Quick Reviews

Waiting on Life by Parker Williams: Quick Review

June 28, 2021 by Denise

Big, bald, tattooed, and more than a little possessive, Toby Tomlinson isn’t what you’d call a lady’s man. In fact, he usually got too serious before they were ready. One day, upon returning home from work, Toby finds a young woman kneeling to pick up mail she’d apparently dropped. Taken with her red hair and slender body, he says hello as he grabs his own mail. The woman jumps and bangs her head against the open door, then lets loose with a string of expletives. She turns around and Toby discovers…the person he’s been ogling isn’t a woman at all, but a man.

Kyle Roga’s heard it all before. High school was filled with taunting classmates who could tell Kyle was far too fabulous to be straight. And now, here he was, being pawed at by a man who stole Kyle’s breath away. He ticked every box Kyle had, and a few he didn’t even know he wanted ticked. The problem? Kyle’s been burned before by straight men who think you’re good enough for sex, but not for a relationship. He’s been bitten way more than once, and he doesn’t want to go down that path again.

Two men, each with a different way of looking at love, find themselves having to reexamine what they always believed about themselves. Will it be enough to bring them together? Will each discover what they’ve been doing isn’t living, but waiting on life?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Not terrible, not great, easy read that doesn’t take a lot of brain power.

Toby is supposed to be this big, tough, scary dude. It is mentioned in the book. Often. But he is SO OBVIOUSLY a giant teddy bear.

Kyle is fairly recently out of college and he and his best friend move in to the apartment across the hall. First Toby thinks Kyle is a woman. Then realizes that he finds him attractive. But keeps telling himself that he “doesn’t like d*ck”. Come on. There are way better ways to say that.

Anyway, Kyle is immediately smitten with Toby. (even the name Toby is teddy bearish), but assumes he is straight and since he was burned badly by a previous “straight” guy, he isn’t willing to go there again.

I am sure you can glean what the rest of the book is like.

Again, there isn’t really anything BAD about the book (except timeline mentions), it was just fairly generic. An easy beach read to keep you occupied, but I doubt it would make your top 10.

3 pieces of eye candy

Ache by Marley Valentine: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, and Release Day Review * 2

June 22, 2021 by Denise

I couldn’t tell you when I fell in love with Gael Herrera, but I wish I knew how to make it stop.

Falling in love with a straight man is a rookie mistake. But falling in love with my soon-to-be-married-to-a-woman best friend is nothing but heartache.

Through all the years, and all the men I’ve fooled around with, he’s always been at the back of my mind. An unrequited crush I wish I could shake. A dream that was never going to come true.

When I whisk him off to a surprise bachelor party weekend in Vegas, I surrender to the idea that this is an opportunity for me to finally let go of my feelings for him and say goodbye.

But after a heated exchange and an even hotter kiss, everything I thought I knew about our friendship changed.

Maybe I had it wrong. Maybe, after all this time, we were more than best friends. Maybe, just maybe, he felt it too.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Confidently, she places her hand on her hip, not caring that every inch of her is on display. “I don’t need you to touch me because you feel bad, Gael.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” I protest.

She leisurely reaches for a nearby towel and wraps it around her body. “Is this about Frankie?”

God, I hated hearing that man’s name. “Why are we talking about Frankie?”

“Because every time he comes up, you turn into”—she gestures her hand up and down my body—“this.”

“I just don’t like him for Jordan,” I exclaim.

“They have sex Gael, it’s hardly a marriage proposal.”

“He said he would bring him over in the new year. That’s more than just sex.”

She shakes her head at me. “He said that because you seem to turn into an over protective, ornery father every time he mentions people he’s with.”

His father? God, that was so far from the truth. Nothing I felt about him was familial. Not in a long time and even less so lately.

Lately, I was fucking jealous, and Elena knew it. Every part of me knew she did, but she wasn’t going to call me out. Because she was hiding from the truth just as much as I was.

