Book Excerpt

Schooling the Jock (Nerds Vs Jocks, Book 1) by Eli Easton & Tara Lain: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

February 23, 2021 by Denise

Only an unfair universe makes a guy who’s that gorgeous so damned obnoxious.

A-hoe!
Poindexter!
Snarky, superbrain Dobbs and snooty football star Jesse stare at each other from their rival frat houses on opposites sides of the street — and opposite sides of everything else.

Alpha Lambda Alpha and Sigma Mu Tau have been sworn enemies for decades. Then one disastrous prank proves to be the last straw, and the college dean blows his cork!

Work together or lose both your houses.

Question – -How can Dobbs win his coveted Quiz Bowl championship with when he’s forced to put a dumb jock on his team?
Answer — Lots of personal schooling.

But when personal becomes very personal, Jesse risks causing his overtaxed family one more huge worry and the running back starts running.

Will Dobbs give up on the shocked jock, or show him that the answer to the big question is, Yes?

SCHOOLING THE JOCK is an enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, campus romance – with one hell of a lightning round.

Title: Schooling the Jock

Series: Nerds Vs Jocks, Book 1

Authors: Eli Easton & Tara Lain

After lunch, Jesse’s mom said she’d clean up if Jesse watched Eli, so the three of us went out to the barn with the family dog, who I’d learned was named Mack, at our heels. Bella, the brown cow, wasn’t in the barn, but she was out in the pasture. When Jesse called her, she lazily ambled toward the fence. Eli stood on the lower fence railing and held out a baby carrot. The cow walked up and took it with an alarmingly huge gray tongue. Eli clapped his hands and petted her head.

“Look, Dobbs!” Eli said. “She’s real.”

“She certainly is,” I agreed. “She has pretty eyes.”

Eli didn’t say anything.

“And shapely legs. For a cow.”

I glanced at Jesse who rolled his eyes but smiled.

“She’s the prettiest cow in the world,” Eli pronounced.

“Well, she needs a crown then, don’t you think?”

Eli looked at me like I was nuts. I glanced around. I spotted a holly bush by the barn and went over. I took out my handy-dandy pocketknife and cut some branches. I bent them to form a circle and wove the ends together to make it stay.

When I presented it to Eli, he grinned. “This isn’t a crown! A crown is gold.”

“Au contraire, little dude. A crown can be made of all sorts of things. This is a cow crown.”

Eli placed it on Bella’s head, looping it over one ear. Bella looked unimpressed. She tr

ied to nose Eli’s hand, looking for more carrots. Finding none, she started walking along the fence, eating grass. The holly circle dangled.

Eli followed her along the fence line, chattering to her. Jesse and I stayed where we were and watched.

“Thanks for, you know, being nice to Eli.”

I gave him a don’t-be-weird look. “Despite what you might have heard, I reserve my venom for grown men.”

“Ah. That explains it. And here I thought you might have a kernel of decency.”

“Nope. Although, I can’t be mean to you today either. Not after you fed me sloppy joes and, uh, helped your mom at lunch.” My cheeks heated. That was such a lame thing to say even if I’d been thinking it. I tried to make up for the compliment. “You guys have a whole routine. You should take it on the road.”

He shrugged. “We’ve all learned how to get things done as efficiently as possible, I guess.”

And yet, you’re at Madison. “Bet she misses you when you’re gone.”

Jesse’s face tightened. “I got offered a good football scholarship to Madison, so it made sense. And my mom wanted me to go.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? You’re not that intolerable.”

He rolled his eyes. “I think she wanted me to get away from it for a few years. To be more independent.” He made a face. “Not that it’s bad, Eli and Micah. It’s just…”

“Challenging?”

He shrugged. “More like all-consuming. The first five years were really rough, especially since my folks were trying to get a diagnosis so they even had a clue what to do. But they’ve come a long way. Eli especially.”

“Yeah, I noticed Eli’s really affectionate with you. That’s great. I thought autistic people didn’t like to be touched.”

Jesse nodded. “None of us can touch Micah. Eli’s like that with most people. Even my mom and I can’t touch him sometimes. But, when he’s in the mood, he lets me. I think he missed me. And you were there. Like, he was maybe feeling a little jealous or insecure? And he’s upset because Micah’s in the hospital.”

That all might be true, but I knew what I saw. “Grammy Dobbs always said, the eyes speak louder than words. Eli looks at you like you’re his hero. He loves you a lot.”

