Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Virgin Flyer by Lucy Lennox: Cover Reveal and Giveaway

February 24, 2020 by Denise

Lucy Lennox‘s upcoming release, Virgin Flyer, is here with the cover reveal…and oh my, go ahead and stop staring at those eyes, I dare you! Preorder this one, because it looks like it’s gonna be a steamy one! 🙂

Wanted: One night together, no strings attached. Hold me, make love to me, treat me like I’m the most important person in the world. No talking. No names. And don’t be surprised if I’m gone in the morning.

After crushing on my best friend for years, I realize he’ll never want someone inexperienced like me. So I decide to get it over with, play the V-card once and for all with an anonymous hook-up. The terms are simple: no talking, no names.

It isn’t as easy as it seems. Now I can’t get the handsome stranger who greeted me with soft kisses and gentle touches out of my mind. Those hands, those lips… But it was just a one-time thing, and I need to forget about him once and for all.

At least I know I won’t ever see him again—until I board a flight and catch sight of a familiar profile in the cockpit just as the door closes.

Releasing: March 2

Cover Designer: Steamy Designs

Photographer: RafaGCatala

Photographer’s Instagram

Amazon

To celebrate Lucy’s new release, we are giving away 3 eBooks copies of Virgin Flyer

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

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After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

Hard Ride: A Gay Cowboy Romance (Clean Slate Ranch Book 5) by A.M. Arthur: New Release Review

February 24, 2020 by Denise

Five Weddings and a Fake Boyfriend

City slicker Derrick Massey has always had a thing for cowboys. So a roll in the hay with Kendall “Slater” Stamos during a rustic weekend wedding is more than A-OK. But when Slater’s forced to hang up his saddle for the season, Derrick surprises even himself with his proposition: be my fake boyfriend and get my family off my back about finding a permanent partner.

Though unexpected, the arrangement is a win-win. Derrick gets a plus-one for a slew of summer weddings and Slater gets a place to stay while he recuperates…with lots of casual fun in between. Which is just how the sexy cowboy likes it: casual. Yet it’s obvious the chemistry between them is anything but.

With the countdown to their “breakup” on, the more time the two men spend together. And the more it becomes clear that what they have could be real, if only they let it be.

This book is approximately 83,000 words

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

Amazon

Giddy up! We are getting back in the saddle at Clean Slate Ranch!

We met Derrick way back in book one as the brother of the groom in the wedding party that brought Wes to Mack. Poor Derrick. Hooking up in all the wrong places or getting turned down flat. So when he finds himself on the ranch again and can’t sleep, he runs into Slater working out at in the garage. And then they work out together. *wink wink* And then they part ways having agreed to a one time thing.

Fast forward a bit and circumstances have brought the two men together again. And they make a mutually beneficial arrangement. A place to stay for one guy, 5 wedding dates for the other. Simple right?

Fake boyfriends can get tricky. Sometimes they either hate each first or don’t know each other at all. But these guys get along and at least are fairly acquainted with each other.

It actually plays out really well. There is little to no awkward between the guys as they establish their fake relationship. They just kind of go with it. And being that Derrick’s brother at least knew of Slater, he is totally accepting of it.

There was a fun cast of characters in this one. Getting off the ranch for almost the entire story opened the world up. My old home town was even mentioned-which is kind of rare based on the fact that it is a good sized city.

I loved the neighbors Dex and Morgan. The friendship that developed between Dex and Slater was seamless. That was a bit of a pun. You’ll get it when you read it.

Slater has his secret(s) which eventually come to light. But Derrick is just Derrick. He is a good guy without being gullible or naive.

OF COURSE I want to know more about the upstairs neighbors George and Orry. I’m sure I sniffed a spin off there somewhere.

I really enjoyed this ride, a little off the beaten path, but she reins it in.

I’M SORRY! I’m just feeling punny. Go read it so I don’t pun you more.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Eryx: A Spartan Tale by Jaclyn Osborn: New Release Review

February 24, 2020 by Denise

My father once told me, above all else…
Live and die for Sparta.

Honor. Loyalty. Duty. These were the things that mattered most.

