Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

4 stars

Home Improvement — A Love Story by Tara Lain: Release Day Review and Giveaway

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Romance on Aisle Sixteen—opposites attract amid the hammers and screws of the home improvement store.

Gabe Mason became a father at seventeen, and his daughter, Ellie, is the most important thing in his life. But being the parent the courts demand means Gabe has given up most of his dreams—education, making furniture, a gay social life—to be a model dad with a steady, reliable job in a home improvement store. Life’s predictable until Jerry, a shy, eccentric guy in a hat and sunglasses, begs Gabe to oversee the renovation of his run-down mansion.

Gabe loves the house and the work, and Jerry’s pretty lovable too, but when Gabe discovers Jerry’s secret identity, he fears their passion could overturn both their lives forever.

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

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Tara Lain can be a hit or miss for me. For the books I like, I REALLY like them. And this one, I really liked.

The premise wasn’t anything original. Big time star trying to hide from the world. Small town guy just trying to live his life. Even the small town guy’s self imposed celibacy to focus on taking care of his near perfect daughter. But the way she told the story and wove it all together, it didn’t come off as a story told a million times.

The story was sweet without being schmoopy. I loved the misunderstanding before the big reveal. Gabe’s ex is a wild card. Seems that they were on decent terms until she started with her newest boyfriend who is a bit of a religious zealot. So poor Gabe is always afraid she will fight for custody. Which is kind of silly because of her age (16? 17? I forget exactly) but I also understand when you have a tenuous grip on something and are afraid to lose it.

I also loved that it is Gabe, the small town guy, who has a life outside of the big star, Jerry, instead of the other way around. Gabe makes furniture but it doesn’t tend to sell because no one wants to pay what it is worth. I cheered at that. CHEERED! This is absolutely true!

Moving on. Gabe’s daughter was not only an integral part of the story, but she was also like the conscience of both of them. It was pretty cool.

Well rounded story, good characters, hot romance, just a good, fun read.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

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The Doctor’s Date by Heidi Cullinan: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt and Release Day Review

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The hospital’s least eligible bachelor and its aloof administrator hate each other… so why are they pretending to date?

Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are infamous for their hospital hallway shouting matches. So imagine the town’s surprise when Erin bids an obscene amount of money to win Owen in the hospital bachelor auction—and Owen ups the ante by insisting Erin move in with him.

Copper Point may not know what’s going on, but neither do Erin and Owen. Erin intends his gesture to let Owen know he’s interested. Owen, on the other hand, suspects ulterior motives—that Erin wants a fake relationship as a refuge from his overbearing father.

With Erin suddenly heading a messy internal investigation, Owen wants to step up and be the hero Erin’s never had. Too bad Erin would rather spend his energy trying to rescue Owen from the shadows of a past he doesn’t talk about.

This relationship may be fake, but the feelings aren’t. Still, what Erin and Owen have won’t last unless they put their respective demons to rest. To do that, they’ll have to do more than work together—they’ll have to trust they can heal each other’s hearts.

Title: The Doctor’s Date
Series: Copper Point Medical: Book Two
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Release Date: June 18, 2019
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 300

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Hi there! Thanks for having me today. I’m here to talk about my new book The Doctor’s Date, available in ebook, trade paper, and mass market from Dreamspinner Press. It’s book two in the Copper Point: Medical series, and it’s the story of Erin Andreas, no-nonsense hospital administrator, and Dr. Owen Andreas, the cantankerous anesthesiologist.

When I planned out the Copper Point: Medical series, I set up two of the books to pair a doctor with one of the hospital administrators. I knew there would be a lot of built-in conflict by doing so, especially given that I wanted to show a younger, more diverse group of doctors and administrators trying to turn a flailing hospital around despite efforts by the old guard to keep everything the “same as it had always been” without allowing any change.

I see this power struggle play out in every aspect of the town where I live, which while it boasts a population of sixty-six thousand people, fully half plus three thousand of that is made up of the local state university. We’re a big small town that likes to pretend by turns it’s more than it is and also less. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my life, and the things the school, hospital, and city planners find to fight about have yet to cease amazing me.

From listening to dinnertime stories from my husband for twenty years as he has worked in hospital pharmacy, hospitals play out this same kind of struggle internally as well. You don’t get that many people with differing goals placed into the same petri dish without growing some interesting side effects.

Owen and Erin were an absolute delight to write, not the least of which because they never ceased to snipe at one another, even when it was done with love. It’s so fun to write that kind of energy. And of course, a lot of that struggle plays out as they deal with each other at work.