Jesse’s face softened. “Yeah. I don’t know. It’s kind of a brother thing.”

“A brother thing?”

“Eli and Micah are in their own world. Micah’s non-verbal, so Eli talks for him. I guess, as their older brother, I’m sort of on the fringes of that bubble too.”

Jesse’s tone made that sound like a special thing. And I wasn’t sure what to feel about that, or this farm, or this family. He looked so ridiculously handsome standing there with the red barn behind him, the snow under his boots, and that sheepskin-lined corduroy farm jacket, hair mussed by the wind, pink cheeks, eyes bright. Like, if he were a calendar model, I’d leave it on that page for perpetuity. And he was looking at me in a way Jesse Knox had never looked at me before. His face was open and his eyes warm. Hot even? He stared at me. And I stared back. His gaze flickered to my lips.

A frisson of lust shot down my body, lighting me on fire. I suddenly had a bone-deep urge to kiss him. I coughed, shocked at myself. I mean, I was only human, and Jesse was…Jesse. But I was getting way out over my feet here. Thinking of him that way was extremely unwise.

“So! I hear there are chickens,” I said to lighten the mood.

Jesse waggled his eyebrows. “There are. Real live ones.”

“Oh, my God. This is practically a safari!” I shouted.

Jesse laughed.

This was a fun story of two guys who are seemingly complete opposites. Two frat houses who aren’t really rivals since one is a jock house and the other is a nerd house, but being that they are across the street from each other, they play pranks on each other. Until one prank got a little out of hand and the dean comes down hard on them. The jock house has a competitive flag football team and the nerd house has a quiz bowl team. And they each have to send two people to the other teams.

This story focuses on the 2 jocks sent over to compete on the quiz bowl team. Dobbs (a nickname from his last name. Seriously- why do guys always do that?) is the quiz bowl team captain and he takes his position and his team VERY seriously. And when Dobbs and Jesse, the jock, end up stuck with each other for a weekend, expectations start to fall away.

Of course Jesse is in the closet. But he doesn’t even try to fake it with girls. He is committed to football because of his scholarship, and his college program because he is all about being a nurse. But you know the jock is going to fall for the nerd. And the nerd is going to figure out that the jock is pretty smart and a giant softie.

I loved how the entire story really involved a lot of different characters from both houses, as well as Jesse’s family. It made the whole story more believable.

One of the things that bugged me was the 2 frat guys who were responsible for the final prank never got any repercussions from their house. I understand how the dean was punishing everyone, but you would think that those two guys would face disciplinary actions.

And there were two sides to the punishment from the dean. But the flag football story will be in book 2.

If you enjoy college stories, opposites attract, etc, you will enjoy this story. Low angst and mostly fun.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Coming from a background in computer game design, Eli has written over 35 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 her Sex in Seattle series, which revolves around a sex clinic in Seattle.

Connect with Eli:
www.elieaston.com
Facebook: Eli Easton
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164054884188096
Twitter: @elieaston

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Tara loves animals of all kinds (even snakes), diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers.

She has around 57 books published or scheduled for publication.

Connect with Tara:
Website: https://taralain.com/
Facebook Reader’s Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/255111391312743
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taralain/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taralain
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taralainauthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tara-lain

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The Elven King’s Captive by Devon Vesper: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

February 22, 2021 by Denise

An omega elven king finds his alpha. Unfortunately, he’s human.

Casersis Ardal, the former Sun King, is a First Generation elf of over three million years. He meets his match in Dustin Juniper, a twenty-year-old human construction worker.

Dustin has been in charge of his whole life since he was sixteen. But when he meets Casersis, destiny strips all his control away. His body, his heart, his whole world change when he comes into contact with a magical amulet and starts changing species. And falling in love with an ageless elven king makes him question everything.

Casersis has been alone on earth for millennia. Having a burgeoning elf around brings feelings he isn’t comfortable with. But he can’t let Dustin go. If the humans find out Dustin isn’t human, Dustin would become a science experiment. The only option Casersis has is to keep Dustin captive. He must protect Dustin from himself as the young man fights Casersis—and fate—every step of the way.

If they want to be together, Casersis and Dustin must find a way to compromise. Once in a lifetime takes on new meaning when you live forever.

This 73,000-word non-shifter omegaverse novel is set in a world where mpreg (male pregnancy) is a fact of life, however this series does not end with a baby or pregnancy.

