Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Antagonist by Ana Ashley: Blog and IG Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

by

One artist. One attorney. Two single dads.

Meeting at a bachelor auction for charity had trouble written all over it as far as I was concerned, especially when the guy that won the bid for me seemed to be after only one thing…a good time between the sheets.

Refusing Fletcher’s advances was easy the first time round. After all, we weren’t meant to see each other again.
Except I’ve just moved to Stillwater where Fletcher lives.
Except both our kids are in the same class.

Now the kids are fighting and I’m ready to throw my own punches.
If only Fletcher wasn’t as goddamn irresistible as he is irritating.
When the fight moves from the playground to the bedroom, who will come out on top?

Antagonist is book 1 in Ana Ashley’s new series, Dads of Stillwater.
Single dads, sassy kids, Ana’s usual cast of intriguing secondary characters, Stillwater has it all.

Title: Antagonist
Authors: Ana Ashley
Length: 72k
Series: Dads of Stillwater, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Comedy
Tropes: Single dads, Small town, Opposites attract.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

If I could get under Harrison’s skin as much as he’s already under mine, we’d have the most explosive sex known to humankind.

That was one of the many Harrison-related thoughts running through my head most of the parent meeting, which Harrison didn’t show for, and it’s been the same over the last two days.

I can’t blame him for leaving. I’m annoyed, but I get it.

When I pulled him into the supply closet, it wasn’t with the intention of kissing him. The way he spoke to Karina was…I don’t even know. I’m sure no one has spoken to her like that ever. Not even her parents, who come from a modest background and tried, even if they failed, to raise her to be a good person.

I guess she was always a law unto herself. Determined to be just like the people she admired, which is basically anyone with money, regardless of who they really are.

So, no, I hadn’t planned on kissing Harrison. At most, I just wanted to hug him and make sure we were on the same page before walking into the meeting.

Of course, as soon as we walked into the dark closet, all my intentions went up in smoke. I didn’t pick the closet on purpose. I thought we were walking into a classroom or office.

So now I can’t stop thinking about Harrison. His lips, his hard body, his long cock straining against his slacks…

Fuck.

I need to apologize.

If the few interactions I’ve had with him have taught me anything, it’s that he’s wound tight. He likes to be in control of a situation, and as much as I would give anything to see him unravel, I don’t want it to be at the detriment of our tenuous relationship.

God, the way he let me take charge of the kiss. That moment he lost the battle against his own conscience and flipped us, pressing me so hard against the door. When my hair tie snapped, I thought I was going to come right there.

Christ. Get yourself under control, Fletch.

As I turn onto the last street to get to Bittersweet, I feel hot, and not just because of the lack of breeze. Walking to George’s school rather than driving was a good idea, in principle. It’s giving me a chance to put my thoughts in order because it’s only a matter of time before I see Harrison again, and my brain needs to be in sync with my mouth.

I’m not sure it’s working though. The more I think about Harrison, the more I think about all the things I shouldn’t be thinking.

Having not read anything by this author, wasn’t really sure what to expect, but figured starting with the first book in a series was a safe bet. There were quite a few side characters that I am guessing are from a different series, since most were in a relationship, but it didn’t really make me feel lost in the story, as it really was quite focused on the two MC’s and dealing with the new world they now lived in, Stillwater…somewhere in New England, not far Boston.

I liked the varied personalities of the MC’s, although, as the reader gets to know Harrison, his personality seems to morph a bit into what is likely his “real” personality, but not one we had seen previously. I actually liked this side of him. As he became more comfortable with the bisexual side of himself, he allowed himself to be more assertive, more open.

Meanwhile, Fletcher was 100% himself from Day 1. Which honestly is my biggest issue with the book. Consent was not given on multiple occasions by Harrison, he said emphatic no’s several times, and not only did Fletcher not accept them, he kissed (and more) Harrison anyway. More than once. And while Harrison could easily stand up for himself, and did. Fletcher was much more aggressive about it than I felt he should have been. One time I can see as that hot “see, you really want me” kiss, but Harrison said no many times, and Fletcher still did it, and was convinced Harrison wanted him.

Above all, though, both men were great fathers, who put their children above all else…I mean how adorable is it that Harrison could French braid his daughter’s hair, and then even Fletcher’s? They spent time helping the school and the community, as they became closer, and both men were close to Harrison’s ex-wife (I do love a story where a previous spouse can be on great terms with their co-parent. This was a fantastic example.)

Overall, I liked the story, and am seriously invested in book 2, wanting to know how Ellis and the sweet baby toting store clerk hit it off. I want to know his story, and see how it unfolds.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Ana was born in Portugal but has lived in the United Kingdom for so long, even her friends sometimes doubt if she really is Portuguese.

Ana Ashley writes sweet and steamy gay romance set in America, often in small towns where everyone knows everyone. Coming from a small town herself, she knows all about meddling families, nosy neighbors and that community spirit that comes from knowing people all your life.