I hope you enjoy The Doctor’s Date and the other books in the Copper Point: Medical series. May you have as great a time as I did exploring Erin and Owen’s adventure!

Owen had what Simon had said as well as what Erin had said ringing in his head all the rest of the day.

He was so agitated. He needed to blow off some steam.

He decided to look for Erin.

Owen moved on autopilot. He wanted a fight. He wondered if he’d get one. He wondered if he should get one. As he rode the elevator to the third floor, he fidgeted, unsure of what he was going to do or say when he arrived.

Maybe he shouldn’t go.

Probably he shouldn’t go.

When the elevator doors opened, he didn’t exit, allowing the three other passengers who had ridden with him to get off, and he remained on. Two new people got on, and the doors were starting to close to take him downstairs again when at the last second someone slipped inside—it was Erin, holding too many binders. On instinct, Owen reached for the stack.

Erin shifted and moved them farther away.

Owen glared at him.

“Would you press the first floor for me?” Erin asked.

Owen did, glancing at the stack. “You carry too much.”

Erin pursed his lips. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not. You’re clearly straining. You’re going to get a hernia.”

The two women in the back of the elevator exchanged a knowing look. Owen thought one of them hid a smile behind her hand.

The woman closest to Owen turned toward him, and before she opened her mouth, he could tell what she was going to say by the look in her eye. He froze, ready for impact.

“Dr. Gagnon, the other night, when you played the violin—”

Stepping in front of her, Erin thrust the stack of binders at Owen. “Fine. Take them, if it will stop your nagging.”

Stunned, Owen moved cautiously to accept the folders. He was more surprised when Erin’s gaze lingered on him.

That had been on purpose. Erin had cut her off so she couldn’t comment on his playing.

He’d just been rescued.

Goddamn if Owen wasn’t about to blush.

After reading book 1, I had two thoughts. 1. I need more Owen and 2. Why is Erin named Erin and not Aaron? Usually in a series, the “bad boy” or super closed off one, or whatever you want to call him is book 3. So I was super happy to get Owen’s story this time. Sorry, Jared, you have to wait for book 3.

Owen is the lone anesthesiologist at the small town hospital. He has 2 life long friends he loves fiercely. And seems to hate everyone else. But Erin fell in love with Owen when he was 13. And now that they are working together, Erin hopes to get to know Owen better, but Owen just bickers and fights with him.

It’s obvious to all of us that the bickering and fighting is straight up flirting to Owen. But poor Erin has zero game. Or social skills. So he ends up bidding a ridiculous amount on Owen at a fundraiser bachelor auction. Erin just wants a date. But Owen thinks he wants protection from his over bearing father.

It was pretty funny because Owen and Erin were actually honest and truthful with each other. They just weren’t listening. After a few missteps, Erin says he wanted a date. But Owen needs to protect Erin. Because that is what he does.

Add in a ridiculously overbearing father, more missing money from the hospital, sexual tension and nosy friends and you get a good story! There was a bit of whodunit with the embezzlement from the hospital. Which was a little anticlimactic because there was embezzlement from the hospital in book 1.

But with that story line mixed in with Erin’s parental issues and Owen’s parental issues gave us a lot of story meat to sink our teeth into.

And I just loved Owen. I knew I would. The way he takes care of Erin, without taking over his life, is just the sweetest thing. He checks in with him, never once mocking him about anything- inexperience, clumsiness, shyness, etc. He never rushed him and never pressured him. He was just swoony.

There are a few sex scenes, but nothing over the top. This is definitely more story and character driven than sex driven. Which is fine by me. I love a good sex scene, but I hate when they are filler.

Bring on book 3!

4 pieces of eye candy

Larry Boots, Exterminator by John Inman: New Release Review

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Kenny Long is living a new life. Blinded in an accident, he has taken control of his unexpected reality the best way he can, and it’s working out better than he hoped.

Of course Larry Boots doesn’t know any of that. All he sees is a beautiful man sitting on a park bench.

Larry has a few problems of his own: his mother. His job. The lack of romance in his life.

His job. In the course of that job, Larry strikes up a friendship with Kenny. The next thing he knows, he’s so head-over-heels in love, even his mother doesn’t seem so bad. Of course his career is still a problem, but he’s working on that. Hopefully he’ll have the problem resolved before the man he’s being paid to murder succeeds in murdering him first.

And before the man he loves finds out he’s a cold-blooded killer.

