Tag: m/m science fiction

The Storming Love Series Continues with Mario Kai Lapinski’s Jakob & Ivo (excerpt and giveaway)

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Jakob & Ivo (Storming Love: Meteor Strikes #2) by Mario Kai Lipinski
 Release Date: March 4, 2016

Goodreads Link
 Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Kris Jacen

Blurb

Dr. Jakob Feldmann is a renowned German geneticist at Research Hospital Essen… and a recluse par excellence.

Ivo Andersson is a male nurse working at the same hospital as Jakob. His outgoing personality and good looks have earned him the nickname Sir Grin-a-lot.

They both have a crush on each other that everyone except the two of them seems to know about. But when the German Federal Police shows up with two patients suffering from a suspected alien infection, their voluntary exile in the high security research complex shifts their relationship into fast-forward mode.

Just when they find the courage to open up to each other, Jakob discovers the true nature of the infection. He has to make a decision that will change everything.

How much can love endure?

 

Pages or Words: 29,500 words
This book can be read as a standalone as each is a self-contained story
 Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Science Fiction

Excerpt

“Emergency, emergency on floor seven! Dr. Feldmann’s eyeballs are about to drop out.”

Jakob flinched. “Shhh, not so loud.” He spun around. “Not everyone has to know.”

Marc may have been a capable physician, but he made a bull in the china shop look like a well-behaved customer interested in a delicate porcelain service.

“I think apart from the both of you,” Marc chuckled and that sound got Jakob’s ear canals dirty, “everyone else in the hospital is aware of your crush on each other.”

“He isn’t interested in me.” Jakob turned back and looked down the hospital hall again. Ivo was still talking to the other nurse, Sandra Gronder, right? How could such a cute guy be interested in Jakob “Average Guy” Feldmann? It took one look from those blue eyes, one sweep through that dark blond mass of hair, one smile with those perfectly white rows of teeth, and every man would drop down to his knees begging for a date, regardless whether that guy was gay or not. “I’m not in his league.”

Marc groaned through his closed lips. “Oh fucking Jesus.” He reached into his pocket, got his cell out, and held it to his ear before offering it to Jakob. “It’s for you. The nineties’ rom coms are calling and want their clichés back.” He let his hand sink down. “You’re a doctor and he’s a nurse. You look at a nucleic acid sequence and give a perfect description of the person it came from. I won’t sleep with any chick for a month if you can name a better geneticist in the world than you, and I’m damn jealous. And he? He cleans bedpans and chauffeurs meals.”

“You’re a snob and a jerk.” Jakob would never become one of those demigods in white. That’s what he had promised his father and he would stick to that promise. “He’s twenty-seven. I’m thirty-three. And I don’t even know if he’s into guys.”

“Six years? You’re kidding me, aren’t you?” Marc huffed, blowing his nostrils. “As a male nurse, he most probably is gay or has been asked that question so many times that he doesn’t give a crap anymore. It’s the twenty-first century, you know? You can talk about who you fuck in public.”

Jakob closed his eyes, pushed down his glasses, and massaged the bridge of his nose. Marc was a snob and a jerk for real, but however much this turned Jakob’s stomach, he was also right. Jakob opened his eyes again. “That just isn’t me, approaching him and asking him out.” His elbow began to itch. Damn psoriasis! He didn’t need any reminder that he was nervous.

“I can ask him for you.” Marc took a step forward, but Jakob grabbed him by his arm.

“Are you crazy? No, no, please, no.” The embarrassment would kill Jakob. Slowly pining away, yearning for Ivo, didn’t seem to be that bad of an alternative to death.

Marc shrugged and tilted his head, a smug grin on his lips. “I only want to help.” Another filthy chuckle fouled the air around them. “Seriously, Jakob, get a grip on yourself and ask him. It’s not that difficult.”

For normal people, asking that simple question may have been a piece of cake, but for “Four-Eyes Jakob” and “Crumble Cake Skin Feldmann”? “I’ll consider it.” Perhaps another month and the crush would go away all by itself. They always did. He eyed Ivo again and sighed. This infatuation, however, might need some harder medication.

With another huff, Marc shook his head. “Okay. While you’re considering,” he drew quotation marks into the air, “let me share the newest rumors with you. A few minutes ago, two white vans with federal license plates pulled up at the security lock. Our friends of the BKA are back.”

The German federal police had paid them a last visit about a year ago when they had arrested a criminal with a suspected Ebola infection. It had turned out to be a false alarm though. “Did you hear anything about why they are here?”

“Nope.” Marc let the p plop. “I’ll be dicked anyway because they definitely won’t need an orthopedist unless Queen Angie sprained her ankle on a secret holiday in the Dolomites.”

