A MelanieM Review: Back Home by RJ Scott

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Falling for his brother’s boyfriend broke his heart. Now he’s back home and falling in love all over again.

One birthday kiss, given on a dare, and Kieran realizes he is in danger of falling for his brother’s boyfriend, Jordan. Leaving for college, then moving to another country is the only way to ease the ache in his heart.

But, when his father becomes ill, and his sister begs him to come home, Kieran returns for good. He finds the family business nearly bankrupt and Jordan, the man he ran from, beaten down by despair and guilt.

Friendship is what they promise each other as they work to repair the business, but it could never be enough for Kieran. When secrets spill, and there are vital decisions to be made, Kieran realizes two things; he’s back home, and he wants to stay with Jordan for good.

Now he just needs to convince Jordan.

Back Home by RJ Scott is a story a second chance at love given to two men layed deep in guilt, linked by a family and a man they both loved, one as a brother, one as a lover and partner. RJ Scott delivers the story from Jordan and Kiernan’s perspective, a necessary format so the reader can see both how differently they see each other and how certain events looked but also so we can connect intimately with each man. And connect we do.

We see Kieran giving up his job and life in London to return home, unaware of the disaster awaiting him at almost every level. He just thinks he’s going to have to deal with his father’s illness and having to see Jordan one more. Instead he’s walking into a catastrophe. We feel sorry for him but not as bad as we feel for Jordan who’s pushed himself to the point of dying. His despair, his pain rolls off the page it reads so real. The story and gulf in between these two is one that is slowly revealed over the storyline.

I must say RJ Scott writes a wonderful anguished relationship, especially one borne out over time. All the secrets buried here get revealed at the right time, and the family that supports these men, no matter what, are an excellent secondary cast. It makes for a terrifically engaging story. Plus she throws in 2 villains that get their comeuppance by the end of Back Home in way that will make you cheer.

Love a second chance at love romance with angst and a HEA? Check out Back Home by RJ Scott! It’s one I absolutely recommend!

Cover art by Meredith Russell works for both the characters and storyline. Terrific.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 4th edition

Published May 24th 2017 by Love Lane Books Limited (first published April 1st 2011)

URL http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/back-home.html

setting Vermont (United States)

A MelanieM Review Tour: Moments by RJ Scott

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

An actor on possession charges, hell bent on destroying his own life meets a man who quietly works to make the world a better place.

Jacob Riley is a typical Hollywood former child star with issues. He has already done prison time and at the age of twenty-six has been arrested again.

Ethan Myers is the owner and manager of Macs, an education center providing teaching and learning to local low income families. Losing his partner to cancer leaves him lost and alone and he buries himself in his work to start to mend his broken heart.

Sparks fly when Jacob has to complete his community service at Macs. Their relationship grows against a background of disenfranchised street gang members, arson, the Oscars, and despite their prejudices.

Can Jacob Riley be saved?

RJ Scott has a clear eyed view of addiction and its effects on the person in the center but all of those around them. Moments pulls us into the ugly mindset of Jacob at the beginning of the story, making it clear to the reader what his self destructive life style is costing him and how it is hurting those next to him. Jacob is deep in self denial, easily placing the blame for all his problems everywhere but where it belongs, on himself. Jacob is a dislikable piece of work, and Scott has done her homework on addictions when creating a portrait of a man whose life is spiraling out of control. It is realistic, and absolutely believable. It will take half the story before the reader will start to connect with Jacob but we do and then we start to hope that he will find his way clear.

Scott’s other characters are equally complex and endearing, from Ethan to those secondary characters whose lives are enriched by Mac’s. Scott gives the reader a real feel for the spirit of community that exists in such a situation as well as the dangers that are inherent by locating the center near active gang influences. The author has a number of plot threads in motion in the story, almost too many to fully explore in this length book. I could wish that the gang element had been enlarged, especially considering the importance it plays in the lives of three characters so central to the story. Certain gang members appear, act accordingly as gangs would and then disappear for the rest of the novel. And another surprising element occurs late in the story with no hint that it might occur earlier in the narrative. It would have been nice to have laid a foundation for such actions earlier because for me to have that person act as they did made no sense as far as their personality and character was concerned. Sorry to be vague, but necessary so as not to give away any spoilers.

