Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

TCO Reviewer: Jennifer

Family Ties by Poppy Dennison: New Release Review and Giveaway

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Every family has a story to tell…

Blake Bartlett needs a do-over, so he’s going back home to Havendale, Florida, with his three-year-old daughter in tow. The perfect life he built is in ruins and he’s determined to create a new one. The Bartletts are fixtures in the small town of Havendale, and Blake’s extended family welcome him back with open arms. He’s settling in and getting back in his family’s good graces, when he meets Lincoln Coleman. Suddenly, he’s starting to want things he shouldn’t, and their relationship is beginning to heat up.

Linc may have the reputation for being a one-night stand kind of guy, but the rumors aren’t quite right. When he meets Blake and his daughter, he imagines family life and settling down for the first time. There’s only one problem: Blake has taken on a leadership role in the Bartlett Construction business and now Linc works for the man he’s falling in love with.

Blake’s well-intentioned family may have them tied up in knots, but only they can untangle their heart strings…

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

What an incredibly cute story!

Anyone who knows me or my reviews, knows that I am a sucker for a single dad. In this one, we have Blake and his daughter Caroline. They’re moving back to Florida to be closer to his gigantic family after losing his husband (who he was separated from), and Caroline’s other Daddy, Michael. Not telling his family about the separation was hard, but he found it easier to avoid them than disappointing them; but now he’s going home to face the music and lean on his family for a while.

Blake’s family is…..amazing. He has the biggest extended family, filled with cousin’s who are more like brothers and sisters and, Aunt’s and Uncle’s, and of course, his parents and actual siblings. There are a lot of them, but every one of them are there for Blake and head over heels in love with Caroline… and how could you not be, she’s so cute!

Going to work for his Uncle, doing office work at his construction company….that’s where he meets Linc. Linc is gorgeous and ripped and charming and good friends with the family, so when he asks him out, of course he goes. We’re kind of lead to believe that Linc is a playboy, but we never see any of that. He seems smitten with Blake from the beginning.

Because they work together and Linc is so close to the family… they belatedly remember all this and think maybe it’ll cause problems. In all honesty, I thought all that was ridiculous and unneeded.   I loved the way Linc was with Caroline and how much he cared about her and Blake. He might’ve been apprehensive and went about things the wrong way, but, he showed Blake what he meant to him, I felt like. I wanted to smack Blake a time or two. Luckily, his family talked him around, and alls well that ends well…. But it was an unnecessary bump in the road I felt like.

Overall though, it was such a cute read and you really can’t go wrong with big families and cute babies. I’d love to read more of this family, and especially Blake, Linc and Caroline!!

4 pieces of eye candy from me!

For a chance to win an ebook copy of Poppy’s latest book, leave a comment describing what family ties means to you.

The Good Fight by Andrew Grey: TBT Quick Review

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*A new feature we are bringing to TCO, TBT, Throwback Thursday Reviews. A chance to review that book you’ve been “meaning to read” for a long time! So check out what some of the “older” books have to offer!*

 

Jerry Lincoln has a problem: his Sioux Falls IT consulting business has more work than one man can handle. Luckily, that means he can hire some help. Jerry just hopes his new employee, John Black Raven, ends up being more helpful than distracting—but John’s deep eyes and long hair are very distracting.

John came to town for an education and a chance at a life he couldn’t have on the reservation, but what’s important to him now is getting a job and keeping it. Six months ago, his sister died, and now her children are in foster care. Despite having the law on his side, John can’t get custody—can’t even see his niece and nephew.

As Jerry and John grow closer, John discovers he doesn’t have to struggle alone. Jerry helps him win visitation rights and provides much-needed support. Yet their victories aren’t without setbacks. Child Services is tangled up with money, politics, and red tape, and Native American children are their bread and butter. But John and Jerry are determined to fight the good fight and to win—in more ways than one.

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

Loving this cover! I feel like I’ve had this one on my TBR list forever, because I love this author and hello….hot Native American’s? Yes please! So, here we have Jerry, a consulter for some tech stuff with coding and all that stuff I know nothing about so I can’t tell you the actual name for it…. But, with more work than he could handle on his own, with a suggestion and help from a good friend, he decided to hire someone that could help him out. He found two prospects, both were qualified, and things happen in which he could hire them both…. Only problem, one of them was John Black Raven, and he was extremely attracted to him. To the point of distraction.

