Release Day Review

Ace in the Hole by Ava Drake: Release Day Review DSP

July 1, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Surveillance, seduction, and extra-dirty politics.

Christian Chatsworth-Brandeis has a problem. A huge one. The US senator he works for has run away with his latest mistress on the eve of a make-or-break fund-raising event, and it’s up to him to cover his boss’s irresponsible tracks.

Stone Jackson, the senator’s new bodyguard, looks enough like the senator that, with some extensive grooming, he might pass for Senator Lacey. Christian and Stone hatch a plan to fool everyone by substituting Stone for the senator, but Miami madness and the incendiary heat between them are throwing obstacles in their way. It’s a race to find the senator and pull off the con of the century before the attraction between them spins completely out of control.

Title: Ace in the Hole
Series: Wild Cards
Author: Ava Drake
Release Date: July 1, 2016
Category: Dreamspun Desires, Contemporary
Pages: 216

denise review

This was my first book by Ava Drake, although if you look on Amazon, you might find it is her only book (at least there). 🙂 But I would not have known that it was her first book. Everyone knows I love the Dreamspun Desires series. Always reminds me of taking two hours to finish the dinner dishes as a teenager, because I was reading with rubber bands around the paperback, then having to move it page to page. Yep, I did it. Don’t judge.

Nevertheless, great job by the author, and Dreampspinner Press to get this book out so well. The plot was fun, sexy and high drama. These two alpha males, Stone and Christian easily melded together to find the right go-ahead for themselves. Both wanting control, yet, willing to give up control to the other. There was a need on the part of the reader to suspend disbelief a bit that Stone was able to pass himself off as a famous senator, but everyone has a doppelganger, don’t they?

The secondary characters were well done as well. The illustrious politican’s wife was great, and I loved how she moved herself forward despite the challenges brought on by her husband. And Christian’s grandmother! If I had one wish, it would be to have had more of his grandmother, at least one more scene (Ava, would you like to write a bonus scene to post on Two Chicks? Hey, I can ask, right?)

The climax was well done, and fairly unexpected, at least the who-done-it part. And I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Read it practically in one sitting.

It sounds like this might be a series, and if so, I will put my hand up and be willing to suffer and beta read book 2. 🙂

Great job by the author, and I can’t wait to read more of what’s ahead.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

4.5-pieces-of-eye-candy3

buy now

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

Everyday History by Alice Archer: Release Day Review

June 29, 2016 by Denise

synopsis Headstrong Ruben Harper has yet to meet an obstacle he can’t convert into a speed bump. He’s used to getting what he wants from girls, but when he develops a fascination for a man, his wooing skills require an upgrade. After months of persuasion, he scores a dinner date with Henry Normand that morphs into an intense weekend. The unexpected depth of their connection scares Ruben into fleeing.

Shy, cautious Henry, Ruben’s former high school history teacher, suspects he needs a wake-up call, and Ruben appears to be his siren. But when Ruben bolts, Henry is left struggling to find closure. Inspired by his conversations with Ruben, Henry begins to write articles about the memories stored in everyday objects. The articles seduce Ruben with details from their weekend together and trigger feelings too strong to avoid. As Henry’s snowballing fame takes him out of town and further out of touch, Ruben stretches to close the gaps that separate them.

Title: Everyday History
Author: Alice Archer
Release Date: June 29, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 290

paula review

What a beautiful story. The idea behind this story was unique and so very interesting. Ruben and Henry are beautiful characters. I really loved how Ruben affected Henry. Ruben and Henry spend an amazing weekend together before Ruben goes off to college and they connected so well. I understand why Ruben did what he did, because he is young and still needs to experience life a little. Henry was such a sweet character. His personality made me fall in love with him. The way he looks at things is so incredible. The author did a brilliant job creating a story that touches the heart. I thought the obstacles the characters had to go through were believable and true to the story. Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. I was so sad when it ended because I wanted more. This was my first time reading this author, but after this I will definitely be seeking out more of their work.

5 pieces of eye candy

5-pieces-eye-candy5

buy now

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

Anthony by J.P. Barnaby: Release Day Review DSP

June 27, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Aaron Downing worshiped his mother. She saved his life. She did everything for him. But Anthony Downing has a different perspective. He sees the woman who tossed him into a basement for eight long years and forgot he existed. When Anthony decides he’s done being invisible, he packs up and heads for Detroit to stay with his Internet friend Jay, but fate intervenes.