And then Axios came into my life, teaching me other lessons: humility, brotherhood… love.
There were moments when the brutal training stripped me of my humanity, where it turned me into a mindless beast of flesh and muscle set to destroy everything in my way. But then Axios stood in my way, ever vigilant, never failing to bring me back to myself.

Love had no place in Sparta, they said. It made you weak.

So why did I feel stronger with him by my side?

*Eryx: A Spartan Tale is a 149k word historical gay fiction featuring a love story between Spartan warriors. Although told in an alternate point of view of the events in Axios, it includes extended scenes and more content. It can be read as a complete standalone.*

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

This is a sweeping epic spanning nearly 30 years, set in ancient Greece. I am not normally one for historicals, but I read Axios based on reviews by people I trust and loved it. This is the same story, but told from the perspective of Eryx. And although it is the same story, it is a wholly different story.

This book follows Axios and Eryx from the time they were young boys and first sent off to the Spartan version of boot camp until their last battle.

In the first book, we got the story from Axios’ perspective. He was a dreamer, a lover, never one for fighting and war. He did his duty to Sparta but he questioned it all of the time. He hated it.

Now we get to hear directly from Eryx. His mother died in childbirth, his father took his own life in shame for abandoning the army (really the poor man has serious PTSD). Eryx couldn’t wait to become a warrior. He knew he sole purpose in life was to fight for and possibly die for Sparta. And he looked forward to it.

Axios and Eryx really were like Yin and Yang. Two halves of a whole that balanced each other out. Whereas Eryx pushed Axios to be the warrior he needed to be, Axios taught Eryx that there were other things in life- friendship and love. Over the years they became inseparable, and filled out their circle with a few more boys they called their brothers.

As the book is very long and spans quite a long time, the first half is them growing and training. They begin discovering their feelings for each other when they reach their teenage years. It was so innocent and beautiful in the middle of this horrible training.

Once they reach the age to go to battle, they are still inseparable. Everyone knows that they are together and really no one discourages it. The battle scenes are brutal and horrific. This is not something for the weak hearted. Although you can skim over.

Get the tissues. A box of tissues. I convinced myself that I wouldn’t cry this time because I cried during Axios and I knew what would happen. HA! That was a big lie I told myself as I sobbed. More than once. Ok, a lot.

The entire love story is just beautiful. How they lived, trained, fought, was heart breaking. And as vicious as it was, in real life it was probably a lot worse.

If you read Axios, read this book. If you didn’t read Axios, read this then go back and read Axios. Or read Axios and then this. The order doesn’t matter and you don’t have to read both. But you’ll want to.

4.75 Pieces of Eye Candy

Cancer Ships Aquarius by Anyta Sunday: Blog Tour and New Release Review

February 21, 2020 by Denise

Prepare to dip your toe into the biggest adventure of your life, Cancer. There’s romance in the air, and it smells deliciously salty.

Dumped by the fifth girl in two years and abandoned by his best friends, Reid Glover is alone and in need of a home.

Desperate, he interviews to become a live-in manny aboard widowed Sullivan Bell’s yacht, the Aquarian.

The job? Not to look after thirteen-year-old Joanna. No, this child-mastermind needs Reid to befriend her dad, urge him to participate more in family life, encourage him to date, oh, and become his closest confidant and help him unleash his bottled emotions.

No pressure.

At least he’s not entirely out of his depth.

Okay, so he may have a slight aversion to the ocean. And possibly attract more than his fair share of misadventure.

But he is a pro at crying.

Watch out, Sullivan. Reid is on his way with a family-sized carton of tissues. He will help Sullivan through his fears. Will help him find love again.

Will absolutely not fall for him in the process . . .

Caution, Cancer, how long will you fool yourself?

Title: Cancer Ships Aquarius

Author: Anyta Sunday

Series: Signs of Love #5

Release Date: February 17, 2020

Subgenre: Contemporary m/m romance

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Their gazes snagged, and Reid’s knees wobbled.

Sullivan pulled him into the main room beside the bed. Through a crack in the curtains, dim light seeped in from the light-spangled city below. Sullivan stood, and Reid heard every shift of his clothes, felt the heat of Sullivan’s body, smelled the scent of vanilla soap and under it Sullivan.

