Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Release Day Review

SIR by N.R. Walker: New Release Review

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Founded over four hundred years ago, Sanctus Infinitus Redemptio is a private and very elite society where dominance and submission are revered. Steeped in tradition and excellence, every Dominant and every submissive, and their pairing, is selected with great care.

When Hunter Vargo is brought into the Sanctus, his need for strict dominance sees him paired with the wrong Master. But only a short time later, mistreated and his trust broken, he’s recalled, his collar removed. The Grand Master knows it will take a special kind of Dominant to restore the sub’s faith and trust.

Sig Bruckner’s world is perfect. He has a great job, he has high standing within the Sanctus, and he has Levin, the very best submissive. When he’s asked to take on a second sub, a submissive with issues and a rule not to touch him, Sig’s world is turned upside down.

When his Dominance, his patience, and self-control are tested, and when Sig’s relationship with both subs is pushed past his limits, everything begins to unravel. Yet Sig knows every good Dom learns from their subs, and he’s no exception. He might not be able to fix everything on his own, but perhaps the three of them together can.

Sig Bruckner is about to learn who’s really in control.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

One thing you can definitely say about N.R. Walker, she never writes the same story twice. Which is amazing. All of her books are unique to her (hello, androids?) and I’ve yet to find one I didn’t like. So when I saw she was writing a BDSM book? Sign me up.

But this is no ordinary BDSM book, of course. Instead, this is a whole society built around BDSM that lives among non-society members, but members outnumber non by quite a bit. They are, of course, completely secret.

The society places Doms and subs together. They pride themselves on their match ups. But this one went wrong with hard limits crossed and trust destroyed. So they ask the “nice” Dom to take on this sub, even though the Dom already has one sub and with the stipulation that it is a week trial and no sexual touching.

Well ok then.

What follows is a Dom and sub welcoming a new sub into their homes and lives. And even though they aren’t to have sexual contact, the sex isn’t lacking. It is just a little more creative. They are open and mostly honest with each other, Hunter thriving as a sub, but the fact that it is a “trial basis” looms over them.

The story flowed really nicely with no “filler”. Even though the entire book happens in a week, it didn’t feel stuffed full of information or rushed at all. I really loved watching these 3 men learn to be together as a unit.

It is definitely BDSM lite, which is kind of obvious from the beginning with Sig being called the nice Dom. But it is also explained how everyone, Dom and sub are different in their preferences.

AND THEN there was an epilogue. Listen, I love a good epilogue. But I really thought, hoped, wished, that this would be the first book of at least several. PLEASE! I need more! More of Sig, Levin and Hunter but also more of the SIR society. Yes, I am being a greedy brat, but that’s how much I enjoyed it. The set up screams for more. So, pretty please?

4 Pieces of Candy

A Pocketful of Stardust by JP Barnaby & Rowan Speedwell: Exclusive Guest Post and Release Day Review

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Super excited to have JP Barnaby and Roman Speedwell here with an exclusive guest post, centered around books, which is perfect for her new book A Pocketful of Stardust. Check out the list below and see if some of it matches your own! And while you are at it, grab up their new book!

Noah Hitchens loves the New York City life he worked hard to build. But when his father dies and leaves him a bankrupt bookstore in their sleepy Georgia hometown, Noah knows he has to save it. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know anything about business. He finds unlikely help in Henry, the man who owned Stardust Books before his 1966 murder, and Kyle St. James, a shy but kind-hearted out-of-towner with a past almost as mysterious as Henry’s.

Kyle came to Aster, Georgia, looking for redemption. On the run and out of hope, he’s just trying to get on with his life. Then he meets Noah, a ghost, and a big sloppy lab named Jake who redefine his idea of living. But his past is closing in, and when it finds him, they could lose everything.

Title: A Pocketful of Stardust
Series: Aster
Author: JP Barnaby & Rowan Speedwell
Release Date: July 30, 2019
Category: Paranormal – Ghosts/Spirits, Contemporary

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

11 Books on my Shelf – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

So, I’ll start off by saying I’m a big DNF girl. If I can’t get into a book in the first 10 pages, I’m going to put it aside. Being an author, software developer, and now grad student, I just don’t have the time to waste on bad books. But I have been reading a lot lately, and since our new book is about a bookstore, I thought I’d share some love.

