blog tour

The Last One to Let You Down by K.L. Hiers: RDB, Excerpt, Review and Giveaway

November 16, 2020 by Denise

Thomas Hill is a lonely embalmer who’s in some big trouble – his ex-boyfriend has been forcing him to illegally sell dangerous chemicals with no signs of stopping, and Tom doesn’t know what to do. His situation gets even more complicated when Cypress Holmes, a smoking hot local florist, walks in on Tom making a deal. Cypress agrees to keep quiet, but his silence comes at a price.

He wants Tom to do exactly as he says and to give him complete and total control over his body at all times. Tom now has no choice but to obey Cypress’s every command to stay out of jail. But when Cypress starts spanking him and tying him up, he realizes he doesn’t mind the rough treatment at all. With or without the threat of blackmail hanging over his head, he likes what Cypress does to him… and he doesn’t want it to stop.

Author’s Note: This book includes intense sexual scenes, rough spankings, and depictions of death and embalming as they relate to the funeral industry. If this material offends or may upset you, please don’t read this book.

Book Title: The Last One to Let You Down

Author: K.L. Hiers

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Covers by Jo

Release Date: November 13, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, BDSM Romance

Trope/s: Funeral Director/Florist Romance, Blackmail Leads to Love, BDSM Virgin

Themes: Personal Growth, Dealing with Death, Difficult Jobs,

Learning to Love Yourself

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 102 000 words

It is a standalone story.

Goodreads

Amazon US- Kindle Unlimited

Amazon UK – Kindle Unlimited

Tom was an embalmer, and he’d been working at Crosby-Ayers Funeral Home in Mayfield, North Carolina, for over ten years. He’d done his apprenticeship there after graduating mortuary school and had stayed on once he’d gotten his license. The funeral home was busy enough to support him working solely as an embalmer, and he didn’t have to meet with families like Aaron, who was a funeral director.

Aaron had the right look for it. He was handsome, olive skinned with curly black hair and a confident smile. He could offer sympathy with ease and wore a suit well.

Tom… not so much.

He felt like a silly kid playing dress-up when he wore a suit, and they were always too tight no matter how much he tried to lose the stubborn weight he carried around his stomach and thighs. He was only wearing one today because he thought he was going to have to help out on a funeral.

They hadn’t needed him after all, which was fine by Tom. He didn’t do well with the living, and he’d been told more than once that he came off as creepy.

He was quite pale with chin length mousy brown hair, and his big blue eyes gave him an owlish appearance. He thought it made him look startled or afraid, not quite right for instilling confidence in a family that he was going to help them through their difficult time.

It also didn’t help that he was painfully shy.

Fortunately for Tom, his embalming talents usually kept him in the preparation room and away from families. His specialty was restorative art, repairing those who had suffered traumatic deaths so that their families could see them again.

The woman he had just finished was a Mrs. Jan Winslow, who had died on a Friday, and her body was not found until Monday. During that time, her beloved Pomeranian, Mister Doodles, had eaten the entire right half of her face.

“Walk me through it,” Aaron asked eagerly. “Like, tell me how you do it?”

“Well, you can’t do anything really until after you’ve embalmed them.” Tom stood up and stretched, peeling off his gloves and dropping them into the biohazard trash. “Makeup and the wax we use doesn’t stick that great to unembalmed skin. Slides right off if you’re not careful.

“The next step is cauterizing all of that exposed tissue. Embalming helps dry it out some, but you really wanna make sure it doesn’t leak so we use other chemicals, cauterants like Dryene, to help. Once the skin is good and dry, then we start filling.”

“What do you fill it with? I mean, I saw her before. There was a lot… missing.”

“You can use a bunch of different things depending on how big the wound is,” Tom replied, pulling open the prep room door and ushering Aaron out into the hallway.

It was often full of freshly delivered caskets, stretchers, and bags from the linen service, and today was no different. Tom had to carefully navigate around two caskets and a stack of towels, trying to lead Aaron back out to the offices to continue their conversation.

“Old school embalmers would use newspaper or cotton,” Tom went on, grabbing his suit jacket off the rack by the office door. “These days, they actually make compounds called ‘wound filler’ to well, fill wounds. And then—” He paused when he heard a loud slam, glancing back over his shoulder to see what it was.

At the other end of the hall were three doors. The one on the right led into the walk-in cooler, the one directly opposite the office door was an exit that led into the side parking lot, and the one on the left connected the hallway to the garage. The coaches and limos were stored there, and there was a special door in the corner for flower deliveries.

All of the doors for employees required a code to enter except for that one, and it stayed unlocked during business hours for flower deliveries. Someone could get inside the garage to drop off arrangements, but they wouldn’t be able to get into the hallway.

