Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Daddy Needs a Date by Sean Michael: Release Day Review with Giveaway

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With four girls, single dad Ryan Withers has his hands too full to look for romance. He’s not complaining—he loves his daughter and the three nieces he adopted when their parents died, and he would do anything for them. He’s caught off guard when his mother and daughter decide to play matchmaker.

Alex Bernot works in disaster relief, his job taking him all over the world, helping others, for extended periods of time. He’s staying with his aunt while he’s home, and she sets him up on a blind date. Finding a special someone isn’t really on his mind, but he goes to make his aunt happy.

Ryan and Alex enjoy each other’s company more than either of them expected, and they soon make a second date. Their lives are complicated, though, in very different ways, and soon family needs and their jobs conspire to pull them apart. They’ll need to figure out how to work through the things keeping them apart, but first they’ll have to decide if they even want to….

Title: Daddy Needs a Date
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: December 18, 2017
Category: Contemporary, Holiday
Pages: 200

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Dreamspinner Press

Kobo Books

 

I went into Daddy Needs a Date with no information other than what I got from the cover. Kids and a dad who needs some adult interaction. These are things I understand, so I dove in.

Ryan definitely has his hands full with not only his own child, but also the three little girls he adopted when his sister died. From page one, I loved Ryan, because he has a huge heart and it’s so apparent he will do anything for his girls. Including facials with ranch dressing, which I’m not sure I fully understand or am brave enough to try, but it has to be love to let that garlicky goodness soak into your pores.

I wanted to be upset with Alex, or maybe the meddling women who set him up on a blind date with Ryan, when he found out Ryan was a father of four. But it was a realistic reaction and he didn’t bolt away from dinner. He won my heart when… okay, not telling you that, because it’s a HUGE part of the story and I don’t see how anyone wouldn’t love him.

But then he left. And I was more angry with Ryan, his mom, and his oldest daughter (the women being 2/3 of the set up crew) for being upset that he left. Yes, it sucked and the timing was horrible, but they knew ahead of time what he did for a living. It was unrealistic for them to think he could just stay.

When Alex came back, we got to see their growth as a family. Was it too fast? Probably. Would it happen in real life? Probably. Like I said above, something happens that makes it nearly impossible for Alex to not be part of their lives. And it proves that he’s a good man through and through. I love the fact that one of the girls became just a little more special to him than the others. I even liked that the teenager didn’t always love him.

Daddy Needs a Date was a great read. Some angst, but not as much as there could’ve been. My only complaint is that the book ended.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

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12 days of Kissmas with Christa Tomlinson: Exclusive Character Interview with Giveaway

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Day 6 in the 12 days of Kissmas already!!!! Christa Tomlinson is here, and she brought some of my all time, without question, favorite characters. Like I stalked her HARD when I read The Sergeant the first (of many!) time. (Don’t worry, she knows this, and somehow still allows me to be friends with her…she is that kind a person.) Today she brought some Kissmas interviews with my favorite peeps, and I am so very happy to have her here. Make sure to enter both giveaways. Welcome Christa!!!

Hello everyone! For my Merry Kissmas post, I interviewed the guys from Cuffs, Collars and Love on some of their favorite things about Christmas.

 

Hector & Miguel

Do you have special Christmas pajamas?

Miguel: I love Christmas jammies! I bought us each a pair this year. Hector tried to pretend like he doesn’t like them but I know he does.

Hector: I like to open the butt flap on yours. Does that count?

Which is your favorite, peppermint candy canes or Starburst flavored?

Miguel: I don’t like peppermint flavored stuff anymore. I bought this edible peppermint lube to be a little festive in the bedroom. But the smell of it made me nauseous and I almost threw up when I was suck –.

Hector: *slaps a hand over Miguel’s mouth* We don’t have peppermint flavored or scented stuff in the house anymore. But Starburst flavored candy canes are great.

Who picks out the decorations?

Miguel: We both do. But only after we make a Pinterest board first.

Which Christmas colors do you decorate with, red and green or blue and silver?

Miguel: Neither. We did a really elegant gold, white, and silver theme this year.

Hector: That’s only because I talked him out of hot pink and black. But I agreed to go with the silver Christmas tree instead of green and it turned out nice.

