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New Year Not You by Edie Montreux: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

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Last year, law student Brady Madison’s binge drinking left him naked, unconscious, and in trouble with the law. Now 350 days sober and with only two weeks to serve the last twelve hours of community service, Brady’s faced with another difficult choice: take an offer from the jerk who took the incriminating pics or spend the remaining hours in jail.

Tate Quinn’s snap judgment in Brady’s hotel room on New Year’s Eve ruined any chance he had of hooking up with Brady. Worse, his parents refuse to pay for another semester of grad school until he makes his mom’s New Year’s charity event a success.

Tate needs a volunteer to help him herd the cats, er, kids, at the New Year’s Eve afternoon party, and Brady has always been good with kids. Can they put aside their past anger and shame for six hours, or will these potential lovers turned enemies resolve to remain enemies in the new year?

New Year Not You is a 55k word enemies to lovers M/M Romance between a recovering alcoholic and a recovering man-child. This novel has an AA sponsor moonlighting as a DJ, a cold war between two moms, and two dudes who are not looking for true love (but find it anyway).

Title: New Year Not You
Authors: Edie Montreux
Length: 55k
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary
Tropes: friends to enemies to lovers.
Heat: 4 out of 5

Amazon

It’s New Year’s Day, Brady was almost arrested for kidnapping and was charged with misdemeanor property damage and drunk and disorderly for accidentally overflowing a hotel tub  and breaking a sink with his head when he passed out. In short, he’s had a bad day and it’s still early. He received some mystery texts from an unknown number, and now he’s going to call that phone to discover the owner:

 

Brady stared at the unknown number, his finger hovering over the green phone button. Should he, or shouldn’t he? He shouldn’t call, he knew he shouldn’t, but he had to know.

“Kara’s phone. This is she.”

Brady nearly dropped his phone. Tate’s little sister. “Kara? As in Super Girl?”

She giggled. “Only Brady calls me that.”

“Ha, you remember.” Warmth spread in his chest. He’d always teased Kara about her name, but she really was a super girl. Tate hadn’t been joking about her intelligence. She also had an uncanny way of just knowing things.

“How did you get my phone number?” she asked, sounding suspicious.

“Is your brother around?”

“You’re the boy trouble, aren’t you,” she accused. “What did he do this time?”

Brady was angry with Tate, but Kara had him beat with her level of animosity. He was grateful it was directed at Tate, not at him. “I’m not really sure, so I was hoping he could sort it out.”

“Tate! Phone!” Her breath came in puffs, like she was running, and he could hear the thuds of her footfalls on carpet.

“What?” Tate sounded sleepy. Brady was supposed to be waking up to that sleepy voice today. Fuck, everything had gone so wrong.

“Oh,” Tate said, probably when the phone was shoved in his face. “Oh no. Really?”

“Talk to him,” Kara whispered from further away.

“Um. Hi. This is Tate.”

“Hi, Tate. Brady Madison.”

A loud clatter made his eardrum ache.

“Shit. Sorry. Um. Hi.”

“Did you drop the phone?” Brady asked.

“Tate! That’s my phone!” Kara shouted from still further away.

“Sorry, sorry.”

“So,” Brady continued. “Last night. You stood me up.”

“I did no such thing. I was late, that’s all. Too late to keep you from fucking someone else.”

Brady had been drunk, but not that drunk. “Did you just swear in front of your little sister?”

“No,” Tate said. “I’m in my room, and she left and shut the door. Grounded, no thanks to you.”

“I don’t know how you got the impression I was fucking someone else.”

“Don’t lie to me. There were clothes all over your room.”

He’d been in such a hurry to impress Tate that he’d left his street clothes on the floor. He shouldn’t have bothered. The only option now was damage control. “How many people have seen those pictures?” he asked.

“Well, the police department, my parents, Sandi …”

Each word Tate said led to a new level of betrayal. Brady hadn’t exactly trusted Tate, but he hadn’t not trusted him, either. Now, he felt sick to his stomach. He’d have to work with the police department as a lawyer. He’d have plenty of charity functions with the Quinns. Sandi was the one friend he still spoke to from high school.