Books I loved

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

(Writing Structure)

I’ll be honest, I stayed away from this one for a while just because of the title. It seems everyone and their brother has read this book, but I just thought it sounded silly. Until I read it. It’s an awesome deconstructed look at what makes a book good. It gives a roadmap to taking the bones of novel structure and making it your own in beats that are easily recognizable. She also breaks down fifteen popular novels and maps them to the structure points for a great analysis.

Blurb: Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 “beats” (plot points) that comprise a successful story–from the opening image to the finale–this book lays out the Ten Story Genres (Monster in the House; Whydunit; Dude with a Problem) alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate–and a novel that will sell.

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown

(Romantic Suspense)

This book has stuck with me which is rare. Sandra Brown has such a deft hand when it comes to suspense. She keeps me guessing with every story and I love that. Her characters are well-developed, and the settings are vivid. If you like romantic suspense, she is a must-read.

Blurb: Bellamy Lyston was only 12 years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy’s fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene along with her memory of what really happened during the day’s most devastating moments.

 Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a sensational, bestselling novel based on Susan’s murder. Because the book was inspired by the tragic event that still pains her family, she published it under a pseudonym to protect them from unwanted publicity. But when an opportunistic reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on fact, Bellamy’s identity is exposed along with the family scandal.

Moreover, Bellamy becomes the target of an unnamed assailant who either wants the truth about Susan’s murder to remain unknown or, even more threatening, is determined to get vengeance for a man wrongfully accused and punished.

 In order to identify her stalker, Bellamy must confront the ghosts of her past, including Dent Carter, Susan’s wayward and reckless boyfriend — and an original suspect in the murder case. Dent, with this and other stains on his past, is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy’s sealed memory to do it. But her safeguarded recollections -once unlocked-pose dangers that neither could foresee and puts both their lives in peril.

 As Bellamy delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Susan’s slaying, she discovers disturbing elements of the crime which call into question the people she holds most dear. Haunted by partial memories, conflicted over her feelings for Dent, but determined to learn the truth, she won’t stop until she reveals Susan’s killer.

 That is, unless Susan’s killer strikes her first…

 Closer Than You Think by Karen Rose

(Romantic Suspense)

I met Karen Rose at an author conference in Orlando and really appreciated the depth with which she researched for her romantic suspense stories, so I thought I’d give her a shot. She has incredibly intricate relationships across novel series, building gorgeous characters and then using them throughout the entire series. It’s truly inspiring to watch.

Blurb: Psychologist Faith Corcoran is desperate to escape the stalker who’s made her life a nightmare for the past year—desperate enough to run to the one place that has been her nightmare far longer. Her recent inheritance of her grandmother’s old house in Cincinnati offers sanctuary in which she can start her life anew, but requires that she face the dark memories that still resonate to this day. But she has no idea how close to home her fears still are…

 Two college girls have gone missing in the area, and FBI Special Agent Deacon Novak is called to work on the case. When his inquiry unexpectedly leads him to Faith, he finds a beautiful and brave woman he can’t help but fall for. Soon they’ll discover that this seemingly simple investigation is anything but. Reaching back decades into Faith’s own past, it will shatter everything she believes to be true and will give terrifying new meaning to flesh and blood.

City of Endless Night by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

(Suspense)

I’ve been a fan of the Pendergast/D’Agosta dynamic since their very first book together (Relic). Preston and Child have a fantastic way of leaning this way and that until you’re not sure what to believe. And of course one has to wonder if his methods make Pendergast any better than the criminals he hunts. It’s a wonderful ride.

 Blurb: When Grace Ozmian, the beautiful and reckless daughter of a wealthy tech billionaire, first goes missing, the NYPD assumes she has simply sped off on another wild adventure. Until the young woman’s body is discovered in an abandoned warehouse in Queens, the head nowhere to be found.

 Lieutenant CDS Vincent D’Agosta quickly takes the lead. He knows his investigation will attract fierce scrutiny, so D’Agosta is delighted when FBI Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast shows up at the crime scene assigned to the case. “I feel rather like Brer Rabbit being thrown into the briar patch,” Pendergast tells D’Agosta, “because I have found you here, in charge. Just like when we first met, back at the Museum of Natural History.”

 But neither Pendergast nor D’Agosta are prepared for what lies ahead. A diabolical presence is haunting the greater metropolitan area, and Grace Ozmian was only the first of many victims to be murdered . . . and decapitated. Worse still, there’s something unique to the city itself that has attracted the evil eye of the killer.