Title: The Elven King’s Captive

Series: Fated Elves, Book 1

Author: Devon Vesper

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

My heart pounded as I raced to Dustin’s side. I could not be too late. I would not be too late.

Dustin…

Even with all of my magic pushing me forward, I felt like I was not moving fast enough. I was running out of time. I heard a snarl, the snap of ravenous jaws. The beauty of the forest around me held no allure as I maneuvered around trees, between trunks and through the thick underbrush. Twigs and branches ripped at my hair, at my clothes, scratched my face and hands, but I did not care. Nothing mattered except getting to Dustin in time.

Voices up ahead signaled that I was close. I slowed myself down, not wanting to startle Don, knowing he had his gun with him. If I startled him when he fired, he could hurt Dustin.

Or kill him.

The wind changed direction, and I could smell my beauty’s fear mixed with Don’s. The scent of polished metal mingled, making my stomach roll. I had to make it in time. I had to.

Erastus’s feral growl grew louder. As I rounded another tree, I saw them. Dustin had fallen face-first onto the ground, the side of his face covered in dirt, moldering leaves clinging to his cheek. Erastus stood over him, his front paws in the center of my beauty’s back.

And Don had his gun drawn.

I stopped as suddenly as I had moved, right beside Don. As his finger squeezed the trigger, I shoved his hand up so the bullet went into the air.

Deafening silence fell, and all I could hear were four sets of heartbeats on the breeze, and the gentle rustle of falling leaves.

With a breath, I released Don’s hand and stepped in front of him. “Put your weapon away.”

“Sir?”

I stared Erastus down, looking him directly in his golden eyes. “Put the gun away and head back for the house. Now.”

“But, sir—”

“Do as I say, Don.”

The man sighed and I felt him back up, heard the click as he re-engaged the safety, the slither of metal against leather as he holstered his weapon. With each sound, the tension in my shoulders and back eased.

As I felt his presence recede, I backed up a step, spoke low and with a tone colder than Dustin had ever heard from me, that I had hoped he would never hear from me. “Erastus. Get off of Dustin.”

The wolf snorted and narrowed his eyes at me as if to say, “Make me.”

I’m a mother, furbaby spoiler, and a girl who can’t get enough of pretty, pretty boys. As a kid, I traveled the world, too young to appreciate the gift I was given, but now those adventures spur on stories that my brain just can’t keep up with. Well, my brain tells me it keeps up just fine, but my fingers are the slow ones. I’ll let you decide. But the boys, man. The boys I remember make my heart sizzle looking back on them. Being a kid at nude beaches, I never cared, but looking back on those memories of Sicily, WHEW! There are some really great childhood images that I wish I could have been an adult to savor.Home is some place I call “rustic”. I’m used to large cities, stores everywhere, gas stations on every corner. Here in rural Pennsylvania, it’s rustic and beautiful. And quiet. Too quiet. With all this quiet, all there is to do is write stories, and let the hot men in my head out to play. We all benefit, yes? I like this development. The only thing I dislike about this rusticness is the fact I can’t find a coffee shop that sells a proper chai latte. They make it from powder. Ew. This makes for a disgruntled Dev. Ugh. I miss my chai.

Most of all, I am a down-to-earth southern girl at heart from spending 16 years in Florida. If you chat with me, you’ll hear endearments like darlin’, sweetheart, and hon/hun/hunnie. It’s who I am, and if we chat, you’re almost instantly family, so get used to it.

Connect with Devon:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDevonVesper/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/devonsdreamersden
https://www.instagram.com/devonvesper/
https://twitter.com/DevonVesper
https://www.pinterest.com/devonvesper
https://www.amazon.com/Devon-Vesper/e/B072KBRC51
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/devon-vesper

To celebrate the release of The Elven King’s Captive, Devon is giving away a $5 Amazon Gift Card & an e-copy of The Elven King’s Captive!

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Business and the Beat: New Release Blitz and Excerpt

February 18, 2021 by Denise

Rutherford Fitzhugh, shy, repressed financial advisor, is happy to stay in his professional and personal rut. But his world gets shaken up when his new boss insists the firm take on more exciting clients and assigns Rutherford to Mak, the brilliant bassist and chief songwriter for the mega-popular rock band, Memo to Myself.