“That’s enough,” he said while Tate was still struggling with names. “Never call, text, or take another fucking picture of me again.”

“I’m – ”

Brady didn’t care if Tate’s next words were I’m sorry, I’m an asshole, or I’m too sexy. It didn’t matter. Brady hung up on him. His law career, hell, his whole life, was over.

Edie Montreux (she/her) is demisexual and an ally for all aspects of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. She loves her husband, Queen, dogs, and video games. Edie works full time to support her writing habit. Somehow, she still finds time to walk the dogs and protect imaginary worlds from fantasy creatures.

Connect with Edie:
Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/t7b1x6
Website: https://ediemontreux.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEdieMontreux/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Edie-Montreux/e/B07LC56Z8J
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The Best Gift by Eli Easton: RB, Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

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With help from a Christmas miracle, two bruised hearts find joy again.

Greg Cabot is the third generation to run Cabot’s Christmas Wonderland and tree farm in rural Vermont. But this year will be his last. Since the death of his son, Sam, in Afghanistan, Greg no longer has the heart to run a business based on holiday cheer. When he picks up a hitchhiking soldier on a snowy night, he finds the help he needs to get his farm through the holidays—and maybe much more.

Sergeant Robbie Sparks doesn’t have much to be thankful for this holiday season. Badly wounded in Afghanistan, he’s spent the last eight months in recovery and was discharged after ten years of service. When fate lands him at Cabot’s tree farm, he feels like he’s fallen into a snow globe reality. Friendly people, gorgeous trees, lots of Christmas kitsch… and Greg Cabot.

Greg believes he’s too heartbroken for romance, but those we love never truly leave us. A little nudge from heaven may help build a bridge for these two men trying to heal. If only they are willing to take that first step.

This stand-alone, long novella is a small town, Christmas cornucopia, May-December, hurt/comfort , ex-military romance stuffed full of family and holiday feels.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

The sleigh and horses were put away, Jim was paid, and we began the walk home. The country lane was cast in blues and grays thanks to a full moon, which was a blessing since I hadn’t brought a flashlight. But it was all the more surprising when fat flakes began to fall.

I stopped and looked up at the sky. What had been a completely clear sky no more than an hour past was now leaden with gray. But the full moon glowed in an empty patch in the clouds like an all-seeing eye. It reminded me of how, in the summertime, it can rain even while the sun is shining.

“Vermont!” I shook my head. “Snow wasn’t—”

“—in the forecast.” Robbie broke in. “You have childlike faith in the weather report, tree man.”

I snorted. “Weather determines how many customers I’ll have on any given day. So, yeah, I count on it to be accurate more often than not.”

“It is pretty,” Robbie commented as we started walking again.

He meant the snow, I figured, and it was. The moonlight turned the slow, fat clusters into falling crystals that glinted in the light now and then, like frozen fireflies.

We walked on. I kept my pace slow, mindful of Robbie’s limp, which seemed to be getting worse.

“You had a long work day today,” I noted again. “Sorry about that.”

“Nahsir. I was on the baler most of the day. I think I’m just stiff from riding the sl—” Robbie slipped on an icy spot and flailed for a moment, cursing.

I grabbed his arm, steadying him. And when Robbie’s feet were stable again, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for me to slide my hand down Robbie’s arm and take his hand.

“Okay?” I asked, though whether I meant to ask if he was okay after almost slipping or okay with holding hands, I couldn’t have said.

“A-yup.” Robbie gripped my hand firmly, and we kept walking.

The crunch of our boots on the groomed snow, and the distant hoot of an owl, were the only sounds in the silent night. I wanted to chitchat, just to ease the tension that was growing in my gut. But my throat had closed up and my mind had gone utterly blank. I could only stare out at the bucolic scene in front of me, steal glances at the handsome young man beside me, and marvel over the feeling of Robbie’s hand in mine, attuned to it with every fiber of my being.

