good long time— since spring break in ’95, just under seven years ago. He’d come down to play with a couple three baby faces from college and sorta got stuck in the sand and the surf and the good life.

He was thinking he’d not go home after his shift tonight. He liked the crowd, liked the band, and got his booze for free. That way he wouldn’t have to deal with that… smell in his apartment.

Whatever the hell it was.

“Can I get a whiskey?” He could hear that voice right through the music, maybe because it had a drawl that wouldn’t quit. Brown eyes, cowboy hat pulled low, and tall enough to lean right over the bar.

Oh, hello.

It doesn’t matter whether the person talking is a Florida conch or a Tennessee country boy, Tortuga has the sayings and dialog that flow from their lips just right. It fluid and natural without sounding corny, unless of course that’s her intension. This author has the ability to throw you not only into the characters but the location and the local culture as well just by a few utterances by a person, no matter their importance. It’s right there in the “Miss Lynn”, “Old Man Dewey’s bait shop”, and what’s in those ever present coolers outside. Nothing is left to chance.

Part of what I love about these stories is learning about the characters as we go. That slow reveal, the peeling back of layers. The spark is instantaneous but both men take the time to get to know each other. That includes why a semi pro football player is down in the swamps with a bait shop. This story is chock full of sex but its being had by very believable men.

For those who like some angst with their romance, there is an element of that here for you. Its realistic and well done. There’s also a bit of kink here too. These are some hot, feisty men who can’t keep their hands off each other. So be prepared for lots of sex.

As I said, I was so happy to see this back, and that mean the next will follow. Normally you find B.A. Tortuga’s men out west, but don’t miss out on Shane and Galen residing in the swamps in Florida. I absolutely recommend them.

Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza. I liked the cover. It works for the story.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 220 pages
Published October 7th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press (first published March 1st 2005)
Original TitleRain and Whiskey
ISBN 1634775694 (ISBN13: 9781634775694)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesStormy Weather #1

In the Spotlight: Suddenly Yours by Jacob Z. Flores (Video and Giveaway)

Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoI06GdQGBw

Suddenly Yours

by Jacob Z. Flores

Blurb:

“What Happens in Vegas Doesn’t Always Stay in Vegas”

Cody Hayes is having one epic morning-after. The hangover following a Vegas bachelor party is nothing new to him, and neither is the naked man in his bed.

His apparent marriage is a different story.

Carefully plotting every detail of his life carried Julian Canales to a senate seat as an openly gay man. A drunken night of Truth or Dare isn’t like him… and neither is marrying a man he just met. He’d get an annulment, but the media has gotten wind of his hasty nuptials. If Julian’s political career is going to survive, he has to stay married to a man who’s his opposite in every way.

Now he must convince Cody that all they need to do is survive a conservative political rival, a heartbroken ex, their painful pasts… and an attraction neither man can fight.

Excerpt

One Fine Day Series

Undercover Boyfriend

(One Fine Day Series #1)

Available in paperback

About The Author

Jacob Z. Flores lives a double life. During the day, he is a respected college English professor and mid-level administrator. At night and during his summer vacation, he loosens the tie and tosses aside the trendy sports coat to write man on man fiction, where the hard ass assessor of freshmen level composition turns his attention to the firm posteriors and other rigid appendages of the characters in his fictional world.

Summers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, provide Jacob with inspiration for his fiction. The abundance of barely clothed man flesh and daily debauchery stimulates his personal muse.

When he isn’t stroking the keyboard, Jacob spends time with his daughter. They both represent a bright blue blip in an otherwise predominantly red swath in south Texas.

You can find Jacob at

Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card for the grand prize and 5 winners will win free copies from Author’s Dreamspinner back list.

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A MelanieM Release Day Review: A Matchless Man (Lexington Lovers #2) by Ariel Tachna

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

a-matchless-man None of the matches caught his eye as much as the matchmaker himself.

