Release Day Review

Unlikely Hero by Sean Michael: Exclusive Guest Post, Release Day Review with Giveaway

November 21, 2017 by Denise

When his three-year-old daughter is kidnapped, Eric Wilson doesn’t have many options, and time is running out. With nowhere else to turn, he reaches out to his ex, influential businessman Brock Vencenza, whose money and contacts might be able to save Josie.

Brock never got over Eric’s loss, and he’s more than willing to help when Eric needs him most. Together with law enforcement and private security, they embark on a twisting investigation to find the little girl—and who wants to hurt her and destroy both men in the process. Under the circumstances, confessing he still has feelings for Eric would be inappropriate, but Brock can’t deny what’s in his heart. He doesn’t know if their love can be rekindled or if he can even protect Eric and Josie. But one thing is certain: Brock’s determined to be the hero in reality that he is in Eric’s eyes.

Title: Unlikely Hero
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: November 20, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 210

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Dreamspinner Press

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Thank you very much for hosting me today!

With it being Thanksgiving, I’m thinking about how Eric and Brock would celebrate the holiday and I’m pretty sure they would approach things from very different angles.

Eric would plan ahead. He’d make up menus for the day before Thanksgiving, then Thanksgiving itself and he’d even make plans for what to do with the leftovers. He’d find recipes and by the time Thanksgiving week would arrive he’d have everything he could buy ahead bought would be purchased and he’d have all his lists made up – no doubt attached to the fridge with magnets.

Brock on the other hand would want to lavish Eric and Josie with everything possible, but rather than planning out and doing everything himself, he’d order everything to be made and delivered by a private chef.

Both men would consider what they’d done a way to show their love for their family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers, and happy November to everyone else.

Sean Michael

smut fixes everything

Eric’s daughter is kidnapped from her daycare and left a ransom note on his car. Im not sure when the daycare noticed her missing, as Eric just picked her up and noticed she was gone, or what… but instead of calling the police, he calls Brock…his ex from nine years ago. Now, I’m not sure what Brock does, but he seems to have infinite money and “kidnapping” experts on his payroll, so…they jumped in to try to get Eric’s daughter Josie back.

Now, nothing in the beginning of this story goes by protocol at all. It’s hands down ridiculous! The handling of the kidnapping, the police, taking Josie to the hospital, Brock just being the one in charge of Josie, even though he’s not family…him taking her out of her room and out of the hospital and to other buildings…You can’t do that! Even if he was her parent, he still couldn’t do that! You can’t just take an admitted baby out of her room and walk to another building with her lol that’s insane! Then his lawyer just checked her out of the children’s hospital without being seen again or anything with a man that wasn’t her guardian? I mean… he is her guardian, but nobody knew that yet. And that was another ridiculous thing…he was named guardian of her in case anything were to ever happen to Eric, but he and Brock hadn’t been together for near on a decade…. Could you imagine?? What if something had happened to him after a decade later and then someone showed up on his doorstep with a baby and was like SURRISE! You’re her guardian! …..all that part was just so unbelievable.

Now, if you’re like me though, and don’t care about the randomness and unlikelihood of some plot points…I can overlook a lot. I enjoy the fluffiness and the endearments, although baby and Eric’s constant thinking Brock is his “hero”…But I like a good family book, with hot guys and their baby’s. It made it somewhat redeemable. The dialogue was also kind of cheesy, lots of “lover’s” and again, the repetitive “baby’s”

Now, the people who kidnapped Josie, was…Okay, just know that it isn’t what it seems, because the first reason, the initial thought of why, was so extra, that I was like…seriously??? But putting all the pieces together later, makes more sense. Not a lot of sense, cuz the person behind it is a serious whack job, but I guess it’s more believable than the initial thought.

I also really wish we’d have found out what happened to Gordon’s partner Max. They done so much for them and I hated to think that Max got in any trouble at all for protecting them and doing his job. I know he cant get in that much trouble since he was there at the end, but I wanted to know he was okay.

And if you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for a happy ending, and this one of course had that. I loved that they ended up happy and healthy and together. Although the story was at times over the top and a little believable, it was still enjoyable.

3 pieces of eye candy from me.

Best-selling author Sean Michael is a maple leaf–loving Canadian who spends hours hiding out in used book stores. With far more ideas than time, Sean keeps several documents open at all times. From romance to fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi, Sean is limited only by the need for sleep—and the periodic Beaver Tail.