We were both wearing gloves, but even so, Robbie’s hand was large and strong and warm. And he was okay with holding hands. He wanted to hold my hand. And a man like Robbie wouldn’t do that just to keep from falling. He’d probably parachute out an airplane rather than touch someone he didn’t want to. I was simultaneously elated and terrified by that certainty.

How long had it been since I’d touched any man? At least three years. After Sam left, I was too busy picking up his slack and doing my own work at Cabot’s to even get on an app. Besides, that sort of sneaking around had lost its appeal long ago. Since Sam’s death, I’d barely been alive myself. It had probably been the summer before Sam’s senior year, when Sam and Roseanne had taken a mother-son road trip for three weeks down to Virginia. I’d hooked up with a man from upstate New York I’d chatted with on Hinge. I’d hoped it might lead to something, but when we’d gotten together for a date, there’d been no real connection, no sparks. The man was nice enough, but not attractive to me at all.

Jaysus. That felt like a lifetime ago.

And now this young man had fallen into my life like… like a gift. Hard-working. Polite. Kind to the families and kids who came to Cabot’s and to Roscoe and Lucy and Tori, which meant a lot to me. He had that occasional devil-may-care humor, which I wanted to see a lot more of. He was respectful and thoughtful, always trying to figure out what else he could do to lighten my load. Determined to power through his injuries and not looking for any sympathy, but tugging on my heartstrings all the more because of that.

Sexy as fuck.

Knock it off, I told myself sternly.

We turned onto the lane that would lead to the Cabot property. Up ahead a quarter mile or so, crop fields turned into a dark bank of Christmas trees. A stream gurgled to the right of the road….

Wait. I stopped.

“What?” Robbie asked, still holding my hand.

“That should be iced over.” I took a step toward the ditch, and Robbie followed.

We looked at the ribbon of ice in the ditch, which had cracks and openings through which we could see water run.

“Huh,” I said. “That’s normally completely frozen up this time of year. It shouldn’t be like this ’til April.”

“Global warming?” Robbie offered.

I frowned. It hadn’t been that warm lately. There shouldn’t be enough melt-off to create a stream here.

Robbie drew in a sharp breath. “Look.”

I glanced at him and then followed his gaze. Yes, by any standards, the landscape was breathtaking. A blanket of snow cloaked the fields on either side of the road, glistening in the moonlight that was still shining right along with the snow that fell. Down the road, the wide, long bank of neatly planted green trees looked like a medieval forest from a fairy tale. The stream gurgled. An owl hooted on a nearby fence post, its eyes flashing. Fat goose-feather snowflakes danced and glinted in the air.

He pointed toward the ditch. It took a moment, but I saw it—an all-white bunny sat by the stream, raised up on its hind legs, front paws held in front of its breast in a cute pose, nose twitching as it watched us. The whole scene was so Disney romantic, with the wildlife and gurgling brook, it suddenly seemed absurd.

I burst out laughing and Robbie followed. We looked at each other in disbelief.

“If I told someone about this, they’d never believe me,” Robbie grinned.

“Right? Someone’s put a lot of effort into setting this stage,” I agreed, shaking my head in amused wonder.

“Well. It’d be a shame to waste it.” Robbie’s smile faded.

And before I knew what was coming, Robbie tugged on my hand, stepped closer, and pressed our lips together.

I might have liked to think I’d nobly resist such an overture but, no. I was instantly lost. A red-hot flame of need and longing burst inside me the moment Robbie’s lips touched mine. I could only reach out blindly to wrap my arms around the man and pull him closer.

Robbie placed a hand firmly on the back of my neck and kissed me soundly, his tongue shockingly warm and sweet as he sucked at my mouth. The kiss went to my head like a shot of whiskey, or maybe two, and I realized, embarrassingly, that my knees were weak, and I might not even be able to stand without Robbie holding me up. Dear God, I was a forty-three-year-old man, not a teen.

