blog tour

Little Harbour by Sophia Soames: Blog Tour, Excerpt and Review

December 20, 2018 by Denise

This is a story about life and death. Because there has never been anyone else for Jens. He had been with Sofie almost all his life, from the day they met at school when they were fifteen, until the day she took her final breath against his chest. She was always everything to him. As he was to her. He never doubted that. Not for a minute.

This is a story of hope, where Axel Kleve keeps himself too busy to even stop and think. Work, sleep, eat, repeat. He loves his job as a Midwife at Oslo’s University Hospital, He’s good at lecturing and training, and now he has somehow been pushed into running “Ask Axel,” a midwifery blog on PNN.no, the parenting-site everyone in Norway trusts.

This is a tale of second chances. Jens, he doesn’t let himself think of Axel. He doesn’t think of Axel at all. And Axel needs to stop longing for that one crush he’s never been able to leave behind. It’s just plain ridiculous. He should have got over Jens Sommerfeldt years ago.

A song about family and love and happiness found in small doses. Of trying to parent when you don’t know how. Of finding love where you always knew it lived.

This is the story of a little harbour. The place in your heart you didn’t know was there.

Little Harbour by Sophia Soames from December 17 – 21.

Genre/s: M/M, contemporary romance

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 135 377 words/468 pages

It is a standalone story and is the first book in series of stories set in Scandinavia.

A story of love and grief, second chances, and family life. An M/M GFY-ish romance, featuring a hoard of feral children, a stolen pram, a Midwifery blog and an ill advised stint on TV. Oh yes and a Man who has lost hope and another who never gave it up.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“Can I have a hug? Please?” Axel asks. He can’t help it. He needs one. He needs to know that Jens is still Jens. His Jens. The one who hugged him every time they met up all those years ago. Jens always hugged him to say hello. Always hugged him goodbye. Always. He needs Jens to still be Jens.

Jens doesn’t hug him. Jens body slams him, so hard Axel thinks he might fall over. Stumbling backwards while Jens’ arms are squeezing him, so hard he can’t breathe, and there is hot breath against Axel’s neck and it is so Jens. All-consumingly Jens. Allhim.

“I fucking missed you so much.” Jens whispers, his voice hoarse and quiet.

I’m all yours.” Axel whispers back. “I always was.”

Where to start…..

I guess, first, hey hot cover! Second…we have Jens, who we meet about a year after losing his wife. He’s left with 4 kids varying in ages, 16 to 2 and he’s having a hard time doing it on his own. All of that though, takes a backseat when he runs into a blog/forum on where to get his 2 year old fitted for new shoes.

Now, Axel is a midwife, never settled down because he’s always loved Jens and starts a blog right when he gets reintroduced to his long lost friend, Jens. I was confused, because I thought it was supposed to be a mommy blog sort of thing, or like, a midwife kind of blog, but it’s really just a journal entry about his relationship with Jens. The whole thing reads like one big journal entry… and boy is it looooong.

So, after knowing each other in school and separating because they were falling for one another and Jens had a girlfriend who later became his wife… 20 years go by before they meet again. Jens has a family and Axel never moved on, so they jump right back into this relationship that seemed to have been on pause for Axel for the last 20 years. That didn’t seem fair to me and I hated that for him.

I also didn’t like the wall of attitude he got from Jens oldest daughter, though I completely understood why she’d be huffy about it… it was just exhausting…. She’d spout off and be hateful one second and then the very next line, they were having a normal conversation…then she’d be hateful again and he’d spout something and then friendly again. I was exhausted by 15% and I wanted to slap the attitude out of her and wash her and Mortens mouth out with soap. Let my 12 or even 16 year old tell me to F off, they’d both be sporting matching fat lips. And there is texting…. Soooo….much….texting…..

I didn’t like the dialogue. Third person is hard for me. I can go a lifetime without saying someone’s name while speaking to them.. and this was like… Jens thinks Axel is tired. Axel whispers yes, Jens knows. Or, Hey, Axel, come here Axel, I need to ask you a question Axel…. Like, really? Did you need to say his name three times in one sentence? It just irks me. Maybe I’m being too picky, but it was hard for me to get over.

However…. If you can get over it, which I did, because come on… hot dad, lots of kids, second chance.. this is my kryptonite…. And it’s actually a beautiful story of second-chance romance between two men who loved each other so much, a family who needed what Axel gave to them, and a man who’d gone twenty years loving a man he thought he’d never have.

It was long and sometimes messy, but.. such is life. I kind of lost it at the end, if you read the bonus scenes, you deal with unimaginable loss and I’m hearing people react terribly about that, and normally, I’d be one of those people… but, come on… they had the rest of their lives together, forty more years together, that’s a whole lifetime to some. There’s a trigger warning, and heed that people who don’t like it, because I was left gutted. Ugly cry, for sure… but still… death happens and in my overinvested mind they met again and got to live out eternity together. Here’s to hoping at least.

If you like second chance romance with a rowdy, crazy family and two hot dads…. Don’t pass this one up… It’s long, but worth it in the end.

4 pieces of eye candy

Sophia Soames should be old enough to know better but has barely grown up. She has been known to fangirl over tv-shows, has fallen in and out of love with more popstars than she dares to remember, and has a ridiculously high-flying (un-) glamourous real-life job.

Her long-suffering husband just laughs at her antics. Their children are feral. The AuPair just sighs. She lives in a creaky old house in rural London, although her heart is still in Scandinavia.

Discovering that the stories in her head make sense when written down has been part of the most hilarious midlife crisis ever and she hopes it may long continue.

Author Links

Facebook: Sophia Soames

Twitter: @sophiasoames

instagram: sophiasoames

Tumblr: sophia soames

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Operation Toy Rescue by Sarah Hadley Brook: Exclusive Excerpt, Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

December 19, 2018 by Denise

When Jules Evergreen lands in trouble at the North Pole and gets shipped off to Snow Hope Island for ninety days, he never expects to take up the cause of the forgotten toys waiting for new homes. Falling for his new boss is not on the agenda either, but his heart has other ideas.

Felix Winterson has grown up on Snow Hope Island and now runs the place. He isn’t thrilled when party boy Jules arrives, and Felix tries hard to ignore the man’s charms. He has other problems, anyway. For years he’s tried to get Santa to look at the growing inventory of damaged toys in the warehouse, to no avail.

When Jules comes up with a plan to save the toys, the men find themselves working closely together. As Christmas Eve looms, there’s a lot at stake. Can they save Snow Hope, convince Santa to rescue

Length: 29,000 words approx.

Publisher: JMS Books

Amazon US

Amazon UK

JMS Books

Jules popped a pepperoni pizza into the oven and settled into his recliner with the puppy in his arms, eager to watch the news and relax. He’d have to figure out what to do with her in the morning. He wasn’t even sure who to notify. The puppy snorted, and he petted her soft fur, feeling her sink against his chest. He grinned. It wasn’t a bad way to end the day. A warm puppy. Pizza. Maybe he’d call his buddy, Emmanuel, and check out how things were going at the North Pole.

Things were usually ramping up by then. The contracts with toy stores had to be completed soon in order to make sure the Big Guy had enough to deliver across the globe. The reindeer were in full workout mode, ready for the one night of the year they actually worked. Jules chuckled. Those guys had it easy. They were spoiled rotten all year, but he had to admit, they worked their asses off on Christmas Eve.

The elves would be reviewing letters to Santa, sorting through the “Naughty” and “Nice” lists. Another news flash: Santa rarely put anyone on the “Naughty” list. Not a child, anyway—he believed everyone deserved second chances. However, he’d been known to put a few teenagers on the list. One too many tacky Santa memes and it pissed off the Big Guy.

If only Santa would have applied that chance to Jules, he wouldn’t be stuck on the miserable island. He sighed and silently chastised himself. That wasn’t really fair to the Big Guy. Over the years, he’d given Jules more than enough chances to do the right thing, yet he always made the wrong choice. Ending up on Snow Hope was his own fault, and even though it was hard to swallow, Jules knew it.

The timer on the oven beeped. Starving, Jules hurried to take out the pizza, sleepy puppy still in hand. He’d worked through lunch, even when Eve had tried to get him to take a break, because he’d wanted to finish all the new shipments. Admittedly, he also wanted to show Felix he wasn’t a goof-off and could complete a task on time and do a good job. He was pretty sure Felix knew why Jules had been shuffled to the island and, for the first time, his reputation bothered him. He didn’t know why he cared what Felix thought, but for some reason, he did.