Growing up poorer than poor didn’t leave Navashen Bhattathiri many options for life outside of school. All of his concentration was on keeping his scholarships. Sixteen years later, he’s fulfilled his dream and become a doctor. Now he’s returning home to Lexington and is ready to prove himself to the world. In doing so, he reconnects with Brent Carpenter—high school classmate, real estate agent, all-around great guy… and closet matchmaker.

Brent makes it his mission to help Navashen develop a social life and meet available, interesting men. Unfortunately Navashen’s schedule is unpredictable, and few of those available, interesting men value his dedication like Brent does. Brent’s unfailing friendship and support convince Navashen he’s the one, but can he capture Brent’s heart when the matchmaker is focused on finding Navashen another man?

A Matchless Man (Lexington Lovers #2) by Ariel Tachna is another heartwarming, loving romance from the Dreamspun desire. I haven’t read the first Lexington Lovers story but this one is a definite winner. Ariel Tachna uses her intimate knowledge of the Indian family unit to great advantage here with the character of Navashen Bhattathiri. Navashen is returning home to Lexington, ready to settle down with his new job, wanting to buy his forever home and finally start his new life as a out gay doctor. Included in those plans are Navashen’s parents living close by and his adult younger brother with a learning disability brought on by a premature birth and lack of oxygen to the brain.

The family dynamics are such that you get a feel not only for the adult Navashen but for the life he had as a child as well. You can sense the isolation of the mother (self imposed), the father’s role, that wonderful brother. That family, each member and its culture is vividly, sympathetically portrayed. You understand their actions, even their fears, and it makes them come alive.

That goes for all the characters here. From the other secondary ones like the retired math teacher and hardware store owner, to the other main one in Brent Carpenter, the real estate agent who helps Navashen find his “right” home, and get settled within the community. Brent too has his own issues, primarily dealing with his ex, wife that is. Brent is bi-sexual, something that confuses Navashen who is less experienced with his own sexuality.

Tachna packs this story with quite a number of themes , each is handled honestly and with delicacy and humor. Akshat, the brother especially jumps to mind with the way he’s been sheltered and now starts to assume more responsibilities when he moves in with his brother. The joy, the growth…this character just shines off the page. Yet you never forget his history or his position in the family. Its just terrific.

Also the way Brent’s bisexuality is talked about, his choices and Navashen’s as well. There is adult discussion going on here, and yes, some emotional denial, but that’s all too human as well. Tachna shows how that isolation that exists in the Bhattathira family extends in many ways to all members. In Navashen, he’s had blinders on until he finished his internships and got his degree. Now he’s still focused on the house and his brother. That’s seems very real too.

This entire story reads true.

The angst, such as it is, is believable, built on human foibles and the barriers raised up out of past fears. But watching the characters work their way through their problems to arrive at a place where they can see a future together? Beyond wonderful.

I loved this story. Now I’ll have to find the first in the series to see what I missed.

Cover art by Paul Richmond shows Navashen, a terrific representation of the character.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 224 pages
Expected publication: October 1st 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773705 (ISBN13: 9781634773706)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Lexington Lovers – add it to your Goodreads shelf here:

Unstable Stud (Lexington Lovers, #1)
A Matchless Man (Lexington Lovers, #2)

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Babe in the Woodshop by Ashlyn Kane, Claudia Mayrant and C.J. Burke

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

babe-in-the-woodshop When long hours and crushing stress push Bellamy Alexander to his breaking point, he walks away from his consulting job and drives until he runs out of gas. Fortune deposits him in front of Antonio’s, a place with decent pizza and an opening for a delivery boy. Even better, he finds an apartment right across the street from his new job. And best of all, Chris McGregor, the property manager who runs the custom furniture shop below Bell’s new digs, is super hot—and super into Bell.