Mak Makana, extroverted prankster goofball, hasn’t had a serious or lengthy relationship in years. He learned early on in his band’s meteoric rise to fame that a lover he’d fallen hard for was more interested in his fame than him.

The sparks between the two men are immediate and intense, despite their disastrous first meeting when Rutherford walks into a gooey prank Mak meant for a bandmate. Rutherford discovers that Mak isn’t the spoiled, shallow rock star he expected, and Mak finds that Rutherford has a hidden artistic and quirky side. They can’t keep their hands off each other—even as they work to convince themselves it’s just a fling.

Rutherford’s never been able to please his conservative, traditional Virginian parents—or get them to accept his sexuality—and the sudden paparazzi attention brings their disapproval on full force. Mak’s got a supportive family back home in Hawaii and another one in his bandmates, neither batting an eye at his pansexuality. But that early experience with a fame-collector makes him wary of opening up to anyone who’s not birth family or band family.

Mak and Rutherford’s very different lives threaten to pull them apart, but could it be they’re different enough to be perfect together?

Title: Business and the Beat

Author: Kellum Jeffries

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 02/08/2021

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 33800

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, gay, pan, rock star/musician, family issues, band shenanigans, slime attacks

Rutherford’s morning started off with a reassuring sameness—same boiled eggs for breakfast, same dogwalk around his neighborhood, same quick skim of the Financial Times during his morning Lyft ride—and there was absolutely no warning that by noon he’d be flustered, turned on, and temporarily dyed blue.

He arrived at work his usual half hour early. It was calm and quiet then, and he had a few peaceful moments to sit with his first cup of tea of the day and start looking through his portfolio of clients, making sure he’d checked in with each of them recently enough to keep them well informed and happy. (This was a tricky balance; some clients were annoyed by frequent contact, some enraged by any lengthy absence of contact, and, of course, there were a few who would find something to be peeved about regardless.)

Rutherford wrote up a schedule of check-in calls to make and started looking through the first client’s current investments, checking on the returns and pondering the fact that said client had a child reaching college age soon. Would tweaking her portfolio in light of that be advantageous? And just when he was settling into deep thought, doodling flowers on his legal pad as his brain ticked over possibilities, Hurricane Jen blew into the office.

He winced—he liked Jen, somewhat reluctantly, but she was loud.

“Heeeeeeeeeey you!” she bellowed, and he sighed as his mental train of morning productivity not only derailed but fell spectacularly off a cliff, hit bottom, and caught fire.

“Hello, Jen.”

He’d wondered, the first few times she greeted him with a “Hey you,” if she was being intentionally rude to him since she seemed to remember everyone else’s name. But when he’d reintroduced himself after several weeks of this, she’d wrinkled her nose and said, “I swear I know your name, I’m sorry, I just— It just doesn’t seem like you! It’s so stuffy! Sorry, I don’t mean to insult your name, you probably love your name, and it’s certainly elegant and everything, and argh, I’m a dick.”

He’d blinked at her, astonished she thought his name too stuffy for him—he was well aware most people thought of him as, well, stuffy. (He was also astonished she felt comfortable blurting “I’m a dick” by way of apology, but the boss’s daughter had certain prerogatives.)

“I, uh, I don’t love my name,” he’d said. “‘Hey you’ is…rather nice.” And since then, he’d been oddly fond of her.

Today, though, in addition to completely ruining his concentration, she was making him nervous. She didn’t come into the office all that often; she was in charge of schmoozing prospective clients, which kept her on the road a good deal. When she did come in, it tended to be for all-hands-on-deck things: staff trainings and the like. Rutherford snuck a look at his online calendar, but he knew before he checked there was nothing like that today. So why was she here?

“What brings you here today?” he asked, but she added to his worry by grinning and making a lock-turning gesture in front of her lips, then striding off to her dad’s office.

“Oh god,” Rutherford murmured to his computer screen. There’d been rumors flying around lately about the old man’s retirement. Rutherford had tried to discount them, but…he wasn’t so sure now.

MacKenzie from the next office stuck her head in his doorway, pointed the way Jen had gone, and did some frantic gestures he assumed were mime for “what is happening?” He shrugged, and she frowned and popped back out again.

He slid down in his chair, put his hands over his face, and whispered, “I hate change” into the dark of his palms.

And sure enough, a few seconds later, an “Everyone to the meeting room” alert popped up on the office IM.

