Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Quick Reviews

Restricted (The Verge Book 1) by A.C. Thomas: New Release Review

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Dr. Aristotle Campbell is a desperate man. His twin brother has been abducted, and Ari will do anything to find him. Forced out of the comfortable solitude of his laboratory, Ari must leave their home world of Britannia and search the farthest reaches of space for his other half. He hastily equips himself with a flawlessly tied cravat, a handful of clues, and his small science vessel. Now, all he needs is a pilot to get him across the Verge, a barrier separating the civilized world from ungoverned space.

Pilot Orin Stone is a desperate man. No ship, no pay, no prospects. He spends his days barely scraping by in the rough colonies lining the Verge interior. When he gets an offer from a frantic, upper-crust professor in need of a pilot, he has no choice but to take the job. He just can’t believe it when the professor turns out to be the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen and that his offer includes a ship of Orin’s own. If Orin can keep his heart (and other portions of his anatomy) from leaping every time sweet, innocent Dr. Campbell looks at him, this should be his easiest job yet.

Rugged Orin and aristocratic Ari work together to navigate the lawless areas of space beyond the Verge, soon discovering that they work well together in all areas. Their immediate and intense attraction to one another is an obstacle to their plans that neither saw coming. More than sparks will fly when they break through the force field and enter restricted space, all alone together for the perilous journey, leaving barriers to their growing attachment far behind.

In their search across the stars, can two desperate men find their home in one another?

Amazon

Nine Star Press

Restricted kind of reminds me of the Indiana Jones movies. The two sides of Harrison Ford’s character – the adventurer and the mild mannered professor are the two characters in this book.

Ari – quiet, studious, scientific, and doesn’t venture from his laboratory very much hires Orin – pilot of a barely held together spaceship. (Actually this is more like Harrison Ford in Star wars lol) Jaded, world-weary, “nothing good ever lasts” kind of guy who needs the money Ari is happy to hand over when his brother goes missing.

As the book progresses Ari comes out of his shell and is Brave while Orin starts to realise that maybe he is wanted for something better than how good he can fly a plane.

Fun jaunt with lots of action. Ari is adorable.

My only complaint is the rapid ending.

4 pieces of eye candy

The Light Beneath the Dark: Motorcycle Club MM romance (Dark River Stone Collective Book 1) by JP Sayle: New Release Review

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Lincoln Stone is President of the Dark Angels motorcycle club, and he’s been accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Will this finally be his downfall?

Lincoln lives a life that straddles the fine line between right and wrong. Now he stands accused of a crime that could see him losing everything he holds close and breaking a promise to the one person who loved him unconditionally, his sister.

That is, until Mason.

Mason Davenport believes in the law and what it stands for. When his father asks him to take on Lincoln’s case, he learns some things are not as clear cut as they seem. Can he see beneath the exterior Lincoln hides behind to help him battle for his freedom and keep what he treasures most? Or will those who are conspiring against Lincoln win?

The Light Beneath the Dark is a standalone MM gay romance, with a sassy little girl that can offer one man freedom and another what he never realized he wanted, a daughter.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

JP Sayle is a new to me author, although she has quite a back list of books she has written. I’ve seen her around on social media and I absolutely loved the cover of this book. Between the cover and the title, I thought I would be getting angsty goodness. I was wrong.

This is another case of “could have been”. But just way too much was wrong for me. Let’s start with the crime the main character, Linc, is accused of. In this day and age, having a main character accused of rape- as revenge pretty much- is incredibly tone deaf. There are many other crimes he could have been set up for without it being rape.

