Tag: JMS Books LLC

A Caryn Review: The Mistletoe Kiss by Ruby Moone

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Another lovely little piece of holiday fluff!  With just enough Victorian flavor to make you think about Dickens without becoming a parody of A Christmas Carol.

Christy Shaw is a young man who came back from the Napoleonic wars to find his father dead, and his mother remarried to an abusive drunkard.  Jobs were hard to come by, and it sounds like Christy was pretty much homeless when he found a cosy little bookshop in which to come in out of the cold.  The proprietor of the bookshop, Lawrence Fenton, offered him a job, and over the following months – maybe about a year? – Christy made himself indispensable.  He found ways to make the shop more inviting, which led to more profits, and eventually he was there full time, and usually for a few hours before opening, just to enjoy spending time with Mr. Fenton.

Lawrence Fenton was a widower who had pretty much given up on happiness, and was just existing from day to day when Christy started coming into his shop.  There was something about Christy that just drew him, and although he tried to remain somewhat distant and aloof, he started looking forward to spending time with Christy, and anticipating his needs.  Little by little he learned more about Christy, and offered more of himself, until the working relationship within the store was a joy to both of them.  They both also secretly pined after the other, but didn’t dare let that interest show.

The Christmas season in this version of Victorian London was just as busy for retailers as our modern Christmas shopping season is, and just as much in need of appropriate decoration.  Christy was the man to take care of that – charming, vivacious, and energetic, to Lawrence’s shy, protective, and businesslike attitude, and when the decorations included a bit of mistletoe, why, it felt natural for Christy to give Lawrence a swift peck on the cheek.  But that little peck changed everything…

The secondary characters of Christy’s mother, her abusive husband, and the kind elderly widow who became a regular of the shop allowed a little side plot to develop – that of how family and neighbors react to violence against women and children, and that, I think, was handled a little bit more realistically to the era – i.e. husbands could basically do what they wanted without fear of reprisal.  The transformation of the bookshop into a little Barnes and Noble clone, not so much.  The characterization was a little inconsistent – Christy exhibiting some alpha male behaviors, and Lawrence getting ready to use his ninja fighting skills – but it wasn’t too hard to overlook and just enjoy the general sweetness of the story.

Cover art by Written Ink Designs was OK, nothing inspired, and the models certainly don’t seem to be like either of the MCs.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

ebook, 89 pages
Published December 9th 2017 by JMS Books LLC
ISBN139781634865531
Edition LanguageEnglish

Review Tour and Giveaway for Ruby Moone’s The Mistletoe Kiss

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 26,600 words
 
Publisher: JMS Books
 
Blurb


By 1816, widowed bookseller Lawrence Fenton has spent a lonely lifetime hiding who he is. He has convinced himself his feelings for his far too young, gorgeous, but troubled assistant Christy Shaw are nothing more than pride in his protégé and concern for his plight.


Christy’s life involves walking fine lines: one between his mother and his abusive stepfather, one where he must keep his needs hidden, and hardest of all, one where he must keep his feelings for his serious employer to himself.


Lame since birth, Lawrence cannot imagine anyone wanting him, least of all Christy. But when Christy’s life threatens to spiral out of control, Lawrence steps in. Then Christy’s emotions spill over into a kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas. Will Lawrence be able to face the long-buried truth about himself and keep Christy by his side?

 



December 12 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, Sexy Erotic Xciting
December 14 – Valerie Ullmer, BooksLaidBareBoys, Urban Smoothie Read
December 18 – My Book Filled Life, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
December 20 – Hearts On Fire Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews
December 22 – Drops Of Ink, Bayou Book Junkie, Au Boudior Ecarlate, Making It Happen

 

Author Bio
 

Ruby lives in Lancashire in the northwest of England. All through school she was told she would never get anywhere if she didn’t stop daydreaming. Eventually it occurred to her to write down the daydreams, and voilà! The beautiful men in her head came to life. Ruby writes historical and contemporary gay romance but has a definite weakness for handsome men in billowing white shirts, breeches, and cravats. Oh, and she loves tea. Lots of tea.



Facebook – Ruby Moone
Twitter – @RubyMooneWriter
Website and Blog – www.rubymoone.com
Email ñ rubymoone@gmail.com

Giveaway

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Release Blitz for Ruby Moone’s The Mistletoe Kiss ( giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 26,600 words
 
Publisher: JMS Books
 
Blurb


By 1816, widowed bookseller Lawrence Fenton has spent a lonely lifetime hiding who he is. He has convinced himself his feelings for his far too young, gorgeous, but troubled assistant Christy Shaw are nothing more than pride in his protégé and concern for his plight.

Christy’s life involves walking fine lines: one between his mother and his abusive stepfather, one where he must keep his needs hidden, and hardest of all, one where he must keep his feelings for his serious employer to himself.

Lame since birth, Lawrence cannot imagine anyone wanting him, least of all Christy. But when Christy’s life threatens to spiral out of control, Lawrence steps in. Then Christy’s emotions spill over into a kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas. Will Lawrence be able to face the long-buried truth about himself and keep Christy by his side?