Title: Larry Boots, Exterminator
Author: John Inman
Release Date: June 4, 2019
Category: Suspense
Pages: 191

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Dreamspinner Press

John Inman just writes the most interesting books. I never fail to laugh, maybe cry, but always I walk away wondering…how did he make that happen and I didn’t see it coming, and it seemed so plausible???

I mean, how does a regular guy…has mommy issues, no “real” job, just hookups in his life, happen into a career as a hitman? (There is a bit of an explanation, but you have to read the book).

Larry couldn’t have been more sweet, more lovely, other than that pesky job, upon meeting Kenny. He was protective, and caring, yet didn’t let Kenny think that he didn’t want him, because he was blind.

Kenny, meanwhile didn’t judge Larry, just accepted him, and asked him to be safe…maybe just change his profession if he could.

The internal monologue with Larry made me laugh the whole way through, as John’s books so often do. Especially when it came to Larry’s dogs.

Fun book, with a bit of a startling ending, but of course, the HEA never far away for these men.

4 pieces of eye candy

Killer Bond (Ward Security Series Book 5) by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott: New Release Review

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Daniel Hendricks wants a vacation. Ward Security’s accountant and resident code breaker just needs a little R&R from the chaos and usual shenanigans of the office.

But what was supposed to be a sexy vacation hook-up explodes in his face when he’s mistaken for a rogue secret agent.

Now he’s on the run with CIA agent Edward Raines from Bermuda to Barcelona to Paris as they try to find the secrets the real rogue was attempting to sell before another foreign spy does.

The chemistry between them is off the charts, but how is Daniel supposed to trust a man who had originally set out to kill him?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

What a fun book! Even though this is Book 5 in the Ward Security series– which is a spin off of the Unbreakable Bonds series– it is definitely the stand aloniest of all of them. (Yes, I made up a word. You’re welcome)

The story gets almost immediately into the action. Daniel, quiet accountant for Ward Security, is finally on vacation. He doesn’t care that he is alone. Well, not really. But a super hot guy sits next to him on the beach. Flirting leads to dinner leads to what Daniel thinks is a one night stand. But Edward thinks Daniel is a rogue agent out to sell government secrets to the highest bidder. Until the rogue agent and Daniel are in the same room and the similarity is shocking.

And so begins a very James Bond like adventure. With really hot sex. Because as freaked out as Daniel is at the beginning of this adventure, being lied to by Edward AND realizing that Edward had fully intended on killing the rogue agent (him, but not him), he really doesn’t want a roll in the hay again. Buttttttttttt… he can’t help it.

Edward and Daniel traipse through several European countries trying to not only find the information that was set to be sold, but to also figure out who the real rogue agent’s partner is. I loved how Daniel insisted on seeing the sights while also basically running for their lives. It cracked me up. But hey, if that was probably going to be my one and only time in France, I might do the same.

There is very little mention of “the guys” at Ward Security and mostly only one of his coworkers in involved very slightly. So it wasn’t the typical rousing of the troops to save the day. It was pretty much just Daniel and Edward.

Fun, exciting, sexy….and a happily ever after. Must read.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

On Shaky Ground by Andrew Grey: Release Day Review

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Martin Graham built his business from the ground up with hard work and intuition. Due to a degenerative eye disease, he’s learned to rely on his other senses to feel out the competition. To realize his dream, he just needs to broker one last deal… and finally secure an assistant.

Brock Littleton is desperate for money—desperate enough take the job no one else wants: assistant to demanding, fussy, intensely private Mr. Graham.

Everything about Brock gets under Martin’s skin in ways he never expected, making him realize a successful business isn’t the only component to a happy future. But as Martin’s deal comes together, one of the prices could be the relationship with Brock that Martin is just starting to believe could be real.

Previously published in Boundless Love Anthology by Andrew Grey, November 2018.

Title: On Shaky Ground
Author: Andrew Grey
Release Date: June 14, 2019
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 70

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Short and sweet….
Martin had started at the bottom and made his way to the very top, even though he faces struggles with degenerative blindness and assistants that only make his job harder. When the last one leaves and messes with the order of his office and his files, he needs someone that can understand that he needs order and familiarity as well as competence and a willingness to help him with everyday things. Although he was said to be a giant pain and very hard to work for… Brock didn’t seem to have a problem.

Brock had graduated college with an MBA, so being someone’s assistant wasn’t quite what he had in mind. Still, with the economy like it is, folks are lucky to get a job at all, much less in their chosen field. He already had a tiny cluttered apartment because it was all he could afford and if he didn’t take the job, he’d be forced to move back home with his mother.

