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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

TCO Reviewer: Rosa

Noble Hops by Layla Reyne: Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

February 12, 2019 by Denise Leave a Comment

 

Layla Reyne stopped by today with the final book in her Trouble Brewing series, Noble Hops. She brought an exclusive excerpt only for TCO readers, and a fantastic book and swag bag giveaway. Make sure you check it out! Noble Hops is available in ebook and audiobook now, so pick it up here!

 

Everything Dominic Price has worked hard to uphold is about to come crashing down on everything he holds dear.

So much for the quiet life. Just as assistant US attorney and brewery owner Dominic Price is settling into a comfy new chapter with his partner, FBI agent Cameron Byrne, the sudden death of Nic’s father puts their happily-ever-after in jeopardy. Nic immediately suspects foul play, his prime suspect a notorious gangster his father was indebted to—only now the loan shark is out for blood.

Cam has been longing for Nic to finally let him in on this very personal case. But when Nic’s belief that he’s the sole Price heir is upended, the line between personal and professional starts to blur, leaving Cam unsure of where he stands.

Nic is depending on Cam’s kidnap and rescue expertise to save his recently discovered family member before it’s too late. But with a dangerous threat closing in, the ghosts from Nic’s past cast long shadows. Any relationship could crack under the pressure, but for Nic, finding his family might mean losing the love of his life.

Noble Hops (Trouble Brewing #3) by Layla Reyne

Publisher: Carina Press

Release Date (Print & Ebook): Ebook/Audio: February 11, 2019; Print: February 26, 2019

Length (Print & Ebook): 320 pages

Subgenre: M/M Romantic Suspense

 

Layla Reyne says: Nic and Cam have to fight for their lives and their happily ever after in this exciting, action-packed conclusion to the Trouble Brewing series.

“Well-matched protagonists fueled by love and purpose risk everything to bring a slick gangster down in a thriller both hot and sweet, wrapping up a well-done M/M series in style.”

— Library Journal

“I adore this series, and I can’t wait for more Nic and Cam!”

— Author of The Fall, May Archer, on Craft Brew (Trouble Brewing #2)

 

Amazon

Audible

Thanks for having me on the blog today to celebrate the release of NOBLE HOPS, the final book of the Trouble Brewing series. The Whiskey Verse gang is all back together – and indulging in Cam’s favorite treat – in this exclusive excerpt. Enjoy!

Cam entered the conference room with a pink, brown and orange box on each hand, skirting past Nic who held the door open for him. “We come bearing doughnuts.”

Despite his vow in Boston to never eat Dunkin’ Donuts again, once Cam had learned there was a new one on their way from the house to the office, all bets were off. His colleagues had reaped the rewards ever since, as Lauren did today, looking up from her computer with a tired smile.

“My heroes.” She took one of the boxes from Cam and dug right in.

“You’re lucky he didn’t eat them all on the way here,” Nic said, as Cam slid the other box onto the table.

With his free hand, Cam shot Nic the bird. “Well, if someone hadn’t kept me up all night.”

Lauren clapped her hands over her ears. “Earmuffs!”

Cam laughed around a bite of blueberry-glazed doughnut.

“It was nothing that fun,” Nic said, headed for the coffeemaker. “He pretended to be Vaughn, and I grilled him for hours.”

“Waste of a night. You’re ready.” Cam reached for a second doughnut, and Nic shoved a cup of coffee in his hand instead.

“That’s four already, and as for last night, I want to be prepared.”

“I think I can help with that,” Lauren said, losing the battle with a powdered one, her navy blazer from yesterday taking a sugar beating.

“You cracked Harris’s computer?” Cam asked.

The slim MacBook had been locked away in a wall safe, hidden behind the framed alphabet poster in the nursery. When Lauren had carried it out last night, Vaughn’s eyes had flashed with what looked like fear, the first crack Cam had seen in his shiny, too-cool veneer.

“I did.”

“Then what am I here for?” came a familiar voice behind them, the drawl unmistakably Southern.