You can find out more about Ana and her works-in-progress by joining her Newsletter. To sign up visit Ana’s website anawritesmm.com

Connect with Ana:
anawritesmm.com
Twitter: @anawritesmm
FB: https://www.facebook.com/anaashleyauthor
IG: @anawritesmm

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Saving the Wedding (Southern Charm, Book 7) by Nicole Dennis: New Release Book Blitz, Excerpt and Giveaway

by

Out of the swirling mix of secrets and a hurricane, can love survive?

Two years later, part of the Charm family, Gavin Hartfield creates magical memories and events. One of those weddings will be for the Charm’s owners, Samuel Ashford and Dakota Mitchell, if they ever make up their minds. The other one for his ex-boyfriend and his new partner. In the middle of all this, he keeps tangling with a tattooed brusque EMT.

Xavier “Gray” Grayson feels a bit on the outside looking in when it comes to the collection of Charm men. He envies all of them finding love. Pushing his non-existent sex life filled with one-nights at clubs aside, he runs through life as an EMT and college student pushing to better himself. Running along the beach and trails become his relief and sanctuary. Until he keeps tripping over the new event coordinator.

An incoming hurricane takes aim at Shore Breeze. The town braces for the impact. Plans falter and change. Will life, love, and a wedding follow these changes?

Saving the Wedding by Nicole Dennis

Book 7 in the Southern Charm series

Release Date: 10th May 2022

Pages: 430

Genres: CONTEMPORARY; EROTIC ROMANCE; GAY; GLBTQI

Amazon – All Regions

First For Romance

Goodreads

Stepping outside on a Saturday morning, Gavin Hartfield, the creator of Charmed Occasions, the wedding and event-planning company within the Southern Charm Bed & Breakfast, touched the Bluetooth wireless earpiece that wrapped around his ear to reset it. Then he adjusted the microphone.

A trio of calls with immediate hang-ups buzzed his phone.

He pulled it out and checked the screen. The area code was from Atlanta, his previous hometown.

There was one person who kept harassing him, no matter how many times he changed his number.

A flicker of a panic attack increased his heartbeat.

Again. All of this. All over again.

He wanted the bastard to leave him alone.

“No. No. Concentrate on the wedding. They deserve your full attention—not an asshole who can’t let go.”

“Help! Gavin! You there?”

Wincing at his assistant’s voice, Gavin wanted to rip the entire headset away. “Yes. I’m here. Use the volume control. Please.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Victor MacArtney said. “Better?”

“Yes. What did you call for, Victor?”

“The family member acting as the cameraman for the virtual part is here. His name is Ryan. He wondered if he could follow you for all the pre-wedding stuff to show the family and guests waiting in their online group.”

“I’ll meet him inside. Have him wait by the entrance.”

“Gotta keep some of our secrets and tricks. Right?”

“Right.”

“Will do, boss.”

Shrugging off the earlier panicky sensation, he checked his tablet to update the list and timings for the wedding of Michael and Charles. Since the pandemic had changed everything, they’d pushed back their wedding multiple times until it was considered safer, when everyone would have been vaccinated. Once they’d chosen this Saturday, they were determined to exchange their vows and rings. They’d selected Occasions’ smaller package with a gazebo wedding and a brunch reception. The rest of the extended family, friends and co-workers had been invited to a virtual party in a Discord group that would be livestreamed by Ryan. The grooms kept the ceremony and reception areas subdued, simple, with a few splashes of flowers and a single pale-blue accent color against the natural background. It suited the older couple, who were both in their early forties. Now he needed to make their dream wedding come true on this July morning.

“Gavin, we have a problem!” Victor said while racing over.

Gavin wondered what disaster Victor had created this time. “Where is Ryan?”

“Left him inside like you said.”

“What is that?” Gavin focused on what Victor held in his hand.

Victor held up the battered birdcage. “One of the birdcages fell while the lighting team tried to hang it in the gazebo. A few pieces of metal snapped. Luckily, Jude hadn’t added the flowers or that would be another disaster. Ryan didn’t film anything. Would make it even—”

“Don’t even go there.”

“Yeah. True. What should we do?”

“First, calm down. There is always a solution. You must learn that part of the job.”

“Okay.” Victor spun the damaged item between his hands.

Gavin inspected the cage and realized they couldn’t repair it. They would have to discard the item. Okay, minor disaster, but there’s always a solution. Focus on that. “There’s no fixing this cage.”

“What’s the solution?”

Gavin tapped open the inventory program and scrolled to figure out his options. “Okay. Aisle 3, Bin C. There’s a matching cage that’s a little smaller, but it’ll work. Toss that one, remove it from the inventory list and get the replacement.”

“Will do.”

“Please tell them to be extra careful. Those are our only white cages. We’ll have to be on the lookout next time we go shopping. And don’t go through the main entrance. Avoid the camera.”

“Promise. Keep out of sight until it is all fixed and perfect. Understood.” Victor raced off.