Favorite Christmas album?

Hector: Mariah Carey Merry Christmas.

Miguel: I have such a smart, perfect husband. Mariah Carey Merry Christmas is the only Christmas album that matters.

 

Ryan and Sam

Who likes to open presents early and who likes to wait until after a shower and breakfast?

Sam: Ryan woke me up at six in the morning with really aggressive cuddles. Once I was up he dragged me out to open presents before I’d even had my coffee.

Ryan: That’s only because if I waited for him we wouldn’t open them until after dinner.

Do either of you like eggnog?

Sam: Love it. Just top it off with some rum.

Ryan: No way. You might as well just drink French toast batter.

Favorite Christmas movie?

Sam: That’s easy. Die Hard.

Ryan: I like A Charlie Brown Christmas. I always feel bad for Charlie because he’s sad and lonely.

Sam: *leans over to kiss Ryan and whisper in his ear*

Ryan: *smiles and blushes* But it turns out all right for him in the end so it’s okay.

Who opens presents slowly and who rips them open?

Sam: I prefer to take my time and make a few guesses as to what the gift is before I finally get the paper off.

Ryan: I try to open them nicely but after the first present I get too excited and end up ripping them open.

Do you prefer to watch the Christmas parade or go see a light show?

Sam: We tried to watch the parade, but got bored and ended up having sex on the floor in front of the TV.

Ryan: Sam! You can’t just tell people that!

 

Logan and Clay

Do you like the older, giant Christmas lights or small twinkle lights?

Clay: Is that innuendo for something else?

Logan: I like the traditional bigger Christmas lights. They remind me of when I was a kid.

Do you like Christmas carolers?

Logan: They’re fine. A nice tradition.

Clay: If by fine you mean you stood there hugging me the entire time they were singing and then once they were gone got us both off while we were up against the front door, then yeah, they’re fine.

Where do you do your Christmas shopping, online shopping or in store?

Logan: We used to shop in the stores. But Clay sneaks and follows me around to see what I’m buying him. And he tried to take the last Christmas popcorn tin from a fellow shopper by telling her he needed it for official police business. So we switched to shopping online.

Clay: What? I’m a police officer and I needed it. That makes it official police business.

Logan: That’s not how that works.

Who’s better at wrapping presents?

Logan: Actually, I pay to have the department store wrap my gifts.

Clay: I dump most of my presents in gift bags.

What do you like to eat for Christmas dinner?

Logan: I like a big traditional dinner. Ham, with all the side dishes and a plate of sugar cookies afterwards.

Clay: Lasagna.

 

Happy Holidays and Merry Kissmas!

Love,

Christa

Christa Tomlinson is an exciting up and coming author in erotic romance. Her first self-published novel, The Sergeant, was an Amazon Best Seller for Gay and Lesbian Erotica for seven weeks straight.

Christa graduated from The University of Missouri-St. Louis with a degree in history. She loves to create stories that are emotional and lovely with sex that is integral to the characters’ romantic arc. Her books include straight couples, curvy couples, gay, and multicultural couples. Love is love and everyone should have their story told.

Christa lives in Houston, Texas with her two dogs, and is a retired roller derby player.

email: ContactChrista@ChristaTomlinson.com
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Twitter:  @shockz314
Facebook: Christa Tomlinson
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Kairos by Mary Calmes: Release Day Review with Giveaway

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Sometimes the best day of your life is the one you never saw coming.

Joe Cohen has devoted the past two years of his life to one thing: the care and feeding of Kade Bosa. His partner in their PI business, roommate, and best friend, Kade is everything to Joe, even if their relationship falls short of what Joe desires most. But he won’t push. Kade has suffered a rough road, and Joe’s pretty sure he’s the only thing holding Kade together.

Estranged from his own family, Joe knows the value of desperately holding on to someone dear, but he never expected his present and past to collide just as Kade’s is doing the same. Now they’ve stumbled across evidence that could change their lives: the impact of Kade’s tragic past, their job partnership, and any future Joe might allow himself to wish for….

Title: Kairos
Author: Mary Calmes
Release Date: December 15, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: TBD (Novella)

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

Honestly… did you expect this book to be anything other than Mary Calmes perfection? Shame on you, if you did.

