Tag: A Mika Review

A Mika Review: Hoarfrost (Whyborne & Griffin #6) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 :

Hoarfrost coverSorcerer Percival Endicott Whyborne and his husband Griffin Flaherty have enjoyed an unprecedented stretch of peace and quiet. Unfortunately, the calm is shattered by the arrival of a package from Griffin’s brother Jack, who has uncovered a strange artifact while digging for gold in Alaska. The discovery of a previously unknown civilization could revive the career of their friend Dr. Christine Putnam—or it might kill them all, if the hints of dark sorcery surrounding the find are true. 

With Christine and her fiancé Iskander, Whyborne and Griffin must journey to the farthest reaches of the arctic to stop an ancient evil from claiming the life of Griffin’s brother. But in the rough mining camp of Hoarfrost, secrets fly as thickly as the snow, and Whyborne isn’t the only sorcerer drawn by the rumors of magic. Amidst a wilderness of ice and stone, Griffin must either face his greatest fear—or lose everyone he loves.

Seriously JLH! My feelings were screaming at me in this edition. Griffin, baby, I love you. He was hurting this entire book, and I wanted him to be just fine and dandy, but his HUSBAND Whyborne never let him down! I can’t even discuss the plot without giving it away. Let’s just say Griffin was right all along stemming from Chicago! I loved seeing Heliabel and Persephone again.

As usual this story continues on from the events in Bloodline, as Griffin & Whyborne plus Saul are still living together. Griffin is in a rut basically, something tragic happens, and he doesn’t know how to feel about it. Oh Ival, I loved that he stepped up to the plate. This is definitely a different Whyborne from 3 years ago. His confidence when it comes to Griffin has exceeded that of the past and his banter with Christine has multiplied. They set off to Alaska for the next archaeological dig! Christine and Iskander also are there with them. I love that Iskander is getting closer to Griffin, there’s a scene in the book where they both are reaffirming their beliefs about their significant others and it’s beautiful. They would do anything for Christine and Whyborne and vice versus. I love that everyone got an incorrect reading of him. He didn’t back down from anybody. We meet some interesting characters. Ummm, Jack… the verdict is still out on him. Reverend Sarrow I liked a lot and the rest were non-factors.

I really enjoyed this adventure, location and history language. I really appreciated the history on the civilization, and all the facts that just draws the readers in like we’re there with them. I love that JLH researches not only the setting, but the language people would have used in the time period as well. She continues to write about these amazing characters and I’ll continue to read it. I absolutely loved this one yet again.

Cover Art by: JLH, I am in love with this cover. It’s one of my favorite in this series. Whyborne is so beautifully done in this cover and I loved the coat.

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe)      Amazon        Buy It Here.

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: April 21st 2015 by Jordan L. Hawk
original titleHoarfrost
ISBN139781941230114
edition languageEnglish
url http://jordanlhawk.com/books/whyborne-griffin/
seriesWhyborne & Griffin #6
charactersGriffin Flaherty, Percival Endicott Whyborne

Series Whyborne & Griffin, books included in the order they were written and should be read:

  • Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin, #1)
  • Eidolon (Whyborne & Griffin, #1.5)
  • Threshold (Whyborne & Griffin, #2
  • Stormhaven (Whyborne & Griffin, #3)
  • Another Place In Time by Aleksandr Voinov
  • Remnant: A Caldwell & Feximal/Whyborne & Griffin Mystery (The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal; Whyborne & Griffin, #3.5) by K.J. Charles
  • Necropolis (Whyborne & Griffin, #4)
  • Bloodline (Whyborne & Griffin, #5)
  • Harmony (Whyborne & Griffin #5.5)
  • Hoarfrost (Whyborne & Griffin, #6

In The Spotlight: Defined by Deceit by A.E. Via (excerpt and giveaway)

Defined by Deceit cover
DEFINED BY DECEIT by A.E. Via
Release Date: March 27, 2015

STRW In The Spotlight Header

A.E. Via is a author new to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.  Her latest novel is releasing shortly and we thought to give you all a sneak peak and a chance to win 3 copes of the story.  Check out the synopsis and excerpt from Defined by Deceit and check out Mika’s Review as well.  Further contest details are listed at the end.  On to Defined by Deceit by A. E. Via!