 As mass hysteria sets in, Pendergast and D’Agosta find themselves in the crosshairs of an opponent who has threatened the very lifeblood of the city. It’ll take all of Pendergast’s skill to unmask this most dangerous foe-let alone survive to tell the tale.

 

Books I read but didn’t really enjoy:

Outsider by Stephen King

(Horror)

This one was all me. The book had a great set up, but where Lincoln & Child take the paranormal and make it normal, King goes the other way. I think it would have been a better book had the antagonist been human.

Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

(Suspense)

While Preston & Child are an auto-buy for me, sometimes I’m just not on the same wavelength. This one just didn’t have the same punch for me that their other books have had.

Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose

(Romantic Suspense)

To be honest, by the time we got to the 4th book, I was starting to hate Adam and it didn’t really get any better for me.  Also, the subject matter was just too harsh for me to get into it. Sex slave operations and child predators.

Rule of the Bone: A Novel by Russell Banks

(Literary Fiction)

I had to read this book for a class and I can honestly say that I hated it. It’s the meandering tale of a self-absorbed teenager that I couldn’t stand.

 

Books I really wanted to read, but just couldn’t get into:

Burning Girl by Christopher Rice

Mindhunter by John E Douglas

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz

 

Want to read the charming book about the bookstore and its ghostly inhabitant?

Check out A Pocketful of Stardust by JP Barnaby & Rowan Speedwell

I’ll start by saying I liked this book. However, going into this book, I wanted to love it. Books with ghosts always intrigue me, and I wanted to snap it right up.  It definitely intrigued me, and kept me guessing a bit, so yes, I did like it. Having it be based around a bookstore, just made it that much more enjoyable. However, as a reader, I felt there was a lot going on in this book, possibly too much.

There was Kyle’s past, which caught up to him towards the end. I felt a like some of it was bit unresolved (due to Hope), but that is real life…sometimes things don’t quite resolve as you’d prefer them to.

There was also Noah’s ghostly friend, Henry, which when we met him, I assumed we would find out more about his death. In the end, resolution for him came from a different path, still very enjoyable, but I felt he was gone too soon. Henry was awesome, though. Funny, sweet, and obviously caring. And his cat…made me giggle. 🙂

Noah’s life was a bit of a mess from the second he stepped back into Georgia following his father’s death. I did love how this was able to resolve, what a great feeling. And with Noah, you really got to see him mature, change and realize what family means for him. The reader was able to see him grow as a person.

The book was slow in a few places, but overall gave

JP Barnaby is an award-winning contemporary romance and romantic suspense novelist with over a dozen novels. Her heart and soul, the Survivor Series, has been heralded by USA Today as one of their favorites. She recently moved from Chicago to Atlanta to appease her Camaro (Jake) who didn’t like the blustery winters. JP specializes in recovery romance but slips in a few erotic or comedic stories to spice things up. When she’s not working on her latest novel, she binge watches superheroes and crime dramas on Netflix with her husband and Jack Russell Terror, Chase.

Sign up for her newsletter and try a free story: https://bit.ly/2xSB8kE

Come hang out in her Facebook Group – Between the Covers with JP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2228150134074004/

Doubling Down (Double Trouble Book 2) by Cari Z and LA Witt: Release Day Review

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Hacker Leotrim Nicolosi and Deputy Marshal Rich Cody may have escaped a vengeful crime boss by the skin of their teeth, but they’re not out of danger yet. With the mob’s tentacles embedded in everything from local law enforcement to federal agencies, the guys are running low on allies.

Rich has one ace up his sleeve—the men who had his back in warzones during his time in the Marines. When he sends out a distress call, the cavalry comes running. Heavily armed, highly trained, and fully provisioned, they hunker down in a buddy’s missile silo, ready to make a stand against whatever the Grimaldi family sends after Rich and Leo.

Leo isn’t so sure about the Marines, though. He trusts Rich, but something isn’t right, and he’s not a gambling man when his life is on the line. The Marines aren’t so sure they trust him, either, and Rich suddenly finds himself in a standoff between the men he’s bled with and the man he’s quickly falling for.

Now they’re running out of time to either find the turncoat among them or get on the same side.