Brendan Mears lost everything the day the man with a gun came into his father’s store. Now, he’s tethered to a business he can’t manage and a brother who resents him.

Different in all the ways that matter, Anthony and Brendan struggle to overcome their psychological obstacles, until a crushing betrayal sends them running for cover and each other.

Title: Anthony
Series: A Survivor Story
Author: J.P. Barnaby
Release Date: June 27, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 200

paula review

This is definitely a book you want to read with a box of tissue. Anthony and Brendan were two heartbreakingly beautiful characters. The author did a wonderful job of making me feel their pain and root for them. Anthony was so neglected and felt so invisible in his own home that he was dying to get out. I really like how he kept trying to make things better in his life. He may not have always done it in the best way but he tried. Then he met Brendan. Brendan survived something very traumatic but it wrecked him. However, as the story progresses we see these two slowly but surely begin to help put each other back together. The story was well written and the characters were believable. Start to finish this was an amazing book.

4-pieces-of-eye-candy

buy now

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

A Dandelion for Tulip by R. Cooper: Release Day Review

June 24, 2016 by Denise

David is in love with Tulip, a kind and unusually quiet fairy in his social circle. But everyone knows Tulip doesn’t date humans. David tells himself he is happy to be Tulip’s friend, because he doesn’t believe a fairy could love him and Tulip has never tried to “keep him”—as fairies refer to relationships with humans.

Fairies are drawn to David, describing his great “shine,” but David knows only too well how quickly fairies can forget humans, and thinks he’s destined to be alone. He can’t see his own brilliance or understand how desperately Tulip wants him, even if Tulip believes David can do better.

But exhausted and more than a little tipsy at a Christmas party, David makes his feelings too obvious for Tulip to deny any longer. Because of a past heartbreak involving a human, Tulip is convinced someone as shiny as David could never want a “silly, stupid fairy” in his life. Now, if he wants to keep David, he’ll have to be as brave as his shiny, careful human.

Title: A Dandelion for Tulip
Series: A Being(s) in Love Story
Author: R. Cooper
Release Date: June 24, 2016
Category: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 200

I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t read any Fae books before so it was something new for me to try. The whole thing was just really cute. David and Tulip were very endearing characters. I thought R. Cooper did a good job keeping me interested in the story. While there was some angst it was pretty lighthearted. The interactions between David and Tulip were very sweet. This is the sixth book in this series and I wasn’t lost even though I haven’t read the other five. That being said the book was good enough for me to want to read the previous ones so I will be picking them up. For me there wasn’t a lot of depth in the book, it was simply light and entertaining. R. Cooper did a good job of creating realistic characters(as realistic as you can get with a fairy in the story) that you could connect with.

4 pieces of eye candy

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

Absinthe of Malice by Rhys Ford: Release Day Review DSP

June 22, 2016 by Denise

We’re getting the band back together.

Those six words send a chill down Miki St. John’s spine, especially when they’re spoken with a nearly religious fervor by his brother-in-all-but-blood, Damien Mitchell. However, those words were nothing compared to what Damien says next.

And we’re going on tour.

When Crossroads Gin hits the road, Damien hopes it will draw them closer together. There’s something magical about being on tour, especially when traveling in a van with no roadies, managers, or lovers to act as a buffer. The band is already close, but Damien knows they can be more—brothers of sorts, bound not only by familial ties but by their intense love for music.

As they travel from gig to gig, the band is haunted by past mistakes and personal demons, but they forge on. For Miki, Damie, Forest, and Rafe, the stage is where they all truly come alive, and the music they play is as important to them as the air they breathe.

But those demons and troubles won’t leave them alone, and with every mile under their belts, the band faces its greatest challenge—overcoming their deepest flaws and not killing one another along the way.

Title: Absinthe of Malice
Series: Sinners Series: Book Five
Author: Rhys Ford
Release Date: June 22, 2016
Category: Mystery/Suspense
Pages: 200

I was so happy to get more the all the guys in this one. I think Rhys did a wonderful job showing us the beginning of what is sure to be an amazing band. I liked that we got to see this start from all four band members perspectives. And of course if wouldn’t be a Rhys Ford book it there wasn’t a little bit of mystery and mayhem. Whether it be personality clashes between band members, or crazy people trying to hurt the band.

One part of the book in particular made me cheer and smile(you’ll know when you read it). Miki, Damon, and Rafe all had ghosts to face in this book. Forrest didn’t really have anything to face, other than missing Conner. Miki had a breakthrough moment that made my heart smile, and gave me hope for him and his happiness. Rhys did a wonderful job showing us Crossroads Gin’s growing pains. I like that it isn’t all easy-peasy at the beginning, it makes it feel more real. The end of the book got to me though, Rhys as she sometimes does, leaves us with questions until the next book.

5 pieces of eye candy

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

Practice Makes Perfect by Jay Northcote: Release Day Review and Excerpt

June 22, 2016 by Denise

Getting experience with the guy next door seems like a great idea—until the lines blur.

Dev, a geeky first year physics student, has zero sexual experience and he’s determined to change that ASAP. After a bad time in halls of residence, he’s starting the summer term with different housemates and a new plan of action.

Ewan lives in the house next door to Dev. He’s young, free and single, and isn’t looking to change that anytime soon. When awkward circumstances throw them together, Ewan offers to help Dev out in the bedroom in return for maths tutoring, and Dev jumps at the chance.

They work their way through Dev’s sex-to-do list, but what starts as a perfect no-strings arrangement gets more complicated as their feelings for each other begin to grow. If they’re going to turn their lessons in lovemaking into something more permanent, they need to work out how they feel about each other—before they get to the end of Dev’s list.

Title: Practice Makes Perfect

Author: Jay Northcote

Publisher: Jaybird Press (self published)

Length: 54,000 words

Genre: Contemporary gay romance

Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh

Release Date: Wednesday 22nd June 2016

Series info: #3 in the Housemates Series but it may be read as a standalone

Sitting on his bed, Dev yawned, his full stomach making him sleepy. He stared at his phone as he contemplated calling home but decided he couldn’t face it tonight. He loved his mum, but she did tend to bang on. Once she got him on the line, she’d end up talking for ages and asking him a million questions he was too tired to answer. Instead, he sent his mum a quick text.

All moved in, everything’s good. I’m shattered now so I’m going to have an early night. I’ll call you tomorrow.

She replied within seconds as though she’d been waiting for him to call.

Okay sweetie, glad you’re settled. Sleep well xxx

He picked up his notepad and crossed off phone home. Texting counted. He also crossed off everything else on his list for today. That was Saturday done.

Dev set his notepad aside, opened his laptop, and pulled up his lists app. He liked his notepad for day-to-day organisation; it gave him a certain satisfaction to cross out the things he’d done and to get to the end of the day with all the tasks completed. But for longer-term planning, he kept his lists on his Mac, synced to his phone.

For the first time in six months, Dev could breathe again. Finally he had a safe place where he could get back on track and look to the future. He began to type.

Things To Do This Term

Make some friends

Learn to cook

Research sex stuff

Join Grindr

Get some experience

Find a boyfriend

He stared at the words on the screen and sighed. That seemed like a lot of things to aim for. But it was good to have goals, right? Jez and Mac seemed really nice, so hopefully Dev was already on his way to achieving the first objective. And that bloke Ewan… Dev’s mind conjured up the image of the flame-haired hunk who lived next door. Ewan had been friendly.

Maybe there was potential there too.

I absolutely adore the Housemates series by Jay Northcote. When I saw the announcement of Practice Makes Perfect, I seriously started bouncing around like a kid in the month of December. I wanted it. Right. Flipping. Now.

Dev is just a bit obsessed with his lists. I’m pretty sure he has a bullet point on his list to make a list, because otherwise he doesn’t get the same sense of satisfaction. There were times this obsession got a bit tiring, but it was still cute.

After seeing one of the worst ever Grindr profiles, Ewan jumps in to basically save Dev. I’m not typically a fan of this motivation, but it was cute. It worked. And I loved how Ewan helped Dev get the experience he wanted without trying to rush him into anything. Again, should’ve been awkward, but it wasn’t.

Overall, Practice Makes Perfect was a great weekend afternoon read. It wasn’t overly angsty, it wasn’t so steamy you’d blush if you read it at the pool or beach. It was just a good, fun read.

4 pieces of eye candy

Amazon

Goodreads link

meet the author

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.

She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.