Maybe they needed a geneticist? Helping to convict—or exonerate—a criminal would distract Jakob from Ivo at least. Was hijacking a doctor’s thoughts a felony? If so, Ivo was guilty: a cute rogue with a killer smile. Jakob lowered his head until his chin touched his chest. He had to stop spending all of his weekends reading fantasy graphic novels at home. At the age of thirty-three, he should have something better to do. With real people. He sighed once more.

Buy the book:

 

Meet the author:

Mario K. Lipinski (born in November, 1975, in Germany) lives in Herne, Germany.

He is a spare-time author and, in “real” life, is a mathematician teaching at university level. Does it show in his books? Yes, it does.

English is not his native language, and a frequent question is why he does write in English. For more than 15 years, most of the books he has read have been in English. So, it felt natural for him to write in English, too.

He is into romance with a capital R.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, Chris McHart, Velvet Panic, MM Good Book Reviews,

The Hat Party, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words,

Bonkers About Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Outrageous Heroes, Alpha Book Club,

Iyana Jenna, Jessie G. Books, BFD Book Blog, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews,

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Mikky’s World of Books, Unquietly Me

 

Giveaway

Enter to win.  Must be 18 years of age or older. Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

 

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A Lila Review: Pretty Human by Kayleigh Skye

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 Pretty HumanSeeking absolution for his past in a fiery death, a young space force pilot crashes his ship on a desert planet.

 When Ellis Ligoria, King of Xol, witnesses a space ship hurtling to the planet’s surface, he rushes to the scene of the crash and joins the search party for survivors. As night descends, a strange compulsion leads him to the site of an underground city. Here he rescues a badly injured Jem. During his recovery, it is discovered that Jem is part Xolan. Not only that, but he’s a genetically submissive variation called a Xolani. Ellis has no desire to care for a Xolani but cannot resist his desire for Jem. Taking him under his protection, he brings him home to his family.

 Desperately wanting this new life, Jem claims to be a solitary Vagabond, a loner without family or home. A man nobody wants or is looking for. Safe for the first time in his memory, Jem has hopes for a happy future. He is falling in love with Ellis and adores his new family. All he wants is to live a quiet life as Ellis’ consort, but as his secrets sink him deeper and deeper into a prison of lies, he knows that he cannot hide his true identity forever. Marrying Ellis is a dream come true, but he’ll never escape the brutal man he is running from.

 Soon called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice, Jem must fight to stop a powerful monster bent on revenge

 Pretty Human is a hard book to read. It’s agonizing from the very beginning. All the events are wrap-up in darkness and only little rays of light show through the story. It’s not until the end that the characters find some redemption. The story does have a HEA, but it cost them a lot to get there, and we don’t get too much time to enjoy their happiness.

 The main plot is described well in the blurb, and it stays on point throughout the story. The secondary events, however, are all over the place. The story is somehow linear, but we get events from Jem’s past weaved in the dialogues and as flashbacks that take complete chapters. They aren’t hard to follow, but they bring the reader out of the story. There are many twists and turns, mostly wrongdoings against Jem, taking place during the book.

 The first twenty-five percent of the story was confusing. I had to re-read some passages to get back on track because of the amount of information provided and the cruelty of some of the events. After this, the book had a better pacing.

 The author did an excellent job creating a world for her characters to live and other planets in the galaxy to interact with the book events. We get to see a difference between humans and the many other alien species, as well as their technological capabilities and everyday activities. There’s enough information, sometimes too much, about the surroundings to be able to feel like part of the story’s setting. We get to see what they do and enjoy their awe about it.

 The story has great characters with great qualities and real relationships. There’s only one character, who played an important part of the story, that only gets mentioned quickly and we don’t get to see the complete implications of his relation with Jem, but the reader can infer. Ellis family took a central part in their relationship and helped Jem find himself and the love he longed for. Their support is an important component without being invasive.

 The antagonist in the story is a true villain and even when a softer side of him is shown, it’s not enough to hope for him to have a happy outcome. As the blurb mentions, the man Jem is running from is brutal and the scenes are very graphic and accurate. The reader feels for Jem as if they were experiencing the pain with him. And the inaction displayed by one of Jem’s relatives is heartbreaking.

 Now, to Jem and Ellis. I loved Ellis, most of the time. I like how much of a dreamer he was and how much of a connection he got with Jem from the get-go. And I especially enjoyed how he learned to love Jem. I really like that Jem was thirty-three-years-old by the start of the story. His life story is the main reason for this book, and we get to see more than one side to him. There’s more to him than a Vagabond or a Xolani. Jem is a complicated being, whose growth we get to be part of. He’s indeed an interesting character, stronger than any other I had read about before.

 Don’t get me wrong, the story is well-written, and it’s worth reading. You just need to take the time to read it. It’s not a quick and easy to read all at ones. This story needs to be pay attention to, it has details that would be significant as the events develop. I think, it’d be a great story to get as an audiobook.

