New Release Review

Storm Warrior (Weavers Circle#5) by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott: Release Blitz, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

January 19, 2022 by Denise Leave a Comment

Hale Anderson

The Air Weaver.

He was the freaking Air Weaver. Not exactly what he expected when he got kidnapped by the pestilents, but Hale’s good rolling with the punches.

He can take a little time away from his pursuit of a doctorate in astrophysics to save the world.

Except that the final spell is poised to kill all the Weavers and their last hope lies with him finding his soul mate.

Hale doesn’t want a soul mate. He just wants Harrison.

Harrison William Davenport III

As the Keeper of the Heart of the Earth, Harrison must bring the final key to the Weavers if they’re to stop the pestilents.

He’s trained for this task his entire life. And he’s prepared to die just like his father did with the last generation of the Weavers.

But what if saving the world isn’t enough anymore?

What if the only thing that matters is saving Hale?

Storm Warrior is the final book in The Weavers Circle series. It includes fast-paced action, a dangerous cross-country roadtrip, dirty fun in tents, flying, bi-awakening sexy times, animal shenanigans, nerdy talk about the stars, jealousy, three crazy old ladies, magic, and a fight to save the world!

Title: Storm Warrior

Series: Weavers Circle#5

Author: Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott

Publisher: Drake & Elliott Publishing LLC

Release Date: January 14, 2022

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 80k

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Bullets whizzed through the air closer to him with two shots digging into a column not far from his head. He whipped the gun around to spot where two pestilents were running toward him with guns drawn. Hale gasped and backpedaled. He squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. Shit. The safety.

He fumbled with the little switch, but it was the pounding of feet racing his way from the other end of the porch that caught his attention. A tall man in a suit with raven-black hair and a stern expression was racing to him. Wow. Gorgeous. He was simply gorgeous

So gorgeous in fact, that it took Hale an extra second to realize the man had a gun in each hand.

Fuck! He was only starting to swing the gun toward the man when he fired off several shots right past Hale. The Air Weaver spun to see the bullets hit their marks in three pestilents, killing them instantly.

The stranger saved him. What the—

“What are you doing out here if you don’t know how to protect yourself?” the gorgeous man shouted.

Hale took a breath to say something, but he wasn’t quite sure what. His brain wasn’t working, and his tongue was all tied up. He was overwhelmed. He generally wasn’t the type of person who got overwhelmed, but that described him in the middle of the bloody chaos.

Which was probably why it was so easy for the man to holster one of the guns, grab his wrist, and pull him back into the house.

Hale stumbled after him, trying to get his brain to process the events happening. The man turned toward the left but only glanced in the dining room before sneering at something and moving to the right. He made the same face when he peered into the library.

“Too many damn windows.” Twisting to face Hale, he jerked his arm as if trying to get his attention, but the stranger had all of Hale’s available brain capacity at this point. “What room doesn’t have a lot of doors or windows?”

Well, there was the downstairs half bath that had no windows, but there was no way he was getting shoved into that room, with or without the sexy man.

“The-the armory has no windows and only two doors,” he stammered at first, but finished, proud that he’d clearly remembered the room.

The stranger blinked, seeming surprised to hear the house had an honest-to-goddess armory, but he recovered fast enough. “Good. Take me there.”

Hale hesitated and sniffed the air. “You’re not a pestilent.”

The man gasped, looking appropriately horrified. “Of course not!” Well, that was a plus for him. Not only was he human, but he also knew what a pestilent was.

“Then who the hell are you?” Hale had already met all the Weavers, mates, and goddesses. He couldn’t even begin to guess who this handsome yet scary person was.

“A friend of the Weavers. The goddesses sent for me. Now, the armory? Where is it?”

Oh! That was much better. The guys had never mentioned the goddesses sending in more help, but they certainly needed it.

Hale took the lead, hurrying down the hall toward the armory. There was one main entrance to the room and a set of narrow French doors that connected to the front porch. That made the space much easier to protect.

The man’s quick dark eyes darted across the long table filled with weapons. He released Hale only when he had his back shoved against a bookcase in the far corner that gave him a good view of both doors. The man then moved to the French doors and peered out between the thin white curtains.

“Which of them are you?” the man inquired.

“Hale. Hale Anderson. I just arrived. I’m the Air Weaver.”

The stranger’s head slowly turned toward Hale. His eyes were wide, and his face had become incredibly pale. The bloodbath outside had not disturbed him, but something about what Hale had said had clearly shaken him.

