In the Spotlight: Top to Bottom (Escape Book 3) by Delphine Dryden Blog Tour and Giveaway

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Top to Bottom (Escape Book 3) by Delphine Dryden
R
iptide Publishing
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Read An Excerpt/Buy It Here

 

About Top to Bottom

Drusilla Stasevich wants to leave the past behind and start the next chapter of her life. Returning to her hometown to open her dream kink club, Escape, seems like the perfect solution. But it can be tricky making dreams come true—especially when the person you want to share them with isn’t around anymore.

Amie Templeton is no stranger to tough times. She’s learned to make it on her own, and doesn’t do relationships outside the kink world. When her ex Dru moves back to town, old feelings surface. But that’s fine, right, since Dru has just opened the hottest new kink club in town?

Dru and Amie want to get the distracting spark between them out of their systems. Instead, their intense play sessions fan that spark into a flame. As if Dru didn’t have enough on her plate, an anonymous saboteur threatens to push her new club out of business. It will take the help of everybody at Escape to set things right again, and a lot of trust for Dru and Amie to start working toward a new life together.

About Del Dryden

Delphine Dryden  probably should have gone ahead and  become an English professor like she planned. Instead, she took a detour through law school, another detour through the wonderful world of working in special education, and took an extra fifteen years to end up where she belonged: writing kinky romances.

Del’s writing has earned an Award of Excellence and Reviewers’ Choice Award from Romantic Times Book Reviews, an EPIC Award, and a Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of Excellence.  When not writing or editing, she can be found binge-watching television shows with her girlfriend, playing tabletop games, and tweeting to excess.

Connect with Delphine:

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Top to Bottom, one lucky person will win an ebook package of Dom Around the Corner and The Unicorn, plus a $5 Amazon gift certificate. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 23, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info.

For the duration of the tour, Del is also giving away paperback copies of her steampunk books Scarlet Devices and Gilded Lily. Contact her via her website’s contact page, put your favorite mythical beast in the subject line and your name and address in the body. Limit to 20 people total, or until the tour ends.

This title is part of the Escape universe.

In the Spotlight: Into the Blue by Pene Hanson (excerpt and giveaway)

Into The Blue 1600px FRONT (Smashwords, Amazon)

Into the Blue by Pene Henson
Release Date: July 7, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Colleen M. Good

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to be interviewing Pene Henson author of Into the Blue today. Hi Pene, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

  • What’s the easiest thing about writing?

The easiest part for me is knowing these characters’ hearts and thinking through how they would respond to the world and the things that happen around them. But generally there’s no bad side. 

I love the act of writing enough that my extremely early mornings don’t feel difficult. Not that the work of writing is always easy, but it’s always a joy.

  • Name one author (living or dead) you’d like to write with?

My friend Jo and I wrote a large number of stories together and I’d love to see what we will do if we commit to a novel. She’s a powerful and heart-breaking writer who knows all the odd little quirks of humanity, all the ways people fail others and come good anyway, and I suspect our joint novel will be more complicated than anything I could write alone. 

But she has no idea about tenses and point of view. So I’d be in charge of that.

  • Tell us about your cover and how it came about.

I could talk about this cover forever. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. When our art director, CB Messer, met with me about the cover she had read the book. She’s lived in Hawaii and so connected with the imagery and the subject matter. We instantly agreed on the visuals of that early morning light, the pale golds and shifting blues of surf at dawn. CB suggested we could focus the front cover on the power of the surf and the surfing competition or on the relationship between the characters and the sea. Honestly, either would have been gorgeous but I felt relationships are critical to the book. It’s a gentle book despite their sporting prowess. 

When she sent this drawing through, I loved it even more than I anticipated. I love the light in the sky and reflecting from the water. And the boys, waiting for the next wave, Ollie’s profile and Tai’s strong back visible and recognizably them. It’s the moment before a wave comes in, that waiting time before everything changes.

And then the back. With the warm sunlit deck of the Blue House and the five boards leaning together, one for each of the people living there.

CB is an exceptional artist and really captured the book.

  • Is this book part of a series? Do you have ideas that could make it into a series? If it is a series, tell us a little about it.

No, no it’s not and it was never intended to be. However (is there always a forever) I do have a story to tell about Hannah, who lives with Tai and Ollie. She’s a joy to me. Broad-shouldered and laid back. She’s in love with her best friend but I don’t know that’s going anywhere. I think she could have a whirlwind of a girlfriend who knocks her off her steady perch. And then Tai and Ollie and Sunny would be in the background.

  • Word association. Tell us the first thing that comes to mind when you read these words.

Ketchup – We still call it tomato sauce.