  The cover goes perfectly with the story– from the handsome human to the world build and the colors & elements described in the story.

 Sale Links: Pride | Amazon | ARe (not available)

 Book Details:

ebook, 255 pages
Published: Early download – January 26, 2016; General release – February 23, 2016, by Pride Publishing
ISBN: 9781786513762
Edition Language: English

A MelanieM Review: Strength of the Rising Sun (The Borders War #5) by S.A. McAuley

Rating: 5 stars out of 5     ★★★★★

Strength of the Rising SunMerq’s always known there’s only one way Armise and he can end.

The Opposition is losing—both the war and the fight for citizen support—and the Revolution’s victory appears certain. Despite that success, Merq knows his leaders won’t let two of their greatest assets simply walk away. But with Armise fighting for his life, getting out becomes Merq’s primary objective.

Almost two decades of selfishness can’t be alleviated with one right decision, and Merq is faced with the reality of how deeply he has wounded Armise in ways that cannot be seen from the outside. Merq’s world has been upended more times than he can count and he’s always survived, but life without Armise is no longer an option. He just has to prove that to Armise.

Merq believes there are few who are strong enough to challenge them when they stand together. But when the secret Armise has been protecting Merq from is revealed, the truth has consequences neither of them can prepare for.

Reader Advisory: This book contains graphic violence, mention of torture and genetic experimentation.

I admit I approached each Borders War book with more than a bit of trepidation and sense of anticipation.  I would be hard pressed to remember a series that has more twisted layers, more betrayals and anguished losses than this one.  The Borders War series has  involved no less than a worldwide conflagration of countries, environments and humanity that has played out over five novels through the perspective of two warriors and the band of people around them.  Not always on the same side, certainly not at the beginning, or even numerous times (even in the same book) when no one knew what side each man was on, even themselves.

If this sounds confusing, in anyone else’s hands but S.A. McAuley this series and this relationship could have been a muddy mess, instead it became one of magnificent passion, love and commitment to each other in the face of obstacles (realistic ones within this world building) that should have killed them.  And often came close.

In the beginning, One Breath One Bullet (The Borders War #1), Merq Grayson was a high-ranking officer (sniper) for the Continental States.  His enemy was the Dark Ops officer from the People’s Republic of Singapore, Armise Darcan.  These  two had met over countless battle fields and covert operations, sometimes killing those close to the other man, and even coming close to killing each other, often inflicting near fatal wounds.  But there was something more there as well.  A building passion and undeniable connection between them that neither could understand or repress for very long.

McAuley builds this confusing, angry and often violent relationship through 20 years, five books and around some shocking, often personally shattering revelations to both men.  Its hard to describe just how magnetic these men and their lives become.  Sometimes so raw and wounded, you think their  pain will never stop. That is especially true here.  Sometimes the feelings flow cold and distant, than back strong and raging.  Through vivid descriptions and dialog that pulls you into the scenes, you become a part of Merq and Armise’s world and that often leaves you feeling as pain-filled and battered as they are.

Loss of humanity, scientific experimentation (willing and not) on soldiers, the ramifications of genetic/chemical warfare on the world environment…its all addressed here in some form, as a nuanced plot thread or a direct blow to the heart by the author.  Hard to be prepared for that.

But The Borders War is a magnificent series and it deserves its equal in a final story. It gets it in Strength of the Rising Sun.  This story was the equivalent of running through a narrative mine field, you just didn’t know it at the beginning.  Just when you thought the story was getting ready to settle down, another revelation would occur,  then another shattering scene, one so devastating in its impact that it took my breathe away.  I can’t even begin to give you even a smidgen of details or plot.  It wouldn’t make sense. You have to read the story and the ones before it. And when the ending came, well,  I cried buckets of tears for the men, but also of relief that the tension and agony of the narrative was gone.  You are so involved, you couldn’t pull  out of the story, even if you had wanted you.  You, Merq, and Armise to the end.  And what a ending it was.

I have no idea how S. A.McAuley will top this.  Not a clue.

So.  Love science fiction and enemy to lovers story?  Well, this is so much more.  It sexy, violent, passionate, layered, complex and agonizing on the heart at best.  But its one I  wouldn’t want you to pass up.  One of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2016.

Cover art by Posh Gosh shows a certain eventful scene in the story.  It might not work as well as a cover before you read the story but its perfect afterwards.

Sales Links:  Pride Publishing  | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 198 pages
Published January 26th 2016 by Pride Publishing
ISBN139781784309954
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series The Borders War :

The world has only recently emerged from a three hundred year war which saw half of the world’s population wiped out and the rise of five superpowers. Despite the hundreds of millions who died, the Borders War was nearly bloodless because of the sonicrifle—weaponized sound waves, tuned to their highest frequency, and harnessed to kill.