“It’s true,” he whispered. “The Weavers Circle is finally complete.”

The final book in the Weavers Circle series. Yes, you must read the others or you will have no clue what is going on.

The final Weaver showed up at the end of the last book. And once he got his powers, all protections are gone. Which means we open the book with a big fight between the pestilents, the Weavers and a new guy who just kind of jumps in to help.

Turns out the new guy is the Keeper. He literally holds the final piece that is needed for the Weavers to cast the spell and close the rift.

The book was good, but it was sadly my least favorite. There wasn’t enough development of the relationship between Hale and Harrison because they were immediately thrust into the war and road trip to the rift.

Even the characters of Hale and Harrison were a bit underdeveloped for me. Harrison knew that he would end up in this position and figured he would die. But, what else? He lived a life before he met the Weavers. And Hale is literally an astrophysicist and it’s almost like a throw away comment. He turns out to be the Air Weaver and he doesn’t think about the physics of it? He is a SCIENTIST who just totally accepts magic without question?

And the final battle to close the rift was…meh?

Overall, all 5 books are very good. I just wish this last one was more.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott have teamed up to combine their evil genius to create intense gay romantic suspense stories that have car chases, shoot outs, explosions, scorching hot love scenes, and tender, tear-jerking moments. Their first joint books are in the Unbreakable Bonds series.

Author Links

Website: http://drakeandelliott.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrakeandElliott

Email: drakeandelliott@gmail.com

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The Runner (Success Book 3) by Thom Collins: Excerpt and Release Day Review

January 18, 2022 by Denise Leave a Comment

An Olympic hero faces his longest run – to make up for the past.

Alex Schaefer is a sports journalist and commentator at the top of his game. He hosts a successful weekly podcast has just written the biography of a world class football player. With his career on an upward trajectory, Alex has never been busier. There is no time in his life for love or romance.

Ethan Bower was used to success. As a British sprinter, he won a host of silver and gold medals at the Olympics, European and Commonwealth championships, and spent over a decade at the top. Persistent injuries brought Ethan’s career to an abrupt halt in his mid-thirties. Now he has to start over again. Trying to get his foot in the door of athletics commentary and presenting isn’t easy.

Ethan and Alex have history. Eight years ago, at the height of Ethan’s success, Alex was chosen to ghost write his autobiography. An experience they would both rather forget. Ethan hated what Alex wrote about him; a fact he’s made very public. When Ethan attends the launch of Alex’s latest book, they meet again for the first time in years and something becomes apparent to both of them – they have each improved with age. Now in their thirties, they are older and more mature.

Can they put the past behind them and their ambitions for the future to take a chance on each other now?

Release Date: 18th January 2022

Word Count: 30,353

Book Length: SHORT NOVEL

Pages: 121

Genres: CONTEMPORARY, EROTIC ROMANCE, GAY, GLBTQI, SPORTS

Amazon

First for Romance

Goodreads

As a journalist or reporter, the best asset anyone could have was the ability to walk around unnoticed.

Something inside him clammed up when he was on camera. He could sit in the podcast studio and talk for hours, but the few times he’d been dragged onto TV shows, he’d found himself unable to articulate or express any of the points he needed to make.

He was in a minority. Plenty of other journalists sought fame and attention from TV and social media, and they were welcome to every bit of it.

Alex didn’t need or want it.

Lanita gathered her things together, stuffing them inside a huge red leather bag. “C’mon. Let’s go. I’m taking you for a drink.”

Alex shook his head. “I can’t. I have to go home to get ready for the party.”

“Bitch, please. What are you going to do? Take a shower and change your shirt? You can do that in fifteen minutes. I know what you’re like when you go out, and you don’t need two hours to achieve it. C’mon. We’re going—me, you and Naz. You know we can’t make this evening, and we want to celebrate the book too. I’m buying, so you’d better take advantage of that while you can.”

They recorded the podcast at a studio in Media City close to Salford Quays and an array of trendy bars and restaurants. Ten minutes later, they were settled in a comfortable booth with a bottle of champagne on the table.

“To Alex and Fernando,” Lanita said, raising a toast.

They clinked glasses.

“When are we gonna get him on the show?” Naz asked. “Fernando, I mean. If anyone can pull a few strings, it’s got to be you. We should be all over this book release.”