Reid licked his lip, trembling at what they were about to do. Waiting for it to happen.

Sullivan pinched Reid’s tie and drew if off him slowly, keeping the knot in place.

“Sullivan?” Reid watched Sullivan set the tie carefully on the bed beside their pillows. “This is my first time with a man.”

Sullivan plucked gently at his buttons. His words tickled over Reid’s nose. “I bet you’re wondering what I will do with you. How it will feel.”

Yes. “I need you to take my breath away.”

Reid, freshly dumped with the same ol’ line he’s been hearing his whole life, “it’s not you, it’s me”. Even from his own dad when he left, he’d long since read between those lines and figured out they meant the exact opposite. The common denominator was him afterall… So, finding himself broken up with and homeless, save for sleeping on the floor of his friends place, he needed the manny job he was applying for the same day as his broken heart. That’s when he meets Johanna, the daughter he’s interviewing to be looked after. Only, she’s almost 14 and Reid is only there because she talked her widowed father into needing a nanny as a guise to find him a new love.

It’s been 3 years since Sullivan’s husband passed away and though he’s an excellent father, he’s running from the hurt of losing the love of his life and dragging his daughter with him while he researches and invents great things! Sounds great, and a lot of fun, unless you’re a teenage girl who wants a place to call home so she can make friends and like boys, especially the one at the marina who lives a few docks down. She’s the mastermind here and she’s honest with Reid from the start and Reid, being the caring heart that he is, along with really needing the job, he’s determined to help this family.

He isn’t prepared for the gorgeous Sullivan to naysay him at every turn and genuinely not want him there. He’s isn’t prepared for liking him and his daughter so much and falling for them the more he gets to know him. And it’s funny and sweet and I completely fell in love with Reid and Johanna, especially. Unfortunately, Sullivan wasn’t prepared for Reid at all and wasn’t ready to move on from his husband. This is why I don’t care for widowed romances because it’s so hard to have a one true love when you’ve already had one. I know, I know, it’s not realistic, and of course Sullivan deserved a second love, but I felt like it was at the suffering of Reid…..he deserved more. Especially at the end… I HATED that Sullivan used those words on him “it’s not you, it’s me” knowing how painful they were to Reid. I hate that even after that, Sullivan wasn’t the one who chased after Reid and showed him that he did love him, but instead, it was Reid chasing Sullivan AGAIN and showing him that he loved him. Reid asks at one point, do I put others happiness and needs before my own? And the best friend said, you already know the answer to that… well, of course, he did… and he deserved for someone to put him first for a change and Sullivan didn’t do that.

I was literally floating through this whole book, loving every single second of it. I ugly cried and then felt so let down by that at the end. I wanted so badly for Reid to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was wanted and loved. He deserved that, didn’t he? He shouldn’t have had to work so hard for it. And don’t get me wrong, it ended beautifully, and I loved the two of them together, I just wish it didn’t feel so one sided at times. My stomach literally sank and it felt empty and I wanted Sullivan to show him that he was worthy after a lifetime feeling anything but.

Other than that, it’s an entertaining and sweet read with lots of giggles, plenty of tears and of course, horoscopes of love. I adored every book in this series and this one was no different. I can’t wait to see who’s next.

4 pieces of eye candy

A bit about me, Anyta Sunday: I’m a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.

Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.

I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.

My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Thai.

Author website: http://www.anytasunday.com/

Author newsletter signup: http://www.anytasunday.com/newsletter-free-e-book/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SlowBurnSundays/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anytasunday

Instagram: https://instagram.com/anytasunday

BookBub: https://bookbub.com/authors/anyta-sunday

Saving Rafe (Lords of Discord Book 2) by Jocelynn Drake: Cover Reveal

February 21, 2020 by Denise

Rafe Varik

The troublemaker. The risk taker. The sexy club owner full of wicked promises.

Rafe has devoted his immortal existence to pleasure and causing mischief.

The only ones who can depend on him are his brothers. Of course, that’s very much a Varik thing.