“What next?” Gavin waved to the violinists. While he talked to Victor, the pair of music students had arrived and begun practicing. They’d worked an Occasions wedding before and knew the drill. Then he returned inside to weave his way to the kitchen.

“Morning, Malcolm, how are we progressing?”

The sous chef, Malcolm Bissete, chopped and diced with a massive chef’s knife. If Gavin used one of those, he would be afraid of losing a finger. “I’m not going to be filmed. Right?”

“The camera guy is waiting by the front entrance. I’ll keep him contained. This was agreed upon between Occasions and the grooms.”

“Okay. Too busy to deal with that nonsense. Stupid pandemic.”

“I know. I know. At least we get to go back to some normalcy.”

“True. Anyway…progress check. Right.” Mal didn’t look up throughout the entire conversation but kept his attention on his work. “Cocktail hour is done and ready.” He scooped the ingredients to a bowl. “The cocktails will be made fresh to order. Zak is on his way and will mix everything. Unlike me, he knows what he’s doing.”

Mal went to the warming oven, plucked out a couple of pieces, plated them and passed it to Gavin. “These are the egg-white tartlets with bacon, Gruyère and sun-dried tomatoes. The other is the mini-French toast. I added dark maple syrup, so it bakes into the bread. Nothing should bother your lactose issue. Both grooms requested alternative milks.”

“I missed one of my favorite parts of every event—the tasting element.”

“Still not going to share with Victor?”

“Nope. Not guilty, either.” Gavin savored the hors d’oeuvres Malcolm had created to satisfy an early morning hunger before the actual brunch—something to offset the morning dip into alcohol. The cocktail hour would be celebrated with an option of mint juleps and Bellinis, along with coffee and tea. While the grooms and wedding party finished the pictures, the guests could enjoy some delicacies. “Wow. These are delicious!”

Malcolm slid over a cup of fresh coffee, doctored to Gavin’s taste. “Appreciate it.”

“What else is ready?”

“Katie’s delivery guy dropped off the cake. It’s waiting in the walk-in fridge. Simple but elegant, like one of the grooms, Charles, wanted. Katie loved how it came out and will add it to her social media pages.” Mal pointed to another workspace. “I’m finishing the salad wraps and grilled vegetable tartlets. The frittatas are baking. The scones are done.”

“Perfect. You rock.” Gavin polished off the rest of the French toast, loving the flavor combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup.

“It’s a small event, so there isn’t much to make. It’ll be the same with Sunday’s reception. I enjoy these little ones. I’m not running around like crazy to get everything done.”

“There are going to be more of these smaller events until everything settles down.”

“And people become comfortable in larger ones.”

“Life came to a stop and changed. Now we need to figure out a way back,” Gavin said between sips of coffee. “Just wondering. What are you going to do when Dorian finishes school and returns home? Will you keep helping with the event side?”

“I’ll return to restaurant cooking with the occasional event-planning stuff for the larger groups. The restaurant side is my passion.”

“What?” Gavin frowned in a playful, teasing manner, complete with the sad puppy-dog look that collaborated with his baby-blue eyes. “Don’t you like working with Victor and me?”

“Not the puppy-dog eyes! No! No. Stop that.” Mal snapped his towel at Gavin. “You’re evil, man, just plain evil. Not going to sway me. Nope.”

Gavin grinned while he dropped the look when he knew he’d gotten to Mal.

“Hey, I adore you, honest. I don’t mind helping with the events if I’m needed, but I’m a restaurant kitchen guy. It’s in my blood. I love the craziness of a busy evening.”

“Understandable.” Gavin finished the coffee and pushed the dishes back across. “I’ll let you get back to things. Let me know if anything changes.” He tapped his earpiece. “Unless you run into Vincent, then tap me on this.”

“Always.” After a flourish of the towel, Malcolm tucked it back around one of his apron’s ties.

Gavin left the kitchen with a fresh burst of energy. Heading through the main restaurant, he studied a couple of people from the local businesses dressing the closed-off area for the reception. Pale-blue tablecloths with sand-colored napkins and chair covers united the area. A bounty of fresh flowers in shades of cream and pale blue added a beautiful fragrance. He loved everything the florist, Jude Sebastian, designed.

Taking a moment to adjust a couple of items and locate a missing placement, he returned outside. There he found Jude and his team setting up the last of the exterior floral arrangements around the gazebo and aisle. The lighting team finished adding pin-style lights around the gazebo that went with the strings of fairy lights. The natural morning sunlight would brighten the rest of the setting.

Though he discovered the second birdcage hanging, he couldn’t locate his assistant.

Gavin tapped his headset. “Victor, where are you?”

“Helping Charles with his outfit. We have a loose button and a wobbly belly,” Victor replied. “Don’t worry. Ryan is still in the front entrance area.”

“Okay. Keep me updated. I’ll pick up our cameraman and check on the grooms next.”

“Will do.”