But those concerns aside, Moments has a terrific story to tell and RJ Scott delivers it concisely, and with great clarity about her subject. I connected with these characters and that kept me by their sides every step of the way to the end. Don’t hesitate to pick this one up!

Cover art by Meredith Russell is nice and works for the character but I would have liked to have more content involved in the design.

Sales Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2nD5vcE

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2nDg1k2

Book Details:

ebook, 3rd edition
Published April 12th 2017 by Love Lane Books Limited (first published October 23rd 2010)
URL http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/moments-re-issue-coming-12-april.html

A MelanieM Recent Release Review: The Case of the Guilty Ghost (End Street Detective Agency #6) by R.J. Scott and Amber Kell

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Bob is lost in grief, Sam is fighting for his life, and there is no middle ground. Can their love survive?

Bob is grieving over his brother’s sacrifice. Guilt-ridden and devastated, he buries himself in vampire mourning and pulls away from Sam.

Magic tears Sam from the vampire castle and he has to face new adversaries alone, when all he wants is Bob at his side.

Ettore is in the Aset Ka waiting room, next in line for the ceremony for his soul to be torn from his body. Aset Ka has other plans, and Ettore finds himself reunited with a lost love and fighting alongside his brother.

A forgotten past binds Theodore ‘Teddy’ McCurray Constantine III to Ettore, and with the curse tied to Ettore broken by his death, Teddy’s past returns to him with a vengeance.

A royal family in denial, a battle between gods, and long forgotten love leaves no time for Sam and Bob to take a breath. Is it too late to save the supernatural world?

The last book in a series always has an enormous job to do. It can’t simply tell its story, no it has to wrap all up the loose ends and dangling plot threads from multiple couples and books that came before it. How it does all that and tell its story will leave the reader either feeling really good about the series and couple/couples or feeling that they’ve missed something and that it all fell rather flat. Or even, quelle horror, a waste of their time! What a burden placed on that last novel!

I’m so happy to report that The Case of the Guilty Ghost wraps things up quite nicely for everyone at the End Street Detective Agency and even gave us a look at the future that left me all aglow as they say. Nothing so wonderful as bringing a series full circle as the authors did here. I’ll say right at the beginning that it doesn’t get the full 5 stars because someone coming into the story without reading all the previous books would be quite lost. You need to have read all the others to have a firm foundation and fix on the characters and situations already established at page 1, starting with the grieving Bob. Yes, I still love a vampire called Bob.

I also thought this was the weakest link here. There’s no real reason for Bob to separate himself from his family during this time of mourning. Everyone seems to be telling Bob to buckup and bring at least Sam there to help him through this. But of course, Sam’s presence is needed elsewhere and Bob won’t soon be mourning. So begins an action packed supernatural adventure that brings so many characters together one last time. We learn who and what Sam truly is, a mystery that ran throughout the series. How that bracelet Sam wears comes into play and a outstanding fight to end all fights at the end. And our Terry, the resident ghost of End Street Detective Agency? Well, he figures into this in a huge way as well. Oh and did I mention there’s sex too? That too, lots of that.

If a plot is tied up too neatly, well, ok. I thought that banishment was quick and pretty handy. But the rest of the story was so good and answered so many of my questions, that I’m willing to overlook something so expedient as that. Plus it worked within the narrative, so I’m happy even if I wanted something a little more complicated. Sam, Bob and daughter Mal have their HEA as do our other favorite characters. That’s what I wanted here and what I got with a lot of suspense and acton along the way.

Then Amber Kell and RJ Scott threw in the marvelous Epilogue and brought things full circle. That was just delightful and left me smiling even more. I could walk away from the End Street Detective Agency happy and content.

Cover design by Meredith Russell is perfect for the characters and storyline.

Sales Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2mYNrYY

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2nDMEK6

Book Details:

ebook, 164 pages
Published March 15th 2017 by Love Lane Books Limited
ISBN139781785640759
SeriesEnd Street Detective Agency #6

Review Tour & Giveaway – The Case Of The Guilty Ghost (End Street Book #6) by Amber Kell by RJ Scott

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2mYNrYY

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2nDMEK6

Length: 111 pages

Cover: Meredith Russell

Series

End Street Vol 1 – Amazon US | Amazon UK
End Street Vol 2 – Amazon US | Amazon UK
The Case of the Purple Pearl – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Bob is lost in grief, Sam is fighting for his life, and there is no middle ground. Can their love survive?