Fortunately, it worked out and while working together and getting to know one another, Jerry learns of a family matter that John needs help with. His niece and nephew has been taken by child services when their mother died and because of their heritage, they aren’t likely to be given to John, because they earn the state money being in care. I’m not sure how true this is, or if things like that do indeed happen, but I was really hoping for more karmic justice with the terrible state worker who actually lied and deceived to keep John from his family.  When his sister passed, shed wanted John to have the kids…. The social worker was awful though and she fought him every step of the way. That’s where Jerry came in.

Jerry wasn’t having it with the social worker and heled John as much as he could. How could you not fall for someone like that…. That’s exactly what John did, and Jerry, seeing how much he loved his niece and nephew and how badly he wanted them to be with him… it was impossible not to fall for him too!

Overall, it was just a really cute read with a really sweet ending… and I’m looking forward to reading the next one!

4 pieces of eye candy for me.

When the Devil Wants In by Cate Ashwood & J.H. Knight: Release Day Review

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John Turner has been living a lie most of his life. Growing up in the rural Georgia town of Magnolia Ridge, he’s only ever let one person truly know him: his best friend, Chloe. To the rest of the world, they’re the perfect couple, but just between them, she’s helping John hide in plain sight.

Matt Kinsley, a cop from San Francisco, moves to town looking for a slower pace and to reconnect with his Southern roots. Starting over in Magnolia Ridge means taking a step into the closet, but Matt finds that with John for company, he doesn’t mind so much.

As the two start to explore a possible relationship, a horrific murder rips the town apart but brings John and Matt together in ways neither could’ve imagined. Matt must decide where his loyalties lie while John resists the urge to run again. Together, they have to discover who the real devil is before another life is destroyed.

Release Date: January 30, 2018
Word Count: 90,000 words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary m/m romance with some suspense elements
Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Kobo Books

 

California native, Matt is in for a culture shock when he moves from the big city of San Francisco into a tiny backwoods town in Georgia. In a place where everybody knows you AND your Mama .it takes a bit of getting used to…especially how backwoods some of them seem. There were a couple, *who I suspect, and hope will come out in the next book, and I hope its Santiago that blows him wide out in the open!!* But, anyway…I did not like the use of the word Fag and nobody calling anyone out on it, but that was really the only problem I had with the whole book…

So, now that Matt was in town, he decided one night to take a drive, too hot to stay in his apartment, he didn’t plan on going a couple towns away, or having a random hookup with the only guy hes felt attracted to in while…Having the guy run out on him afterwards wasn’t something he was used to. Still…they had a connection and were left wanting more for them…Or I was at least!

Wouldn’t ya know it…Small world and all that, the hookup must’ve had the same idea, because a week later, with his partner, he runs into the guy he hadn’t been able to keep off his mind. Only one problem…he had a fiancé! A woman fiancé…

But, of course, not everything is as it seems.. not for any of them. Matt wasn’t out at work and who could blame him, especially with that A hole, Jay…. I wasn’t fond of him and I never warmed up to him…tho I do suspect he’s the one Santiago was talking about…Fingers crossed…Santiago is Matt’s old partner from the force in San Fran…but, still very much apart of his life.

Now, things get a little muddy because everyone, including Johns family thinks hes been with his bestie Chloe for the last decade and since neither of them dispel the rumors, neither of them say otherwise. Its just easier for everyone…Until something happens to Chloe and everyone seems to blame John…

Well, not everyone…I was kind of upset by that too…How everyone had known him his entire life and yet, some didn’t believe his innocence or nonability to do something like that. He loved Chloe, she was his best friend….more than that really, they were all each other had. Sure, they both had family, but not ones that knew them heart and soul like they did about each other. I loved their relationship and I was gutted by what happened and how and who did it…Cuz I gotta be honest, who I swore done it the whole time was nowhere near accurate… I love that. It kept me on my toes, that’s for sure! It was a page turner for sure!

One thing though, Matt never lost faith in John and eventually, John gave in and stopped running from Matt…Well, and everything else really as well. There were a few unanswered questions that I would’ve liked the answer to, but I’m really hoping for another story after this one and maybe that’ll shed some light on a few things.

Other than that though, it was a fantastic, suspenseful story and I really, really enjoyed it!