Sean fantasizes about one day retiring on a secluded island populated entirely by horseshoe crabs after inventing a brain-to-computer dictation system. Until then, Sean will continue to write the old-fashioned way.

Sean Michael on the web:

WEBSITE: http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

BLOG: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites/

TWITTER: seanmichael09

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/seanmichaelpics/

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Ice, Snow, and Mistletoe by Jocelynn Drake: Release Day Review

November 21, 2017 by Denise

John Sullivan is escaping to Denver. Even with a massive snow storm on his heels, he plans to hide away in his cabin in the mountains and ignore Christmas. It’ll be just him and a bottle of whiskey until the new year when he must return to Cincinnati for his best friend’s wedding.

At least, that’s the plan until he runs into Oz at the airport.

Oz … the man who should have been just a fling. The man who was fun and laughs but quickly turned into so much more before he completely kicked John out of his life.

Oz who desperately needs his help…

John is ready to leave Oz stranded at the Denver airport in the coming blizzard, but he finds himself possibly staring down at the reason Oz pushed him away, and John can’t say no.

Second chances don’t come around often, but John is willing to fight for one with Oz.

Amazon

I loved last year’s Christmas novella by Jocelynn Drake, Walking on Thin Ice, the first in this series (well, I don’t know if its a series or not, but its one of two, so there you go) and was super glad to get to read this one as well. It was awesome to see more than a glimpse at Spenser and Evan’s HEA, as we watched Oz and John try to navigate to their own.

First, I will say, I was not quite sure I fully bought Oz’s reasoning for leaving John, except that when you saw what their relationship had been like, it made it more realistic. They both felt something for each other during their relationship five years prior, but communication (as can often happen with two men) was lacking, so neither felt they could say something. So, when Oz ended it, although it was hard for me to understand why he wouldn’t say a word, I could see how that might have been difficult for him to say to someone who he’d shared a connection with, but not felt close enough to tell the tough stuff to.

Now, you couldn’t help but love Lizzy. She was at that age that made the reader enjoy every second, as John found out so quickly. He just couldn’t turn that sweet girl away, despite the fact that he was still so hurt by Oz’s rejection. Even a temper tantrum (which I love that the author wrote in, because what 5 year old DOESN’T have a temper tantrum, especially at Christmas) wasn’t enough to sway John away from loving and working towards that family he had dreamed of.

John honestly had a heart of gold. To be as hurt as he was, and still take in two people over the holidays, knowing his own secret would likely be outed took a lot of courage. He knew that he would likely be hurt again once the storm ended and life went back to normal, but he still put his heart on the line, and let them both in. Then after being hurt once again, he took another chance. His heart was so big, and he was so ready for love, it had me bawling on the couch more than once!

Jocelynn Drake can write some hot and heavy sex scenes, and wow, she didn’t disappoint! These two men smoked up my kindle, and I was happy to go back and read it again. 😉

Another solid winner by Jocelynn, and I hope that she finds a way to continue this series! Whatever that looks like for her. 🙂

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Okay, so I LOVED the Unbreakable Bonds series and Ward Security spin off, so I just knew I’d love this one. Hot dads with cute kids are my weakness!

In this one, we have Oz, who’d met John on his way out for an obligated date to get his friend off his back but got distracted by the mans laugh after passing him and his friend on the street. He followed him into a bar and that started Oz’s exploration into men….. However, after a few months of “fun” that was more serious than either let on, Oz had a surprise pop up, that left him scrambling and afraid and he hurt John pretty bad in the process. So bad in fact, I was surprised he was so callous, I didn’t think he was like that. I understand where he was coming from but he could’ve handled it a LOT better and I wish he had because John is so great, I hated that he got hurt.

Cut to, five years, at an airport where Oz was flying to pick up his daughter from her terrible mother’s house over the holidays, he runs into John again, catching them both off guard and bringing back old hurts and old feelings. Especially since a snow storm keeps them stranded in Denver, where John is spending the holiday’s alone.

I know how it had to cost John to invite them to spend the holiday’s with him and again, my heart broke for him. He was so patient and understanding and ….sigh…. he was pretty perfect, I wanted to crap slap Oz a few times, even if I did kind of see where his reservations came from…. Not enough to keep hurting John though. I was team John the whole time. Team John and Team Lizzy both.

Over the course of their stay, things so good, but all good things come to an end, right?.. John was constantly fighting for Oz and Lizzy, but Oz needed to be the one to fight for something. So, as hard as it was for John to do, he had to let go….