Book Details:Defined By Deceit Teaser 1

M/M Contemporary Romance
Edited by: Tina Adamski
Cover Art by: Jay Aheer
eBook, 300 Pages

Buy Links:      Amazon   AllRomance (ARe)  Barnes & Noble

 

 

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Life isn’t always fair, and that’s something that Llewellyn Gardner knows about first hand. His life was on the fast track until one night of extreme passion changed everything.

Now eight years later, he’s still living with the aftershocks of that night. Everywhere he turns or runs, there’s another reminder. What the hell do you do when you try to drown your demons only to find out they can swim?

Shane Smith, Jr. owner of Smith Construction, could see the emotional turmoil within his new employee — it’s why he hired him. There was something about the gorgeous, misunderstood man with the overly expressive eyes that came to their small town with a past no one was willing to overlook. Shane could see the good in Llewellyn, and those eyes of his were a clear window to his soul. Shane wasn’t going to let the man live a future of solitude because his past had been plagued with deceit.

Llewellyn wasn’t sure what to think about Shane. After years of protecting himself from being tricked twice, he was now faced with worry again. What would happen to him if Shane didn’t believe his truth, and walked away? Llewellyn wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive being left alone. Again.

00000 Defined By Deceit Teaser

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt
A guy with black hair and a blond Mohawk wiped the bar top with a rag as he asked him, “What can I get you?”

Llew nodded his head in the direction of the taps. “Budweiser.”

“Regular or tall?”

“Tall.” Llew watched the man pull his drink and set it in front of him. He looked up at Llew for a split second before dropping his eyes. “Four fifty. Or do you want to start a tab?”

Setting a five-dollar bill on the counter was Llew’s answer. He turned and looked out over the dance floor, watching the men move about in the most carefree nature he’d ever seen. Men free to live and do as they wanted. Not a problem in the world. What the fuck am I doing here? Just as Llew was going to down the last of his beer, a small hand brushed over his bicep. He looked down at the fair-skinned fingers before looking up into beautiful green eyes.

“Hello.”

Llew looked at the man who was standing close enough for him to smell his sweet perfume. He wasn’t as young as lot of the guys there. Probably early thirties. He wore a preppy gray and green sweater and blue jeans. His smile was wide and genuine as he slowly rubbed his hand up to Llew’s shoulder.

“My name is Gene. My friends and I saw you come in, and you know what I said as soon as I saw you?”

Llew continued to watch this man, not responding to his questions.

“I said I thought you could use a hug. You look so serious. My friends said I’m crazy, but I have a gift for reading people.”

You don’t want to read my story.

“What’s your name? I’ve never seen you here before.” The guy had moved in even closer to Llew’s side, and was practically whispering in his ear so he didn’t have to yell over the annoying techno music blaring from the five thousand speakers all over the building.

His eyes had seemed to slip shut on their own as he turned his head into the silky skin brushing against his beard. “Llew,” he said, hoarsely.

“Lou… just Lou.” The guy looked at him disbelievingly.

“Llewellyn.” He clarified, his eyes scanning over the lithe chest beneath that sweater.

“Oh. Okay. I gotcha. So how about it, Llew?” Gene brought both hands up and draped them on Llew’s shoulders. “Can you use a hug?”

He let the man pull him closer; his long arms completely over his shoulders and linked behind his head. Llew had to admit it was a really nice hug. It wasn’t the type you’d give a stranger. It was intimate and suggestive. Llew brought one hand up and slid it around the guy’s trim waist. “There. How’s that feel?” Gene’s lips were pressed against his ear while he talked, his hot breath fanning over the side of Llew’s neck. Instead of pulling back and ending the hug, Gene kept him wrapped up. “You’re a very handsome man, Llew. Do you hear that a lot?” Gene chuckled. “Probably all the time.”

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

A.E. Via is still a fairly new author in the beautiful gay erotic genre. Her writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to spicy to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.

When she’s not clicking away at her laptop, she devotes herself to her family—a husband and four children, her two pets, a Maltese dog and her white Siamese cat, ELynn, named after the late, great gay romance author E. Lynn Harris.1450800_225532627620034_2097788792_n

While this is only her seventh novel, she has plenty more to come. So stalk her – she loves that – because the male on male action is just heating up!

Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on upcoming work, free reads, and where she’ll appear next.

Contact/Follow the Author at:

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Contest:  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.   Ebooks provided by the author.  A. E. Via is  offering our followers a giveaway of three free copies to three winners.  To enter to win, leave a comment below and an email address where you can be reached!  Contest ends May 4th, EDT at midnight.

A Mika Review: You In My Arms (The Sunset Club #1) by A.C. Katt

Rating: 2.75 stars out of 5 star

You in My Arms coverJason’s priorities are non-negotiable: take care of his sister; keep a roof over their heads; go back to school eventually. Can one club owner make it easier to uphold his priorities and maybe add him to the list? 

Jason Monroe had to leave school to be the guardian of his sister Kitty when his dad and step-mom die in a car crash. He’s working two jobs to keep them afloat, but their boat is leaking much like the roof of their old house. Jason doesn’t have time for love that is until Zach Montgomery, the owner of the Sunset Club, the premier gay club on the Jersey Shore comes calling.

I love kids, and tragedy together. You In My Arms by A.C.. Katt has both.  I honestly liked the characters. Of course we had a crude guy who didn’t do relationships, because hey, that’s what appeals to people. I knew right off the back his tune was going to change once he met the right person. I think it has the potential to be a 4 star book if the author went in with a red pen and crossed out most of the communication between the two. On my goodness, these people TALKED too damn much. It was so scatter-brained between everyone. I mean, come on, one minute one topic then the next it’s tears and run on sentences. I actually didn’t see the chemistry building up between the two so fast. One minute they were in the bar talking, the next Zach bogarts his way into Jason’s life.

I actually liked how devoted Jason was to taking care of his sister. But some things in the story? I don’t know if I believed in them well enough because its as though Jason had blinders on. Zach definitely moved fast when it came to Jason, I mean super fast. All in all, it was okay. I enjoyed the premise more than the execution.

Cover Art by: WinterHeart design. I think the design team got it backwards. Zach is supposed to be the older burnet guy, where as on the cover he looks the youngest. Jason was the 22 yr old blond and he looks middle aged to me. I think it could have been better.

Sales Links:   MLR Books       All Romance (ARe)         Amazon           Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 166 pages
Published March 19th 2015 by ManLove Romance Press
ASINB00UZIXQ58
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Sunset Club #1

A Mika Review: Crash & Burn (Cut & Run #9) by Abigail Roux

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 :

Crash & Burn coverIt’s been five years since Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett first worked together to solve the Tri-State murders, and time has been both harsh and kind. Engaged now, they face the challenge of planning a deeply uncertain future together. Zane is at the pinnacle of his career with one last mystery to solve, while Ty is at sea in a world where he’s no longer the tip of a spear.

There’s just one more hurdle in the way of their happy ever after: a traitor from their inner circle who threatens to burn their world to the ground.

Squeezed between the Vega cartel, an unknown mole, and too many alphabet agencies to count, Ty and Zane must gather all their strength and resources to beat the longest odds they’ve ever faced. To make it out alive, they’ll need help from every friend they’ve got. Even the friends who might betray their trust.

I love you, Ty & Zane, you both have opened up so many people’s eyes and hearts with your love for each other. I will never be able to talk about my m/m love without ever mentioning you guys!

 I’m so proud of myself for being able to read this without spoiling it for people. I basically updated my reading status and that’s it. I was a nervous wreck reading this book. I missed the email when I got home yesterday because I was watching Being Mary Jane and her antics. Then I decided to grab my kindle during the commercial break and holy S*&%$ it was there. I started reading straight through. I think I took one bathroom break, and grabbed a box of Kleenex.

I was worried how Abigail Roux was going to wrap up an entire series in one book. She did it. I was happy with everything that happened between these two. I laughed, cried, was on edge until that very end. Everyone knows I am absolutely Team Zane, but you can’t be Team Zane without being Team Ty as well, they just don’t work well without each other.

This book had some of the emotional scenes every throughout the entire series. I loved that she brought back the gang together, threw in some old faces, family and everything came full circle. There are some things that I am confused or don’t believe it should have happened, but it’s something I’m going to have to deal with. I don’t have the usual words of my loving reviews because this is fresh after sleep and I’m still sensitive to the acts involved in this book. I think everything flowed together. I want to write about my favorite scenes but I can’t without spoiling it. I’m just going to smile while thinking of them.