Naz was a good ten years younger than Alex and Lanita but knew more about broadcast technology and recording than the two of them combined. He was a talented kid and had been with the show since the beginning. Alex had picked well when he’d hired him.

“It doesn’t feel right, using privilege like that,” Alex said. “Besides, there’s also the BBC policy about advertising. I can’t plug my own book on the show.”

“Bullshit,” Naz and Lanita said in unison.

“You don’t have to mention the book at all,” Naz continued. “We just want an interview with Fernando. You know what he would do for our listening figures. Ask him about it tonight.”

“No,” Alex said firmly. “I’m not going to exploit our friendship for listeners.”

“I would,” Lanita said. “If I was going to the launch, I wouldn’t hesitate. And he would say yes. I’m sure of it.”

“How come you’re not going?” Naz asked.

“I’m presenting a feature on The One Show. Can’t get out of it,” she said, taking a sip of champagne. “It’s bound to be some party. I heard the pre-sales are the biggest in years for a football book. They expect it to be bigger than Beckham’s. Your publisher will have money to burn. There are bound to be some big names around tonight.”

“Oh, please don’t say that,” Alex protested. “I feel nervous enough as it is.”

“There’s are players and managers going from Liverpool and Manchester,” she continued undeterred. “Soap stars, musicians, athletes. Ethan Bower, Rory Evans, Moses Adebayo… They’re all going.”

Alex froze, backtracking on what she had just said—one name in particular.

“Ethan Bower?” he said. “He’s going?”

“Sure. All of them are.”

Naz grinned at Alex across the table. “Doesn’t he, like, hate you?”

Alex grimaced. “I have no idea.”

Naz laughed. “I think you do.”

“What’s this?” Lanita perked up, a huge smile on her face as she put down her glass. “What have I missed?”

“Nothing,” Alex said.

“Alex and Ethan Bower have history,” Naz chuckled.

Lanita turned to Alex, her pretty eyes sparkling. “OMG. You haven’t shagged him, have you? Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t,” he protested. “It’s nothing like that.”

She groaned. “Pity. Then what? Come on. Spill the story? And how come I don’t know this already?”

“It’s no big secret,” Alex said, shooting Naz a dirty look. “I ghostwrote Ethan’s autobiography, which came out about eight years ago.”

“You did? I don’t even remember him having a book out.”

“With good reason. It was a busy time with a lot of big-name biographies vying for the Christmas market. His book kind of got lost in the crowd. It didn’t really bother me. As a ghostwriter, they paid me a flat fee. Whether the book was a success or bombed, I got paid just the same.”

“So, what’s the big deal? Does he think it’s your fault his book flopped? I mean, how old was he, anyway? In his twenties? He can’t have had much of a story to tell at that age.”

Naz cleared his throat theatrically and read aloud from the screen of his phone. “Quote… ‘The man who wrote my book didn’t do his research and was poorly informed. He seemed like a nice enough guy when we sat down for the interviews, but when he wrote it up, he did a real hatchet job on me. What’s written in that book are not my words. He made it up so I would sound like a shallow, egotistical arsehole. I tried to get him fired and hire someone new, but it was too late. The book had to be in the shops by a certain date, and there just wasn’t time to start over. I’m glad it didn’t do well in the end, so less people got to read that bullshit. Jesus, that guy was a prick.’ End quote.” Naz put down the phone, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“A hatchet job,” Lanita said. “Classy.”

Alex sighed and swallowed some champagne. It tasted bitter all of a sudden. “That’s Ethan’s version of what happened.”

“And how does your version differ?” she asked. “Dramatically, no doubt.”

“The part about him being a shallow, egotistical arsehole… I didn’t make that up. It was all there to begin with. All I did was put his personality on the page.”

“I’ve always found him quite charming,” she said.

“You know him?”

“A little. Not so much from his competition days, but I’ve met him recently. In fact, I saw him just last month on a breakfast show, and he was very nice. I wouldn’t call him an arsehole at all.”

“Maybe he’s mellowed. I met him at the height of his success.”

Ethan Bower was one of the UK’s most triumphant sprinters. He’d won silver and gold medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games for the four-hundred-metre races, as well as sharing team glory in the relays. With his wholesome good looks and dazzling green eyes, Ethan had been the poster boy for British athletics when Alex had been approached to pen his biography. Alex had leapt at the opportunity. Ethan had been one of the UK’s most exciting stars…a hero.