Coming from a background in computer game design, Eli has written over 50 books in m/m romance since 2013. The Mating of Michael (2014) and A Second Harvest (2016) both won The William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance, and Eli’s books have won many awards from the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Reader’s Choice Awards. She is best known for her Christmas romances, the Howl at the Moon series of rom coms featuring dog shifters, and the Nerds Vs Jocks series, co-written with Tara Lain.

Connect with Eli:
www.elieaston.com
Facebook: Eli Easton
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164054884188096
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The Christmas Tenor (Laurel Holidays #3) by V.L. Locey: New Release Review and Giveaway

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A trip that he thought would bring him only pain is about to present him with the greatest gift of all.

For three years now, Cabriolet Vermat has put off, wiggled out of, and outright lied to get out of making this dreaded trip east. The owner of Cabriolet Chauffeur Services in Los Angeles has avoided the yearly invitation to the small town of White Bridge, New York, to speak at their alumni winter gathering but this year they’ve outfoxed him. They’re throwing a dinner to honor his late partner’s dedication to his alma mater and have asked Cab to speak. This time he has to go no matter how much pain it will stir up. Arriving in the picturesque small town beside one of the Finger Lakes, Cab is treated to a special performance of holiday songs and there he sees Julian Gabriel Baez for the first time.

The young singer captivates him immediately, and he finds himself seeking out the much younger man after the performance. The pull he feels toward Jules is unlike anything he’s felt since he met his partner years ago. Confusion and desire war within him, but the outgoing young tenor wins him over with his engaging smile and kind heart. A two-day trip soon turns into an extended holiday vacation. Cab worries that the magic of Christmas will quickly fizzle out and he’ll be alone once more. Or will this festive season bestow a blessing of the heart upon a man who thought he would never love again?

The Christmas Tenor is a standalone small-town gay Christmas romance with a beautiful May-December relationship, a lonely widower, a rising opera star, loving families, and plenty of holiday joy.

Amazon

This book had several captivating dynamics. A very large age-gap, with the younger man being the more dominant of the two, not allowing Cab to pull back even when all of his natural instincts were to stay away from Julian. A widower who still very much missed his husband, feeling some guilt about trying again. A young opera singer about to break open his career…once he graduated from college. And of course, the magic of the holidays.

The age gap was quite large, so that led me to question how moving forward would work in their particular situation…fortunately a beautiful epilogue gives the reader a peek in what that looks like. Julian definitely knew what he wanted, and wasn’t afraid to go for it, while Cab was hesitant, as someone in his situation would be, of course.

I loved how supportive Julian’s family was of him. They cheered him on in all his endeavors, and were encouraging in his new relationship. Cab’s twin brother was also just as supportive of him, wanting only the best for him, even if it meant he wouldn’t be seeing as much of him. It was clear how much they adored each other.

It was an good book, hitting all the Christmas highs. I think, for me, the large age gap seemed to be too much for these two men to find much in common after just a few years together, so I struggled with feeling like the HEA was there for Cab and Julian.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

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Twice In A Lifetime (Sheltered Connections, Book 1) by R.M Neill: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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One is suffering through a fog of grief. The other crushing feelings of inadequacy.
Fate knew they needed each other.

Dominic
For the longest time, I believed we get one shot at true love. A single person that sets our soul on fire. I had that with my wife until she died, then I was lost in a dark sea of grief. In need of companionship, I decided to adopt a dog.

What I found at the shelter was so much more. Micha, the volunteer, is insanely cute and ridiculously funny. He awakens feelings within me I never knew existed. Is it possible I may get a second chance at real love?

Micha
Love just isn’t in the cards for some people. And I’m among those unfortunate few destined to be alone. I trusted the wrong man with my heart once and had it shattered into a million pieces. I won’t make that mistake twice. Instead, I pour every ounce of my energy into building my business and trying to convince myself I’m not lonely.