Cam twisted to see his best friend entering the conference room ahead of Aidan. He was half out of his chair when Jamie pulled him the rest of the way up and into a back-slapping hug. “Brother,” Cam said, feeling like the missing piece of the team, of his support system, was back where it belonged.

Jamie drew Nic into a hug next. “Whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” Nic replied.

This is the final book of Cam and Nic’s story. The guys are pretty much settled into their relationship and how they feel about each other. But Nic is still waiting for the other shoe to drop as he tries building a case against his father’s — and now his — arch enemy. As Nic’s reeling from a family tragedy, a stunning secret is revealed to him that will change everything.

This book felt very much like a wrap up. We know where the guys stand with each other, and there are a few bumps but they come through for each other — no surprises there. Nic confronts parts of his past and reveals things he’s been keeping from Cam which serves to bring them closer while giving the reader some closure. And the theme of family, both blood and who you choose for yourself, is woven throughout and always gives me warm and fuzzies.

I’ll miss these guys for sure, but with new characters introduced, it won’t surprise me to see them show up again sometime.

3 pieces of eye candy

Author Layla Reyne was raised in North Carolina and now calls San Francisco home. She enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart pounding romance. When she’s not writing stories to excite her readers, she downloads too many books, watches too much television, and cooks too much food with her scientist husband, much to the delight of their smushed-face, leftover-loving dogs.

Connect with Layla:

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216903272072959/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/laylareyne

IG: https://www.instagram.com/laylareyne/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laylareyne

Newsletter: https://www.laylareyne.com/signup

AMZ: https://www.amazon.com/author/LaylaReyne

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/layla-reyne

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/laylareyne/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/laylareyne

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Filed Under: Blog Tours, Book Excerpts, Book Reviews, Giveaways, New Release Book Blast, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, Release Day Review, TCO Exclusives, TCO Reviewer: Rosa Tagged With: 3 stars, author, blog tour, Carina Press, excerpt, exclusive, gay, giveaway, Layla Reyne, lgbt, m/m romance, new release, review, romance

The New World by J.P. Bowie: New Release Review

December 16, 2018 by Denise

Jamie finds his life and possible destiny irrevocably intertwined with Tanaka, a Choctaw warrior and shaman, but danger lies all around in a land troubled by unrest and war.

When Jamie finally reaches the Americas, he is a changed man—one whose innocence has been replaced by a keen sense of self-preservation and a determination to survive, no matter what. That determination is challenged when he is charged with piracy and must choose between a death sentence or life as an indentured slave.

Choosing to live, he suffers the humiliation of slavery until he is rescued by Tanaka, a Choctaw warrior-shaman. Jamie joins the Choctaws against the soldiers of King George, who are trying to force them off their land. It isn’t long before Jamie and Tanaka’s admiration for each other becomes a love that will shape their destinies.

General Release Date: 27th November 2018

ISBN: 978-1-78651-691-6 Imprint: Pride Publishing
Book Length: Short Novel

Genre:

EROTIC ROMANCE
GAY
HISTORICAL

Amazon

Pride Publishing

This is the second book in what looks like a 3 part series, but it’s pretty much a stand alone if you haven’t read book 1 (I didn’t). Jamie arrives in the new world as captain of his ship and almost immediately runs afoul of British troops in the woods of Georgia. He’s arrested and sold into indentured servitude to a cruel farmer. He’s rescued by Tanaka, a young native warrior who’s lost his home and family to the same British troops Jamie has made enemies of.

Jamie and Tanaka quickly trust each other and become close friends and more. They work together with the remaining native tribe to fight off the wave of troops that have come to claim the Choctaw land in the name of England.

This was a quick story to read, and outside of the conflict between the natives and the English, there wasn’t much in the way of angst between the main characters. There’s an odd element of the supernatural as we learn Jamie and Tanaka have dreamt of each other for some time before meeting. Each “knew” the other on sight. I feel like this story should have been one larger book, with more of the characters and action fleshed out. This was just okay for me.