Do I wish down the line we can see the company man? Sure, I actually hope to see them sooner than later. I love the dedication, strength and love that Ty and Zane decided to dedicate to each other. Thank you two for sticking together for us. Thank you , Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux for bringing these two into the world.

Cover Art by L.C. Chase, One big explosion is definitely right. From page 1 to the very end it’s non stop with the twist and turns. I liked it. I would have preferred them as a couple but that’s hopeless wishing!

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing     All Romance (ARe)      Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 419 pages
Published March 28th 2015 by Riptide Publishing (first published March 1st 2015)
original titleCrash & Burn
ISBN139781626492028
edition languageEnglish
seriesCut & Run #9
charactersTy Grady, Julian Cross, Preston, Nick O’Flaherty, Liam Bell

A Mika Review: More than Anything by T.T. Kove

Rating: 4.5 star out of 5 stars

More Than Anything coverArriving home after work one evening, Jørgen sees a young man who looks adrift and out of place—and who promptly has a seizure on the sidewalk. Jørgen takes care of him until the seizure passes and then, not knowing who to contact, takes care of him for the night. After giving the kid, Geir, a ride home the next morning, he expects that to be the end of it.

He doesn’t expect Geir to be a student at the vocational school where Jørgen works as an electrician. He definitely does not expect to be drawn to Geir time and again, to want things that will never be possible for two people with more obstacles between them than can ever be overcome.

This was a first for me by this author. I truly enjoyed this book. I was taken aback by some things, but I have to remember that there are rules outside North America. LOL. 

I didn’t know how I would feel about a 16 yr old being in a relationship with a 22 yr old, but T.T. Kove surely wrote it beautifully.

Geir was so amazing; all he wanted was a mate. I found myself tearing up whenever he would talking about being lonely, hell they didn’t tease him for being gay, no, these insensitive ass children teased him for having Epilepsy something he has no freaking control over. I was so pissed off at every push, hit, taunting. I know a book has affected me when I want to step inside Geir’s school and deal with the bullies instead of him. I was mad as hell his father left his 3 weeks out the month for work. I understand him having to have a job, but not noticing anything about your only child until he got hit in the face was crazy.

I don’t have children yet, and I am the first to not judge a parent but really liked he was super lonely, and the first person to show him an ounce of kindness outside of family was the tragic boy himself Jorgen. I know he isn’t a boy, but when he was, no one protected him at all. Reading that letter he wrote to Geir literally broke me in to pieces. 

Both of these guys stepped outside themselves and decided to trust each other.

I like Daniel & Thomas. I wish we had more fathers, uncles, and role models like this in the world. 

I had a couple of issues but they were my personal beliefs so I couldn’t factor those into my rating. Why not 5 stars? Well I really wanted to know more about Kay, since he was brought up more times. I also would have liked an epilogue. What is happening since Geir moved it? At the end of the day I truly loved this book, I devoured it and surely I want more. Can’t wait for book 2.

Cover Art by T.T. Kove. I actually liked the cover a lot. I liked that it showed Geir right in his moment; it showed him going forward in his life.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press       All Romance (ARe)       Amazon        Buy It Here
Book Details:

ebook, 380 pages
Published September 24th 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC
original titleMore Than Anything
ISBN139781620044292
edition languageEnglish
seriesMore Than Anything #1
charactersJørgen Lister, Geir Berger settingSmall town (Norway) (Norway)

A Mika Review: Defined by Deceit by A.E. Via

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Defined by Deceit coverLife isn’t always fair, and that’s something that Llewellyn Gardner knows about first hand. His life was on the fast track until one night of extreme passion changed everything. Now eight years later, he’s still living with the aftershocks of that night. Everywhere he turns or runs, there’s another reminder. What the hell do you do when you try to drown your demons only to find out they can swim?

Shane Smith, Jr. owner of Smith Construction, could see the emotional turmoil within his new employee — it’s why he hired him. There was something about the gorgeous, misunderstood man with the overly expressive eyes that came to their small town with a past no one was willing to overlook. Shane could see the good in Llewellyn, and those eyes of his were a clear window to his soul. Shane wasn’t going to let the man live a future of solitude because his past had been plagued with deceit.

