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Smoke & Mirrors by Charlie Cochet: Pre-Release Day Review

July 7, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Life for Dexter J. Daley has never been easy, but he’s always found a way to pick himself back up with a smile on his face. Taken from his home and the arms of Sloane Brodie, his boyfriend and THIRDS partner, Dex finds himself in a situation as mysterious and lethal as the Therian interrogating him. Dex learns what he’s secretly believed all along: his parents’ death wasn’t an accident.

Discovering the whole truth about John and Gina Daley’s homicide sets off a series of events that will change Dex and Sloane’s life forever. As buried secrets rise to the surface and new truths are revealed, Dex and Sloane’s love for each other is put to the test, with more than their relationship on the line. If traversing the waters of murder and secret government agencies wasn’t enough, something inexplicable has been happening to Dex—and nothing will ever be the same.

Title: Smoke & Mirrors
Series: THIRDS Book Seven
Author: Charlie Cochet
Release Date: July 8, 2016
Category: Mystery/Suspense, Paranormal, Werewolves/Shifters, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 230

morgan review
WHAT A FANTASTIC STORY!!
When I finished this book I was a complete wreck, but in a good way. I believe Smoke & Mirrors is my favorite yet. Charlie has created an amazing world with the THIRDS and each story seems to be even better than the last. With this next installment we get to see a lot of our questions answered and a lot of new things about Dex’s past revealed. Dex and Sloane are met with even more struggles in their relationship and Dex is going through something that will blow everyone’s minds. This story had me laughing out loud, gripping my seat though the action scenes and crying my eyes out on more than one occasion. Omg, my emotions were all over.

Charlie is an amazing writer. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with for the next book in the series. I am really looking forward to seeing how the story plays out with Seb and Hudson. I have been completely hooked on this series from day one and she can’t write them fast enough. I was so happy with this new installment and Smoke & Mirrors definitely gets 5 pieces of eye candy from me.

5 pieces of eye candy

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denise review

I don’t give 5 pieces of eye candy out anymore. For me, the biggest factor on that is, is this a must re-read again. The answer to that is an emphatic YES!!! SOON!!!

Charlie has taken the THIRDS world and turned it on its head. We learned previous to this book, a little about TIN, and we certainly learn so much more in this book. And we learn how that affects Sloane and Dex’s lives. There is no turning back now.

The opening chapter literally gutted me. I couldn’t read it without crying, and cursing Charlie. (I “might” have been messaging someone about it, because I was upset). The rest of the book was a roller coaster like only Charlie can do. Things you think shouldn’t be related, definitely are. Things that happened in the recent past come back to change their worlds. Things that happened in the long ago past do the same.

Their worlds are changing, and we are so fortunate to have Charlie taking us along for the ride. My emotions were at a huge high, and a sad low. Few authors can take me on that journey, Charlie and her band of merry men did that.

A note of warning…before you read the epilogue, make a stop to grab some tissues. Your heartstrings will be pulled…tightly. What I see ahead for the group, well, it’s still a bumpy ride.

Without question, 5 pieces of eye candy. I will be getting it in paperback, and audio, when I can. And you should too!

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KRANE by Nicole Colville: Cover Reveal and Giveaway

July 7, 2016 by Denise

Book Title: Krane: Knights to Remember

Author: Nicole Colville

Release Date: August 1, 2016

synopsis

At the age of thirty-seven, local giant and semi-professional rugby player, Krane Buchannan, had spent his life hiding behind a tightly locked closet door with a wife as a shield and a gut full of regrets.

Coming out may not have been his decision, but ending his marriage was. With an ugly divorce starting up and a vindictive soon to be ex-wife making his life a living hell, Krane finds his once comfortable life in the small Scottish village changed forever. Unprepared and still unwilling to admit the truth, Krane has some tough decisions to make.

For years he’d been dead inside, going through life but never actually living. He thought he’d never find that one special person, but when he meets an attractive brunette with legs to die for, Krane’s world is tipped upside down.

“I’m going to ruin you for every other man. You’re mine. I own you.”

The heat and the passion scorches them both, and in the space of a few hours, Bailey becomes much more than a one-night experience. Every touch from Bailey was branded onto his skin, forever imprinted like the intricate ink work covering him, something which couldn’t be washed off or forgotten, but worn forever.

Bailey was showing Krane how life should be.

Coming from entirely different worlds, both struggle to overcome the worries and fear of entering into the other’s life, but the searing white hot heat which builds between them with every look can’t be ignored. With hesitant steps, Krane enters into the secretive world of BDSM and Bailey cautiously re-enters the world he’s tired so hard to forget. The world outside the club.