Fortunately, Martin hires him on the spot and Brock proves that he takes his job very seriously… When an out of town business trips takes them away for the weekend together, after a few too many drinks shmusing the company they’re looking to invest in…. they end up together.

Now, I’m not big on boss and employee romances, but this didn’t feel like one. Not really. The two guys had such quick chemistry and Martin wasn’t as demanding or bullheaded and they made him appear in the beginning. Brock was patient and seemed to know everything Martin needed before he even said, and he was there for Martin and even a bit protective.

There was no drama or any real angst, even though I thought for sure that Chester was going to be a problem. Even to the very end, I kept expecting him to do something deceitful, but everything went smoothly and everyone was healthy and happy and together in the end. It was a short, sweet read and definitely worth the read.

4 pieces of eye candy

Close to Home (Sawyer’s Ferry #4) by Cate Ashwood: Release Day Review

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Witt:
I excelled at two things: systems engineering and going completely unnoticed.
The engineering took work and determination. The invisibility came naturally. Until one day, the wrong person noticed me. Battered and broken, I fled, escaping to Sawyer’s Ferry and the only friends I’d ever had.
Now, I just needed to figure out what I was going to do next.

Mason:
Life was good.
I had a great job, good friends, and a family who loved me. Even my roommate was decent. At least he was until he let his nudist brother come to visit. The opportunity to house-sit and help an injured friend couldn’t have come at a better time.
All I’d needed was to avoid an awkward situation for a few days, but I got more than I bargained for when my entire uncomplicated life flipped upside down. The last thing I’d been looking for was love, but it wasn’t until Witt that I realized just how much I’d been missing out on.

Title: Close to Home

Series: Sawyer’s Ferry: Book 4

Author: Cate Ashwood

Release Date: May 31st, 2019

Genre: Contemporary m/m romance

Length: ~50,000 words

Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood

Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

We’re back in Sawyer’s Ferry!

I was really looking forward to this one, with Mason (who works with Barrett at the brewery), and Witt, who is friends with Logan and Jackson.

We jump into the story right after Witt is viciously attacked in his bed and fleeing to get as far away from the place and the person who did it, as quickly as he can. It takes us a little bit to find out who did it and the why is still unknown, although I guess some people are just terrible people and don’t need an excuse to be that way…. but he ends up blacking out while waiting in his car to board the ferry to Sawyer’s Ferry. He’s luckily found by friends and taken to the hospital where Logan and Jackson step in to take him home with them until he gets better.

Playing hockey with Jackson, he confides in his team captain, Mason on what happened with Witt, and having met him before and having a little crush on him, Mason wanted badly to make sure that Witt was okay.

I loved how sweet and patient Mason was, and how much he cared about people, most especially Witt. When Jackson and Logan have to go out of town and then have a scheduled trip planned that’ll take them away from the healing Witt for a few weeks, they’re worried about leaving Witt alone, until Mason volunteers to stay with him and look after him until he starts feeling better. The situations at his own house, though kind of funny and kind of horrible, means he’s jumping at the chance to do it. Not only because he wants to spend more time with Witt, but also because he just doesn’t want to be around the nudists that are related to his roommate. I can’t say I blame them, that whole side story there irritated me. How rude.

Through it all though, while the men get to know each other and learn to trust each other, they’re also falling for each other. Mason wants to take care of Witt and protect him; he’s never far from Mason’s mind and he does everything he can to take things slow for Witt.

Witt has always lived his life for someone else; doing what he could to make someone else happy… so having someone like Mason in his life, who puts him first and cares about him so much, and just wants to make him happy… is exactly what he needed. Teaching him how to defend himself and showing him that it’s okay to be his own person and do what he wants for himself for a change, it was exactly what Witt needed. I loved it. They complimented each other so well, it didn’t feel like the insta-love, co-dependent thing that it could’ve been because of the situation. It felt real and authentic and genuine, and it was all just so sweet.

I loved the friends they all had and seeing everyone from the town. I liked that
Mason had this huge accepting family, and I would’ve liked to have seen them get to meet Witt because if anyone needed a big accepting family, it was Witt… so that kinda sucked, but meh, that may be me just being selfish and wanting more.

I also liked the man responsible for hurting Witt, didn’t get away with. I hate hate hate reading a story and the bad people just get away with being evil, vile people.
Though I’d have liked some petty karmic justice, painful and equally as evil as the hate he put out there… but I was happy he got what he did, plus a broken arm LOL so, good enough for me!

I’m really excited to see who’s next. I hope this series goes a long way, and maybe Brody’s next? Fingers crossed. Loved these two together and can’t wait to see more of them in future stories.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy