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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Amy Lane

String Boys by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post and Excerpt, and Release Day Review

May 30, 2019 by Denise

Seth Arnold learned at an early age that two things in life could make his soul soar—his violin and Kelly Cruz. In Seth’s uncertain childhood, the kindness of the Cruz family, especially Kelly and his brother, Matty, gave Seth the stability to make his violin sing with the purest sound and opened a world of possibility beyond his home in Sacramento.

Kelly Cruz has loved Seth forever, but he knows Seth’s talents shouldn’t be hidden, not when the world is waiting. Encouraging Seth to follow his music might break Kelly’s heart, but he is determined to see the violin set Seth’s soul free. When their world is devastated by a violent sexual assault and Matty’s prejudices turn him from a brother to an enemy, Seth and Kelly’s future becomes uncertain.

Seth can’t come home and Kelly can’t leave, but they are held together by a love that they clutch with both hands.

Seth and Kelly are young and the world is wide—the only thing they know for certain is they’ll follow their heartstrings to each other’s arms whenever time and fate allow. And pray that one day they can follow that string to forever… before it slices their hearts in two.

Title: String Boys
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: May 28, 2019
Category: Contemporary, New Adult
Pages: 341

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Perfectly Imperfect By Amy Lane

It’s no secret that much of my work revolves around family—and they say to write what you know.

One of the things I know—for absolutely positive—is that family is not perfect. Not even the best family can lay claim to perfection. Family is a mixed bag of dicks.

And I love capturing that moment, in which family is both the best and the worst thing to happen to us. Given that, I was particularly proud of this moment between a young Kelly on the verge of running away from home (although everyone knows where he’s going!) and his father, who’s only doing his best.

The next morning Kelly left a note—Going to see him. K. He wanted to say when he’d be back, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t help it. He just didn’t ever want to come back.

But the plan was to go spend the rest of his formative years on Seth’s floor, and it didn’t have a contingency plan for his father pulling up next to him in the family minivan, window rolled down.

“Get in.”

Kelly didn’t look up. “No habla English.” Of course the irony was, he didn’t habla Espanol either, because his father didn’t speak it in the house, and he’d taken French in school. All he knew was mijo.

His dad sputtered. “Look, you little dickhead, I’ll pay for your ticket there and back, just get in the damned car!”

Well, shit. On the one hand, it meant he had to come back. On the other, it meant he’d have more money for food if he went with the living-in-Seth’s-dorm option.

“Coffee on the way?” he bargained, and his dad laughed.

“Sure.”

He got in the car, and Dad threw him a hat—something his grandma had knit for… well, anyone in the family who would wear it. It was made with big chunky yarn and had flecks of something pink in it.

“Really?” Kelly asked, eyeing the hat.

“Did you bring one of your own?” Dad asked pointedly.

“No.”

“It’s cold outside. You forget your own hat, I provide. Also, are you insane?”

Kelly grunted. “Seth does it sometimes.”

“Yes. This is true. But Seth didn’t walk out the door one night and almost not come back!”

“He did too,” Kelly said. “He did too, and you know it. And this time, I needed to be somewhere with him where we can walk outside for a change. I….” He let out a little grunt. “It’s not fair.”

“I know.”

“I’ve been looking at JC’s, you know, near Northridge or San Francisco. So we can….” This sounded so grown-up. “So we can live together and go to school.”

“We’d miss you,” his dad said, sighing. “I’m not ready yet. Definitely not ready for Matty to be grown-up. Seriously not ready for you to grow up either. You’re only sixteen.”

“Well….” Kelly looked out the window into the foggy streets. “I’ll be seventeen when I graduate. If we were rich and shit, you’d be sending me away to a college, never to see me again.”

“Screw that,” his dad muttered. “There’s, like, no way!”

Kelly laughed then, with all his heart, because his dad sounded about sixteen himself.

So that was an epic love story. I wasn’t totally prepared for the length of the book and the length of time it covered, but it was worth it. Spanning close to 20 years, we follow Seth and Kelly from the third (Kelly) and fourth (Seth) grades when they were picked to learn violin in school. For Seth, that violin changed his life.

Kelly realizes way before Seth that he is gay and in love with Seth. So once they reach the teen years, Kelly kisses Seth- and they never look back. But Kelly’s older brother- Seth’s former best friend- turns on them with homophobic vitriol he learned at his new girlfriend’s church.

I love how the romantic relationship between Seth and Kelly started out bumbling and a bit awkward, because they were just kids, to knowing what they wanted from each other and asking for it

There is A LOT in this book. Seth’s dad, Kelly’s whole family of parents, several sisters and the brother who now hates him. But through it all is Kelly and Seth and Seth’s violin.

It seems as if everything in the universe is trying to keep them apart, but they muddle through. Basically having a long distance relationship for years and years, getting by with short, hidden visits, text, email and Skype.

There is quite a bit of tragedy in the book. Which just add to the forces keeping them apart. But what starts out as naivete of two teens determined to stay together turns into two men understanding their responsibilities but refusing to give up.

There were a few time line hiccups for me and a couple “but why?” moments, but I really enjoyed following this love story over such a long period of time.

If you are an Amy Lane fan or a fan of epic love stories, this one is for you.

4 pieces of eye candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. 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.

Filed Under: Author Guest Post, Blog Tour, Book Excerpt, Book Review, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, Release Day Review, TCO Reviewer: Erin Tagged With: 4 stars, Amy Lane, author, blog tour, Blog Tours, book, Book Excerpts, Book Reviews, excerpt, exclusive, gay, lgbtq, m/m romance, mmromance, new release, review, romance

Homebird by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post, Tour and Release Day Review

December 19, 2018 by Denise

TCO is so glad to have Amy Lane with us today with an exclusive author guest post, all about traveling with friends. I completely agree with Amy here. Going somewhere once in a while by yourself is fun, but if you don’t have someone to be snarky with, is it really worth going? 🙂 Check out what she has to see about her MC’s from Homebird, her most recent release. Thanks for joining the blog today Amy!

Crispin Henry isn’t an adventurer. He learned early on that the world is a frightening place and that home is rare and precious. If his friends didn’t drag him to sports games and ill-advised trips to Vegas, he wouldn’t get out at all—and his trip to Munich for Oktoberfest is no exception. But it’s there that he meets Luka Gabriel, and he learns to take a chance.

Luka is a free-spirited world traveler, working at Oktoberfest to feed his enchantment with new places and new people. His only possessions fit in his backpack, and he depends on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep. Crispin should know better—but he takes Luka’s hand anyway, and together they turn three nights in Munich into the relationship neither of them has been brave enough to risk—and neither can let go of.

When Luka turns up on Crispin’s doorstep before the holiday season, Crispin takes him in on hope alone. Yes, he knows the odds are good Luka will flutter out of his life again and leave him bereft, but isn’t it worth it to see if Luka is a homebird after all?

Title: Homebird
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: December 18, 2018
Category: Holiday
Pages: 188

 

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

A Little Hope from My Friends By Amy Lane 

I’ll be honest here.

While I love a good romance, I’ve never really been big on the “lone tourist” scenario.  I mean sure, I love to wander a place—but if someone’s not there to get my jokes about myself dorking about an unfamiliar location, I feel a little adrift.

It’s why I love traveling with my husband or my children. Even the salt flats of Utah are interesting if there’s someone there to go, “Oh my God, is that a SHARK that’s popping out of the salt flats?” And then watch avidly until the Loch Ness Monster appears.

Having a friend, a compadre, a buddy to explore with is, for me, really half the fun.

The inspiration of HomeBird came from my husband’s trip to Germany with his friends. They all sort of fell in love with their waiter—because he was beautiful and fun and single, and they were mostly married and settled and in their forties. So it was natural to put Crispin, our traveler into foreign lands, in the company of friends.

But more than that, the friends were his support system. They were the reason he felt comfortable traveling in the first place. I mean seriously, if this was about a homebody traveling to find an adventurer, there’s only a few ways to get him out of the house as it is. But beyond that, if that homebody is attracted to the adventurer, is he really going to act on that attraction if there’s even a possible nobody’s going to check on him when he disappears?

And besides the physical safety, there’s the emotional reinforcement. Even if your friends are uncertain—“Are you sure you want to spend a night with this virtual stranger?” if they really are your friends, you know they’ll be there in the morning to go, “Okay, do we hate him? Are we going to egg his house? Do we need a witch to curse him? I know someone!”

Or, even better, “I’m so glad you had a good time. Give me details. Not the gross ones. Just tell me why it was good.”

And of course, you need someone when you get home, to say, “Oh, hey, you’re still talking to that guy? That’s great!” and when you tell your friends and family at home that he’s visiting, they can say, “Don’t worry! He’s not a psycho killer, we met him!”

And of course, in a year, you need your friends to say, “Hey, do you want to go on another trip? I mean, you met the love of your life on the last one, right? Let’s see what else we can do!”

Although, you know, all of those scenarios are if you’re Crispin and get hauled away to Germany to meet the love of your life.

But even if you’re not Crispin and getting hauled to Germany to meet the love of your life, it’s still nice traveling with friends.

For one thing, the more people with you, the more likelihood someone’s phone will be working at the end of the day. The more options you have to find a suitcase to stow that last valuable that won’t fit in yours. The better chance you have of someone to talk you into buying that souvenir you really really want but aren’t sure you can afford.

The more people with you, the more conversation, the more appreciation, the more excitement.

So yes—I make a big deal out of Crispin’s friends when he goes traveling. Because his friends take care of him, and when he meets Luka he has a gold standard for which to judge a companion.

And isn’t he delighted when Luka exceeds that standard and brings some perks of his own!

This was a cute little story. Crispin (bravo on the unique name) and his friends go to Germany for a long weekend of Oktoberfest. Although Crispin works with these guys, hangs out with them and goes on vacation with them, he somehow thinks they don’t know he is gay. Mmmhmmm. So when they tell him that, ya, they know, go get laid, it’s kind of cute. You all want to have friends like that.

Crispin was adopted when he was 5 after his parents died. And then as a very young adult, his adopted parents died. Whoa. Besides needing the security of his house, he really isn’t that messed up. His adoptive parents had a daughter soon after he was adopted and they grew up as siblings. He calls her his sister, but never calls his parents his. They are always his sister’s parents. That was odd.