3 pieces of eye candy

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, TCO Reviewer: Rosa Tagged With: 3 stars, author, book, gay, lgbt, m/m romance, mmromance, new release, novella, Pride Publishing, review, romance

Craft Brew (Trouble Brewing #2) by Layla Reyne: Blog Tour, New Release Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

October 14, 2018 by Denise

 

Assistant US attorney Dominic Price is staring down the barrel of his father’s debts. The bull’s-eye on his back makes him a threat to everyone he cares about, so when his lover wants to go public with their relationship, he bolts. Not because he isn’t in love—he can’t stomach the thought of putting Cam in danger.

Kidnap and rescue expert Cameron Byrne is determined to figure out what trouble Nic is running from, but devastating news from home brings him back to Boston and to the cold case that has haunted his family for two decades. Shoving aside his pride, he calls Nic for help.

Together they search for answers, navigating the minefield of Cam’s past. But when they get too close to the truth, Cam must use every skill in his arsenal to save the man he loves…before it’s too late.

Genre: M/M Romantic Suspense

Release Date: E-Book and Audio – October 8;

Paperback – October 30

Publisher: Carina Press

Tropes and Themes: Workplace romance, forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, coming out

Amazon

Carina

He waited for Cam to finish wiping off, then took the rag and tossed it aside. He stretched an arm over him, planting it in the mattress on the other side of his hip, icy blues staring down at him. “I’m not running.”

“You tell me your rental is getting demo’d and you’re getting kicked out, which thank fuck because that place should have been torn down ages ago.” Aside from its proximity to the brewery Nic co-owned, the run-down duplex made no sense for Dominic Price, federal prosecutor and son of a real estate mogul. “Seeing as you’ve been here every night for four months, I made the logical suggestion that you move in.” He flung an arm toward the door. “And then you bolted like the sheets were on fire.”

“I’m leaving for San Diego.”

Shock propelled Cam up to seated again. “You’re what?”

Nic leaned back just in time to avoid a head-on collision. He folded his arms, lean muscles taut as they bisected the myriad of tattoos painting his torso. “The US Attorney down there is taking paternity leave. They need someone to cover.”

“And you volunteered?”

“No, they asked me.”

Cam scooted back against the headboard, letting it hold him up as his world spun faster than he was equipped to handle at this hour.

It was a great opportunity for San Francisco’s best Assistant US Attorney—getting out from under his asshole boss here and taking the reins of an entire operation there. Major problem for Cam, who after a year in the Bay Area had only recently begun to feel at home, in no small part due to the man beside him.

Anger and hurt bested professional goodwill. “Bullshit you’re not running.”

Nic inched closer, laying a hand on his thigh. “You’ll be safer if I’m not here.”

“This is about your father,” Cam surmised.

 

Cam and Nic are back and we see them taking the next steps in the relationship. But Cam is called home to Boston for a family emergency while Nic stays behind. Clearly they each want Nic to be in Boston but it’s still early stages, and meeting the family while Cam isn’t even out to them is out of the question. Nic meanwhile still isn’t sure he should be with Cam as the bad business with Nic’s father puts Nic and anyone he cares about in danger. An unacceptable risk, but Nic can’t seem to let Cam go for good.

I like Cam and Nic together and the rest of the Whiskey and Irish crew, who show up here and pitch in to help. The ending is satisfying but the guys’ story isn’t done yet. While Cam found resolution to a decades’ long mystery, Nic still has to confront the situation surrounding his father’s bad business dealings that have Nic being chased by hit men. But by his side will be the new family who will go all in to protect him.

It always warms my heart when characters who have no family of their own, for whatever reason, are received by someone else’s with open arms. Nic gets that with Cam, so I couldn’t be happier. Waiting for the next installment to see how they resolve their relationship and the danger facing Nic!