All’s well that ended well though, with some help from John’s friend Spencer, Oz comes through when he needs to and puts my fragile, broken heart back together again, just like I needed him to.

This was a perfect little Christmas read and now I gotta go back and read Spencer and Evan’s story because how had I missed that??

5 pieces of eye candy from me!

Snowcroft Restoration by Christi Snow: Release Day Review with Giveaway

November 15, 2017 by Denise

Two years ago, Law Wyman went undercover for an FBI investigation that went sideways. It cost him both the love of his life and his sanity. The nightmare still haunts him, and so does some unfinished business…Ian Mayne, the son of the man who ruined his life.

Two years ago, Ian had to face the truth about how his father spent a lifetime torturing and trafficking LGBTQ teens. Ever since, Ian has done everything he can to make up for his dead father’s many sins through his law enforcement job. Too many paid in horrific, horrible ways at his father’s hands while Ian kept the truth about his own sexuality hidden.

Law is doing all he can to save Ian, but Ian doesn’t necessarily want to be saved.

Two men…both horrifically haunted by what happened. Is it possible they can find healing together? Only if they have the courage to face their demons and each other…

Trigger Warning: This is a hot story about two men who have both survived past abuse.

All the details…
Title: Snowcroft Restoration
Series: Book #4 in the Snowcroft Men series
Genre: male/male romantic suspense
Book length: ~94,268 words
Release date: November 15, 2017

1. Snowcroft Lost

2. Snowcroft Safehouse

3. Intertwined Hearts

4. Snowcroft Restoration

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Everywhere else

Goodreads

I think every reader goes through phases in their reading. You may go through a stretch where all you want are sweet stories, with puppies, ice cream and rainbows. Other times you want some kink, and you read everything you can get your hands on. Lately, I have been on a mystery/suspense kick (Thanks C.S. Poe!), and anything in this sub-genre has been voraciously read by this reviewer. And then you add in that Christi Snow wrote it, well, you didn’t need to ask me twice. This even though I knew at some point I would be curled in a fetal position on the couch, freezing to death cause I didn’t want to leave to get a blanket. (It’s happened more than once…). I snatched up Snowcroft Lost the very first day it came out, and have loved Christi’s stuff ever since. Waiting for Law’s book was a little bit of torture for me.

Law had been through so much, it was tough to read again just how much he had been through. He definitely needed some time to heal, learn to deal with his PTSD and grief, and how to recover mentally and physically from the torture and loss he endured for week’s as a result of his FBI undercover operation. The man he had loved had given his own life to save Law’s. That is a sacrifice that is beyond loving, and yet can leave survivor’s guilt. Taking the time he needed, and not rushing himself back to work, or whatever his next steps would be, allowed him to work through as much as he could with his therapist. However, even from the beginning of the book, you could see that he was ready to come back to the world of the living, to step into what would be his new life.

Ian, meanwhile, had been through many similar situations as Law, from his father’s extreme punishments to finally finding out what his father truly did with the camp that he kept in Snowcroft. He had his own form of PTSD, and had managed to work through most of it on his own. Ian came through the torture and the pain of growing up with his horrific father with such a positive personality. He spent his entire life trying to make up for what his father did, by trying to save his friend, working for the Forestry Service, even his choices with regards to the camp he inherited.

These two men didn’t just work on solving the case that brought them together in the first place, but really tried to connect with each other to find what they needed to make their relationship work. Even when the unthinkable would happen (and it did several times-one of those times ended with me in that fetal position spoken of previously), rather than hiding, or running away, they connected back to their bonds and found what they needed to move forward.

This author knows how to write suspense so well. There were a few times in the book that I swore I knew what was going to happen next…until it happened, and I looked up from kindle wondering where that came from, why didn’t I see it? Then two chapters later, something else happens, and I am shocked once more. She weaves in the mystery, some guns, maybe a bomb or two throughout this series, and you never quite know what to expect. As a reader, that is exactly what I want. I want to walk in knowing I am going to have a great story, and have no freaking idea where it will lead to. Small spoiler...what she did with the house…the visuals I had…that is some fantastic writing to get me there, cause houses are not supposed to do that-ever. (That’s all I’m saying…you will know what I mean when you read this book).