Next is Linc’s niece/daughter. I honestly don’t know if he officially adopted her or is just her guardian. His sister died in childbirth. Which is the first chapter of the book before a time jump. Not for nothing, but describing the birthing mother as being bloody kind of gives everyone a big hint that something is wrong. But the nurse and doula think it’s no big deal. Yanno, until she dies. Ok, so back to the little girl River. Adorable, precocious, of course. But on my good the way she spoke. I actually had to stop and look up the author to see if she had children. She does! But ok, she lives in the UK. So what is she using as her model of the way American children speak? I thought it was just River, but she meets another child and he speaks the same way! “I’s River, what’s your name?” Honestly, I was waiting for her to say “I don’t know nothin about birthin no babies!” Because that is what she sounded like. And at the same time, she makes statements that are WAY too mature for a child of five. Reading her dialogue (and there is quite a bit) was painful.

Moving on. The rape case gets taken care of quickly but we still have half a book to go. The second plot is about a possible coup in the motorcycle club that Linc is president of. It was so weak. Ugh. What a waste.

There were other things- Linc and his sister living in the motorcycle club after their mother died. They were children. Thirteen and eight. And no one from social services came? School? They had no one to take care of them? Who paid the bills? Bought them food and clothes? And then Linc was able to become a business owner as an adult? There were just so many plot holes.

Linc and Mason together weren’t enough to save this book. Mason said he was a vers, but mostly topped, but sure, he was fine to be Linc’s “bitch”. No. Just no no no.

I normally have no issues when an author from one country writes a story set in another country. But do your research.

2 Pieces of Eye Candy 

Cupcakes and Christmas: A Bake Off inspired MM Christmas Romance by RJ Scott: Blog Tour, New Release Review and Giveaway

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The story of long nights in a wintry mountain hotel, a baking show with secrets, a snowman called Jeremy, and finding the greatest love of all.

After winning season four of ratings hit the World’s Best Baking Show, Brody Thomas had become a sought-after cake maker to the stars. Happily married, he dreamed of a bright future, but his perfect life imploded when he discovered that his husband had done nothing but lie to him. A year later, Brody is mid-divorce, and his life has been turned upside down, so being part of the WBBS charity event is excellent timing. He’s sure it will give him time away from home and space to get his head straight, only he never expected to meet the man of his dreams in a snowy Alberta.

Winning season one of WBBS gave Justin Mallory a chance to outrun the demons of a childhood lost in the foster system. He’s a social media influencer, with millions of followers, and works every hour to make money that equals security for the rest of his life. His marketing team signs him up for the WBBS Christmas charity show, but he’s convinced he’ll fall at the first hurdle. Only, after a few days in the competition, his worry isn’t that he’ll be the first to leave, it’s that he’ll lose his heart to a rival baker, Brody.

Title: Cupcakes & Christmas

Author: RJ Scott

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Length: 67,000 words approx.

Amazon

This book was sweetness, 100%. How could it not be with a title like Cupcakes & Christmas? It was like getting that cupcake with the most decadent filling, coated in icing. It could be too much sweetness, but you still have to have it all. 🙂

I don’t watch much TV, and so haven’t seen much of these baking shows, but you can tell that the author has loved every second of them, and made me want to run out and watch them myself. What I loved though was that the two MC’s clearly had a love for baking, especially as they kept watching the show even after they won their own seasons. At one point one of the MC’s mentions baking every day. (Don’t you want to live next door to him???). Having had crushes on each other during the other’s season, I thought it was fun how the author brought them together with a reunion show as the backdrop (oh, and now I really want to go to Banff!). This added a little drama, but honestly it was mostly drama free. It was about the two MC’s finding their way to each other despite their lack of communication.

I loved Brody’s family, especially his twin, and that even though they’d been through some serious challenges the previous year due to Brody’s marriage, they were all still completely behind each other (and later Justin as well). Meanwhile, Justin was just trying to figure out how to transition to a career he could be proud of, and still feel successful, with a balance in the bank.

Jeremy was the icing on the cupcake. I loved that little piece of the book. It was just awesome that that became their time together, their place to talk, to work through issues or even to be alone. We all need a Jeremy in our lives.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

RJ Scott is a USA TODAY bestselling author of over 140 romance and suspense novels. From bodyguards to hockey stars, princes to millionaires, cowboys to military heroes to every-day heroes, she believes that love is love and every man deserves a happy ending.