3.5 pieces of eye candy

 

Author Layla Reyne was raised in North Carolina and now calls San Francisco home. She enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart pounding romance. When she’s not writing stories to excite her readers, she downloads too many books, watches too much television, and cooks too much food with her scientist husband, much to the delight of their smushed-face, leftover-loving dogs. Layla is a member of Romance Writers of America and its Kiss of Death and Rainbow Romance Writers chapters. She was a 2016 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist in Romantic Suspense.

Author Links:

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216903272072959/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/layla-reyne

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/laylareyne

Newsletter: https://www.laylareyne.com/signup

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/laylareyne/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laylareyne/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/laylareyne/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/laylareyne/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/laylareyne

 

 

  

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Filed Under: Blog Tours, Book Excerpts, Book Reviews, Giveaways, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, Release Day Review, TCO Reviewer: Rosa Tagged With: 3.5 stars, author, book, excerpt, gay, giveaway, lgbt, m/m romance, mmromance, new release, review, romance

Honey from the Lion by Jackie North: New Release Review

October 13, 2018 by Denise

Soulmates across time. A love that was meant to be.

In present day, Laurie, tired of corporate life, takes a much-needed vacation at Farthingdale Dude Ranch.

The very first night a freak blizzard combined with a powerful meteor shower takes Laurie back to the year 1891. When he wakes up in a snowbank, his only refuge is an isolated cabin inhabited by the gruff, grouchy John Henton, who only wants to be left alone. His sense of duty prevails, however, and he takes Laurie under his care, teaching him how to survive on the wild frontier.

As winter approaches, Laurie’s normal fun-loving manner make it difficult for him to connect with John, but in spite of John’s old-fashioned ways, the chemistry between them grows.

Sparks fly as the blizzard rages outside the cabin. Can two men from different worlds and different times find happiness together?

A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, true confessions, a shared bed, fireplace kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Honey from the Lion is a time travel that follows modern day Laurie, a guy who needs a break from his fast paced life that has him burned out. Laurie falls back in time to 1891 and meets rugged mountain loner John. Being a modern guy, Laurie has no idea how to fend for himself in the Colorado mountains and at first John is grumpy with this unexpected nuisance who’s shown up at his cabin’s door. But Laurie coaxes John into teaching him what he needs to live in the wilderness and the two soon fall for each other. Being snowed in is wonderful, but 19th century Colorado isn’t going to be kind to two men who are in love. Will the two be able to make a life this way? Or can Laurie get back to his own time? Will he even want to get back to his own time now that’s he’s found love?

This is a sweet story. I liked how Laurie knew how to navigate John’s grumpy self to uncover an excellent frontiersman willing to share his knowledge. It hurts me how John suffers from PTSD from his time during the Indian wars and that he has had to fight his attraction to men all his life. I love that they find peace, love and comfort with each other. I found the writing style a little bland; where that, and then this, and then that happened. But it seems this will be a series, and I might give the rest a try. The author has left a few areas that could be explored and I want to see how our heroes fare in the future.

3 pieces of eye candy

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, TCO Reviewer: Rosa Tagged With: 3 stars, author, book, gay, Jackie North, lgbt, m/m romance, mmromance, new release, review, romance

Point of No Return by N.R. Walker: Audio Book Review

September 29, 2018 by Denise

Book one in the Turning Point series.

Matthew Elliot is one of LA’s best detectives. He’s been labeled the golden boy of the Fab Four: a team of four detectives who’ve closed down drug-rings all over the city. He’s smart, tough and exceptionally good at his job. He’s also a closeted gay man.

Enter Kira Takeo Franco, the new boxing coach at the gym. Matthew can’t deny his immediate attraction to the man his fellow cops know as Frankie. But in allowing himself to fall in love with a man known to his colleagues, Matthew risks outing them both.

Matt and Kira work to keep their relationship and private lives hidden from Matt’s very public life, fearing it would be detrimental to their careers. But it’s not the other cops who Matthew should be worried about finding out his deepest, darkest secret…. It’s the bad guys.