Bob is grieving over his brother’s sacrifice. Guilt-ridden and devastated, he buries himself in vampire mourning and pulls away from Sam.

Magic tears Sam from the vampire castle and he has to face new adversaries alone, when all he wants is Bob at his side.

A forgotten past binds Theodore ‘Teddy’ McCurray Constantine III to Ettore, and with the curse tied to Ettore broken by his death, Teddy’s past returns to him with a vengeance.

A royal family in denial, a battle between gods, and long forgotten love leaves no time for Sam and Bob to take a breath. Is it too late to save the supernatural world?

Author Bios

Amber Kell has made a career out of daydreaming. It has been a lifelong habit she practices diligently as shown by her complete lack of focus on anything not related to her fantasy world building.

When she told her husband what she wanted to do with her life, he told her to go have fun.
During those seconds she isn’t writing, she remembers she has children who humor her with games of ‘what if’ and let her drag them to foreign lands to gather inspiration. Her youngest confided in her that he wants to write because he longs for a website and an author name—two things apparently necessary to be a proper writer.

Despite her husband’s insistence she doesn’t drink enough to be a true literary genius, she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.

She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a puppy who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.

Website: http://www.amberkell.com
E-mail: amberkellwrites@gmail.com

Author Bio

RJ Scott is the bestselling romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

mailto:rj@rjscott.co.uk
www.rjscott.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/author.rjscott?ref=ts&amp;fref=ts
www.goodreads.com/author/show/3432558.R_J_Scott
twitter.com/Rjscott_author
www.librarything.com/author/scottrj

Giveaway

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Cover Reveal for By The Numbers (Sanctuary #10) by RJ Scott

Release Date: April 25

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Blurb

Sometimes the only way to stay alive is to shoot first.

Brandon Hoselton was running scared. With his family threatened he felt he had nowhere left to go and even considered ending his life to keep them safe. Until Sanctuary, in the shape of the enigmatic Daniel Karnes, gives him a reason to stay alive and offers the possibility of a future free from fear.

Daniel is new to Sanctuary, tasked with watching Brandon, a brilliant geek with a wicked sense of humor. Falling in love with the man is way too easy, now he just has to make sure they can stay together.

The only way of taking down Varga is to cut off his money, and the two men become part of an intricate take-down involving millions of dollars in uncut diamonds.

But Brandon knows too much, Daniel has secrets he can never share, and their new love is at stake. When the villain has murder in mind, sometimes, the only way to stay alive is to be the first to shoot.

Sanctuary Series

Ghost (Book #9) Amazon US | Amazon UK

Author Bio

RJ Scott is the bestselling romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a weekís break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

Giveaway

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Release Blitz Tour – The Case Of The Guilty Ghost (End Street Book #6) by RJ Scott and Amber Kell (giveaway)

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 111 pages

Cover: Meredith Russell

Series

End Street Vol 1 – Amazon US | Amazon UK
End Street Vol 2 – Amazon US | Amazon UK
The Case of the Purple Pearl – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Bob is lost in grief, Sam is fighting for his life, and there is no middle ground. Can their love survive?

Bob is grieving over his brother’s sacrifice. Guilt-ridden and devastated, he buries himself in vampire mourning and pulls away from Sam.

Magic tears Sam from the vampire castle and he has to face new adversaries alone, when all he wants is Bob at his side.

A forgotten past binds Theodore ‘Teddy’ McCurray Constantine III to Ettore, and with the curse tied to Ettore broken by his death, Teddy’s past returns to him with a vengeance.

A royal family in denial, a battle between gods, and long forgotten love leaves no time for Sam and Bob to take a breath. Is it too late to save the supernatural world?

Author Bios

Despite her husband’s insistence she doesn’t drink enough to be a true literary genius, she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.

She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a puppy who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.

Website: http://www.amberkell.com
E-mail: amberkellwrites@gmail.com

Author Bio

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

Giveaway

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A MelanieM Review: Alpha Delta by R.J. Scott

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Officer Finn Hallan has never run from a fight. With Niall’s life and love at stake, he’s not about to start now.