It seems too good to be true—and maybe it is. Things aren’t exactly going smoothly. Bell avoids telling his mother the truth about his new job because he doesn’t want to hear how he should go back to the corporate world. On the other hand, he doesn’t think he wants to deliver pizza forever either. He’d like to think about settling down, but Chris runs hot and cold. Between Bell’s uncertainty and the hang-ups Chris refuses to talk about, they have their work cut out for them. Fortune may have caused their paths to dovetail, but it will take more than wood glue to hold them together.

Babe in the Woodshop by Ashlyn Kane, Claudia Mayrant and C.J. Burke is an all-around romantic feel good charmer. I’m familiar only with author’s Ashlyn Kane’s stories, so I was a little apprehensive about a novel that had not one but three authors pooling their talents to come up with one cohesive plot and characters I could enjoy and connect with.

The end result was as heartwarming and wonderful as that cover by Alexandria Corza. It just sort of glows with happiness as do the men and the people around them as the story comes to a close. Its angst free and darn near close to perfect.

Bell Alexander has had it with his full tilt stressed to the max life. So he opts out when his car dies in the parking lot of this pizza place in this small town he’s passing through. Turns out life has just handed him exactly what he needs and he runs with it. He gets a job as a pizza delivery boy (the last one just retired..its that sort of town). He finds the place to live comes with an unusual feline tenant upstairs and a handsome owner downstairs.

The pace of the story is as slow and marvelously true to the character and small town charm of the place. It lets you get a grasp of life as its lived there and on Bell as he slows down, unwinds, and starts to heal.

While we are learning about Bell, the author is busy giving us insight into Chris McGregor, our carpenter and property manager. There is no verbal dump of information. A conversation here, hints there from someone else, and little by little we get the full portrait of a man whose been very hurt in the past and can’t figure out how to get over that. Never does either man come across as anything less than believable.

Nor do they jump immediately into bed. Nope. The buildup is slow and steady. I liked that too.

The only thing I wanted more of was the ending. Perhaps I’m greedy. Maybe I didn’t want to let go of that small town or this couple but it felt a little too abrupt for me. That was the only thing that kept this was being perfect.

But the rest of this? Unless you want a lot of angst in your story, because really this didn’t have a lot of that here, this heartwarming romance is the perfect thing for lovers of contemporary romance or just romance. I absolutely recommend it. And now I’m going to have to look up those other two authors to see what they have written. I’ll let you know what I find.

Cover by Alexandria Corza is one of my favorites. Heartwarming and pertinent to the story. Loved it.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: September 30th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634777069 (ISBN13: 9781634777063)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Taming the Wyld (States of Love) by Lucie Archer

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

taming-the-wyld The Witness Protection Program dumps JD Smith practically at the ends of the earth—in Two Pines, Alaska—to protect him until he can testify against a dangerous gang. He tries to stick to his story and keep his head down, but it’s impossible to ignore bush pilot Jake Wylder, a sexy loner with quite a reputation around the small town.

Flying medical supplies around Alaska suits Jake’s wild streak and love of freedom. He’s perfectly content to keep his romantic encounters casual—at least until he meets JD. Something about the nurse makes Jake think settling down might not be such a hardship. Now he just needs to convince JD he’s serious—which won’t be easy, given his past.

For a relationship to stand a chance, JD must testify so he can return to Two Pines as the man he really is—and Jake must grow into the man JD needs him to be.

Taming the Wyld (States of Love) by Lucie Archer introduced me to a new author and a new series in one book, two things that I love. In Taming the Wyld, Archer gave me several things I always look for in a contemporary romance. A location guaranteed to pull me in, in this case small town Alaska, two men with interesting backgrounds, and a plot just different enough to hook me.

The result is one that I enjoyed. Shorter than I would have liked, Archer still was able to get across layered characters, a true feel for living in an Alaskan small town, and a plot that had some surprises, some fun, and a wee bit of adrenaline rush.