Third edition – has new cover and has been re-edited, though no new content has been added.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Audible

I always love NR Walker. This series is no different. It follows Matthew Elliot, a closeted LA detective and Kira Franco, the new boxing trainer at the police gym. Insta-lust ensues and it doesn’t take long for these two to hook up. So, sexy times are taken care of pretty quickly, but why then are there 3 books? Well. Naturally there are issues. Let’s start with Matt being closeted, and Kira sort of is too. Matt also has some abandonment issues from his youth, which hurts my heart because he’s rather sweet. Then of course there’s also the bad guys we’re dealing with as part of Matt’s job. Matt is mostly happy keeping his private and work lives separate for now and he’s in no rush to come out with Kira, who is also mostly okay with that. But his Enemy #1 uncovers his weak spot and puts Matt in that position he wasn’t yet ready to be in. I can always get into the skin of Walker’s characters and I’m gutted and torn and confused like they are when they have to consider what their issues are and determine if this new person in their life is worth them trying to overcome these issues, whether it’s coming out to others, trusting your heart with another person, the logistics of creating a new life with someone — and their family. Matt and Kira are sweet together and they make me happy.

In book 2, Matt has quit his job as a detective and has joined an underground MMA fighting club. See, Matt has slowly developed a liking for the physical pain because he feels guilt for putting Kira in danger at his old job. But while he’s taking his penance in the ring, he’s not being entirely honest with Kira. As the months go by Kira sees Matt changing into a kind of rage-aholic and he doesn’t know why. Guys, my heart *hurt*. I even cried a little. Poor Kira doesn’t know what’s wrong and Matt isn’t shedding any light on the situation, even though it’s tearing him apart.

Starting Point is also heartbreaking in its own way, as Matt seems to have finally shaken his demons and begins working with kids in self-defense training and drug counseling. Matt feels a bit helpless when it comes to the underserved kids he works with daily, but as time goes on, he learns to better distance himself while still providing guidance and opportunities for the kids. This book is really about Matt learning to find a new passion for work, with Kira by his side rooting him on.

The audio for the series was read by Sean Crisden, and I’m always torn by Crisden’s work. He reads well and has distinctive voices, most of which are really good. But one of his “voices” just sounds so … unenthusiastic about everything. It makes me feel like the character is just a mopey Debbie Downer. But the story is good and I liked the characters, and I soon got past it. Don’t let that stop you from listening.

4 pieces of eye candy

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Filed Under: Audiobook Reviews, Book Reviews, Quick Reviews, Randomness, TCO Reviewer: Rosa Tagged With: 4 stars, Audio Book, author, book, gay, lgbt, m/m romance, mmromance, N.R. Walker, review, romance

No Way Out by Eric Alan Westfall : Blog Tour, Exclusive Author Interview, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

September 24, 2018 by Denise

It’s April of 1816 in Another England.

And Jeremy—a whore from the Dock—is living in a guest bedroom at the London home of the (in)famous Iron Marquess, with over fifteen days missing from his life.

For someone who remembers everything from his third birthday on, it’s unnerving not to know. Fine, fourteen days for the coma and the infection delirium. But those first thirty-six hours. Do they explain how he got hurt, how he got to Ireton House, and why his lordship’s mountain-sized valet is taking care of him? Or why his ironness looks at him with nothing iron at all in his eyes?

Jeremy and the Iron Marquess both have dark secrets. Forced engagements, an inheritance, a scheme to clap Jeremy in Bedlam, the revelation of the missing hours, a problem with plumage, some numbered accounts, and a long sea voyage, all seem to mean there’s no way out of the snares surrounding them. Or is the old saying true: where there’s a waltz, there’s a way?

All royalties will go to a local LGBT organization.

Author: Eric Alan Westfall

Genres: MM Romance, historical, alternate history

Pairings: MM

Keywords/Categories: MM romance, historical, humor

Series Title: Another England

Position (Number) in Series: #3

Necessary to Read Previous Books: No

Amazon

Universal

QueeRomance Ink

Goodreads

 

What led you to write in your genre?