Find RJ here: Amazon | BookBub | Facebook – Also, Never miss a release


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Blind Warrior (The Weavers Circle Book 3) by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliot: RDB, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Grey Ackles

The Soul Weaver feels useless.

A burden endangering his brothers.

The last battle with the pestilents cost Grey his sight and powers.

Now he’s dependent on his vision rehabilitation therapist Cort to learn how to function on a daily basis.

But as he grows closer to Cort, Grey is left wanting his powers back for a new reason—how will he ever know if the man he’s falling for is actually his soul mate?

Cort Newton

There is some really weird stuff going on at that house.

Spell books, guns, and a giraffe in the backyard?

But no matter how strange it gets, Cort is not going to leave the grumpy writer.

Adjusting to sudden blindness is hard for everyone, but Grey clearly has deeper reason for needing his vision back at any cost. Cort just wished Grey would confide in him.

Even with Grey’s secrets, Cort has never been drawn to a man like he is with Grey and he will do anything to keep this man safe.

Blind Warrior is the third book in the Weavers Circle series. It includes fast-paced action, running through Savannah, secrets, shapeshifting, brainwashed assassins, a gorilla, sexy times, fun with water, insecurity, three crazy old ladies, and magic!

Title:  Blind Warrior

Series: The Weavers Circle #3

Author: Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott

Publisher: Drake & Elliott Publishing LLC

Release Date: November 20, 2020

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 98k

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Grey reluctantly got out of the vehicle and felt his way to the warm hood. “Gotta be a lot of glass bottles in there for me to knock over,” he warned as Lucien placed a hand on his biceps.

“We’ll steer you in the right direction.” Lucien pressed on his arm as they started walking. “You need the exercise.”

“Makes more sense for me to wait in the—” he broke off when a horrid smell hit his nose. It was like rotting meat left out on a hot summer day. “Shit, pestilents,” he hissed. Fear gripped his heart, his lungs freezing in his chest. How the hell was he supposed to protect himself?

Pestilents were these…humanoid creatures…from another realm who were trying to kill him and his brother Weavers. Their world was dying, and they wanted to leech energy off this one to save their own. Grey and the other Weavers had been tasked to stop them, using magic they’d gained from three goddesses. Insane. All of it sounded absolutely insane, but it was now his life.

One positive was that they were easy to spot, thanks to their awful stink. They rotted slowly in this world because they didn’t belong.

“I just smelled them, too,” Lucien grumbled under his breath.

“Can you see them?” Grey asked.

“They have to be in the store. Do pestilents drink alcohol?” Baer’s voice was moving away from Grey, possibly toward the Jeep.

“How the hell would we know?” Lucien led Grey back, too. Doors opened around him and he reached out with his left hand, coming into contact with the familiar durable fabric covering the rear bench seat in Baer’s Jeep.

“That’s it? We’re going to run?” Grey slid inside the vehicle, inwardly fuming. They were running to protect him.

“You expect us to just attack them in broad daylight in a wine shop?” Baer’s voice came from the driver’s side this time. “I can’t believe they’re rallying forces this fast. We had a three-month break last time.”

“There is obviously more than one set out there, or they wouldn’t have been chasing us over the United States.” Grey grabbed the front seats and pulled himself forward to lean between them as Lucien got into the passenger side. “I don’t think we should just leave them.”

Lucien cleared his throat. “I see only one at the counter now.”

“Doesn’t mean there aren’t more in the back,” Baer countered.

“Why don’t you go in there and lure him out?” Lucien suggested. “See that field behind those trees? We could fight it there.”

Grey saw nothing, but he didn’t bother to point that out. All he knew was, he felt wrong running and leaving any pestilents free to attack them later. Or even an innocent human who just happened to get in their way. If there were only a few, Baer and Lucien would be able to easily take care of them on their own. “I think that’s a good idea. But you should both go inside, just in case there are more than one.”