4 pieces of eye candy from me

Dantès Unglued by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott: Double Release Day Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

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When private investigator, Shane Stephens, is hired by the mayor of Cincinnati to track down the hacker who has been threatening him, Shane is sure this is the opportunity to launch the Merleau Detection Agency into the big time. He even convinces Rowe Ward of Ward Security to loan him one of his best IT specialists, Quinn Lake.

Shane, a man who prefers casual intimacy, is surprised by his attraction to the moody computer geek, but when Quinn suggests they have fun for the month he’s on loan, Shane happily agrees. Both men are expecting nothing more than a good time.

But the investigation takes an unexpected turn and they quickly discover they are facing more than a hacker out to ruin the mayor’s re-election chances. And as they spend more time together, they realize their relationship may be a lot more than just a good time.

With only weeks until the election, Shane and Quinn race to gather the proof they need while dodging bullets and possibly…falling in love.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

 

 

After one quick knock on Rowe’s door, he stepped inside without waiting for him to call since he was already expected. But he stopped short when he saw the tall man standing next to Rowe’s desk, his hands on his slender hips as he grinned down at Rowe. Quinn couldn’t stop his eyes from quickly sweeping over his broad shoulders and chest that tapered into a narrow waist. His eyes snapped back up to find a pair of brown eyes that twinkled as they finished checking him out as well.

“Sorry,” Quinn mumbled, instantly taking a step backward. “I can come back.” Rowe rarely saw clients. He had customer representatives that handled talking to the clients. Of course, with Rowe’s lack of a filter, it was better if he didn’t talk to the new clients directly.

“No, come in, Quinn,” Rowe said sharply. He stood behind his desk, drawing Quinn’s gaze to his shorter but broader frame. His dark red hair stood up slightly as if he’d been running his fingers through it. Quinn never took that as a particularly good sign.

With a quick jerk of his head, Quinn stepped in and shut the door behind him. The other man was smiling at him, that assessing look still in his eyes, and Quinn didn’t want to think about the fact that he was dying to take another longer look at him, but not with the freaking boss in the room.

“Quinn Lake, this is Shane Stephens. He’s a private investigator with The Merleau Detection Agency,” Rowe introduced.

Shane extended his hand to Quinn and Quinn clenched his teeth, trying to hide his discomfort at taking Shane’s hand. His own palms were sweaty, making the momentary contact awkward. Why the fuck was he always so damn awkward around hot guys?

“Rowe tells me you’re the best,” Shane said, releasing his hand.

Quinn couldn’t help the skeptical look he shot at Rowe, who only shrugged as he sat down again. “Well, I said you and Gidget are the best.”

“Is this about a job?”

“Sit, Quinn.” Rowe absently waved toward the two chairs in front of his desk. He shuffled some papers around without seeming to actually look at them, placing them in piles at the edge of his desk.

Shooting one last uncertain look at Shane, Quinn moved to the farthest chair and sat, his tablet clenched in both hands. His mind raced as he tried to figure out why he’d been called into this meeting. Clients didn’t meet with Rowe, and Quinn didn’t meet with clients unless they’d already been assigned a bodyguard. And while they’d worked with some private investigators in the past, Rowe wasn’t usually involved. He had a company to run.

“Shane recently acquired a client who is the victim of a hacker,” Rowe started.

Quinn looked up at Shane, who was still standing beside Rowe’s desk, his mind finally turning away from too many questions to a problem he could understand. “Identity theft? Bank accounts drained?”

“No, not yet.” Shane shook his head, some of his dark curly hair falling forward against his temple. “At least, not that we’ve uncovered.”

“Then how do you know this client was hacked?”

“There are other signs…but I can’t go into it.”

Quinn frowned for a second. That certainly wasn’t going to make his job easier. “Well, do you just need improved protection? Alerts on accounts? We’ve got a comprehensive list of things we can do to help shore up the client’s account protection and privacy.”

“Shane isn’t looking for protection from the hacker for the client.” Rowe paused until Quinn looked back at him. “His client has hired him to track down the identity of the hacker.”

“Whoa…” Quinn said on an exhale, sitting back in his chair. That…that was not an easy task. Most hackers were pretty damn good at not being found. You had to be if you wanted to survive as one. If you sucked, you were usually snagged by the FBI pretty damn fast. Quinn would know. He’d started hacking at a young age—not stealing other people’s money but just breaking through security systems because he could. It took the feds a solid five years to catch him. But his boss knew all this. Rowe knew everything about the people working for him.