If you love Ian and Miro, you’re going to love this one, they reminded me so much of them… not too much, that it’s like reading the same thing but with different dudes, but enough to where I’m like… oh yes, I love them already!

Kade and Joey are PI’s in Chicago, partners, roommates and best friends. Hired by someone that Kade knew, back when he was a police officer, has some truths thrown up in the air along with everything he thought he knew crumbling around them when the guy they were supposed to find. He has a lot of information on Kade…. This kid reminded me a little of Jory and a little of the two kids Ian and Miro found, Cabot and Drake… Can I tell you how much I love them all?

Well, deciding to get out of town, Kade takes it upon himself to reunite Joey with his estranged family. Estranged by Joey’s doing, not theirs and you’ll fall in love with all of them, they’re their own brand of crazy!

Also, like Ian and Miro, they’re best friends, partners and always together, they’re also madly in love with each other and my heart broke for Joey several times because I thought Kade just didn’t see it, or didn’t want to. That wasn’t the case though and I loved every heart breaking minute of it!

It’s short and a bit familiar, but everything we love about this author and the boys she gives to us. It’s short-ish, but you won’t be disappointed…. AND there’s a mention of Mr. Aaron Sutter, would you not read it just for that? I mean, come on!

Overall, it’s an amazing story, with amazing hot guys and their amazing love….

5 well deserved pieces of eye candy from me!


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12 Days of Kissmas Aimee Nicole Walker: Exclusive Guest Post and Giveaway

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Day 5 in the 12 Days of Kissmas brings us to Aimee Nicole Walker, who I had the extreme joy of meeting at GRL in October. I’m so glad I got to hang out with this smart, sassy and oh so sweet lady. I know now where Josh gets his sassyness. Even if you aren’t a baker, you have to read Josh’s recipe below, it is…enlightening shall we say? Laughing so hard! Thank you and welcome to the blog, Aimee. 

Hello everyone. I’m so happy to stop by the Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy blog to celebrate the holidays with you. This time of year is so hectic with all the hustle and bustle of trying to find the right gifts and planning the perfect meal for your company that we often lose sight of what the season truly means. It’s about family, friendship, and faith—whatever your beliefs may be. It’s a time to believe in miracles again.

Recently, I published A Dye Hard Holiday, which happens to by my first holiday book. It’s the fifth installment in my Curl Up and Dye Mysteries. If you’ve read any of my series, you know that family, friends, and faith in ourselves and each other are common themes in my books. There’s another F word that I’m known for in my writing: food. Get your minds out of the gutter! (TCO note to insert here: hahahaha) Food and family go together for me. I can’t think of one without the other, so I incorporate that into my books.

In A Dye Hard Holiday, I shared a few of Josh Roman-Wyatt’s favorite recipes. Fans of the series loved them so much that we (Josh and I) decided to release one more. This is his Snickerdoodle recipe, so I’ll let Josh take it from here.

 

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup of shortening

1-1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

 

Sugar Topping:

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of sugar (You can use colored sugar if you want to jazz them up)

 

Directions:

Sift together the dry ingredients, which includes cream of tartar. I don’t know why they call a powder a cream, but just toss that shit in the sifter with the rest of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. You don’t have to add one egg at a time like those fancy cooking shows. Just crack those bitches and add them to the sugar and shortening. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Chill dough for 30 to 60 minutes.

Roll into balls—the size is up to you. My recipe calls for walnut size. Pretty sure they mean unshelled walnuts because otherwise that’s a damn big cookie. Size queens, keep in mind that the bigger your balls the longer they’ll take to bake. I think mine are around an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Cookie balls, folks! My man berries are considerably larger than an inch, thank you very much. Where was I? Oh, yes! Roll your balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture then place them about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Josh tip: I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper for even baking and easy cleanup. Bake in a 400F degree oven until the cookies are lightly brown but still soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. If you’ve chosen to make big balls like Gabe’s, you’ll need to bake them a little longer. Just keep an eye on them. I hope you enjoy my cookies!

Thank you, Josh! Sorry about him. He can be quite a handful sometimes. *wicked laughter in the background* Okay, he’s a handful all the time. We hope you enjoy this recipe for many years to come! Its one of our favorites.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of year for Gabe and Josh Roman-Wyatt as they celebrate their first holidays as fathers, but someone’s war on St. Nick threatens to ruin their holly jolly Christmas.