“And leave you help-er…alone out here?” Baer snapped. He cursed softly. “Sorry, Grey.”

But he was fucking helpless, and he knew it. Before losing his sight, his powers hadn’t done a lot when it came to fighting, but he’d been able to shoot a gun, use a knife. He wasn’t bad in a fight. And he’d been able to serve as a lookout, offer cover for his brothers. Now, he didn’t even have that.

Of course, his powers were tied to his sight, so he couldn’t use those. All he got were the occasional broken thoughts and emotions from others. His ability to see auras had been nipped in the bud. As was his ability to see into people’s souls, to read their past, motives, desires, and thoughts. He didn’t know if he could still manipulate people, hadn’t even tried.

“I’m going in,” Baer announced. “I’ll lure him into the field and shift into something fierce. We’ll dispatch this asshole, grab our booze, and go home.”

I have been eagerly awaiting this book! This is book 3. It is not a stand alone, you absolutely have to read books 1 and 2 as it is a continuing story. That being said, spoiler from book 2 coming. Although the title kind of gives it away.

Grey, the Soul Weaver, introvert, mind reader, goes blind after the last big battle with the pestilents. And even though Dane, the healer, can help with everything else, he cannot restore Grey’s sight. Without his sight, Grey has no powers. Without powers, Grey can’t help the other Weavers in the war against the pestilents. Oh, that was the cliff hanger for book 2 and why I couldn’t wait for book 3.

We pick up pretty much right where we left off. A week or two has passed, Grey has been to a doctor who couldn’t do anything except offer the number of a vision rehabilitation specialist so that he can learn to manage his life better.

There were some funny scenes when they were all trying to keep the whole Weaver thing from Colt- the VRS. “Was that a giraffe?” BAHAHA! They tried, but keeping the secret was next to impossible.

And so they brothers continue on, trying to figure out a way to beat the pestilents for good, while trying to come up with a healing spell to get Grey his sight back, and Grey and Cort slowly falling for each other.

Even with a story taking place almost solely at one house, with the same people always interacting and the two main characters thrust together because of necessity, there is still some really sweet and romantic scenes. And Grey does know how to use his words to woo Cort. And woo he does.

There is a bit of drama when Grey hears one of Clay’s thoughts. Working through that was tough for them.

Oh wait! I forgot we also got another Weaver! This time it is the Water Weaver. (PS- I love the diversity of the characters. Out of 7 there are two black men and one Asian man.) He isn’t freaked out at all and takes to it like a duck to water. Whomp whomp. Sorry, had to.

There are battles and invaders and spells and shifters and everything that makes this series so fun, intriguing and readable.

I loved it and can’t wait for book 4. Luckily there was no cliff hanger on this one.

4 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.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | eMail

http://drakeandelliott.com/

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

https://twitter.com/DrakeandElliott

drakeandelliott@gmail.com

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We Have Till Dawn by Cara Dee: RDB, Excerpt, and Release Day Review

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It wasn’t like he’d never done this before…

Nicky Fender retired from sex work two years ago and never looked back. Then an offer he can’t refuse comes his way, and he agrees to one last exclusive arrangement. Good money and an apartment in Manhattan? He’d be a fool to turn that down.

The deal is dusk till dawn for two months. But once he meets Gideon—an older, quirky, autistic, filthy, uncertain businessman who wants to explore his sexuality—Nicky wishes sunrise would never come.

Title: We Have Till Dawn

Author: Cara Dee

Series: Standalone

Genre: Gay Romance

Tropes: Autism, Musician, Age Difference, Role Play, Family, First-Time Experience

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Nicky Fender

“Let me get this straight,” I said, scanning the document. “The wife is the client? I mean, she’s the one setting her husband up with a male escort?”