Flakes – Goldfish food

Elastic – Heart ❤

Timer – How to get kids to do anything faster

Google – where all my documents live

Now more about

Into the Blue by Pene Henson

Blurb

Tai Talagi and Ollie Birkstrom have been inseparable since they met as kids surfing the North Shore. Now they live with their best friends in a pulled-together family, sharing life and the saltwater in their veins. Tai’s spent years setting aside his feelings for Ollie, but when Ollie’s pro surfing aspirations come to fruition, their steady world shifts. Is the relationship worth risking everything for a chance at something terrifying and beautiful and altogether new?

 

Pages or Words: 236 pages, 72,600 words
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

Excerpt

Across from them, one of the Brazilians plays guitar. Ollie doesn’t recognize the song even when a couple of others sing along. The beach is wider and the sand finer than on the North Shore, but every beach is a little like home. Ollie misses the Blue House; he misses the surf and the palms and the shoreline he knows so well. He misses Jaime and Sunny and Hannah. Still, though he’s as far from home as he’s ever been, Ollie’s comfortable. These are his people, too. He leans back on his arms and looks up into the dark.

He’s watched the night sky since he was a little kid, but down here in the Southern Hemisphere he doesn’t recognize the hundreds upon hundreds of stars. The Southern Cross is up there. Ollie tries to orient himself.

Tai shifts toward him, then looks up and follows Ollie’s gaze. The warmth of Tai’s body settles into Ollie’s heart, grounds him. Ollie leans into him a little, and their arms brush to the elbow. The contact simmers in the air between them.

Unexpectedly, Ollie knows what he wants. “Come back to the hotel,” he says quietly to Tai. He pitches his voice low. It hums across the tiny space between them. No one else can hear him over the pounding surf and the sound of the music. It’s easy to be bold in the dark of a beach where Ollie’s never been before. He’s shocked by that same boldness.

Buy the book

 

 

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Meet the Author

Pene Henson has gone from British boarding schools to New York City law firms. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, where she is an intellectual property lawyer and published poet who is deeply immersed in the city’s LGBTQIA community. She spends her spare time enjoying the outdoors and gazing at the ocean with her gorgeous wife and two unexpectedly exceptional sons. Into the Blue is her first novel.

Where to find the author:


Tour Dates & Stops:

7-Jul: Havan Fellows, Louise Lyons, Parker Williams

8-Jul: Outrageous Heroes, Unquietly Me, Dawn’s Reading Nook

11-Jul: Love Bytes, Kirsty Loves Books, Bayou Book Junkie

12-Jul: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, Butterfly-O-Meter

13-Jul: Oh My Shelves, Boys on the Brink Reviews

14-Jul: Molly Lolly, Happily Ever Chapter

15-Jul: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Prism Book Alliance

18-Jul: MM Book Escape, Making It Happen, Velvet Panic, BFD Book Blog

19-Jul: Book Lovers 4Ever, My Fiction Nook, V’s Reads

20-Jul: A.M. Leibowitz, Alpha Book Club

Final (1)

Giveaway

 

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A Jeri Review: Dinner for One by Meg Harding

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Dinner for OneBastien is head chef and part owner of a VERY French restaurant that has gotten nothing but rave reviews, has lines out the door and a reservation list months in advance. James is a food critic for a well known newspaper and gives Bastien his first not so rave review. No big deal right? Until James buys a pastry from Bastien at his nephews base sale and is shocked to find out that the pastry chef and the restaurant chef are on in the same. Even worse, he is incredibly attracted to him.

Bastien and James begin a romantic relationship. And it is rather sweet and romantic. Being that one is a chef and the other a critic- although Bastien doesn’t know that- much of their relationship revolves around food. How very French!

The deeper they get the more worried James is for Bastien to find out who he really is. The guy who panned his restaurant.

Some of the things I really liked about this book: the sex is hot hot hot! So hot that Bastien reverts to French while in the throes of passion. Whew.

Both James and Bastien are very close to their families. I love that. I love that Bastien is always there for his sister and niece and that James has a brood of siblings to go to. It was all very sweet, but very realistic.

THE FOOD! Don’t read this book while you are hungry. Seriously. It is akin to grocery shopping while hungry.

The relationship was very equal in my opinion. There was never one man trying to woo the other while the other sat back. Well, until after the big fight.

Speaking of the fight. The way James goes about trying to win Bastien back is just perfect. Seriously perfect. It was so sweet, so perfect. And Bastien’s answers to everything were wonderful. A bit vague, but you really need to read it.

