Blog Tour

Eyeliner and Lace by Ruby Moone: RB, Excerpt and New Release Review

July 4, 2019 by Denise

The day Ryan Fulton realises he’s in love with Jamie Holt is the day he knows he’s losing him. With blue-tinted white blond hair, eyeliner, and a personality to match, Ryan knows he’s a bit much. But can he change? Can he tone it down and, if he does, can he live like that? He’d never suspect Jamie of cheating, but maybe his closeted boyfriend decided flamboyant Ryan wasn’t worth the effort.

But Ryan isn’t going to take it lying down. Determined to win Jamie back, Ryan even decides to get rid of the black and blue lace undies he just bought.

Then Jamie comes home and says they need to talk.

Length: 4,067 words

Publisher: JMS Books

Amazon US

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JMS Books

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An hour or so later, the door slammed, and there was Jamie. He looked tired. His tie was loosened, and the top button of his white shirt undone. Rain curled the ends of his dark hair. They’d been living together for two months now, and it still made Ryan’s chest feel all achy when Jamie came home from work and smiled as though he was happy just to see him.

Jamie shrugged wearily out of his jacket and hung it up, then, when he spotted Ryan, his face just lit. Just as it always did. “Hey, you.”

Jamie held out his arms, and Ryan walked into them. They held each other tight, and Ryan kissed Jamie’s jaw. He was shorter than Jamie, skinnier, so he fit perfectly into his arms. He gave the best hugs. Hard, but warm and safe. All the craziness melted away when Jamie held him. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought.

“I’ve planned dinner,” he said, kissing him again.

Jamie nuzzled his neck and made a soft humming sound. “What’s for dessert?”

Ryan pulled back and smiled up at him. “Wait and see.” He gave him a suggestive wink, patted his backside, and set off for the kitchen with a swish. He glanced back to see Jamie checking his phone. When he noticed Ryan watching, he slid it into his pocket.

“Who was that?” Ryan tried to keep his voice normal. He opened the fridge door and concentrated on pulling salad things out rather than look at him.

“No one.”

Ryan’s chest hurt. He paused and closed his eyes for a second before speaking again. Making sure his voice was even.

“Do you want to shower before dinner?” he organised the food on the counter.

“Yeah. Why not.” Jamie stood behind Ryan, pulled down the neck of his T-shirt, and nibbled the nape of his neck sending shivers all over him as always. “Won’t be long.” He squeezed Ryan’s arse cheek and headed for the bathroom.

Ryan tapped the cucumber against his lips for a moment, they shoved all the salad stuff back in the fridge.

He gave Ryan chance to get into the shower, then ran up to the bedroom, stripped off, and followed him. The shower had been Jamie’s idea. A walk-in affair, definitely big enough for two. He watched Ryan. He was so beautiful it was hard to breathe. He had his back to him as he rubbed soapy bubbles over his chest, under his arms, around his neck. Muscles rippled across his back, and his backside clenched when he soaped further south. Ryan’s mouth went dry.

Short but so, so sweet!

Ryan and Jamie are an already established couple, living together for the last couple of months and everything had been going great up until recently. Sneaky phone calls, distracting texts, changing of passwords and leaving without explanation of where or with who, has Ryan an insecure, heartbroken mess. All signs lead to Jamie losing interest, after-all, he’s so much different than Jamie, right?

Where Jamie is shy and keeps to himself, Ryan is out there, living his best life, with his blue hair, gorgeous eyeliner and bold and bright clothes. Ryan thinks that maybe he’s a bit too much and if it means losing Jamie, he can tone it down some, right? Strip the blue and lose the eyeliner, it would be boring and he’d feel plain and simple, but he’d do it for Jamie.

I cried all the tears! All of them! At four in the morning, because I hated that Ryan felt like he had to change himself to be what someone else wanted. How often do people do that? It kills me every time.

Just when Ryan realized he couldn’t live without Jamie, he was convinced he was going to lose him.

All is not as it seems though, and though I won’t give the rest away, I will say that I adored Jamie and his love for Ryan and I wish so badly that there was more to this couple…. I’d read them all day! I would love to know how they started out together….

Wait, this is a first for me from this author, so I’m going to have to go look… but even if not, just read this one… it’s so sweet, a little heartbreaking for a quick minute, but it ended in the best possible way. I need more of them!