Anyway. Off the boys go on a long weekend to Germany. From California. I’m going to let that go. On their first night, Crispin catches the eye of a waiter in one of the beer tents. And after not having a relationship in forever, says he will go home with him for the night. And basically spends his vacation with Luka.

Luka is the opposite of Crispin though. His parents also died, but he needs to continually travel and not set down roots. He is originally from Fiji, but spent a lot of his childhood in New Zealand, but now travels with world with a backpack. But he does end up on Crispin’s doorstep a few months later.

Except for the sexy times- and they are dirty (not complaining)- this was very much like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Sure the first half was Oktoberfest, but Luka shows up in California in time for Christmas.

Even with 3 sets of dead parents between them, there really isn’t much angst at all. Just a sweet book.

3 pieces of eye candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. 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.

Filed Under: Author Guest Post, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, Release Day Review, TCO Exclusives, TCO Reviewer: Erin Tagged With: 3 stars, Amy Lane, author, blog tour, Blog Tours, book, Book Reviews, exclusive, gay, guest post, lgbtq, m/m romance, mmromance, new release, review, romance

Familiar Demon by Amy Lane: Exclusive Cover Reveal

November 29, 2018 by Denise

TCO is excited to have Amy Lane stopping by today with the cover reveal of her upcoming book, Familiar Demon, book 2 in the Familiar Love series. This amazing cover was done by the fabulous Reese Dante, and the book–like all of Amy’s books–looks great! Can’t wait!

For over a century, Edward Youngblood has been the logical one in a family of temperamental magical beings. But reason has not made him immune to passion, and Edward’s passion for Mullins, the family’s demon instructor, has only grown.

Mullins was lured into hell through desperation—and a fatal mistake. He’s done his best to hang onto his soul in the twisted realm of the underworld, and serving the Youngblood family when summoned has been his only joy. Edward concocts a plan to spring Mullins by collecting a series of items to perform an ancient ritual—an idea that terrifies Mullins. He can’t bear the thought of losing Edward and his brothers to a dangerous quest.

But every item in their collection is an adventure in brotherhood and magic, and as Mullins watches from the sidelines, he becomes more and more hopeful that they will succeed. When the time comes for Mullins to join the mission, can he find enough faith and hope to redeem himself and allow himself happiness in the arms of a man who would literally go to hell and back—and beyond—to have Mullins by his side?

Title: Familiar Demon
Series: Familiar Love: Book 2
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: February 12, 2019
Category: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 248
Cover Artist: Reese Dante http://www.reesedante.com

Dreamspinner Press eBook
Dreamspinner Press Paperback

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. 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.
Website: www.greenshill.com
Blog: www.writerslane.blogspot.com
Email: amylane@greenshill.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amy.lane.167
Twitter: @amymaclane

Filed Under: Cover Reveals, TCO Exclusives Tagged With: Amy Lane, book, cover reveal, exclusive, gay, lgbtq, m/m romance, mmromance, romance, urban fantasy

A Few Good Fish by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post and Excerpt

August 29, 2018 by Denise

A tomcat, a psychopath, and a psychic walk into the desert to rescue the men they love…. Can everybody make it out with their skin intact?

PI Jackson Rivers and Defense Attorney Ellery Cramer have barely recovered from last November, when stopping a serial killer nearly destroyed Jackson in both body and spirit.

But their previous investigation poked a new danger with a stick, forcing Jackson and Ellery to leave town so they can meet the snake in its den.

Jackson Rivers grew up with the mean streets as a classroom and he learned a long time ago not to give a damn about his own life. But he gets a whole new education when the enemy takes Ellery. The man who pulled his shattered pieces from darkness and stitched them back together again is in trouble, and Jackson’s only chance to save him rests in the hands of fragile allies he barely knows.

It’s going to take a little bit of luck to get these Few Good Fish out alive!

Title: A Few Good Fish
Series: Fish Out of Water: Book Three
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Category: Mystery/Suspense
Pages: 281

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

“Sh….” Ellery slicked his hair back from his face and whispered to him as he collapsed limply, Ellery’s long limbs sheltering him from the cold outside their little bed.

“Sorry,” Jackson said, blinking hard, irritated at himself for losing sight of his plan. He was supposed to keep control, dammit. He was supposed to blow Ellery’s mind, not get swept away in the sexual tide himself!

“For what?” Ellery asked tenderly.

“Was trying to make it holy,” Jackson told him, lost enough to tell the truth.

Ellery struggled out from under him, pushing Jackson to his side while Ellery rolled over to face him. “Tell me this wasn’t!” he demanded.

Jackson grimaced. “Do you have to?” he asked. “I mean, if our sex is holy and shit, doesn’t that mean you don’t have to go?”

“Nobody is holding a gun to my head! Goddammit, Jackson, do you not get why I have to do this?”

“Aren’t you too late to go this week?” Jackson asked hopefully.

Ellery laughed, grim satisfaction in every syllable. “I set the alarm early so we could have breakfast.” He glanced over his shoulder. “And you know what? We still can.”

Jackson grimaced. Dammit. “But….”

Ellery’s expression softened, and he reached out to brush Jackson’s cheekbone with his fingertips. “Baby, why does this bother you so much?”

Jackson scowled. “Because if you’re thanking God for me, God’s going to show you what a mistake that is, and I like it here.”

With a groan and a heave, Ellery rolled off the bed. “There is no talking to you about this! Now get in the shower, and I’ll make pancakes. And no! You can’t wear jeans!”

“But you said I didn’t have to get out of the car!” Jackson hollered, finding a clean set of boxers in the dresser Ellery had set aside for him.

“I lied! You at least have to visit the outside, dammit!” Ellery grabbed his sleep pants and his sweatshirt from the folds of the covers and started dragging them on.

“But won’t I burst into fire?” Jackson asked, only partially kidding. His past… oh God. His past wasn’t checkered, it was chicken-pocked! “I mean, won’t you get kicked out and excommunicated if you show up with me next to you?”

“No, Jackson, they’ve got a big ol’ reformed-slut alarm that sounds as soon as you step foot on the ground, and then a force field shoots up, separating us and catapulting you to purgatory for the length of the service. After your first six visits, they give you the option of walking there on your own while a sorcerer whispers arcane words and tries to set me up with a doctor, because that’s just how Jews roll.”

Jackson stared at him, cheeks flushed with color, fine brown eyes sparkling with righteous anger, and like it usually did, the thing in his chest melted into a gooey little puddle.

“I can see your sarcasm is functioning well this morning. Isn’t that going to taint the pancakes?”

Ellery struggled to keep his mouth firm. “I can make my pancakes both strawberry and sarcastic. But if you want whipped cream, you’re going to have to shut up, get dressed, and let me have this. Understand?”

Jackson let out a sigh. “If I see anybody there in jeans, I’m not wearing slacks next time.”

“That, too, is understood.”

“And if anybody gives you shit about the gay—”

“We shall find a temple that has no shits to give. Also understood.”

“If you find someone there who’s better than me….” He scowled and stared at the picture of them Ellery had put up on the end table, Jackson looking uncomfortable in his best dinnerwear and Ellery smiling charmingly for his father, who was perhaps the dearest man Jackson had ever met. The picture had been taken outside Ellery’s parents’ house in Boston over Thanksgiving, and while Jackson could say for certain it had been a good time, every single memory he had seemed to be tempered with the stomach-churning anxiety he was dealing with now.

An Ellery Cramer and a Jackson Rivers did not make sense in any way, shape, or form. The longer they were together, the more Jackson looked for the chapped, palsied hand of fate to try to rip them apart. And every time Ellery said he was being ridiculous, Jackson had to walk away, because the fact was, he had almost died—twice—since the two of them had gotten together in the summer.

If that wasn’t God trying to tell Jackson the facts of life, Jackson didn’t know what was.

So Ellery going to temple out of some sort of weird deal he’d made with the big guy—on the one hand, it never hurt to suck up to the person in charge.

On the other hand, Jackson was a fan of the old Irish saying “May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”

In this case, he would just as soon nobody, God or devil, even knew he was on the planet. He’d had forces bigger than he was meddle in his life, and he had the layers of scar tissue to show he’d barely survived.

“If I find somebody who’s better than you,” Ellery snapped, bringing him to the present, “I’m not the one he’ll be hitting on.”

Jackson scowled at him. “You’re being stupid.”

Ellery’s thin lips curled up into a smile. “So are you.”

“Fine. Fine, I’ll go. I’ll even be a grown-up. But Ellery, those had better be some damned good pancakes.”

Ellery rolled his eyes and grabbed his robe, swanning out for his exit, singing “My pancakes bring all the boys to the yard…” as he went.

After he left the room, Jackson allowed himself a fond smile. God, he really was being ridiculous. Who over the age of twelve pitched this big a fit over church, or temple, or whatever?

But as he jumped in the shower and started to wash, he just couldn’t shake the unease that knotted in his stomach.

For much of his life, things like food, shelter, basic safety—things Ellery had taken for granted every day of his life—had been dreams to Jackson Rivers. Now, living with Ellery in his posh American River Drive house with cavernous rooms and real wood floors, Jackson had food and shelter and, God help him, emotional safety on a daily basis.

He was just waiting for God to stop helping him and rip it all away.

But Ellery seemed to think Jackson was worth keeping. Jackson wasn’t going to dissuade him, because frankly, that hadn’t worked at the beginning of their relationship, and after what had gone down before Thanksgiving, it certainly wasn’t going to happen now.

 

A few lines from Fish Out of Water explains it best…

 

Very slowly, he turned his head and saw that Ellery’s mother was pushing the red button on his morphine drip, and he smiled dopily at her.

“You’re not supposed to do that,” he said, knowing his eyes were at half-mast and not caring.

“Darling, what use is being shot if you’re not stoned to the fucking gills?”

There was something very wrong with this woman. Something amok. But Jackson was out of pain and—

“Ellery…,” he mumbled. “Don’t let him get shot.”

She stood over his bed and smoothed back his hair, much like her son had. “Sweet,” she said, as though he’d argued with her. “My family doesn’t much do sweetness. I think this is a good trait in someone marrying in.”

“You’re evil,” he said. “Pure Satan.” And then he giggled, because hey! Who didn’t need six or eight doses of morphine at the same time? “No bullets for Ellery.”

“Darling,” she purred, “why should you get all the fun?”

“Wha’s your name?” It seemed like he needed a better one than Satan.