“We’re not equipped to handle this level of…” Shane frowned at Rowe’s computer as if he blamed it for his problems. “Well, we’re not staffed yet to handle computer things like this. I can do some of the forensic research in accounting matters, but I need a computer genius like you.”

“That’s why I agreed to loan you to Shane and his business partner, Ethan, for one month,” Rowe announced.

Quinn was out of his seat in a shot, hovering over the edge of the desk as he looked down at his boss. Pain shot through his chest, and he was suddenly having trouble catching his breath. Panic clouded all of his thoughts. He loved working for Ward Security. He’d been there for just less than two years, and he’d never found another place where he’d felt like he fit so damn perfectly. This was home. These people he worked with, they were his friends. He didn’t have to hide or pretend or feel uncomfortable.

And Rowe…Rowe had always been amazing. Sure, he could be cranky and a little crazy. He was always loud and tended to speak before thinking. But Quinn always knew exactly where he stood with Rowe. He always felt like Rowe had his back.

But this…

“Are you getting rid of me?”

“What?” Rowe snapped. “Where the fuck did you get that idea?”

“You’re hiring another IT person. I saw the listing. And this? Putting me ‘on loan’?”

Rowe groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. With a heavy sigh, he pointed back at the chair Quinn had just vacated. “Sit.” Grudgingly, Quinn followed direction while Rowe looked over at Shane. “Can you give us a minute?”

Sigh….I love this series.

In this one, we have Quinn… very cute, shy and insecure IT nerd who works for Ward security, and Shane, who works for a fairly new start-up PI company who’s been hired by the mayor or Ohio.

Someone’s been sending him threatening emails, signed by his ex-wife who had recently passed away. The mayor seems like an alright family man, with two daughters, so, Shane takes on his case and promises discretion. Because Shane and his friend don’t have the money or recourses for an IT guru like Ward does, Rowe loans Quinn for the month until reelection to help Shane out.

Of course, they’re attracted to each other, but Shane is a serial bachelor and not a bit interested in relationships or monogamy and Quinn is inexperienced and not all impressed with the experiences he has had.

A month of long nights in the office together, working side by side with a man you’re attracted to each other, leads to hooking up, of course it does… what neither guy was expecting was to fall for each other. But, as things heat u between them, they get more complicated with the investigation and its hard to figure out who’s the guilty one in the scenario. Things just aren’t making sense, and after some miscommunication and differences of opinion, the guys take time to get their heads together.

Although I loved Quinn and his blushing and backbone when it came to Shane. I liked how Shane seemed to do a 180 with his feelings of commitment and relationships once he got to know Quinn better. It wasn’t hard to break him of all that and he didn’t fight it.

I feel like both of these guys got to prove themselves and I kept hoping that the misunderstanding would get cleared u for Quinn. I honestly thought it was going to be forgotten about, but… nay, it made me love them both more. Quinn for being able to ask about it and Shane for being awesome about it.

I loved these two. Im gonna have to go back and reread about Frost and Jude, cuz… just their small appearance, made me remember how hot their story was together. LOL, I’m such a sucker for the guys in this series. I might just go back and read them all. I’m very much hoping for more about Royce. That’ll be a good one, I just know it!

If you haven’t, you most definitely should!

5 well deserved pieces of eye candy from me!

First off, you really need to read book one. I guess *technically* you could get away without reading it but that would be silly. Trust me. Would I lie to you?

We had gotten to know Quinn and Shane a bit in previous books. Quinn is one of the computer geeks at Ward Security and Shane is part owner of a private investigator agency- way more gumshoe than smoking gun. When he is hired to track down a hacker, he has to enlist the help of Ward Security and Quinn.

Quinn and Shane have immediate chemistry and fight it for a bit. Partly because Shane only does one time things and Quinn was built for relationships. But after a steamy kiss, they come to a compromise- a short term “relationship” while they are working on the case.

Quinn and Shane are HOT together. And even though it is Shane who doesn’t want a relationship- he is the one who seems to be super sweet and almost romantic. Those little touches, brushing Quinn’s hair back, staring at him across the room when they are supposed to be working. Just swoony.