5 pieces of eye candy

My name is Ruby Moone and I love books. All kinds of books. My weakness is for romance, and that can be any kind, but I am particularly fond of historical and paranormal. I decided to write gay romance after reading some fantastic books and falling in love with the genre, so am really thrilled to have my work published here. The day job takes up a lot of my time, but every other spare moment finds me writing or reading. I live in the north west of England with my husband who thinks that I live in two worlds. The real world and in the world in my head…he probably has a point!

Website – www.rubymoone.com

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/RubyMoone/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter – https://twitter.com/RubyMooneWriter

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rubymoone/

Waited So Long by J.M. Dabney: Blog Tour, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

July 2, 2019 by Denise

What happens when your best friend’s son comes home and he’s all grown up?
Devon Hoffman has a secret. He’s wanted a Daddy all his own, but when you’re pushing fifty, you’re completely over the hill. Newly divorced and trying to be single again after an almost thirty-year relationship, he’s lost and needs someone to ground him. Except he’s anxious and his depression intensifies until Bern returns after leaving the service and the younger man suddenly takes interest. Can he let his guard down and risk losing his best friend or should he do whatever is needed to keep his secret safe?

Waited So Long

J.M. Dabney

Genre: MM Daddy Kink/Light Age Play/Domestic Discipline Romance

Release Date: 06.18.19

Cover Art by J.M. Dabney

Cover Image – Golden Czermak/Furious Fotog

Cover Model – Caylan Hughes

Amazon

“Bern.”

“You know you want to say it, just say it.”

“Daddy,” I whispered the word and marveled at the freedom I felt. As if decades of weight lifted from my chest with a few syllables.

“Yes, baby?”

“Don’t hurt me.”

“There is plenty I want to experience with you, give you and none of them has anything to do with hurting you. I’ve waited way too long.”

I loved his gruff voice and the conviction I heard in it. I truly believed he wanted me and that shocked me. Bern could have any man he wanted and he freely admitted that it was me. No one had desired me in years, I’d always been lacking because of what I required. But I’d hidden those needs and the opportunity was right there, offered freely to me.

“I’ll be there when you get off the plane and then we’ll come home, I’ll hold you and you can ask me all the questions you want.”

“Okay.”

Devon and his Daddy.

What would it be like to love a married man and wait for him for over a decade? I couldn’t imagine it. Devon had been with his husband for almost thirty years and he treated him awful. There were things that Devon needed that he never put a voice too, but he also withheld the little things, like his love and affection. I’m not sure how everyone stayed quiet over the years, especially when they all saw how unhappy he was. I’m a big mouth, if my friend seems unhappy, I’ll be the first one to say it… especially if it’s so blatant that they’re unhappy and being cheated on. I didn’t understand why nobody said anything…

But, when Bern got wind that Devon’s husband up and filed for divorce, he knew he couldn’t stay away any longer. Having been in love with Devon since he was 15, every fantasy he’d ever had included Devon and the kind of relationship he wanted with him. An overheard experience opened up a whole new world for Bern, and he loved what he now knew Devon needed.

I loved the way Bern took care of Devon, because he’d spent so much of his life not getting what he needed from anyone else. He deserved all the happy. I feel like the age play, like cartoons and playtime was sprinkled in just for effect, because it wasn’t paid attention to much, but the way Bern took care of Devon and D/s aspect of their relationship wasn’t BDSM’y, which I’m really not a fan of, so I appreciated that… and it was just about being what the other needed and showing each other that they loved each other in the way that they both needed, and I loved that.

My heart broke for Bern’s dad, but I’m glad things started getting better for him at the end. I like when everybody gets their HEA, and though nothing could bring the love of his life back, he was doing what he could now to move on and keep living, all while remembering this big love that he’d have forever. I adored that.

Overall though, this is just yet another short and sweet read by an author that’s an instant one-click for me. I’m never disappointed….and hello…. Bern was hot when he got all growly and Daddy-like. I’d have read it for that alone…. Having all the love and feels was just a bonus!

I’m also glad the ex got to see Devon being treated the way he deserved. I’m glad it made him mad and I’m glad it got rubbed in his face a little bit. I’d be interested to see if Jeff could get a story, I’d be all about that !!! Hopefullly this is just the beginning of another great series. Would love to read more.