N.B. Originally published with All Romance, this edition features the same story with new cover art

Finn Hallan is a member of the elite Norwegian Emergency Response Unit, code name Delta. When the team is sent to respond to a hostage situation on an Oil Platform, he has to face demons he thought he had buried a long time ago.

Scottish engineer Niall Faulkner’s skills in oil platform decommissioning takes him to the Forseti platform at the worst possible time. When he’s captured by terrorists, his only thought is that he will never get to tell his lover how he really feels.

Can Finn keep Niall alive? Or will they both die at the hands of hijackers in the frigid waters of the Norwegian sea?

Word Count: 21,000

Alpha Delta by R.J. Scott is an enjoyable action/adventure yarn for all of its short pages. In short order, Scott sets us up with the couple, Finn Hallan and Niall Faulkner in meet and set off sparks situation and then waits for the explosives to go off. Literally. Finn, the tough op and Niall, the engineer who decommissions oil platforms is an unusual couple to begin with so I liked them immediately. I don’t know where Scott gets her idea for their professions (and then sticks them together) but I like it. Both men are skilled and smart and that’s alluring to them and myself as a reader.

I also enjoyed the “green factor” here behind decommissioning the oil platforms, Nice to get some facts and background behind such an huge endeavor even in such a short story. There are some narrative holes here. Alpha Delta was a part of a series originally published by the now gone ARe and its other stories presumably carried some of the information needed about the “villain” of this story and the back history with Finn Hallan. We get some of it, true but more is clearly needed. So while its listed as a stand alone, that’s not entirely true. This edition does suffer from the same ARe faults that I found as other ARe stories. A lack of thorough editing. In one instance, one character name was continually used in a scene in a hospital bed when another was clearly meant. One man’s name was used throughout the scene instead of bringing in Niall’s when needed. A good editor or any editor would have caught that, an problem that pops up less here than in other ARe stories but still it rendered what should have been a tender scene into a confusing one.

That aside, there’s some wonderful suspense-filled and thriller moments here. I wish the story had been enlarged and revised. Its worth it. As it is, I enjoyed it but it could have been a terrific RJ Scott book, and maybe even a series. These two make quite the duo.

Cover art works for the story and character.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 63 pages
Published January 2nd 2017 by Love Lane Books Ltd (first published February 2nd 2015)
ASINB01NBQZ7HE
Edition LanguageEnglish

A MelanieM Release Day Review : Ghost (Sanctuary #9) by RJ Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Can you ever hold on to a ghost?

Elliot is tracking an elusive killer, codenamed Ghost, with ties to organized crime. Every time the Sanctuary team gets close, Ghost slips their grasp.

Cole has nowhere left to turn. With his father dying and his sister in danger, he turns for help to the very people trying to track him down. Sanctuary’s assistance is what he needs to punch another hole in Varga’s organization.

When Elliot and Cole meet, it isn’t just passion that consumes them. When lust becomes something more, Elliot realizes that sometimes you can’t hold on to a ghost, and that sacrifice is often the only way to make things right.

Ghost (Sanctuary story #9) is a terrific installment in the espionage thrillers from RJ Scott. In Ghost, the author delivers the answers to major series plot points that have been haunting readers from previous stories while bringing us a suspenseful, white-knuckle ride that also happens to include a romance to die for. I love it when that happens.

Cole has been an enigma since our first meeting with him but now he’s revealed and its heartbreaking. Both tough guy and victim, Cole is a character you can connect with and you immediately understand why Elliot lets him get so close despite their history and Elliot’s suspicions. I have always enjoyed the past histories that RJ Scott has created for her characters in this series and Cole is no exception. The revelations about Cole and his family are huge and I think there’s more to come in the next story. There are narrative bombshells dropping everywhere in Ghost. I can almost imagine the glee that the author felt as she wrote it.

There are huge questions answered about series characters like Simon for instance from his story, Accidental Hero. That’s just a beginning. Ghost is one giddy festival of plot threads opening, and closing and new ones popping open in their place. We also get our Sanctuary characters from other stories showing up as well, always a plus. Another RJ Scott staple? The new couple on the horizon, ready for the next story.

Yes, this massive crime umbrella plot thread is still alive and growing and driving this series like a champ. I had no idea of the surprises the author had in store for us in Ghost and that Cole was the key to unlocking a whole new chapter of deviousness of evil and villainy. Love when that happens too. Bring on Book 10! This series is alive and kicking and I can’t wait for more.