My only nit picky, didn’t like a lot things: Bastien seemed to get out of work pretty early usually. For a hot restaurant in NYC, he wouldn’t be walking out the door until at least 1am in not later. Not 10. And except for a one here and there, James seemed to abandon his critic job while he was with Bastien. How else to eat elaborate meals together late at night?

For a switch, no one is a jerk, no one is in the closet, no one was abandoned by family for being gay. All around it was a new, refreshing read. And I believe there are more in the series to come. Making my reservation now.

The cover art by Reese Dante is absolutely perfect, with the two men in the background and yummy food front and center.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Expected publication: July 13th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773942 (ISBN13: 9781634773942)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Jeri Review: Son of Money By Brandon Witt

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Son of MoneyAt times I really liked this book. But at other times I really didn’t. So this is a mixed review for me, because I will try to highlight both as I am a fan of Mr. Witt’s books but this one was a disappointment.

Randall disinherited himself from the family fortune so that they couldn’t/wouldn’t run his life any longer. Guess what? He works to pay the bills and they still control his life.

Noah was just as bipolar as Randall. Except he spent his life as the son of missionaries and part of his adult life as one. Until his father died and he left it all behind. He hints that he no longer believes, but it is never explored at all.

There is a lot that is never explored.

Randall and Noah knew each other as teens and had a quick dalliance with each other before Noah was gone again on a missionary trip with his family. Fate brings them back together and while Noah pretty much had been waiting for that to happen, Randall is thrown for a loop. Randall’s feelings toward it rang more true. Noah was just completely accepting of the fact that all of a sudden there is Randall again. So of course they should get back together and live happily ever after. Really? People grow and change a lot in 20 years.

While I really enjoyed the relationship that Randall had with his niece, that is the strong hold his family had on him. Tow the line or you don’t see her anymore. I just felt it was ridiculous. Are parents really that controlling when you are an adult? Maybe, but to me that just shows how weak you are. I am speaking of not only Randall, but his brother and his sister in law who happens to be his best friend.

Anyway, back to the “romance”. I didn’t feel that there was any. It was kind of just accepted that they would be back together, the end. I wanted Noah to woo Randall. To be romantic. To show why they should be together, not just accept it as fact. I did like how Noah stood up to Randall’s parents, though. See why I am so wishy washy with this review? Loved this, hated that.

Previous books by Brandon Witt really hit me and left me thinking what a great book I just read.  I almost couldn’t wait to write the reviews because I wanted everyone to read the books. This one….meh.

Cover art by Anne Cain is perfect for the story.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 284 pages
Expected publication: July 11th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773128 (ISBN13: 9781634773126)
Edition LanguageEnglish

In the Supernatural Spotlight: A King and a Pawn (Leader Murders #3) by Liv Olteano

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A King and a Pawn by Liv Olteano
Series: Leader Murders
Release Date: June 17, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG

Blurb:

Bert Cooper’s life used to be great, until his sister turned out to be a traitor. Now Bert feels the whole pack looks on him with doubt and suspicion. To prove his loyalty, he volunteers to be the first ambassador at Fey Court, gathering information to finally solve the Leader Murders and punish those plotting against the Council and community. At least, that was the plan….

When Bert meets Sir William Matthew Sims, Court Interrogator, and one hell of a sexy man, life becomes a balancing act. And when the Fey King is assassinated, things become really messy.

Pack politics, fey politics, treason, suspicions of treason…. Bert has to choose between being ruled by his fears or standing up for what—and who—he believes in. And it might just break his heart.

 

Pages or Words: 234 pages, 82,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Mystery, Parnormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Wolf Shifters

Excerpt from A King and a Pawn by Liv Olteano:

“Would you take me in as a trophy, Bert?” he asked, smiling oddly, a sort of indulgent look in his eyes.

I wasn’t going to outsmart him, that was for sure. Luckily I didn’t think I had to.

“I wouldn’t be taking you in at all. You and your kids would simply accompany me. I’m sure you can find something of value to offer me so I’ll be willing to go that way. And then you’d find something of value to offer Weiss and the Council to give you guys, say, political asylum?”

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure you did. I don’t think you’re a fool, Will. I’m sure you’re not, in fact. So I’m giving you the courtesy of not treating you as one. A courtesy I hope you’ll give me too.”

“Implying that I have not so far?” he asked, stepping toward me again.

My pulse spiked. “I wasn’t implying that at all.”

We were face-to-face, a step apart at most. My mind stuttered over the few stray thoughts I managed to recognize. It was unusual someone’s presence would affect me this much, this soon. Was he that special? Was our chemistry that special? Or was he using some sort of spell on me? I didn’t think that was beneath him. Magic wasn’t beneath any magic-wielding fey, just like changing into a wolf wasn’t beneath me as werewolf. It was a natural part of who we were. I just wasn’t that used to his natural part, and the very idea made me smile.

