Book Review

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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Unforgotten (Forgiven Book 2) by Garrett Leigh: New Release Review

February 22, 2021 by Denise

Billy Daley hasn’t been home in years, and he likes it that way. He’s just fine on his own—he has a cash-in-hand job at a scrapyard, a half-feral cat to keep him company, and many miles between him, his hometown and all the baggage that comes with it.

Until the job goes sideways. Suddenly he’s back in Rushmere, working for none other than his brother’s best friend—a man whose kiss Billy can’t seem to forget.

Gus Amour’s memories of Billy Daley are all spiky edges, lips crushed against lips and a reckless streak that always ended in trouble. But when Billy needs a place to stay, Gus steps in. He’d do anything for the Daley family, including living, and working, side by side with a man who makes his heart beat too fast and his blood run too hot—two things he’s been running from for years.

It doesn’t take long before their easy banter, lingering touches and heated glances become a temptation too hard to resist. But falling into bed and falling in love are two different things, and love has never come easy to either Billy or Gus. Only when fate threatens to steal away their opportunity for a second chance will they realize they don’t need easy.

They just need each other.

Forgiven

Book 1: Forgiven

Book 2: Unforgotten

Amazon

Carina Press

This is book 2, but can easily be a stand alone. I didn’t read book 1 as it is a traditional MF romance and that isn’t my jam any longer. It was pretty easy to extrapolate the background story that was explicitly told.

So there’s Billy. Left home when he was old enough and lived a bit like a nomad. Six months here, six months there, before moving on. Working odd jobs, sleeping where he can and dealing with the residual pain after and accident and shoulder surgery. His time at his current location is cut short when he gets fired for punching someone who hurt his cat. The cat is ok, don’t worry. I’d punch someone for hurting my cat too! With pretty much no options, he figures he would head back home where his brother lives. But they have a strained relationship at best AND his brother’s girlfriend lives with him. But Gus, Billy’s brother’s best friend. And the brother of Billy’s girlfriend, said he could stay with him.

And so begins forced proximity, grouchy Billy, far too sunshiney Gus and a fabulous cat named Grey.

Billy and Gus had kissed once about five years ago. And they both continue to think about it. But as men are wont to do, no one brings it up. They brood and daydream and fantasize about each other. While working AND living together.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Gus and Billy. They learned to live and work together before they learned how to be together. But of course there were still issues with that- mostly from things unsaid which lead to misunderstandings.

There were a couple of things that I would have wanted- Billy discovering that he was demisexual for one. It was never said, but it was fairly obvious to me. Gus had a breakthrough with Billy about his past, but never with Luke (Billy’s brother) or Mia (Gus’s sister). So I feel like a lot was left unsaid.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book. The time spent building the relationship between Billy and Gus made for a deeper story.

3.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

Crossed Hearts (Arrowood) by J.R. Gray: RB, Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

February 22, 2021 by Denise

Small towns thrive on gossip, and as the owner of the local bar I consider myself keeper of those secrets. The bar is like a confessional, a place to unload. My sanctuary where my secrets stay hidden and the focus is never on me.

I keep my world orderly. None of the bad touching the good. Little dividers allow me to live with myself, which isn’t easy in Arrowood.

It worked until my one lapse in judgement showed up to bite me in the ass.

My best friend’s arrogant, moody, and persistent little brother who just won’t take no for an answer. I’ve never wanted and hated someone so much in my life. He’s determined to pull my secrets out of me—I’m determined to resist him.

Title: Crossed Hearts

Series: Arrowood, Book 3

Author: J.R. Gray

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

All of a sudden he picked me up and flipped me over his shoulder like some beast of a man, carrying me out of the kitchen.

“Adam!” I pretended to protest but anyone who’s ever watched Beauty and The Beast wants to be manhandled by the massive man in the scary forest, and don’t tell me I’m lying.

Bitches want libraries and a man who knows how to take charge.

When he turned towards the stairs, I yelped. I was no small boy. I weighed nearly as much as Adam did, I was sure, and mine was not as well placed as his.

“You’re going to fall down the stairs and kill us both!”

“I’m not.” He laughed, taking them.

“I will never forgive you if you cause my premature death! I’m your size. This is something you do with twinks.”