Because the Grimaldi family is coming, and this time they’re bringing out the big guns.

Doubling Down is the sequel to Double or Nothing, and is the conclusion to the Double Trouble duology.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

When we last saw Leo and Rich, lots of bad guys were dead and the biggest bad- Matteo Grimaldi- was in federal custody. But Papa Grimaldi was still out there calling the shots. And still wanted Leo dead. So back on the run they go- back to the missile silo and his Marine buddy Smitty.

The stakes have been raised though, so Rich calls in his other Marines. The show up- because that is what they do- but they don’t really trust Leo. Nor does Leo trust them.

It was cool to see these guys show up in waves. That way they all needed to learn about each other all over again. And then Gianna showed up- Papa Grimaldi’s only daughter, who he also has a hit out on.

So all of these alpha men, plus Leo and Gianna are hunkered down in a missle silo trying to come up with a plan, but also not kill each other. It is kind of funny. But they all know that this is going to come down to war. Them versus the mob, no way around it.

The story is exciting and mostly fast paced. There are a few slow spots, but not too many. There’s a double crosser in the mix, so it was fun trying to figure out who it was (I didn’t guess it).

Total escapism book with a very satisfying ending. Like an action movie on the pages with a healthy dose of gay romance.

Don’t even try to read this book without reading the first.

4 Pieces of Candy

Ignite (Unbreakable Bonds Book 7) by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott: RDB, Excerpt, Release Day Review * 2 and Giveaway

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Two of Noah’s Army buddies are dead.

Someone has taken shots at Noah.

And now Noah’s former lover, JB, is a target.

Noah, Rowe, and JB team up to track down a killer trying to take out all of Noah’s old Army team in hopes of covering up a dark secret.

But this trip to Washington, D.C. threatens to unravel the perfect life that Rowe and Noah have built over the past three years. JB’s arrival in their lives have Rowe and Noah wondering if they want the same thing for their happily ever after.

Rowe is sure of one thing—nobody threatens his man. And he sets out to show anyone with a hidden agenda what a bad decision that was.

Title:  Ignite

Series: Unbreakable Bonds #7

Author: Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott

Publisher: Drake & Elliott Publishing LLC

Release Date: July 26, 2019

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 73,000

Genre: Romance, Thriller/Suspense

Add to Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Noah smiled to himself as he watched Rowe drive them home. His hands slid easily along the leather wheel. Soon those strong hands would be stroking down his body. The way the man kept looking at him during the wedding had him half-hard all evening. He knew it was the wedding—all the romance in the air.

A lingering worry had nipped at him earlier in the day that Ian’s wedding would bring back painful memories of Rowe’s own wedding, but he seemed fine and Noah couldn’t be more thankful.

So, he watched those hands. Being touched by Rowe was like nothing else in this world. The man worshiped his body with an all-in intensity that frankly awed Noah. And he knew that wouldn’t change, no matter how long they were together. He took in his dark-red hair, lit by moonlight, disheveled as usual, and his ripped shoulders and arms. The man filled out a suit well, but he couldn’t wait to peel him out of it.

“Keep staring at me like that, and I’ll be finding a secluded spot to pull over,” Rowe murmured, giving him a steamy look.

“That’d be fine with me. Did I tell you how hot you are today? You should wear suits more often.”

“Soon as we get home, I’ll show you my birthday suit.”

“That’s my favorite suit of all.” Noah grinned.

Rowe pulled to a stop at a red light and turned toward him, his green-eyed gaze hotter than the sun. “You clean up nice yourself. Come here.”

Noah leaned over to kiss him. Brakes squealed sharply. Noah jerked his lips away from Rowe’s before they could touch. A car had pulled up, perpendicular to theirs, in the middle of the intersection. A loud bang quickly followed and the ping of glass breaking. Startled, he looked at the windshield to find a small hole in it.

“Shit, get down!” Rowe grabbed him and shoved him into the seat, covering him with his body just as another shot broke through the windshield.

“Someone is fucking shooting at us!” Rowe stretched over him to reach the glove box where he kept his gun. He yanked it out but stayed down. “Are you hurt?”

Noah couldn’t believe the man covered him, but that was Rowe. “No, I’m fine. You?”

“I’m good.”

Tires squealed again and the roar of the car engine grew softer. A knock on the driver’s window had them both jerking upright. Rowe aimed the gun in that direction, ready to put two in whoever was stupid enough to be standing there. Noah rose, ready to jump out of their truck and attack.