5 pieces of eye candy

J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes mainly LGBT romance and fiction. They live with a constant diverse cast of characters in their head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. J.M. lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure they do them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and they makes sure their characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more they want from telling their stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/J.M.DabneyAuthor/

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Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/J.M.-Dabney/e/B006QZIFLE

Mailing List – http://eepurl.com/dzWnIn

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Change of Heart by K.M. Neuhold: Blog Tour, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

July 1, 2019 by Denise

Does my husband’s heart still miss me now that it beats in the chest of another man?
Lub-dub
A heartbeat more familiar than Easton’s own

Lub-dub
He vowed to love his husband until death do they part. And then the worst happened.

Lub-dub
His heart kept another man alive. River. A stranger in the world with Easton’s husband’s heart pumping the blood that warms his skin. Does his heart ever miss Easton without knowing why?

Lub-dub
Sweet, kind, beautiful, River. Easton never meant to meet him…never meant to know him…never meant to fall for him.

Lub-dub
Easton loved River’s heart long before he ever met him, but is it possible he’s falling in love with his mind and soul too?

***Change of Heart is a stand alone story with strong hurt/comfort themes, mild bisexual awakening themes, and a HEA

Change of Heart

KM Neuhold

M/M Romance

Release Date: 06.17.19

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

The cool night air wraps around me, the din of the bar fading as soon as the door closes behind me, leaving only the scattered sound of cars passing and the occasional drunken laugh escaping into the night. An overwhelming emotional exhaustion hits me, and the task of walking the half-block to my car seems insurmountable. I lean against the rough brick outside of the bar and tilt my head back, looking up at the expansive night sky. The light illuminating the bar entrance flickers, and I close my eyes as an inescapable feeling of loneliness hits me square in the chest and nearly brings me to my knees. I drag in a harsh breath, putting a hand over my heart, and wonder for the millionth time about my heart donor. Did he love someone so much he could hardly breathe? Is there someone out there still who loved him the same?

I drag my fingers to the center of my chest, tracing the raised edges of my scar through the soft fabric of my shirt. I can feel the beat, steady and even against my palm, and I think about the man who saved my life. I don’t know a damn thing about him, but that doesn’t stop me from wondering who he was, what kind of a life he lived, who loved him but selflessly made the sacrifice to save the life of a complete stranger?

Change of Heart is an amazing story involving two men and one very special heart. Easton lost his husband, the love of his life, in a tragic construction accident. River nearly lost his life due to a virus that attacked and weakened his heart. When River was days away from death’s door, he received the miraculous news that a heart was available for transplant. Fast forward five years… River is questioning whether he’s living his best life and Easton is stuck in a horrible cycle of grief and wondering just what happened to his husband’s heart.

OMG! This story was beautiful from start to finish. Ms. Neuhold took us on a journey through grief, love, betrayal, and ultimately happiness. River is a bisexual man who has never explored the same sex aspect of his bisexuality. Easton is a man who, even five years later, is still deeply mourning the loss of his husband. When Easton makes the decision to find out who received his husband’s heart, he discovers River. This story is about how one heart manages to bring two men together. River and Easton’s relationship grows slowly but surely through the entire story and both men also begin to grow and heal in their personal lives.

There is, of course, a moment of reckoning in this story, but as Ms. Neuhold is known for an HEA is most definitely on the horizon. The journey River and Easton complete in this book takes you through all of the emotions. I enjoyed this story immensely and while I didn’t cry (I am not a crier) I did feel all the feels with this story. I give it five gold and shining stars!

5 pieces of eye candy

Author K.M.Neuhold is a complete romance junkie, a total sap in every way. She started her journey as an author in new adult, MF romance, but after a chance reading of an MM book she was completely hooked on everything about lovely- and sometimes damaged- men finding their Happily Ever After together. She has a strong passion for writing characters with a lot of heart and soul, and a bit of humor as well. And she fully admits that her OCD tendencies of making sure every side character has a full backstory will likely always lead to every book having a spin-off or series. When she’s not writing she’s a lion tamer, an astronaut, and a superhero…just kidding, she’s likely watching Netflix and snuggling with her husky while her amazing husband brings her coffee.

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Chef vs. Chef by M.J. O’Shea: RB, New Release Review and Giveaway

June 19, 2019 by Denise

Bobby Diaz has worked his whole life to get where he is – running a restaurant with his two closest friends, no boss, and generally content. When his best friend Baldwin gets the gig of a lifetime, he asks Bobby to take over the restaurant while he’s gone. He’ll miss his friend, but he’s excited to put himself to the test. He can’t believe he’s getting the chance to finally run his own kitchen.