“You’re in shape. Are you telling me you don’t think I could carry a man up the stairs? I’ve carried people off the side of mountains.”

“I’m not in ‘rescue people’ shape. I’m in Grindr shape. This is all specially sculpted by a six-hundred-dollar-an-hour trainer so I can still drink a lot, but my pictures still look good enough to not get laughed off the app.”

“That sounds like a lot of work for not a lot of rewards.”

“Sex and alcohol aren’t rewards?” I don’t know what planet he was living on, but to me, they were the reward.

“The hiking is the reward. My body is a bonus.” He stopped at the top of the stairs. “See, I win.”

“It is a bonus.” I grabbed his ass for rubbing in my face what he did.

He pushed me into a bedroom and tossed me down on the bed. He pointed at my pants. “You going to take those off? Or are you going to make me pop more buttons?”

Gray is a cynical Chicago native, who drinks coffee all day, barely sleeps, and is a little too fashion obsessed. He writes realistic and damaged characters because everyone deserves a happily ever after.

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Imagoes: An Imago Series Short Story by N.R. Walker: New Release Review

February 16, 2021 by Denise

When Jack receives a phone call from a colleague in the southeast of Tasmania with news of a newfound butterfly habitat, he and Lawson head off on another adventure. It’s not an easy trek to the location. The Franklin-Gordon National Park is famous for wild rivers, rainforests, and rocky cliff faces, and they’ll need to hike and abseil—in the dead of winter—to get to the site.

It’s no ordinary expedition because this is no ordinary butterfly, and Jack and Lawson aren’t an ordinary couple. Join Jack and Lawson on another quest in this short story of extraordinary butterflies and extraordinary love.

~ Imagoes is a 17,000-word short story.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

What a fun short!

We met Jack and Lawson in Imago. The studious Lawson met park ranger Jack when he goes searching for a butterfly that could be a brand new discovery.

There was Imagines, same couple, book 2. Now together and navigating life.

This short has Jack and Lawson leaving their son with Jack’s mom and sister while they investigate another butterfly sighting. This time, in a cave.

I love how Lawson, My Bow Tie, has no problem carrying a pack and hiking to where he needs to go to check out the butterfly sighting. He even faces a fear when they have to repel down to the cave. This could easily have been another situation where Lawson hurts himself and needs Jack to rescue him, but luckily that didn’t happen. (Similar happened in the two previous books)

Upon making the discovery, Lawson has a huge decision. Leave his family for months at a time to study these butterflies and look for others, or pass it on to another lepidopterist to continue the study.

Jack is ever supportive, letting Lawson make the decision that is best for him.

This was such a great short to give us another look into their lives. Many of us fell in love with Jack and Lawson and this short was a gift.

4.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

Rick: Love at the Haven by Stella Shaw: New Release Review

February 15, 2021 by Denise

A gift of a man for one night. A promise of so much more.

When Rick Thatcher’s beloved aunt leaves him the run-down Haven Hotel, he’s amazed to find a group of young men running an escorting business out of it. Intrigued and impressed, he allows them to stay. But sacrifices have to be made to keep the hotel running. The hotel is always short of funds, and the guys… they’re sexy, they’re fun, they’re loyal friends. But they can also be a bunch of trouble. Rick has no time left for romance.

Until the night Eliot Walker arrives at the Haven, naïve but brave, looking to discover what it’s like to be an openly gay man at last. He wants to spend the night with a man, one who can excite and guide him. But an escort? He’s nervous of what he’ll find.

He finds Rick. Just the kind of man he’d choose to have his first experiences with, if it was possible. And from Rick’s point of view – on this one special night, and for this one special man he can’t take his eyes off – why shouldn’t it be?

If only this could be more than one night. But their potential happiness and the Haven’s security may already be under serious threat.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

When he chuckled, I took a chance and rested my hand on top of his on the bar. His answering smile was fleeting, his expression still thoughtful.

But me? The prickle of electricity up my own arm made my head spin.

I cleared my throat and continued. “We consider every request of equal merit, believe me. No one will judge you for whatever you do or don’t want to do.”

He frowned a little. “How can you manage that? I mean, you have no idea what I’ll say, what I want. How can anyone here prepare for that?”