“Correct.” Tina sat back as our server approached with dinner. “Well, her fiancé.”

I hummed and kept my mouth shut until we were alone again. Fuck, the pizza looked good. Of course, meeting with Tina meant it had to be some fancy pizza. She wouldn’t be caught dead with a regular slice. She wouldn’t be caught dead in Brooklyn either, which was why I’d met up with her in Manhattan at some swanky Italian place. But hey, she was buying.

“I’m waiting for the reason for why I’d agree,” I admitted bluntly. I hadn’t whored out my sweet ass in two years, and I was doing much better now. I worked three jobs for very little pay, I lived with my big brother, and I had practically no time for any hobbies. What’s not to love?

I’d thought about going back to Tina for some time, but whenever I considered it, there was this rock in the pit of my stomach that no amount of money could crush.

“I wanted you to see the requirements first,” she replied.

Well, there were a lot of them. I hadn’t gone through the entire list yet. After placing the document next to my plate, I cut into my fancy pizza and continued reading the list. There was plenty on hygiene, but nothing that went beyond what I was used to. I was to be blindfolded the whole time? All right… I’d never see the client’s face—or the client’s fiancé—which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“I get the impression from the client that the man wants to explore something before he agrees to marry her,” Tina revealed. I’d heard of weirder dynamics. “She hinted that it would be a one-time arrangement, and she placed emphasis on following instructions that seem to cover every inch of your body.”

Lovely.

“That’s a lot of exploring,” I pointed out. “He wants to meet with me four nights a week for two months.”

Tina lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug and sipped her wine.

More specifically, I had to be available for him between the hours of ten PM and six AM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

I scratched my ear.

The pay better be out of this world, ’cause I would have to quit at both Applebee’s and Starbucks. Not that I’d mourn those shifts, but I’d been at Applebee’s long enough to possibly make assistant manager when the current one quit next month. She was having a baby and moving to Jersey.

I stuck a piece of pizza into my mouth and eyed the requirements for safety, at which I almost choked on a pepperoni slice.

“How loaded is this couple?” I asked through a cough. The man demanded exclusivity, meaning I wasn’t allowed to be sexually active with anyone else for the duration of our arrangement. And that cost a fucking mint.

“Read on…” Tina smirked wryly.

I furrowed my brow—then spotted one of my few hard limits. I shook my head and wiped my mouth with the napkin. “No fucking way. Tina, you—no. Fuck this.”

I didn’t mess around without protection. Not a chance in hell.

“This is why I asked you, Nicky,” she told me patiently. “Considering your stance on protection and your sad little Facebook statuses on how single you are—” she ignored my glare “—not to mention that you’re not the type of guy who walks around with a string of hookups, I can count on you passing a screening with flying colors and taking on someone who wants exclusivity. You’re my only candidate.”

“Candidate to say no,” I retorted.

Tina adopted a smug expression and reached down to dig something out of her purse. “There’s a reason I wanted to save the perks for last,” she said. “Okay, so you know the requirements. An exclusive arrangement for both parties—during which you’re sexually active only with each other—four nights a week for two months. You won’t see him. He won’t violate your limits—”

“Going unprotected is a limit, Tina,” I grated. Fuck, I was getting pissed. Part of me had carried foolish hope that this would be such a golden case that I’d jump on the opportunity and earn some good dough before the rock in my stomach returned.

“And when you’re an escort dealing with multiple clients a week, nothing else would make sense,” she answered, extending another document to me. “I wouldn’t even try to approach my other sex workers with this, Nicky. You’re the exception only because you quit the field.”

“Hmpf.” I cast a disgruntled look her way before I lowered my gaze to the piece of paper.

Ahem.

Holy fuck.

Three grand a week—minus Tina’s finder’s fee of ten percent—plus living arrangements. There would be a studio apartment in my name, so to speak, rent and utilities paid for by the client. Corner of West 39th and Ninth Avenue—not a shabby address at all. One of my best friends lived in the Garment District. Adjacent to Hell’s Kitchen where another friend lived.