Cover art by BitterGrace Art works for the characters and branding the series.

Sales Links

RJ Scott

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: February 28th 2017 by Love Lane Books Limited
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series: Sanctuary

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: The New Wolf (Building the Pack #1) by RJ Scott

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

This was an interesting twist on wolf shifter stories and the beginning of a trilogy that will be completed by two other authors, so it’s definitely not a standalone.

Veterinarian Josh Nolan and his partner, Connor Vincent, move to Black Creek, Vermont, after a shooting incident in their former location severely injured Connor, who was a cop in that city. Hired by the Sheriff’s Department in Black Creek, Connor finds life here a lot quieter than in the city so starts to look through cold-case files. What he discovers is a series of injuries, deaths, and disappearances in the late sixties to early seventies that were never solved, though they did abruptly end. But he’s cautioned by the sheriff to leave the mysteries alone.

One night, however, Josh is severely injured when he stops to help a large dog who was hit by a car. The driver disappeared, and as Josh was struggling to help the large animal that looked remarkably like a wolf, someone attacked him. Fortunately, Connor arrives on scene quickly to care for him, Josh having called him when he stopped to help the animal. Shortly afterward, the sheriff and a few deputies arrive, and by the time Josh gets treatment at the local hospital, he’s been convinced that he imagined some of what he saw and that the attack couldn’t have happened that way at all.

This sets the scene for most of the story, in which much of what occurs to Josh, and later to Connor, is covered up and secretive. Ultimately, we discover that there are indeed wolf shifters in the area, and that some of the principal “human” characters are wolves who are members of a fairly new pack.

I enjoyed the story, though it felt introductory and incomplete, since the “big, bad wolf” was not taken down in this installment in the series. The established couple, Josh and Connor, were good characters, but I didn’t feel the closeness that I anticipated. They certainly had their quiet times and their sexy times, but maybe it was because of what happens to Connor, and the distance that injury created, they didn’t feel as strong a couple as I would have liked.

Nevertheless, those who enjoy paranormal/shifter stories will likely enjoy this introductory look at what promises to be an interesting and exciting series.

Cover art by Meredith Russell depicts one of the characters front and center with the full moon in the background. A nice cover but not outstanding among all others which feature a cover model as opposed to artwork or other interesting symbolism.

Sales Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2jseies

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2jUYgGJ

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 78 pages
Published January 16th 2017 by Love Lane Books Ltd (first published August 1st 2013)
ASINB01MUBNP7M
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBuilding The Pack #1
CharactersJosh Nolan, Connor Vincent settingBlack Creek, Vermont (United States)

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Deefur And The Great Mistletoe Incident by RJ Scott

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Unfortunately, I didn’t read Deefur Dog, and to be honest I don’t know why that is, because it’s been on my TBR since being published. I’ve put in a request to Santa, so we’ll see. But I digress. This story features the characters from that book a year later. To be honest, though it’s not a standalone, it certainly wasn’t difficult to follow, and it was filled with the warmth, poignancy, and sweetness I always hope to have from a holiday short.

Cameron and Jason are settled in their relationship, and Cameron’s daughter, Emma, not only accepts Jason, but adores him, and the feeling is mutual. Their dog Deefur loves him as well, and when Deefur falls ill on Christmas Eve, it’s Jason who pushes to get him to a vet immediately, despite Cameron’s fears of the road conditions. His first husband was killed on slick roads on Christmas Eve two years before, and on this night of all nights, his fear that he’ll lose Jason is choking him.

But Deefur’s needs surpass Cameron’s fears and when push comes to shove, Cameron realizes that his love for Jason surpasses everything else, and he may finally be ready to move on.

How RJ Scott manages to fit in a ton of information and a boatload of feelings in one small short story is beyond me, but she does, and it’s delightful. Whether you’ve read the first book or not, this one will bring you Christmas cheer.

The very attractive and cheerful cover features a photo of Deefur and Emma superimposed on a background of holiday lights, mistletoe, and snowflakes.

Sales Links

RJ Scott

Book Details:

ebook, 23 pages

Published December 1st 2013 by Love Lane Books

URL http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/deefur-and-great-mistletoe-incident.html

Series Deefur

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