Llewellyn wasn’t sure what to think about Shane. After years of protecting himself from being tricked twice, he was now faced with worry again. What would happen to him if Shane didn’t believe his truth, and walked away? Llewellyn wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive being left alone. Again.

I’m shocked and in awe of this book. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t read this author for her writing skills or plots at all. I strictly went into reading this book because she writes good SMUT. OMG, Tamika, be still with your tongue until you know next time. She has surprised me, with emotions that I haven’t gotten out of her yet. Man the first 50% of this story had me in constant tears. I literally wanted to go to inbred, backwoods Virginia (Just my personal opinion, excuse me if this isn’t you =) ) and rip a new hole in Moss the sixth! I literally wanted to destroy him with everything I had in me. After my initial shock and treatment of Llewellyn I wanted to try to see where this was going to go.

I can’t really say much without giving up the plot. A.E. Via,  if you are reading this please write a book for Ace & Big Waldo!!! Please, I’m begging you. Back to the story, Llew has to get his life together and it’s not easy. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes. It was so heartbreaking what he went through, but he is a survivor. One thing that surprised me was when he was confronted with his past. He let it go, and his reasoning made sense. Whereas I wanted what Shane wanted, revenge, anger and everything else, but that didn’t matter because Llew is an awesome guy.

Let’s talk about Shane Smith Jr, he gave a guy a chance when the entire world turned his back on him. Shane’s spirit was just a breath of fresh air. Honestly I didn’t think he had a mean bone in his body but he definitely isn’t a pushover. I liked how the relationship between the two progressed. I absolutely loved the scene between Big Daddy and Shane. Their relationship made sense in a way, which I would like to see in more m/m books with the southern states as the setting. The supporting cast was good. Leslie is a great brother; Ms. Pat was good as well. I really am impressed with this book, and can’t wait to see if we get a follow-up!

. Cover Art by.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe)       Amazon         Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 300 pages
Published March 26th 2015 by Via Star Wings Publishing
original titleDefined By Deceit
ISBN139780990608981
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.authoraevia.com/new-release

 

A Mika Review: Young at Heart by Kay Ellis

Rating: 1 star out of 5 stars

Young at HeartDevon Alexander is a wealthy successful businessman. The world is his oyster. In his work life he is decisive and in control.

His private life is another matter.

There, he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going in his on-off relationship with Jesse Young, an unemployed aspiring model half his age.

Can Devon and Jesse overcome the obstacles and outside influences standing in their way? Can they leave behind their own fear and mistrust? Or will they be their own worst enemies?

Okay I think I have the right to be harsh when writing this review of Young at Heart by Kay Ellis. This is present day setting London. I don’t have a problem with their age at all. One was 40 and the other was 18. Fine when you are a legal adult, that’s your decision to deal with it. I HAD a big freaking issue when the “grown up” in this situation goes to pick up his boyfriend and finds him disheveled crying, alcohol on his breath and you don’t take him to emergency room. My biggest issue in reading this story was Jesse being “forced” because they don’t want to use the word rape doesn’t get any medical attention, mental attention. Like who are these people. Devon was dumb, naive, stupid for his age. He seriously should have known better. He’s a millionaire playboy who usually does background on all his boyfriends yet this one time you didn’t, and turns out he’s 18 instead of 20. You find out he’s been abused since he was 13 yrs old and then you turn around and have sex with him after one of these times because you couldn’t over power him to stop him. No protection throughout this book. It was disgusting. Your best friend forced himself on Jesse twice and you weren’t man enough to make him see that you didn’t want to be around.

Jesse is not an angel, if fact he does a lot of things that he shouldn’t have had to. He also goes from this bad boy, bad attitude domineering guy to a damn church mouse. I just can’t with this train wreck, oh and just make matters worse let’s throw a baby in the mix. The mystery kid came out of no where. So all in all this was not for me, the concept was okay. The delivery of it was not.

Cover Art by Jay’s Cover by Design. This is the only thing I really liked about this book. The cover was done nice and I liked it.

Sales Links: Wayward Ink Publishing   All Romance (ARe)   Amazon   Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 129 pages
Published March 6th 2015 by Wayward Ink Publishing
ASINB00TE9XMRG
edition languageEnglish
url https://www.facebook.com/kay.ellis.79274