If I were to use “gay”—romance or otherwise—as the genre, I’d have to say because I’m a gay man, and my ideas aren’t mainstream. Writing MM books didn’t happen, at least not for publication, until I got hooked by the Don’t Read in the Closet events of the Goodreads MM Romance Group in 2013. Within the broader MM category, I have two genres: fantasy and historical.

I answered this question about my interest in fantasy on the blog tour for Of Princes False and True, so here I am talking about historical novels.

Part of the reason is my “meeting” Georgette Heyer in 1961, as a freshman in college. Ms. Heyer was a prolific writer in the first half of the 20th Century, and for all practical purposes she invented Regency historical novels. Not a moment of sex in any of them, but they’re all marvels of historical precision in terms of dress, food, manners, mores, entertainments, etc., etc. More important, though, they’re witty, clever, remarkably fun and she always tells a good story.

I went on reading Regencies after college, especially when so many were released by the major publishers. By that time, the books had to have explicit sex, and since they were MF, I’d enjoy the plot, hit the 37-page sex scene, go flippity-flippity-flip through the paperback pages until it was over, and then go on with the plot.

My first historical was The Rake, The Rogue, and The Roué, which was inspired by a picture prompt and a letter in a DRitC even. That book was the creation of my “Another England” back story. The second AE book was also a DRitC picture (a remarkably explicit actual 1893 photo collage of men, er, having fun while wearing socks). The combination pretty much hooked me.

So you can blame Georgette Heyer and DRitC for my writing gay historicals.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Finishing it. I went back and checked, and I wrote the first half of the opening chapter in mid-2011. I wrote in starts and stops over the following six years (if you have a substantial amount of time I can offer you a long list of reasons/excuses why). I got started with MM romances in 2013, but this one stayed on the back burner, though by the end of 2017, it was up to 120,000 words.

The book just sat there, occasionally reminding me of its existence, for most of 2018, until July, when I committed myself…as in paid out money!!!!…for the guys at Other Worlds Ink to set up the pretty much back to back blog tours for Of Princes False and True and no way out. Which meant both books had to be finished in roughly a month each.

The final words, bringing the grand total to just of 152,000 happened in August. For whatever reason, philosophical (as one of my characters might say, “’e finely got ‘is ‘ead out of ‘is arse, ‘n’ got it done”) or financial (he’s too cheap to let that non-refundable payment go to waste), I wrote every day. And each day, for whatever chapter I picked to work on—I don’t write gaily forward from beginning to end—the words were there.

Now let’s see if I can keep up…not quite the same pace…but a reasonable one and get some more books done and out the door.

What are some of your favorite writing resources?

Resources, plural? There’s something other than Google? Really?

Who knew?

Okay, so maybe there are a couple of resources I rely on.

Google mostly. For example, in no way out, I had a question about trousers, pantaloons and breeches in Regency England. Yep, they’re all different. Plus underwear. (Oh, c’mon. This is a gay romance. Of course they’re going to get undressed, so I had to be sure how they’d do it, especially for the scene on the quarterdeck.) A quick bit of Googling led me to a site devoted to the Regency period with an article on men’s clothing. As I don’t do the kind of research which makes the historical novels of the likes of Heyer and Dunnett so accurate, Google provides me enough of the details to give the flavor of the period.

And as I am fond of slang, there are two resources I own.

There’s The Big Book of Filth, edited and compiled by Jonathon Green, who is in fact a renowned British lexicographer and authority on slang. This little book (with its clever cartoon illustrations) has 6500 slang words and phrases about sex, and it even tells you roughly when the word came into use.

An even better resource is Green’s Chambers Slang Dictionary, a 1500-page hardcover, that not only defines the slang word or phrase, but gives you a history of its use, and when it was first used. This is all kinds of English slang, not just related to sex. If you want to be sure your slang is right, or if your story is set in a particular period and you don’t know whether you can use “gobsmacked”…you can find out with this marvelous book.

How do you handle a story that doesn’t go as you planned?