Rutherford grabbed a pad and pen and headed for the hallway; bad news was always a bit more palatable when he had some paper to cling to. He met MacKenzie on the way, leaned down, and murmured, “Two pencils,” in her ear.

“Crap, thanks,” she said and grabbed the pencils out of her short Afro. Sometimes by the end of the day, she had five or six.

They reached the meeting room and grabbed seats. And once everyone had filed in, Jen patted her dad’s shoulder and said, “Don’t leave ’em hanging,” and Rutherford barely managed not to groan aloud.

Mr. Wozniak stood up, said, “Yep, I’m retiring. Nope, we’re not letting anybody go. Yep, I am going to do a shitload of fly-fishing,” and sat down.

As bosses went, he’d always been admirably succinct.

The room was silent for a moment, awkwardly so—what did one say in response to that? And then Jen stood up and talked about how her father had founded the firm on the principles of emphasizing ethics, hiring the best people, and treating them very well. How their employee retention rate (“and our long tradition of not getting caught up in hideous scandals!”) proved these principles worked, and how she planned to continue on the same path.

Oh, good, it was going to be Jen. Rutherford had worried the firm would be sold. Jen, while noisy, was at least familiar and liked.

He’d begun to relax a little when Jen’s speech took a turn.

“While most of you will keep your same client load, I do plan to shake things up a bit. I’m planning to start pitching clients in the entertainment industry—we’ve got a longstanding industry halo for ethical business, let’s add a little buzz as well.”

That certainly got a buzz going in the room at least, but she held up a hand. “I’ll share details with those of y’all who are gonna be involved. Meanwhile, let’s start planning a massive retirement party.”

Rutherford tuned out for the rest of the talk, sketching tiny birds in the margins of his legal pad while he mulled over what this might mean for him. He had every intention of staying. Surely, his job wouldn’t change significantly since there was zero reason for Jen to drag him, of all people, into the new “entertainment industry” focus. However, someone his own age taking over the company would certainly send his parents into another “We can’t believe you’re happy with this career…plateau” rant.

He sighed and then startled, realizing only when Jen’s hand landed lightly on his shoulder that people were starting to clear out of the room.

“Hey, you,” she said, grinned, and patted his shoulder. “Let’s talk.”

Oh no.

Kellum Jeffries is a bisexual Southern librarian, lucky enough to have a supportive fellow-writer partner and a fabulous dog. She knits socks, gives excellent shoulder rubs, and can touch her nose with her tongue. She loves to write about all kinds of people finding themselves, finding love, and finding the nearest Waffle House.

Author Links

Website: http://www.kellumjeffries.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellum.jeffries

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kellumjeffries

Instagram: http://instagram.com/Kellumjeffries

Email: kellumjeffries@gmail.com

Right As Raine (Aster Valley, Book 1) by Lucy Lennox: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

February 3, 2021 by Denise

Tiller:

As the first openly gay professional football player, I can’t afford to make any mistakes, on or off the field. And the absolute biggest mistake I could make right now would be to fall for Mikey Vining, my best friend, employee and, more importantly, Coach’s baby boy. I might fantasize about Mikey at night-—every night—but actually touching him would be a serious personal foul.

And falling for him? That’s completely out of bounds.

Mikey:

I’ve learned my lesson about falling for one of my dad’s players. They’re a bunch of spoiled jocks with more muscles than brains. I’ve spent years learning to keep my eyes, and my hands, to myself. But resisting the temptation becomes nearly impossible when Tiller Raine and I end up together in a small cabin in a remote Colorado town.

Suddenly, there’s not much to do but look at each other. And talk. And hopefully, hopefully touch.

But what happens when our stay in Aster Valley is over and it’s time to return to the real world? Will Coach blow the whistle on our relationship? Or will Tiller admit there might actually be something he loves more than football after all?

Right As Raine

Aster Valley, Book 1

By Lucy Lennox

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

When we got to the check-in counter at the airport, I split off to go to the regular people’s line while Tiller headed for the first-class one. It took him a second to realize I was no longer behind him, but when he did, he hissed at me loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Get over here, you moron.”

I dutifully followed, knowing from years of experience how this was going to play out.

“I can’t fucking believe you did this again,” he snapped under his breath.

“You cuss like my dad,” I muttered. “And you know how I feel about spending your money.”

When it was our turn at the counter, Mr. NFL Superstar turned on his charm and laid down his celebrity card. “Hi…” He squinted at the woman’s name tag. “Nessa. How are you this morning?”