Gavin stepped closer to the dark-haired florist where he was tucking pale-blue and cream flowers into the birdcages. “Hey, Jude.” Memories of the Valentine’s Day surprise he’d created for Jude at Dr. Elliott Sheffield’s request to reveal their new home flashed through him. It had been one of his most memorable moments.

“Morning, Gavin. Wonderful day for a wedding.” Jude shifted his attention from the cage and flowers toward Gavin. He let out a low appreciative whistle. “Looking pretty dapper this morning. I like the paisley suspenders.”

Every single time they met, the florist commented on Gavin’s combination of bow ties and suspenders. They were his look, his trend and something he’d started with his first wedding. In a way, they remained his good-luck charms. If he needed to go a bit more formal, he had a collection of vests and a few coats more reminiscent of earlier centuries. There was a touch of steampunk style to some of his wardrobe. Today, he’d chosen gray-checked pants with a long-sleeved white button-down shirt. Due to the steamy early-July morning, he’d rolled the sleeves up his forearms then set off the look with gray paisley suspenders and matching bow tie.

“How many pairs of suspenders do you have?”

“Lost count a while ago,” Gavin admitted. “Same with the bow ties. At least a couple hundred, if not more, of each type.”

“Damn. How are we to know what set to get you for your birthday?” Jude let out a low whistle. “Sheesh. You probably have every single style and pattern.”

“No, not everything. Still missing a few sets, and more are always being revealed and designed. My collection is always growing. I’m not stopping anytime soon. There’s some higher-end ones I didn’t pick up.”

“Do you have a wish list?”

“Multiple ones.”

Jude laughed.

“Still can’t get Doc Elliott to try them?”

“Nope. Claims they get in his way in the ER.”

“Riiiiight.”

“Silly doctor of mine,” Jude said. “He prefers his boring scrubs.”

“He’s still a keeper. Does he have a twin?”

Jude laughed and shook his head.

“Damn. Too bad he broke the mold.”

“Oh, I’m not giving him up for anything.”

“Don’t blame you.” Gavin cupped his fingers under one bloom that was tucked into a stylized vase set on a pedestal. “These are gorgeous.”

Jude caressed one petal with a fingertip. “The one you’re touching is a morning glory. I adore that sky-blue color. The others are a combination of white mini cala lilies and ruffly double tulips. It took a bit of luck for me to find these white hybrid nerine lilies. They’re the perfect addition to intersperse among the foliage. After sending the grooms a picture, they became excited and gave me a bit of extra budget to find them.”

“I remember their excitement about it.”

“Crazy how that happens. Anyway, I chose Italian ruscus, eucalyptus and fern combinations to finish off the centerpieces and accents. Smaller versions are on the tables,” Jude said. “The grooms chose a boutonnière of a single morning glory flower and two strands of Italian ruscus. I delivered those earlier.”

“Other than tulips, I have no clue about what you just said. Tell me more.”

Nicole Dennis – https://www.firstforromance.com/index.php?route=product/author/info&author_id=343

Ever the quiet one growing up, Nicole Dennis often slid away from reality and curled up with a book to slip into the worlds of her favorite authors. Over the years, she’s created a personal library full of novels filled with dragons, fairies, vampires, shapeshifters of all kinds and romance. Always she returned to romance. Still, there were these characters in her head, worlds wanting to be built on paper, and stories wanting to be told and she began writing them down whether during or after class. She continues to this day. Only recently has it begun to become fruitful, spreading out to let others read and enter her worlds, meet her characters, and see what she sees. No matter what she writes, her stories of romance with their twists of paranormal, fantasy and erotica will always have their Happily Ever Afters.

She currently works in a quiet office in Central Florida, where she also makes her home, and enjoys the down time to slip into her characters and worlds to escape reality from time to time. At home, she becomes human slave to a semi-demonic tortie calico.

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Made of Folded Paper by Kai Wolden: RB, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

by

FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE KAI WOLDEN

College friendships are supposed to last a lifetime… But this is a little more complicated…

Will, a daydreamer and romantic from small-town Iowa, starts his first year at Weston Academy of the Arts, where his peers nickname him “Iowa.” Iowa becomes acquainted with a charismatic thespian named LA, who introduces him to his two best friends—Cynic, a suave and sardonic musician, and Charlie, a reserved and enigmatic writer.

Over time, Iowa becomes increasingly fascinated with his three new friends in different ways, forming a brotherly bond with LA and a more complex connection with Cynic. Only Charlie remains distant, capturing Iowa’s intrigue most of all.

When Iowa catches a glimpse of an alarming scar on Charlie’s chest, he becomes obsessively concerned about him. He begins to view Charlie as a fragile, tragic figure—but when he finally breaks through Charlie’s barriers, he discovers that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

As Iowa is overcome by intensifying feelings for Charlie, the group dynamic grows tense. It turns out Charlie and Cynic have a history, and seeing Charlie and Iowa together just might be enough to drive Cynic off the rails…

As graduation approaches, the four friends’ relationships are tested by jealousy, heartbreak and tragedy. Will love be enough to hold them together in the end?