“Taylor,” she told him, raising a sculpted eyebrow.

“Imma call you Moostifer. Boosimer. Lucy in the Satan tree with diamonds!”

She laughed then, and her image went all red with little horns and a pointed tail and a goatee.

Then it split into a thousand different pictures of Ellery’s mother, Lucy Satan, laughing her ass off.

And then he fell asleep.

When he woke up, evening was lowering. Lucy Satan was stretched out daintily, dozing on a cot, her ankles crossed above her unshod feet and three or four pillows under her head.

Alex was fixing Jackson’s medication.

“Whoo, boy,” Alex said, seeing him waking up. “Someone sure did want you out of it. I don’t even think you can reach the button.”

“It’s her,” Jackson said sourly. “Lucy Satan. She’s evil.”

“Mrs. Cramer? She’s an angel!”

*

In the first book of Fish Out of Water, we are introduced to Ellery Cramer’s mother.

She is… formidable.

Jackson—who is very comfortable with strong women—is not comfortable at all with mothers.

His own mother was a complete and total loss. His second mother—Jade and Kaden Cameron’s mother, who took him in and helped him survive adolescence and taught him about family—lived just long enough for him to venerate her, placing her on a pedestal and no other woman could compare.

Ellery Cramer’s mother—for all her money and her different circumstance—is very much like Toni Cameron.

She is practical, smart, mercilessly exacting when it comes to the behavior of the people she loves, and ruthless about protecting anybody coming into her family circle.

Jackson is terrified of her.

By the time book three rolls around, her identity as Lucy Satan is firmly established. She’s listed under Lucy Satan in Jackson’s phone, and when he particularly wants to get under Ellery’s skin he calls her that to Ellery’s face. (“My mother’s name is Taylor!”)

But the minute things go wrong, she’s the first person on the call list.

I gave her big shoes to fill—Toni Cameron is Jackson Rivers’s ideal, and to make matters harder, Toni has passed on. There’s no time to examine her for faults and defects (as we often do to our parents in our twenties and thirties) and come to the conclusion that everybody is human and even the ideal parent is going to have some glitches.

So it’s important that she lives up to Toni Cameron’s memory—and that, when we see her be human, and Jackson, bless his broken little heart, has to realize that he still loves this woman like the mother he deserved, even when she’s not perfect.

And Taylor, Goddess love her, is just fine being larger than life.

In fact she’s ready to embrace her role in Jackson’s life with all the power at her command.

*

“Do you have backup?” she asked sharply.

“Getting some now,” he said. “Guy who got taken with him has a friend in special ops. Going to contact him, make a plan—”

“Not alone,” she snapped. “You are not to go in alone—”

“Mrs. Cramer….” And to his horror, in front of Sonny, his voice broke. “I gotta get him back. You know that—”

“Not alone, Jackson. Is that understood?”

“We’ll get him back, ma’am,” he rasped. “I promise.”

“Jackson?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Unless my son is dead, you are to call me Lucy fucking Satan, do you understand? And even then, calling me Mrs. Cramer is right out.”

 

Mother, knitter, author, wife, fur-baby wrangler, dreamer–Award winning writer Amy Lane writes romance because the voices in her head are real and she wants them to be happy at the end.

 

Filed Under: Author Guest Post, New Release Review, Quick Reviews, Release Day Review, TCO Exclusives, TCO Reviewer: Denise Tagged With: Amy Lane, author, blog tour, Book Excerpts, Book Reviews, excerpt, exclusive, gay, guest post, lgbtq, m/m romance, mmromance, new release, romance

Regret Me Not by Amy Lane: Release Day Review, Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

December 4, 2017 by Denise

Pierce Atwater used to think he was a knight in shining armor, but then his life fell to crap. Now he has no job, no wife, no life—and is so full of self-pity he can’t even be decent to the one family member he’s still speaking to. He heads for Florida, where he’s got a month to pull his head out of his ass before he ruins his little sister’s Christmas.

Harold Justice Lombard the Fifth is at his own crossroads—he can keep being Hal, massage therapist in training, flamboyant and irrepressible to the bones, or he can let his parents rule his life. Hal takes one look at Pierce and decides they’re fellow unicorns out to make the world a better place. Pierce can’t reject Hal’s overtures of friendship, in spite of his misgivings about being too old and too pissed off to make a good friend.

As they experience everything from existential Looney Tunes to eternal trips to Target, Pierce becomes more dependent on Hal’s optimism to get him through the day. When Hal starts getting him through the nights too, Pierce must look inside for the knight he used to be—before Christmas becomes a doomsday deadline of heartbreak instead of a celebration of love.

Title: Regret Me Not
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: December 4, 2017
Category: Holiday, Contemporary
Pages: 119

 

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Welcome Baby, and Merry Christmas

By Amy Lane

So in my first blogpost of this tour, I talked about how winter holiday stories tend to have an amplified emotional component—either for the good or for the bad, and how I was going to share some of my own personal stories so we could see, perhaps, where people like Pierce and Hal come from, when I’m writing about the holidays.  It’s important to remember that part of the fun of holiday stories is the deadline.

Yes, it’s an artificial deadline, for the most part, but if you can make your romantic mark when the whole world is celebrating happy, you can pretty much rest on your laurels until it’s time to propose, or, if Christmas was when you proposed, the wedding itself. I mean, if you made your beloved happy over Christmas, achievement unlocked, right?

But some deadlines aren’t artificial. Some deadlines are very much for real.

Does anybody remember what they were doing, December 10th, 1992?

I do. I was due with my firstborn on the 11th, and while Mate and I both knew there wasn’t anything hard and fast about that due date, we decided to take care of business early.  We spent the night of December 10th, 1992, addressing Christmas cards and filling out birth announcements. We knew it was going to be a boy, we knew what we were going to name him—all we had to leave blank was date, time, and weight.

I remember that night—we sat on the couch and looked stuff up from our address book (cause 1992 and computers didn’t make the labels for you!) and suddenly I look at Mate and say, “Just think. Sometime in the next few days, we’ll be sitting here and a whole other human being will be with us.”

Mate stared at me. “I’ve been trying not to think about,” he said, and then licked a stamp.

And because I was WAY THE HELL pregnant, I had a little freak out, right? Because, hey, we’re going to have a new human being and it would be great if maybe reality could set in sometime soon, right? RIGHT????

Well, I didn’t have Big T on the 11th—he was late by one hour and ten minutes, born on the 12th, a veritable moose at 9lbs. 8 oz. Mate went home after he was born and filled out all the birth announcements and threw everything in the mail the next day.

We came home, and Mate had finals (he got to put one off because I was in labor—his professor said that was the first time he’d ever heard that excuse and wished Mate congratulations!)  He also had a funeral to attend (his grandfather) and, hey, he was still waiting tables, so he had to work so we could pay rent.

I didn’t see him a lot for about five days, and Big T was a crier, and I was getting crabby and cranky and sure Mate had forgotten that, hey, we had another human being here, hello!

And then, December 16th, he finally has time, and our first family outing is to go choose a small Christmas tree. We ventured out of the car and into the biting cold, having wrapped Big T about sixty-thousand times, and Mate said, “Oh! It’s so cold! I hate to think of him in the cold!”

We still had rough times ahead—Big T’s crying stemmed from a cognitive disability that continues to challenge him—but in that moment, I knew the important thing. That baby was very much a person to my Mate—we were very much a family.

Merry Christmas to us!

Oh—and for the record? That was 25 years ago, and we have never sent our Christmas cards out that early since!

The Morning After….

 

THE EVER-PRESENT shush of the sea echoed in his ears. Even before he was awake, Pierce Atwater knew that sound had haunted him in his dreams.

He yawned and stretched, the familiar aches of healing injuries pulling at his skin and muscles and the unfamiliar ache in his backside waking him up fully. Oh, hey. It had been a while since that happened.

With a heave, Pierce sat up entirely, getting his bearings. The beach house he’d lived in since Thanksgiving glowed as bright and gold as he remembered—too beautiful. Almost pristine.

His body, on the other hand—that felt well-used.

He turned and looked at the bed he’d just vacated, noting that it was rumpled and sex stained; lovemaking and sweat permeated the room.

Oh wow. Oh damn. What had he done?

A piece of paper—the ripped-off corner of a brown grocery bag—caught his attention on the other pillow of the king-sized bed.

Please don’t leave without saying goodbye—

—H

Pierce stared at the note, only marginally prepared for the giant ache that bloomed in his chest.

Aw, Hal—you deserve so very much more.

He looked around the room again, eyes falling on the clock radio. He was supposed to leave in an hour—he’d told his sister specifically that he’d be in Orlando by lunch so he could bake cookies with her kids.

He looked at the note again and tried hard to breathe.

 

The Month Before

 

“SO YOU have the Lyft app, right?”

“Yeah, Sasha—don’t worry about me, okay?” Pierce regarded his younger sister fondly. She was made to be a mother—even if she came into being one a little young.

Sasha bit her lip, trying not to argue. She’d been such a sweet kid growing up—never saying boo to either of their rather domineering parents. She’d gotten pregnant right out of high school, and even though Marshall had stepped up and married her and they’d both managed to get their degrees, their parents… well, they’d never let Sasha live down what a disappointment she’d been. Or—their words—what a slut either.

Pierce had hated them long before Sasha got pregnant, but the way they’d tried to destroy her for a simple human failing had sort of sealed the deal.

But parenthood had made Sasha—and Marshall—a great deal stronger than they’d been as feckless teenagers, and while Sasha wouldn’t argue with her beloved older brother, she would discuss things she disagreed with.

“Pierce, you almost died,” she said quietly, her thin face suddenly lost in the pallor of anxiety and the cloud of fine dark hair she could never keep back in a ponytail. “I mean… I refuse to see Mom and Dad over the holidays because they’re just… just….”

“Awful,” he supplied with feeling. Yeah. He’d resolved not to put up with awful anymore.

“Toxic,” she agreed, leaning back against her aging SUV. Darius and Abigail were sleeping in the back seat after playing out in the surf under Pierce’s supervision while Marshall and Sasha moved Pierce into the condo. Pierce had worried—he couldn’t move very well without the cane these days, and what did he know about kids and water?

But mostly what they’d wanted to do was run away from the waves and collect shells, and the one time Abigail had been knocked on her ass into the surf, Pierce had bent down and picked her up by the hand before the pain even registered.