A longer story would have given the reader more time to slide the connection to the MCs. That would be flying bad boy Jake Wylder and doctor JD, currently hiding out as a nurse under the Witness Protection Program. Honestly neither is completely likable at the beginning, both showing their flawed human sides. Both also could have used some more depth to their back histories to feel a tad more dimensional as well. But they do grow on you.

There’s a number of little plot threads running through the story, romance, personal growth, and oh, yes, that dangerous gang. Archer does a lovely job of pulling it all together within 101 pages. Yes, that’s right, this is a very quick read at only 101 pages. I felt the author had enough plot here for twice that amount.

I loved the town, the feel of Alaska Archer brought to her story. It felt right.

Now I want to see what else this author has in store for me. But in the meantime, I recommend you pick up Taming the Wyld. Its a terrific short contemporary romance. Just the thing for this Sunday afternoon. I wonder what other states are on the list next?

Cover art by Bree Archer does a great job with both the location, the characters and the element of flying with the plane. Love it!

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 101 pages
Expected publication: September 21st 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634775902 (ISBN13: 9781634775908)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series States of Love setting

Alaska (United States)

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.

Sales Links

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.

Sales Links

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:

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Mad Lizard Mambo (Kai Gracen #2) by Rhys Ford

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Kai Gracen has no intention of being anyone’s pawn. A pity Fate and SoCalGov have a different opinion on the matter.

Licensed Stalkers make their living hunting down monsters and dangerous criminals… and their lives are usually brief, brutal, and thankless. Despite being elfin and cursed with a nearly immortal lifespan, Kai didn’t expect to be any different. Then Ryder, the High Lord of the Southern Rise Court, arrived in San Diego, Kai’s not-so-mundane life went from mild mayhem to full-throttle chaos.

Now an official liaison between the growing Sidhe Court and the human populace, Kai is at Ryder’s beck and call for anything a High Lord might need a Stalker to do. Unfortunately for Kai, this means chasing down a flimsy rumor about an ancient lost Court somewhere in the Nevada desert—a court with powerful magics that might save Ryder—and Kai’s—people from becoming a bloody memory in their Merged world’s violent history.

The race for the elfin people’s salvation opens unwelcome windows into Kai’s murky past, and it could also slam the door on any future he might have with his own kind and Ryder.

Rhys Ford’s dark, snarky fae mongrel Kai Gracen is back in Mad Lizard Mambo (Kai Gracen, #2) by Rhys Ford and never has a folded, jumbled up world looked so scary or so good. Now unhappily serving as a sort of go between for Lord Rider and the humans the sidhe are interacting/living with, Kai is once again called in for a favor. One he wants to be paid handsomely for as he desperately needs the money to help out his sick mentor/father figure Stalker. That the mission seems a little insane is about par when Kai considers that he’s dealing with Ryder the sidhe Lord he can’t seem to get out of his head and sidhe magics that he wants nothing to do with.

I really could read about Kai Gracen and his gritty conglomerate of a world all day long and never tire of either. Somehow Ford has managed to gather all the elements I love about the Fae (not your kiddies elves) and fantasy, throw them in with action/adventure with a great deal of mystery and UST, rub in a ton of dirt, grit and a big smattering of blood (yep always blood) and car chases to come up with a whomper of a tale.

Molding this universe must be like having the most twisted set of maps ever, laid out on Playdoh and crammed together by a child on a sugar high. Plains weave and warp, mountains are closer than they appear. Or are they? Oh, look pretty butterflies. But don’t touch or they may kill you. Nothing like having a story where I wanted to just sit and examine the landscape, the flora and fauna for a bit. Heck I wanted a whole new Natural History guide as the author’s imagination soars freely through the desert skies on dragon wings and lopes scarily along in herds.