With abject gratitude to Mike the Manly Muse and his character cohorts in crime. I’m the proverbial “pantser” and only twice can I say I actually planned a book:  no way out and the one I’m currently hooked on writing regardless of what I should really be doing (a gay version of The Tinderbox, starring Charlie, our intrepid soldier hero, and Prince Caspian the Charming, who needs rescuing from a copper cauldron).

In no way out, Mike stepped in, fairly near the end of writing, and said, “What about this? Wouldn’t it work about X?” (Nope, not telling you which MC.) It would, indeed. And at the same time, while X didn’t change any of the already written or to-be-written actions of the MC, it created…an explanation, if you will…of who he was, and made him a more complex person than he was before. Some of what had been done had to be revised, but with an idea like X, it was worth it.

Other times, Mike will murmur in my far-from-shell-like ear suggestions for sentences or phrases or paragraphs. Sometimes, too, Mike suggests an alternate route for getting to the end. I almost always start knowing the title, the beginning and the ending, and pretty much how to get to the point of typing “FIN.” Usually Mike’s suggestion is better than what I’d first had in mind.

Thanks, Mike!

There were parts I really liked about this book. The guys and the plot were fine, and there was a good amount of sexy times in nice detail. So. If I say there’s a lot I liked, there was some things I didn’t like. You know how in classic books, the sentences go on for ages, and by the time you’ve gotten to the end of the sentence, you’re just confused about what was said? Like, a five-line sentence littered with 87 commas. I can’t keep that all straight in my head. That’s the style of this book, so it’s no wonder it’s 300+ pages. There were also numerous instances of the author kind of sort of saying something but not *quite* being explicit about what exactly it is happening on the page. So I kind of squinted and looked around and either eventually figured it out after reading another few paragraphs or I just never figured out exactly and specifically what he was trying to convey. It was sometimes exhausting. Several times it was written something like “He said the word.” Wait, what word? What did I miss? Frustrating.

At one point, one hero actually has raunchy sex with another man, which is generally a no-no for me, but fine, it was explained why and I got over it. And honestly it’s probably more realistic that way. But while there is seemingly an HEA, it was definitely not enough for me! These guys went through some stuff and I wanted declarations of love and forever and possibly one sexy times scene for the road, but it ended rather abruptly.

Giving this 3.5 for the story, as I liked the guys and there was some nice angst.

  1. IT ALL BEGINS

6 April 1816

1:38 p.m.

Ireton House, London

 

The voice was back.

Inside my head.

Still I swiveled, twisting to look behind, knowing I would see what I always see when the words are said—nothing. The unpainted, scuffed wooden floor was empty. The door to second story elegance had not creaked since we passed through, shutting it behind us, moments ago. The stairs to lesser third-story elegance and fourth story no elegance at all were both bare of bodies who might whisper words only I could hear.

I turned forward again, teetered, and reaching out, slapped my palms flat against the walls of the narrow servants’ stairs. Pressing hard, I tilted back, but my socked foot slipped on the slick wooden edge. When I landed, the floor made known its displeasure with a sharp splinter through the rope-belted loose trousers, ill-fitting smalls, and into my bum. I yelped.

The cold voice of Thomas, the senior footman, rose up the stairwell from the landing below. “His lordship is waiting.”

I shifted my weight to my left hip, and rolled to my knees, giving him a fine view of my bottom if he was watching, which was by now instinctive. I made a point of lifting my left leg with great care, and with equal care placing my foot on the floor, again in case he was watching. A right foot repeat and then some clearly awkward struggling to get myself as upright on the landing as I could—although a boy with a twisted spine and a twisted leg can never be truly upright—followed by a shuffle-step away from the edge. I suppressed the temptation to rub my right arse cheek. Without turning around I called down, “Well, bugger ‘is bleedin’ lordship! Me feet ‘urt ‘n me arse ‘as been ‘urt, too.”

My feet didn’t hurt much any more. Though bandaged still, and covered with the thick wool stockings sagging around my ankles, they had almost healed. But the pretense might keep me here, with a comfortable bed, and good food, for just a while longer. I grinned a small, wicked grin to myself, and wiped it away as I turned to face the stairs. “Right, then. Shall I drop me britches, turn ‘n bend and you can see what’s stickin’ in me bum, ‘n maybe come up ‘n pull it out?”

It was amazing how much disdain could be contained in stare and stance. Thomas even managed to look down his nose while looking up the stairs.

“Orright, orright. Jus’ wait a bleedin’ minute. ‘n you might want to close yer eyes so’s y’don’t see somethin’ what might ‘orrify you, just in case me grip slips, ‘cause I ain’t goin’ nowhere with somethin’ stickin’ in me arse.”

My hands were on the knot in the rope, and I grinned broadly when the footman closed his eyes, with a stern “Be quick about it then, boy.”

I untied the knot, loosening the waistband since whoever supplied the trousers was much thicker around the middle than me, using my left hand to hold the pants up. I reached behind, and working my right hand into my smalls and found the painful little bugger. With thumb and forefinger I wiggled it free, brought my hand round to the front, and looked at the bloody, bloody thing. I shouldn’t have, but I did. I lifted the three-quarter-inch sliver before my face. “Oi! Is this a dagger wot I see before me?”

Bloody hell. Bloody, bloody, bloody hell. Maybe Thomas wouldn’t…. Well, bloody hell all over again, he did. The footman was looking at me now, his eyes wide, his mouth open to say something, and then he slowly shut it.

It would only make it worse if I tried to cobble together an explanation of why, or how a sixteen-year-old street boy (the age I gave) could paraphrase The Scottish Play. I shut my own mouth, dropped the splinter, retied the knot, and began descending the stairs with care, one thumping step at a time. I braced one hand against the wall—his lordship did not believe in hand rails for his servants—in case of another slip. The footman waited until I was almost at the landing before turning away. Watching my downward struggle, he was unconcerned about the possibility of another fall, his expression informing me if I fell I was on my own. I followed in silence as we went through the halls of the first floor to the front of the house.

Ah, his lordship’s library. I stared at the door.

I’d been in there, just the once, when I shouldn’t have been. But then, I shouldn’t have been in the house in the first place, but I was, though I didn’t know why. Or how I came to be here. Both were part of what was missing. I could remember every…bloody…thing in my life up to the night before…whatever…happened. Remember the Dock on the 12th, the clock in my head saying it was ten thirty at night when I finished the last man. I remember the glint of the shilling as it spun through the air, making me get off my knees, bend and stretch to reach it in the muck. The feel of the metal between my fingertips as I picked it up. Then the twist and roll away, my back taking the brunt of the kick meant for my belly. The man was one of those who, once done, and eager to be tucked and buttoned away, feels guilty and lashes out at the one responsible for his sin. I remember his silhouette as I got to my feet, his realizing how much taller I was, and how the silhouette turned and hurried away.

Then nothing more until I woke up too damned many days later in a bloody nobleman’s house, in sobbing agony, weak, my feet, head and thigh throbbing with pain.

Eric is a Midwesterner, and as Lady Glenhaven might say, “His first sea voyage was with Noah.” He started reading at five with one of the Andrew Lang books (he thinks it was The Blue Fairy Book) and has been a science fiction/fantasy addict ever since. Most of his writing is in those (MM) genres.

The exceptions are his Another England (alternate history) series:  The Rake, The Rogue and the Roué (Regency novel), Mr. Felcher’s Grand Emporium, or, The Adventures of a Pair of Spares in the Fine Art of Gentlemanly Portraiture (Victorian), with no way out (Regency) coming out a month after Of Princes.

Two more fairy tales are in progress:  3 Boars & A Wolf Walk Into A Bar (Eric is sure you can figure this one out), and The Truth About Them Damn Goats (of the gruff variety).

Now all he has to do is find the time to write the incomplete stuff! (The real world can be a real pain!)

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/Eric-Alan-Westfall-1045476662268838

Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/eawestfall43


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