But Dominic could be the one to tear down the walls I hide behind. He’s the most handsome man I ever met and unbelievably kind. I know he experienced a horrible loss. Is that what’s behind his attraction to me? Or has the connection between us led to his bisexual awakening?

Twice in a Lifetime is the first book in the Sheltered Connections Series. This book involves themes of hurt/comfort, bisexual awakening, and an age gap. Swoon-worthy moments, laugh-out-loud humor, and scorching chemistry make up this 70k word story. Oh, and don’t forget the cherry flavored icing.

Title: Twice In A Lifetime
Authors: R.M Neill
Series: Sheltered Connections, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary.
Tropes: bisexual awakening, hurt/comfort, age-gap.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

I spin my phone and open the screen again to see mine and Jenny’s face smiling back at me. I slide it over to Micha.

His hand goes to his mouth with a quiet gasp. “Oh Dominic, is this Jenny?” I nod with a proud smile, and he raises the phone for a closer look. “She’s beautiful. I love her eyes, so full of happiness here. What were you doing?”

He passes the phone back to me and I close the screen. “It was the semi-formal in college. Almost ten years ago now. And thank you, she was beautiful.”

“Not was Dom. She is and always will be. That’s never going to change.”

My mouth goes dry as I stare at this man. The only person that’s pulled me away from speaking about Jenny in the past tense because he’s right, she always will be beautiful, and he wasn’t afraid to come out and say it. No tip toeing around, wondering if he might say the wrong thing to me. He so freely speaks his mind, even in the face of grief. It’s a refreshing change from how most people speak to me about her. I definitely like it.

This was a new to me author, and well there was an animal, so I jumped right in. I believe that although this is the first book in the series, that one of the couples may have been from a previous book. Either way, this book is a stand-alone.

Dom has decided to step back into the dating pool after his beautiful wife dies, and he is grief stricken. When that doesn’t quite go as planned, then adopt a dog to help with the loneliness. In comes Maggie, and the volunteer who helps Dom become a dog owner who knows how to care for his dog. So sweet! Dom had previously thought he was straight, but realizes he’s bisexual as he meets and wants to get to know Micha more, with very little angst on his part at the suddenness of it.

Micha had to be one of the best people in that town. He saw how easily people he was supposed to count on, hurt him and cast him aside. Meanwhile, he runs a successful dog grooming business by himself, volunteers at the animal shelter, and still seems to want to assist everyone as much as possible. I adored Micha, and was rooting hard for his HEA, after all the pain he’d experienced at the hands of his own father and the man he’d been in love with at 19. I also loved that Micha talked to the dogs he was grooming to try to work through his problem. That was adorable.

I found it a bit strange the way the location of the businesses was set up, or at least how I saw them. The grooming business was connected by a door to the vet business, even though they did not work together. The shelter, Dom’s butcher shop. It seemed as if they were all on the same street. Was it a small town, or a very tiny town? Also with Tara, how did she not know about Dom and Micha. Anyway, this all was a bit distracting to the story for me.

Micha’s friends were incredible with him. They were the friends that you call if you need to hide a body. They were completely behind him, always trying to build him up, and making sure he was taken care of. He deserved that kind of caring.

All in all, well written, with a few head scratching moments, but still a recommended read.

4 pieces of eye candy

I’m a wife, mom, animal lover and a hopeless romantic.

I want my stories to make you smile, swoon and snort laugh, but not necessarily in that order.

I hope I can be the author you turn to when you need a story to make you laugh, or add light to an otherwise dark day.

Coffee always wins, you can’t change my mind.

Connect with R.M.:
Website: https://www.rmneillauthor.com/
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/RMNeillauthor
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/466017144750570
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r.m.neill_author/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/r-m-neill
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21347944.R_M_Neill
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B091BGY8LS

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Mr. Jingle Bells: A Gay Christmas Romance (Home for the Holidays Book 3) by Leta Blake: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Opposites attract as frosty business partners become fake boyfriends in this Christmas gay romance!