I was intrigued, because he really seemed to care. “It’s what the guys are used to. They welcome it. They’re all single when they work here. They don’t always stay with us, they sometimes leave the hotel for other jobs, other lives. Sometimes, they return later. It’s always a mutual decision. But when they’re here, they’re available for male guests who are similarly single, and they have an unfettered and eager desire for what they do. For sex. They like to please.” His blush crept up from his neck, pinking the edges of his ears. I bet they would feel warm to the touch of my tongue. What was happening to me? “Will you give me your name?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Eliot Walker. Oh. Wait. I mean… Do people try to book in with false identities?”

I chuckled. “Sometimes. That’s not necessarily the clientele we want. We are totally confidential, but we must have genuine details. I can show you our Data Protection and Privacy policies if you like.”

This time his laugh bubbled out happily. “I’ve already checked out your website. All the right legalities, without going into actual detail. Very skilfully done. And I’ve checked your credit rating.”

I raised my eyebrows. “That’s flattering.”

“That I checked out the place to see if it’s legal?”

“That you checked us out as a genuine business. Albeit one with an industry code of ‘other ancillary services’.” The hotel’s website may have been light on detail, but Arne had made sure everything was in place web-wise, at least behind the scenes, and one of our regular escorts, Liam, had a brother who was a lawyer. Pleasure still had to be protected.

“So.” Eliot worried his lower lip. “What happens next?”

“You’ll be recommended a room, one that hopefully has the right kind of vibe for you. You can go on through, whenever you’re ready.”

He nodded and took a deep breath as if bracing himself for whatever happened next. “Well, I’ve made my choice. I’m ready now.”

“Okay.” I peered over his head, trying to see where Arne was sitting, so he could check the diary…

“Hello?”

Eliot’s eager tone recaptured my attention. Did he have another question?

But he just slid off the stool and smiled that smile again, the one that made my heart race and my cock start to thicken. “After you,” he said, gesturing airily towards the hallway.

This is book 2 in a series but can be read as a stand alone. I did add book 1 to my to be read pile, although I don’t know if I will actually read it.

The story was…nice. A recently out of the closet man is gifted a night with an escort. Except the escort he chooses isn’t really the owner of the hotel where the escorts rent rooms. The chemistry between the men is kind of tepid. I feel like I didn’t get to know either man really well.

That lack of chemistry made the conflict that Rick faced a bit far fetched. Would what happened to Rick happen in real life? All of the time! Will the solution to that happen? Eh, I seriously doubt it.

I needed more story. More about Rick, more about Eliot, more of them together. There just wasn’t enough.

3 Pieces of Eye Candy

Stella Shaw is the penname for an author of MM romance. Her new Rent Boy Romance series: Love at the Haven launched in January 2021.

Author links*

Website www.stellashawauthor.com

Newsletter http://bit.ly/stellashawNews

Facebook www.facebook.com/stellashawauthor
Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/stellasstars

Amazon www.amazon.com/author/stellashaw

Goodreads www.goodreads.com/stellashaw

Bookbub www.bookbub.com/authors/stella-shaw

Instagram www.instagram.com/stellashawauthor

Upside Down by N.R. Walker: Audiobook Review

February 4, 2021 by Denise

Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But when he realises adding the label asexual might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.

Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan.

A little bewildered and scared, but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now—for the first time in his life—the right way up.

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Read Erin’s review of the ebook here.
As for the audio…

I am very picky with my narrators. Shocking, right? I know. Glen Lloyd was new to me. I was a bit wary because I am used to Joel Leslie narrating the “not serious” stories NR Walker writes. But let me tell you something. Glen Lloyd NAILED IT.

He absolutely brought the characters to life. He used slightly different voices for Jordan and Hennessy, but nothing over the top or obviously fake. If that makes sense. Jordan was a bit more nasal and Hennessy spoke slower. Jordan also says “motherfucker” a lot in the book. It is a thing. Like a reflex, he can’t NOT say it. And I was waiting for the first one. And the tone was absolutely perfect. He says it almost conversationally, but to himself. So funny.

I really loved this book so when I got my mitts on the audio, it was make or break time. But this absolutely made it. I will definitely listen to this again.

4.5 Pieces of Eye Candy