The move had hurt—but it had given him some hope. His doctors kept assuring him that he could get most of his mobility back if he kept active and remembered his aqua regimen. Picking Abigail up and reassuring her that Uncle Pierce wouldn’t let her drown gave him some confidence that his body might someday be back up to par. And the condo had a pool, which was why he’d taken his best friend Derrick’s offer to let him use it over the winter months while Pierce got his life together. Pierce was definitely in a position to follow his doctor’s advice.

So now, looking at his sister and thinking about how much self-assurance she’d had to grow to push a little into Pierce’s state of mind, he couldn’t be mad at her.

And he had to be honest.

“I’ll be grumpy and pissed off and bitter,” he said, letting his mouth twist into a scowl of disdain for the land of the living. He’d been fighting it off since Sasha picked him up at the airport. “It’s a good thing you made me get the car app, because seriously, I may have let myself starve to death. As it is, the groceries are going to keep me going for a good long time.”

Sasha’s eyes grew big and bright, and he took her hand and squeezed.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. None of it is your fault. You would have let me stay at your place forever, and I was getting in your way. This is good. I’ll hang out here, find a little peace, and when I go back to Orlando, I’ll be up for getting my own apartment and getting out of your hair, okay?”

“I’d never kick you out, Pierce,” she said miserably. “You know that.” She wiped the back of her hand across her big brown eyes. “You just… you got out of the hospital and—”

“And I was an awful fucking bastard,” he said with feeling. Oh God. The defining moment for calling up Derrick to take him up on his offer was when he’d heard his father’s words coming out of his mouth, telling his sister she was useless because she couldn’t help him off the couch without pain. “Sasha, you deserve better than me. You deserve better, period. I’m not going to hang around you and get in your way again until I’m decent company for human beings, okay?”

Sasha shook her head, still crying. “You were in pain,” she whispered. “And you were sorry right after. And you’ve done so much for me, Pierce. I can forgive you for being mean once when you did so much for me….”

He remembered the night she’d shown up at his apartment, in tears, practically hysterical, because she’d told the parents about an impending Darius and had been read the riot act about what a fuckup she was.

He’d taken her in—let her stay with him for a couple of months until she and Marshall scraped up enough money for rent and a car. She’d gotten a job, and Pierce had paid her tuition as she made her way through school. She had a career now—one she could work from home as a developmental editor of a small press. Marshall had his degree in software engineering, and together they made a good living—good enough to afford a guest bedroom and to put Pierce up for a month after the accident.

Pierce squeezed her hand now. “You listen to me,” he said gruffly. “You don’t owe me a thing. You’re the only family I want to see—pretty much ever. So just let me work shit out in my own head, and I’ll come back for Christmas a whole new man, okay?”

“I like the one you are right now!” she said staunchly, and then she threw herself in his arms and held on tight. “Love you, big brother,” she whispered, and Marshall stood behind her, guiding her away.

“Love you too,” he said belatedly, and Marshall turned and shook his hand firmly.

“Come back when you promised, okay?” Marshall was just as slight as Sasha—two small, mild-mannered people getting along in a bright, brash world. Pierce had always fancied himself their champion knight—he couldn’t be that as he was.

He had to make himself better.

“Christmas Eve,” Pierce vowed. “Don’t worry, Marshall. Nobody likes being alone on Christmas.”

Marshall shrugged. “We wouldn’t be alone, Pierce. We just don’t want you to be.”

With that, the guy Pierce and Sasha’s parents had driven off their property with a baseball bat guided a disconsolate Sasha into the old vehicle and piloted it away.

As soon as they’d left the parking lot, Pierce allowed his shoulders to sag and dragged his sorry ass to the back door of the condo.

He crawled into bed and stayed there until he absolutely had to get up and pee the next morning.

STAYING IN bed for sixteen hours had consequences—he almost didn’t make it to the bathroom, he was so sore. After he’d taken care of business and washed down a granola bar, he realized he was going to have to be serious about that pool thing, or he really could end up curling into a ball and dying in a beach condo in Florida.

For a moment he contemplated it—he’d always been the kind of guy to consider all the angles—but eventually he decided he wouldn’t go quickly enough and managed a pair of board shorts and a T-shirt. As he walked through the tiled hall of the condo, he realized the tile was going to destroy his body almost as quickly as the inactivity, and made a mental note to buy some rubber mats at the very least, so he’d have some padding for his joints. Derrick had said to make himself at home—ergonomic home decorating was a go!

Just as soon as he got into the… ahhh… pool.

Heated, of course, and a perfect counterpoint to a cool day in the high fifties/low sixties. He’d set his phone on a lounge chair, playing something disgustingly upbeat and perky, and went about doing the exercises he and his physical therapist had worked on.

Actual physical motor activity really did have magical properties—it must have. He was working up a head of steam, the resistance and buoyancy of the water supporting his body as he used active stretching techniques, when a voice cut into his workout Zen.

“If you don’t straighten your back, you’ll be in a world of hurt!”

Crap. Whoever that was, he was right.

Pierce adjusted his form and then looked over his right shoulder, from whence the voice—deep and sharp and young—had issued.

“Thanks,” he said briefly, taking in the sprawled form of what looked to be a teenager wearing board shorts, a leopard-print bathrobe, and giant aviator sunglasses, lounging in one of the chaises. Dark hair, faintly sun streaked, was cut almost Boy Scout short around an adorable frat boy face. His hands were sort of a mess, loosely wrapped in gauze, but other than that, he was as untouched as a virgin’s dreams.

“Dude, what in the hell are you listening to? This shit.” The boy shuddered. “I’m saying. I bet you could work up a sweat if you had decent music.”

“It’s a mix,” Pierce said weakly, feeling old and slow. “I just hit an easy button, you kn—”

“I’ll get you a better sound,” the kid said, picking up the phone. “What’s your password?”

Pierce gave it to him and then stopped dead in the water and almost drowned. He was in the deep end, and he had to work to stay afloat and—

“Don’t spaz,” the kid said on a note of deep disgust. “My phone’s in the condo, and I could give a shit about your passwords. Jesus, if I was a hacker genius, I’d be someplace warm, you think?”

Pierce took a deep breath, and suddenly Katy Perry came blaring out of his phone. Well, okay, so everybody had heard this song; it did make him want to work harder. Pierce was calling it a win.

“Thanks,” he said again, panting now because he was moving faster.

The kid shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. You gonna be here tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Same time?”

“Yeah.” ’Cause why not. Nothing better to do, right? No job, no wife, no life?

“Good. I’ll see you here with better music. Now stop doing that water walk thing and do a mountain climber—come on—I know you can.”

Pierce glared at him—and switched the move.

“There you go. Now follow my pace. You can go faster.” The kid started clapping, and Pierce struggled to keep up.

“I can’t… do… that…,” he gasped. He expected attitude back, because the kid had given him nothing but, and he was surprised when the clapping slowed.

“Sorry. You just look younger than this pace.”

Pierce had his back to the kid, but he had the sensation of a thorough visual once-over. He adjusted to the new pace and found his wind again. “Car accident,” he managed, trying not to be offended.

“Aw… aw hell. I’m sorry. I’m being an ass. I should just leave you to your workout.”

“No,” Pierce called out, stopping to tread water and cool down enough to talk. “Sorry—just… I was getting a workout. I suck doing this alone.” He kept his arms and legs moving and found the kid on the side of the pool again—he’d moved from where Pierce had first spotted him to stand right in front of the line Pierce was using to go back and forth.

“Yeah, well, being alone sort of sucks on all fronts,” the kid said philosophically. “I’ll try not to be an ass if you try to do a hard workout, how’s that?”

Pierce found himself nodding, even though he’d only come out to the pool out of what he deemed necessity. “Deal,” he panted.

“Okay, now back to mountain climbers. I’ll set the pace, and if it’s too fast, cry uncle.”

“Groovy,” Pierce breathed, positioning himself to go. “Now shoot.”

The kid put him through a decently difficult workout, adjusting for the things Pierce couldn’t do yet and pushing him hard in the stuff he could. After forty-five minutes, Pierce was starting to cramp up, though, and the kid had him stretch out.

Good stuff, really—the blue freedom of the water, the structure of the workout, and the congeniality of dealing with another human being without bitterness or backstory served as sort of a purge—some of the self-pity Pierce had wallowed in for the past sixteen hours was rinsed away.

But not all of it.

He was getting out of the pool when the damage in his calf and thigh screamed protest, and he groaned and grabbed on to the rail. The kid was right there, though, stepping into the water regardless of his pricey flip-flops and the hem of his leopard-print bathrobe.

“Uh-oh—overdid it. C’mon, let me help you to the hot tub. I’ll give you a rubdown, okay?”

“No,” Pierce grunted, suddenly aware of this kid. Lean and narrow but defined practically by muscle group, his body was a work of art, and Pierce didn’t even know if he was of age. And even if he was of age, he was too damned young for Pierce.

“No hot tub?” the kid asked sharply. “Or no gay guy touching you?”

Pierce’s face heated. “No hot teenager touching me?” he mumbled, limping toward the steamy goodness of the little spa and trying not to lean too much into the kid’s strong arms.

The youngster’s throaty chuckle didn’t reassure him in the least. “I’m twenty-three, old man, so cool your jets. Besides, I’m”—his voice dropped sadly, and the suddenly vulnerable look on his frat boy face made him look even younger—“well, I’d like to become a massage therapist, but I’ve only got half the coursework and hours done. Seriously, though, I’m halfway a professional, and I’m pretty good, so maybe let me work out the cramp in your leg?” He smiled winningly and used his free hand to lift his shades so he could bat a pair of admittedly limpid and arresting amber-brown eyes. “After all, I did work you over pretty hard.”

Pierce rolled his eyes at the double entendre, but as he reached for the rail of the hot tub, he had to concede that having his leg worked on would make the whole working-out thing feel like less of a mistake.

“Yeah, sure,” he muttered, taking the steps creakily one at a time. “Sure, you can squeeze my muscles till I scream.”

The kid chuckled again, inviting Pierce in on the laugh. “So you’re happy to let me rub one out on you?”

Pierce groaned. “God, kid, I can hardly walk. No sex jokes until I can make it out of the pool without collapsing.”

“So there can be sex jokes. Eventually. I just want to make sure.” Very gingerly the kid lowered Pierce until he was sitting. After he straightened, he scampered up the steps and pulled off his sodden robe, laying it out on the chaise to dry, and kicked off his ruined leather sandals.