Its up to the Stalkers to navigate these daunting territories and Kai Grace is among the best. That’s one of the reasons he’s been requested to head up the team to go looking for this mythological lost court deep in some Fae Mountains. Yep, like Kai, it smells rank too. But he needs the money. So to outfit such a endeavor, Kai heads to all the people who support the Stalkers and who helped raise him. Some we met in the first story, Black Dog Blues, some are new. The machines needed to transport them will conjure up images of Mad Max as armored monsters capable of getting them to their location, each as unique as their wonderful creator. I love all the secondary characters here. They are as elemental and tough as the desert they live on. You can see how each contributed to Kai, the person who stands before them. I don’t actually say Fae because Kai considers himself more human than Fae no matter what his biology says differently. His outlook is human. And when contrasted to Ryder’s, you get that absolutely.

There’s so many twists and turns here, lost cities and yes, be still my heart, dragons.

Ford also has some answers to Kai’s back history, startling ones, while opening new questions for future stories. This is a standard procedure for Ford and one I also always look forward to as it means another story. Bring it on!

Mad Lizard Mambo (Kai Gracen, #2) by Rhys Ford once again soars, rocks, and scrambles through the gritty urban fantasy world and brings us a story you won’t be able to put down until it over. I love this character and series, and can’t wait for more. Its really not a romance, all that UST running around. Its high action, swiftly paced, tons of twists and turns, and yes, fae (light and dark) and dragons! If that’s your thing as its definitely mine, I highly recommend this story and the one preceding it. I love them both and think you will too.

Cover art shows Kai and a special dragon. Love the colors, and the design. Perfection.

Sales Links

DSP Publications

Book Details:

ebook, 220 pages
Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by DSP Publications
ISBN 1634777441 (ISBN13: 9781634777445)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Kai Gracen – add to Goodreads here:

Note from DSP Publications: Spend your weekend with Kai Gracen! Mad Lizard Mambo by Rhys Ford will be released on the DSP Publications website 3 days before other retailers, on September 10. Additionally, eBook one in the Kai Gracen Series, Black Dog Blues, will be 99 cents September 6-13, 2016.

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Take Two by Shira Anthony

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Shiver me timbers! When Professor Wesley Coolidge accepts a summer job as a historical consultant to a pirate movie being filmed in North Carolina, the last person he expects to bump into is his soon-to-be-ex, movie star Sander Carson. Just like the flamboyant pirate he’s playing, Sander, aka Sam Carr, is used to getting what he wants, and he makes it clear he wants Wesley back in his life.

Sam acknowledges it’s his fault they split up. He lost Wesley when he left their life in New York City behind for a career in Hollywood. But Wesley has finally managed to put the pieces of his heart back together, and he isn’t interested in Sam and Wesley: The Sequel. Sam soon realizes that convincing Wesley to give their relationship a second chance will take much more than apologies and reminders of good times past. If he wants Wesley back, Sam will have to show Wesley that they really can sail into the sunset together—a real-life happily-ever-after that won’t end once the final credits roll.

Take Two by Shira Anthony is a different sort of story then the ones we’ve been reading lately from this author. Far from the action/adventure or fantasy epics of recent releases, this romance of lovers trying to find their way back (or at least one) to the magic that was once theirs brings me back to the tone of the Blue Notes series and the books where I found Shira Anthony.

Lovers reunited is a trope I adore, especially when its one lover trying to win back his true love. That the lovers here are older makes this story just a tad sweeter and more perfect. Sam knows he screwed up big time (how much he’s yet to realize) but he know he wants Wesley back. The story is all about Sam’s doing what it takes, physically rearranging things like schedules, growing emotionally, whatever, to get Wesley back. Things do not fall into place, although it seems as though its going to happen that way at first. Life is never so accommodating and Anthony is well aware of life’s foibles and whimsy.