There’s definitely some hotness with these two, although very carefully written considering the traumas Law been through. So well done here, too. The reader got some smoking hot scenes, yet intertwined with the caring and the necessity to acknowledge how difficult this was for Law. It helped to bring Law and Ian closer, even as they had to use some additional therapy options to find a way to not let each other go. Great research on the part of the author.

Few characters deserved a happy ending more than these two men, and I am so glad I finally got to read it. And now…now I am looking forward to seeing what Christi does with _ and _ (I can’t tell you, but when you read it, you will know who…), because how do you redeem a character when you have seen them _ someone’s _ with a _. 😉

Without question another 5 pieces of eye candy read for me, from the amazing Christi Snow. How she has time to write with all her reading, I will never know, but I am thankful she does! Bring on Snowcroft Book 5!!!!

TCO is giving away an ebook of Christi’s (even Snowcroft Restoration), in honor of her release day. Just respond with which of her books is my (Denise’s) favorite. (pppsssstttt…it’s a trick question, because I love all her books and I couldn’t possibly pick one). Anyway, name any one of them, and you’re entered. 🙂

Wrapped With Love by Beth Bolden: Release Day Review, Blitz and Excerpt

November 14, 2017 by Denise

WRAPPED WITH LOVE

A FIVE POINTS NOVEL

BETH BOLDEN

M/M ROMACE

RELEASE DATE: 11.14.17

NFL player Jordan Christensen walks into Reed Ryan’s restaurant without a reservation. It isn’t the most serendipitous of meet-cute’s and they certainly aren’t the likeliest of romances, but over venison steaks and crème brûlée, they fall in love anyway.

Flash forward two years . . .

Jordan isn’t a football player anymore.

Reed sold his restaurant.

But even more drastically, they’ve lost each other.

When Reed moves to Los Angeles take a new job, he doesn’t realize Jordan now works at the same company. But Jordan definitely realizes how precious the second chance fate has bestowed on them is. He’s determined to make up for everything that fell apart the first time around, and it turns out he’s not the only one scheming to right old wrongs.

Starting a new career is always difficult but sharing office space—and big projects—with an old lover is particularly rough. Between impromptu Secret Santa exchanges, Christmas light viewings, and more tacos than even Reed can eat, the two former lovers have an eventful holiday season to navigate.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I hadn’t read anything by this author before, but usually if there is something sports related with it, I am all in (interestingly that is exactly how I stumbled upon the m/m genre in the first place), so I jumped on this one. Adding in a second chance romance, one of my favorite tropes to read, and it was definitely going to be mine to review.

Although I could tell fairly quickly into the story that it was part of a series, the author did a good job of keeping it a stand-alone, with other characters dropping in, or referencing past events with explanation. The reader could develop connections with the previous characters despite not having spent any time with them. (There is one character in particular-I won’t name names-who was a sweet matchmaker with a bit of a snarky side, I loved him!).

However, I will say I was confused about the relationship with the MC’s. I was never quite sure, throughout the book, exactly WHY they broke up. I found myself wondering when the “big reveal” as to the real reason was going to happen, and it never quite felt like I got it. It was clear they loved each other, and then they moved to LA once Jordan was traded from Chicago to Los Angeles. Then it is a bit murky for me. It seemed they had reasons, yet didn’t quite have enough of them to cause two men who were so much in love to suddenly just break up. Reed just left, and Jordan just let him, and they didn’t speak again until Reed turns up at a job where Jordan works (I still am unclear how Jordan was quite qualified to be a writer for a popular show). It doesn’t take long for them to begin to work their way back

This story takes the reader between their past relationship, and their current, and back again, so the reader can see how one thing caused another (the story about the Harry Potter scarf was awesome!). This helped me to understand some of where these men were coming from. In the end, though, I still felt like it was more that the men gave up on each other the first time, and wondered how they wouldn’t the second time.

I did enjoy the Secret Santa storyline-and the surprise around it, that I never saw coming-and it isn’t what you think!

In the end, 3 pieces of eye candy. I enjoyed it, and would like to read a full book from this author, as I did like her writing style as well.

improbable love

“So,” Rory continued, still shoving hummus into his face at an alarming rate, “how did you two meet? Because I gotta say, Reed barely sticks his head out of the kitchen for more than five minutes at a time.”

“We actually met at Garnet,” Jordan said, all gooey affection, like the first night they’d met, Reed hadn’t accidentally insulted him.

“Oh?” Rory asked, all creamy innocence because he knew how much Reed hated being summoned to the dining room.