“Oh geez.” Pierce thought of the massacre of perfectly good shoes and robe and was attacked by his conscience, which he’d assumed was dormant or dead. “Kid, I’m sorry about the clothes—”

“Don’t be.” He shrugged. “They’re my old man’s, and since he kicked me out of the house for Christmas, he can pretty much kiss off his super classy robe and huaraches, you hear me?”

Pierce wasn’t sure whether to chuckle or be horrified. “Just for Christmas?” he asked, making sure.

He lowered the sunglasses over his eyes again, probably to help him look insouciant when he was—in all likelihood—wounded. “Folks were having important political friends over. I’m a gay embarrassment, so I got the beach house. Last year they were in Europe, and I got the beach house with my boyfriend and we fucked like lemmings. No boyfriend this year.”

“The lemmings are safe?” Pierce asked, sympathies reluctantly stirred. Parents who judged their kids for sexual activity? He knew those assholes! Pierce and Sasha had grown up with their very own set.

Kid laughed, sounding young and happy instead of casual and cynical. Pierce liked the sound. “Here, let me rub your leg down—I promised.”

Pierce grunted. “Kid—”

“Hal—”

“Like the computer?”

Hal stared at him, unimpressed. “Oh dear, a Space Odyssey joke. I’ve never heard one of those, given that I’ve had this stupid name since birth. Now give me your leg.”

Pierce complied, startled by the venom. “Well, I could call you ‘Prince Hal,’ like—”

“King Henry the Fifth? Like in the Branagh movie?”

Pierce racked his brains, trying to remember. “I thought Branagh just did Hamlet,” he said, confused.

Hal gasped and wrapped his hands around Pierce’s ankle. “Heathen! How could you not know about the Branagh King Henry? He was young and still faithful and downright adorable!”

As he spoke, Hal worked his capable, agile fingers up Pierce’s leg—between that and the hot, bubbling water, Pierce’s entire body was melting like chocolate in the sun.

This story was cute. And not it a super sappy way, just a feel good way. And it really could have been super sappy had the author gone that way.

Beyond the full good cuteness of the story, the characters were really well developed. And while Pierce makes himself out to be a bitter, angry man- we don’t often see that. Hal draws him in immediately, even though there is not only an age difference, but their personalities couldn’t be more different.

Honestly, I loved Hal. For what he is and was going through in his life, he just stays positive and optimistic. He wants Pierce to be that way as well, but he doesn’t overtly push it. He is sneaky like that. He is that character that I want to take home and take care of. Not because he needs that, but because he needs love.

This was a slow burn book. There isn’t a ton of sex at all. Instead there is flirting, getting to know each other, a bit of disguised romance and a lot of laughter. The ending was predictable, but it was the only way it could end really.

This is the perfect book to read when you need something a bit lighter.

3 1/2 pieces of eye candy

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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Familiar Angel by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

October 19, 2017 by Denise

One hundred and forty years ago, Harry, Edward, and Francis met an angel, a demon, and a sorceress while escaping imprisonment and worse! They emerged with a new family—and shapeshifting powers beyond their wildest dreams.

Now Harry and his brothers use their sorcery to rescue those enslaved in human trafficking—but Harry’s not doing so well. Pining for Suriel the angel has driven him to take more and more risks until his family desperately asks Suriel for an intervention.

In order for Suriel to escape the bindings of heaven, he needs to be sure enough of his love to fight to be with Harry. Back when they first met, Harry was feral and angry, and he didn’t know enough about love for Suriel to justify that risk. Can Suriel trust in Harry enough now to break his bonds of service for the boy who has loved his Familiar Angel for nearly a century and a half?

Title: Familiar Angel
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: October 20, 2017
Category: Paranormal
Pages: 200

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Cats on a Mission

By Amy Lane

So, shapeshifting cats are a particular fantasy of mine. I featured them in The Little Goddess series, in which the humans shifted into cats of human size—and I loved them. The gag of the cat licking his privates who suddenly turns into a human will never get old.

But the cats in Familiar Angel are, well, familiars. There is no mass-conversion in familiar shapeshifters. They’re just cat-sized cats.

And believe me, I played with this concept as much as I possibly could.

One of my favorite moments in the story is when Harry wakes up and his brother is beside him reading from a kindle. “His paw moved and the light flashed, and he turned the page.”

Because if you’re a cat who can read, wouldn’t reading from a kindle be the best thing in the world? No opposable thumbs needed!

Harry and his brothers hunt mice for themselves and rabbits for people, kill spiders, spy on bad guys, and occasionally fish. When they don’t feel like being human, they cat. When they find they have to communicate with other people, they human—but they don’t have to be happy about it. And when they fall in love…

They struggle.

Because they found their cats 140 years ago. They’ve gotten comfortable hiding from hurt, hiding from anger, hiding from fear.  When they cat, they don’t have to deal with the terrible complexities of human emotions. They just have to hunt mice and lick their privates—but that doesn’t necessarily prepare them for the real world.

So as much fun as writing the cat parts were—Edward fighting the guy with the semi-automatic weapon and winning, Francis becoming the ultimate killing machine in the body of a fuzzy Siamese space-cadet, Harry pouting in the stream shallows before learning to fish—it was writing the human parts that were the most fascinating.

I mean, I’m pretty sure my own cats love me—as long as I feed them. They come to me for companionship, the bitch at me when I’m lacking in sensitivity to their superior selves, and I really am their best bet in the winter when they need full-sized body heaters during the cold, dark night.

But I don’t think they’ll ever be in love with me.

And writing that transition, between the self-protective cat and the vulnerable human, was maybe the most fascinating part of writing the book.

I have to say, although it’s an unusual genre, I hope people check in to see Harry, my brave warrior cat, fall in love—and Edward and Francis after him.

Good kitties!

“Hide!” Harry had just enough presence of mind to grab Francis’s other side to help Edward pull him through the thicket of brambles that lined the river. Bleeding, dirty, breathless, they slid to a halt in a hollow between the blackberry bushes and the hill, lying on their stomachs, Francis sandwiched between them. Francis, who had received a terrible scratch from the corner of his mouth to the corner of his eye, moaned in pain. Harry shushed him, and Edward placed a gentle hand over his mouth.

A woman, clothed in blinding, glowing white, burst into the clearing with a man—man?—draped over her shoulder. His clothes were red velvet, and thick curly hair grew all over his face and large skull, like a goat’s.

His back feet were cloven.

“Leonard,” she begged. “Leonard… darling. Wake up. Wake up. I need your help.”

Leonard—the thing… man—rolled his head, much like Francis had done, and moaned. “Emma, leave me. If they find me with you… if they find Mullins here….”

“Mullins!” the woman whispered. “Mullins—I’m losing him. Oh please—Mullins, he’s losing himself again.”

“I’m losing myself again!” came a terrible growl, and another Leonard-like thing stepped into the clearing—this one very obviously glowing red. “Emma, we need to do the ritual. I can’t….” The monster thing, Mullins, let out a horrifying series of snuffling grunts and growls. “I’ll turn,” he said, sounding tearful—if a beast could be in tears. “I’ll turn and gut you both.”

“I understand,” she whispered. “You’ve been very brave. Here.” She set Leonard on the ground then and started to pull items from a leather satchel across her shoulder. “We’ll do it right now.”

“This isn’t the ceremonial place!” Mullins said, sounding despondent. “It’s not cleansed, it’s not prepared—”

To Harry’s surprise, Emma put a tender hand on the beast’s cheek. “My sweet boy, you’ve been too long in hell. We don’t need the trappings of the spell—although the things in those hex bags should help us focus. We just need ourselves, and our good intentions, and our desire.”

Mullins’s grunt was self-deprecating. “The road to hell is the one paved with good intentions,” he said gruffly.

“That’s only because the demons trying to get to earth walked that path first,” she said, sounding cheeky. In their quiet interaction, Harry got a better look at her. Not young—over twenty—but not old either, she was beautiful in every sense of the word. Straight nose, even teeth, perfectly oval face, and blonde hair that streamed, thick and healthy, to her waist, she was what every boy should dream about when he went to sleep hoping for a wife.

Harry didn’t dream about girls, but he could look at this one and know the appeal.

But it was more than the physical beauty—and she had it all, soft hips, small waist, large breasts—there was the kindness to the beasties. The gentleness and calm she radiated when Mullins had threatened her.

Suddenly Harry had a powerful yearning for his mum, when she’d been dead for nearly five years.

“Here,” Emma said, breaking the sweetness of the moment. “Take the hex bags—there’s ten. Make a pentagram with me and Leonard in the center. I’m summoning an angel, love. You may want to leave when you’re done. I’ve no guarantees he’ll be friendly to you.”

“That’s not news,” Mullins said dryly and began his task. “Do you…. Emma, I know you’re powerful. You summoned my master for knowledge on power alone. But all else you have done, you have done out of love.”

“Including persuade you to our side,” she said. While he set the hex bags, she was stretching Leonard out before her, stripping his shirt with deft, practiced movements. The skin underneath the clothes was smooth and human, and Harry felt nauseated at the abomination of beast and man.

But Emma seemed to care for him.

“It would be worth any torture,” Mullins said softly, pausing in his duties, “to know Leonard will live.”

“Come with us!” Emma begged. “I may not love you like I love Leonard, but you’ve been a good friend to us. Please—”

Mullins shook his head. “It’s not enough to break me free,” he said, and his bestial smile would haunt Harry and Edward for years. “Someone would have to love me enough to sacrifice for me, and make no mistake, Emma. This will come down to your sacrifice. You will be stripped of your power, your youth—are you sure you want to do this?”

Emma let out a sigh. “I would live a mortal lifetime without worry,” she said softly. “But I do not want him all alone without me. ’Twould be cruel.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and then—

Harry gasped and heard Edward do the same.

She was looking right at them.

“I’m about to do something very wrong,” she said, great conviction carrying in her serenity. “But I think something very right too. Carry on, Mullins, but run as soon as you are done.” Her voice dropped. “Please, my friend—I’ll have enough weighing on my soul for tonight’s doings as it is.”

Mullins continued to bustle, and as he set the last hex bag down, Emma began to chant. Mullins traced a circle in the dirt around the outside bags, and then, when the circle ends touched, he pulled out a knife.