The Norman Rockwell holiday they had envisioned implodes and shenanigans ensue in true Josh and Gabe style, but that only makes the couple more determined to rejoice in the love and joy they have found in one another. A Black Friday showdown, two foul-mouthed birds, one lumbersexual, ugly Christmas sweaters aplenty, four invading grandparents, and a sexy twist on an advent calendar lead up to oh, holy nights. Catch up with your favorite characters and meet some new faces in a tale that is sure to make you feel as warm as Josh’s creamy, hot-buttered rum concoction.

A Dye Hard Holiday is a funny story about two fathers trying to hold it all together as they juggle busy careers and family life while planning the perfect holiday season. Will they be rocking around the Christmas tree or will it be a blue Christmas? The book is approximately 50,000 words long and is not intended as a standalone book. This supplements the Curl Up and Dye Mysteries series, which should be read in order. This book contains sexually explicit material and is intended for adults 18 and over.

I am a wife and mother to three kids, four dogs, and a cat. When I’m not dreaming up stories, I like to lose myself in a good book, cook or bake. I’m a girly tomboy who paints her fingernails while watching sports and yelling at the referees. I will always choose the book over the movie. I believe in happily-ever-after. Love inspires everything that I do. Music keeps me sane.
I’d love to hear from you.
You can reach me at:

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Operation Green Card by G.B. Gordon: Blog Tour, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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Arkady Izmaylov is a family man. He’s also gay. In Russia. His sister Natalya has been telling him to get out for years, but it’s only after an attack in the street that he finally concedes and says yes to her desperate plan of him marrying a stranger for a green card.

Jason Cooley was taught from birth that he’s no good to anyone. Then the military taught him he was good enough to save other lives, but that purpose got amputated along with his leg. He’s now working security at Wolf’s Landing and sending monthly checks to his ex for their daughter’s education. When Natalya asks him to marry her brother, Jason knows right away he’ll do it more for the mission than the money she’s offering. But when he actually meets Arkady, his mission turns complicated.

Jason quickly discovers he’s not as straight as he thought. He’s also the man of Arkady’s dreams. Arkady must convince Jason that he’s worth loving, and that Arkady won’t disappear from his life like everyone else. Because Arkady has always wanted a family of his own, and he’s not letting go of this one.

Amazon

Riptide Publishing

I won’t lie, I am going to miss the Bluewater Bay series by Riptide (last book is out next week!). There have been some really great books in this series. This was a good one in the series, for sure. I like that it was one of the last two, going out in style! 🙂

Green card marriage is a trope which if you grew up reading Harlequin romances, you likely came across a time or two. And this one is based around that trope. However, I did like how this one came about. With as much as you hear in the news about how gay men are treated in countries such as Russia, this makes more sense than not.

There was an instant connection on both sides for these men. Arkady knowing he was attracted. Meanwhile, Jason, never having considered himself to be bisexual, gave himself a ton of excuses, yet didn’t have any problem with it once he realized that he was attracted.

I loved that Arkady was free with his love. He loved his family and friends that he moved from, and wanted to have a new family and friends in his new life, throwing himself fully into loving and caring for the people around him as much as possible. Even down to wanting to do renovations for Jason. The reader could feel that it wasn’t just boredom, but a need to do something for someone who meant something to him.

Jason’s lack of belief in himself, didn’t start with his amputated leg, but as a child, and carried through his adult life. His belief that he couldn’t trust anyone to stay, or to appreciate him, not just himself made it difficult for Arkady to get through. So, he did it in small ways. Whether beers on the couch, or shooting at nuts on a log, he worked his way into Jason’s subconscious minute by minute.

I loved that their moment of realization came while sitting in a government office, it seemed so poetic. Another good entry into this fantastic series.

4 pieces of eye candy

About Bluewater Bay

Welcome to Bluewater Bay! This quiet little logging town on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula has been stagnating for decades, on the verge of ghost town status. Until a television crew moves in to film Wolf’s Landing, a soon-to-be cult hit based on the wildly successful shifter novels penned by local author Hunter Easton.