That being said, I think Quinn was the more developed character. Shane could have given me just a little more.

Like in all of the previous books there is excellent banter between not only the main characters, but the supporting characters as well. And we see most of them- I think only Lucas was left out. He might have been in there though. Apologies Lucas if you made an appearance and I missed your arrogant self.

The overall story was a bit convoluted, but it was ok. I really expected more than what I got. With focusing on the “hacker” and how it isn’t something you just pick up and do, I wanted a bit more explanation of how the hacker did it. I hope that made sense. I hate spoilers so I am trying desperately not to spoil.

And I didn’t love the title. I get it, but meh. After Psycho Romeo, and Shiver, Shatter, Torch, it was a bit weak.

4 pieces of eye candy

Who are Drake & Elliott?

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.

Author Links

Website: http://drakeandelliott.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrakeandElliott

Tumblr: http://drakeandelliott.tumblr.com/

Email: drakeandelliott@gmail.com

 

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Sound of Silence by Mia Kerick and Raine O’Tierney: Exclusive Excerpt, Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

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High school senior Renzy Callen hasn’t uttered a word in years. He likes being invisible to all around him; it keeps life safe and predictable. In his attic bedroom, he experiences a world far from the drama of his family. He doodles, listens to music, and contemplates the troubled souls he observes when attending self-help meetings designed for people with problems he doesn’t have. Renzy lives his life like a spectator, always on the outside of life’s games, looking in at others.

Everything changes when Seven and Morning Moreau-Maddox relocate from their glitzy lives in Paris to boring, picturesque Redcliff Hills, Missouri. Tall, platinum blond, and as put-together as a pair of European high-fashion models, the sophisticated siblings befriend Renzy, drawing him in and then pushing him away. What starts as nothing more than a means to an end for Seven, however, quickly becomes something more. Could icy-hearted Seven be thawing for the silent, quirky charm of Renzy Callen?

Determined to find the cause of Renzy’s selective mutism, the three teens set off on a road trip, during which they discover that flawless physical facades can conceal the most scarred souls, and that sometimes silence is better than golden.

Title: Sound of Silence

Authors: Mia Kerick and Raine O’Tierney

Release Date: January 23rd 2018

Genre: MM Contemporary Romance

 

 Amazon US

Amazon UK

Harmony Ink

iBooks

Goodreads

 

EXCERPT

Renzy

Maybe someone “like me” is supposed to feel shitty about himself. Maybe I’m supposed to feel small and broken and weak. But I never really did. When I was small, I thought of it like a superpower. It vanquished my stutter and got the other kids to ignore me. It was like turning invisible and even had a name, so sayeth the GP I saw when I was seven.

Selective mutism. Isn’t that amazing? Selective mutism is such a misnomer, at least to me. That makes it sound like seven-year-old Renzy could talk, but he chose not to. I promise you this, I wasn’t hoarding my words back then. I couldn’t speak. When I would try, I would become so anxious and get so dizzy, my nose would bleed. I even passed out a couple of times.

Does that sound like a dragon hoarding his prized words? No. I couldn’t speak.

So here’s the big Q. Can I speak now? Am I physically able to vibrate those ol’ vocal cords? Could I force a few words out if I were alone in the attic? I honestly don’t know, and right now, even thinking about talking makes my throat seize up. I rub my neck and the muscles there are tight. I was okay until the thing with Seven at the lockers, then I started to feel closed in. The gazelle to Seven’s cheetah—socially claustrophobic. In that moment, I felt more like the seven-year-old with selective mutism than the nineteen-year-old who doesn’t worry about these things. If it came down to vocal confrontation or taking a punch, I would gladly go home with the black eye.

It’s the questions.

It’s when I can’t get away from the questions.

Jesus, even thinking about it is making me crazy. I’ve got to get back to Heart Aflame. What’s going on tonight? Overeaters and a knitters’ prayer group, I think. That’ll do. No one will ask me anything. I can sit in the corner and design some tats. Everything will be fine.

 

 

Hmmmm, I did not expect this one. Not usually one for YA’s ,  I was intreiged by the premise of this story. Renzy, had his voice ripped away from him at a young age, for so long he couldn’t speak, but now that he’s a teenager, he just doesn’t. He doesn’t know if he can or not, he just knows that he doesn’t… It’s fine with the people of his house, though… they just seem to overlook him after all this time. My heart broke for him so much in the beginning, because imagine that, what it would be like to live in a home where nobody even saw you. You were just a shadow that lives in the attic…. Never fitting in anywhere, never belonging, but always wanting to. It was just…sad. Renzy though, he just keeps on, keeping on….

However, Renzy has a thing for group therapy… all kinds, any kinds, he doesn’t care. He just goes. The same building, different groups, he just observes….getting what he needs from all of them, even if he doesn’t quite know what that is. That’s where he meets Morning; at a rape survivor’s meeting. She’s annoyed with him at first, but, he kind of has a way about him. He’s charming and he doesn’t seem to let anyone get him down. Even mornings older brother Seven.

Seven…. Is something else… Have you ever seen the Ryan Phillipe movie, Cruel Intentions? He reminds me so much of that character. He’s arrogant and douchey and thinks mighty highly of himself because he’s so cultured and educated. He was annoying at first and I wasn’t sure I was going to like him. However, something tragic happened to his sister and with absentee parents, he had to take on the role of her mother and father, brother, friend, babysitter, ….everything. He was everything to her, and then she got hurt and he was everything times ten! He took that job very seriously and he liked being needed. He wanted to fix her, and in the beginning, she needed it. Upon meeting Renzy though, they turned their focus on him, on fixing him… and sure, Seven goes about it the wrong way at first and I really wanted to knock him out, but heart was always in the right place. He meant well and once he started caring about Renzy, he just wanted the two people in the world that he cared about, to be happy, instead of haunted. And they both were, they both were haunted by something tragic from their past.

So, here is where it gets tricky…. Trying to find out the reason Renzy didn’t speak. Trying to figure out the thing that happened to him, that caused him to lose his voice. After a big blow out with his parents, Renzy, Seven and Morning jump in the car with what little clues that have and set out about finding out what happened to Renzy. It’s crazy, the whole thing and just when you think you have it figured out…. You don’t.

It’s crazy because, with mysteries such as these, I often find myself bored and skipping to the end to figure out what everything was about… but this one, I was gripping every page until the end. Again, what you think you know…. You don’t.

The ending was a bit bittersweet for me. I hated how it ended so abruptly, just as things were finally okay with Renzy and Seven. It’s like… we went through this whole thing and get a tiny glimpse of their happy and BAM, it’s over. Didn’t like that.

What I loved through all of it though, I loved that Morning and Seven was there for Renzy when he needed someone most. I love how they took care of him and wanted to help him so much and just make him happy. And I loved the way in through all that, it helped Morning to heal. I loved how Seven and Renzy was there for Morning, in a way that gave her something to care about again. It was kind of surprising that these were supposed to be just kids, because their problems were so real and expertly handled. I never once felt like they were kids, in a YA situation.

I also loved Renzy’s dad. His family and how finally, after all the years of overlooking him, they truly did care for him. Especially his dad. I loved that. What a good dad he turned out to be.

Overall, it was a really good, emotional read. I’d definitely recommend it!

4 pieces of eye candy from me!

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—a daughter in law school, another in dance school, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son still in high school.  She writes LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing English papers. Her husband of twenty-four years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on emotional growth in turbulent relationships. As she has a great affinity for the tortured hero, there is, at minimum, one in each book. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of said tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press and Harmony Ink Press for providing alternate places to stash her stories.

Her books have won a Best YA Lesbian Rainbow Award, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, among other awards.

Mia is a Progressive, a little bit too obsessed by politics, and cheers for each and every victory in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com. Visit her website for updates on what is going on in Mia’s world, rants, music, parties, and pictures, and maybe even a little bit of inspiration.

Links: Facebook | Twitter

 

Raine O’Tierney loves writing about first loves and friendship. She believes the best thing we can do in this life is be kind to one another, and hopes her stories always reflect that. Raine loves encouraging people to write and has been known to repeat the phrase “I believe everyone has a story to tell” endlessly, until she breaks down even the most stubborn non-writer!

Raine lives outside of Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband, fellow M/M author Siôn O’Tierney. When she’s not writing, she’s either playing video games or fighting the good fight for intellectual freedom at her library day job.

Contact her if you’re interested in talking about point-and-click adventure games or about which dachshunds are the best kinds of dachshunds!

Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

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Forever With You by Londra Laine: New Release Review

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Kelly Brooks Montes is only nineteen years old and just starting college in New York City when tragedy strikes, and he becomes a single dad to his toddler brother. Four years later, Kelly and his baby brother, Jaylen, are doing well, though Kelly leads a double life to make ends meet. He’s a high-level administrative assistant by day and a racy go-go boy by night. Between raising his brother, dancing, and trying not to run afoul of his new boss, Kelly doesn’t have time for a boyfriend. Even if he did want a man in his life, a past trauma makes him question whether he can ever trust a man with his body or his heart. But then Kelly receives an unexpected but steamy birthday kiss from his boss, a man he was sure hated him, and he begins to wish for things he knows he shouldn’t.

Andrew Whitman knew from the moment he held Kelly’s hand that the man was special, and it both annoyed and terrified him. Kelly makes him feel a little out of control and Drew is a highly controlled man. He has to be to keep his sexuality a secret from his father, a conservative politician. And he is OK with that. He has a perfectly good, mutually beneficial, life plan with his best friend, Lex. A long time ago, he’d made his peace with the fact that he’d never find a man worth turning his life upside down for. Then he ends up with his capable and gorgeous assistant under him on top of his desk, and his life plans change. Drew can’t seem to get out of his own way when it comes to the quiet, sexy, and surprising single dad, but he can’t stop himself from falling for Kelly and his sweet baby brother. And just when it seems that Kelly has worked through his past hurts enough to let Drew into his body and his heart, manipulative family and words unspoken threaten to tear them apart. But after getting a taste of a life he never thought he could have, Drew won’t let anything tear his fledgling family apart.

***Please be aware that this book contains a flashback of and several references to sexual assault that may be triggering to some readers.***

 

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Kelly thinks his boss, Drew, doesn’t like him and it makes things pretty awkward at the office. Especially since Kelly has a big ol crush on him. Unfortunately, Kelly doesn’t have time to act on that attraction, or any other attraction with anyone else, because not only is he working two jobs, but he also is guardian to his little brother Jaylen, who he’s had custody of since Jaylen was a baby and their parents died in a car accident. Doesn’t matter anyway, because Drew doesn’t like him, anyways… right

Wrong. Drew is just as infatuated with Kelly as Kelly is with him, he just doesn’t know how to show it and he seems to run hot and cold with Kelly. Being his boss is just topping on the cake. However, after Kelly bluntly asks him why he doesn’t like him…. Things take a turn from there. Neither of them hold back what they’ve been hiding and it gets hot and heavy pretty fast.

However, again…. Kelly has some hang-ups, from a date gone bad in his youth and it has him running away from Andrew, just as things start getting good. It’s tough and I felt for Kelly, but my goodness, it happens so many times, I started to feel badly for Andrew. There is a lot going on in this story as these two guys get their bearings and date. Kelly has his little brother to think about his back and forth is kind of exhausting. Some of the dialogue was iffy for me. Kelly was said to be this confident, self-assured man, but he doubted himself a lot, and flat out asked Drew a couple different times, why he liked him, then proceeded to tell him all that was wrong with him, like he was trying to talk Drew out of liking him. That’s annoying to me. Like, I get that you need assurances, but don’t do that, it sounds like your fishing. Especially if you do it more than once.

Other than that, and sometimes cringy dialogue, they run into some trouble with Drews dad… they have great friends, both guys do and I love that they have the support, they’d definitely need it, since Drews dad is kind of like the worst villain in any hero movie. I’m not sure why the whole thing didn’t seem believable to me, but it seemed like something you’d see on a lifetime movie or something. The blackmail, the lies and downright hatred the father had for Drew, up and out of nowhere and the lengths he was willing to go to hurt Drew. Then, the alternate life Drew had with his bestie and how that whole thing played out. I dunno, it seemed like a drama movie and I saw it all coming and the fallout, though I couldn’t have predicted the bad A move by Drew at the end….I was pleased with that…. But the rest was just ..a lot.

Fortunately, all’s well that ends well and Drew got the little family he fought so hard for. I loved that part, you couldn’t help but love Drew. He never wavered in his love and patience and understanding and care for Kelly and Jaylen. I love that in a hot guy, especially when he’s a hot dad type. We all know how I feel about those!

Overall an entertaining and somewhat angsty read.

4 pieces of eye from me!