author

Larry Boots, Exterminator by John Inman: New Release Review

June 17, 2019 by Denise

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 pieces of eye candy

Melting For You by A.M. Arthur: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt, Blog Tour and New Release Review

June 17, 2019 by Denise

After his father’s heart attack, Isaiah Morrell gave up cooking in his own high-end Atlanta restaurant to return home to Reynolds, North Carolina, in order to help his father Thomas heal and to keep an eye on his business Neighborhood Shindig. A collection of food trucks and other small businesses, Shindig is a popular destination in this college town, but Isaiah longs for the fast pace of a big-city kitchen. Until he meets Joel…

Joel Fisher has been out of commission from a serious illness for the better part of a year, but now he’s ready to reclaim his life—except his apartment has been sublet, his partner is missing, and their shared food truck is stripped of everything not attached. In short, Joel has nothing. After an uncomfortable night sleeping on the food truck floor, Isaiah and Thomas Morrell give Joel an offer he can’t refuse: a rented room in their house, as well as their help creating a new food truck concept. Joel hates accepting charity, but he’s hit rock bottom and has nowhere to go but up.

Working with seemingly uptight Isaiah is actually pretty fun, and the pair bonds over a challenge to create a unique grilled cheese sandwich. Light flirting melts into a deeper connection neither man expects, but Isaiah isn’t in Reynolds for much longer, and Joel can’t get attached to the gorgeous professional chef. As Isaiah’s feelings for Joel strengthen and grow, he entertains the idea of staying in Neighborhood Shindig for good—but Joel hasn’t asked him to…

Welcome to Neighborhood Shindig, a friendly place where you can snack on a lamb kebab while getting your hair done, pick up your favorite herbal tea blend, and then go listen to live music under the pavilion. We’re happy to have you.

Melting For You

Neighborhood Shindig Series, Book #1

A.M. Arthur

Contemporary MM Romance

Release Date: 06.13.19

Cover Designer: Sloan J Designs/https://www.facebook.com/sloanjdesigns/

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Hey, y’all! Thank you for having me at Two Chicks Obsessed. I’m A.M. Arthur, and I write LBGTQ+ romance across the spectrum of both sexualities and subgenres. I’m here today to celebrate the recent release of my brand-new food truck-centered series, Neighborhood Shindig. The first book in the series, Melting For You, kicks it off with Joel Fisher, a young guy with a run of bad luck, and Isaiah Morrell, the spoiled son of a locally renowned chef. Together, the pair hatch a plan to open up a gourmet grilled cheese food truck, and naturally shenanigans ensue—and the pair falls in love.

Now Neighborhood Shindig probably sounds like an odd name for a romance series, and it’s named after the main location of the books. Set in the fictional down of Reynolds, North Carolina. Shindig is a fenced-in private lot with six stationary food trucks, eight small business shops (called pods), and a big open-air pavilion in the middle with picnic tables for guests. It’s an eclectic place with no two businesses alike, and also a safe space for people to come, enjoy live music while snacking on a bowl of gourmet nachos, and maybe get your nails done while you’re at it (after the nachos, of course).

One of my favorite aspects of writing series romance is being able to use a setting as a character in and of itself. To give a location its own personality and make readers feel as if they’ve visited it simply because the characters have. Heidi Cullinan did this so well for the town of Logan in her Minnesota Christmas series, and by the end of book one (Let It Snow) I felt like I’d been to Logan myself. K.A. Mitchell made Baltimore, Maryland, come alive in her Bad in Baltimore series (book one Bad Boyfriend) by featuring locations well-known to locals, while still putting a creative spin on things. Also, the town of Zebulon leapt to life in Keira Andrews’ Amish books (starting with A Forbidden Rumspringa).

I tried to make Neighborhood Shindig as a location come alive for readers by giving it fun characters, unique food truck concepts (admittedly some more than others), as well as interesting small business pods to shop in. I hope I’ve intrigued you enough to pay your own visit to Shindig and dive into Melting For You!

What are some of your favorite book series where the location is just as important a character as the people on the page?