Wesley too has a bit of relationship blinders on, ones that anyone whose had relationship issues or problems will recognize. Whether its with current relationships or ones in the past, the author realizes that the need to see what we want to see rather than what’s really occurring is a strong overriding emotion. Its an authentic need and a thread that runs throughout the story. And as we are pulled into Wesley’s turmoil of a life and his mixed-up inner emotions, we wonder what’s it going to take to bring Wesley to take his blinder’s off and …boom…we’ve fallen in love with both men and their problems.

Of course, it helps spectacularly that Shira Anthony has set her story on Bald Island, NC a place the author is intimately familiar with. A lifelong sailor herself along with her husband, the scenes on the water, in and around as well as on Bald Island are vividly and lovingly described because she feels that way about the place. It shows. I wanted to grab a plane, car or boat and head there myself. There’s a sea rescue too that’s as white knuckle as they come. Yes, that’s authentic as well.

I think that’s why this story reminded me so of the Blue Notes story. Where those were focused on the musical world that Anthony was a part of for so long, Take Two is surrounded by another element in Anthony’s life, that of sailing, the water, and North Carolina. Her deep love and knowledge of all three shines bright here as music does in the Blue Notes series. That made me hope that perhaps another series could be coming. There is a secondary couple here. I would love to see where their romance takes them. Plus the Barbary Pirates need exploring right?

Things I haven’t mentioned? History and pirates! Yes to both! I loved learning about the pirates of North Carolina and definitely wanted more, along with the humor that the author threw in to go along with it. There’s some wonderful giggling moments here, along with a few ‘laugh out loud’s too. Ah, me. Wonderful characters, lovers reunited, sexy scenes, sailboats, and pirates! Argh, me hearties! This romance was everything I wanted and more.

Cover art by L.C. Chase is missing several elements. I like the script. But where, oh where, is Bald Island, NC, the sailboats and the pirate ships?

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 214 pages
Expected publication: September 9th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773853 (ISBN13: 9781634773850)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Its Release Week for Dreamspun Desire’s The Senator’s Secret by K.C. Wells (excerpt and giveaway)

K.C. Wells – The Senator’s Secret

Author: K.C. Wells

Release Date: September 1 2016

Length: 220 pages

Buy Links: Amazon US Amazon UK Dreamspinner AllRomance

Blurb

When his Republican opponent outs him with a photo in a Facebook post, Senator Samuel Dalton doesn’t have many options open to him. It doesn’t matter that the photo was totally innocent. He has no choice but to come clean – until his staff suggest putting a spin on it that leaves Sam reeling.

Sure, he’d end up with a lot of sympathy, not to mention the possibility of more voters from the LGBT community, but it still seems a pretty drastic solution.

Now all they have to do is persuade Gary, the other man in the photo, to play along. It sounds so easy – convince the constituents of North Carolina that he and Sam are engaged.

Excerpt

“This really burns me, you know?” Becky piped up as she came through the door, iPad in her hand. “Does that Pastor Hartsell think he can just go around, making up shit like this?” She glared at Curtis. “He can’t go around telling everyone Sam is gay when we know he’s not!”

Curtis’s eyes flickered in Sam’s direction before he spoke. “Only, Hartsell didn’t say that, did he?” he chided Becky gently.

Josh snorted. “Yeah, he was real careful about how that post was worded. ‘What is the nature of the relationship…?’ And the part asking folks what that photo said to them? Inspired. His supporters come up with all the shit he wouldn’t dare say. And of course, he doesn’t comment on any of it.” He scowled. “He doesn’t need to; they went ahead and said it all for him. He gets to sit back and read it, while we’re the ones doing the weeping.” Josh stuck out his chin. “So let’s get this statement out. He won’t be so cocky when we’re suing his ass for libel and defamation of character.”

“You sure we want to go that route?” Curtis said quietly.

Sam fired him a look, but Curtis was avoiding his gaze.

