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Squared Away by Annabeth Albert: Exclusive Author Guest Post, Blog Tour, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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In the wake of tragedy, SEAL Mark Whitley rushed stateside to act as guardian to his sister’s three young children. But a conflicting will could give custody to someone else—someone Mark remembers as a too young, too hot, wild party boy. Even after six years, Mark can’t shake the memory of his close encounter with Isaiah James, or face up to what it says about his own sexuality.

Isaiah’s totally over the crush that made him proposition Mark all those years ago. In fact, he’s done with crushing on the wrong men altogether. For now, he’s throwing himself into proving he’s the best person to care for his cousin’s kids. But there’s no denying there’s something sexy about a big, tough military man with a baby in his arms.

As the legal details get sorted out, their long-buried attraction resurfaces, leading to intimate evenings after the kids are tucked in. A forever future is within reach for all of them, if only Mark can find the courage he needs to trust Isaiah with his secrets—and his heart.

 

When a SEAL medic inherits three young children, he must battle to keep the family together and keep his long-held feelings for the man challenging him for custody at bay.

Squared Away

Series: Out of Uniform #5

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date (Print & Ebook): April 16. Print, ebook, and audio all available.

Length (Print & Ebook): 80,000 words

Subgenre: m/m military romance

Includes: military romance, insta-family, hurt/comfort, angst, interracial, heroes-with-kids, gay romance, demisexual/gray ace hero, first time, loss, reunion, forced proximity

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Greetings! I’m so excited to be here today, talking about SQUARED AWAY, the latest book in my out of uniform series. One of the heroes, Isaiah, shows up as a minor character in AT ATTENTION as a new friend for Dylan, the AT ATTENTION hero. Isaiah intrigued me from the start and when he insisted on reappearing in WHEELS UP in a minor role for a scene, I knew he was getting a book.

He demanded Mark “Wizard” Whitley who appeared in ON POINT as a medic. Isaiah has had a crush on Mark ever since Mark’s sister married Isaiah’s beloved cousin. He really believed that they shared a special connection, but Mark gently turned him down, and now years have gone by and Isaiah’s tried to push his crush aside.

But when tragedy throws him and Mark together to raise three young children, old feelings come rising to the surface. Isaiah’s deep feelings for Mark are contrasted with his fun-loving personality. He’s great with the kids because he loves playing around, dancing, and inventing games. He’s learning skills like cooking as he goes along, and he does a really admirable job coping with the tragedy.

Isaiah is something of a hedonist—he loves long baths, massages, and finding ways to share pleasure. He’s good at taking pleasure in the small things in life too. His big ambition is to run his own landscaping business, and he takes particular pride in designing gardens for families. Something of a party boy when he was younger, Isaiah is coming to see how much of a homebody side he really has—he loves movies, dinners in, and sneaking cuddles on the couch.

His story was one of my very favorites to write, and I can’t wait for you to meet Isaiah in SQUARED AWAY! Enjoy!

 

What Annabeth Albert has to say about this book in her Out of Uniform series:

“I wanted to write a book about the nature of family and how loss and tragedy can shape family, mold it into something stronger, force growth and change. I’m enormously proud of SQUARED AWAY as a result because how I fell in love with this little family.”

“When Wizard first appeared in ON POINT as a secondary character, I was intrigued by him, but it wasn’t until I let myself get into his head that I really saw how complicated he was. I feel honored and privileged to have been able to tell his story.”

“No book gets written in a vacuum and this one is no different. I owe a huge debt on this book to my sensitivity readers who really encouraged me to dig deep.”

Mark and Isaiah…Mark’s sister married Isaiah’s cousin, and thus a crush is born.

At their wedding several years ago, Isaiah saw Mark and wanted him so bad. Unfortuntaely, Mark being a Navy SEAL, and Isaiah being so young, Mark turned him down when Isaiah propositioned him, then spent the next several years avoiding him as best he could. Then, tragedy strikes and they lose the people they had in common, and it’s so hard on both of them. Harder even because they’ve left their three kids behind, with a confusing will and neither know what to do about it, but both of them want the kids. Have I mentioned, ever how big of a sucker I am for hot guys with cute kids? I mean come on! Who doesn’t love that?!?!