The hallway door to the garage had been left propped open, probably from a casket being delivered earlier, and the sound Tom had heard was the flower delivery door slamming inside the garage. As his heart began to pound in anticipation, he forgot all about Aaron.

HFG might be here.

Hot Flower Guy.

“Hey, where are you going?” Aaron protested.

“Just go to the office!” Tom called back, already halfway back down the hall. “I’ll meet you in there!”

“Okay,” Aaron replied reluctantly. “Then you’ll finish telling me about wound filler stuff?”

“Scout’s honor!” Tom slowed down as he approached the open door, putting his jacket on and trying not to appear too eager as he stepped inside the garage. He broke into a huge smile when he saw it was HFG in all of his bulging glory.

HFG was black, tall, and broad with thick shoulders and an even thicker beard framing his dark brown face, and Tom had daydreamed about running his hands all over his body. They had barely even spoken more than a few words, but Tom had a definite crush.

The funeral home hours didn’t give Tom much freedom and being on call almost every night killed any chance of an active social life. After a nasty breakup followed by a disappointing string of one night stands through dating apps, he’d committed to staying single until the funeral home hired more help.

In the meantime, he’d grown quite fond of HFG’s deliveries. He didn’t even know his name, but he’d been trying to find out for weeks. HFG was always in and out too quickly to ever strike up a conversation, and Tom wanted a name to go with that gorgeous face.

It didn’t matter that HFG was painfully out of his league—unless he happened to be into pasty white brunettes who had never grown out of their baby fat with big chins and an awkward little gap between their front teeth.

Tom had been cruelly teased about his smile since he was a little kid, no doubt the root of his introverted nature, but he was too excited about seeing HFG to care for once. As he stepped into the garage, however, his joy instantly faded.

HFG was there, but he was arguing with the assistant manager of the funeral home, Gerald Ayers.

Gerald was a prick.

No, he was the absolute king of pricks.

Lesson learned. No more by this author. Honestly, I didn’t remember the author’s name as anything I had read before. But I did. And, well… let’s just say my fondness hasn’t grown.

I wanted to like it. Slightly overweight guy who works at a funeral home, black guy who owns and runs his families floral shop. Some BDSM. A little mystery as a plot. But no.

First, the BDSM was so sloppy. I mean, they went to a “house party” were not only was there drinking, but the dungeon master was acting as a bartender. Cypress did not come off as a real Dom, more like a guy playing as a Dom.

And, honestly, I love learning new things in books. But the pages and pages and pages of procedures for embalming someone were just a little too much.

Tom is whiny and needy and it is not attractive at all. Even with Cypress making him do affirmations in the mirror everyday didn’t help. Sorry, but I laughed out loud when Tom was fighting with his ex and called himself a tiger.

I won’t continue. I think you get the gist. Oh, there really should be a suicide trigger warning as well.

2 pieces of eye candy

K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.

Author Links

Blog/Website | Facebook | Instagram | Newsletter Sign-up

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

The Hunter’s Gambit by Nicholas McIntire: Blog Tour, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

November 4, 2020 by Denise

Aleksei Drago never expected an easy life, but he never expected what he got. Growing up amongst the Ri-Vhan of Seil Wood, losing his mother and just as suddenly being torn from the forest folk, Aleksei had no choice but to make the best of the unpredictable path in life.

But what happens when the monsters and figures of fiction become horrifyingly real? Can Aleksei find the right path? When his life and the lives of his family and friends are at stake will he fight, reforging himself into the man Prophecy demands he become? In a world of magic and Magi, of Angels and Demons alike, how will a simple farm boy survive his own contorted destiny?

This is the story of a seemingly-simple world gone mad, and the reality that every action, no matter how apparently benign, can serve to unravel terrifying truths. This is the story of Aleksei Drago, farmer, Hunter, and so much more.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Publisher

Barnes & Noble

Google Play

Goodreads

Henry spent the rest of the day watching his son closely. Something was undeniably troubling him, but until Aleksei decided to open up to him there was nothing he could do.

“He’ll tell you in his own time, Henry.” he muttered under his breath.

So he waited. Every now and then he would engage his son in conversation, but every time he thought Aleksei might be on the brink of telling him something, the conversation fled to some superficial topic. Did he think it would rain by Market Day? Who did he think would bring the biggest pig to the Harvest Festival? Did he think Mother Margareta would come to bless their fields before the first frost?

Henry answered each question as though it was the direction he meant to steer the conversation, and refused to allow his frustration to surface. But by the end of the evening, he was no closer to understanding his son’s troubles than he’d been that morning.