Reader advisory: This book includes the death of a character in a drunk-driving incident. There are mentions of substance abuse, self-harm and depression, as well as mentions of suicide, homophobia, and transphobia.

Amazon

First for Romance

Goodreads

I’m not sure when I first started fictionalizing my life, casting everyone around me in glamorous roles, romanticizing their flaws and my own. Maybe it was in middle school, when life was hell and it made things so much easier to imagine that the mean kids had secret, tortured home lives—neglectful parents, dead siblings, empty cupboards, holes in the roof that let in the rain. Maybe it was in high school, when I skipped class and hid in the back of the library with a stack of books, listening to the other truants who slipped between the shelves for more sensational reasons, contriving storylines for their hurried love affairs, illicit exchanges and muffled heartbroken sobs. Maybe it was after high school, those nights working at the general store, where drunks shuffled in to buy cigarettes and pornography, where my boss told me not to accept checks from Black people, where one year off to save money for college turned into another and another while at home my father slowly died from lung cancer. Regardless, at some point along the way, I developed a fascination that bordered on fetishism for tragedy.

I had always planned to go to college. There was never a time in those five years that I resigned myself, even for a moment, to a lifetime of working at the general store or the mill where my father had grudgingly labored for most of his life. I made excuses for putting it off year after year—money, my father’s health, my mother’s well-being after he died. She didn’t need me, but I pretended she did, pretended she needed someone to clean the leaves out of the gutters and fix the leaky pipes at the very least. I put into that drafty old clapboard house all the love I was never able to give to my father and all the love I wished I could give to my mother that she wouldn’t accept. When she told me she was selling the house and buying a condo in Des Moines, it was like she was telling me she was giving me up for adoption. I was twenty-three, but I curled up in the corner of my closet and cried like I was six. Then I crawled out, grabbed the laptop that I’d scrimped and saved for and lay on the threadbare carpet all night, researching colleges.

I made the economical choice—I would take general classes at a community college, a respected one as far as community colleges went, that was only an hour’s drive from Des Moines. I still wasn’t ready to completely sever those arterial ties with my mother that she’d clipped as easily as an umbilical cord. After two years, I would transfer to a four-year university to complete my bachelor’s degree, though I wasn’t sure yet where I would go or what I would study. I’d only ever loved one thing—books—but there was no money in an English degree, and I needed to make money if I ever wanted to escape Iowa for good. For those two years, in which I worked odd jobs and rented an elderly couple’s basement for almost nothing, provided I helped out around the house, I tried to muster an interest in something else—accounting, real estate, law, anything lucrative and sensible.

But in the end, when I confessed to my guidance counselor that I’d failed, she said impatiently, “Hey, at least you love something. You know how many people live their whole lives and never find anything they love? Do what you love.” So I started applying to English programs.

I had it in mind that I wanted to go to the East Coast—Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire or New York. I wanted to get out of the Midwest anyway, and there was something so gloomy and romantic about the East Coast in my mind (I’d never actually been there). But when I added up tuition and living expenses, I just couldn’t make it work, no matter how many financial aid packets and possible scholarships I factored in. I wasn’t a particularly impressive student on paper, though I had done well on my ACTs and written a masterful personal statement on the topic of my father’s agonizing demise. I ended up applying to eight universities across the United States, chosen for the prestige of their English programs, affordability and admittedly the aesthetic of their websites. I got three letters of acceptance, and when I laid them out on the flimsy card table in my rented basement room, it was the one with the thickest paper, the blackest ink and the most elegant sigil at the top—which contained an open book, a pen, a paintbrush and a violin—that drew my eye because I’d never seen anything so beautiful with my name on it. That was how I ended up in Michigan.

I was a bit embarrassed to be starting college at twenty-five—and I did think of it as starting because, compared to Weston Academy of the Arts, my quaint little community college was less than nothing. During the long drive east, then north in my beat-up Toyota with everything I owned rattling around the back seat, I did something I hadn’t done in a while—made up a backstory for myself. My father’s death I would keep, but it would be a boating accident rather than cancer—much more dramatic and devastating. My mother’s estrangement I would also keep, but I would lose her to grief and a pill addiction instead of apathy and a condo in Des Moines. Iowa I would abandon entirely in favor of something a bit superior—Minnesota or Illinois, perhaps—nowhere that would require an accent or change to my mannerisms. I wouldn’t lie about my age, but I would explain it away—a gap year that got out of hand, a spree of reckless behavior after my father’s death, a soul-searching quest across South America, a whirlwind affair with a Columbian woman (I’d taken Spanish in community college). By the time I arrived, I knew my story so well it was almost as if I’d actually lived it. But I never told it to anyone.