Isaiah may have been a party boy and may have been flighty and irresponsible before, but with those kids…he’s fierce and protective and they all love each other so much. He would’ve went down swinging for them for sure. Unfortunately, Mark had been deployed and busy with his own life, so he didn’t have a relationship with them, but wanted to, now that he could. He couldn’t do it without Isaiah though, he was the one holding them all together.

Now, there were terms I had to look up, because I didn’t understand what gray ace was, or demisexual, there are so many different labels, I had to look them up. I wonder how many people struggle with that? Thinking that there’s something wrong with them and not knowing what…Or feeling broken somehow and not knowing that there are other people out there with the same preferences.  I loved that this story used that. I was ignorant to it before and I like learning new things, so… thanks for that!

There were times I wanted to shake Mark and wonder how in the world he didn’t know that some of the things he was doing, could and probably would hurt Isaiah, because in my opinion…Isaiah was so much more patient and understanding than I would’ve been. Not about Mark coming out, but just about everything. Mark was kind of lost, and trying to find his way with this new “relationship”, not only romantically, but as uncles who were raising 3 children and trying to the best they could with that they had. A lot fell on Isaiah, and it had to be a lot of strain on him…I admired him for keeping it together and wanting to do what was right for the babies, even when he was hurting so bad, with everything that was getting thrown at him, left and right. I was rooting for both of them, but I had such a soft spot in my heart for Isaiah.

I also loved seeing the other guys from this series, and seeing how they took Mark’s back when he needed them, even though it took him forever to let his guard down and trust them to have it. Tackling same sex marriages in the military at all is tricky business, so I love reading stories where it’s accepted and even celebrated, even if only in small ways. One of these days we’ll get to a place where it won’t be a thing we even have to differientiate. Fingers crossed.

Until then, I’ll keep reading and loving these stories, and I thought this one was an excellent addition.

4 pieces of eye candy from me!

To his surprise, Mark didn’t laugh. Instead, he looked thoughtful. “What if I asked you to?” he said softly.

“To put out?” Isaiah’s throat had never seemed drier.

“We’re sitting here. Talking. Like adults. Just a couple of guys. And I can’t quit thinking about your lips, and I don’t know why.” Mark’s voice had a sleepy, dreamlike quality to it, and Isaiah was fully prepared to wake up any second because he’d been dreaming about Mark saying shit like this for years.

“I do.” Moving slowly as to not bang heads or—more likely—spook Mark, Isaiah moved so that their faces were level, inches apart. “You want to kiss me.”

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.  The #OutOfUniform series joins her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite LGBTQ  romance #Gaymers, #PortlandHeat and #PerfectHarmony series. To find out what she’s working on next and other fun extras, check out her website: www.annabethalbert.com or connect with Annabeth on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify! Also, be sure to sign up for her newsletter for free ficlets, bonus reads, and contests. The fan group, Annabeth’s Angels, on Facebook is also a great place for bonus content and exclusive contests.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter.  In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two active children.

Connect with Annabeth:

Twitter | Facebook  | Facebook Group | Newsletter | Instagram | Website

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Guns n’ Boys Series by K.A. Merikan: Exclusive Guest Post with Giveaway

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Guns n’ Boys Series Blog Tour

Book #1 He Is Poison
Book #2 He Is Mine
Book #3 Homicidal Instinct
Book #4 Swamp Blood
Book #5 Chokehold
Book #6 Bloodbath
Book #7 Gilded Agony

Midway through writing the Guns n’ Boys series, our covers have gone through a radical transformation.

When we first published book 1, we thought we found the perfect photo for it. It needed to be dark, to communicate its serious atmosphere and the violence between the characters.

But we didn’t take into account a very important issue–despite these books having so much action and blood, they are romances at the core, and that was what the cover needed to project. So no matter how much we loved the old covers for their style, by the time we got to book 5, we bit the bullet and approached our designer (Natasha Snow) for a big rework of all the covers.