Finally Aleksei rose from his seat before the fire, put his book away, and went to bed. Henry watched him go, more troubled than ever. The boy had never gone to bed without a word before. He always had some last comment to make, even if it was just to wonder at the next day’s activities.

Henry sat before the dying embers of the fire well into the night, thinking. He didn’t remember falling asleep, so when the voice woke him his eyes started open.

Hello, Henry.

He looked around, trying to get his bearings.

Gone was the heat of the hearth, the comfort of his chair. Instead he stood in an enveloping fog of shimmering gold.

He could see no one.

“Where am I?” Henry demanded.

A dream, Henry. This is merely an illusion. I apologize that I cannot offer you more comfortable surroundings at the moment.

“Who are you?” Henry called, feeling a touch foolish, shouting at phantoms.

His question went unanswered.

Henry, I’ve come to ask a favor.

“Who are you?” Henry repeated flatly.

There was a moment of hesitation before the voice responded. A man much like yourself, Henry Drago. One who only wants what’s best for your son.

“Speak then.”

When the favor was uttered, Henry blinked in confusion. A thousand questions bubbled to the surface, yet he found that he only possessed the strength to ask one.

“Why?” he choked, surprised by the weakness in his own voice.

The air before his face shimmered and distorted, as though he were looking through intense heat. Slowly, images formed. Images of Aleksei. An Aleksei he didn’t recognize.

“Why are you showing me this?” Henry managed.

Because I want you to see what your son could become. The man he could be, if you’d only let him. If you just do as I say.

“I don’t trust you.” Henry barked back. “I can’t even see your face.”

Another image shimmered into being. A man, though Henry saw nothing remarkable about him. The man leaned forward and whispered in his ear, and Henry heard the unmistakable ring of truth.

In that moment he thought he might have preferred a dagger to the heart. It would have been far less painful to simply die at the end of a highwayman’s blade than to agree to this. Either way, he would lose the most precious thing he had.

“Bargain struck.” Henry whispered bitterly, a tear winding its way down his cheek.

You’re doing your son a great service, Henry Drago.

The man even sounded earnest.

Henry started to say something, but even as he opened his mouth, darkness swirled around him. He slipped back into the empty chasms of sleep.

Morning greeted Aleksei gently, rousing him from a dreamless oblivion. It had taken him hours to finally find some rest, and his relief was immeasurable when he woke without encountering the specter of the green-eyed man. His wish had been granted. The man was gone.

He made his way down the narrow stairway and walked into the kitchen, frowning at what greeted him. Their rough wooden table was laid out with provisions for what Aleksei could only guess was a journey.

But a journey where? His father hadn’t said anything about travel. There was still wood to chop and hay to store. The first snow might be weeks away, but there was no telling when the winds would usher in the chill of Northern air. Working outside in the cold was not something he, nor any farmer, relished.

“I see you’re up.” Henry said from behind. Aleksei jumped.

He turned, “Da, where are we going? I thought we were going to finish the hay this morning.”

His father shook his head and smiled, though Aleksei caught the deep sadness in Henry’s eyes. “We aren’t going anywhere, Son. You are.”

Aleksei frowned, “Me? But I thought—”

His father tried to hold the smile, but it was forced, “You’re needed, Son. In the North.”

Aleksei thought his heart would stop. He forgot to breathe. He could hardly process what his father had just said.

You know the truth he speaks, Aleksei.

Aleksei fought back a sob of frustration. He thought he’d freed himself of the damned voice, but now he knew the truth. He would never be free from it. It would hound him until the end of his days, or until it drove him mad, whichever came first.

Or until you simply do as I ask.

“Why?” he finally managed.

His father looked out the kitchen window, and Aleksei followed his gaze. Dash waited patiently outside, a saddle fitted snugly about his muscular frame.

“Because you’re needed, Son. It’s the only answer I can give you.”

“I’m not needed here, Da? Don’t you need me?”

Henry bit back the pain in his voice, “You are more of a help than I can say, Aleksei, and I love you dearly. But no, I don’t need you. Not like this. If you stayed here, you’d be wasting something…extraordinary. And honestly, I think you’d know it too. They need you in the North, Son. And their need is much more important than mine.”

Aleksei stood there, stunned by what his father was saying to him. And then the questions came pouring forth. What did Henry mean by ‘extraordinary’? What had his father learned? What was still being kept from him?

“And I’m sorry I can’t give you the answers you want, Son. But I think you know who can. Find him.”

“But how can I….” Aleksei began, fighting back the tears springing into his eyes.

“You’re strong, Aleksei. You’ve always been strong. That won’t fail you now.”