After an emergency forces Ashton Sellers from his apartment, all he wants for Christmas is new lipgloss, zero contact from his abusive family, and a place to stay for the holidays. Cue his business partner begrudgingly taking him in.

Walker’s a fuddy-duddy with no sense of fun, but he does have a safe, warm home with four adorable dogs and delicious food on the table.

If it turns out Walker’s also a secret softy with a tender side and a hot body beneath his endless parade of golf shirts? Great, good, cool. And if Walker wants Ashton to pretend to be his boyfriend for his sister’s Christmas-themed wedding? Awesome, amazing.

Could Walker be the safe haven Ashton missed out on as a child? Could they be falling in love for real?

But when Ashton uncovers a painful mistake in Walker’s past, it hits too close to home. As the jingle bells quiet and the snow settles, will Ashton be able to forgive Walker, or will their relationship be over before it ever truly begins?

Mr. Jingle Bells is a gay Christmas story by Leta Blake featuring forced proximity, opposites attract, fake dating, office romance, steamy scenes, and a taffy-sweet happy ending. It’s set in the Home for the Holidays universe, which began with Mr. Frosty Pants, but can be read as a standalone.

Content warnings for childhood abuse, past addiction issues, PTSD episodes, and gambling

Title: Mr. Jingle Bells
Authors: Leta Blake
Series: Home for the Holidays, Book 3

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

“Walker, was this your idea?”

Walker realized that he’d let Ashton take control of the presentation, and he lifted his chin confidently. “It was. I thought of it last night, and I think we can pull it off. And even if we can’t, even if people suspect that it’s all for show and that I’m paying him to escort me, or even just pretending to be dating him like his post suggested, that’ll be fuel enough for gossip, right? Like why would I do that? People will have a lot to say either way. And none of it about you, Tom, Morgan, or the kids.”

“And Mom and Dad?”

“There should be nothing shameful in their son bringing a beautiful man to your wedding.”

Evelyn looked between him and Ashton and then down at their joined hands. Her mouth twitched up at the corner again, and she turned to Tom. “Let’s talk in private for a minute? In the hotel lobby? We’ll be right back.”

Walker thought Ashton would let go of his hand as soon as Evelyn and Tom left, but he didn’t. Instead he traced Walker’s knuckles with his thumb, saying, “I can’t believe they think I can’t do this. I mean, I could absolutely make anyone believe I’m in love with you. It wouldn’t even be hard.”

“But what about me?” Walker asked gruffly. “Maybe I’m not as great an actor.”

Ashton looked up at him, his green eyes shining in the candlelight. He searched Walker’s face and grinned. “Ah, no, just look at me like that! And everyone will believe we’re madly in love! That’s perfect, Walker. You’re a really good actor already, see?”

Walker almost gaped. He wasn’t acting right now? And he wasn’t in love? He was just…impressed by how much he’d missed about Ashton before. By focusing on all the ways Ashton was different from him, by feeling uncomfortable with Ashton’s dissimilarities instead of appreciating them, he’d almost missed out on a really cool person.

Ashton sighed happily, gazing up at him. “Man, the person you look at like that for real? They’re gonna be so lucky.” Then he released Walker’s hand and took up his drink.

Walker’s skin tingled where Ashton had been touching him, and he wanted to wrap their fingers together again. But he lifted his bourbon and sipped it instead. Weird how lines got so easily blurred when a person was lonely. He needed to keep that in mind.

Tom and Evelyn returned from the lobby, Evelyn with a grin spread across her face like Christmas-come-early, and Tom with a smirk directed at Walker that he didn’t quite know how to interpret.

“We’re in,” Evelyn said. “Right, Tom?”

Tom nodded, his eyes on Walker. “Yup. We’re good to go with this plan. Initiate Operation Fake Boyfriend.”

Ashton squirmed with excitement next to Walker. “Fantastic! Now we just need to decide on the details.”