Emma nodded unhappily at him and then bit her lip as he cut a line on his palm and let the blood drip on the sealed ends of the dirt line. He and Emma looked at each other again, a strong friendship locking their gaze, before he turned and lurched away, his gait awkward and crippled on his cloven hooves. Harry felt some compassion for him then, poor beast, good friend—but his gaze didn’t linger.

He was too busy watching the white light around Emma grow larger, filling the space inside the pentagram like a bowl.

The light exploded outward, filling the clearing itself, and then one more time, just a few feet more.

Harry and Edward stared at each other, terrified.

They were in the light circle as well.

“Glory!” Edward whispered, and Harry was too shaken to quiet him.

Francis stirred between them and opened his eyes slowly. For a moment Harry feared that he’d startle and scream—Harry certainly would have raised a bloody great hue and cry—but then, Francis wasn’t Harry.

He parted his bruised lips and smiled.

“An angel,” he breathed, and Harry turned his attention back to the center of the clearing.

Where an angel appeared.

Harry’s heart stopped in his throat. Tall—because of course, right? An angel would be tall. Clothed in robes that glittered like diamonds, whiter than pearls he was. His hair was a marvelous flame-gold color, red like a sunrise or an ember. His face was more handsome than sin—bold, straight nose, full lips, a square jaw, eyes of warm, solid brown.

Harry’s groin gave a painful throb, and he almost wept. Those things—those dirty, filthy things that were done to him by rough miners and haughty bankers with gold in their grubby fists—those things were not right here.

Not with an angel.

Not with this angel.

Harry’s eyes burned with the perfection of this angel.

“Suriel,” Emma breathed.

 

Amy Lane has two kids who are mostly grown, two kids who aren’t, three 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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Filed Under: Author Guest Post, Bonus Material, TCO Exclusives Tagged With: Amy Lane, blog tour, book, Book Excerpts, excerpt, exclusive, gay, lgbtq, m/m romance, new release, paranormal, romance

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Welcome to the #Audio #BookSpotlight to celebrate Welcome to the #Audio #BookSpotlight to celebrate the #Audiobook release of On A Midnight Clear by @LilyMortonAuthor

 Come meet Cosmo and Barnaby in this truly magical romantic Christmas comedy!

Join @Gay.Romance.Reviews in celebrating On A Midnight Clear today!

Featured on this #Spotlight with us are some great #bookstagram accounts. Check out their posts over the 17th-19th of January

More about #OnAMidnightClear

It can safely be said that Lord Barnaby Greenwood is not having the best of Christmases.

He’s penniless, up to his eyeballs in debt, and about to lose his estate. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that when a local property developer offers a lot of money to buy King’s Wood from him, Barnaby is very tempted. But his father had always impressed on him that the green wood was sacred and must be protected at all costs, so he finds himself saying no.

He knows this will result in the loss of his home, but duty comes before everything. However, that fateful decision leads instead to a magical Christmas for Barnaby, complete with an old god who grants him a favour, and a beautiful statue that comes to life.

Cosmo is perfect for him. He’s funny and kind and completely enraptured with Barnaby, and for the first time in his life, Barnaby falls in love. But how can this lead to anything but heartache, when on the last stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, Cosmo will go back to being a statue and take Barnaby’s heart with him?
 
📖https://buff.ly/3XBareq 

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win 1 of 3 ebooks of your choice from Lily's Published Works. Follow @LilyMortonAuthor & enter the giveaway here: https://buff.ly/3wciRxb
 

#GayRomanceReviewsTours #GayRomanceReviews #InstagramSpotlight #BookTour #IGTour #Bookstagrammer #IGSpotlight #BookPromo #booklove #LilyMorton #secondchances #RomCom #RomanticComedy #MMRomanticComedy #gayromance #rainbowreads #Amazon #kindleunlimited #newrelease #outnow
"𝐹𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑜𝑣 "𝐹𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒." 
#Preorder Releases January 19th!
𝗔 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝘂𝗰𝗸’𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗧𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘄𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿, 𝗟𝗲𝗼, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘇𝘇𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹.
→  𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧: https://buff.ly/3H76N6M 
→  𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬: https://buff.ly/3H6M4zV
Heist rule number two? Never fall for a lone wolf. 
A blast from Tuck’s circus past draws Tuck and the charming lone-wolf hacker, Leo, into a dizzying web of passion, secrets, and betrayal.
#KatherineMcIntyre  #MMRomance #GayRomance 
#mmromancebook #hottreepublishing #funreading #fyp #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #comingsoon #bookblogger #bookteaser #booklover #hotromance  #romanticsuspense #loveislove #thisgaybook  @hottreepublishing @htpromos @authorkmcintyre
Join us for a new multi-author collaboration serie Join us for a new multi-author collaboration series call Corrupt Cupid!

Ditch the hearts and flowers and step into the dark world of Corrupt Cupid. Each book can be read as a standalone, but why not grab each and every deranged romantic tale as you slip into a place where darkness rules?

Pre-order the series Today!

📖  https://buff.ly/3kllF8R 

Be Mine, Twisted Valentine by Gianni Holmes
Be Mine, Vicious Valentine by April Jade
Be Mine, Bloody Valentine by Skyler Snow
Be Mine, Heartless Valentine by Ashlynn Mills
Be Mine, Cruel Valentines by Brea Alepoú

#CorruptCupid �#Valenties #DarkRomance �#GianniHolmesAuthor �#AprilJadeAuthor #SkylerSnowAuthor #AshlynnMillsAuthor #BreaAlepouAuthor #ComingSoon #CoverReveal #GRRTours #GayRomanceReviews @GianniHolmes �#AprilJade� @authorskylersnow @ashlynnmillswrites @author.brea_alepou 

To celebrate the Cover Reveal of Corrupt Cupid the authors are hosting an awesome giveaway. Enter for the chance to win one of 3 great prizes:
A Kindle Paperwhite (8GB)
$25 Amazon Voucher
$15 Amazon Voucher
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
 https://buff.ly/3GIRTCn
Welcome to the #BookTour to celebrate the audio re Welcome to the #BookTour to celebrate the audio release of Spring String by @LilyMortonAuthor

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a novella about snarky models, misconceptions, and finding a home in the most unlikely of places.

Join @Gay.Romance.Reviews in celebrating #SpringStrings Today!

Featured on this �#BookstagramTour� with us are some great �#bookstagram� accounts. Check out their posts over the 10th-16th of January

Malachi Booth is a supermodel. He’s used to moving about the world, sleeping with whoever takes his fancy and watching the money roll in. The last place he expects to find himself is on a run-down farm in Cornwall, but a bad bout of bronchitis means that he’s stuck there. The only compensation for this dismal state of affairs is that the farmer is very good looking, even if he’s the grumpiest person that Malachi has ever met.

Cadan Landry’s farm has been in his family for hundreds of years but that doesn’t make it any easier to make ends meet. As a consequence, Cadan could be called grumpy. Most men would consider a supermodel collapsing at their feet while dressed in the skimpiest pair of briefs ever made to be a sign of good fortune. Cadan just resents the fact that the young man is taking up space in his cow field.

These two men are from different worlds, but can they ever meet in the middle?

📖https://buff.ly/3WeTkOJ 

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win 1 of 3 ebooks of your choice from Lily's Published Works. Follow @LilyMortonAuthor & enter the giveaway here: https://buff.ly/3ZB4FeO

�#GayRomanceReviewsTours� �#GayRomanceReviews� �#InstagramTour� �#BookSpotlight� �#BookTour� �#IGTour� �#Bookstagrammer� �#IGSpotlight� �#BookPromo� �#BookLove #LilyMortonAuthor #Comedy #Romance #HitSeries #gayromance #rainbowreads #Amazon #newrelease #outnow
COVER REVEAL: LIKE I NEEDED One night isn’t sup COVER REVEAL: LIKE I NEEDED

One night isn’t supposed to lead to love.

Like I Needed, the new steamy, swoon-worthy and snow covered MM romance from @charlienwrites is coming 9th February, and here is the amazing cover! 

One night isn’t supposed to lead to love.

Jamie Stone is rich, beautiful, and bored out of his skull. The past few years have been an endless round of parties, and the decadence has lost its lustre. When a late night decision to get away lands him in the small seaside town of Heather Bay, Jamie's convinced he's made a mistake.

Heather Bay is no Ibiza, but it does have Will.

Will is stressed, stretched, and doesn't have time for anything but work. He's too busy trying to keep his head above water to focus on the London party boy who keeps ending up in his bed. Jamie is nothing but a distraction, but Will can't resist coming back for more, especially with the harsh realities of farming nipping at his heels.

With the clock ticking on Jamie’s stay and the chaos of lambing season fast approaching, both men will have to look beyond themselves and let go of their fears. If they can, they might find the one thing they’ve always needed.

Like I Needed is a steamy and sweet hookups to lovers contemporary MM romance featuring a city boy with a hedonistic reputation, a gruff farmer in need of a break, endless amounts of snow, friends with no boundaries, terrible scrambled eggs, and the breathtaking beauty of the Yorkshire moors. 

It is book three in the Heather Bay series and while it can be read as a standalone, it’s best enjoyed as part of the series. 

Pre-Order your copy today!

Amazon - All Regions --> https://buff.ly/3vwsMNO 

Cover by @natasha.snow.designs 
Host @charity_vanhuss 

#CharlieNovak #CharlieNovakAuthor #CoverReveal #CoverLove #mmRomance #mmRomanceNovel #mmRomanceBooks #GayRomanceNovel #GayBookstagram #RomanceBookstagram #RomanceReadersOfInstagram #ReadingRomance #RomanceReads #RomanceBookWorm #RomanceNovels #BookLover #BookNerd #BookLove #BooksBooksBooks #Romancestagram #RomanceBooksOfInstagram #ComingSoon #HeatherBaySeries
Join us on our #BookTour celebrating the release o Join us on our #BookTour celebrating the release of Just Say When by @AimeeNicoleWalker OUT NOW!

Come revisit Aimee’s Savannah Universe for a new Romantic Suspense adventure…

Join @Gay.Romance.Reviews in celebrating #JustSayWhen today!

Featured on this #BookstagramTour with us are some great #bookstagram accounts. Check out their posts over the 20th-23rd & 27th-29th of December.

More about #ANWJustSayWhen

Someone wants Police Chief Emilio Mendoza dead. And if his unknown assailant doesn’t kill him, pining for Sheriff Abraham Beecham just might.