The woman outside screamed and ducked away from the window. “I was just making sure you were all right!” she yelled, and Rowe immediately lowered his gun. “The person shooting drove off, but I got a good look at the car. I’m beside you at the stoplight. The driver just pulled right into the intersection and someone shot out of the front passenger window. Is everyone okay? I called 9-1-1.”

Noah looked out the windshield to find the first hole directly in front of him. He turned and found a matching bullet hole in the seat. It would have pierced his heart. Whoever shot at them had one hell of an aim. Or at least, they would have if Noah hadn’t leaned over to kiss Rowe at that moment. <em>Holy fuck</em>, <em>that was close!</em>

His stomach was in knots as he met his boyfriend’s gaze. “What the hell?”

Rowe rolled down his window, apologizing to the woman for scaring her. “What kind of car was it?”

“A black Volkswagen hatchback.”

“Did you see anyone in the car? Could you tell if either person was a man or woman?”

“The passenger looked like a man. I’m sorry, I didn’t get a good look at the person’s face.”

Sirens sounded in the distance, getting steadily closer. Rowe put his gun back into the glovebox and they both got out of the truck to look at the damage. Two police cars arrived with a roar of engines. The first cop opened his door and stood with his gun at the ready.

“The shooter drove away,” the woman yelled. She was certainly helpful and brave to have gotten out of her car at all. Her red Honda was still parked at the light beside them with several more cars stalled there as well. None of those people had gotten out of their vehicles, but now they did as the police gathered.

Rowe and Noah answered questions but because they’d ducked, they had less to offer by way of explanation than the woman who’d witnessed the whole thing.

“Was more than likely a drive-by,” one of the cops said as he made a few notes in his little notepad. “We’ve had a few of them recently. I’m glad nobody was hurt this time. The others weren’t so lucky.”

But Noah had a feeling it wasn’t some random drive-by.

Fun, sexy, exciting. Yes, yes, yes. Definitely those things. Explosions, gun fights, chases. Those as well. What else would you expect of these guys? The couple of focus in this book are Rowe and Noah. We also meet JB, Noah’s former teammate and lover from when they were in the Rangers. Seems someone is taking out ex military who might have witnessed an ambush years ago in Afghanistan. Two are already dead, Noah and JB are next.

Underlying all of this excitement are Noah and Rowe contemplating their future together. Most importantly, marriage and children.

There isn’t a lot of the original guys in this story, but several do make appearances- the core four and their significant others. But they don’t take a big part of the story at all- definitely supporting players.

Ok, here is my wet blanket. A couple of things really took me out of the story. The first is that Noah and Rowe are the victims of a drive by shooting on the way home from Ian’s wedding. Not only is everything seemingly just taken care of at the scene by the cops, there is no further questioning, no ballistics done on the bullet in their car and they were free to go home, in bullet riddled car, very quickly. Like, meh, no big deal.

Even though these guys are trying to figure out who and why people are trying to kill them, they make time for sex. Lengthy sex. Ok, that’s fine. But you really have sex toys packed?

I won’t tell you the third thing because while it isn’t really a spoiler, it does happen at the end. But it is a minor part of the story that is never finished.

So I am so used to looking over explosions, tons of dead people, destroyed property, because fiction. Because it’s fun. And exciting. And good reading. But yea, those couple things bugged me. I’M SORRY!

It is still a good book. Like I said, fun, exciting, sexy, explosions, etc. Definitely read it if you have been reading all of these books. Because it is worth it. It’s like an action blockbuster where the female hero wears heels all of the time. Like, who cares? but it bugs me.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

I was so excited to see this one pop up because Rowe and Noah have been my favorite! (Don’t tell the others, I think I’m attracted to their crazy!)

So, in the beginning, we see Ian and Hollis getting married through the eyes of Rowe. I loved seeing everyone there for them, seeing as Hollis had to battle the brood for a while before they saw how much he loved Ian, and how Ian needed someone exactly like Hollis to claim him. And if anyone deserved a HEA, it was Ian….loved it….

As we know though, weddings does things to folks and it had both men thinking about where they saw their relationship going. They know they love each other… they know it’s forever and I was a little bummed to know how they felt about marriage and kids and stuff, but only because I’m a sap and I want the whole hog for all of them. There is no denying their love for each other though. On the way home from the wedding, they run into some trouble that the police try and brush off, but both men with their skillset feel that it’s way more than local law enforcement is treating it as.

When an old friend/brother-in-arms/past lover calls and confirms that not only are a couple of teammates dead, but he’s being targeted and fears that Noah will be too… binging him back home with them, they want to get to the bottom of whoever is out to hurt them before they have a chance to come back and finish the job!
JB, I thought was going to be trouble (he’s the old friend/brother-in-arms/ex-lover… I didn’t think Iw as going to like him because I’m so incredibly obsessed with Noah and Rowe and I didn’t want anyone coming in and making them doubt anything or trying to come in between them. I wasn’t a fan…

However, Rowe got his possessive and crazy jealous self and Noah assured him that he had nothing to worry about and JB was actually really charming, incredibly likable and fit in great with the guys and their craziness. I do hope he pops back up in future books because it was obvious that he still had feelings for Noah and unrequited love sucks! I want him to find his happy, he deserves it too.

Now, I won’t get into the who’s and the why’s of who and why Noah and his ex-team is being targeted because it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was flipping through electronic pages and I don’t want to ruin that for y’all. I do feel like I need a mood stabilizer after it though… and it’s crazy how this duo can paint such vivid pictures of all the hilarity and chaos and have me gripping my kindle with clammy nervous hands until all is right in the world again. This one was no different.

If you’ve read any of the others in this series or the ones they’ve spun off from, you should be no stranger to the heart palpitations, the love, the broody, charming, gorgeous, possessive, hilarious family they write about. What starts out sweet, soon turns to hellfire and explosions and kidnappings and violence and murder and bad guys… but then gives us the sweetest weddings, babies, puppys, family and so so so much love that it makes every second of it worth it.

Awesome addition and I can’t wait to see who’s next!

This one gets all the stars!

5 pieces of eye candy

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

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Kneading You by C.S. Poe: Release Day Review

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Christopher Hughes is new to the small New England town of Lancaster, New Hampshire. He’s been hired to save an old library from closing, but his obstacles include not only fighting for state funding, but a Selectman who wants to tear the building down in favor of a shopping center.

Christopher meets Miles Sakasai, a charming tattooed repairman hired to help restore the historical interior. Working in close proximity has both men falling hard for each other, and also provides Christopher an opportunity to learn about Miles’s passion for baking. As it turns out, Miles’s skills in the kitchen may end up being the key to saving the library—but only if his bread can rise to the occasion.

Previously published by Dreamspinner Press in the Simmer anthology, 2016.

Title: Kneading You
Author: C.S. Poe
Release Date: July 19, 2019
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 40

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Okay, let’s start off with one HUGE truth…if C.S. Poe writes it, I am going to want to read it, and as quickly as possible. If I see that author’s name, it’s like a quick U-turn on whatever I  am reading.

This was a short story, but so uplifting and enjoyable. We didn’t learn a ton about the MC’s (it’s very difficult with short stories), but we learned enough to know that neither one of them was doing the jobs they would love to do, but they were living in the place that would give them access to the things they love to do.

These two immediately connected, and dated…a novel concept sometimes in romances. 🙂 Meanwhile, since Miles loves to bake bread, and apparently Christopher loves to eat Miles’ bread, they were a match made in heaven. There wasn’t any real angst, other than a very quick pass through from Miles’ ex- which led to a brief conversation and a move on.

Of course there was an HEA, or really an HFN for the new boyfriends, but overall was cute, fun and sweet. And was I the only person to look at that cover and thing that those circles were from a pottery wheel? lol Just saying…

3.5 pieces of eye candy

 

***As an aside, if you haven’t read the Snow and Winter series by this author, I HIGHLY recommend it…and if you have…did you know Book 4, The Mystery of the Bones, is up for preorder…grab it here!!!! 

Warm Heart by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post and New Release Review

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Survive the adventure. Live to love.

Following a family emergency, snowboarder Tevyn Moore and financier Mallory Armstrong leave Donner Pass in a blizzard… and barely survive the helicopter crash that follows. Stranded with few supplies and no shelter, Tevyn and Mallory—and their injured pilot—are forced to rely on each other.

The mountain leaves no room for evasion, and Tevyn and Mal must confront the feelings that have been brewing between them for the past five years. Mallory has seen Tevyn through injury and victory. Can Tevyn see that Mallory’s love is real?

Mallory’s job is risk assessment. Tevyn’s job is full-on risk. But to stay alive, Mallory needs to take some gambles and Tevyn needs to have faith in someone besides himself. Can the bond they discover on the mountain see them to rescue and beyond?

Title: Warm Heart
Series: Search and Rescue: Book One
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: July 16, 2019
Category: Dreamspun Desires, Contemporary
Pages: 213

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

So, part of the premise of Warm Heart is our heroes spend an uncomfortable chunk of days stranded in a storm caring for their injured pilot (who gets his own book next January!)  And this was both a delight and a challenge as a writer.

Being stuck somewhere with people you care about and no outside distraction can lead to deeper understanding, bonding, true conversation, and moments of real meaning.

It can also lead to batshit boredom.

And our heroes weren’t just stranded together. They couldn’t make the conversation all about themselves. They had to entertain Damien, who was in a lot of pain and trying hard not to be afraid.

They were all trying not to be afraid.

It turns out Mallory is the guy who saves the day in this instance. I mean, they all take turns saving each other, whether it’s from the fire going out, boredom, or being too tired to go on. But in this instance, Mallory, who’s always had a sort of quietly devastating sense of humor, sings showtunes and old camp songs over the fire, and gets his two compatriots to play a guessing game involving mundane things in his personal history. And these silly things turn out to be the morale builders that our little team needs to keep going—and when the conversation got too intense, they gave our two heroes a way out, when they were literally trapped in the same place together in the snow.

Like with so many things, I got the idea from Mate and I.

Over the last thirty years Mate and I have seen a lot of movies. If we’ve really loved a movie together, we’ve probably seen it multiple times. We know these movies backwards and forwards, we’ve looked up their cast, their director, even their producers. We know the lines from the movies, and we know what the actors who uttered those lines went on to do.

So we’ve invented this movie game that is so insanely complicated and so completely dependent on the people playing being us that we only play it when the kids are done talking to us and there’s nothing else to do.

I’ll start: “Come up to the coast, we’ll have a few laughs!”

His reply would be: “Why a spoon, brother?”

I think for a moment: “Oh honey—we all deserve to wear white.”

And he’ll respond with: “I’m not going back to Texas.”

For those of you who wonder what we’re doing, that’s Die Hard to Robin Hood via Alan Rickman, Robin Hood to Bull Durham via Keven Costner, and Bull Durham to Thelma and Louise via Susan Sarandon.

And so on. We can play this game literally for hours, getting as obscure as using a director or a producer as the link to the next film we’re quoting. And the source material spans thirty years—but it’s our thirty years, so that’s okay.

That game is ours. It doesn’t mean anything to anyone else, and every movie line is everything from the times we’ve seen the movie together to why we loved it in the first place.

So when I stranded Mallory and Tevyn and Damien on the mountaintop, I had to give them a game that’s uniquely theirs. I succeeded, I hope, and hopefully the guys’ banter will keep you all entertained. But I did it with that deep conviction that all successful couples have their little games, their conversational gambits, their bantering sallies, that keep them interested in talking to each other.

Because sometimes, that conversation is the thread that keeps us bound together for life.

What a fun, interesting and exciting book. I have to admit I was a little worried that it would get boring with 3 guys stranded in a blizzard- one of them totally incapacitated. But it wasn’t at all. It moved along nicely and didn’t lag.

Tevyn and Mallory have been dancing around their feelings for each other for years. But I think both were kind of waiting for Tevyn to grow up a bit. But then when their helicopter crashes and they become stranded, the begin to acknowledge what they have been feeling.

It was refreshing to read a book where the two MC had to face their feelings head on. They literally couldn’t hide behind sex because they not only had a third person there, but they were outside in the elements during a blizzard.

Instead they talked and learned more and more about each other. Comically, with Tevyn trying to figure out Mallory’s middle name.

The story got serious at times, with the helicopter pilot in desperate need of medical attention and Tevyn’s grandmother on her death bed back home. But the author tried to keep the story light in spite of all of that. So while you got the excitement and seriousness of what was happening, it didn’t drag you down at all.

There is a HEA, don’t you worry. And there is perhaps a hint to the next book? I hope?

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been finaled in the RITA’S (TM) twice, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.