Immediately, Ashton and Evelyn began to plot. Tom kept sneaking indecipherable looks at Walker but saying nothing. It wasn’t long before they all needed another round of drinks.

“Okay, so like how crazy can I go?” Ashton asked, leaning forward over the table toward Evelyn, hand to his chest. “I assure you I don’t ever want to take attention away from you as the bride—”

“No, please do!”

“Okay, I could wear this for example? To the wedding?” Ashton flipped his phone around and displayed a picture of himself in the most flamboyant suit Walker had ever seen. It was a sky-blue skinny tuxedo with orange and white koi fish printed all over it. Why did Ashton even own this atrocity? And why did Walker suspect that Ashton would actually look smoking hot in it?

“God, that’s perfect. Perfect,” Evelyn cooed. “Oh, Tom, just think of everyone’s faces. Your Uncle Dave will shit a brick.”

“Or maybe this one?” Ashton turned the phone around again, flipped through some of his photos, and then found what he was looking for. “Too much? Or just right?”

“Oh God, it’s great, but almost not enough.”

How could it not be enough? In the photo, Ashton wore a fitted, burgundy suit that was so tight through the legs and ass that it made Walker feel a little…well, a little aroused and tingly, and he wasn’t sure that was what he wanted to feel on his sister’s wedding day.

Nor did he think he wanted to feel that way about Ashton at all. Though it seemed to keep happening. Like the other night when he’d been unable to tear his eyes away from Ashton’s collarbones, or when he’d had to shift around as he’d massaged his feet to keep from getting hard.

“I have another more exciting option,” Ashton said. When he presented the next photo, Walker’s legs went numb and a cold sweat broke out in the small of his back. Fuck. That suit was some kind of high-fashion bondage gear combination. How had Ashton even afforded these pieces? They all looked like they were incredibly pricey. Plus, was Ashton into that? Bondage and all that went with it? Because Walker absolutely wasn’t.

Why did it matter? They were just friends! What was going on in his head?

Not gonna lie…when I saw how many pages this book was, I was a bit intimidated. Lately long books have taken me at least two weeks to read, and my expectation was that it would take me at least that or more for Mr. Jingle Bells. Nope! Three days, and it flew by. I couldn’t put this book down! I loved both these characters, the side characters, and especially the dogs. 🙂

Ashton was so unapologetically himself, and I loved that for him. He had a bad childhood, one that few people really understand the depths of, even when reading it. He worked hard to get where he was, even with little to show for it monetarily, because of his trust in the wrong person. He knew where his boundaries were, and didn’t allow others to cross into it, even if it hurt him. He was strong from the inside, and someone any of us would be proud to be friends with.

With Walker, he had his own boundaries but still managed to have a huge heart and would do almost anything for someone he cared about…or even someone he barely knew, when he took in Ashton.

There was so much going on in this book, it could have been difficult to keep everything straight, but it absolutely was not. Everything was weaved together seamlessly. Ashton’s moments of pain, one after another. Walker being there to pick up the pieces. Evelyn and Tom’s upcoming wedding. Even down to Walker’s grandfather, as a bit of a catalyst. It was so well written, that as the story wound through one portion then another, it flowed through each storyline, building upon itself.

There were a few pieces I didn’t understand. How did Ashton and Walker end up in business together if they really didn’t know each other at all, not something I could see doing. I also didn’t quite see how their idea of trolling people at Evelyn’s wedding would pay off in the end. It came together, but still wasn’t something I couldn’t quite grasp for myself. However, those were small issues, and did not take away from the story at all.

This book was not just about two men falling in love, but the redemption and changes they both needed in their lives. For themselves, and then for each other. And the sticky sweet ending will have you wondering why we can’t have Christmas books all year long. It was sigh worthy. (But also bring a few tissues to the reading of the book…you’ll need them in a few places, for sure.)