She blushed right on cue and fluttered her fake eyelashes. “I’m doing great, thanks! How can I help you today, Mr. Raine?”

He put his hand on top of my head and turned me to face Nessa. “My assistant here made a mistake when he booked our reservations, and I need to upgrade him to first class to sit with me, please. We have some work to do, and I don’t want to waste our time in the air.”

It was bullshit, of course. He just preferred sitting next to someone who wouldn’t pester him about his job, the team, stats, and insider information. When I was his seatmate, he had a buffer between him and the oftentimes rabid Rigger fandom. It didn’t hurt that I was so much smaller than he was and he wouldn’t have any issues fitting his giant shoulders and legs into the space between our seats. First-class seats were big, but not NFLer big.

She clicked on her keyboard and sighed, huffed, and scraped her upper lip with her bottom teeth before finally letting out an ah-ha noise. “Got it. Gimme just one… there. I’ll print these new boarding passes out for you and get your bags checked in.”

When Tiller tried handing over his credit card, she blushed again and pushed his hand away, her own hand lingering on his. I turned around so I could roll my eyes without being rude to her face. The businessman behind us in line caught my eye.

“Is that Tiller Raine?” he whispered.

I shook my head. “Bobby Simplethorn. You probably know him from that hemorrhoid commercial.”

The man looked at me in total confusion. “What?”

I sang a little jingle. “Nothing softens bottom thorns quite like Simplethorn… No? You don’t know it? Huh. Bobby here is the CEO. That miracle cream is his baby. I can introduce you if you want?”

The man winced. “Uh, no. That’s okay. Thanks, though.”

I shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

When I turned back to face the lady at the counter, I found both her and Tiller staring at me. Nessa turned to look at Tiller with a raised brow.

“No,” he said before she could ask. “The closest I’ve come to hemorrhoids is dealing with this pain in my ass.” He thumbed at me over his shoulder. “And now I’m regretting the seat change.”

In the beginning of January, a lot- and I mean A LOT- of authors were part of a big winter giveaway. Lucy Lennox was a part of it and her contribution was a short novella called Winter Waites. Set in Aster Valley, Colorado, it featured an occupational therapist and a famous musician.

Now we officially have book 1 of the Aster Valley series. Mikey, the 5th son of a college football coach who is the complete and utter opposite of his 4 burly brothers who played sports. Oh, and he is gay. Not in the closet either, which was nice to see.

Tiller is a hot shot player on Coach’s pro team the Riggers. Problem is, Tiller really doesn’t know how to fuel his body with the right foods. Oh guess what? Tiller is also gay and out. WHEE! Don’t worry- they will hide their relationship for different reasons.

Mikey is hired temporarily as Tiller’s personal cook and dietician. Temporary turns into over five years. And when I say that, I mean there was a 5 year time jump in the book. Which is kind of cool knowing that both of these guys were crushing on each other and doing everything they could to stay away from each other. AND neither knew. HA!

Until Tiller is hurt and since he can’t play, Coach sends him off to Colorado to visit his family. Coach just doesn’t know that Mikey went along.

So Tiller and Mikey alone in a cabin- ok, cabin is a BIG stretch- in the winter with no one else around…let’s just say they finally started acting on their feelings.

What follows is an introduction to the adorable former ski resort town of Aster Valley and a few of the citizens- including who we met in Winter Waites. It is easy to fall in love with the town- and Mikey does. Mikey and Tiller start facing some facts as well. Tiller doesn’t NEED Mikey any longer. Mikey isn’t following his dream- instead he stuck with what was comfortable. But the bigger question- could Mikey leave Tiller in Texas to chase his dream in Colorado?

Mikey’s family and they way they treated him just broke my heart. His mother was just the stereotypical 50’s housewife who just deferred everything to the husband. I wanted to smack her. She was so completely clueless. Ugh.

Anyway. Mikey and Tiller were awesome together. I ADORE that they basically lived together for 5 years before anything happened. There were some really fun characters we met in Aster Valley that I can’t wait to get more of. This is definitely a series I will follow. I hope it is more than 2 or 3 books.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

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Running Lines by Jeris Jean: RB, Excerpt and Release Day Review

January 29, 2021 by Denise

Onscreen chemistry. Offscreen action.