“What could I offer you that you’d like to have?” he asked as his breath touched my face with every word he uttered.

“Oh, I could think of several things,” I replied.

He leaned toward me. His lips brushed against mine now when he spoke. “I could think of several things I’d like to offer you as well.”

I gulped. Shit, I couldn’t think with my dick. Not now at least. I so wanted to. It would be so easy to whisper it sweetly: “Fuck my brains out and I’ll be on your side.” But I wasn’t here for shits and giggles, so I couldn’t. There was no reason I couldn’t hope I’d get a fuck out of the situation somewhere down the line. The more time we spent together, the better chance of that happening. That was pretty solid motivation to spin things in a way that would benefit us all in the end. There. I wasn’t doing this for my selfish fuck-greedy self but for the greater good. I was a fucking humanitarian, feyitarian, whateveritarian.

“I’ll only ask for one small thing for myself,” I whispered softly.

He brushed his lips against mine. The touch sent little fiery thrills down my nerve endings, from the skin of my lips right to the pulsing muscle of my heart. I felt his breath hitch at the contact, and the idea it might affect him almost as much as it was affecting me sent a shiver down my spine. We could have been faking it, both of us. This was a negotiation of sorts, and now was the time to bring on our top game. But I felt it in my gut that this connection was real, that it wasn’t bullshit for either one of us. I just knew it in the pit of my stomach. I wondered if he knew it too, as clearly as I did right in that instant.

His scent didn’t assault my senses since he’d been hanging out in my personal space for a while now. My senses were bathed in his scent already. But I could feel the pounding of his heart as I deepened the kiss; I could feel his muscles clench and unwind with sensual tension while my body sang with it. Fuck me sideways, I wanted him right now. I wanted him so bad it almost gutted me. The feel of him languidly moving his tongue against mine made my blood turn into liquid fire, scalding my insides and bringing up my body temperature to heights I didn’t think I’d felt before after just kissing. Everything in my body screamed, This. This is it. This is what you’ve been waiting for, for so fucking long!

“What do you want?” he asked after he pulled back, his forehead leaning against mine.

Fuck, fuck it, fuck! “I want all the information you can get from the Archives on a certain topic.”

 

Buy the book:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7849

 

 

 

 

Meet the author:

Liv Olteano is a voracious reader, music lover, and coffee addict extraordinaire. And occasional geek. Okay, more than occasional.

She believes stories are the best kind of magic there is. And life would be horrible without magic. Her hobbies include losing herself in the minds and souls of characters, giving up countless nights of sleep to get to know said characters, and trying to introduce them to the world. Sometimes they appreciate her efforts. The process would probably go quicker if they’d bring her a cup of coffee now and then when stopping by. Characters—what can you do, right?

Liv has a penchant for quirky stories and is a reverent lover of diversity. She can be found loitering around the Internet at odd hours and being generally awkward and goofy at all times.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

30-Jun

Parker Williams, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Happily Ever Chapter, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews,

MM Good Book Reviews, The Jena Wade, The Dark Arts, Book Lovers 4Ever, Velvet Panic,

Charley Descoteaux, Alpha Book Club, Molly Lolly, Oh My Shelves

 

1-Jul

Bayou Book Junkie, A.M. Leibowitz, BFD Book Blog, Full Moon Dreaming, My Fiction Nook,

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Havan Fellows, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat,

EE Montgomery, Gay Media Reviews, Kirsty Loves Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words,

V’s Reads

 

Giveaway

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Its All About the Wedding with Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist’ by K.E. Belledonne (author interview, excerpt and givewaway)

Checklist 1600px (Smashwords, Amazon)

Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist by K.E. Belledonne
Release Date: June 23, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: C.B. Messer

Today Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to be interviewing K.E. Belledonne, author of Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist. Hi Kat, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Q. What genre is your book and what drew you to this genre?

This book’s genre would technically be “romance”, but it’s not a traditional romance. There’s no bodice ripping or long luxurious love scenes. It’s a M/M romantic comedy. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s breezy and at times a bit silly. It’s a good time read.

I adore romantic comedy, it’s one of my favorite genres to read, and to watch. I love that we all know the basic structure of the plot, but how that plot is achieved can vary greatly. It’s like writing a sonnet – there are rules that govern it, but the content can vary greatly.

Q How many days a week do you write?

I try to sit down at my computer to write at least three days a week. Some weeks, I manage to get 5 days, and some weeks, I don’t get any at all. I always carry a notebook with me almost everywhere I go, so I can scribble down ideas, or write chunks of scenes when I have some downtime.

Q On average, how long does it take to write a book?

I’d say I’m averaging about a book a year. I like to do a lot of research, and I need to build in a lot of time for shifting things around. I also write more than one book at a time; while this book was with my editor, I started writing the next, and doing research for another.

Q Do you have a trailer for your book? If yes, give us the link. If not, do you think you’d like to have one done at some point?

I don’t have a trailer for this book, simply because I lack the skills to make one! I would absolutely love to have one done. Books always play like movies in my head, even the ones I’m writing. I tend to write in a very cinematic style, so I think a book trailer would really be a great addition to the book!

Q If I could be a character in a book, I would be _______?

I would absolutely love to be Eloise Kelly from Lauren Willig’s The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I adore those books. They are such fun to read, such

wonderful romances and they make me laugh out loud. I’m always in a better mood after I read one, and that’s exactly what I want out of a book. Eloise is smart, and strong, and yet still goofy and nerdy. I love her.

Thanks, Kat, for the wonderful interview.  Now more about Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist by K.E. Belledonne!

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Blurb

When Daniel gets caught up in the demands of a cheeky wedding planning app, his fiancé Erik grows frustrated with his preoccupation with adhering to heterosexual traditions. Will Daniel’s groomzilla ways give them the wedding of their dreams, or ultimately lead to their relationship’s demise?

 

Pages or Words: 53,000 words, 188 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance, Rom Com

Excerpt

“I think Aurora is disappointed in me.”

“What?” Erik rubbed at his eye. It wasn’t even early morning, judging by the weak light coming through the blinds from the streetlights. “Who?”

“Aurora. The wedding planning app.” Daniel lay on his back, wide awake and staring up at the ceiling.

“The wedding planning app is not a sentient being. It has no feelings or opinions.”

“I feel like she’s judging me. I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

“Oh my god, go to sleep.”

“I can’t. I’m never going to sleep ever again.” Daniel tugged the blanket higher up his chest, folding his arms over it and exhaling heavily.

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I’ve got too many things buzzing in my head. There’s too many things I’m going to forget to do.”

“I thought that’s why you had that damn app, so you don’t have to remember anything; it’s all right there saved on your tablet.”

“Yes, but I have to remember to put everything in it.″ Daniel rolled over. ″She doesn’t just know everything—”

“A: She is not a she. It is an it. B: What are we doing tomorrow?”

“Oh my god, what is the point of sharing the app calendar if you’re never going to look at it?” Daniel wailed.

“I look at it. It’s just crammed so full of everything that I have no idea what’s going on when.”

Daniel blew out his breath. ”Look, I know you don’t like the calendar. We’ve been over that, but I don’t know how else to keep track of all of these appointments and deadlines.”

“I told you, we could color-code them, or something,” Erik rolled to his side and punched at his pillow.

“Aurora doesn’t give you that option.”

“Well, it should.”

“I agree, but there’s nothing I can do about that.” Daniel bunched his pillow up under his head. “Tomorrow, we have four appointments to meet with caterers: two in the morning, two in the afternoon.”

“Why so many in one day?”

“It’s the only day we both have available this week, and I am not going to make any decisions about the food at our reception without you there to discuss it.”

“Seriously, you could just make a choice, and I’ll live with it.” Erik rolled over.

“I don’t want you to just ‘live with it,’ Erik.″ Daniel tried to keep his voice neutral, but failed. ″This is our wedding. I don’t want you to just ‘live with it.’”

“Why are you getting so worked up about it?”

“We only get one chance at this. Everything needs to be perfect.”

“You’re going to drive us both crazy, you know that, right?” Erik tugged the blankets back up over his shoulder.

“Well, then, we’ll both be crazy.” Daniel squinted up at the ceiling. He was so tired of making these decisions. Why were there so many options? Why were there so many decisions? The planning was getting on Erik’s nerves; he was getting on Erik’s nerves. Erik was getting on his nerves. They were both just a pile of irritated nerves because the to-do list didn’t seem to be getting any smaller.

Daniel’s phone chimed with another notification from Aurora.

New Private Message from: MommyMargie.

His mother probably had another ludicrous suggestion for the reception, or a passive-aggressive reminder of the hymn that she and his father had had played at their wedding, that their grandparents had had played at their wedding and that she expected to hear at his wedding. Or maybe his parents had decided to paint the living room green. Who knew?

 

 

Buy the book

 

 

 

Meet the Author

 

K. E. Belledonne is a writer, editor and translator. A native New Englander, Kat spends her spare time listening to Glenn Miller records, reading history books and cheering on her beloved Red Sox. Her first novel, Right Here Waiting, was published by Interlude Press in 2015.

 

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

23-Jun

Prism Book Alliance, Unquietly Me, Book Lovers 4Ever, Man2ManTastic, Three Books Over The Rainbow,

BFD Book Blog

24-Jun

Bonkers About Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

27-Jun

Oh My Shelves, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

28-Jun

Havan Fellows, V’s Reads, My Fiction Nook, Open Skye Book Reviews

29-Jun

Up All Night, Read All Day, Velvet Panic, MM Good Book Reviews

30-Jun

Molly Lolly, Full Moon Dreaming

1-Jul

Attention Is Arbitrary, Alpha Book Club

4-Jul

Happily Ever Chapter, The Novel Approach, Love Bytes

5-Jul

Nephy Hart, Bayou Book Junkie, Divine Magazine

6-Jul

A.M. Leibowitz, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, 3 Chicks After Dark

 

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card, 5 first prizes of an e-copy of Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

 

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Love Can Show You that There’s ‘Always Another Side’ by Annabelle Jacobs (excerpt and giveaway)

 

 

Author: Annabelle Jacobs

 

 

 

Release Date: June 3 2016

 

 

 

Length: 60,000 words

 

Buy Link: myBook.to/Always_Another_Side

 

Price:  3.99

 

Blurb

 

Starting over at forty is hard work for landscape architect Jack Bowman. His long-term partner hurt him badly. With his self-esteem dented by the break up, trusting a new lover is going to take time.

Tyler Freeman is equally unlucky when it comes to love. Now that he’s over thirty-five, he’s tired of getting played. All he wants is someone special. How hard can it be to meet a man who’s honest, with no hidden surprises?

Being set up on a blind date might be a classic cliché, but it’s a stroke of good luck for Jack and Tyler. They have a lot in common, including previous relationships steeped in deceit, but it’s worth navigating their trust issues if it means laying those ghosts to rest.

Making it work finally seems possible—until an accidental discovery threatens their newfound happiness.

 

Excerpt

 

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Jack tried not to notice the blatant, knowing looks being passed around. He had no doubt he’d be getting some nosy texts later. On the plus side, at least he wouldn’t be the only one.

 

Now it was only the two of them, they wandered into the bar area and snagged a small table by the fireplace. It wasn’t lit—the late-April weather had been far too mild to warrant an open fire. The Saturday-night crowd from earlier had clearly moved on to somewhere else, and the room had quietened considerably.

 

“Thanks for offering me a lift.” Tyler smiled and took a sip of his drink. “I wasn’t ready to leave yet.”

 

“Me neither.” Jack had bought another Coke, and he ran his finger down through the condensation on the outside of the glass. “I have to admit I was a bit—a lot sceptical about whether or not this was a good idea.”

 

Tyler glanced up and met his gaze. “Meeting me?”

 

Jack’s smile was wry. “I was talking about the whole blind date thing, but yeah… I guess it was meeting you in general.” He cringed as he said it, perhaps not the best thing to say to someone whom you were hoping to go out with again. And despite Jack’s misgivings and preconceptions, he liked Tyler.

 

Tyler cocked his head to one side and frowned, as though he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

 

Jack had probably offended him, because no one liked to hear that sort of thing. But then, he’d offered to drive Tyler home so they could spend more time together—alone—so Tyler must realise Jack wanted to get to know him better. Or maybe not. If Jack had learned one thing from his breakup with Simon, it was that communication was key. Never assume someone knew what you meant or what you were thinking.

 

“I know that sounds bad, and it’s nothing personal. Christ, I’m pulling out all the clichés tonight, but it really was a case of it being me and not you.” Jack laughed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Shit. Just when it was going so well. I’ve managed to fuck it up, haven’t I?”

 

Author Bio

 

Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with three rowdy children, and two cats.

 

An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They’re usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.

Author Links

A BJ Audiobook Review: Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1) by L.A. Witt ~ Narrated by Iggy Toma

 

Rating:     3.5 out of 5 stars

Where Nerves End audiobookJason Davis can handle a breakup. And an overwhelming mortgage. And a struggling business. And the excruciating pain that keeps him up at night thanks to a shoulder injury. But all of it at once? Not so much. When his shoulder finally pushes him to a breaking point, Jason takes a friend’s advice and gives acupuncture a try.

Acupuncturist Michael Whitman is a single dad struggling to make ends meet. When a mutual friend refers Jason as a patient, and Jason suggests a roommate arrangement to alleviate their respective financial strains, Michael jumps at the opportunity.

But Jason soon finds himself regretting it—he’s too damn attracted to Michael, and living with him is harder than he thought it’d be. In fact, the temptation to act on his feelings would almost be too much if not for the fact that Michael is straight. Or at least, that’s what their mutual friend claims.

This book began well for me. I liked Jason, felt for him and what he was going through, and was very eager to see him find the help he needed to get his life on track. When he met Michael and not only was he able to help him with his pain, but with his financial problems, that was working for me. I enjoyed Michael and his son for the healthy lifestyle and his caring. I felt the chemistry of Jason’s immediate attraction and his frustration at Michael being straight.  I also enjoyed all the stuff on the eastern medicine, acupuncture, cupping, etc. Very interesting.

Midway through I begin to not enjoy it quite as much. First the characters have a talk and Michael has the perfect opportunity to say something to Jason that he chooses not to reveal. The next thing we know, the whole story changed for me. I’m not a fan of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and of MC having sex with other people in my books. In this book, we get all three, I’m sad to say. And nope, I didn’t enjoy that part at all. Why did that have to happen? It left me pouting. Later, after he pursues Jason and they have an interlude, Michael does explain his reasoning, and it actually made sense a bit until the next thing he turns around and does is deny the whole thing and suddenly it makes no sense at all. Michael’s complete denial to everyone, even though he admitted he’d knew for years and years and even thought he’d grown up with a close gay friend who he never confided in bugged me as well.

So while I enjoyed how the story ultimately ended, the storyline itself lost its glow for me after that. However, Iggy Toma is a wonderful narrator and did a great job of keeping me engaged. He brought the characters to life and gave them dimension. I enjoyed the distinct voices he used, and the emotion he put into each scene. I’d give the narrator 4 stars and the story 3 stars for an average of 3.5.

The cover  by L.C. Chase ties in with the rest of the series and does an adequate job of representing the guys and the town although I didn’t find it sexy or particularly appealing.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon | iTunes


Book Details:

Audible Audio, 7 pages, 6 hrs 55 mins
Published December 20th 2015 by Riptide Publishing (first published June 3rd 2012)
ASINB019NHFKC8
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesTucker Springs #1 settingTucker Springs, Colorado (United States

A MelanieM Review: Safe in His Heart (Safe #2) by Renae Kaye

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Safe In His HeartAndrew and Paul learned about God and Jesus in different churches and realize their views of spirituality are worlds apart.

Andrew was raised Catholic and was told his homosexuality was a sin. For his entire life, he hid the truth. He married and had children to present a façade to the world—that of a straight man. It’s not until he has an affair with Paul, who shows him a different side of Jesus, that Andrew realizes he can be gay and still believe in God. Paul’s Jesus is one of acceptance and love, and in Paul’s church, being gay is not a problem.

For Paul and Andrew, falling in love is the easy part of their journey. They must make it through the fires of cheating, being discovered, Andrew’s wife leaving, the necessities of childcare and family life, the demands of their jobs, and working on their commitment to each other. Only then can they be safe in each other’s heart.

As I suspect for many, I was anticipating a different sort of followup story for one of my favorite Renae Kaye novels, Safe in His Arms (Safe, #1).  I knew that  Paul, best friend of Lon Taylor, had a love life to sort out and this would be that story.  The question?  Which way would Renae Kaye go in choices for Paul?  Well, she made the most difficult choice she could make, for Paul, her readers, and herself.  And the end result is a story that is at times makes it hard to connect with one or more of the main characters and their relationship, makes you think about religion, the foundation of marriage, cheating, trust, and so much more right up until the end.   I loved it.

That’s right.  I loved this story.  But its a hard won sort of love.  Not the easily, fell in love at first sight that I do with most of Renae Kaye’s stories.  This one made me work hard for it.

It starts right at the beginning with Andrew.  Closeted, married Andrew.  For many readers, that is a huge “no” right there.  But in real life?  Its a fact, as is much of the rest of the story.  Conservative, religious background.  Homosexuality made to be a sin that will land you in hell via church teachings enforced by a rigid family.  Not uncommon.  So for Kaye to bring Andrew to life with all his faults so vividly splayed out before us, messy, sort of cowardly but human…its understandable.  As the story wears on, he becomes someone we connect with as well.  We watch him fail, be miserable, and go forward.  Yep, human.  And his  relationship with his wife?  Equally complicated, full of layers too.

Paul too, (loved Paul in the first story) is not without his own issues as he recognizes.  But he also knows what and who he wants.  Its Andrew.  The author has the tricky problem of having Paul deal with not one issue but many….a closeted Andrew, a married, cheating Andrew, religious guilt, his own resolutions to live openly…that’s a lot of obstacles to tackle at one time for love.  And a novel.  But Paul  slowly works through them…with help, with no help…but we the readers are there with him each step of the way.

The story is told from two points of view and its necessary to bring every aspect of their lives into focus and examine its impact on themselves and their relationship such as it is.  This will include Andrew’s household, something which could have become problematic when the children and wife become involved.  Yet I think they added not only believability but balance.  You see why Andrew stayed married and why he married in the first place.  It works.

Will this story make readers happy?  I don’t know.  It depends on how you like your romance.  If you want your romance stories without cheating, without real life struggles and mess, self-inflicted wounds, then perhaps this isn’t the story for you. But if you like stories that challenge you to think about how hard it sometimes it to reach for love, to grab for happiness, and surmount some very real emotional obstacles, pick up Safe in His Heart (Safe #2) by Renae Kaye.  The writing is wonderful, the story difficult yet moving.  I recommend it as I do all Renae Kaye stories.

Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska has a nice cover but its sort of generic.  I know its supposed to be Paul but eh.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book  Details:

ebook, 270 pages
Published May 2nd 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 163477227X (ISBN13: 9781634772273)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Safe with links to my reviews:

Safe In His Arms
Safe In His Heart

A BJ Review: Til Death Do Us Part by Addison Albright

Rating:  3.25 stars out of 5

Til Death Do Us PartHenry and Sam Miller-Greene are living the dream. They love their careers — which afford each of them opportunities to travel to exotic locations — they love their home, Sam’s caring family, and each other. They disagree on the subject of adoption, but are fully committed to each other in marriage … ’Til Death Do Us Part.

The dream is shattered when Henry’s plane crashes and he’s presumed dead. But four people — Henry, two other men, and a child — survive undetected on a remote, small, and insignificant island. Will Sam and Henry’s love be able to survive, as well?

Henry fights to endure in harsh conditions, never knowing when disaster will strike. Sam struggles with his loss, but with help moves on with his life. Will Sam be able to put aside his new love when he reunites with Henry?

I love this sort of story, had been looking from something with this scenario, so for me the story was gripping enough that I finished it in one day to see the conclusion. The descriptions of how they survived on the island were very detailed and obviously very well researched. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, but there were several things that kept me from LOVING it as much as I really did want to.

The survivors did seem to have it remarkably easy on the small island, it wasn’t hard to find water and the supply stayed consistent, there was very little sickness or injuries over the extended length of time they were there. It’s mentioned how dangerous even small injuries can be, and yet there was a mention of blistered hands but no mention of complications from it nor how it was dealt with.  And when we do see one rather serious injury, the care was mentioned but not in depth, and the recovery was pretty much glossed over with no lasting consequences from the injury. They explain how they washed their teeth, but never that anyone had a tooth issue in all that time despite all the fruit sugar and stuff.   

My connection to the characters never felt close I’d find in books that fully engage me. A few days after reading it, I have a hard time to remember them. I wanted to feel more attuned to their emotions and desperation and trauma than what I did. Too much was told than shown, I think, which kept me at a distance from them. And the dialogue often felt unnatural.

Also there were frequent flashbacks to Henry and Sam’s relationship prior to the separation. I think this was meant to make us feel closer to them as a couple, but since it was in the past, I often felt compelled to skim and get back to current matters. The jumping around from present with each guy, then back to the past didn’t work well for me. A little touch once would have been enough for me, I’d actually rather have seen the relationship with Nash develop more rather than the rather cursory depth it was given.

Before they were rescued, despite the lack of depth to the characters, I was invested in the story and would have given it at least a four. But after the rescue, my feelings changed rather quickly. The character’s reactions after the rescue and the dialogue (often times they all seemed to just spout words without even thinking) really changed the heart of the story for me. Because I came to dislike all of them at a time when I should have been feeling for them intensely. All the back and forth, lack of thoughtfulness towards each other and what was said, just pulled me out of the story and made me hardly care.

One character just suddenly dropped off without even a final conversation on page, making me doubt if the other was ever truly in love with him. Basically, the angsty drama I had expected at the end didn’t materialize, it all felt distant. Also, I enjoyed the little boy, Buddy, and his storyline, but again it’s conclusion also so easy and left me wanting just that bit more depth and angst.

Lovely cover is lovely, perfect for the story.

Sales Links:   JMS Books LLC | Amazon


Book Details:  

ebook, 212 pages
Published April 3rd 2016 by JMS Books, LLC
Edition LanguageEnglish
CharactersHenry Miller-Greene, Sam Miller-Greene settingSeattle, WA (United States)
Honiara (Solomon Islands)
Hawaii (United States)