“Sorry,” I say, because honesty isn’t really an option right now. “I can’t help but feel protective over him. Ever since—”

“I know,” Elena says, nothing but understanding in her voice. “Ever since he got kicked out of his home, you’ve felt the need to protect him. I get it. You’re the same with me,” she adds with a soft smile. “You’re like that with everyone you love. And we love you for it, but you need to let this disdain for Frankie go and let Jordan live his life. If it turns to shit, you’ll be there for him, because that’s what good friends do.”

Every word she said pricked at my heart in pain, leaving little holes as reminders that this was so much more than being worried and protective of your friend. It was a lifetime of hurt, longing, lust, and confusion. And it was wrong.

The only other book I have read by Marley Valentine is Without You, which if you know me I rarely read anything that says “angsty”, but I absolutely loved that book. (Go grab it if you haven’t read it!) It broke my heart about six different ways, and then put it all back together again. So, I definitely went into this book expecting something quite similar. Anyway, since I hadn’t been burned with the angst on Without You, I figured I had to try this. I was not disappointed.

There is a piece in this book that the author calls “an unconventional triangle”, which **small spoiler** may cause some people to be overly cautious about reading it. Don’t, please! It is usually a piece that I don’t want to read either, but the author did it very well. Honestly, the author made it very real life. Life is about choices, day to day, week to week, year over year. And in this case, the heart had made its choice years before.

It was obvious from the first chapter how in love these two MC’s were with each other. They just were not bright enough to figure out that they other one was also in love with them, despite everyone around them realizing it.

They go to Vegas, and realize that they’ve hid it from each other all these years, etc. The first half of the book is almost entirely based in Vegas, and sets up the second half of the book very well.

The MC’s were best friends before they were lovers. However, they were also family. Jordan found family in Gael, as well as with the entire Herrera family, and it was just wonderful to see how much they loved him back, no matter what. Each person in that family was there for everyone else, at all times. What a joy to read.

I cried…multiple times…reading this book, something I genuinely try to avoid. However, with this author I have done it more than once, and it’s likely I will do it again. And I’m here for it. 🙂

A big recommend, without question. Take on the Ache, but, I promise, you’ll get to your HEA.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Apparently this was a short that was included in a previous anthology. It has since been re-edited with 50,000 words added.

We’ve seen this- best friends, gay falls for straight, long drawn out angst, straight goes gay for you, happily ever after. It’s a bit that-but definitely more.

The more involves Gael’s family taking him in as their own when his parents throw him out at 17 for being gay. More is watching your best friend get engaged to a woman. More is finding out your straight best friend wants you just as badly.

I really loved that most of this book took place over a weekend in Vegas. The back story between Jordan and Gael is explained at appropriate times to move the story alone without bogging us down with their entire relationship since they were teenagers. It moved fast without sacrificing story and it had SO. MANY. FEELS. Family feels, romantic feels, friends feels, love feels. Sigh.

No one was a jerk, no one was the bad guy, no one needed to be redeemed. Just an awesome friends to lovers story that was really well done.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Living in Sydney, Australia with her family, Marley Valentine is a USA Today bestselling author and a former social worker who uses her past experiences to write real life, emotional and heartfelt contemporary romance.

She enjoys mixing it up with both M/F and M/M Romance incorporating all forms of life, lust and love as her characters embark on their journey to their happily ever after.

When she’s not busy writing her own stories, she spends most of her time immersed in the words of her favourite authors.

Marley enjoys interacting with her readers so please feel free to reach out to her via Facebook, Instagram, email and/or subscribe to her newsletter.

Connect with Marley:
Website: https://www.marleyvbooks.com
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/MarleyVNL
Audio Newsletter: https://bit.ly/MarleyVAudio
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2VuYfg8
Instagram: http://bit.ly/MVBooksIG
Twitter: http://bit.ly/MarleyTwitter
BookBub: http://bit.ly/MVBookBub
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Un7EdJ
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/MVGoodreads

When Robbo Met Daniel by Liam Livings: RB, Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

June 21, 2021 by Denise

Robbo is broken. He’s split up with his girlfriend. Given up on love. Forever. And now he must pretend to be happy for a friend’s week-long birthday celebration.

Daniel’s boyfriend refuses to go to the celebration with him. Another nail in the coffin for their relationship. So he brings his best friend, Sam. They notice the heart-broken straight guy has attractively filled swimming shorts and a body to draw their sunglasses-obscured gazes.

If Robbo can put aside how he thinks others will see him if he comes out and if Daniel can escape the history of his dead relationship, maybe they have chance.

When Robbo Met Daniel is a stand-alone gay romance with a curious man who’s only ever been with women and a flamboyant gay man who’s looking for someone to be kinder than his useless boyfriend. A dash of well-meaning friends and forced proximity could mean a happy ever after.

Title: When Robbo Met Daniel

Author: Liam Livings

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 06/21/2021

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 71100

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Vacation, out for you, coming out, first time, friends to lovers

Amazon

Ninestar Press

Goodreads

Monday Morning

Robbo stood back so he could stare at his suitcase, resting on the not very comfortable pull-out futon he’d been sleeping on. He threw four T-shirts, three pairs of shorts, and flip-flops into the case.

There was a knock on the door.

“All right,” Robbo replied.

Caspian opened the door. “Nearly packed?”

“Yeah. Some Lynx Africa, my shaving kit and I’m done.”

Caspian pushed the clothes into the suitcase. “And sun cream. Maya’s been on about factor fifty for weeks.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’ll borrow yours if that’s OK.” Robbo was already borrowing his friend’s spare room and bed, so what harm would a few squirts of sun cream be?

“’Course mate.” Caspian smiled weakly.

“Thanks.” Robbo turned to face the bed, his back towards Caspian. “Still think I’d be better off here. Don’t feel much in a party mood.”

“Lulu wants you there. Shaun told me. Said he’d told you.”

“Haven’t heard from him.” Robbo thought it worth trying one last time to get out of the trip. After the upheaval with Becky, he could have done with a week of work and of being alone in Caspian and Maya’s spare room. Just himself and his thoughts moping quietly on the futon.

“He told me he’d called you,” Caspian said. “Still, you know what he’s like. Probably didn’t know what to say.”

Robbo turned and perched on the bed.

“Shaun won’t mind if I don’t go. Lulu’s not going to miss me.”

“Shaun will mind, because Lulu will mind. Forty is a big deal.”

“Ancient.” Robbo let out a small laugh and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “Lulu’s a bit of a cougar, isn’t she?”

“Shaun loves her. That’s all that matters, mate.” Caspian’s stern stare told Robbo all he needed to know.

“Sorry. I’m not myself. Bit cynical about couples, you know?”

Caspian manfully patted Robbo’s shoulder.

“It’s easy to pack. All I’m doing is moving stuff from that suitcase—” He pointed to the large one in the corner. “—to this one.” He indicated the small one on the bed. “Every cloud…”

“Won’t be long till you’re back on your feet. Best this way. You did try.”

Robbo felt the familiar sadness building in his eyes. He didn’t want to dissolve into another snot and tears covered heap like he had when he’d called Caspian, asking if he could crash in their spare room after leaving the flat he’d shared with Becky, his girlfriend. He swallowed, blinking the tears away from his eyes. “I tried. Lots of things. Lots of times.”

“Enough of this. Or I’m gonna have to hug you again, and we know how awkward that gets. Do you want me to bring out the big guns and hug you?” Caspian held his arms out, waggling his fingers comically.

Robbo shook his head. “Fuck off. I’ll live.” They stood in silence for a moment.

A woman’s voice floated from the far side of the flat, telling them the taxi was booked for an hour, and if they weren’t ready, she’d be leaving without them. But not Robbo. Maya—Caspian’s wife, could have organised her way out of any situation—including making sure Robbo wasn’t allowed to wallow in his sadness. On their futon.

Caspian raised his eyes, gesturing towards his wife’s voice. “Best get on.”

Robbo let out a long, exhausted sigh, knowing he had to put a brave face on things and that staying here being miserable wouldn’t do him any good. He collected his razor and shaving gel and pushed them into the duffel bag, squashing everything else in the process.

Caspian said, quietly now, “Mate. I’ll lend you my gel if it helps with the packing.”

Without turning to face his friend, Robbo removed the can of gel, nodded, then said, “Ta mate.”

“Lads weekend. Like before. Do you good. Trust me.” Caspian closed the door behind him.

Robbo turned back to his packing and focussed on the friends he’d soon be seeing, mentally ticking off their names in turn, then wondering why that didn’t sound quite right. And then, with a heavy heart, he remembered he’d excluded their wives and girlfriends. The pairing of names that meant they had someone. Caspian and Maya sounded much better than simply Caspian.

Robbo and Becky.

Robbo.

Maya’s voice, louder now, carried through his closed door, “Twenty minutes. Taxi. If you’re not ready in ten, I’m packing your case, and don’t think I’m beyond rifling through your pants.”

Robbo—knowing Maya meant every word she said, and once he was in the sun and swimming in the pool in Spain, he would indeed feel better than stewing in his own sorrowful juices in this box room alone—threw his phone charger, headphones, and a paperback into his case. “Packed and ready!” He zipped up the bag and carried it to the living room where Maya and Caspian stood next to theirs.

New to me author. And…meh…

Robbo is single again after he and his long time girlfriend broke up. And he is just stewing in misery.

Daniel’s long time boyfriend broke up with him but Daniel won’t accept it.

This theme goes on and on and on throughout the book.

Robbo and Daniel and a bunch of other people are spending a week long vacation in Spain for a friend’s 40th birthday. They are in Spain. On vacation. And complaining constantly about their exes or sort of exes or soon to be exes and it never ended. Oh and maybe Robbo is gay but maybe not? Also a recurring theme.

I didn’t think there was any heat there between the two guys. And Robbo really was kind of insulting about gay men and culture more than once. If I was Daniel I would have walked away without looking back.

Sorry, it was boring, extremely repetitive and had very unlikable characters.

Pass

2 pieces of eye candy

Liam Livings lives where east London ends and becomes Essex. He shares his house with his boyfriend and cat. He enjoys baking, cooking, classic cars and socialising with friends. He has a sweet tooth for food and entertainment: loving to escape from real life with a romantic book; enjoying a good cry at a sad, funny and camp film; and listening to musical cheesy pop from the eighties to now. He tirelessly watches an awful lot of Gilmore Girls in the name of writing ‘research’.

Published since 2013 by a variety of British and American presses, his gay romance and gay fiction focuses on friendships, British humour, romance with plenty of sparkle. He’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. With a masters in creative writing from Kingston University, he teaches writing workshops with his partner in sarcasm and humour, Virginia Heath as www.realpeoplewritebooks.com and has also ghost written a client’s 5 Star reviewed autobiography.

Author Links

Website: http://www.liamlivings.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liam.livings

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LiamLivings

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Art of Living by Abrianna Denae: Blog Tour, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

June 17, 2021 by Denise

Letting go is the hardest thing a person can do…

Robert Harper has spent the past seventeen years living for his son. He doesn’t know who he is if he’s not being a caregiver and protector all rolled into one.

Niall Ross is finally ready to make a life of his own. After years spent making sure his younger brother had everything he needed, it’s time for Niall to discover who he is.

All it takes is one glance across a crowded meeting room for the men to feel a connection, but Robert is terrified his life is too complicated for the other man. Luckily, Niall has patience in abundance. With a little help from Robert’s meddling family, the two begin a tentative relationship.

Just as they’re finding their footing, all of Robert’s worst fears come to life and he falters under the pressure. Niall takes the challenge to show Robert that he’s a safe place to lean on, but when his own life begins to unravel, he places his heart in Robert’s hands. When two independent men are forced to trust each other will the love win out, or will vulnerability and fear cause them to lose the best thing they didn’t even know they had.

Book Title: The Art of Living

Author: Abrianna Denae

Cover Artist: Pretty in Ink Creations

Release Date: June 10, 2021

Genre: Contemporary gay romance

Tropes: Single dad, hurt/comfort, office romance, slow burn

Themes: Trust, meddling family

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 35 000 words/ 90 pages

It is a standalone book, though the reader may be interested in The Gift of Believing, a companion book featuring the MC’s son: mybook.to/GoB

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

“You really want me to date?”

Garrett nods. “I want you to live your life. I know you’re going to argue and say that you have everything you need with me, and Uncle Jared, and Sam. Maybe that’s true, but I also can’t help but feel guilty because if I wasn’t me then maybe you’d have found someone else by now.”

“Garrett, no, you know that’s not true,” I say gently. “Those other people I dated when you were younger, they didn’t last because they weren’t right for our family. If anyone can’t handle me and everything I come with, then they’re not worth my time.”

He studies me with those dark, wise eyes of his. “Does this mean you’ll give Niall a chance then? Because he’s different, I can feel it.”

Shit. I walked right into that one.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I’d be open to trying.”

Garrett smiles and whips out his phone. I don’t bother asking who he’s texting, since the pieces are starting to slowly fall into place. I look at Presley, “They planned this, didn’t they?”

Pres smiles and nods. “Jared thought you both needed a little intervention.”

I shake my head and laugh a bit because my family is insane.

Garrett is still texting away while Presley and I clean up the kitchen. I try to tell Pres that he doesn’t need to help since he and Gare cooked, but he waves me off.

I just get the dishwasher started when my phone rings. The display reads Niall and my mouth suddenly goes dry while my stomach begins to tie itself into knots.

Both boys stare at me as I accept the call. “Hello?”

“Hi,” pause, and then Niall laughs, “This is more awkward than I thought it’d be.”

I smile and turn away from the teenage busybodies. “I seriously doubt whatever you have to say is more awkward than the dinner I just had.”

He laughs again. “They tried to butter you up with food, huh?”

I groan. “Yes. When’d they get to you?”

“Sam talked to me this afternoon. Then they added me to a group chat a few hours ago and promptly blew up my phone with texts about twenty minutes or so ago.”

I sigh. “I’m sorry about them.”

“It’s fine,” Niall assures. “They’re just looking out for you.”

“They’re nosy and need to learn how to mind their own business.” I look over my shoulder to find Garrett and Presley sitting at the table, hanging onto my every word. Shaking my head, I stride from the room in search of some privacy.

“So if I were to ask you to dinner, you’d say no?”

“I guess you should ask and find out.”

Niall chuckles a bit. “Will you have dinner with me, Robert?”

My heart stutters in my chest and it takes a moment for me to get my mouth working. “Yes,” I finally manage to say.

“Great. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is perfect.”

“I’ll text you the details unless someone else does it for me.”

I snort. “That’s a high possibility. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” he repeats. “Have a good night, Robert.”

“You too.”

The line goes dead and a part of me mourns the loss of his voice. Taking a steadying breath, I let the giddy feeling of a first date wash over me. I’ll never tell my family this, but I’m glad they decided to interfere with my life. I never would have had the guts to do this myself.

Tomorrow can’t come fast enough.

Having not read anything by this author, although I may go back and read the YA novella, this looked like a good one to start with.

I enjoyed this novella, and really liked the MC’s. Niall was kind and generous, and never tried to make Robert feel guilty when he was torn between what he wanted, and the health of his son. Niall knew what Robert’s first priority was, and was great at letting him know that he would never interfere. However, it really made it challenging for me to understand why Robert pushed Niall away, for that very reason. He just couldn’t handle having any other priority in his life, even if Niall knew he wasn’t first priority.

I did think at some point that the fact that Robert worked for Niall would become an issue in the book, but it never did. I really appreciated that, simply that they were both professionals, and could keep private and personal lives separate.

It was a nice, sweet story, with a little angst, and a lot of family love.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Abrianna Denae is a twenty-four-year-old author living in Northern California. An English major, she has always had a passion for writing.

Deciding to sit down and write one of the many stories that had plagued her mind for years was the easy part—finding the time to do it was a different story.

Caffeine is her best friend, and sleep is her worst enemy.

A lover of books that make the reader feel something, she tries to incorporate as much of her real-world views and feelings into her stories as she can.

Social Media Links

Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram

BookBub | Goodreads Author Page | Amazon Author Page

You can also email her at authorabridenae@gmail.com

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

either a $20 Amazon gift card or one of two ebooks from the author’s backlist.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Shiftless by TA Moore: Blog Tour, Exclusive Short Story Excerpt, and Giveaway

June 16, 2021 by Denise

Night Shift is the city’s thin, silver line- and some nights it’s thinner than others.

It isn’t the fact he almost died last night that’s thrown Night Shift officer Kit Marlow. He’s used to that. It’s the fact that instead of a werewolf trying to rip his throat out, it was his friend and colleague who tried to put him in the ground.

Well, ‘friend.’

Now Marlow’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit by a man who’s committed more than his fair share. Half the cops in San Diego want to see Marlow behind bars for what he’s supposedly done, and the other half want him dead before he can tell his side of the story. The problem is that he can’t tell them apart.

There’s only one person in town that Marlow can trust, even though he knows he shouldn’t drag Cade Deacon into his problems. The sharp-tongued CEO of a private security firm might have gotten close to Marlow over the last few weeks, but taking on the SDPD is a lot to ask.

Marlow doesn’t have much choice, though. If he can’t clear his name before the last full moon of the month sets, he might not see another one. That’d be a shame since Marlow would really like to spend the night with Cade without needing protective gear.

Title: Shiftless

Publisher: Rogue Firebird Press

Release: June 19

Amazon

Book 1: Shift Work

Book 2: Split Shift

First of all, thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here with my new release, Shiftless by TA Moore, which completes the Night Shift trilogy! I believe it is still technically a novella, although it’s the novella that kicked the other novellas out of the nest and ate all the food!

For the blog tour I’ve written a short story set in the Night Shift world. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Four

It was a re-run.

Half the programs Marlow had TiVo’d were re-runs. There wasn’t a lot of downtime when you were on the Night Shift or training to get into the academy. Marlow had missed a lot of must-see programming over the years. Some of it was just comfort food, though—old enough that the last time anyone had talked about it around the water-cooler, it had been weekly.

This month it was Quincy. He’d watched it the first time around with his grandmother—probably, he couldn’t remember it, but she’d never missed an episode—and there was something comforting about how simple life was on the show. Murders happened, sure, but if Quincy didn’t solve them with his coroner’s experience, he’d sniff out the killer on the full moon.

Handy trick that.

Marlow sprawled back in the bed and watched the flannel-faced detective scowl intently over a slide before he raced off to save the day. Despite the soporific effect of sentimentality, Marlow’s brain wouldn’t shut off.

He wanted to be wrong.

For a good six months, every time he felt uneasy about a call Piper made or didn’t make, he’d told himself he was wrong. Of course he was. They were Night Shift, the good guys of a hundred stories. Piper was a goddamn legend, a literal poster boy for the department.

Except… he wasn’t.

His phone buzzed next to the bed. He grabbed it in case it was Gil—he might not be scheduled to work, but he was still on call every night until the moon waned—but Bennett’s name was stamped over the text notification.

Marlow flicked it open.

Why were you at the Crate? I told you to let it go. It’s not your problem.

Marlow really wished that was true, too. He set the phone back on the bedside table without answering Bennett and flicked the TV off. It hadn’t been Gil that time, but if she did call him in, he’d rather have gotten some sleep.

By rights, it should have taken him half the night to grab some shut-eye. His head was stuffed with unresolved doubts and questions. His body knew better. His head hit the pillow, and he was out.

His dreams weren’t peaceful, but they didn’t disturb his rest either.

What woke him up was the crack of his door being kicked in.

TA Moore is a Northern Irish writer of romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance novels. A childhood in a rural, seaside town fostered in her a suspicious nature, a love of mystery, and a streak of black humour a mile wide. As her grandmother always said, ‘she’d laugh at a bad thing that one’, mind you, that was the pot calling the kettle black. TA Moore studied History, Irish mythology, English at University, mostly because she has always loved a good story. She has worked as a journalist, a finance manager, and in the arts sectors before she finally gave in to a lifelong desire to write.

Coffee, Doc Marten boots, and good friends are the essential things in life. Spiders, mayo, and heels are to be avoided.

Website: www.tamoorewrites.com

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

Twitter: @tamoorewrites

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting Friendly (A Never Just Friends Novel, Book 3) by Saxon James: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

June 15, 2021 by Denise

LEON
When I’m looking for a hook up, I want three things:
Big, thick, and rough.
So it doesn’t make sense that I can’t get my new hire out of my head.
He’s a tiny guy with big ideas … and he’s my apprentice which means he’s completely off limits.
But he’s already under my skin.
And for the first time with any guy, I don’t think I can hold my own against him.
Physically, yes. Emotionally, no.
Auggie makes me weak.

AUGGIE
Growing up, I always wanted to go into the family business and follow in Dad’s footsteps.
Until in my senior year of high school when he told me to find a new dream.
No one would let a small, clumsy guy like me on a construction site.
And after trying and failing for years, I was starting to believe him.
Then LJ Constructions calls me for an interview and when I meet Leon, he becomes my new dream.
He’s hot as hell, self made, and instead of putting me down, he sees what I’ve always seen in myself.
But I’m not dumb enough to throw away this one chance at my dream job, not even for him.
Not even if I really, really want to.

Getting Friendly

A Never Just Friends Novel, Book 3

By Saxon James

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Book 1: Just Friends

Book 2: Fake Friends

I try to play it cool, like Leon kissing me is a totally normal, everyday occurrence. His beard scrapes my skin, and his tongue pushes against mine, and I swear every part of me has turned to jelly—except my dick, which is now rock hard—but I manage to keep on my feet. Manage to meet each lap of his tongue with one of my own. Manage to not hump his leg like a dog in heat.

Though that one is a very close call.

He breaks away, and I can’t quite make out his expression with his back to the streetlight.

“This okay?” he asks, slightly out of breath. Because of me. I did that.

“If it wasn’t, I would have kneed you in the balls by now.”

He reaches down to cup his groin. “Good to know.”

“So, umm …” My nerves are buzzing, making it hard to think. “House. My house. Are you coming? There! Coming there. Not coming coming, though I definitely hope there’s some of that too.”

Leon chuckles, and his lips brush mine again. “I’m coming to your place, where I’m going to make you come so hard, I’ll ruin you for anyone else.”

Mmm … he already has. Just locking me between his arms, up against a wall like this, is enough to do it, and I mean, he didn’t even touch me last time and it was still one of the hottest moments of my life. Looking up from my knees at his sexy body towering over me …

“I’ll be holding you to that.”

Before I can overthink it, I slide my hand into his and tug him back out onto the street. It’s only a few minutes’ walk before we’re rounding the hardware store, climbing the stairs we built, and walking into my apartment.

I expect Leon to get straight to it, but instead, he hesitates.

“Here’s the thing …”

“Uh-oh. Nope. Don’t go promising me hot sex and then back out.”

That makes him laugh, at least. “I’m not planning on backing out, even though a smarter man would.”

“Then what is it?”

He nods at my couch before taking a seat and patting the place next to him.

Ah. We’re talking.

Fun.

I flop down beside him.

“Ground rules.” His voice takes on a bossy tone that I like. “We covered some last time, but I want to make sure we’re both on the same page before things get started. First, this is casual. It’s only sex.”

I hurry to agree because like hell am I dumb enough to let those terms get in between me and Leon’s dick. “Just sex. Got it.”

“Second, I want to reiterate that us hooking up doesn’t affect work. Those things are completely separate.”

And yep, I know that’s a pretty important point, but all I latch onto is, “Hooking up? As in present tense. As in possibly more than just last time and tonight?”

A whole mess of conflict crosses his expression before he pushes it away. “Let’s take it one day at a time, but … well, I’m attracted to you. Very. And I can’t see that going away anytime soon, but we both have to be okay with the other person turning around and being honest when it isn’t working anymore.”