Abe and Lio’s thirty-year journey has taken them from heated rivals to best friends with countless labels and pit stops along the way. Romance is the only avenue left unexplored but not from lack of love or desire.

Abe pushes people away before they can get too close, and Lio doesn’t engage in situations he can’t control. They’ve reached an impasse, and neither are willing to risk their friendship until fate intervenes, forcing them to reassess their priorities.

But when an unhinged enemy targets Lio, will their gamble be too little too late, or will their love truly conquer all?

🖤 https://buff.ly/3WtyXho 

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card & an e-copy of Just Say When Follow @AimeeNicoleWalker & enter the giveaway here: https://buff.ly/3WseDwM Good Luck!

#GayRomanceReviewsTours #GayRomanceReviews #InstagramTour #BookSpotlight #BookTour #IGTour #Bookstagrammer #IGSpotlight #BookPromo #BookLove #AimeeNicoleWalkerAuthor #MM #FeelGoodRomance #Romance #SinisterInSavanah #MMRomanticSuspense #GayRomance #Amazon #NewRelease #RainbowReads #OutNow
Welcome to the �#BookTour to celebrate the relea Welcome to the �#BookTour to celebrate the release of The Humbug Holiday by @LaneHayesAuthor

Two grumpy bears and a holiday season neither will forget…

Join @GayRomanceReviews in celebrating �#TheHumbugHoliday�� today!

Featured on this �#Tour� with us are some great �#Bookstagram� accounts. Check out their posts from the 15th-21st  of December.
 
Bah-humbug! Cameron is determined to avoid holiday cheer by hiding away in a small Vermont town to write in peace and quiet. But when the local handyman shows up to make a few repairs, his concentration flies out the window...in the best possible way.

The Humbug Holiday is a bisexual, age-gap romance featuring two grumpy bears who find unexpected magic and learn to embrace everyone’s favorite time of year!

https://buff.ly/3PClh1d 

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win your choice of an audiobook or ebook from Lane's backlist. Follow @Lanehayesauthor & enter the giveaway here: https://buff.ly/3FyLwB7

�#GayRomanceReviewsTours� �#GayRomanceReviews� �#InstagramTour� �#BookSpotlight� �#BookTour� �#IGTour� �#Bookstagrammer� �#IGSpotlight� �#BookPromo� �#booklove� �#LaneHayesAuthor� �#Love� �#AgeGapRomance� �#ChristmasReads� �#FestiveReads� �#rainbowreads� �#newrelease� �#outnow @gay.romance.reviews
Welcome to our #BookTour celebrating the release o Welcome to our #BookTour celebrating the release of My December Daddy by @LetaBlake

Matthew gets a Daddy under the tree…

Join @GayRomanceReviews in celebrating #MyDecemberDaddy today!!

Featured on this #BookstagramTour with us are some great #bookstagram accounts. Check out their posts from the 6th-12th of December.

Matthew Angel is stuck. He's 41 and spent his life denying who he is and what he truly wants—until he stumbles upon a unique offering at a specialty charity auction:

A Christmas Daddy experience. 

Erik Garner has given up on relationships. After his last boy left, he decided it’s better to skip the heartache and stick with casual, short-term contracts. His offer of an exclusive, one-night-only Christmas encounter is all he’s willing to give.

Matthew’s older than expected, but his shy smile and eager surrender charm Erik. What starts out as a business transaction quickly gives way to a wild, thrilling intensity neither expected.

One night isn’t enough.
 
Good thing there’s a blizzard on the way…

📖 https://amzn.to/3Hx5yi5

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win an Audio Code (US or UK only) of the winner's choice & a $20 Amazon Gift Card Sign up for Leta’s newsletter & follow @LetaBlake on Instagram. Enter here: https://bit.ly/MDD_Giveaway Good luck!

#GayRomanceReviewsTours #GRRTours #GayRomanceReviews #InstagramTour #BookSpotlight #BookTour #IGTour #Bookstagrammer #IGSpotlight #BookPromo #BookLove #LetaBlakeAuthor #FestiveRead #MM #Romance #MMRomance #GayRomance #Amazon #NewRelease #RainbowReads #OutNow
𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏.

Meet Squirrel and Highlander in a new festive tale from BRIAN LANCASTER, bestselling author of LGBTQIA romance!

FAMOUS LAST is available at your favorite ebook retailer:
📚 All Stores: https://buff.ly/3VvaJmN
📕 Amazon: https://buff.ly/3F4dioP 
 
 
#GayRomanceReviews #GRR #GRRblast #BrianLancasterAuthor #FestiveReads #HolidayRomance #MMromance @gay.romance.reviews

 
Connect with the author: FB @authorbrianlancaster | IG: @brianlancasterauthor | TW: BLancaster58
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝟐𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟔 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄!

Available now, and for 90 days only, grab your copy of Heart2Heart v6 before it's gone!

🏳️‍🌈 https://buff.ly/3gTBH8y 

Once upon a time, a bunch of authors wondered... what would happen if Heart2Heart, the dating app responsible for pairing up the quirkiest, most perfect couples, brought people together by asking the questions they never knew they needed answered?

From learning each other’s secret zombie survival skills, to disputing the greatest starship captain ever, to confessing their feelings about Cornish pasties, the characters in these fourteen brand new stories inspired by reader suggestions will learn that no matter how random the question… love is always the answer.

And, as always, all proceeds from this anthology will benefit LGBTQ+ charities to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every day of the year!

🏳️‍🌈

Featuring brand-new stories by Alice Winters, Con Riley, Daryl Banner, Eden Finley, Kate Hawthorne, Kelly Fox, Lane Hayes, Lily Morton, Max Walker, Nicole Dykes, Onley James, Rachel Ember, Saxon James, and Sloane Kennedy

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐘 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘!

🏳️‍🌈 https://buff.ly/3gTBH8y 

#Heart2Heart #H2H #CharityAnthology #LGBTQCharity #LimitedEdition #GayRomance #MMromance #ReadWithPride #GayRomanceReviews #GRR #GRRblast
Join us for the next Fallen Messengers story by Av Join us for the next Fallen Messengers story by Ava Marie Salinger!

Harbinger is coming on December 30, and here's the stunning cover!

Pre-order Today!

📖 https://buff.ly/3EUWwZ9 

@authoramsalinger @gay.romance.reviews #Harbinger #AvaMarieSalinger #ComingSoon #CoverReveal #GRRTours #GayRomanceReviews #IGReads #RomanceAddicts #Romance #MMromance #GayRomance
'𝗧𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆... 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟰 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀.
Book Links & Giveaway → https://buff.ly/3VLhHnm
#FREEBOOKS
Between December 1-24, you can enjoy a wide range of books to fill up your Kindle. Hot Tree Publishing has bikers, athletes, sweet & sizzling romances, MM heat, friends to lovers, and even a few suspenses coming your way. Each book is available for ONE DAY ONLY (12:00 AM PST - 23:59 AM PST), so be sure to check back every day to open the calendar for your free book.
𝗣𝗟𝗨𝗦, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 $𝟮𝟱 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆.
 #HotTreePublishing #AdventCoundown #RomanceBooks
 #readers #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #adventcountdown #booklover #read #bookworm #bookish #bookstagrammer #booknerd #reader #writers #booklovers #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #readersofig #booksbooksbooks #readingtime #bookshelf @htpromos @hottreepublishing
Welcome to the #BookSpotlight to celebrate the rel Welcome to the #BookSpotlight to celebrate the release of Vow Maker by
@LilyMortonAuthor
From bestselling author Lily Morton comes the sequel to Rule Breaker. A romantic
comedy novella full of family chaos, meddling friends, sexy bathroom encounters,
and love. Always love.
Join @Gay.Romance.Reviews in celebrating #VowMaker Today!
Featured on this #Spotlight with us are some great #Bookstagram accounts.
Check out their posts from November 29th!
More about #MixedMessages Book 4
Dylan Mitchell wants to get married.
However, after seven years of being engaged, that’s looking slightly doubtful. After
going through ten wedding planners, they’re gaining a reputation somewhat akin to
Henry the Eighth on the wedding circuit. 
Gabe has vetoed symbolic dove releases, forests of flowers, fire-eating performers,
and puce as a wedding colour. He’s confounded an army of wedding professionals,
and now Dylan, the man who knows and loves him better than anyone, has joined
the ranks of the confused. Can anything please his fiancé and get them to the altar?
Amazon KU--> https://buff.ly/3AUo4wC 
Check out the whole series on KU: https://buff.ly/3AOACFx 
Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win any book from Lily’s backlist! Three
winners will be chosen! Follow @LilyMortonAuthor & Comment on any host photo
with #VowMaker
You can enter here too: https://buff.ly/3Vxv7TR

#GayRomanceReviewsTours #GayRomanceReviews #InstagramSpotlight
#BookSpotlight #BookTour #IGTour #Bookstagrammer #IGSpotlight #BookPromo
#booklove #LilyMortonAuthor #Comedy #Romance #HitSeries #gayromance
#rainbowreads #Amazon #newrelease #outnow
𝐃𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭…

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by Annabelle Jacobs is here!

🎁 https://buff.ly/3VvesA5 🎁

Come enjoy this Christmas MM romance featuring a meet-cute, pining, a meddling ghost, a teeny bit of angst, and a festive HEA.

🔔💖🔔💖🔔

#GayRomanceReviews #GRR #GRRblast #AnnabelleJacobs #ChristmasSpiritNovel #KindleUnlimited #HolidayRomance #MMromance #AgeGap @gay.romance.reviews

Find the author: FB: @ajacobsfiction | IG: @xxannabellejacobsxx | Tw/TikTok: @Ajacobs_fiction
𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕?

Find out in THE MAN IN BLACK, by L.R. Liverpool

🖤 Amazon --> https://buff.ly/3OVLYOd 

“The Man in Black is a mix of passionate love and psychological horrors, blended with dark mystical undertones and stories told in the dark, sprinkled with sex, self-discovery and Old West vibes.”

#GayRomanceReviews #GRR #GRRblast #LRLiverpool #Standalone #HistoricalWestern #Mystery #Suspense @gay.romance.reviews
💎 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐉 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫?💎

DIAMONDS UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Ki Brightly is out now and #FREE to read in KU! 