Finn may look like a Romeo + Juliet-era Leo, but he’s out to prove he’s got what it takes to break the teen heartthrob mold. Grayson is a serious actor, with “serious” as the operative word, so he’s not thrilled to find himself hopelessly attracted to his young new co-star.

Starring on a teen soap may have made Finn Everett Hollywood’s latest “it” boy, complete with the 10 million Instagram followers to show for it, but does he have the chops to cut it as the newest cast member on television’s biggest drama, Frost Manor? Finn’s determined to prove himself as more than just as sex symbol and win the respect of his co-star, Grayson Winter.

Grayson is gorgeous, talented, and the celeb Finn has been secretly crushing on for years. Grayson is dedicated to his job. He has big aspirations to be Hollywood’s best leading man, and he’s willing to make personal sacrifices to get there. When his new scene partner is the charismatic and intensely distracting Finn Everett, Grayson is shaken loose from his single-minded ambition.

When Finn and Grayson start running lines, their off-the-charts chemistry has them wondering if big things are in store for more than just their careers.

Running Lines is an MM Romance featuring hot TV stars, Hollywood drama, and a sweet and sexy gay love story.

Book Title: Running Lines

Author and Publisher: Jeris Jean

Cover Artist: Jeris Jean

Release Date: January 26, 2021

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Celebrities, Workplace Romance

Themes: Overcoming the past, self-confidence, defying expectations

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 55,000 words/ 142 pages (ebook)

It is a standalone story and is the first book in a series.

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Not a single interviewer had failed to mention Finn Everett, and it was getting really damn old. He didn’t want to talk about Finn Everett. He didn’t even want to think about Finn Everett. That just led to Grayson thinking about sexy blue eyes and lean muscles and no. No. Nothing good would come of that line of thought. It was going to be hard enough to work with him everyday on the show and maintain his standards of professionalism.

As Grayson clung to his last shred of patience for this interview, he answered the question the same way he had all night. “I trust our showrunners and casting director. But I haven’t personally met Finn Everett yet, so I don’t have an opinion of my own.” The words sounded colder, more robotic than he’d intended.

As if on cue, his agent Kayla’s familiar voice broke into the conversation, interrupting the interview. “We can fix that, Grayson! You can meet right now.” She was tugging someone by the hand and then shoving him into the interview right next to Grayson. The interviewer was clapping her hands in thrilled excitement, her smile widening to an even more frightening degree. Before he knew what was happening, he was shaking hands with Finn Everett, looking right into those dark blue eyes. There were only two words Grayson’s brain could manage at that moment: Holy. Fuck. Finn Everett was gorgeous.

Gaining his composure was difficult, but Grayson was a professional actor, so he knew how to pull himself together before anyone noticed how dumbstruck he was at the sight of Finn Everett. He hoped. The interviewer was now asking Finn how it felt to meet Grayson. Finn was staring at Grayson with the oddest expression – it was almost like…admiration? Grayson felt himself hold his breath, waiting to hear Finn’s answer.

Finn turned back to the interviewer, and he said smoothly, “It is an absolute pleasure. I can’t wait to work with him. I’m sure there’s a lot he can teach me.” Finn smiled shyly, his eyes dipping to the carpet and then back up to glance cautiously at Grayson through his lashes. Grayson met his eyes briefly, and he felt a tingle in his belly. His lips automatically quirked up at the corners without his permission. What was happening? Why was he acting like a total fool all of a sudden? It had to be that this red carpet media circus had finally wore him down completely. He was exhausted and too warm. That would make anyone’s head spin. That was totally it.

Thankfully, Kayla came to his rescue, grabbing both him and Finn by the hands and dragging them away from the interviewer, barking something about needing to get inside to take their seats. Grayson’s head was dizzy as he finally stepped into the cool air conditioning of the theatre.

“Look at this, my two favorite clients making friends,” Kayla said, smiling at Grayson and then Finn. “I had a hunch you’d hit it off,” she added as she let go of Grayson’s hand and dragged Finn further into the building.

Grayson was left in the entryway of the theatre, finally alone for the moment. He leaned against the marble wall behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself.

He was in trouble.

New author with her very first book. I hate to say it, but it is completely obvious that it is her first book. The story was there, but it was just a little bit of a mess. At times it read like a fleshed out outline, not a full story.

Finn, teenage heartthrob has landed a part on a very popular period show. And the lead is a guy he has crushed on. Finn has one day to learn his lines for the next day’s shoot, and Grayson shows up to help him.