We wanted them to be hot, dark and gritty. So yes, we went full man-chest 😉 When starting out in M/M romance we had big dreams of artsy covers. Kat even drew the first one herself! But as we learned about the market and gained better understanding of what makes an eye-catching cover and how it needs to communicate genre and content at first glance, we needed to change our approach. This is what we came up for the series with Natasha:

Including the latest one:

It features an attractive man, while still communicating the themes of violence, entrapment, and building intrigue.

When the time came to think about the cover for book 8, we knew we needed to keep the series branding and make it somewhat similar in style, but because “Guns n’ Boys: A Breath of Innocence” has much less violence and a sweeter relationship, this is what Natasha came up with for it:

We were delighted to have all this brightness and light after the darkness that always lurks somewhere in Domenico and Seth’s relationship. The bright background will nicely distinguish the books about Mark and Griffith while staying in the same style as the whole Guns n’ Boys series.


To begin your journey with Seth and Domenico you should start here, with Book One: He Is Poison.

— Love like butterfly knives in the stomach. —

Domenico Acerbi. The Villani Family’s best assassin. Ruthless. Vicious. With no patience for weakness.

Seth Villani. The Don’s son. Clueless. Stubborn. In dire need of someone to keep him in line.

Domenico Acerbi grew up ready to give his life for the Family. Ready to follow orders and exceed expectations. A proud man of honor.

The last thing he wants to deal with is training the Don’s son for his future role within the organization. Lazy, annoying, spoiled, and as hot as a Sicilian summer, Seth Villani is no mafia material. But a man who could never become a threat might just be what Domenico needs.

Seth Villani wants nothing to do with the mafia. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a say when he’s pulled back into the fold. Thrown into a den of serpents otherwise known as the Villani Family, Seth has to find a way to navigate the maze of lies. But when Domenico Acerbi, the most vicious snake of them all, sinks his fangs into Seth, letting go becomes impossible.

If Seth is doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps, he might as well enjoy himself with the most intoxicating man he’s ever met. Maybe he can even fool himself into believing that Domenico isn’t a handsome sociopath who kills for a living.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

Themes: Enemies to lovers, mafia, homophobia, assassin, organized crime, forced proximity

Genre: Dark, twisted M/M romance / crime thriller

Length: ~110,000 words

WARNING: Adult content. Sizzling hot scenes. If you are easily offended, this book is not for you.
‘Guns n’ Boys’ is a gritty story of extreme violence, offensive language, abuse, and morally ambiguous protagonists. Behind the morbid facade, there is a splash of inappropriate dark humor, and a love story that will crawl under your skin.

K.A. Merikan are a team of writers who try not to suck at adulting, with some success. Always eager to explore the murky waters of the weird and wonderful, K.A. Merikan don’t follow fixed formulas and want each of their books to be a surprise for those who choose to hop on for the ride.

K.A. Merikan have a few sweeter M/M romances as well, but they specialize in the dark, dirty, and dangerous side of M/M, full of bikers, bad boys, mafiosi, and scorching hot romance.

FACEBOOK PROFILE
K.A. MERIKAN’S TWITTER (RUN BY KAT)
AGNES MERIKAN’S TWITTER
K.A. MERIKAN ON GOODREADS
PINTEREST
M/F ROMANCE BY MISS MERIKAN

Comment on the post to win, one person from each stop in the blog tour will win their choice of a backlist ebook from K.A. Merikan.  Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for your chance to win the Grand Tour Prize. (You can enter this one daily for more chances to win!)

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Redeeming the Stepbrother by Andrew Grey: Exclusive Guest Post and Excerpt

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Family can be a blessing and a curse, but for artist Florian, it’s a nightmare he longs to escape.
As chief designer for Bartholomew Artist Porcelain, Florian specializes in painting birds. He also watches them in the wild to distract himself from his short-tempered mother, at least temporarily. Florian’s heart is too soft to leave his stepsister, Ella, to suffer alone. Still, he can’t help dreaming about one day finding happiness and love.