“Of course. Yes. I can do that.”

He watches me for a moment. “So tomorrow, if I decide I’m done, you’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be disappointed because I can’t imagine a time when I don’t think you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen, but I’ll understand. And I won’t hold it against you. Or let it interfere with work.”

His handsome face breaks into a smile as he turns his body toward me. I almost melt when he reaches for my face and smooths a calloused thumb over my cheek. “Yeah, I don’t think one more night will be enough either. But we’ll see.”

I wriggle closer. “Is there a third point?”

“Yes.” He clears his throat. “And for some reason, it’s more awkward to tell you this than random strangers that I meet, but … I’m a cuddler. So after sex, there’s none of that leaving right away bullshit. I like the intimacy of it, so if that’s too weird for a casual hookup, you need to tell me now.”

Aww … sexy, big, bad Leon is a snuggler? I melt, and when I give him the soppiest face I can manage, he barely holds back from rolling his eyes at me.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a big ol’ teddy bear.”

“That’s adorable.”

“It’s totally normal and not at all weird for someone to want closeness after sex. I don’t buy into the crap about needing to fuck and run.”

“No, I agree.” I’m still trying not to laugh though. Not at him. But, well … okay, kind of at him, but only because he’s uncomfortable which is usually my domain, and also, he’s so adorable I can’t even.

“One question,” I say, tucking my knees under me and shuffling closer to him.

“Mmm?”

“Are you the big spoon or little spoon?”

He chuckles and pinches my thigh.

So, I haven’t read the first two books, but thought this one sounded sexy and fun, so in I went. 🙂 And I was rewarded with sexy and fun, with low angst, just my type of book.

On the one hand, Auggie, super cute, sweet, very twinkie, adorkable, etc, but apparently with a serious dong. lol He loved what he did, but had a father who didn’t trust him, rightfully so, which made it that much more difficult to find the right position. But he wasn’t afraid to go after what he wanted, whether it was the job, or the man. And as he gained more confidence in himself professionally, he was able to stand up for himself more with his father, and step in as needed with Leon’s company.

Leon…poor guy…to be that young and work himself into the ground, literally. He chose Auggie for reasons that weren’t as cut and dry as him being the best candidate. It eventually worked out well for him, but he was stressed so often, he was putting himself into an early grave. Auggie worked on teaching him to enjoy time away, by being there when he needed it, and still forcing him to step away.

Definitely HAWT, seriously HAAAAWWWWTTTT, sex scenes. And Auggie wasn’t as shy there, as he was everywhere else. 🙂 They meshed well together as they discovered things about each other that went beyond the “naked” eye.

My one issue with this book was the proofreading/editing. I’m aware that the author is from Australia, and so there are phrases that I absolutely recognized as being from Australia. However, the book is set just south of Portland, so things like “footpath” are things that should be caught by a proofreader or editor. It’s generally negligible, and I rarely comment on editing/proofreading simply because it is an ARC. However, it appears to me that if it has gotten this far in the process, those kinds of corrections should be brought to the author’s attention. Also, I would feel that way if the opposite was true, and it was based in Australia, and the character was native and then said sidewalk. Again, small issue on the whole for a book I really enjoyed.

I enjoyed the book, the MC’s chemistry, and even appreciated the references to the side characters who appeared in the previous books. I am terribly interested in one event that seems to have carried forward as a story arc, and maybe, hopefully will be resolved in the next book? 🙂

4 pieces of eye candy

Saxon James is an author from Australia who’s obsessed with writing queer characters. She has a range of books from YA to adult and they all have one thing in common: swoony, sweet love.

When not writing, Saxon exists on a diet of coffee and chocolate while putting her KU subscription to the test.

Connect with Saxon:
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/thesaxonjames/
Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/saxonssweethearts/
Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/profile/saxon-james
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Saxon-James/e/B082TP7BR7
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19404191.Saxon_James
Instagram: www.instagram.com/saxonjameswrites/

a Rafflecopter giveaway