Krane screamed power. Bailey could sense it simmering across the room and filling his lungs with his alpha aroma.

There’s a sadness which clings to Bailey and his unwillingness to open up about the dark secrets from his past makes Krane doubt everything but he’s had enough of giving up and is prepared to fight for what he wants, and what he wants is Bailey. He just has to convince Bailey to want the same thing.

z1wwyh4M Nicole grew bored being a supermodel genius who worked part time for NASA, and decided to take a break from helping solve the mysteries of the universe with Stephen Hawkins to write m/m romance.

She has a loving relationship with her hubby of twenty years, and has achieved a lot in her short life considering she’s only eighteen. She has fourteen dogs of all different breeds, plus twenty cats, and when she’s not tending to their every need, and solving complex math problems, she loves to sew and can be often found knitting in the garden, which she maintains all by herself with her magical green fingers.

Finding time to make all of her own clothing and master the kitchen better than Gordon Ramsey, she’s also a vegan domestic goddess and can often be found cooking up a storm bare foot in her kitchen.

Okay, so that’s not true, especially the cooking part, though I do tend to be bare foot and I swear like Gordon does while burning my latest creation — and I still think NASA will be getting in touch. Any day now!! *crosses fingers* I could sooo do that job because I’m so obviously awesome, but until they do…

I’m a full time author of M/M Romance and Erotica, and somehow I have several bestselling books under my belt. I’ve been writing for four years, and I self publish all my work under Hidden Pleasures Publishing along with my amazing team of helpers in the form my cover designer Kellie Dennis, editor Jessica McKenna, and all of my beta readers and PA’s.

I’m a wife to my beloved hubby and mother to two young girls, and I do in fact have two cats who I adore, but no dog, as the hubby put his foot down. I live in Leeds in the North of England and I love it, despite the terrible weather.

My men are all seeking what everyone is, true love mixed with passion and their own happy-ever-after full of laughter and tears.
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Last Mechanic Standing by L.A. Witt: Release Day Review DSP

July 6, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Everyone at Jim Irving’s garage is gung ho about Wrench Wars, a new reality show featuring mechanics. Everyone, that is, except talented mechanic Chandler Scott, the sole employee who has refused to sign the contract. The rest of the mechanics are pressuring him too, because without Chandler—and his volatile interactions with his boss—no one’s getting on the show.

Chandler’s one ally is Jim’s son, Mark, who’s being forced to work for his dad until he pays down his student loans or finds a better job—and who’s been Chandler’s secret lover for a while.

Then a playful tryst in the garage blows up in their faces, giving the network ammo to blackmail Chandler by threatening to out Mark to his father. Now Chandler is backed into a corner, and Mark needs to decide how far he’s willing to go to protect the man who’s been sharing his bed… and may have stolen his heart.

Title: Last Mechanic Standing
Series: A Wrench Wars Story
Author: L.A. Witt
Release Date: July 6, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Pages: TBC (Novella)

denise review

I was surprised by this one. And I’m not sure why, because every single time L.A. Witt hits the mark for me. She has an incredible ability to not only create characters that I care about, but to put them in situations that are challenging in ways I can’t always understand, and make them fall in love, still giving me my HEA.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy a book about a reality series, and men that are mechanics, but I really did. Chandler was an honorable man, willing to stand up for his reputation, and not allow himself to be bullied into doing something he had no desire to do. But his downfall was being in love with Mark, who not only needed the show, but needed his job under the crushing student loans he had. Blackmail, however, only ever hurts people and clearly it does nothing but hurt these two men.

I loved though, that they found a port in the storm of this reality show in each other. They didn’t turn on each other. Instead, they turned to each other when they needed to be centered, and to feel safe. That was refreshing. It showed that their relationship could stand the difficult challenges that come with a work romance, in a highly stressful situation. They supported one another, and didn’t allow others to pull them down.

Every read by L.A. Witt is one in which I am continually surprised, not because she is not a fantastic writer, but because she makes me care about characters that I might not have ever thought of as one’s I would connect with.

4 pieces of eye candy

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Everyday History by Alice Archer : Guest Post

July 5, 2016 by Denise

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

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

Guest Post

Moving Everyday Objects

By Alice Archer

At the core of Everyday History is the idea that the objects we live with every day store our memories, and that sharing those stories can connect us with others. It’s really not a very revolutionary concept. So why did I latch onto it to the point of creating a novel about it?

By the time I was 15, I’d lived in 15 places. Dad had wheels instead of feet, it seemed, and when he was wanted somewhere else, off we went. He was a Southern Baptist minister (since then, he’s taken a remarkable trajectory through Presbyterianism, Unitarianism, and now sits outside with his wife on Sundays to talk about spirituality – they call it Church on the Front Porch).

Although I wasn’t conscious of it at the time, the way I stayed grounded through our many moves was by focusing on the things that didn’t change from one move to the next: my personal belongings. I could remember the places we’d left, and the experiences I’d had in those places, because of the stuff I had that I associated with them. Places came and went, but my things remained close at hand. Eventually, the place and the experience and the thing become one.

At this point, I’ve lived in more than 80 places. Man, that’s a lot of packing and unpacking. I don’t have a lot of stuff, which makes moving easier, but every piece is a major treasure and every piece has a story to tell me (like the Stickley desk I’m looking at right now, which my mom bought for $5 at a grocery store in Pencil, Arkansas, when she started teaching school). So many stories. So many places. So many experiences. So much love.

I wanted to write about that. Somehow. Even if obliquely. Everyday History is the result.

During a recent visit with my dad, I finally got around to confessing my novel-writing activities – including that I write M/M erotic romance and that I’d had an offer from a publisher. We were eating dinner at the time, and Dad set his fork on his plate with a clank and gave me a stern look. “Uh oh,” I thought. “Here comes the lecture.” But the guy surprised me – yet again (he’s 83; I should be more used to it by now).

“Honey, that should have been the very first thing you told us, as soon as you walked in the door. That’s wonderful news!” He went on to insist that he would read Everyday History when it was published. I asked if he was sure and he huffed. “I’ve been around, you know,” he said. “I’m not a prude.”

I’ve ordered a book for him (at this point, I’ll pause to send a nod of gratitude to Angel Martinez for our brief talk at GayRomLit in 2014 about her relationship with her father). It seems perfectly fitting for Dad to read this story. If he hadn’t raised me the way he did, I wouldn’t have needed to tell it.

In the following excerpt, Henry has been telling Ruben some everyday histories about his stove.

excerpt

Ruben stands up to get a better view of the stove. “Is there more? Are there more stories about this stove?” he asks.

“Yes. Many. But that’s enough.”

“Was it enough for Martin?”

Henry laughs. “You’ve just listened to several paragraphs more about this oven than Martin ever cared to know.”

Ruben thinks about how he was never jealous of guys who moved in on the women he was dating, but even the thought of Martin makes him want to punch Martin’s face a few times. The feeling is so novel Ruben’s not sure where to file it.

“Seriously?” says Ruben. “What was Martin’s problem?”

Henry sits down on a kitchen stool as though Ruben’s question added fifty pounds to his shoulders.

“I’m not sure it was Martin’s problem,” Henry says.

“Whatever it was, sum it up. You’re killing me here.”

Henry rubs his hands across his face and says on a sigh, “I think the totality of me got in the way.”

“Got in Martin’s way, you mean?”

Henry shrugs. “He wanted something else.”

“What kind of something else?”

Ruben watches Henry search for an answer. It takes a while. Ruben waits.

“I really care about my stove’s story,” Henry says. “I have a relationship with my stove that feels alive and real and important.” He plucks a potholder from a hook. “Things, the normal, everyday things in my life, are like that for me. They’re so full of the past and steeped with personal meaning that they’re like…. They’re my family.”

Ruben connects the dots. “Martin didn’t care about your family.”

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meet the author

AliceArcher_AuthorPhoto_Collage Alice Archer has messed about with words professionally for many years as an editor and writing coach. After living in more than eighty places and cobbling together a portable lifestyle, she has lots of story material to sort through. It has reassured her to discover that even though culture and beliefs can get people into a peck of trouble when they’re falling in love, the human heart beats the same in any language. She currently lives near Nashville. Maybe this move will stick.

Website: alicearcher.com
Alice on Facebook: www.facebook.com/alice.archer.author

Check out the other blogs on the Everyday History Blog Tour:

Jun 22 – MM Good Book Reviews

Jun 27 – Open Skye Book Reviews

Jun 29 – Prism Book Alliance and Long and Short Reviews

Jun 30 – Dreamspinner Press Blog

Jul 1 – My Fiction Nook

Jul 2 – Love Bytes

My Busboy by John Inman: Release Day Review DSP

July 3, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Robert Johnny just turned thirty, and his life is pretty much in the toilet. His writing career is on the skids. His love life is nonexistent. A stalker is driving him crazy. And his cat is a pain in the ass.

Then Robert orders a chimichanga platter at a neighborhood restaurant, and his life changes—just like that.

Dario Martinez isn’t having such a great existence either. He needs money for college. His shoes are falling apart. His boyfriend’s a dick. And he has a crap job as a busboy.

Then a stranger orders a chimichanga platter, and suddenly life isn’t quite as depressing.

But it’s the book in the busboy’s back pocket that really gets the ball rolling. For both our heroes. That and the black eye and the forgotten bowl of guacamole. Who knew true love could be so easily ignited or that the flames would spread so quickly?

But when Robert’s stalker gets dangerous, our two heroes find a lot more to occupy their time than falling in love. Staying alive might become the new game plan.

Title: My Busboy
Author: John Inman
Release Date: July 4, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 210

deanna review
I loved so much about this book that I don’t even know where to begin.

Robert Johnny is a writer with a case of writers block he can’t shake and a stalker he can’t identify. Out to dinner for his birthday with his friend Chaz he happens upon a busboy with his first book in his back pocket.

Dario Martinez is working as a busboy to support himself while attending college. He is a huge Robert Johnny fan Andrew is lucky enough to meet the man himself. Maybe it was fate that put these two in each other’s path or maybe it was pure luck, either way it was electric.

Robert is so drawn to Dario he returns to the restaurant the next night for dinner and the two strike up a friendship. When Robert rescues Dario from is abusive boyfriend and whisks him off for the weekend to recuperate their friendship and the attraction deepens.

As the months go on Dario and Robert cement their budding relationship and Robert’s stalker steps up his game. The two are looking forward to forever, but they have to survive the stalker first.

The plot in this story was amazing! It was fast paced and kept me guessing the whole time. Every time I thought I knew who the stalker was, Bam a new twist.

Even with the age difference between Robert and Dario, the relationship just seemed right. There was no emotional disconnect, no immature angst. It was perfect, they were perfect.

There was humor, there was intrigue, there was genuine emotion. I was already a fan of John Inman, but this just skyrocketed him to a new level.

I can see this book being reread often.

5 pieces of eye candy

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Wrong Way by Taylor Law: Author Interview and Review

June 21, 2016 by Denise

Leading The Shenandoah pack consumes most of Thomas Collowell’s time. The Alpha’s job is never done. That had never been more true than when a killer targeting shifters strikes too close to home. He doesn’t have time to deal with a mate, especially a human. There is nothing Camdon Williams wouldn’t do for his best friend, which is why he was the best man in Jessie’s joining ceremony. While in Skyline Village, he gets more than he bargained for, including a strange attraction to the Sheriff. When Camdon and Thomas are forced to work together to stop the killer, Camdon’s eyes are opened to a world he wouldn’t have believed existed. They both learn that there is no such thing as perfect timing. Sometimes, it’s about taking a chance… before it’s too late.

Hi Taylor, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book, please.

Thank you so much for having me. The hardest question – a little about you. I grew up in my parent’s restaurant in south Florida. Well, that’s from when I can remember. I waitressed while I studied music and theatre and then, when I realized that chunky people had no hope of being a performer in our society, I studied criminal law. I wanted to be a crime scene investigator, but I wound up with a paralegal degree instead. I worked in family law for a bit before moving to contract law and civil litigation. Music continued to be a big part of my life, along with writing. Now, I am disabled. Before, I worked 40-50 hours a week and wrote novels for fun because I’m that kind of nerd. Now, I still write for fun when I can, when my body allows me to. I will always be a writer. I started when I was a kid and I’ll never stop. It’s part of what makes me who I am.

I’m 100% Sicilian but I’m probably the quietest one in my family. My son is going to be a Senior this year – AHHH! – and then will join the military. That’s what he wants anyway. Makes me feel old. I love paranormal and fantasy. They’ve always been my favorite genres. I came from a generation who played in the woods by my house with homemade forts and stick swords. Our imagination was everything.

Wrong Way is the second book in The Shenandoah Pack series, and it’s release was long awaited. It features Alpha Thomas and Camdon, Jessie’s friend, as the leads. They are both so much fun because neither one of them are submissive types at all. The push and pull is electric, and when I heard that come from a reader, I was so excited it came across on the page. They are both such interesting characters, and I believe they balance each other well.

Honestly, writing this book was like pulling teeth. I knew what needed to happen but I couldn’t find the right path to get there. I had to stop and work on other things. So I think this book took me over two years to finish, and it’s not that lengthy. It was just that I stared at the screen or deleted scenes so much. Also, I wanted to do it justice. I believe I did. I’m proud of how it turned out.

Speaking of Justice – he may be my favorite character. I’ve never picked before because all of my characters are so different, it’s hard to compare them. But Justice is special

Do you pay attention to literary criticism? If so, how do you handle it?

If an author tells you they don’t pay attention, they are probably lying. I read them, especially the bloggers’ reviews. I love constructive criticism, though. That’s how I got better. I reread old stories, and holy cow did they suck. However, I’m looking for something different from the reviews than what the readers look for. My first job is to make the reader feel something – hatred, joy, wistful, happy, love, anger, etc. So when they tell me they wanted to slap my character, I take that as a compliment. Unless I didn’t mean for that to happen, then I did something wrong. If they laughed, cried, or screamed at the Kindle even better. When they say it was too short. It was a full story but it ended too soon. I take that as they wanted more. Readers always want more. As a reader, I want more. But the story directs itself, and I won’t put in filler for a higher word count. It’s not my style. If the review is bad, I look at why. Sometimes it’s just a matter of the reader not liking my voice or style of writing. When people ask how I feel about those, this is my typical response. “I’m not going to be everyone’s favorite flavor of ice cream. Some will like vanilla, and I have nuts.” And I truly believe that. There are different styles for everyone out there. Now, if there is something I can do better, I will work on it. If they just didn’t like me, that’s okay, too. Does it hurt? Sometimes. It feels like rejection, even though it’s not. It feels personal, even though it’s not. After a while, though, it’s a small sting and I grow from them instead of dwelling.

How do you come up with your titles?

Typically, so far, they are a play on words of the theme of the book. Wrong Way – Both the leads go about things the wrong way and realize it almost too late. I don’t want to go into too much detail for spoilers sake, but all my book titles are a variation of the same. My Lord’s Judgment – a judgment sends the angel to earth and when things turn out different than he’d thought, he thinks to himself that he should have trusted his lord’s judgment.

What new authors have grasped your interest?

S. Joyce is the only new author I’ve read lately. She writes M/F bear shifter books that make me happy sigh. Everyone else has been my favorites – Mary Calmes, Laurann Dohner, Dianne Duvall, JR Ward, Sara York, B.a. Tortuga. Oh, I’d never read T.c. Blue, although I love her to pieces. I recently read two stories by her and loved them. Her voice is really strong and easy to fall into.

What is the hardest part about a world that you have never been in, that doesn’t (as far as we know) exist?

Ah, most of my books are in our worlds but with slight variations. For example, angels and demons exist. They just hide in society. Or shifters hide in society. I’m not sure what will happen when I write a different world. I have plans. Oh yes, I do. The most difficult I find, with any paranormal or fantasy, is to make the reader believe. To take the little details and reveal them in just the right way that the reader can see them or feel them. I try to not info dump to my readers. I want them to learn things as they go, when it feels right to let them know. And hopefully, I get it right and don’t fall on my face. Heh heh.

What is the favorite character trait or flaw that you put into Wrong Way?

Oh, it’s so funny you asked. I just posted about this on Facebook. Jessie’s game, poke-the-bear, is totally me. I don’t seem like the brat type, but I so am. I have to feel comfortable enough with the person, but ladies and gentlemen, I have horns. I’ll admit it. Example: my friend – I’ll call her Jane – Jane told me she hated clowns. She just didn’t like them. They gave her the willies. A few friends and I were sitting around a table at Day of the Dead at Coastal Magic this past February, and another friend walked up with her face completely painted like Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas. I told her to go say hello to Jane and then I watched with an evil chuckle while she walked up behind Jane and tapped her on the shoulder. *giggle* Now, I knew there would be no trigger or horrible reaction. It wouldn’t be fun if it really hurt someone. I would feel guilty forever. Think of Jessie’s poke-the-bear game. Camdon talks about it and does it a bit in Wrong Way. That’s me – the little shit. 😉

I was really looking forward to the next book in the Shenandoah Pack Series and I wasn’t disappointed. I love the world Taylor has created. I’m such a sucker for paranormal romance and she nails it with this series. I caught myself laughing, gritting my teeth, and I never knew what to expect next.

I loved seeing the relationship grow between Thomas and Camdon. Camdon has a strength to his personality that worked well with Thomas. The chemistry between them from the start is amazing, but like typical guys the lack of communication eventually causes things to go south in a big way. I do wish i could have seen a little more of them together as a couple though. I will be excited to see more of their relationship together in future reads.

The storyline was very realistic and getting to see much of the story from the killers POV was pretty cool. It explained his behavior and made me want to see him taken out even more. The ending sets up the next story nicely and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. I’m looking forward to Justice’s story and I hope it’s him we get to see next.

4.5 pieces of eye candy from me.