Joel found a parking spot near his building and got out, grateful to stretch sore, aching limbs. Long car rides were more difficult for him now, and he’d tried to stop as infrequently as possible, so eager to surprise Steve. Joel scanned the lot for Steve’s hatchback. It was midday on Tuesday, so the Shindig lot was closed—it gave not only the small business owners who rented pods, but also the owner/manager one full day off a week. Didn’t mean Steve had to be home, though.

Their unit was on the fourth floor, no elevator, and Joel hated that he was panting a bit by the time he got there. Definitely needed to start working out more, get back into shape. He was already tall and lean, but he’d lost about fifteen pounds of muscle this past year.

Excitement rolled through his belly as he put his key into their unit’s lock and turned—except it didn’t unlock. He double-checked, but yeah, right door and right key.

That’s weird.

Maybe Steve had needed to change the locks for some reason? He pushed the doorbell and waited, trying to fight back a big smile. The knob rattled and a chain slid back. The door opened about a foot and a dark-haired woman stared at him. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Joel blinked hard. “Um, does Steve Winslow live here?”

Don’t I live here?

“Not since the first of the month,” the woman replied. “He had to move suddenly, so I’m sub-leasing it through the end of the month, until my place is ready downstairs. Who are you?”

“Joel. I live here.”

“Oh, right, you’re the ex he mentioned.”

“Ex?” Ex what? He’d texted Steve yesterday about frivolous things, and Steve hadn’t said a damned thing about sub-leasing their place. A place Joel had paid this month’s rent on. “What do you mean ex?”

“He said you guys broke up, so you moved back to live with your parents in Virginia, and he’s moving…somewhere, I don’t think he said where. But your stuff is still here. He packed it up and left it in the hall closet.”

Joel did not understand what was happening right now. “We didn’t break up. We have a business together for God’s sake. I don’t understand.”

“Listen, do you want to come inside and sit? You look pale.”

“Um, yeah, thanks.”

The apartment was small, one-bedroom and only about six hundred square feet. It had come furnished, so none of the big stuff was his, and he’d taken clothing and his electronics with him to Virginia. Those personal things were in his car right now, waiting to be unpacked.

He sat on the familiar sofa, legs suddenly trembling, and tried to wrap his brain around what was happening.

The woman appeared with a bottle of water. “Here. I’m Emily, by the way.”

“Joel.” Had he already said that? “Steve never told me he moved out.”

“Oh, wow, that’s harsh. He ditched your place without telling you?”

“At least the lease isn’t up until August.” It gave him time to plan, even if it meant a strange female roommate for a few weeks. He couldn’t really afford the place on his own, and he still had no clue what was going on with the food truck.

“Um…” Emily chewed on her bottom lip. “The lease is month-to-month. It’s over in, like ten days, and I have a document with the landlord stating I’m the tenant.”

Joel gaped. “But…this is my place.”

“My place, dude, and no offense, but I do not know you, and I make it a point not to live with strange men.”

“How the hell can he change the lease without me…signing…? Fuck.” Because he dealt with college students, the building’s manager had multiple lease options. Year-long, which is what Joel always signed, but also college-term leases that lasted the length of the college’s school year, and then month-to-month options for the summer, or for temporary tenants. When Steve said he’d renewed the lease last summer while Joel was sick, Joel had assumed he’d done another full-year contract.

Joke’s on me.

“If you don’t believe me, I can get a copy of the lease,” Emily said.

“I believe you. I just don’t understand why he’d do this. Why he wouldn’t at least call and tell me he was leaving, or that if I came back I’d be homeless.”

What a great start to A.m. Arthur’s Neighborhood Shindig series! Now, to be fair, A.m. Arthur is absolutely in the top five of my favorite m/m authors, so I’ll admit to a little bit of bias, but the world that A.m. Arthur has created in the Neighborhood Shindig is absolutely endearing!

Ok.. So, Melting For You, here are your characters. First, you have Joel, a 20-something young man who is just returning to Reynolds, North Carolina after spending a year living with his parents while he was extremely ill. Then, you have Isaiah who’s come home to help care for his estranged father, who just happens to be the owner of Neighborhood Shindig. When Joel arrives in Reynolds, it quickly becomes clear that his former business partner and casual lover, has stolen from Joel, left Joel homeless, and left their jointly run food truck a barren disaster. But all hope is not lost. Enter, Isaiah and his father.

Isaiah is not quite sure where he belongs anymore. He’s managed to work his way to the top of the restaurant business in Atlanta, but now that he’s back home in Reynolds he finds himself questioning whether or not Atlanta and the restaurant he co-owns is really where his passion is best served.

In Melting for You, Isaiah and Joel become friends first, then lovers, and together they begin a journey into finding a place that feels like home. As they work together to get Joel’s food truck back up and running, they begin to learn just what it means when a place feels like home. This is a sweet and simple story of two men, a lot of grilled cheese, and a city square full of food trucks and family. Welcome, my friends, to Neighborhood Shindig… Oh, and fair warning, this book will leave you hungry, lol!

5 pieces of eye candy to A.m. Arthur’s Melting for You.

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone’s throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She’s been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn’t been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur’s work is available from Carina Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she’s an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Email: am_arthur@yahoo.com

Site: http://amarthur.blogspot.com/

Twitter http://twitter.com/am_arthur

Tumblr http://www.tumblr.com/blog/am-arthur

Newsletter: https://vr2.verticalresponse.com/s/signupformynewsletter16492674416904

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/A.M.Arthur.M.A

Facebook group Pot O Gold: https://www.facebook.com/groups/300209733646247/

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

June 16, 2019 by Denise

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

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

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

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

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

On Shaky Ground by Andrew Grey: Release Day Review

June 15, 2019 by Denise

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

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

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

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

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

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

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

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

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

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

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

4 pieces of eye candy

Who We Used to Be by Dara Nelson: Blog Tour, Excerpt and Pre-Release Review

June 14, 2019 by Denise

Ten years ago Zeke Malloy had everything:

A happy childhood, a shot at a state championship wrestling title, a best friend, a boyfriend (albeit a secret one but that was okay because, once they graduated, that would change).

He had love, happiness……a heart.

All of that changed in the blink of an eye.

One moment he was deliriously happy, looking forward to a future with Digger Brandt, building a life, a home, a forever, with him.

And then it was gone, disappearing like the tears that flowed down Zeke’s cheeks as he watched from the back of the church as Digger married Lisa – with his father sitting proudly in the front pew. Those tears were still flowing when he walked out of that church and went directly to the nearest recruiting office. Because he didn’t just lose the love of his life that day, he lost his hopes, his dreams, he lost…..himself.

For the next ten years he was a machine – the best Marine, the best friend, but like a machine, he did it all without a beating heart. His was dead…..or was it?

Was ten years too long?

Was a broken heart too much?

Zeke didn’t know. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to know.

From the moment Digger walked up behind him and said in that smooth, sexy voice that used to light Zeke up six ways from Sunday, “The man I knew never had a problem with it,”, the only thing Zeke knew now was that he was about to find out.

Book Title: Who We Used to Be (Do-Over Series, Book 1)

Author: Dara Nelson

Publisher: Dare Publishing

Cover Artist: Dara Nelson

Cover Photo: Dan Skinner/DWS Photography

Release Date: June 15, 2019

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance

Trope/s: Second-chance love

Themes: Forgiveness

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 51 356 words/280 pages

Add on Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Zeke stared at the amber colored liquid in his glass while trying to figure out what he was feeling. That was just the thing. He wasn’t feeling anything.

He was numb.

If he really allowed himself to think about it, he’d been numb for a decade. Since the day he’d opened his front door and had seen that invitation sticking out from under his doormat. That was the last day he’d felt anything at all. And what he’d felt then was total, utter devastation as he collapsed onto the porch swing as those words penetrated his brain. Such a profound sense of not only sadness, but the devastating knowledge that life as he knew it was over.

Everything he thought he knew was shattered.

How could he do this?

Everything he thought he could have was gone.

Did he know her? Had he been cheating the whole time?

And anger – god there was so much anger.

The cowardly fucker didn’t even have the balls to look him in the eye when he destroyed him.

He swore he could feel his heart shattering into a million pieces. It was also the day that he lost all hope of finding his happily ever after.

It was the day he was forced to come to terms with the fact that he and Digger were not meant to be.

Shit. Every time one of Zeke’s crappy relationships ended, he always thought of Digger.

Digger Brandt. The first boy he’d kissed. The first boy he’d touched. The first…and only…. boy he’d ever loved.

Digger Brandt. The man who had destroyed Zeke Malloy. Ruined him for all others.

“Fuck,” he mumbled as he scrubbed a hand over his face. He really needed to stop doing this.

He had to find a way to get over Digger Brandt once and for all.

But how?

As he brought his glass up until it touched his lips, he felt a presence behind him, the heat of someone close, someone big, someone strong, someone that Zeke might be able to get lost in.

“I don’t bottom,” he said, getting that shit outta the way right quick.

A deep chuckle rumbled out of the man’s chest. It was so sexy it made Zeke’s balls tingle.

“The man I knew never had a problem with it.”

Zeke’s eyes squeezed shut.

He knew that voice.

He’d felt that voice.

He’d swallowed that voice into his body when the man came, dozens of times.

He still heard that voice every time he jacked off, despite trying to fight it with everything he had.

If he allowed himself to, he could easily get lost in that voice again.

He shook his head.

No. Not again. Never again.

“The boy you knew doesn’t exist anymore,” he growled and then he tipped back his glass, welcoming the burn as the liquid slid down his throat.

He felt the change in the man behind him, knew without looking that he’d gone from self-assured, cocky even, to unsteady, remorseful…..guilty.

Good.

“Zeke, I….”
“Don’t, Digger. Just fucking don’t. Go back to your perfect house, your white picket fence, your beautiful wife, your two point five kids. Go back to whatever fake little happy life you built and leave me the fuck alone.”

God. Ten fucking years of trying to forget him erased in sixty seconds.

He signaled to Joe, the bartender, for another and tried to ignore the fact that he could still feel Digger behind him.

When Digger slid onto the empty stool next to Zeke, he wanted to turn and walk out.

But he couldn’t.

He felt like he was anchored to his spot with a one-ton boulder.

To be honest, he was anchored, but not by a boulder; by a six-foot-one heart-breaking asshole named Douglas Digger Brandt.

Zeke refused to turn and look at the man.

Truth be told, he was afraid to look.

Afraid that he just might drop to his knees and beg the man to love him, to really love him, the way Zeke thought he had all those years ago, the way Zeke had loved him, the way a still fucking loved him.

Hell, he’d probably even offer to be his dirty little secret if Digger asked him to.

Just anything to get the man to touch him one more time.

Nobody had ever touched Zeke the way that Digger had, like he was trying to fuse them together, like he was pulling whatever it was that made Zeke, Zeke, into himself. He didn’t even have to touch Zeke’s dick, although that was amazing too. Just the tips of his fingers on Zeke’s skin or the brush of his lips on his neck made Zeke feel like he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Everything that was Digger slid effortlessly together with Zeke like the pieces of a perfect puzzle.

A puzzle whose pieces Digger had scattered to the wind the moment he had walked away.

Maybe nobody had ever touched Zeke like that since because he’d never allowed it, because he’d never let someone get that close.

Never again.

A heartbreak like that was something you never forgot – it changed you.

You ever just in the mood to cry?

That’s where I was when I read this blurb. I knew it was going to be one to kick me in the feels. I was not wrong. Zeke and Digger were young, sure, but there love was so big and important, netiher one of them doubted their forever… that was, until

Zeke came home and found a wedding invitation to Zeke’s very hetero wedding. It all happens before the book starts, but you get the first few chapters of his heartbreak….

Then we get to see Digger’s heartbreak and his reasons that things happened the way they did all those years ago. I have to admit…. I didn’t feel like they were good enough. I mean, he and Zeke were both adults… and ten years is a really long time to let things go on that way when you live with regret every single day and still love each other…. I mean, a decade, especially from that age is like a whole lifetime.

Zeke was in the military, has this whole family of brothers that now apparently own a garage together and kind of remind me of the Golden Girls….

SO MUCH DRAMA!!! With everyone! You could not go one chapter without the most random drama.

Do guys really talk about their feelings and cry that much around each other? I mean, I know good friends and family, I’ve got tons of them….and maybe the guys I know or have read about just don’t get that invested in their friends life or relationships…it was odd to me. I loved that they’re all so close and I love that they all support each other though….but again…. There was so much drama with so many different people, I just couldn’t keep up.

And who was Diggers dad? He was a big shot in the community, sure… but did that mean he could kill people and get away with it, just cuz his son is gay and wouldn’t produce an heir? It was just so unbelievable to me.

Anyway… backing up..here it is ten years later and Digger and his wife are divorced but still best friends, because she wants him to be happy. Another odd part to me… why they let it go on for ten whole years…. But now Digger is back and will stop at nothing to get Zeke to just stop and talk to him. The wife seems kind of crappy about it, but chick, your husband did kind of break the guy… Zeke isn’t having it though… he says at least 125 times that he can’t do this… and the number of times these two jumped to conclusions…. The wrong conclusions just made me want to pull my hair out.

And the ex-boyfriend trashing the house and then coming to ask for money…. So much cringe. I haaaate when bad guys just get away with being bad guys… I needed karmic justice.

Eventually though, after Digger fighting for his man back, things work out the way they’re supposed to. The dad isn’t a problem like I thought he was going to be. I dunno why he seemed so scary well into adulthood, but he was over and done with pretty quickly.

I am very curious about Dallas and Bulldog, but I don’t think I wanna revisit this family of so much meddling and drama. I think I’ll leave it here. I’m glad everything worked out for these two, second chances are always satisfying, and I liked both guys and loved them together, but this one just wasn’t for me. It was just too much….

2.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

I did not choose to write…..writing chose me

Kendel Duncan is the pen name for Dara Nelson. Why a pen name? I first chose it because I was initially writing in two different genres (M/F Paranormal and Gay Romance). I’ve since transitioned into a strictly gay romance author – writing romance, action, suspense and second chance romances.

I’ve tackled subjects that I’m very proud of, including losing a spouse, living with HIV, among other things.

I was born and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California but have made my home in the Pacific Northwest for more than two decades. My husband & I live on a small farm surrounded by chickens, goats, 5 dogs, and a cat, in the shadow of stunning Mt Rainier.

With my grown children and grandchildren nearby, my life is always busy, happy and full of laughter.

I am an active Blogger, having created Love Unchained Book Reviewsout of my love for all things reading – mostly MM books.

Owner of Dare Publishing & Design– Offering quality, affordable services for indie authors, including:

Editing, Publishing, Book Cover Design and more!

When I’m not on the phone with my best friend (which is at least once every day) – I am an avid, addicted reader. It is my passion, my escape, my joy
And I am most definitely a writer. The characters in my head are constantly demanding that their story be told.
But above all that – I am a human being. My passion for people is unparalleled, my firm belief in Love is Love unwavering, my hope that all can be accepted, undying. I do not write because I want to, I do it because I haveto. I write because these voices, these beautiful men, have chosen me to tell their stories – and how damn lucky am I for that?

As an author, I write under both my name and my pen name (Kendel Duncan), with total transparency and honesty.

Dara Nelson is the author of:

Author of the successful ‘Healing Hearts’ series (Love in the Aftermath, Love After Chaos, Love Worth Fighting For – and more to come soon)

“5 stars5 stars Amazing!!”

“Highly recommended”

“This is not your average romance story. It is so much more. A book that touched my heart.”

“OMG!!! This was probably one of the best books I’ve ever read.”

“This is the first time I’ve read anything from Dara Nelson, but it won’t be the last. I need more of her writing!”

Under the pen name Kendel Duncan:

Author of the popular & critically acclaimed ‘Black Ops Heroes’ series and the new top-selling ‘Doyle Global Securities’ series

“I can’t recommend Kendel Duncan or Black Ops Heroes ENOUGH!!!! OMG, everyone who likes strong vulnerable men will love these stories!!!”

“I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THIS AMAZING SERIES!!!!!”

“I love how you keep the story going and keep all the characters interesting. Can’t wait for the next book!”

“The emotions are so raw and just I don’t have the right words to express how amazing the books are. You have to read them to understand. I can’t wait for the next installment!!”

Author Links

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

June 14, 2019 by Denise

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

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

Title: Close to Home

Series: Sawyer’s Ferry: Book 4

Author: Cate Ashwood

Release Date: May 31st, 2019

Genre: Contemporary m/m romance

Length: ~50,000 words

Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood

Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

We’re back in Sawyer’s Ferry!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 Pieces of Eye Candy