It turned out I’d misjudged the student population of Weston. I’d thought they would be wistful romantics like me, and they were. But the people who attended Weston were people who could have gone anywhere, but chose to slum it in Michigan because they romanticized the Midwest, small-town America and working-class, salt-of-the-earth folk like me. There was no better role I could have played than William Paine from Iowa. People called me “Iowa,” and soon enough, I dropped my name and embraced the character. I began to exaggerate certain parts of myself, the parts I could tell my peers most appreciated—my ignorance and inexperience (I didn’t know what Uber was, I’d never tried sushi, I’d never been to Europe), my wealth of practical knowledge (how to change a tire, how to sew on a button, how to fix a wobbly table), my poverty (my old flannel shirts and scuffed work boots, my battered Toyota with its cracked windshield, my job at the campus bookstore where I hauled boxes of textbooks and mopped muddy footprints from the floor).

I played the boy next door, blond and broad-shouldered, wholesome and hard-working, bursting with Midwestern hospitality. I exuded images of green and gold cornfields, boundless blue skies, blood-red sunsets, black storm clouds and ruinous tornados. I manifested the American Gothic—William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Sherwood Anderson, Stephen Crane. I became a warped and grotesque caricature of myself, composed entirely of the qualities I had been most ashamed of and most wanted to leave behind when I started my new life. But my peers reveled in it, and I enjoyed the unfamiliar novelty of being popular, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

This book was beautiful. Stylistically very different from traditional romances. This book is almost all prose, with not a lot of dialogue at all. And the dialogue that there was packed a punch.

We follow Will from right after high school, putting off college, going to community college and finally a 4 year college that he decided on because their stationary was beautiful.

We falls in with an eclectic crowd and the group went from 3 to 4. All but one have a nickname. Which is telling. LA, the center of attention, they guy who wants to be a famous actor. Cynic, the probably alcoholic pianist who has all the money in the world when what he really wants is his parents to pay attention. And Charlie, who is a bit of a mystery, always with the group but often with his face in a book.

And it is Charlie who Will, nick named Iowa, can’t stop staring at.

They navigate their relationship through college, friends, travel, assumptions and discoveries.

This story was almost lyrical in it’s writing. I am going to say it isn’t going to be for everyone because of the lack of dialogue, but it is very well written.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Kai Wolden writes fantasy, sci fi, and contemporary fiction starring queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming characters. Whether it takes place in outer space, a fantasy world, or a modern-day college campus, Kai loves honest, heart-wrenching stories about queer love in all its forms: friendship, romance, found family, and those ambiguous relationships that are somewhere in-between. Growing up queer and trans in small-town Wisconsin, Kai always wished he could find fictional characters who were more like him. Now he’s populating the world with them, one book at a time!

Check out Kai’s website here – https://www.kaiwolden1.wixsite.com/writer

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Honestly Yours by Jaime Reese: Release Blitz and Release Day Review

by

The truth hurts. But in the end, honesty wins. Or does it?

Warren Prescott loves a challenge. He knows how to play the game and adapts when necessary to succeed in his cutthroat world. Tired of pining for a man he’s wanted for months, Warren intends to seal the deal. Until that man throws him an endearing curveball…

Be honest.

Gian Benedetti doesn’t play games. Success has cost him the personal connections he craves, and he doubts he’ll take another chance on a relationship. Until the attractive, younger man with the brazen personality and confidence stirs his interest.

Except…someone else is playing games.
And threatening everything Gian has worked hard to achieve.

Warren won’t rest until he uncovers the new player and gets his forever with Gian.

But they’ll soon face a hard truth—
Honesty may be what brings them together…
Or it could be the one thing that tears them apart.

—–

Honestly Yours is an age-gap standalone romance. It features a snarky younger man with a giant crush on a good-hearted, affectionate, bisexual older man. Expect some banter, a little mystery, a few twists, a dash of angst, curious parents, animal trivia, and a whole lot of love…and hugs (so many hugs).

Title: Honestly Yours

Author: Jaime Reese

Release: May 12, 2022

Cover Design: Reese Dante

Genre: Contemporary M/M romance

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

Honestly (see what I did there?), it took me a chapter or two to suck me in. On the surface, both Gian and Warren seemed kind of…boring. But as you quickly get to know them, they are anything but.

Both men are so driven and by completely opposite things. One of them comes from nothing, one of them from money. One is pretty well known in the building/construction world, the other stays in the background.

They are as much opposites as they are similar. They navigate their differences while building a relationship that is so organic. These men were meant to be together.

Gian (and his parents) open hearts help Warren acknowledge and begin to heal from his pain and trauma. And while it seems very one sided that Gian is always there for Warren, always forgiving with arms wide open- Gian NEEDS to be able to be that person to someone. He has so much to give and just needed the right person to give it to.

There’s a bit of mystery in the plot from a couple of different directions. And while there is some angst, there is never that big break up to only get back together. Been there, done that, breaking up over silly conflicts is high school stuff. The maturity level is nice to see.

There are definitely bits of levity that are welcome, but not out of context. There were also tears, including mine.

Good story, great characters, all the feels. And a fun Easter egg that made me smile.