And that just pissed him off more.

He cut the pizza and piled a couple of slices onto a plate before resettling in the recliner. Eating dinner alone in front of the TV had become his new norm, and as much as he preferred his privacy, he felt a little lonely. The puppy had already drifted off to sleep on his chest and he smiled. For the first time since arriving on the island, Jules had a dinner companion.

Operation Toy Rescue is the second story I’ve read by Sarah Hadley Brook, but I saw how adorable the blurb was, and I needed it!

What an absolutely cute story. I loved how Jules was pretty forward about what he wanted, meanwhile Felix knew what he wanted and was very shy about it. And with Jules finding his “niche”, and creating such a great option for everyone on the island. It was a very good premise.

Fun, cute, and oh so Christmas-y. Everything you want in a story like this.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Dec 15 – OMG Reads, Dec 17 – Mikku-chan, The Blogger Girls, Padme’s Library, Dec 19 – Megan’s Media Melange, Two Chicks Obsessed, Dec 21 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, MM Good Book Reviews, Dec 24 – Valerie Ullmer, Bayou Book Junkie, Making It Happen, Drops Of Ink

Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.

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Homebird by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post, Tour and Release Day Review

December 19, 2018 by Denise

TCO is so glad to have Amy Lane with us today with an exclusive author guest post, all about traveling with friends. I completely agree with Amy here. Going somewhere once in a while by yourself is fun, but if you don’t have someone to be snarky with, is it really worth going? 🙂 Check out what she has to see about her MC’s from Homebird, her most recent release. Thanks for joining the blog today Amy!

Crispin Henry isn’t an adventurer. He learned early on that the world is a frightening place and that home is rare and precious. If his friends didn’t drag him to sports games and ill-advised trips to Vegas, he wouldn’t get out at all—and his trip to Munich for Oktoberfest is no exception. But it’s there that he meets Luka Gabriel, and he learns to take a chance.

Luka is a free-spirited world traveler, working at Oktoberfest to feed his enchantment with new places and new people. His only possessions fit in his backpack, and he depends on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep. Crispin should know better—but he takes Luka’s hand anyway, and together they turn three nights in Munich into the relationship neither of them has been brave enough to risk—and neither can let go of.

When Luka turns up on Crispin’s doorstep before the holiday season, Crispin takes him in on hope alone. Yes, he knows the odds are good Luka will flutter out of his life again and leave him bereft, but isn’t it worth it to see if Luka is a homebird after all?

Title: Homebird
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: December 18, 2018
Category: Holiday
Pages: 188

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

A Little Hope from My Friends By Amy Lane

I’ll be honest here.

While I love a good romance, I’ve never really been big on the “lone tourist” scenario. I mean sure, I love to wander a place—but if someone’s not there to get my jokes about myself dorking about an unfamiliar location, I feel a little adrift.

It’s why I love traveling with my husband or my children. Even the salt flats of Utah are interesting if there’s someone there to go, “Oh my God, is that a SHARK that’s popping out of the salt flats?” And then watch avidly until the Loch Ness Monster appears.

Having a friend, a compadre, a buddy to explore with is, for me, really half the fun.

The inspiration of HomeBird came from my husband’s trip to Germany with his friends. They all sort of fell in love with their waiter—because he was beautiful and fun and single, and they were mostly married and settled and in their forties. So it was natural to put Crispin, our traveler into foreign lands, in the company of friends.

But more than that, the friends were his support system. They were the reason he felt comfortable traveling in the first place. I mean seriously, if this was about a homebody traveling to find an adventurer, there’s only a few ways to get him out of the house as it is. But beyond that, if that homebody is attracted to the adventurer, is he really going to act on that attraction if there’s even a possible nobody’s going to check on him when he disappears?

And besides the physical safety, there’s the emotional reinforcement. Even if your friends are uncertain—“Are you sure you want to spend a night with this virtual stranger?” if they really are your friends, you know they’ll be there in the morning to go, “Okay, do we hate him? Are we going to egg his house? Do we need a witch to curse him? I know someone!”

Or, even better, “I’m so glad you had a good time. Give me details. Not the gross ones. Just tell me why it was good.”

And of course, you need someone when you get home, to say, “Oh, hey, you’re still talking to that guy? That’s great!” and when you tell your friends and family at home that he’s visiting, they can say, “Don’t worry! He’s not a psycho killer, we met him!”

And of course, in a year, you need your friends to say, “Hey, do you want to go on another trip? I mean, you met the love of your life on the last one, right? Let’s see what else we can do!”

Although, you know, all of those scenarios are if you’re Crispin and get hauled away to Germany to meet the love of your life.

But even if you’re not Crispin and getting hauled to Germany to meet the love of your life, it’s still nice traveling with friends.

For one thing, the more people with you, the more likelihood someone’s phone will be working at the end of the day. The more options you have to find a suitcase to stow that last valuable that won’t fit in yours. The better chance you have of someone to talk you into buying that souvenir you really really want but aren’t sure you can afford.

The more people with you, the more conversation, the more appreciation, the more excitement.

So yes—I make a big deal out of Crispin’s friends when he goes traveling. Because his friends take care of him, and when he meets Luka he has a gold standard for which to judge a companion.

And isn’t he delighted when Luka exceeds that standard and brings some perks of his own!

This was a cute little story. Crispin (bravo on the unique name) and his friends go to Germany for a long weekend of Oktoberfest. Although Crispin works with these guys, hangs out with them and goes on vacation with them, he somehow thinks they don’t know he is gay. Mmmhmmm. So when they tell him that, ya, they know, go get laid, it’s kind of cute. You all want to have friends like that.

Crispin was adopted when he was 5 after his parents died. And then as a very young adult, his adopted parents died. Whoa. Besides needing the security of his house, he really isn’t that messed up. His adoptive parents had a daughter soon after he was adopted and they grew up as siblings. He calls her his sister, but never calls his parents his. They are always his sister’s parents. That was odd.

Anyway. Off the boys go on a long weekend to Germany. From California. I’m going to let that go. On their first night, Crispin catches the eye of a waiter in one of the beer tents. And after not having a relationship in forever, says he will go home with him for the night. And basically spends his vacation with Luka.

Luka is the opposite of Crispin though. His parents also died, but he needs to continually travel and not set down roots. He is originally from Fiji, but spent a lot of his childhood in New Zealand, but now travels with world with a backpack. But he does end up on Crispin’s doorstep a few months later.

Except for the sexy times- and they are dirty (not complaining)- this was very much like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Sure the first half was Oktoberfest, but Luka shows up in California in time for Christmas.

Even with 3 sets of dead parents between them, there really isn’t much angst at all. Just a sweet book.

3 pieces of eye candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.

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Shrewd Angel (The Christmas Angel Series Book 5) by Anyta Sunday: Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

December 19, 2018 by Denise

Pax Polo is the swashbuckling guitarist for Serenity Free.

Correction: Was the swashbuckling guitarist for Serenity Free.

Now he sports a black eye and his bros have kicked him out of their band—three weeks before Christmas. It’s an unfamiliar kick to his over-inflated ego, but . . . whatever.

No problem.

Thanks to some stellar eavesdropping, an unexpected angel ornament, and a bribe to open for his favorite band ever, Pax will weasel his way back into his mates’ good graces.

All he has to do is friend Clifford, the neighborhood man-shrew, for the summer. Distract him a bit so Clifford’s younger sister can sneak around.

It sounds like a piece of beginners Beethoven. Jolly good fun.

Easy.

Because, Pax totally knows how to friend people. He has heaps of friends. This shrew’s no match for his shrewd ways. Or is he?

Length: 70,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

The Christmas Angel Series

In 1750, a master woodcarver poured all his unrequited love, passion, and longing into his masterpiece—a gorgeous Christmas angel for his beloved’s tree. When the man he loved tossed the angel away without a second thought, a miracle happened. The angel was found by another who brought the woodcarver True Love.

Since then, the angel has been passed down, sold, lost and found, but its magic remains. Read the romances inspired by (and perhaps nudged along by) the Christmas angel through the years. Whether it’s 1700s England (Eli Easton’s Christmas Angel), the 1880’s New York (Kim Fielding’s Summerfield’s Angel), the turn-of-the-century (Jordan L. Hawk’s Magician’s Angel), World War II (L.A. Witt’s Christmas Homecoming), Vietnam-era (N.R. Walker’s Soldier’s Wish), the 1990’s (Anyta Sunday’s Shrewd Angel), or 2018 (RJ Scott’s Christmas Prince), the Christmas angel has a way of landing on the trees of lonely men who need its blessing for a very Merry Christmas and forever HEA.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Christmas Angel – Eli Easton – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Summerfield’s Angel – Kim Fielding – Amazon US | Amazon UK

The Magician’s Angel – Jordan L. Hawk – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Christmas Homecoming – L.A. Witt – Amazon US | Amazon UK

A Soldier’s Wish – N.R. Walker – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Christmas Prince – RJ Scott- Amazon US | Amazon UK

Perfect cover! Hey, hot guy!

Mmmmkay, so, first thing’s first… I know nothing of this Shakespeare – Taming of the Shrew. I wish I did because then I might not have been so annoyed with Pax in the beginning. He was conceited and entitled and once his band had given him the boot, he was all about scheming to get himself back in, even though he kind of deserved the swift kick out . So, maybe he didn’t do what they thought he did, he didn’t do anything to disabuse them of the idea that he did. Just a snarky, smug, smile… I’d have knocked him in the mouth too! However, my heart did break for him when I learned the real reason. What terrible people they all were.

So, since the band decided they’d figure out what to do with him after Christmas, he moved in with a nice Italian boy looking for a roommate. Luca was cute, and half in love with the girl next door. The problem with that was, she had a “shrew” brother who wouldn’t let her so much as look at a boy, and the neighbor on the other side had a crush on her too. Bonus for Pax… the neighbor on the other side, who seemed like almost a big of douche as Pax, had Rockstar family who Pax could sure use in getting his band back. All he had to do was keep the neighbor shrew busy so the girl next door could take her pick of which boy she liked and maybe spend time with them. Very cute idea…. Very 10-things-I-hate-about-you, 90’s era, teenage movie.

Pax and the Shrew, his name is Cliff… their banter was cute, in a Cliff hates any and everything other than studying law-enforcement books and making sure his sister has zero fun in her life, and Pax takes nothing serious ever and thinks he can charm the pants off anyone he so much as blinks at. I was glad to see Cliff give him a little run for his money. It put him in place a bit.

However, the more we get to know them both, the deeper we get into who they both are and why they are the way they are. It was a hard go… They’re both so incredibly stubborn and watching them together, the push and pull was so worth everything.

I loved Lucca, Binaca and I even learned to love Henry. What I didn’t love and wish I could’ve had more karmic justice, was Pax’s band. I wish they would’ve gotten more of a middle finger and the angel to do her juju and ruin all of them for the way they treated Pax, especially Blake. I was glad that Pax finally came to his senses, but I wish he’d have gotten back at them more… I’m super petty that way. I’d blame it on my age, but I can’t.

In saying all of that…. The bickering, the back and forth, the hurt feelings and stubbornness was so worth it in the end. I absolutely adored this story… I’m not usually one for billionaires, or rock stars, or huge CEO’s who have more money in sense…. So I was reluctant when I started this one. I just can’t help it, I like my boys, blue-collar every day folks….I shouldn’t have been though, because I’ve read several by this author and adored every single one of them…. This one was no different. 5 very easy stars from me!! What a perfect ending! <3

Dec 2 – Boulevard des Passions, OMGReads, Urban Smoothie Read, Dec 4 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Megan’s Media Melange, Dec 8 – The Book Corps, Dec 10 – My Fiction Nook, Xtreme Delusions, Lelyana’s Reviews, Dec 12 – Mirrigold, Open Skye, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Rainbow Book Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, Dec 14 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Dec 17 – Bonkers About Books, Dec 19 – Lillian Francis, Making It Happen, Momma Says: To Read Or Not To Read, The Secret Ko, The Written Voice of Is, Two Chicks Obsessed, Wicked Reads, Dec 21 – Bayou Book Junkie, Book Corner Reviews, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews

A bit about me: I’m a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.

Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.

I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.

My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Thai.

Contact: http://www.anytasunday.com/about-anyta/

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Only Love by Garrett Leigh: Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

December 18, 2018 by Denise

The diagnosis of a chronic stomach condition leaves thirty-two-year-old Sergeant Jed Cooper with little choice but to call time on his Army career. Then on the dusty streets of Kirkuk, an ambush gone tragically wrong decimates his team, and he returns to the US with a shattered leg and the memory of his best friend dying in his arms.

Life in his sleepy hometown proves intolerable until he finds solace in a lakeside cabin with vivacious young carpenter, Max O’Dair. In the shadow of the epilepsy that periodically plagues Max, he and Jed form an unspoken bond. After a late night episode, Jed realizes how much Max means to him, and life has taught him not to waste time.

But the lines between contentment and complacency are blurred. Things left hidden resurface to tear through their world, and before they can repair the damage, death comes to call again. Faces, past and present, rally around them to weather the storm, but before long, they are left with only love.

Length: 355 pages

Cover Design: Book Cover By Design

Amazon US

Amazon UK

This book was a bit of a heart breaker. Mostly because Jed is just so broken. Physically and mentally. But if you know me, you know I love a good tear jerker!

After losing several of his “brothers” while on a mission, and taking a bullet to the leg, it is time for Jed to say goodbye to military life. When he is hurt, his brother asks him to come home to Seattle and stay with his family. Well that turned out to be a fairly epic mistake. So Jed’s sister in law mentions that her brother rents a quiet house on the lake and has an extra bedroom. Off Jed goes to live with a stranger- which is a better alternative than his alcoholic brother.

Max and his service dog are used to being alone. Max has epilepsy, but having his dog trained to alert him has given him the independence he craved. So while he isn’t used to having anyone in his space, he can’t say no to Jed.

There were a few things in the book that were a little eye rolling. Setting up the 2 gay brothers. Gay military guy in love with his straight best friend. Thrown out by his father at 18 for being gay. A few others that I don’t want to give away as spoilers. But there was also a nice slow burn love story. Of two men who really didn’t know how to have a relationship with each other and were stumbling through. Of both men having medical issues that have to be dealt with. Those things trumped the eye rolling things.

My heart broke for Jed so much. PTSD, recovering from a fairly catastrophic gun shot wound to his leg AND gastroparesis. Not to mention his messed up family. Or his friends that were more like family than his was. And Max who just wanted to help Jed. And love him.

Max has his own secrets, but they were kind of anticlimatic to me. But they did add that necessary turmoil.

There were lots of tears in the last 1/4 of the book. Which is not a problem for me- but fair warning. You will most definitely need tissues. The epilogue was…kinda of a mess. I didn’t understand several things. But *shrugs*.

Overall, it was different, but parts were very formulaic. I’d still recommend because it was a good story.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Dec 11 – The Way She Reads, Reading In Sarah’s Corner, MM Midnight Cafe, Xtreme Delusions, Diverse Reader, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Dilyana’s World, Kimmers Erotic Book Banter, Two Chicks Obsessed, Jessie G Books, Sizzling Romance, Dec 13 – Mikku-chan, Drops of Ink, Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Lelyana’s Reviews, Wicked Reads, Dec 15 – Gay Media Reviews, Book Corner Reviews, Mainely Stories, Mirrigold, Love Unchained, Dec 17 – The Secret Of Ko, Making It Happen, The Geekery Book Review, Dec 19 – Bonkers About Books, Dec 21 – MM Good Book Reviews, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Lillian Francis, Book Review Virginia Lee

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.

Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess.

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

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A Soldier’s Wish (The Christmas Angel Series) by N.R. Walker: Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

December 17, 2018 by Denise

The year is 1969…

Gary Fairchild is proud to be a hippie college student, and he protests the Vietnam War because he believes in love and peace. To him, it isn’t just a counterculture movement—it’s a way of life. When tickets to the Aquarium Exposition—3 Days of Peace & Music, or Woodstock, as it was better known, go on sale, there’s no way he isn’t going.

Richard Ronsman is a sheltered farm boy who lives in the shadow of his overbearing father. He’s hidden his darkest secret to earn his father’s love, but nothing is ever good enough—not even volunteering for the Vietnam War. And with just a few days left before he’s deployed, he’s invited by a striking hippie to join him at a music festival.

Three days of music, drugs, rain, mud, and love forged a bond between these two very different men that would shape the rest of their lives. They share dreams and fears, and when Richard is shipped off to war, they share letters and love. For Richard’s first Christmas home, he is gifted a special angel ornament that just might make a soldier’s wish come true.

This story is one of seven stories which can all be read and enjoyed in any order.

The Christmas Angel Series

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Christmas Angel – Eli Easton – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Summerfield’s Angel – Kim Fielding – Amazon US | Amazon UK

The Magician’s Angel – Jordan L. Hawk – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Christmas Homecoming – L.A. Witt – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Shrewd Angel – Anyta Sunday – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Christmas Prince – RJ Scott- Amazon US | Amazon UK

Gary and his friends are on a break from school and on their way to Woodstock, cuz… heck yeah, they are!
Classified as a “hippie” and don’t judge me because I was born in the ’80s, but neither Gary or his friends really felt like the classic “good-for-nothing, earth-hugging, vegan-types-of-the-new-millennium we have these days lol He was amazing. The wisdom he had, and his compassion and patience. You can’t help but fall in love with him immediately.

Anyway, on the road an entire hour, Gary and his friends decide to stop at a little diner on the way. That’s where Gary sees a sad looking solider, sitting alone at a table looking like he might cry. Now, maybe it’s the day I’m having or maybe it’s the other’s I’ve read in this awesome, Christmas-time series, or maybe it’s a tiny reminder of what seems like everyone has forgotten….Vietnam. Either way… I was crying from the beginning. Happy Monday!

Richard has just visited his family before being shipped out, and having enlisted for the wrong reasons and being confused about who he was, and why… I was so glad that he found Gary. Like I mentioned, Gary was so compassionate and so full of wisdom. He helped Richard acknowledge who he was when he offered him the lifeline of 3 days at Woodstock.

I adored their time together, dancing, singing, experimenting… and just being. It hurt so bad when those days were up and Richard had to go. No stranger to ugly crying, I didn’t even try to hold it back. Deciding to write to each other while Richard was away, it broke my heart to see him go.

Those letters though… those letters were everything. Getting to know each other and keeping each other sane in a time when everyone overseas needed a little bit of sanity. They fell in love through those letters and made plans for their future, and I believe it was probably the only thing that kept Richard going. And that Gary was going on with his life, making plans for them to be together when Richard finally returned. It was sweet and hopeful, and I was dying for them to finally get their happily ever after.

Unfortunately, there were so many obstacles in their way. War and destruction, of course, but also it’s hard to imagine, in today’s world, but it wasn’t long ago, and it still is in so many places, illegal for two people of the same sex to be together. Doesn’t that just seem insane? Like, literally, inconceivable. Who’s business is that? How would you prove it, if you suspected it? People were really arrested for it? What a sick and sad time to be a minority. It’s getting better all the time, but I look forward to a day when there is no distinction at all. No gay marriage, just marriage. No, same-sex relationships, just relationships. Here’s to hoping!

But, together, again with Gary being so amazing, patient, persistent and reassuring, they got through it all together. I know I said it last book, but this one might just be my favorite. Not only because I love this author, but because once I started it, I couldn’t even go to the bathroom, I didn’t want to put it down.

I loved all of it. Gary’s best friend Kat and his amazingly accepting and wonderful parents…. So sweet. And the quotes. I highlighted more in this short story than I ever have, any book, ever. It was all so profound. Just… if you haven’t, you really should read this one, and of course, we get the Christmas Angel. I can’t wait to see who she blesses next.

What a great Christmas read. Loved it!

5 pieces of eye candy

Dec 2 – Boulevard des Passions, Gay Book Reviews, Dec 4 – Lelyana’s Reviews, Dec 6 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Megan’s Media Melange, Dec 8 – Xtreme Delusions, My Fiction Nook, Dec 10 – Mirrigold, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Open Skye, The Secret Of Ko, Rainbow Book Reviews, Dec 12 – Bookaholic & Kindle, Dec 14 – Making It Happen, MM Good Book Reviews, Dec 17 – Momma Says: To Read Or Not To Read, Lillian Francis, Wicked Reads, Two Chicks Obsessed, Dec 19 – Drops Of Ink, Kimmers Erotic Book Banter, Bayou Book Junkie, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Dec 21 – Bonkers About Books, Book Corner Reviews

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who she gives them life with words.

She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things…but likes it even more when they fall in love. She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since…

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