Cal Mayer is thirty and starting over. His last relationship was a failure. His job went down the drain. So when his cousin Pete, a.k.a Baldwin Powell celebrity chef, offers him a gig in his restaurant, he can’t help but to jump at the offer to reinvent himself.

Bobby and Cal don’t exactly hit it off—to put it lightly. Bobby resents getting Cal dumped in his lap. Cal doesn’t appreciate Bobby’s frosty attitude. They’re stuck together day and night, and their chemistry is undeniable… but will it be sweet summer love or a case of too many chefs in the kitchen?

Cover Design: L.C. Chase

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Universal Link

This was totally meh. It’s readable, but utterly forgettable.

Quite a bit of the book is spent before the two main characters even meet each other. Both went through a big change in their lives so it is them (separately) getting their feet under them again.

Then they do meet and because of a stupid misunderstanding, one hates the other.

Then finally, FINALLY, they kiss. And it’s like this fast forward through all of the fun stuff. “Spring turns to summer…”. Uh, ok. What about THEM? As a couple? Dating? Cute flirty stuff?

Even during the hate period, it wasn’t even competitive fun hate. It was just one guy being a total jerk.

Weak storyline that really had potential. Weak characters. Weak romance.

Just meh.

MJ O’Shea has never met a music festival, paintbrush, or flower crown she can stay away from. She loves rainstorms and a perfect cup of tea, beach days, music, bright colors, and more than anything a cozy evening with a really great book.

She is from the Pacific Northwest. While she still lives there and loves it, MJ has the heart of a wanderer. So she puts all her dreams of far off places and extraordinary people in her books.

Except for every once in a while when she does what all travelers have to do on occasion… come home.

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Melting For You by A.M. Arthur: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt, Blog Tour and New Release Review

June 17, 2019 by Denise

After his father’s heart attack, Isaiah Morrell gave up cooking in his own high-end Atlanta restaurant to return home to Reynolds, North Carolina, in order to help his father Thomas heal and to keep an eye on his business Neighborhood Shindig. A collection of food trucks and other small businesses, Shindig is a popular destination in this college town, but Isaiah longs for the fast pace of a big-city kitchen. Until he meets Joel…

Joel Fisher has been out of commission from a serious illness for the better part of a year, but now he’s ready to reclaim his life—except his apartment has been sublet, his partner is missing, and their shared food truck is stripped of everything not attached. In short, Joel has nothing. After an uncomfortable night sleeping on the food truck floor, Isaiah and Thomas Morrell give Joel an offer he can’t refuse: a rented room in their house, as well as their help creating a new food truck concept. Joel hates accepting charity, but he’s hit rock bottom and has nowhere to go but up.

Working with seemingly uptight Isaiah is actually pretty fun, and the pair bonds over a challenge to create a unique grilled cheese sandwich. Light flirting melts into a deeper connection neither man expects, but Isaiah isn’t in Reynolds for much longer, and Joel can’t get attached to the gorgeous professional chef. As Isaiah’s feelings for Joel strengthen and grow, he entertains the idea of staying in Neighborhood Shindig for good—but Joel hasn’t asked him to…

Welcome to Neighborhood Shindig, a friendly place where you can snack on a lamb kebab while getting your hair done, pick up your favorite herbal tea blend, and then go listen to live music under the pavilion. We’re happy to have you.

Melting For You

Neighborhood Shindig Series, Book #1

A.M. Arthur

Contemporary MM Romance

Release Date: 06.13.19

Cover Designer: Sloan J Designs/https://www.facebook.com/sloanjdesigns/

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Hey, y’all! Thank you for having me at Two Chicks Obsessed. I’m A.M. Arthur, and I write LBGTQ+ romance across the spectrum of both sexualities and subgenres. I’m here today to celebrate the recent release of my brand-new food truck-centered series, Neighborhood Shindig. The first book in the series, Melting For You, kicks it off with Joel Fisher, a young guy with a run of bad luck, and Isaiah Morrell, the spoiled son of a locally renowned chef. Together, the pair hatch a plan to open up a gourmet grilled cheese food truck, and naturally shenanigans ensue—and the pair falls in love.

Now Neighborhood Shindig probably sounds like an odd name for a romance series, and it’s named after the main location of the books. Set in the fictional down of Reynolds, North Carolina. Shindig is a fenced-in private lot with six stationary food trucks, eight small business shops (called pods), and a big open-air pavilion in the middle with picnic tables for guests. It’s an eclectic place with no two businesses alike, and also a safe space for people to come, enjoy live music while snacking on a bowl of gourmet nachos, and maybe get your nails done while you’re at it (after the nachos, of course).

One of my favorite aspects of writing series romance is being able to use a setting as a character in and of itself. To give a location its own personality and make readers feel as if they’ve visited it simply because the characters have. Heidi Cullinan did this so well for the town of Logan in her Minnesota Christmas series, and by the end of book one (Let It Snow) I felt like I’d been to Logan myself. K.A. Mitchell made Baltimore, Maryland, come alive in her Bad in Baltimore series (book one Bad Boyfriend) by featuring locations well-known to locals, while still putting a creative spin on things. Also, the town of Zebulon leapt to life in Keira Andrews’ Amish books (starting with A Forbidden Rumspringa).

I tried to make Neighborhood Shindig as a location come alive for readers by giving it fun characters, unique food truck concepts (admittedly some more than others), as well as interesting small business pods to shop in. I hope I’ve intrigued you enough to pay your own visit to Shindig and dive into Melting For You!

What are some of your favorite book series where the location is just as important a character as the people on the page?

Joel found a parking spot near his building and got out, grateful to stretch sore, aching limbs. Long car rides were more difficult for him now, and he’d tried to stop as infrequently as possible, so eager to surprise Steve. Joel scanned the lot for Steve’s hatchback. It was midday on Tuesday, so the Shindig lot was closed—it gave not only the small business owners who rented pods, but also the owner/manager one full day off a week. Didn’t mean Steve had to be home, though.

Their unit was on the fourth floor, no elevator, and Joel hated that he was panting a bit by the time he got there. Definitely needed to start working out more, get back into shape. He was already tall and lean, but he’d lost about fifteen pounds of muscle this past year.

Excitement rolled through his belly as he put his key into their unit’s lock and turned—except it didn’t unlock. He double-checked, but yeah, right door and right key.

That’s weird.

Maybe Steve had needed to change the locks for some reason? He pushed the doorbell and waited, trying to fight back a big smile. The knob rattled and a chain slid back. The door opened about a foot and a dark-haired woman stared at him. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Joel blinked hard. “Um, does Steve Winslow live here?”

Don’t I live here?

“Not since the first of the month,” the woman replied. “He had to move suddenly, so I’m sub-leasing it through the end of the month, until my place is ready downstairs. Who are you?”

“Joel. I live here.”

“Oh, right, you’re the ex he mentioned.”

“Ex?” Ex what? He’d texted Steve yesterday about frivolous things, and Steve hadn’t said a damned thing about sub-leasing their place. A place Joel had paid this month’s rent on. “What do you mean ex?”

“He said you guys broke up, so you moved back to live with your parents in Virginia, and he’s moving…somewhere, I don’t think he said where. But your stuff is still here. He packed it up and left it in the hall closet.”

Joel did not understand what was happening right now. “We didn’t break up. We have a business together for God’s sake. I don’t understand.”

“Listen, do you want to come inside and sit? You look pale.”

“Um, yeah, thanks.”

The apartment was small, one-bedroom and only about six hundred square feet. It had come furnished, so none of the big stuff was his, and he’d taken clothing and his electronics with him to Virginia. Those personal things were in his car right now, waiting to be unpacked.

He sat on the familiar sofa, legs suddenly trembling, and tried to wrap his brain around what was happening.

The woman appeared with a bottle of water. “Here. I’m Emily, by the way.”

“Joel.” Had he already said that? “Steve never told me he moved out.”

“Oh, wow, that’s harsh. He ditched your place without telling you?”

“At least the lease isn’t up until August.” It gave him time to plan, even if it meant a strange female roommate for a few weeks. He couldn’t really afford the place on his own, and he still had no clue what was going on with the food truck.

“Um…” Emily chewed on her bottom lip. “The lease is month-to-month. It’s over in, like ten days, and I have a document with the landlord stating I’m the tenant.”

Joel gaped. “But…this is my place.”

“My place, dude, and no offense, but I do not know you, and I make it a point not to live with strange men.”

“How the hell can he change the lease without me…signing…? Fuck.” Because he dealt with college students, the building’s manager had multiple lease options. Year-long, which is what Joel always signed, but also college-term leases that lasted the length of the college’s school year, and then month-to-month options for the summer, or for temporary tenants. When Steve said he’d renewed the lease last summer while Joel was sick, Joel had assumed he’d done another full-year contract.

Joke’s on me.

“If you don’t believe me, I can get a copy of the lease,” Emily said.

“I believe you. I just don’t understand why he’d do this. Why he wouldn’t at least call and tell me he was leaving, or that if I came back I’d be homeless.”

What a great start to A.m. Arthur’s Neighborhood Shindig series! Now, to be fair, A.m. Arthur is absolutely in the top five of my favorite m/m authors, so I’ll admit to a little bit of bias, but the world that A.m. Arthur has created in the Neighborhood Shindig is absolutely endearing!

Ok.. So, Melting For You, here are your characters. First, you have Joel, a 20-something young man who is just returning to Reynolds, North Carolina after spending a year living with his parents while he was extremely ill. Then, you have Isaiah who’s come home to help care for his estranged father, who just happens to be the owner of Neighborhood Shindig. When Joel arrives in Reynolds, it quickly becomes clear that his former business partner and casual lover, has stolen from Joel, left Joel homeless, and left their jointly run food truck a barren disaster. But all hope is not lost. Enter, Isaiah and his father.

Isaiah is not quite sure where he belongs anymore. He’s managed to work his way to the top of the restaurant business in Atlanta, but now that he’s back home in Reynolds he finds himself questioning whether or not Atlanta and the restaurant he co-owns is really where his passion is best served.

In Melting for You, Isaiah and Joel become friends first, then lovers, and together they begin a journey into finding a place that feels like home. As they work together to get Joel’s food truck back up and running, they begin to learn just what it means when a place feels like home. This is a sweet and simple story of two men, a lot of grilled cheese, and a city square full of food trucks and family. Welcome, my friends, to Neighborhood Shindig… Oh, and fair warning, this book will leave you hungry, lol!

5 pieces of eye candy to A.m. Arthur’s Melting for You.

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone’s throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She’s been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn’t been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur’s work is available from Carina Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she’s an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Email: am_arthur@yahoo.com

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Who We Used to Be by Dara Nelson: Blog Tour, Excerpt and Pre-Release Review

June 14, 2019 by Denise

Ten years ago Zeke Malloy had everything:

A happy childhood, a shot at a state championship wrestling title, a best friend, a boyfriend (albeit a secret one but that was okay because, once they graduated, that would change).

He had love, happiness……a heart.

All of that changed in the blink of an eye.

One moment he was deliriously happy, looking forward to a future with Digger Brandt, building a life, a home, a forever, with him.

And then it was gone, disappearing like the tears that flowed down Zeke’s cheeks as he watched from the back of the church as Digger married Lisa – with his father sitting proudly in the front pew. Those tears were still flowing when he walked out of that church and went directly to the nearest recruiting office. Because he didn’t just lose the love of his life that day, he lost his hopes, his dreams, he lost…..himself.

For the next ten years he was a machine – the best Marine, the best friend, but like a machine, he did it all without a beating heart. His was dead…..or was it?

Was ten years too long?

Was a broken heart too much?

Zeke didn’t know. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to know.

From the moment Digger walked up behind him and said in that smooth, sexy voice that used to light Zeke up six ways from Sunday, “The man I knew never had a problem with it,”, the only thing Zeke knew now was that he was about to find out.

Book Title: Who We Used to Be (Do-Over Series, Book 1)

Author: Dara Nelson

Publisher: Dare Publishing

Cover Artist: Dara Nelson

Cover Photo: Dan Skinner/DWS Photography

Release Date: June 15, 2019

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance

Trope/s: Second-chance love

Themes: Forgiveness

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 51 356 words/280 pages

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Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Zeke stared at the amber colored liquid in his glass while trying to figure out what he was feeling. That was just the thing. He wasn’t feeling anything.

He was numb.

If he really allowed himself to think about it, he’d been numb for a decade. Since the day he’d opened his front door and had seen that invitation sticking out from under his doormat. That was the last day he’d felt anything at all. And what he’d felt then was total, utter devastation as he collapsed onto the porch swing as those words penetrated his brain. Such a profound sense of not only sadness, but the devastating knowledge that life as he knew it was over.

Everything he thought he knew was shattered.

How could he do this?

Everything he thought he could have was gone.

Did he know her? Had he been cheating the whole time?

And anger – god there was so much anger.

The cowardly fucker didn’t even have the balls to look him in the eye when he destroyed him.

He swore he could feel his heart shattering into a million pieces. It was also the day that he lost all hope of finding his happily ever after.

It was the day he was forced to come to terms with the fact that he and Digger were not meant to be.

Shit. Every time one of Zeke’s crappy relationships ended, he always thought of Digger.

Digger Brandt. The first boy he’d kissed. The first boy he’d touched. The first…and only…. boy he’d ever loved.

Digger Brandt. The man who had destroyed Zeke Malloy. Ruined him for all others.

“Fuck,” he mumbled as he scrubbed a hand over his face. He really needed to stop doing this.

He had to find a way to get over Digger Brandt once and for all.

But how?

As he brought his glass up until it touched his lips, he felt a presence behind him, the heat of someone close, someone big, someone strong, someone that Zeke might be able to get lost in.

“I don’t bottom,” he said, getting that shit outta the way right quick.

A deep chuckle rumbled out of the man’s chest. It was so sexy it made Zeke’s balls tingle.

“The man I knew never had a problem with it.”

Zeke’s eyes squeezed shut.

He knew that voice.

He’d felt that voice.

He’d swallowed that voice into his body when the man came, dozens of times.

He still heard that voice every time he jacked off, despite trying to fight it with everything he had.

If he allowed himself to, he could easily get lost in that voice again.

He shook his head.

No. Not again. Never again.

“The boy you knew doesn’t exist anymore,” he growled and then he tipped back his glass, welcoming the burn as the liquid slid down his throat.

He felt the change in the man behind him, knew without looking that he’d gone from self-assured, cocky even, to unsteady, remorseful…..guilty.

Good.

“Zeke, I….”
“Don’t, Digger. Just fucking don’t. Go back to your perfect house, your white picket fence, your beautiful wife, your two point five kids. Go back to whatever fake little happy life you built and leave me the fuck alone.”

God. Ten fucking years of trying to forget him erased in sixty seconds.

He signaled to Joe, the bartender, for another and tried to ignore the fact that he could still feel Digger behind him.

When Digger slid onto the empty stool next to Zeke, he wanted to turn and walk out.

But he couldn’t.

He felt like he was anchored to his spot with a one-ton boulder.

To be honest, he was anchored, but not by a boulder; by a six-foot-one heart-breaking asshole named Douglas Digger Brandt.

Zeke refused to turn and look at the man.

Truth be told, he was afraid to look.

Afraid that he just might drop to his knees and beg the man to love him, to really love him, the way Zeke thought he had all those years ago, the way Zeke had loved him, the way a still fucking loved him.

Hell, he’d probably even offer to be his dirty little secret if Digger asked him to.

Just anything to get the man to touch him one more time.

Nobody had ever touched Zeke the way that Digger had, like he was trying to fuse them together, like he was pulling whatever it was that made Zeke, Zeke, into himself. He didn’t even have to touch Zeke’s dick, although that was amazing too. Just the tips of his fingers on Zeke’s skin or the brush of his lips on his neck made Zeke feel like he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Everything that was Digger slid effortlessly together with Zeke like the pieces of a perfect puzzle.

A puzzle whose pieces Digger had scattered to the wind the moment he had walked away.

Maybe nobody had ever touched Zeke like that since because he’d never allowed it, because he’d never let someone get that close.

Never again.

A heartbreak like that was something you never forgot – it changed you.

You ever just in the mood to cry?

That’s where I was when I read this blurb. I knew it was going to be one to kick me in the feels. I was not wrong. Zeke and Digger were young, sure, but there love was so big and important, netiher one of them doubted their forever… that was, until

Zeke came home and found a wedding invitation to Zeke’s very hetero wedding. It all happens before the book starts, but you get the first few chapters of his heartbreak….

Then we get to see Digger’s heartbreak and his reasons that things happened the way they did all those years ago. I have to admit…. I didn’t feel like they were good enough. I mean, he and Zeke were both adults… and ten years is a really long time to let things go on that way when you live with regret every single day and still love each other…. I mean, a decade, especially from that age is like a whole lifetime.

Zeke was in the military, has this whole family of brothers that now apparently own a garage together and kind of remind me of the Golden Girls….

SO MUCH DRAMA!!! With everyone! You could not go one chapter without the most random drama.

Do guys really talk about their feelings and cry that much around each other? I mean, I know good friends and family, I’ve got tons of them….and maybe the guys I know or have read about just don’t get that invested in their friends life or relationships…it was odd to me. I loved that they’re all so close and I love that they all support each other though….but again…. There was so much drama with so many different people, I just couldn’t keep up.

And who was Diggers dad? He was a big shot in the community, sure… but did that mean he could kill people and get away with it, just cuz his son is gay and wouldn’t produce an heir? It was just so unbelievable to me.

Anyway… backing up..here it is ten years later and Digger and his wife are divorced but still best friends, because she wants him to be happy. Another odd part to me… why they let it go on for ten whole years…. But now Digger is back and will stop at nothing to get Zeke to just stop and talk to him. The wife seems kind of crappy about it, but chick, your husband did kind of break the guy… Zeke isn’t having it though… he says at least 125 times that he can’t do this… and the number of times these two jumped to conclusions…. The wrong conclusions just made me want to pull my hair out.

And the ex-boyfriend trashing the house and then coming to ask for money…. So much cringe. I haaaate when bad guys just get away with being bad guys… I needed karmic justice.

Eventually though, after Digger fighting for his man back, things work out the way they’re supposed to. The dad isn’t a problem like I thought he was going to be. I dunno why he seemed so scary well into adulthood, but he was over and done with pretty quickly.

I am very curious about Dallas and Bulldog, but I don’t think I wanna revisit this family of so much meddling and drama. I think I’ll leave it here. I’m glad everything worked out for these two, second chances are always satisfying, and I liked both guys and loved them together, but this one just wasn’t for me. It was just too much….

2.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

I did not choose to write…..writing chose me

Kendel Duncan is the pen name for Dara Nelson. Why a pen name? I first chose it because I was initially writing in two different genres (M/F Paranormal and Gay Romance). I’ve since transitioned into a strictly gay romance author – writing romance, action, suspense and second chance romances.

I’ve tackled subjects that I’m very proud of, including losing a spouse, living with HIV, among other things.

I was born and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California but have made my home in the Pacific Northwest for more than two decades. My husband & I live on a small farm surrounded by chickens, goats, 5 dogs, and a cat, in the shadow of stunning Mt Rainier.

With my grown children and grandchildren nearby, my life is always busy, happy and full of laughter.

I am an active Blogger, having created Love Unchained Book Reviewsout of my love for all things reading – mostly MM books.

Owner of Dare Publishing & Design– Offering quality, affordable services for indie authors, including:

Editing, Publishing, Book Cover Design and more!

When I’m not on the phone with my best friend (which is at least once every day) – I am an avid, addicted reader. It is my passion, my escape, my joy
And I am most definitely a writer. The characters in my head are constantly demanding that their story be told.
But above all that – I am a human being. My passion for people is unparalleled, my firm belief in Love is Love unwavering, my hope that all can be accepted, undying. I do not write because I want to, I do it because I haveto. I write because these voices, these beautiful men, have chosen me to tell their stories – and how damn lucky am I for that?

As an author, I write under both my name and my pen name (Kendel Duncan), with total transparency and honesty.

Dara Nelson is the author of:

Author of the successful ‘Healing Hearts’ series (Love in the Aftermath, Love After Chaos, Love Worth Fighting For – and more to come soon)

“5 stars5 stars Amazing!!”

“Highly recommended”

“This is not your average romance story. It is so much more. A book that touched my heart.”

“OMG!!! This was probably one of the best books I’ve ever read.”

“This is the first time I’ve read anything from Dara Nelson, but it won’t be the last. I need more of her writing!”

Under the pen name Kendel Duncan:

Author of the popular & critically acclaimed ‘Black Ops Heroes’ series and the new top-selling ‘Doyle Global Securities’ series

“I can’t recommend Kendel Duncan or Black Ops Heroes ENOUGH!!!! OMG, everyone who likes strong vulnerable men will love these stories!!!”

“I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THIS AMAZING SERIES!!!!!”

“I love how you keep the story going and keep all the characters interesting. Can’t wait for the next book!”

“The emotions are so raw and just I don’t have the right words to express how amazing the books are. You have to read them to understand. I can’t wait for the next installment!!”

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