“It’s actually really embarrassing. My agent knew how much I’d been wanting to visit Garnet, and just barged in, no reservation. And Reed,” Jordan glanced over, “was kind enough to give us the private dining room. Picked our menu for us and everything. I had to meet him, after all that trouble he went to.”

Rory burst out laughing and Reed shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“You realize why he actually came out of the kitchen, right? Why he picked your menu?”

Jordan shook his head, a baffled expression on his handsome face.

Rory leaned forward. “Let me educate you about the ego of a chef, Christensen. Reed didn’t give you his best table and his best food out of the kindness of his heart. He did it because he wanted to put you in your place with his awesomeness.”

“I’m trying to remember why I invited you out,” Reed interrupted before Rory’s education could continue. But Jordan, intrigued, ignored him, and Rory was never going to stop now that he’d started. Reed flopped back in his chair, somewhat resigned to the inevitable embarrassment to come.

“Reed doesn’t have an ego.”

Rory’s head actually whipped back as he cackled loudly. “Oh, honey. All chefs do, at least the best ones. It’s how we get to the top. We’re insufferably certain of our own perfection. At least in the kitchen, anyway. Garnet is Reed’s castle, and he’s the king.”

Jordan turned to Reed, who could only hold his breath and pray that Rory’s comments hadn’t completely changed his opinion.

“Is that true?” he asked.

“I mean, you can’t be that surprised,” Reed said awkwardly. “Especially after what I said when we met.”

“I thought you were trying to hit on me!” Jordan exclaimed in mock outrage.

Reed flushed.

“I hate to say it,” Rory said, which was a complete lie because he looked like he was enjoying every second of this, “but Reed doesn’t have that kind of game.”

“So, how did you two meet?” Jordan asked, and Reed wasn’t dumb enough not to know he was changing the subject. He told himself it would be okay. Jordan couldn’t be angry about how they’d met, so many months later.

“A butchering class,” Reed said.

“No, not even close,” Rory said, taking another drink from his beer. “You aren’t going to get off this easy, Reed.”

Reed made a disgruntled sound. Of course Rory felt obligated to tell the whole story.

“Yes, it was a butchering class,” Rory said, gesturing with the bottle in his hand. “And you know, I’m formally trained. I mostly took it for fun. But here’s Reed, a newbie who’s read at least fifteen books on his own at this point. He spent at least half the class telling the instructor everything he was doing wrong.”

Reed couldn’t help but frown. Jordan glanced over, ever-attuned to Reed, and reached under the table to squeeze his knee.

“Was the instructor wrong?” Jordan asked loyally, even though if he knew Reed at all, he already knew the answer to his question.

Rory laughed and nodded. “Oh, he was insanely wrong. The rest of us were just ready to write this whole class off as a bad afternoon and go have some drinks later and laugh about it, but Reed was burning with the injustice of wasting an afternoon being taught what he knew was the wrong thing.”

“So he tried to teach the class.” Jordan glanced over, eyes brimming with affection. As if this story, which definitely wasn’t one of the greatest moments of Reed’s life, actually endeared him further.

“It was a power struggle, from beginning to end, but,” Rory said, tipping the bottle in a mock toast Reed’s direction, “you already know who came out on top.”

“He was wrong,” Reed felt justified in adding again.

Jordan’s hand settled warm and firm back on Reed’s knee. Reed jumped, nearly upsetting his own beer. “I wouldn’t expect any less, sweetheart,” he said quietly.

Beth Bolden lives in Portland, Oregon with her supportive husband and their beloved cat. She wholly believes in Keeping Portland Weird, but wishes she didn’t have to make the yearly pilgrimage up to Seattle to watch her Boston Red Sox play baseball. She’s a fan of fandoms, and spends too much of her free time on tumblr.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published three novels and two short stories, with her next novel, The Rainbow Clause, releasing in April 2017.

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Website: www.bethbolden.com

Snowflakes & Cinnamon Buns by Claire Castle: Exclusive Excerpt and Pre-Release Day Review

November 12, 2017 by Denise

Cameron Pearce loves to work hard and play hard. Living in New York City, means lots of men and lots of variety. He isn’t looking for love.

When he goes to his small hometown Dickensville for Christmas, food, friends, family and seeing his best friend Levi are what’s on the agenda. He also hopes for some friends-with-benefits enjoyment.