Merq Grayson has known only war. He is a skilled Peacemaker, soldier, and sniper. And it is his destiny to right the wrong created by his grandfather six generations removed—the man who invented the sonicbullet.

Armise Darcan is his enemy. A sniper and Dark Ops officer who fought for the People’s Republic of Singapore in the Borders War, Armise may be the only person on the planet strong enough to keep Merq from completing his mission.

Their loyalties are to conflicting countries and diverging agendas, and despite the very real threat to their lives if they’re discovered, Merq and Armise keep finding their way into each other’s beds. It is a drive which Merq is sure will kill him one day.

But how much time either of them has is questionable. As Opposition is pitted against Revolution, the Borders War reignites, and Merq and Armise have to decide where, and with whom, their real loyalties lie.

Links to MelanieM reviews:

 

A Free Dreamer Review: Line and Orbit (Root Code #1) by Sunny Moraine and Lisa Soem

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Line and OrbitWhat he’s been taught to fear could be his destiny…and his only hope.

Adam Yuga, a rising young star in the imperialist Terran Protectorate, is on the verge of a massive promotion…until a routine physical exam reveals something less than perfection. Genetic flaws are taboo, and Adam soon discovers there’s a thin line between rising star and starving outcast.

Stripped of wealth and position, stricken with a mysterious, worsening illness, Adam resorts to stealing credits to survive. Moments from capture by the Protectorate, help arrives in the form of Lochlan, a brash, cocksure Bideshi fighter.

Now the Bideshi, a people long shunned by the Protectorate, are the only ones who will offer him shelter. As Adam learns the truth about the mysterious, nomadic people he was taught to fear, Lochlan offers him not just shelter—but a temptation Adam can only resist for so long.

Struggling to adapt to his new life, Adam discovers his illness hides a terrible secret, one that the Protectorate will stop at nothing to conceal. Time is growing short, and he must find the strength to close a centuries-old rift, accept a new identity—and hold on to a love that could cost him everything.

 I’m always a sucker for some good sci-fi/fantasy and “Line and Orbit” definitely did not disappoint. It was funny, addicting, creative and unique.

Adam has it all: lots of money, a successful career, perfect health. That is, until he has to go through a health check for a promotion. The doctors find a small problem with his heart. Nothing life threatening, not in this day and age, but anything other than perfection is simply unacceptable and Adam suddenly finds himself without job, money and a rapidly deteriorating health. With his last bit of money he buys an old spaceship and leaves his home.

Lochlan hates the very thing Adam stands for, but when Adam literally falls in his arms, half dead and on the run, he saves the man’s life and takes him to the Bideshi homeship.

I absolutely loved the idea of the Bideshi. They’re space nomads, outsiders, exiles, outcasts and yet they have a rich history and a deep understanding of the stars, of their line and orbit. They’re magical. It’s not something I’ve ever encountered before and the authors did a wonderful job describing everything in great detail, without making it feel like an info dump, leaving me with a sense of wonder and a longing to join the Bideshi. That’s an example of excellent world building right there.

The romance is very slow to develop. It’s a bit of enemies-to-lovers, a trope that I really don’t like. That’s the only reason I didn’t give this a five star rating. But the slow pace suited the story. The two protagonists are so very different, everything else would have felt unrealistic to me. And I’m always thrilled when an author actually takes the time to develop a real romance, and doesn’t take the easy option of insta-love. Sex did happen, too, but it wasn’t explicit, and that kinda fit the story as well. The romance part was very balanced with the rest of the plot.

At times I wasn’t too sure if I like Lochlan, but he always won me over. Ultimately, I think I really like him, his character just takes a bit of getting used to. Adam, on the other hand, was somehow immediately likeable.

“Line and Orbit” does get a bit violent at times, so beware. Personally, I think fantasy isn’t really fantasy when you don’t get at least one battle scene and this book didn’t disappoint. I liked the spaceship battles, it’s not something I’ve read before.

Long story short: If you like a mix of romance, fantasy and sci-fi, you should read “Line and Orbit”.

I couldn’t help comparing this book to the truly epic “Song of the Navigator” by Astrid Amara. While “Line and Orbit” wasn’t quite as epically awesome, I can definitely recommend this to fans of “Song of the Navigator”.

I’m definitely going to read the rest of the series. I really enjoyed this.

Cover: I really like the cover by Kanaxa. It looks delightfully mysterious and the planets fit with the overall theme of the book.

Sales Links:  Samhain Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 325 pages
Published February 5th 2013 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 1619212196 (ISBN13: 9781619212190)
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL
SeriesRoot Code #1

Series: Book 1 of the Root Code Series