4 pieces of eye candy

Jaime Reese is the alter ego of an artist who loves the creative process of writing, just not about herself. Fiction is far more interesting. She has a weakness for broken, misunderstood heroes and feels everyone deserves a chance at love and life. An avid fan of a happy ending, she believes those endings acquired with a little difficulty are more cherished.

Social Media Links

Website: https://jaimereese.com

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jaime-reese

Newsletter/New Release Announcements: https://eepurl.com/MewIz

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jaimereese

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jaime_Reese

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

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5828499.Jaime_Reese

Forever, Con Amor (For Him, Book 4) by A.M. Johnson: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review, and Giveaway

by

                                   

Chance,

I never in a million years thought I would want a guy who smells like a tree and probably hugs them on the daily, but alas, you’ve somehow snuck your sexy, khaki-covered ass into my life. It doesn’t help that we’re stuck living in this apartment together for God knows how long, but I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. I know I said it was one and done, and maybe that’s the smart thing to do since I’m not convinced of your emotional availability. Maybe I’m a masochist. Or, maybe I might kind of like you. I said what I said.

No regrets, Marcos~

***

Marcos,

Your ability to simultaneously compliment and insult me is probably one of my favorite things about you. I think it’s part of your charm. Does that make me a masochist as well? I definitely like to torture myself. The night I kissed you, I knew it had the potential to push you away, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting you. I still can’t. You can flirt and bully me all you like. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve finally found my home, and it’s here. And just in case you need me to be more specific, I like you too.

Forever, con amor…

Chance~

Forever, Con Amor

For Him, Book 4

By A.M. Johnson

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – Universal

Goodreads

God, he tasted all warm and minty and something perfectly him. His beard burned my skin, something I hoped would linger long after this kiss ended. I scratched my nails through the coarse hair, gripping his chin, his jaw, anything to get him closer. His large hands snuck under the hem of my shirt, and the heat of his palm enveloped my waist. I was fragile in his hold, delicate in a way I’d always wanted, breakable, and I wanted him to break me. A low, rough sound rumbled in his chest as his hands slid along my rib cage. I was surrounded by him, by the scent of clay and sandalwood and rain, and as I pulled my fingers through his hair, he groaned, tugging my hips forward, dragging me from the countertop until I was in his arms. He held me like I weighed nothing, our mouths melded together in a scorching war of teeth and lips, and walked me toward the living room, dinner somewhere distant in the background of my memory.

Panting, he broke the kiss long enough to utter one word. “Couch.”

I smiled against his mouth before I bit his bottom lip. “You sound like a caveman.”

He hummed, his tongue pushing into my mouth, taking control of the kiss as he sat us both onto the sofa. I adjusted my legs, straddling him, the kiss more frantic as I rocked against him. I planted my knees against the cushion, leaning back, I took a moment to breathe. Chance brushed the back of his fingers along my cheek, his eyes on my mouth, and swept a curl from my forehead as I stared back at him.

“These are my favorite,” he said, drawing the tip of his finger along the bridge of my nose.

“What?”

“Your freckles.” His touch was reverent. My stomach clenched at the sincerity of his tone. The room overly warm all of a sudden. “You cover them when you wear makeup, but I think they’re beautiful.” The blue color of his eyes danced with shadows as the flames of the candles flickered on the coffee table. “You’re beautiful.” The force of his gaze was too much. No one had ever looked at me like this, with such raw candor. 

This is book 4 and while it can be read as a stand alone (I didn’t read the other three), the backstories of some of the other characters intrigued me. So if I have time I might go back.

Chance is the guy who puts duty above all, especially himself and his relationships. But he finally has a job that keeps him in one place, as the director of an LGBT nonprofit.

Marcos is finally himself. Kicked out at 17 for being gay, in the Air Force at 18, he is once again a civilian wanting to be a clothing designer. He isn’t afraid to express himself with clothes, heels or make up either. Basically the opposite of Chance. Like, complete opposites.

The snark Marcos uses toward Chance “tee hugging hippie”, etc is both cute and an obvious way of Marcos trying to keep Chance at a distance. Because those two have sparks. So when Marcos is suddenly in need of a place to live, Chance offers up his second bedroom. It almost kills Marcos to accept but he does.

They had a great back and forth kind of snarky, but also flirty thing going on for a while. ALL of their friends saw the sparks. ALL of the kids at the house saw the sparks. But it takes them a while to get there. And it’s worth it.

And as much as Marcos makes fun of Chance in his t shirts and cargo shorts, Chance is very free with the compliments to Marcos. Telling him he is beautiful. Loves him with make up but also without when his freckles show. Just swoony.

Chance always had a sense of duty which sent him all over the world, but he is really a romantic relationship guy. He just needed how to put himself and his partner, if not first, then second only behind the kids they help.

Fun, sexy, snarky…definite recommend from me.