Wolf’s Landing’s success spawns everything from merchandise to movie talks, and Bluewater Bay explodes into a mecca for fans and tourists alike. The locals still aren’t quite sure what to make of all this—the town is rejuvenated, but at what cost? And the Hollywood-based production crew is out of their element in this small, mossy seaside locale. Needless to say, sparks fly.

This collaborative story world is brought to you by eleven award-winning, best-selling LGBTQ romance authors: L.A. Witt, L.B. Gregg, Z.A. Maxfield,  Heidi Belleau, Rachel Haimowitz, Anne Tenino, Amy Lane, SE Jakes, G.B. Gordon, Jaime Samms and Ally Blue. Each contemporary novel stands alone, but all are built around the town and the people of Bluewater Bay and the Wolf’s Landing media empire.

Check it out at Riptide Publishing!

G.B.Gordon worked as a packer, landscaper, waiter, and coach before going back to school to major in linguistics and, at 35, switch to less backbreaking monetary pursuits like translating, editing, and writing.

Having lived in various parts of the world, Gordon is now happily ensconced in suburban Ontario with the best of all husbands.

Connect with Gordon:

To celebrate the release of Operation Green Card, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 16, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

12 days of Kissmas Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post, includes Giveaway

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Day 4 of 12 Days of Kissmas is brought to you by Amy Lane. And I LOOOOVVVVEEEEE the kiss she brought today. It isn’t a “normal” kiss, just as she says, it speaks of intimacy and tenderness. It speaks more of love than even a grand gesture kiss. I adore today’s pick. So, check out her post, let her know your thoughts, and don’t forget about the giveaways. All of them! Still time to go back and check out the previous Kissmas posts, as well, and enter. Welcome to Amy Lane (who I saw is going to be at Coastal Magic, which Victoria Sue talked about in her Guest Post yesterday…and I am hoping to go…and I’ll get really nervous meeting her!). Yes, Welcome Amy!

 

Small Moments

By Amy Lane

I have a way of smashing the grand romantic gesture.

Once, right after Mate and I moved in together, he tried to grand-romantic-gesture me. He set up an airplane buzzing around in a circle from our ceiling over flowers and a card—it was adorable and charming.

Of course that was the day I never went home because my friends came and got me and we did Epi-lady things at their apartment (a whole over post involving tears and blood) and anyway, by the time I got home, the flowers were wilted and the plane had stopped buzzing.

And it was not nearly as awesome as it would have been if I’d just gone home when I normally do, and that’s been pretty much every grand romantic gesture he’s ever made for me.  It’s not his fault. It’s all me. I suck at them.

But when I’m cooking sometimes he’ll come up behind me and hug me, and kiss my cheek. And the rest of my day is filled with warmth and all is right with the world.

Sometimes, that moment, that kiss, that call during your day, that, “I thought we could do this,” or that, “Here, I’ll do this chore,”—sometimes those things are the things that we love most of all about our lover.

The small things.

So I picked this moment not because of a sunset or a picnic or a thing or a place that was supposed to be romantic.

I picked it because the kiss was spontaneous, and tender, and it was one of those small moments that make up a larger, more complex relationship.

Because the small things are important.

My Christmas novella this year, Regret Me Not, is basically two guys healing—one physically, the other emotionally—in a beach condo in Florida. There’s no murder mystery, no subplot, no dramatic weather or fear for their lives.

There’s just two guys, talking, day to day, making their personalities mesh, entertaining each other, trying to Christmas without forgetting the five-hundredth thing from Target.

Two guys, working shit out.

The small stuff matters—not intruding on each other’s privacy unless asked, making dinner, doing the dishes, playing or celebrating when there’s cause.

Kissing someone’s shoulder tenderly, because you are together, and intimate, and the shoulder is there, begging for a kiss.

So that’s why this picture.

Christmas always seems to be about the grand dramatic gesture—and there is a grand romantic gesture at the end of the story. But most of the rest of the story is about the everyday moments that keep a couple together, that they can build on.

Small moments.

A kiss on the shoulder.

An hour together in front of the TV.

A shared text, a shared game.

They matter.

Amy Lane has two grown children, two half-grown children, two cats, and two Chi-who-whats at large. She lives in a crumbling crapmansion with most of the children and a bemused spouse. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.


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