“Of course he does,” Becky interjected, her eyes flashing. “Sam can’t just sit here and let that… man hint that he’s… well, it’s just….” She narrowed her eyes. “You know what would cook his goose? If we announced that Sam was gay, and that he and this Gary were secretly engaged. That’d make Hartsell look like a nasty piece of work, outing Sam like that and making him look all sleazy, when they were keeping it quiet so as not to detract from the campaign.” She gave Curtis an evil grin. “Yeah, they’d look all wholesome—a sweet, cute gay couple heading for marriage, and there’s him, trying to make the whole situation seem sordid.”

There was a stunned silence.

Sam was the first to react. “This is not the plot from a Will & Grace episode, all right?” His head was still reeling from her suggestion.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Josh straightened in his chair, his eyes shining. “You might have something there.”

Two heads swiveled in his direction, and from three mouths came the same word simultaneously: “What?”

Josh was nodding, his cheeks flushed. “This might work to our advantage.”

“Excuse me?” Sam was having a hard time dealing with this.

“Oh, come on,” Josh said with a cheeky grin. “Coming out is fashionable these days. Everybody’s doing it—actors, athletes, singers…. Since the SCOTUS decision last year, coming out is the new black.” He waggled his eyebrows. “It’d bring you a whole heap of new supporters, Sam.”

What the…?

Becky was on the edge of her seat. “Yeah. Let everyone see them as a committed couple, putting their relationship on hold until after the election. They’ve not been hiding it, exactly—they just want the focus to be on politics.”

“But—” The turn in the discussion left Sam gaping in amazement.

Josh waved a hand to hush him. “Yeah,” he said, nodding excitedly. “I like that. We do a press conference, break the story, get public opinion on our side, sympathy for the way Hartsell has portrayed their relationship—”

“What relationshi—”

Becky and Josh ignored Sam, lost in their own little world. “Oh my God!” Becky put her hand to her chest. “Can you imagine? The wedding? It would be so beautiful!”

“Wedding? What wed—”

“We’d have lots of photos taken of the happy couple, showing their life together. We could start up a Twitter account where they send cute little tweets to each other.” Josh grinned. “Move over, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Elton John and David Furnish, Ellen and Portia—they could become the gay couple of the decade.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Sam growled. When his staff jumped and turned to face him, he pointed to the outer door of his office. “You two,” he said, indicating Josh and Becky, “out, now.”

Becky gave him a startled glance before lurching to her feet and scooting out of the room, Josh following her with a perplexed expression.

Sam closed the door behind them and faced his chief of staff. “What. The. Fuck, Curtis?” He glared at his friend, his heart pounding, head aching.

Curtis regarded him calmly. “What have I been telling you?”

Sam stared at him, mouth open. “You… you’re not actually considering their harebrained scheme, are you?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

About the Author ~ K.C. Wells

Born and raised in the north-west of England, K.C. WELLS always loved writing. Words were important. Full stop. However, when childhood gave way to adulthood, the writing ceased, as life got in the way. K.C. discovered erotic fiction in 2009, when the purchase of a ménage storyline led to the startling discovery that reading about men in love was damn hot. In 2012, arriving at a really low point in life led to the desperate need to do something creative. An even bigger discovery waited in the wings—writing about men in love was even hotter….

K.C. now writes full-time and is loving every minute of her new career. The laptop still has no idea of what hit it… it only knows that it wants a rest, please. And it now has to get used to the idea that where K.C goes, it goes.

And as for those men in love that she writes about? The list of stories just waiting to be written is getting longer… and longer….

K.C. loves to hear from readers.

E-mail: k.c.wells@btinternet.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KCWellsWorld

Twitter: @K_C_Wells

Website: http://www.kcwellsworld.com

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Its Release Week for Dreamspun Desire’s The Senator’s Secret by K.C. Wells (excerpt and giveaway)

K.C. Wells – The Senator’s Secret

Giveaway

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words review of The Senator’s Secret by K.C. Well’s here.

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K.C. Wells – The Senator’s Secret

Giveaway

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words review of The Senator’s Secret by K.C. Well’s here.

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