In the end, I think I loved this book even more than the previous two in this series, and that’s saying a lot, because I loved them as well. So well done, and you won’t regret a minute of sitting down, reading this, and ignoring all the other things you “should” be doing, for the thing you want to be doing. 🙂

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

If you’d like to be among the first to know about new releases, you can sign up for Leta’s newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bdn32H

Bonus material for the Heat of Love series, Will & Patrick Wake Up Married series, Training Season series, Smoky Mountain Dreams, Mr. Frosty Pants, The River Leith, and more is available on Leta Blake’s Patreon account. Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/letablake

Or you can find out more about her by following her online:

On the web: https://letablake.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letablake

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Christmas Mountain: A Christmas Gay Romance by Garrett Leigh: RB, New Release Review and Giveaway

by

The probation officer caring for his dead brother’s baby. The wounded gentle giant with the biggest softest heart.

Rami: Sweet Fen Hawthorne is my favourite thing about working in the prison. His broad shoulders and sunny grin. His twinkly flirtation. And he likes me as much as I like him. More seems inevitable until life happens.

One day I’m there, then I’m not, and second chances don’t really happen when your car breaks down halfway up a snowy mountain, do they?

Besides, I don’t remember flirting with a bearded lumbersexual, only dreaming about one.

Fen: Do dreams come true?

Christmas Mountain is my home. But it’s the one place on earth I never imagined seeing Rami Stone again, and now I’m snowed in with him. Trapped, with only a roaring fire for company, and it’s a fantasy come true. The air is thick with more than snow and the eighteen months we’ve been apart fades away.

As the snow clears, though, so does the haze. Rami says he comes with baggage.

But so do I, and I’m here for the heavy lifting.

I’m here for forever.

A Christmas MM romance from Garrett Leigh. Expect: Long lost friends-to-lovers, heart-warming found family, and the swooniest second chance at love with a healthy dose of sweet hurt/comfort. Gorging on mince pies and cinnamon-spiced doughnuts is optional, but deeply encouraged.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

So swoony!

We met Rami oh so briefly as Dante Pope’s probation officer. Turns out he has a crush on one of the prison guards and one of the prison guards has a crush on him, but life got in the way and they lost touch for about 2 years.

During that time Rami ended up being the caregiver to his nephew after his brother OD’d and the baby’s mother split. This poor guy is suddenly in charge of a toddler while trying to work and occasionally get some sleep. And then he kind of snapped. If you’re a parent, you have probably felt that way. Just completely exhausted and overwhelmed and if you start crying you might never stop. That’s real life. So in a fit of desperation he decides to go to his sister’s house. Except she lives on a mountain, it’s 2 hours away in good weather and oh, unexpected snowstorm. And then his car dies. In the snow. On a mountain road.

Don’t worry because a gorgeous hulking lumberjack rescues them. And that lumberjack is the prison guard.

Turns out their lives are entwined in a way they didn’t know. Rami decides to stay at his sister’s house with her brood for a bit to get some help, maybe relax a little and get some sleep. But Fen, the prison guard/lumberjack is part of his sister’s life so they see a lot of each other. And they flirt. Hard. Even when Fen says he doesn’t want to cross a line. He doesn’t do casual. And Rami has every intention of going back home to his life and his job.

Rami’s sister is amazing. I want to call her super mom, but her husband is just as amazing. They are fairly self reliant, they homeschool, etc. Rami didn’t think he could do it but he learns to slow down and live how they do. For now.

Fen has some demons and reasons for leaving the prison and going back to take over his father’s Christmas tree farm. And as much as he adores Rami’s sister and family, he is still pretty closed off. They all chip away at him- kids included. And especially Charlie, Rami’s nephew he is now raising.

It wasn’t just Rami and Fen falling in love that was swoony. It was Fen allowing himself to fall in love with Rami’s whole family. And letting them all love him back.

There’s a bit of drama toward the end that was unexpected. But you also know that everything is going to be ok.

Definitely worth the read if you are a fan of the author. Or even if you are new to their work. Or just want a lumberjack Christmas story. Or a single dad story. Or all of the above.

4 pieces of eye candy

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

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 renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

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