A Manhattan address and $3,000 a week for two months.

A guy could do worse.

I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat. “Is there, uh, any way to ensure safety by making sure the guy gets tested too?”

“Of course, Nicky.” The compassion in Tina’s crystal-blue eyes reminded me of the fact that she ran an ethical business based on choice and vetting. She didn’t headhunt sex workers; they had to come to her, and they—we—had to go through a selection process before she could, in good conscience, give us work.

Today, I was an exception for her, and my answer would be an exception too.

’Cause it looked like I was moving to Manhattan.

Most, if not all, of the Cara Dee books I’ve read have been BDSM in nature. This one wasn’t- but it did involve kink and a sex worker. It is also set in NY, which I enjoy since it is “my” city (but I live in the ‘burbs).

This book had so much! First time gay, autism, rich, poor, family, kink, sex work…whew!

Nicky is a former sex worker who’s former boss/manager contacts him for a unique job. Five nights a week for two months from about 10pm to 6am. There are rules to follow including a blindfold and no talking. Nicky doesn’t want to do it really, but the money is just way too good. AND he would get a nice studio apartment in Manhattan for the duration. Meaning he can move out of his brother’s place in Brooklyn at least for a little while.

Gideon is super rich, has autism, is bisexual but never had the chance to explore, and is engaged to be married to a woman. Apparently she is giving him this time to explore that side of himself before they marry.

And so they begin with a bit of a clinical association. Nicky is blindfolded, lights off, no talking and he isn’t allowed to reciprocate or touch. Honestly, it was pretty hot. Because Nicky wanted so much to reciprocate, make noise, encourage. One of the hottest submission scenes that wasn’t even meant to be a submission scene.

In between his time with Gideon, we see Nicky with his brother quite a bit. They work together at his brother’s music school in Brooklyn. We also get their Nonna- and trust me, if you are from NY or NJ, you know a Nonna just like her- and their father. Gideon remains a mystery. Which is interesting since he is such a mystery to Nicky. We are only seeing Gideon as Nicky sees him.

But Nicky wears Gideon down slowly. If Gideon really wants to explore this side- he needs to let Nicky participate. Being that Nicky works with some kids with autism, and talks to his brother who has more experience with autism, he really tries to understand what Gideon is good with, not good with, how far to push him, when to step back. And he did it all so respectfully. There was never any condescension. They seemed to fit together like 2 puzzle pieces.

Nicky and Gideon overcoming what they thought were obstacles was swoony. There was a misunderstanding, but no big drama. No big fight and weeks of angsting over each other. They realized what they had together was special- even after two months.

This was one of the most “real” connections I have read in a long time.

Back to the NYC thing. I loved how authentic 99% of it was. Brooklyn vs Manhattan, “the neighborhood”, the crazy mix of languages, everyone knows everyone and gets in your business and rumors spread like wildfire. Even most of the slang was awesome. There was only one slang Italian curse word was wrong, but not many will know that.

This is definitely my favorite of hers. I really hope Nicky’s brother gets his story. He deserves a happily ever after as well.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

I’m often awkwardly silent or, if the topic interests me, a chronic rambler. In other words, I can discuss writing forever and ever. Fiction, in particular. The love story—while a huge draw and constantly present—is secondary for me, because there’s so much more to writing romance fiction than just making two (or more) people fall in love and have hot sex.

There’s a world to build, characters to develop, interests to create, and a topic or two to research thoroughly.

Every book is a challenge for me, an opportunity to learn something new, and a puzzle to piece together. I want my characters to come to life, and the only way I know to do that is to give them substance—passions, history, goals, quirks, and strong opinions—and to let them evolve.

I want my men and women to be relatable. That means allowing room for everyday problems and, for lack of a better word, flaws. My characters will never be perfect.

Wait…this was supposed to be about me, not my writing.

I’m a writey person who loves to write. Always wanderlusting, twitterpating, kinking, cooking, baking, and geeking. There’s time for hockey and family, too. But mostly, I just love to write.

Find Cara on social media here: https://www.caradeewrites.com/cdwlandingpage

The Last One to Let You Down by K.L. Hiers: RDB, Excerpt, Review and Giveaway

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Thomas Hill is a lonely embalmer who’s in some big trouble – his ex-boyfriend has been forcing him to illegally sell dangerous chemicals with no signs of stopping, and Tom doesn’t know what to do. His situation gets even more complicated when Cypress Holmes, a smoking hot local florist, walks in on Tom making a deal. Cypress agrees to keep quiet, but his silence comes at a price.

He wants Tom to do exactly as he says and to give him complete and total control over his body at all times. Tom now has no choice but to obey Cypress’s every command to stay out of jail. But when Cypress starts spanking him and tying him up, he realizes he doesn’t mind the rough treatment at all. With or without the threat of blackmail hanging over his head, he likes what Cypress does to him… and he doesn’t want it to stop.

Author’s Note: This book includes intense sexual scenes, rough spankings, and depictions of death and embalming as they relate to the funeral industry. If this material offends or may upset you, please don’t read this book.

Book Title: The Last One to Let You Down

Author: K.L. Hiers

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Covers by Jo

Release Date: November 13, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, BDSM Romance

Trope/s: Funeral Director/Florist Romance, Blackmail Leads to Love, BDSM Virgin

Themes: Personal Growth, Dealing with Death, Difficult Jobs,

Learning to Love Yourself

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 102 000 words

It is a standalone story.

Goodreads

Amazon US- Kindle Unlimited

Amazon UK  – Kindle Unlimited

Tom was an embalmer, and he’d been working at Crosby-Ayers Funeral Home in Mayfield, North Carolina, for over ten years. He’d done his apprenticeship there after graduating mortuary school and had stayed on once he’d gotten his license. The funeral home was busy enough to support him working solely as an embalmer, and he didn’t have to meet with families like Aaron, who was a funeral director.

Aaron had the right look for it. He was handsome, olive skinned with curly black hair and a confident smile. He could offer sympathy with ease and wore a suit well.

Tom… not so much.

He felt like a silly kid playing dress-up when he wore a suit, and they were always too tight no matter how much he tried to lose the stubborn weight he carried around his stomach and thighs. He was only wearing one today because he thought he was going to have to help out on a funeral.

They hadn’t needed him after all, which was fine by Tom. He didn’t do well with the living, and he’d been told more than once that he came off as creepy.

He was quite pale with chin length mousy brown hair, and his big blue eyes gave him an owlish appearance. He thought it made him look startled or afraid, not quite right for instilling confidence in a family that he was going to help them through their difficult time.

It also didn’t help that he was painfully shy.

Fortunately for Tom, his embalming talents usually kept him in the preparation room and away from families. His specialty was restorative art, repairing those who had suffered traumatic deaths so that their families could see them again.

The woman he had just finished was a Mrs. Jan Winslow, who had died on a Friday, and her body was not found until Monday. During that time, her beloved Pomeranian, Mister Doodles, had eaten the entire right half of her face.

“Walk me through it,” Aaron asked eagerly. “Like, tell me how you do it?”

“Well, you can’t do anything really until after you’ve embalmed them.” Tom stood up and stretched, peeling off his gloves and dropping them into the biohazard trash. “Makeup and the wax we use doesn’t stick that great to unembalmed skin. Slides right off if you’re not careful.

“The next step is cauterizing all of that exposed tissue. Embalming helps dry it out some, but you really wanna make sure it doesn’t leak so we use other chemicals, cauterants like Dryene, to help. Once the skin is good and dry, then we start filling.”

“What do you fill it with? I mean, I saw her before. There was a lot… missing.”