4 pieces of eye candy

Amanda is an award winning and best selling author of LGBTQIA and contemporary romance and fiction. She lives in Utah with her family where she moonlights as a nurse on the weekends and hikes in the mountains as much as possible.

If she’s not busy with her three munchkins, you’ll find her buried in a book or behind the keyboard where she explores the human experience through the written word, exploring all spectrums and genres.

She’s obsessed with all things Hockey, Austen, and Oreos, and loves to connect with readers!

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Embrace Me (Love in the Pacific Northwest Book 2) by Beck Grey: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

by

Tadhg: After a nasty breakup with my manipulative ex, I returned home to Seattle to lick my wounds. I’m done with relationships. From now on I’m focusing on my career.

There are just a few issues with that.

1. It’s not that easy for a Deaf man to succeed in a Hearing world, even with the right degree and experience.

2. Quinn MacDougall. He’s my co-worker. He’s also incredibly talented, driven, and distractingly handsome.

3. He’s hearing. And that’s the biggest problem of all. How can someone who isn’t Deaf ever truly understand and accept me?

Embrace Me is a 95,000-word contemporary MM romance about language barriers, loving but demanding families, crappy bosses, and sexy guys in speedos. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed Happily Ever After.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

I glance back at Tadhg to find him watching me curiously. I drain my beer and jump up. ‘Need another. You want one?’

He finishes his bottle and stands. ‘I’ll come with you.’

Oh. Okay. That’s. Fine? Sure. It’s fine. We’re just two people who work together, getting a beer. Together. As co-workers. I spin on my heels and hurry into the kitchen, with Tadhg trailing behind me. I toss my empty bottle into the recycle bin and pull two fresh beers out of the fridge. When I spin around, Tadhg is so close I have to lean back so I don’t bump into him. “Oh!” His beautiful blue eyes look into mine and it sucks all the air out of the room. I stand there like an idiot holding a beer in each hand, panting as if I’ve just run a mile flat out.

He gently pulls one bottle from my hand and carefully opens it, his eyes never leaving mine. I hadn’t even noticed he’d picked up an opener. He hands the opened beer back and takes the second one, repeating the process just as easily, like he does this solely by touch all the time. It’s kinda hot.

We stand there, so close I can feel warmth rolling off his body, and he smells so damned good I want to press my face into his neck and inhale lungfuls of him. His gaze drops to my mouth and then snaps back up to meet my eyes. And oh god, he’s going to kiss me. He leans forward and I move closer, unable to fight his pull.

This was my first book by Beck Grey, but it won’t be my last. And although this is book 2, it is easily a stand alone.

First, big props to the author for not only deaf representation, but Deaf representation. That isn’t seen as often- at least not in books.

This book does a great job of combining Deaf culture with hearing people. How difficult it can be, how isolating. But Tadhg is lucky in that he meets Quinn in a coffee shop when he steps in to try to help. And then finding out that he works at the same architectural firm Tadgh is starting at that day.

Quinn works on his rusty ASL with his roommate and other friends who speak it. Good thing as they are put together on a project. Another employee, Tom, is also put on the project as the landscape architect. On his own, Tom starts learning ASL (a little too quickly to be true, but still).

The beginning of the book had a lot of descriptions of various ASL signs. To me, that is hard to visualize. Signs that use two hands with various motions, etc. Luckily that mostly stopped as I felt like it was taking me out of the story instead of pulling me in.

I also loved that Tadgh was just fine with being Deaf. He didn’t wish he could hear, wish he could speak, wish his life were easier. It was just part of who he was. Even when he was starting a new job he only had an interpreter the first day and then at the end for a big presentation.

The entirety, pretty much, of this book is Tadgh, Quinn and Tom working on one project. But they were picked by the one owner who generally doesn’t do that kind of work (green, eco friendly, low footprint) and the other owner who’s passion is green design was never heard from. It was odd since their difference was pointed out.

ANYWAY

Quinn’s family is big, loud and very loving. And while they welcome Tadgh with open arms, the communication issue is what finally drove the conflict with he and Tadgh. And that conflict kept them apart “on a break” for a bit. I hate when they get in a fight and then just make up the next day. After some stubbornness on Tadgh’s part, they actually hashed out their issues and problems.

Besides a couple of minor missteps, I really did enjoy this book. I really loved that Tadgh was never the victim, never acted like a victim.

4 pieces of eye candy

Beck Grey is an LGBTQ romance author who lives in the Northeastern United States with their partner and two adorable dogs. Weekdays are passed spending their employer’s money. Evenings and weekends are devoted to writing stories involving hot characters, favorite tropes, and happily ever afters.

Any additional time is spent laughing with friends, drinking red wine, printing and painting minis, and playing D&D. There might even be video games. If there’s cake involved at any point it’s a win!

Connect with Beck:
www.beckgrey.com
Twitter: @BeckGreyWrites
FB Group: Beck’s Blanket Fort https://www.facebook.com/groups/789307111722835/
Pinterest boards for Beck’s books: @Beck_Grey
IG: beckgreyauthor

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