 

Author Bio
 

Ruby lives in Lancashire in the northwest of England. All through school she was told she would never get anywhere if she didn’t stop daydreaming. Eventually it occurred to her to write down the daydreams, and voilà! The beautiful men in her head came to life. Ruby writes historical and contemporary gay romance but has a definite weakness for handsome men in billowing white shirts, breeches, and cravats. Oh, and she loves tea. Lots of tea.



Facebook – Ruby Moone
Twitter – @RubyMooneWriter
Website and Blog – www.rubymoone.com
Email ñ rubymoone@gmail.com

Giveaway

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A Stella Review: Officer Charming and the Prince Who Wooed Him by Sarah Hadley Brook

RATING 4 out of 5 stars

Officer Chad Charming absolutely does not believe in love at first sight, or even love at all. Apple Grove is famous for their Fairy Tale Parade, and Chad is working when a horse carrying the parade’s Prince Charming kicks him, landing him in the hospital.

Jeff Garner’s family has a history of love at first sight and the local high school drama teacher is mortified when his horse kicks the sexiest man he’s ever seen. One look and he knows Chad’s the man for him.

Jeff sets out to woo the man, even though Chad makes it clear he isn’t looking for a relationship. While Chad recovers from his injuries, the two become close, but can Chad ever get past the idea love isn’t real and allow himself to love his very own Prince Charming?

Chad is a police officer who moved to the little town Apple Grove just some months ago to escape  the big city life. During a parade, a man on a horse jumps on Chad and he ends in hospital. Jeff is cute, a theatre teacher, not at all Chad’s type. Still his brown eyes and button nose are too much to be resisted and Chad falls for him, even if he isn’t actually looking for a relationship. But Jeff is stubborn and his determination to woo Chad too strong.

I soon fell into the MCs’ lives and liked them from the start, and  together they were perfect and cute. They were good persons, caring and loving and loved by everyone. 

I adored this story! It simply was exactly what I needed, something super sweet and quick. I read it in a one stand just before bed and it put me in a good mood. It made me believe in love at first sight and dream of Prince Charming. Almost a fairytale story. And sometimes this is what I look for in a book.

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is cute like the story, it’s well done and fitting and I like the colors and font used.

Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC  | Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 89 pages

Published October 28th 2017 by JMS Books LLC

ASIN B076N443HZ

Edition Language English

An Alisa Review: Finding Persimmon by R.W. Clinger

Rating:  2.5 stars out of 5

 

Tea company owner Tate Blackwood isn’t just in search of the perfect persimmon-flavored tea; he’s also looking for a good time. Many one-night stands are his thing. There’s no way he’ll have a boyfriend, or fall in love with another man.

 

Enter Paul Persimmon, the green-eyed owner of a little bookshop in downtown Channing, Pennsylvania. Tate thinks the man is honest, warm-hearted, and uninhibited. When Tate enters the bookshop, his life takes a quick turn. Although Persimmon insists on a date with Tate, Tate thinks another one-night stand will happen.

 

Is Tate too set in his ways to settle down with one man, though? Can he reach for love after finding Persimmon? Or is his relationship more about being best buds with Persimmon? Only time and persimmon tea will provide the answers to his steeping questions.

 

Hmm… I have given myself a few days to think about this story but it still doesn’t make much sense to me.  Tate only wants hook-ups and supposedly completely forgets any of them even exist or anything about them afterwards, except he even thinks about one and knows details about the person.  While Paul says he won’t push and tries to essentially keep his “honor” he does the opposite of what he says.

 

Tate suddenly wants to get to know Paul but continues to push him away.  I had trouble with both of the characters sudden switches in behavior and attitudes towards each other and their relationship, I felt like they were ping ponging all over the place.  This was alright for a quick read but it just did not get put together all that well.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is gives a nice visual of Tate.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 65 pages

Published: September 30, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634864640

Edition Language: English

An Alisa Review: For Better or For Worse by Emery C. Walters

Rating:  2 stars out of 5

 

It was just going to be a simple Spanish fabada bean and chorizo soup from his grandmother’s favorite recipe. Jake hoped for a nice meal and a better time with his widower father. His dad didn’t seem homophobic, but he just didn’t get that Jake was gay. A quiet dinner might clear the air.

 

But the trip to the supermarket was a disaster involving a bear and some sausage. Then his dad showed up accompanied by a health aide who isn’t quite what she seems. And the bear shows up, too.

 

Stress and rum piles up. Will Jake’s father get a new grandson? Does Jake have a bear in the kitchen and in the bedroom, too? Is this meal one big happy family gathering, or an even bigger disaster?

 

So, I went into this story thinking it would be a short, funny and romantic story, it was not.  This just felt like a big mess to me.  Jake seemed relaxed and calm about his dinner with his father and suddenly he’s inviting someone to join them but forgets to mention it to either.  This was a mess up of misunderstanding and “relationships” that didn’t add up either.  I’m not sure what seemed to push Jake to the bottom of the bottle but it couldn’t have been as new as it seemed for everything to happen the way it did.

 

The cover art by Written Ink Designs is a sweet picture of the characters cooking together, it just doesn’t go with the actual story.

 

Sales Links: JMS Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 40 pages

Published: September 23, 2017 by JMS Books

ISBN: 9781634864626

Edition Language: English