Ethan had proved to Alex that the adage of never meeting your heroes was true. With reddish-blond hair, Ethan had the fiery temper to match. As Alex spent time with him for the purpose of the book, he’d witnessed first-hand Ethan’s obnoxious behaviour. He’d treated everyone as if they were beneath him—his coach, trainers, physios, ground attendants, reporters and even his fans. He’d been mean-spirited and aggressive and focused on nothing other than his own achievements. His apparent lack of empathy or understanding of others had caused Alex to question more than once whether or not Ethan was a psychopath.

Alex had raised his concerns with the publisher at the time—that he didn’t think he could present an impartial view of Ethan, after everything he’d witnessed. They had dismissed his unease. They needed the book in a hurry and didn’t care how it was written. Ethan already had a reputation as a bad boy of athletics. No one wanted to read a sanitized version of his story.

“Throw it all in,” his editor had advised.

The experience of writing the book had almost put Alex off ghostwriting for life.

Thankfully, none of his other subjects had turned out to be as difficult as Ethan.

“He’s pretty hot,” Lanita said. “He was always a good-looking guy, but have you seen him recently? OMG, time has been very kind. He’s unbelievably fine.”

“It doesn’t matter what he looks like,” Alex said. “It’s what’s on the inside that counts, and from what I saw, the inside of that man is the worst kind of brat.”

“You might be surprised. What you’re describing does not sound like the man I know. He was charming, well-spoken…quite humble, in fact.”

Alex spluttered, almost choking on his drink. “Humble? Ethan Bower? You have definitely got the wrong guy—not unless he’s had a personality transplant. ‘Toxic’ is the best word I can think of to describe him.”

She shrugged. “Well, like I said earlier, it’s going to be a big party. You probably won’t even see him if he’s there. Don’t let it spoil your night. It’s about you and Fernando, not Ethan.”

“Too right,” he said. “And if I do see him, you can be sure I’ll give him a wide berth. He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him. I don’t think we have anything to achieve in speaking to each other.”

This book was, okay. Not something I would likely read again, but okay.

Alex was kind and sweet, and preferred to stay out of the limelight. Ethan was the opposite, needed and wanted the limelight, and in the past wasn’t kind and sweet. This was definitely an enemies to lovers, almost insta-love story.

When they spent time alone together seemed to really have a lot in common and enjoyed each other’s company. However, whenever anyone stepped into the fray, Ethan’s agent, Rory, that’s when things seemed to go sideways.

I had a hard time with Alex’s back and forth on “is Ethan still a jerk or not”, then “oh yes, he’s a jerk, I don’t want to talk to him”. Meanwhile, Alex ended up being the jerk, not really giving Ethan a lot to go on, in the beginning, then getting upset when Ethan had some work stuff come up. I wanted to see a bit more of them working their way back together.

Since this was a novella, we didn’t get a lot of time with anyone, even the side characters, but both of the women seemed strong and confident. Meanwhile, Rory…pretty much a slimeball. lol

As I said, okay, but I won’t be revisiting this story.

3 pieces of eye candy

Thom Collins is the author of Closer by Morning, with Pride Publishing. His love of page turning thrillers

began at an early age when his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and promptly confiscated it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels.

Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonkbusters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but since taking his first cruise in 2013 he realized that sailing is the way to go.

You can take a look at Thom’s Blog and follow him on Twitter.

Author Links

Blog: http://www.thomcollinsauthor.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@thomwolf

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Check Yes, No, or Maybe by Stormie Skyes: RB, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

January 16, 2022 by Denise 1 Comment

Crappy job. Yes.

Take back an annoying ex. Definitely no.

Hit on the sexy new firm partner looking him over…maybe?

For Aaron Cambrian, life is lived by checklists. No matter how promising, everything – jobs, potential partners, cars, drinks, food, etc – needed to meet all his criteria or he walks away.

Everything changes one night at the cocktail bar when his best friend challenges Aaron to abandon his list and ask the first hot guy who catches his interest if he can buy him a drink.

Thanks to his old nemesis alcohol, Aaron takes the dare! The next thing he knows, he finds himself in the condo of an absolute stranger! It was supposed to be one drink. One accidental kiss… Good thing he’d never see the guy again.

Wrong! When the sexy new partner at Kimball & Marks law firm turns out to be the hot stranger, Aaron is faced with a life-changing decision: keep the checklist or lose the hottest, most frustrating man who ever stole his heart.

Check Yes, No, or Maybe by Stormie Skyes
Publication date: January 12th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Amazon

Goodreads

Elliot beamed victoriously. “Get that sexy little ass up, go find yourself a guy, and ask him to buy you a drink.” He scooted close, throwing an arm over my shoulders. “And that delectable thing,” I followed the manicured, freshly painted fingernail to a man at the opposite end of the bar, “has had his eyes on you all night.”

I didn’t remember the exact details, but I did remember the guy’s good looks. Maybe some hipster glasses and sideswept dirty-blonde hair? Who cared? My liquid courage had my ass getting up and strutting to Mr. Sexy Thing. His eyes followed each move I made, inflating my ego the closer I got.

Heat hit my cheeks, cock standing at attention when he took a drink, staring over his glasses’ frame. Those eyes were wild. Hungry. And I was the lucky fucker getting devoured by them.

Damn, he really is watching. I nearly stopped and returned to my seat. Through the haze, I remembered thinking I’d never been looked at like that. Should I really be doing this? I glanced at Declan who’d found me and glared like he was daring me to keep going. Confidence renewed, I picked up the pace.

“Hey there,” I said, leaning a hip against the bar.

Mr. Mystery raised his eyes to meet mine. “And hello to you, too.” Even through the fogginess, I recalled the timbre of his voice.

Holy shit, and I thought Declan had a hot tone. Compared to this guy, Declan … well, didn’t compare. This guy blew my ex’s sophistication and cockiness away with only one sentence!

Before I lost my nerve, I asked, “So, you come here often?” Did I really just say that! “I mean…” Oh, come on, he only said hello! Get a fucking grip!

“I know what you meant,” he said with a laugh. “No, I’m just visiting.” With the grace of a wildcat, he turned his attention back to his drink, tongue teasing the liquid on his lower lip. “Why? Do you come here often?”

“What? No. I mean…” My heart pounded in my ears. I wasn’t sure if it was his mocking or the sexy way he looked me over, but the confidence I’d built up slowly deteriorated. I was in “quit with the small talk and fuck me” mode in two seconds. How had he turned everything around with only a few words? “If you aren’t from here … where … are you, um…”

God, what is wrong with me?

“Miami,” he replied. “Why don’t you join me? Perhaps allow me to buy you a drink to calm your nerves?”

I did what Elliot dared me to, but I wasn’t ready to let Mr. Hipster Frames charm me out of my jeans.

Time to take back over. I sat and leaned on my forearms, gingerly letting my knee brush his in an “I’m open for business” manner. “Sure, but only if you play a game with me. Win and you can buy me a drink.”

“And if I lose?” he replied, clearly enjoying the challenge.

I shrugged a shoulder. “Then I walk.”

“Hmm.” A devious smile curved his lips. “Sounds good.” The glasses came off. I watched him close them, set them down, and turn to face me. Thick lashes and dark green bedroom eyes pierced through the Scotch-induced amnesia. “But, how about we up the ante? How about if I win, I buy you a drink and get you to come home with me?”

A gasp escaped me, piercing my lust-addled brain. It was like he read my mind—or maybe my actions, I wasn’t sure at that point—though I was too nervous to ask him for the last part. “O-okay. If you lose?”

The devious smirk widened. “I let you use me to make whoever is sitting at that table,” he gestured his head and eyes to my ex, “incredibly jealous, and you can walk. Deal?”

Is he for real? He knows what I am up to and doesn’t care? I can’t put this guy in any category on my checklist so far.

Every alarm, red flag, and warning sign went off in my brain. The last thing I remembered was telling him he had a deal.

This book appears to be from a previously published author, using a pen name, to which I was a bit surprised. This book gave me the appearance that it was from a debut author. There were definitely some areas that felt choppy and lacking in explanation.

I do love that cover though! This is proof that a cover does not have to have a man with his shirt off holding a puppy, (or an axe, or gun or whatever tool of their trade is) but with some other great visuals can be extremely appealing.

I did like the storyline…poor Aaron who’s been having a life, but trying to get it on track. Maverick, an English attorney taking over as partner in an NYC firm. Side characters of Elliot and Josh, Leslie and Frankie and even Travis, we didn’t get a whole lot of background on, but they kept popping up making the story interesting and moving it along.

However, there were just several things that didn’t work for me. Every time Aaron mentioned his books for his college courses, he calls them “college books”…I’ve never heard anyone say that. It threw me out of the story. We also find out very briefly that Declan (small spoiler here) has physically abused Aaron, but other than Aaron being afraid, being sucked back in by Declan in the past, it is really never addressed. It’s only mentioned one time, and briefly at that. And honestly, Maverick was kind of a controlling bastard sometimes, but then super crazy vulnerable. It was a dichotomy that made me wonder what he would be like in 3 months, 6 months, a year.

I did love that Aaron was attending college, wanting to become a chef (although the relationship with his father, a famous chef himself, was odd) but wanting none of the paparazzi. And he had the sweetest dog in Roxxie who he made sure to not forget as he began the relationship with Maverick.

I was never bored with the book, but definitely found myself questioning a few things as it continued on.

3 pieces of eye candy

A multi-published author of mystery, both Urban and Paranormal, Stormie returned to her love of romantic comedy and contemporary romance. If you love spicy, humorous, and near-erotica stories featuring sexy male protagonists and the men who love them, then look no further. Stormie’s paranormal mystery won quarterfinalist in Screencraft’s novel to screen contest and is a competing finalist in Chanticleer’s International book awards. When Stormie isn’t busy dishing out a new, hot romance, she’s busy blogging her love of books and helping writers become authors.

Author links:
https://www.facebook.com/authorstormieskyes
https://www.instagram.com/authorstormieskyes/
https://stormieskyes.com/
https://stormieskyes.com/newsletter

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Revolving Door (Open Doors, Book 2) by Vinni George: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

January 10, 2022 by Denise Leave a Comment

Fletcher Morgan doesn’t like a single thing about Archer Waverly—not his pretty face, his wicked wit, or his perfect body. He especially hates the way Archer flirts with anyone and everyone. Everything about Archer reminds Fletcher of someone from his past he would much rather forget.

Archer thought Fletcher could be the silver fox of his dreams…until Fletcher opened his mouth and told Archer exactly how he felt about him. Now Archer is more than happy to rile Fletcher up and accept the consequences. Sparks fly every time they see each other proving hate is as potent as lust and enemies with benefits just might be hotter than friends with benefits.

When an unfortunate incident involving Archer’s aging drag queen housemate brings Archer and Fletcher together, they realize there might be more to the other than meets the eye and maybe there really is a thin line between love and hate.

Revolving Door is the second full-length novel in the Open Doors series featuring a slightly surly silver fox surf shop owner who refuses to fall in love again, a (mostly) reformed flirt who has never been in love, and a fabulous aging drag queen who has a penchant for platforms.

Amazon

Goodreads

Hold the Door (Book 1)

“You’ve got one hell of a shiner there, kid,” a guy near the end of the pack said as our paths crossed.

“Yeah.” I never knew where to look when I was talking to someone naked. I picked a spot over the older guy’s shoulder and focused on it.

“You got an ice pack to put on it?”

“I don’t. But I don’t live far. I think I have a bag of peas in my freezer.”

“Hold on.” He held out a hand to stop me and put his thumb and forefinger into his mouth and whistled. “Hank! You still got that first aid kit in your trunk?”

Several of the older guys turned at the sound of the whistle, and a guy with a neon purple yoga mat started jogging our way. There was no help for it. I had to watch as his cock and balls swung in the breeze.

“Hey there, hot stuff,” the other guy, presumably the aforementioned Hank, said while he gave me a very thorough once-over. I had never been so grateful to be wearing clothes. “What can I do for you?” His white brows bounced, and I did everything I could not to cringe.

“Does that first aid kit you carry have an ice pack?” the first guy, whose name I still hadn’t caught, asked.

“I’m not sure. Let’s go take a looksie.” Hank turned and sauntered back to the parking lot, leaving us to trail behind him taking in the full rear view of his nude body. God, I had to stop surfing here.

Hank stopped behind a sky-blue Volkswagen Beetle convertible with a tan top and popped open the trunk. When he bent over to rummage through the trunk’s contents, I had to avert my eyes. There were things I could handle and things I couldn’t. This moment was fast approaching the latter category.

“Honestly, I appreciate it, but I’m really—”

“Here it is!” Hank turned with a pretty large pink plastic case bedazzled with the words Drag Bag in his hand and slid the tabs to the sides so he could open it. He pulled out a white pouch and handed it to my other rescuer, who snapped it, shook it, and held it out to me.

I grudgingly had to admit the cold felt really good. “Thank you. I appreciate this.”

“Anytime. I do some performance art, and I find it’s best to keep some useful things on hand. I have a hot glue gun in this kit as well. You know, just in case.”

“Performance art. Ha!” the other man said as Hank turned and put his first aid kit back into the car. “You’re the oldest drag queen in California, and for reasons I still don’t understand, you just recently realized you’re not as young as you used to be.”

“Age is just a number and a state of mind, Ken.” Hank stretched his arms over his head, and I closed the eye not currently covered with the ice pack. “I feel better now than I did when I was in my forties.”

I didn’t read book 1 in this series, but I definitely want to go back and read the first, based on my love for this book. There was a lot to love in this book!

This book was an enemies to lovers (or more enemy to lovers, since Fletcher was really the driver behind it), with the added fun of some seriously angry sex.

I liked that this was a slow burn book. The author made sure that their story happened over a period of about a year. It wasn’t a quick “I hate you…now I love you” type book. Fletcher was a hard nut to crack for Archer. Fletcher was determined to not fall under the spell of an enormous flirt again, and well Archer was many things, including a flirt, but also brought a few things to the table that Fletcher wasn’t expecting.

Fletcher was seriously hurt by his ex-husband, who was SUCH a tool! So, really, no one could blame him for having up as many walls as possible.

Having an elderly drag queen as a neighbor and best friend for Archer, helped pull Fletcher out of his self imposed box, as well. Hank was fantastic…stole every scene he was in, and rightfully so. He was sassy, and fun, and clearly had lived a life of joy, and wasn’t stopping because of a silly little broken bone. 🙂

This one was fun, sexy, and just a really enjoyable read. Looking forward to any future books in this series.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Vinni George has been a lover of romance novels (of all shapes, sizes, and colors) since she first got her hands on one of her grandmother’s Harlequins and has never looked back. She lives in Ohio with her two favorite guys (her husband and son) and, hopefully—one day—a dog. When not writing her own stories, she can be found helping to polish other people’s novels. In her spare time, Vinni dabbles in performance art, quilting, and various culinary pursuits and enjoys traveling.

Connect with Vinni:
Website: http://vinnigeorge.com/
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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vinni-george-3
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On A Midnight Clear by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

January 7, 2022 by Denise

It can safely be said that Lord Barnaby Greenwood is not having the best of Christmases.

He’s penniless, up to his eyeballs in debt, and about to lose his estate. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that when a local property developer offers a lot of money to buy King’s Wood from him, Barnaby is very tempted. But his father had always impressed on him that the green wood was sacred and must be protected at all costs, so he finds himself saying no.

He knows this will result in the loss of his home, but duty comes before everything. However, that fateful decision leads instead to a magical Christmas for Barnaby, complete with an old god who grants him a favour, and a beautiful statue that comes to life.

Cosmo is perfect for him. He’s funny and kind and completely enraptured with Barnaby, and for the first time in his life, Barnaby falls in love. But how can this lead to anything but heartache, when on the last stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, Cosmo will go back to being a statue and take Barnaby’s heart with him?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a truly magical romantic comedy.

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Goodreads

I shake my head. “This is real, isn’t it?”

He looks steadily at me. “This is magic, Barnaby Greenwood. It is the furthest thing from reality that can be.”

I bite my lip. “It’s incredible. Nothing like this ever happens to me.”

“Well, that is sad. Good people deserve good things.”

“How do you know I’m good?”

He throws his head back and laughs merrily. “Oh, Barnaby. Do you forget your youth so easily?”

I flush. “Oh my god, you were listening to me? You could hear me?”

He winks. “I was. Statues can hear and understand. Apart from one exception per day, we are marble and granite, bronze and alabaster, but we can still hear and understand. And nothing interested me so much as your tales of school woes and your terrible crush on the games teacher.”

I rub my nose awkwardly. “He was rather good-looking. That’s fairly mortifying and rather boring for you. I do apologise that you had to lie unable to move and just listen to my adolescent angst, although that does make you an ideal companion for a teenager.”

“Barnaby, I have lain in this house as a statue for hundreds of years. I have seen generations of your ancestors be born and die, and nothing has caught me as much as you. So many pass through this room and they look, but their glances are brief, and their eyes move on as quickly as bees to flowers. You would come and sit and talk to me as if I were human, and I found that extraordinarily pleasing. So, I kept an eye on you for that, and what I saw saddened me.”

“Why?”

His mouth turns down at the corners. “Because when you were young, you burnt bright as a flame. You were sweet and happy, and to see that youthful fire and energy dissipated by money problems and grief is saddening to me.”