Levi Jones owns and runs his own café in Dickensville. He loves the Christmas season and all that comes with it. Decorating, baking, and snow among other things. Another perk is when Cameron visits home and he gets him all to himself.

What will happen when true feelings are revealed and everything is put on the line. Will their friendship survive?

Can best friends go from hooking up to a real relationship? Do they even want to?

This book contains delicious cinnamon buns, a cute westie and sexy hot men to warm up your holidays.

As I lay in bed the next morning after an incredible night of hot sex, I thought how amazing it was to be so relaxed and in tune with someone. To know their body and what they wanted and needed and for them to know the same about me. We were incredible together. I was almost sad that our time was nearly over, though I always knew it would come to an end. It was for the best. Commitment involved risk and I was very risk averse. To put your love and devotion into someone and have them up and leave you, would be devastating. I preferred to know what was going on. Know where I stood. Not very romantic, for sure, but that was the way I had always been.
I peeked out the curtain as my musing continued and saw snow. I sprang out of bed and ran to find Levi. I got excited for snow, like a big kid. So sue me. Belatedly, I realized I was still naked. I grabbed one of Levi’s hoodies, boots, and my pajama pants and opened the front door. Wow, it had snowed again overnight. Quite a bit too. It made everything look more beautiful. I raced down the path and threw snow up in the air. I heard movement behind me and knew it must be Levi. He started to say something when I threw a snowball at him. Uh oh, he had no shirt on. That must be cold as fuck.
His nipples looked like they could cut glass. I had no idea what the saying was about the cold and shrinkage or not but I stared at his bulge as his sleep pants tented.
“You will pay for this.” He threw a snowball at me and ran down the front steps. He had been smart and bundled up in a jacket. Rory sprung around beside him, bounding through the blanket of white, kicking up the snow as he went. Levi ran behind a tree, but I still tried taking aim. The ball hit the side of the tree. Damn. As I crept closer, Levi snuck around the back somehow and shoved a big ball of snow down my pants.
“Oh my gawd, you bastard!” My teeth chattered. I ran and grabbed him and pulled him down into the snow. We were both rolling around and he ended up on top of me. “You are way too heavy,” I joked as I reached up and kissed his nose.
“Hey that’s my line.” He jumped up to run in the house and Rory followed him.
Laughing, I ran in after him. Rory looked up at me as if I was a crazy man and Levi had about the same look on his face. “What, it was fun, admit it!” I said, grinning through the shiver that rolled through my body.
“You are crazy,” he said. “I think it’s cute, your love of the snow.”
“I know, ” I said, sauntering away.
“Toast” he asked?
“No cinnamon buns this morning?”
He laughed before telling me to get some warm dry clothes on, and then said he would make coffee. “Maybe then you won’t be so demanding.”
“Me, demanding? Never.”

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

A very short little Christmas read…

Cameron is coming home for the holiday’s and he needs the break from his “work hard, play hard” type of lifestyle… We don’t see that, it’s just kind of self-proclaimed. When he gets back into town, he stops by at his childhood friend Levi’s house first…. They have a kind of FWB relationship when he comes to town…. It’s hot, if a little cheesy…but it seems to work for them. Cameron spends the whole holiday with Levi, doing things together and catching up, like friends do.

However, I’m kind of on the fence about this one because while I do like friends to lovers and second chancers… I thought Cameron was extremely selfish. Nobody is that clueless, he had to have known that Levi had feelings for him, but for a second, lets say he didn’t know… he was possessive and jealous when he thought someone else was flirting with Levi, he was really boyfriend-y, acting as if they were together, even AFTER Levi told him that he loved him. He might’ve been pulling away in his head, but he wasn’t at all while they were together…. Cuddling and kissing him the way it was explained. I mean, all the while, knowing he was going to up and leave. How selfish is that?!!!

Then….he stays away for A YEAR…. Not a couple weeks while he gets himself together, not a couple months, realizing how much he misses and loves Levi back, nope…. A whole entire year!!! And Levi, pshhh. Make him work for it, man… when he does come back ….AFTER A YEAR… he’s all arms wide open and forgiving, like he didn’t just leave you high and dry, no contact for THE LAST YEAR!

Am I the only one with a problem with alla that??? I mean before they were FWB, they were supposed to at least be friends, best friends actually…. But you don’t have any contact with him for a year after he tells you how he feels about you? That’s cool….

Anyway, alls well that ends well I guess… it does have a HEA ending that too, is cheesy but cute. I just can’t get over all the stuff in the middle.

3 pieces of eye candy from me.

Claire Castle grew up surrounded by books. She has loved reading for her whole life. Her true love is romance and HEAs. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found wearing comfortable leggings, drinking mocha and petting her west highland terrier. She loves collecting awesome mugs and paperbacks of her favorite stories.

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Twitter: @CCastleAuthor

Email: Clairecastle_author@yahoo.com

Fortune’s Slings and Cupid’s Arrows by Ari McKay: Exclusive Guest Post, Release Day Review with Giveaway

November 7, 2017 by Denise

Successful attorneys Dane Coulter and Cal Monroe are rivals in the courtroom and friends behind the scenes. But can they be more?

Cal’s always carried a torch for Dane, but Dane is so deep in the closet, he can’t even admit that he might be gay. His father, a raging homophobe who rules the family with an iron fist, forces Dane into an engagement—to a woman. Dane goes along with it to keep the peace and protect his mother, but for Cal, it’s the last straw.

He can’t let Dane make a mistake that could ruin the rest of his life, and he only knows one surefire way to make Dane admit what’s in his heart. But confessing his feelings to his friend could backfire, driving a wedge between them. And even then, the choice must be Dane’s—to live the life his father wants, or to give up everything he has for a chance at happiness in Cal’s arms.

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Greetings, everyone! Ari here, the red-haired half of Ari McKay. I’d like to thank Two Chicks Obsessed for having me here on the blog today to promote our re-release of Fortune’s Slings and Cupid’s Arrows, book two in the Lawyers in Love trilogy!

Even though this is a re-release, we wanted to bring attention to the story because we have rewritten it almost completely from its original form. We were never completely satisfied with the original story, but it took some time and distance — as well as some growth as writers — for us to be able to put our fingers on exactly what it was that didn’t sit right with us. It’s always interesting as a writer to look back at early works and see how we’ve changed and evolved over time. When Dreamspinner offered us the chance to revisit our Lawyers in Love stories, it seemed like fate was stepping in to tell us that we needed to give Cal and Dane’s story new life, to fix what we’d sensed was wrong but had never been able to fully identify. We tossed around several ideas, but it was McKay who was able to finally pinpoint the moment in the story where things started to go wrong. It turns out that when we shifted one of the first scenes from Cal’s POV to Dane’s, everything just sort of fell into place the way it should have from the first.

At it’s heart, this is a story about lawyer Dane Coulter finding the strength to break free of the mold his father has forced him into and begin to live life on his own terms. But it’s also about Cal Monroe, who is in love with Dane, and the strength Cal has to find within himself to take a step back and give Dane room grow at his own pace. Cal recognizes that in his own way he’s just as strong willed as Dane’s father, and he’s aware that Dane might feel that he’s stepping out of his father’s shadow and into Cal’s. When you love someone, doing the thing that is right and best for them is easy when it’s also what you want to do; it says a lot about a person, I think, if they can do what’s right for the person they love, even if they know they might end up with a broken heart in the end.

I don’t want to give away too much, especially since the story is a novella rather than a novel, but both McKay and I hope that if you like stories about someone breaking free of the bonds of obligation and making their own path, you’ll find Dane and Cal’s journey to be worth your time.

The premise for Fortune’s Slings and Cupid’s Arrows roped me in. Dane’s the rich kid whose daddy controls his life. Cal’s the man who’s in love with him, determined to help keep Dane from making a huge mistake.

Now, before I get into everything, let me say this was an enjoyable book. There was nothing that made me think about putting it down. Unfortunately, I did wind up eye rolling a fair bit. The scenario felt forced. The dialogue, at times, too over the top to be believed.

But, Cal did what he set out to do. Not because he waged war against Dane’s dad (which he did), but because Dane realized he couldn’t go through with a marriage out of obligation.

At this point, I still would’ve given the book 3.5 pieces of candy. But then…

The whole book felt like this huge build up, like there should’ve been a massive conflict with dear old dad. But it never happened. Once Dane goes after what he wants, we jump forward in time and they all live happily ever after.

I suppose, that’s the whole point of reading a romance, but in the end, I had more questions than answers. I was left wanting more, not because I was so in love with Dane and Cal, but because the story felt unfinished.

3 pieces of candy

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.

Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

Website: http://arimckay.wordpress.com

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ari-Mckay/266185570179748

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ari.mckay.7

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriMcKay1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6153630.Ari_McKay

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