But when the leader of the Arsenault clan specifically requests Rafe’s help in tracking down a killer, he can’t say no.

Sure, Rafe claims he’s doing it for his family. They’ve attracted too many enemies and could use a few allies.

That’s not the whole truth, though.

There’s something about Philippe Arsenault that draws Rafe in. He wants more of Philippe. The vampire leaves him longing for another second in his presence, another taste of his lips, another caress of those perfect fingers.

Yet when it’s all over, what will become of Philippe and Rafe? Because Philippe will always be an Arsenault, and Rafe will always be a Varik.

Saving Rafe is the second book in an MM paranormal romance series that has vampires, betrayal, annoying brothers, music, heartbreak, hope, sexy times, and a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Title: Saving Rafe (Lords of Discord, Book 2)

Author: Jocelynn Drake

Cover created by: DESIGN BY DRAKE

RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2020

Amazon

Goodreads

Slow Dances Under an Orange Moon (Colors of Love Book 4) by V.L. Locey: Blog Tour, New Release Review and Giveaway

February 20, 2020 by Denise

Can the love they once shared be saved or has the pain of the past eclipsed it?

It’s been twenty years since Kye McLeod left the quaint little mountain town of Spruce Lake, Maine to play professional hockey. He’s had his share of ups and downs, but his choice to hit the big city and not look back has paid off handsomely. The future hall-of-famer is now ready to retire and come out of that dark closet he’s been sequestered in since his first secretive kiss with Davy Aguirre in high school. Now that he’s heading home to keep an eye on his feisty grandfather, there might be the chance to rekindle the flame between him and Davy.

Kye quickly learns that the boy he left behind isn’t the man he’s now knocking heads with. He always imagined grown-up Davy—who now insists on being called David—would be beyond the pain that Kye’s youthful blunder caused him, but now he’s not so sure. When the wildlife conservation officer squares off with the ex-hockey captain their connection is incendiary, and there are more than just fireworks. However, winning back the man he walked away from may not be as easy as he thought…

Cover Design: Designs By Sloan

Amazon

Book #1 – Lost In Indigo – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 – Touch Of A Yellow Sun – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #3 – The Good Green Earth – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Kye has had a good career. After leaving his tiny town to go on to the NHL, he lived it up the best he could while keeping his sexuality a secret. Small price to pay for fame and the love of the game, right? But now he’s retired and his grandpa is getting up there in age and he needs to come back and make sure he’s okay.

Sounds good, right? And while he’s home, he might as well pick up the love of his life that he left 20 years ago when they were both teenagers and start back where they left off, eh? That’s honestly what he expected to happen. I can honestly say that Kye was not my favorite of any guys in this series. His ego and lightheartedness was too much, so much in fact that he honestly couldn’t see what the big deal was after leaving his teenage boyfriend/best friend and not calling or coming to visit or even send him a letter for 20 years and now that he’s back, he’s confused as to why game warden Davy is upset. Why he doesn’t trust him? Why doesn’t he just jump back into bed with him, when at first, that’s really all he’s offering… I just didn’t understand Kye at all.

Now, don’t get me wrong, he kiiiiiind of grows on me a little bit somewhere around the middle, when he stops making a joke of everything and gets serious about winning Davy back, but it just didn’t feel genuine to me until the end.

And the way they just jumped back into not only bed together but the relationship, it was just like…. Really? The man up and left you for 20 years!!! I dunno.. I’m glad it worked out for them in the end, but I wasn’t feeling this one as much as I did the others in this series. They can all be read as a standalone because the only correlation between them all is hockey stars and Arn, their agent.

I was happy that when Kye decided to up and come out after 20 years like it was no big thing, that his family and most of the townspeople were supportive. I’m glad that the bad guys didn’t get away with being bad guys, if you read any of my reviews, ever, you’ll know I hate not getting karmic justice and although they weren’t scalped alive and thrown into a deep dark hole, they do get their traps shut, legally, so there is that. There are really cute geese with weird names, an ornery granddad and plenty of steamy nights between these two second chancers… alls well that ended well, I was happy they worked it out in the end, even if it did take me a while to get there.

3.5 pieces of eye candy from me on this one.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

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