📕 https://buff.ly/3F6quun 

Winter’s a sweet man who’s been the target of a heist, and only RJ, a grumpy ex-cop, can save him from ruin. The problem: RJ isn't sure he can trust that Winter wasn't in on the crime, and RJ has been tricked by a pretty face in the past…

🖤❤🖤❤🖤

#GayRomanceReviews #GRR #GRRblast #KiBrightly #NewGothenburg #AgeGap #NewRelease #KindleUnlimited 

Connect: FB: @KiBrightly | IG: @KiBrightly | Tw: @kibrightly
⭐️ NEW RELEASE - KINDLE UNLIMITED! ⭐️ Wel ⭐️ NEW RELEASE - KINDLE UNLIMITED! ⭐️

Welcome to a #booktour with @elizaraeservices!

Title: His Last Christmas in London
Author: Con Riley
Series: Standalone

➡️ Amazon link in bio or --> https://buff.ly/3AePRaS 

Falling for his final client won’t make leaving London easy…
Ian ~ A talented, young photographer desperate to stay in London.

Guy ~ An older, fierce food critic, determined to keep him in his city.

♥ Steamy, snarky, and sweet, His Last Christmas in London is an utterly British, low-angst, age-gap, workplace gay romance set in London and Cornwall. ♥

#ERSBookstagramBookies #elizaraeservices #conriley #holidayromance #gayromancebooks #gayromancenovel #gaybooks #gaybookstagram #lgbtqbookstagram #steamyreads #bookishescape #booksbooksbooks #loveislove #gaybooklover #bookworm #mmbookworm #kindleunlimited #newrelease #boyswhokissboys #pridebook #bibliophilelife
Welcome to our #BookTour celebrating the release o Welcome to our #BookTour celebrating the release of North’s Pole by @LetaBlake

North’s Christmas is ruined when a d*ck pic intended for his hook-up goes viral. Can his ex-bodyguard convince him he has nothing to be ashamed about?

Join @GayRomanceReviews in celebrating #LetasNorthsPole today!!

Featured on this #BookstagramTour with us are some great #bookstagram accounts. Check out their posts from the 2nd-8th of November.

More about #NorthsPole

Located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in beautiful Northern Idaho, Camp Bay Chalet is a discrete and cozy B&B, popular with both locals and minor celebrities for its fabulous holiday weekends.

The pic seen around the world….

The son of Hollywood royalty, North Astor-Ford has lived his entire life in the public’s eye. He knows better than anyone that someone is always watching.

So when one not-so-innocent picture accidentally ends up crossposted across all his social media, North is left humiliated and scared. With no one to turn to he flees to Camp Bay Chalet to be close to the man he used to count on to protect him from the world.

Liam’s life has been in a holding pattern since the moment North fired him three years ago, even if it was for the best. A romance between a bodyguard and his client would’ve caused exactly the sort of scandal Liam was hired to prevent.

Now that North is back in his orbit, Liam’s going to do what he does best, protect North from the world. And maybe, just maybe, the charm of a Camp Bay Chalet Christmas will be enough to heal North and bring about the romance they’ve both always wanted.

North’s Pole takes place in the Camp Bay shared universe, but can be read as a stand-alone.

  https://buff.ly/3TA951l 

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win 1 of 3 Epic Gift Baskets Sign up for Leta’s newsletter & follow @LetaBlake on Instagram. Enter here: https://buff.ly/3NIzPLU Good luck!

#GayRomanceReviewsTours #GRRTours #GayRomanceReviews #InstagramTour #BookSpotlight #BookTour #IGTour #Bookstagrammer #IGSpotlight #BookPromo #BookLove #LetaBlakeAuthor #MPreg #MM #Romance #MMRomance #GayRomance #Amazon #NewRelease #RainbowReads #OutNow
Welcome to our �#BookTour� celebrating Unneces Welcome to our �#BookTour� celebrating Unnecessary Roughness by @RhelandRichmond & @Author.Emerson.Beckett

Come meet Jackson & Simon in this friends-to-lovers story!

Join @GayRomanceReviews in celebrating �#UnnecessaryRoughness� today!

More about �#ThePackageDeal3�

Jackson

When my childhood best friend & I escaped a potentially miserable life in our small southern hometown to attend the University of Georgia, I thought I’d finally be able to live my life the way I’d planned. I’d go to school on a football scholarship & get my degree to become a veterinarian. But when the NFL came calling, how could I say no to millions of dollars? I’d put my plans on hold for a while.

But life doesn’t always go as we plan.

When Allison was killed in a car accident, I suddenly became the only parent to my ten-year-old godson. How would I play football & be a full-time single dad?

I’d have to adjust. And thanks to my friends, & the badass team doctor, we’d heal & make it through. Did I mention he’s also my best friend & that I can’t stop thinking dirty thoughts about him?

Unfortunately, keeping our relationship a secret isn't the only obstacle we’ll face.

 

Simon

My training as a Navy doctor prepared me to assess injuries on the fly & deal with all kinds of situations. Emotions & feelings had no place during an emergency. As my new friends liked to call me, I was the badass team doctor.

I wasn’t prepared for the passionate feelings I didn’t know I had for Jackson to surface while helping him deal with losing his friend & taking custody of her son.

But life has a way of unfolding the way it's supposed to. I’m a believer in things happen for a reason. It doesn’t matter that our relationship might be forbidden. I want to get sweaty & naked with him.

Jackson & I deserve to be together no matter how rough things get. I just have to convince him of that.

📖 https://amzn.to/3AhJkvT

Enter the �#Giveaway� for your chance to win an eBook from The Package Deal Series! Enter Here: https://bit.ly/UR_Giveaway

�#GayRomanceReviewsTours� �#GayRomanceReviews� �#GRRTours� �#InstagramTour� �#ThePackageDealSeries� �#RhelandRichmondAuthor� �#EmersonBeckettAut
Welcome to our #BookTour celebrating the release o Welcome to our #BookTour celebrating the release of North’s Pole by @LetaBlake

North’s Christmas is ruined when a d*ck pic intended for his hook-up goes viral. Can his ex-bodyguard convince him he has nothing to be ashamed about?

Join @GayRomanceReviews in celebrating #LetasNorthsPole today!!

Featured on this #BookstagramTour with us are some great #bookstagram accounts. Check out their posts from the 2nd-8th of November.

More about #NorthsPole
Located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in beautiful Northern Idaho, Camp Bay Chalet is a discrete and cozy B&B, popular with both locals and minor celebrities for its fabulous holiday weekends.

The pic seen around the world….

The son of Hollywood royalty, North Astor-Ford has lived his entire life in the public’s eye. He knows better than anyone that someone is always watching.
So when one not-so-innocent picture accidentally ends up crossposted across all his social media, North is left humiliated and scared. With no one to turn to he flees to Camp Bay Chalet to be close to the man he used to count on to protect him from the world. 

Liam’s life has been in a holding pattern since the moment North fired him three years ago, even if it was for the best. A romance between a bodyguard and his client would’ve caused exactly the sort of scandal Liam was hired to prevent.
Now that North is back in his orbit, Liam’s going to do what he does best, protect North from the world. And maybe, just maybe, the charm of a Camp Bay Chalet Christmas will be enough to heal North and bring about the romance they’ve both always wanted.

North’s Pole takes place in the Camp Bay shared universe, but can be read as a stand-alone.

📖 https://buff.ly/3WM2Muu 

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win 1 of 3 Epic Gift Baskets Sign up for Leta’s newsletter & follow @LetaBlake on Instagram. Enter here: https://buff.ly/3NIzPLU Good luck!

#GayRomanceReviewsTours #GRRTours #GayRomanceReviews #InstagramTour #BookSpotlight #BookTour #IGTour #Bookstagrammer #IGSpotlight #BookPromo #BookLove #LetaBlakeAuthor #MPreg #MM #Romance #MMRomance #GayRomance #Amazon #NewRelease #RainbowReads #OutNow
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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

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A Different Kind of Love by Nicola Haken: Release Blitz with Teaser

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. . Despite growing up without it, William Walker knows all about love. He loves his wife. He loves his children. He loves the cat. He has the perfect family, and all h...
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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
Off the Record by @rand_kelly: RB, #BookExcerpt and #giveaway #mmromance #gayromance #lgbtqia+ #contemporary #booklover #bookblogger #bookaddict #romancereadersofinstagram #booknerd #bookwormtwochicksobsessed.com/off-the-record-by-kelly-rand-rb-excerpt-and-giveaway/ ... See MoreSee Less

Off the Record by Kelly Rand: RB, Excerpt and Giveaway

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. . Freelance journalist David Cronkwright needs to finish a maga-zine article to avoid being evicted from his apartment. The sub-ject is Nic Leduc, a younger, queer filmm...
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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
Up To Snow Good: An MM Christmas Romance by @CharlieNWrites: #audiobook and #NewRelease #bookreview #holidayromance #gay #lgbtq #mmromance #gayromancetwochicksobsessed.com/up-to-snow-good-an-mm-christmas-romance-by-charlie-novak-audiobook-and-new-... ... See MoreSee Less

Up To Snow Good: An MM Christmas Romance by Charlie Novak: Audiobook and New Release Review

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. . This Christmas, Trouble Tastes Like Chocolate Maximillian Arthur Felstead is up to no good. Having taken it upon himself to plan an anniversary surprise for his b...
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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy
His eliXXir by @LJHarrisAuthor: #BlogTour #exclusive #BookExcerpt, and #giveaway #gay #lgbtq #mmromance #gayromance cc: @_GayRomReviewstwochicksobsessed.com/his-elixxir-by-l-j-harris-blog-tour-exclusive-excerpt-giveaway/ ... See MoreSee Less

His eliXXir by L. J. Harris: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway

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. . Trey Winters had always been a user. So arrogant and self-centered. Being co-owner of eliXXir, one of the highest profile clubs in Hell’s Kitchen meant he never ...
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Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

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Aisle Be There (Runaway Grooms Book 1) by Charlie Cochet: #NewRelease #bookreview #gay #lgbtq #mmromance #gayromance #3.5starstwochicksobsessed.com/aisle-be-there-runaway-grooms-book-1-by-charlie-cochet-release-day-review/ ... See MoreSee Less

Aisle Be There (Runaway Grooms Book 1) by Charlie Cochet: Release Day Review

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They say your wedding day is the beginning of your happily ever after. But I’m pretty sure they never stood on a sweltering Florida beach getting ready to promise forever... only to change their min...
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