They have a great time. Running lines, feeding off of each other’s energy, etc. Grayson invites him over for Thai food. I am expecting some flirting, longing glances, accidental touches…nope. He gets invited in one chapter and the next chapter Finn is reminiscing about the night before. That was never on page.

The whole book was like this. There was no connection at all with the characters. We knew more about the PA Ethan than these two. The entire season worth of filming this show was over in a matter of a few chapters. There was just no substance. It was all superficial.

Once they are “found out” (even though they really weren’t hiding), the producers tell them to act like they hate each other in public. Do we ever see that? Nope.

And even with that, the story dragged on well past it’s natural ending point.

Superficial, no chemistry, no substance. Needs a brutal beta reader (or 2) and a serious edit.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Jeris Jean is a life-long Minnesotan with an obsessive love of books. She has a master’s degree in English Literature but didn’t write her first novel until she was in her mid-thirties. Something just “clicked,” and all fell into its rightful place.

Jeris is a lover of cats, coffee, binge-watching tv shows, her bffs, puzzles, knitting, white sunglasses, black nail polish, purple hair, and reading and writing like it’s going out of style, especially mm romance.

She lives with her husband, two sons and their cat, Fluffy Cat Love, in a lovely little suburb of Minneapolis.

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An Echo in the Sorrow (Soulbound 6) by Hailey Turner: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

January 27, 2021 by Denise

Forgiveness is a hollow prayer you only hear in your dreams.

Patrick Collins has spent years handling cases as a special agent for the Supernatural Operations Agency, even as his secret standing in the preternatural world has changed. He should have confessed to his role as co-leader of the New York City god pack when he and Jonothon de Vere took up the mantle months ago, but he didn’t. Now that split loyalty will cost him at a time when he can least afford it.

Outmaneuvered, framed for murder, and targeted by the Dominion Sect, Patrick has to face a past full of lies to regain his freedom. Revealing the truth means he’ll need to give up the life that has defined him. Everything he’s fought to build with his pack is at stake, and losing them isn’t a price Patrick is willing to pay, but some choices aren’t his to make.

Jono knows they can’t cede any more territory if they want to win the god pack civil war spilling into the streets of New York City. But the souls of werecreatures are free for the taking when demons come to town and angels sing a warning no one can ignore. When Jono’s worst fear comes to life, and he loses the one person he can’t live without, the only option left is to fight.

Facing down the demons of their past and the ones in their present, Patrick and Jono will learn the hard way that some sins never wash away clean.

An Echo in the Sorrow is a 118k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot. It is a direct sequel to On the Wings of War. Reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one.

Title: An Echo in the Sorrow

Series: Soulbound 6

Publisher: Self-published

Release Date (Print & Ebook/Audio): March 1, 2021

Length (Print & Ebook/Audio): 117,943 words

Subgenre: LGBTQ Urban Fantasy

Warnings: None

Cover artist: AngstyG LLC

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Jono bit lightly at his bottom lip, the faint sting making Patrick’s cock twitch with interest. “Not going anywhere. Won’t let you go either.”

Patrick couldn’t bring himself to voice the fear that he might, and so kissed Jono again, because that was better than thinking about everything in his life he couldn’t control. Jono let Patrick set the pace of the kiss—quick and hard, needy in a way Patrick only ever was with him.

Jono responded with just as much want, but the touch of his hands was careful and soothing against Patrick’s body. One slid down his thigh and curled around the back of his knees to hike his leg over Jono’s hip, pulling them flush together. Their cocks slid against each other, and the dry friction drew a groan from Patrick.

“Gonna make a mess of you,” Jono promised.

Patrick hummed agreement, in no way capable of arguing against that. Jono had fucked him every single day since he’d been released from prison. Patrick couldn’t smell the scent of Jono on his own skin, but he didn’t care. It was a mark that he was pack, and he’d never say no to that or to Jono.

They both had a day packed with meetings, but in the soft morning light of their bedroom, their responsibilities faded away in favor of slow kisses, shared breath, and the warm slide of Jono’s slick fingers jacking them both off together. It was easy and warm and gentle, Jono in no hurry even when Patrick pressed biting kisses against his collarbone.

Hailey Turner is a big city girl who spoils her cats rotten and has a demanding day job that she loves, but not as much as she loves writing. She’s been writing since she was a young child and enjoys reading almost as much as creating a new story.

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