When Count Dieter von Hollenbach arrives in town to visit a friend and present an award, he isn’t looking for romance. Then again, he doesn’t expect someone as perfect as Florian to come into his life. To make sure Florian is all he seems and that their connection is genuine, Dieter keeps his title to himself.

But he isn’t the only one with a secret.

At a masquerade ball to celebrate the award, some of the masks fall away, but those that remain in place could destroy the love beginning to grow between them.

Title: Redeeming the Stepbrother
Series: Tales from St. Giles: Book 2
Author: Andrew Grey
Release Date: April 10, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 192

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

I love the story of Cinderella and Redeeming the Stepbrother is my take on the classic fairy tale.  Well sort of.  See I didn’t want to do a Cinder-fella story.  They had been done, so I decided to twist the story and write a romance from one of the stepbrother’s perspectives.  See, I’ve already twisted the story to meet my own needs.  Of course you’ll recognize many of the classic players in the fairy tale, including the prince.   LOL   I had an amazing time with this story. It was fun, and interesting for me as a writer.  To play with some classic archetypal characters and put my own spin on them.  I think as a writer to be able to play with things like this, for me anyway, was as liberating and fun as it was a challenge.  I wanted to bring something new while still retaining enough of the familiar to make the story fun.  Of course you’ll see some old friends as well from Taming the Beast.  I really hope you enjoy it. 

“Look at that mess,” Mother scolded. “You need to stop all that stupid bird shit and do something productive with your time.” She sat at the kitchen table in a pair of jeans and a red blouse, reading a book. She lifted her gaze to Isabella, who was at the sink doing dishes, before returning to her book. “Put the jeans in the washtub once you’ve changed so they can be rinsed out. Don’t put them in the washer. I don’t want mud in there again.” She never looked up at me. It was her usual behavior.

I went up to my room, changed, and brought the jeans back down. Once they were taken care of, I took a sandwich to my room and locked the door so Jeremy, Mother’s favorite and my perfect older brother, didn’t come in to cause trouble. We each had a talent, and that was definitely his. The jerk.

I put the plate and glass of water on my desk, then pulled out my paint kit and a blank canvas from the closet. I set up my small easel and got to work, brush in hand, mixing colors, letting my inner eye take over.

There were many things about my job that I loved. Painting birds in great detail, flying, sitting still, standing in a pool of water—I enjoyed it. The work made me happy and I was good at it. I could actually make a living with my art. And I was proud of that. But it was what I did in this room, after work, alone—just me, the paint, and the canvas—that got my heart racing. At night, I painted men—nude, beautiful men, the ones who came to me in my head. And I had a vivid, wild, and sometimes naughty imagination. What always made me smile was that I sold my art on the internet. People paid me for the visual representations of my fantasies.

My mother and brother would have two fits and a hemorrhage, each, if they knew about my little side business, so I hid the canvases under my bed. After all these years, if I stacked them all up, my mattress would be six feet off the ground. Lots of pictures came to me. Not that it mattered, as I shipped most of them away, all over the world, and did it very quietly.

Anyway, I put the fresh canvas on the easel and got to work. The shoulder-length blond hair and strong jaw were easy enough to recreate, as were Dieter’s eyes and nose. Those I had seen, and because I posed him slightly to the side, I was easily able to imagine what his butt looked like. After the way his pants had tightened when he’d bent over, I just let my mind’s eye remove them. It was the rest of him that left me at a loss, but not for long. One thing I had learned was to let my mind fill in the blanks. It was so much easier and a lot more fun. I painted his broad shoulders, which were pretty easy to see through his clothes, and the rest, I just let my little old mind take over.

Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.

Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing)  He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Author Links

Amazon Author Page

Barnes and Noble Page

Dreamspinner Press

Facebook

Facebook Group All the Way with Andrew Grey

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Twitter @andrewgreybooks

Website

 

 

A Dom and His Artist by Xenia Melzer: Exclusive Guest Post and Release Day Review

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Sometimes the perfect man can be found in the most unexpected place….

Martin Carmichael owns a security firm and is part owner of Club Whisper. He’s a Dom in search of the right guy, and when his car breaks down on a lonely stretch of road, he thinks he might have found him.

Artist Collin Malloy is talented, easygoing, but somewhat insecure. Still, he has a big heart and is quick to offer help when he sees Martin in need. To thank him, Martin invites Collin to dinner, where the attraction between them becomes harder to resist.

But what will become of their budding relationship when Martin reveals that he likes his men bound, submissive, and in pain? Is it something Collin can accept… and possibly enjoy exploring? Even if he can, Collin has a secret of his own—a secret he doesn’t even realize he’s keeping.

Title: A Dom and His Artist
Series: Club Whisper: Book 2
Author: Xenia Melzer
Release Date: April 10, 2018
Category: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Pages: 194

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

An Interview with Collin Malloy

X.M.: Hello Collin, it’s great to talk to you. How are you doing?

C.M.: Hello Xenia, I’m fine, really fine. You know, Martin and I had a scene just yesterday and it was so nice, with hot wax in different colors, so of course I had to call red and start experimenting right away, and did you know Martin has all kinds of colors and the candles are made from bee’s wax and smell totally good, and I got a very nice dribble pattern on the sheets of our bed, and then I researched candles and wax, and in some parts of Bavaria and Austria people make pictures of holy people, like the Virgin Mary or Christ on the cross, from wax, which is just fascinating, and Martin said we can have some beehives so I can get my own wax, and the honey, though I think it’s kind of mean to take the honey from the bees, since they work so hard for it, and I’m sure sugar water isn’t even half as good, but at least they don’t have to fly far to get the honey, because our garden has all kinds of flowers and they bloom all year round, so perhaps it’s okay to take some of the honey, since the bees can always collect more, and isn’t that just cool?

X.M.: Uh, yeah, I guess so? Now, how did you meet Martin Carmichael?

C.M.: *bounces up and down on his chair* Uhh, that was so great. I was out looking for dreams, you know, the kind of dreams that you have and you feel they’re kind of real, even though a part of you knows you’re dreaming, and all it takes is a hard pinch to wake you, and somehow you want to wake, but somehow you also don’t want to, because then this feeling of being there and not being there is gone, which is a beautiful paradox that only makes sense in the dream world, which goes to show how important dreams are, and sometimes I wonder if the dream world isn’t the real world and what we think is reality is just some kind of twisted version of what could be if we would only realize it – though I’m not sure how eating and drinking would work when you’re asleep and the dream world was your home, and perhaps things would just switch around and we wouldn’t even notice.

X.M.: Yeah? About Martin…

C.M.: Right. How I met Martin. Sorry, I get distracted sometimes. This world is just so full of wonderful things… Anyway, I was looking for dreams and I found some pretty good ones, a skull, some pipes, old branches, and a few odd stones that reminded me of Stonehenge, the way they were grouped, and I hope I didn’t destroy somebody’s magic site, though I didn’t feel anything magical and there didn’t seem to have been any people recently, so I think it was fine. I was on my way back to Miami when I spotted Martin by the side of the road. His car had just stopped working, and later, nobody at the garage could tell him what the problem had been, but I think it was so that we could meet, and that is a totally logical explanation, even though Martin doesn’t think so, but I know when I’m right, because then I get this tingly feeling deep in my stomach, similar to when Martin makes me feel good in the playroom, and have you ever noticed how your body tries to talk to you and helps you with decisions and stuff, because mine does this all the time, and not only when I need to eat or drink. *smiles happily*

X.M.: Yes, I actually know what you’re talking about. Now, your first meeting with Martin…

C.M.: I still haven’t told you? Funny, how time runs away from us sometimes, as if it’s this living thing, like a puppy, that wants to play with us, and sometimes it runs so fast we can’t keep up, and other times it’s so slow, it seems as if nothing will ever happen again, and I can see why people refer to time as a river, though rivers are also a symbol of life and life’s journey, and perhaps I should start working with water, or no, I have to drive to the next river and find my answers there, and I wonder if it’s possible to build my own river, but then Martin has to buy a bigger yard to fit the river, and where would we put the beehives then, and I have to think about this, though my own river is probably not a good idea, but perhaps I can have my own pond with frogs, and fish, and dragonflies, and water lilies, and ducks. Ducks would be nice, don’t you think?