I sigh. “There isn’t much that I can do about that, I’m afraid.”

He watches me for a long moment, his pale green eyes intent and warm. “There is a lot that we can do.” He stands up. “Let us go.”

“Go?” I echo, staring up at him. “Go where? Have you missed the fact that you’re bloody naked?”

“We have much to do,” he says, ignoring me. He clicks his fingers at the dog, and he jumps down, taking a position at his master’s foot, a pose similar to the one he adopted as a statue. “And very little time to accomplish things.”

I gape at him and then have to scurry to catch up with him as he sweeps out of the room, his canine shadow at his heels. “Wait. Where are you going?” I pant. “What do we have to do?”

He doesn’t reply, making his way down the long corridor instead.

To me at least, Christmas is the most magical holiday. Starting when we are kids and most of us grew up believing in Santa and the decorations and lights and food and family. So a book, set at Christmas with LITERAL magic in it? Yes, yes, yes.

This is not the first book that Lily Morton has written that is set at an old estate that was formerly owned by a duke or a something or other with great status. And as it is passed down through the generations, people no longer make money by status alone and the estate is starting to fall into disrepair.

But this estate is bordered by woods that are, apparently, filled with magic. And when Barnaby (owner of the estate) is being pushed into selling those woods, magic comes to light. In the form of Barnaby’s favorite statue. Who comes alive. He will only be alive until the stroke of midnight on Christmas and while Barnaby has no idea how a now living statue can help him financially, he was going to take advantage of his dream man being a living, breathing man.

Cosmo not only shows Barnaby magic, but also love. Being treasured and loved for who he is. And with Barnaby being in his early 40’s, it is a perfect example of how not everyone is a well built 20 something as a main character. 40 something, kind of broke and perhaps a bit soft in the middle are worthy of love.

Cosmo also helps Barnaby figure out how to save his estate.

This was such a fun, magical romp. Statues that come to life for an hour. Statues that come to life for more than an hour. History and secrets and Christmas. Townspeople and employees and…magic.

This is must read and I think it might be a reread for me next year at Christmas.

4 pieces of eye candy

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.

She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven’t had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.

Lily has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – Chocolate Baileys.

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Nowhere to Run by Andrew Grey: Quick Review

January 3, 2022 by Denise

Roy Unger is greenhorn running from his past. He’s gotten a ranch job and works hard to prove himself every day. Since leaving home in a hurry, he’s come to realize that this job is the only thing standing between him and starvation. He isn’t going to mess it up, no matter how much Brad might drive him to distraction.

Brad has been around the block more than once. He’s a cowboy through and through, complete with a failed rodeo career and a love life that could only be described as hopeless. He’s worked hard and kept his head down. Roy makes him want more, but Brad has come to realize that what he wants isn’t what he gets.

Brad knows what desperation feels like and how important it is to fit in. When he decides to help Roy get over his fear of horses, the two men spend more time together, leading Roy to share confidences about his troubled past. Listening builds trust, which shifts into so much more. But before they can have any sort of future, they need to deal with Roy’s past, which could ruin everything.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Andrew Grey always has books that are sweet, sexy and are so varied in their locations, I think he must research for months to get his info correct. (Seriously, in this book, when Roy is cleaning out a stable, there’s information about what is put down on the ground…and who knew it was anything other than hay?)

This one has sweet Roy, who is pretty much as sweet and virginal as you can get for a ranch hand. He’s hiding out to stay away from some unpleasantness at home. His goal was just to keep his head down, not get in any trouble, and make some money. Fortunately, he landed somewhere that didn’t ask a lot of questions, and seemed to want to take in a lost soul.

Brad, meanwhile, had his own issues, after having spent most of his young life dreaming of riding in a rodeo, then his first time, he is thrown and injured. He’s made do with the hand he’s been dealt, and seems to have spent time loving what his new life is. He takes Roy under his wing, teaching him how to ride, standing up for him until Roy could stand up for himself, and figure out how to address the situation at home.

I had a bit of a hard time staying in the story when Roy just decided to go home and deal with the issue. It threw me how he had gained that much confidence in just a few days time. It was a novella, though, so there has to be grace for that. Roy did seem to be able to step back into his parents’ lives and not allow them to step all over him, and much of that was due to Roy being at the ranch, not just being with Brad.

Overall, a nice little cowboy novella, although I’m not sure I would re-read it.

3.5 pieces of eye candy