“You can use a bunch of different things depending on how big the wound is,” Tom replied, pulling open the prep room door and ushering Aaron out into the hallway.

It was often full of freshly delivered caskets, stretchers, and bags from the linen service, and today was no different. Tom had to carefully navigate around two caskets and a stack of towels, trying to lead Aaron back out to the offices to continue their conversation.

“Old school embalmers would use newspaper or cotton,” Tom went on, grabbing his suit jacket off the rack by the office door. “These days, they actually make compounds called ‘wound filler’ to well, fill wounds. And then—” He paused when he heard a loud slam, glancing back over his shoulder to see what it was.

At the other end of the hall were three doors. The one on the right led into the walk-in cooler, the one directly opposite the office door was an exit that led into the side parking lot, and the one on the left connected the hallway to the garage. The coaches and limos were stored there, and there was a special door in the corner for flower deliveries.

All of the doors for employees required a code to enter except for that one, and it stayed unlocked during business hours for flower deliveries. Someone could get inside the garage to drop off arrangements, but they wouldn’t be able to get into the hallway.

The hallway door to the garage had been left propped open, probably from a casket being delivered earlier, and the sound Tom had heard was the flower delivery door slamming inside the garage. As his heart began to pound in anticipation, he forgot all about Aaron.

HFG might be here.

Hot Flower Guy.

“Hey, where are you going?” Aaron protested.

“Just go to the office!” Tom called back, already halfway back down the hall. “I’ll meet you in there!”

“Okay,” Aaron replied reluctantly. “Then you’ll finish telling me about wound filler stuff?”

“Scout’s honor!” Tom slowed down as he approached the open door, putting his jacket on and trying not to appear too eager as he stepped inside the garage. He broke into a huge smile when he saw it was HFG in all of his bulging glory.

HFG was black, tall, and broad with thick shoulders and an even thicker beard framing his dark brown face, and Tom had daydreamed about running his hands all over his body. They had barely even spoken more than a few words, but Tom had a definite crush.

The funeral home hours didn’t give Tom much freedom and being on call almost every night killed any chance of an active social life. After a nasty breakup followed by a disappointing string of one night stands through dating apps, he’d committed to staying single until the funeral home hired more help.

In the meantime, he’d grown quite fond of HFG’s deliveries. He didn’t even know his name, but he’d been trying to find out for weeks. HFG was always in and out too quickly to ever strike up a conversation, and Tom wanted a name to go with that gorgeous face.

It didn’t matter that HFG was painfully out of his league—unless he happened to be into pasty white brunettes who had never grown out of their baby fat with big chins and an awkward little gap between their front teeth.

Tom had been cruelly teased about his smile since he was a little kid, no doubt the root of his introverted nature, but he was too excited about seeing HFG to care for once. As he stepped into the garage, however, his joy instantly faded.

HFG was there, but he was arguing with the assistant manager of the funeral home, Gerald Ayers.

Gerald was a prick.

No, he was the absolute king of pricks.

Lesson learned. No more by this author. Honestly, I didn’t remember the author’s name as anything I had read before. But I did. And, well… let’s just say my fondness hasn’t grown.

I wanted to like it. Slightly overweight guy who works at a funeral home, black guy who owns and runs his families floral shop. Some BDSM. A little mystery as a plot. But no.

First, the BDSM was so sloppy. I mean, they went to a “house party” were not only was there drinking, but the dungeon master was acting as a bartender. Cypress did not come off as a real Dom, more like a guy playing as a Dom.

And, honestly, I love learning new things in books. But the pages and pages and pages of procedures for embalming someone were just a little too much.

Tom is whiny and needy and it is not attractive at all. Even with Cypress making him do affirmations in the mirror everyday didn’t help. Sorry, but I laughed out loud when Tom was fighting with his ex and called himself a tiger.

I won’t continue. I think you get the gist. Oh, there really should be a suicide trigger warning as well.

2 pieces of eye candy

K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.

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