X.M.: *gives up* Yes. Yes, I think ducks would be nice. Thank you for your time, Collin.

C.M.: *already gone to find ducks*

This book is definitely not your average BDSM story. If you read the above interview with Collin, the sub MC in this book, you will absolutely see that this story will be a bit different than most would expect from a BDSM. However, the characters are just so interesting, it really makes that read just that much more enjoyable.

Collin is a true artist, and I loved this character so much. He saw art in everything, which was amazing. He was fascinated with bees, and skeletons, and tree branches. Honestly anything he saw. There was actually a BDSM scene in the book that I was very intrigued about, where it takes an unexpected turn. His Dom, Martin, at first is irritated, but quickly realizes he is looking at the situation from the wrong perspective.

That scene really honed in on the connection between the two characters, and how perhaps when you find someone, you need to allow them the leeway to be themselves, in order for them to be what you need in your life.

Martin learned quickly as his relationship with Collin developed that what had been his previous rules were never going to work with Collin. Martin quickly found his way into this new role.

A really enjoyable read that brought home the fact that BDSM is not about a set of rules that cannot be broken, but about finding the right set of rules for your situation, and your relationship. What works for one couple will not work for another.

4 pieces of eye candy

 

Xenia Melzer is a mother of two who enjoys riding and running when she’s not writing stories. She doesn’t like beer but is easily tempted by a Virgin Mojito. Or chocolate. Truffles are especially cherished, even though she doesn’t discriminate. As a true chocoholic, she welcomes any kind of cocoa-based delight.

You can contact her through her website: http//www.xeniamelzer.com

Or befriend and follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xeniamelzer/

 

Sweet Nothings by T. Neilson: Exclusive Guest Post, New Release Review

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Will a bitter bite from the past spoil a sweet romance?

Tristan Love, the youngest of seven brothers, is back in his hometown. He’s left the New York food scene and an abusive relationship behind him, but he holds his love of French pastries close to his heart and is determined to put his skills to use in a bakery of his own.

Returning to his childhood home means his meddlesome brother Simon will butt into his business, but before the bakery even opens its doors, Tristan’s delectable creations have the town’s mouths watering, and Jake, a cute mechanic, asks Tristan out. It all seems worthwhile….

That is, until the bakery burns down, Jake’s criminal past comes to light, and Tristan’s nasty ex rears his head where he is decidedly not wanted.

 

Release Date Apr 3, 2018

Type Novel

Genre MM Contemporary Romance

Words 63,173

Pages 248

ISBN-13 978-1-64080-248-3

File Formats epub, mobi, pdf

Amazon

Dreamspinner

Kobo

Sometimes life slings something unpleasant your way, and there’s nothing you can do about it and there’s no way to get out of the way. At times like those, I reach for a romance. And a cinnamon roll.

I love pastries, and I love romance. The richer, fluffier, and sweeter the better. It’s like that meme that’s been going around the internet, “Cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too perfect”; that’s my ideal M/M pairing. Two cinnamon rolls, sweet and fluffy, but no strangers to sticky situations. In this case, there’s Tristan, the determined-to-prove-himself youngest of seven (seven!) who came back home after a bad romance and is picking up the pieces, and there’s Jake, who’s maybe a little crusty on one side what with his time in jail and the things people say about him, but who’s just as sweet as can be, and has a real soft side for anyone willing to take the time to try to uncover it.

But you can’t just have two cinnamon rolls there on a plate and call it good. You need a little something more. You need the guys who run the cafe next door who brew coffee strong enough to cut all that sugar, and the big sister who always cleans up the messes, and the brothers who squabble over who gets the most icing but really actually love one another right down to the crumbs. Basically the textual equivalent of coffee with those rolls. And possibly ice cream too. Because, heck. Everybody needs a sweet treat once in a while.

Sweet Nothings by T. Neilson: Release Day Review

T Neilson writes flirty, silly, contemporary m/m romance featuring recovering addicts, mental health problems, and abuse survivors. Honestly, honestly, the books are silly. I swear.

No Tears for Darcy by Vicki Reese: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt and Release Day Review

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Letting love pass them by would be a crime.

Former forensic accountant Cameron has lost nearly everyone he’s ever loved, and now his vintage clothing shop has been broken into and trashed. When town police chief Will Carson asks an out-of-town cop friend of his for help, Cam takes one look at the dark-haired, blue-eyed detective and knows he’s in real trouble—and it has nothing to do with vandalism or murder.

Pete Minchelli is on leave from his job in Philadelphia due to a gunshot wound, but he figures he can help an academy buddy with some light police work. Plus, he’ll have a chance to experience small-town life. He’s tired of the big city and all its corruption. But he quickly discovers that not all the bad stuff happens in cities. What he doesn’t expect to find is death, treachery—or love.

Title: No Tears for Darcy
Author: Vicki Reese
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Category: Mystery/Suspense
Pages: 197

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Luc’s story

Hi! I’m Luc Minchelli. I run the new restaurant and club on the outskirts of town. I own it with my brother Pete. We’re doing pretty well, though I often wished Pete would take more of an interest in it. But he’s a cop. Or was one up til recently. That job may be in jeopardy, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Pete’s been in too many scrapes for the family’s comfort. He’s been shot, knifed, battered, nearly drowned… way too many things. But I think with Cam in the picture, that might be over.

Cameron came into our lives when his vintage clothing store downtown was vandalized. Pete’s friend Will, our chief of police, asked Pete to help out with the investigation. Pete was supposed to be on leave, taking it easy after his last run in with a perp. Shot up his leg pretty badly. I tried to get him to help me out here at the club more, but Pete couldn’t pass up a chance to help Will out. Not once he saw Cameron. I never believed in love at first sight, but with those two, it just might be something.

I’ve never seen anyone so totally taken with another person than those two are with each other. The first time Pete brought Cam up here, I knew. He’d never brought any of his male friends around before, but suddenly there’s Cam, looking all cute and innocent. And hungry! Pete brought him up for lunch, so we fed him. Had a great time teasing Pete as we made linguini and salt and lobster. That poor man wasn’t sure what to make of the way Pete and I are together. I mean, we’re brothers and from a big family. So we bicker. A lot.

Then we added Toni, our little sister, in. I’m surprised Cam didn’t run for the hills. Especially when we found out he was an only child. I wish! No, I take that back. My brothers and sisters may drive me nuts, but I love them all and wouldn’t change a thing. Our family is big, noisy, and every stereotype of Italian you can think of, but they’re mine. We may fight, but you don’t mess with us. We know how to fight back. And will.

So, anyway, this whole mess with Darcy and Cam’s ex and everything ended up being the best thing that ever happened to Pete—and me! I get to have my brother around more and Cam as a brother-in-law (eventually). And I am so glad. Cam is definitely a good person to have around. It’s a shame what he went through, but it brought him to our family so that’s all for the good.

“Pete will have my head for not feeding you,” Luc said.

Cameron groaned. “It’s no wonder you have all that exercise equipment out in the garage. With what I’ve been eating lately, I’m going to need to borrow it.”

“You? That’s absolute bunk. It’s no wonder you caught Pete’s eye.”

Cameron could feel his face heat. “Thanks. Why hasn’t some gorgeous babe captured you yet?”

“I’ve been saving myself for that someone special, but, alas, my big brother saw him first.” He put his hand theatrically to his brow, then ducked when Cameron lobbed a pillow at him.

“I’m pretty sure you don’t swing that way. Seriously, is there anyone, Luc?”

“You’re right. I don’t. But if I did….” He waggled his eyes at Cam, earning another pillow toss. “And yes, and no, to your other question. There’s a girl I’ve been dating off and on since we were in high school.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

He looked off, like he was seeing something distant. “I don’t know. I guess we’ve just gotten too comfortable with the way things are. She went away to college for a few years, then off to the old country to study art. She just got back a couple of weeks ago. I guess I didn’t think she’d feel the same way about me anymore.”

“Did you ask her?”

“No. I mean….”

Cameron threw another pillow at him. He was running low on ammunition. “Honestly, straight men are so stupid sometimes. Do you love her?”

“I guess so.” Luc stared at the floor as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Cameron snorted. “Uh-uhn. There’s no ‘guess’ about love. How do you feel when she’s not around?”

“I miss her like crazy.”

“And if someone else looks at her or wants to date her?” Cam couldn’t help answering his own questions in his mind with Pete. He realized he’d never loved Jim. Been infatuated? Maybe. Jim had just been… handy. Which made him actually feel a little sorry for Darcy. She was right. He’d never asked. But it begged the question as to why Jim went after him. What did he have that Jim could want? And then there was Pete. Yeah, that was completely different. And it scared him a little. He brought his attention back to Luc as he gripped one of the pillows like he was strangling someone.

Luc looked up, eyes narrowed, mouth drawn down as if he’d eaten something rotten. “I’d have Pete arrest him, or he’d meet with an accident.”

It took Cam a second to remember what his question to Luc was. Oh. Yeah. Someone else wanting his girl. “Violence is not the answer. When you close your eyes and think about a future and a family, who’s in that picture with you?”

Luc nodded and smiled. “She is. Is that love?”

Cam grinned at him. “It isn’t indigestion. So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go get you the best dinner we have, then I’m going to call the florist and order her a dozen red roses and call her.”

Cameron grinned. “So go. And Luc? Be sure to say the words to her. She needs to hear them.”

My enjoyment lately of gay romantic suspense (not normally an area I read) started with C.S. Poe’s Snow and Winter series, which by the way has a book 3 coming soon-ish (SQUEE!), and continues with what I am hoping is the beginning of a series by Vicki Reese in No Tears for Darcy.

This book was a slow burn, with Cam and Pete dancing around each other for a while, and at times, it seemed as if they didn’t trust each other. Yet, through it all, they kept finding their way back into each other’s space, and eventually heart and bed.

Pete was the protective cop, while Cam was just trying to make his way in his new life, as he worked through his grief over his mother. Cam was not helpless by any means, having spent time with the FBI, but with all the blows he’d taken emotionally, having someone to help him through, with Pete and his family all stepping up, helped keep him safe.

This was a good who-dun-it, with me wavering until the end wondering who was so obsessed with Cam. I loved that aspect of this story. There were a few suspects that could have been the stalker, and that kind of guessing always makes for a more engaging story. The author did a fantastic job of creating a thriller, with a suspect that went in several directions, always unexpected, and creating a character who the reader could see was unhinged from the beginning.

This book had a little of everything I like in this type of story, a love story with the MC’s getting their HEA, an unhinged criminal creating trouble for everyone,  and a crazy family that takes over whenever their family members are threatened. There were laughs, scary moments, and love. All elements that came together in this to make for a satisfying ending.

4 pieces of eye candy

Vicki Reese has been married forever to the one person who accepts that she lives in a fantasy world most of the time. She’s even been seen at the beach building worlds for her stories. In addition to creating suspenseful situations or fantasy worlds, she is very good at boring things like writing procedures manuals and continuity spreadsheets, both of which she actually earned money doing. With a master’s in library science, she likes things organized. Okay, so her family thinks having the spice rack alphabetized is a bit much, but she has no problem finding what she needs when she needs it. And just because her extensive library is catalogued and organized by the Dewey Decimal system doesn’t mean she’s obsessive. Honest!

When not writing, Vicki can be found in the kitchen cooking up gluten free/lactose free/allergy free goodies for her family, or just watching the world go by from her front porch swing.

You can find her online at:

Website: http://www.vickireese.com

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

Twitter: @AuthorVictoria