Henry swallowed back his own tears and tried to smile again, “Now you’d better get on the road. The sooner you get beyond the Southern Plain, the better. You don’t want to be riding under the Harvest sun too long if you can help it.”

“But where am I going?” Aleksei cried, his voice breaking. It was happening too fast. His life was slipping through his fingers moment by moment and there was nothing he could do about it.

“North, Son. North. You’ll know where you’re headed as you get closer. That’s all I know to tell you.”

Aleksei looked into his father’s eyes and saw the sadness, the regret that burned within him. His father wanted to know just as badly as he, to know just what sort of place he was so blindly sending his son.

Finally, after a long silence, Aleksei nodded. “Alright, Da. If you want me to go, then I’ll go.”

“I’ll never want you to go, Son.” Henry whispered, his face contorting with pain. He had already lost his wife, and now he was losing his son, too. Aleksei would still be alive, but he would be so far away.

“But promise me something, Aleksei.”

Aleksei nodded, “Anything, Da.”

“If you find this place and if it’s not what you want, what you need, promise me you’ll come back. Even if this isn’t what you want either, at least we can figure that out together.”

Aleksei finally allowed a tear to wind its way down his cheek, “I promise, Da.”

Henry stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his son, hugging him as close as he could, as though any moment Aleksei might turn to mist and vanish forever. Henry stepped back and managed a sardonic smile. Aleksei might remain solid as stone, but surely enough he was about to vanish.

Henry didn’t watch his son ride away. In truth, he couldn’t bear it. As long as he’d never seen Aleksei leave he could always pretend the boy was out in the barn, or by the pond he’d swum in as a child. It was a good hour before Henry allowed himself to sit down in his chair and sob.

Classic high fantasy and it’s a long book. Be prepared to spend the first few chapters getting into the story because it has a complicated and highly intense magic world. I’d been reading for over and hour and a half and I happened to look at my kindle percentage read and I was at 4%. Yep.

So I settled myself in for the long haul and by 20% I was struggling to put it down. Absolutely classic hero’s journey but the twist is that Alexei (our hero) has two people that could either be his antagonist/second MC/mystical life partner and for a long time the author keeps us guessing.

Each magus (magic wielder/user) in Nicholas McIntire’s world is always paired with a knight. They live and fight together. If one dies they both die.

But like I said Alexei (who becomes the Knight) has no idea which magus he is supposed to pair with.

They both are dragging our farm-boy hero to travel hundreds of miles north based on voices in his head, premonitions, and an interesting back story the author is very stingy about how much and when he gives away.

It’s not pretty. There’s a lot of death, blood, suffering, and some amazing magical twists, abilities, and things never seem to work out quite how you were expecting.

Things get further complicated when our farm boy starts developing abilities of his own.

Complications get answered and resolved, but not completely finished even though the journey has a satisfying ending for our couple, I was immediately ready for book two.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Critically-acclaimed author Nicholas McIntire has been writing fantasy since he was 8 years old. The bones of the Archanium Codex were first created when he was 16, and in the past 20 years, he has taken that initially simple idea and crafted it into a fully realized world, finished the sequel, earned three degrees (one in Russian, Eastern European Studies, two in Nursing), and lived life to its fullest. Now writing full-time, Nicholas is ready for share is vision of the Archanium Codex, a 10 book series. The first book of the series being The Hunter’s Gambit.

Nicholas, lives in Fort Worth, Texas, but writes in both Fort Worth and Fort Davis, TX, where his family has a small place situated at 5200 feet in the Davis Mountains – and, yes, Texas does have mountains.

Author Website: https://www.nickmcintire.com/

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/NGMcIntire/

Author Twitter: @nickmcintire

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17088295.Nicholas_McIntire

Author Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jw900a

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Liars (Licking Thicket Book 2) by Lucy Lennox & May Archer: Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

October 29, 2020 by Denise

Parrish Partridge’s True Facts:

There’s nothing hotter than a tall, gruff, bewildered, tattooed mountain of a man cuddling a sweet, orphaned baby, so you can tell yourself that you’ll resist him…

But that’s a lie.

And when that man asks you to do him a favor and pretend to be his very temporary, very fake fiance to help him get custody of that adorable baby, you can pretend you know better than to say yes…

But that’s a lie, too.

And when you actually get to know your kind, strong, pullet-loving prince of a fiance, and all his crazy, lovable, meddling neighbors, you can tell yourself you’re not really falling for Diesel Church and the town of Licking Thicket…

But that might be the biggest lie of all.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“This is really pretty, actually.”

I followed his gaze as he looked around at the honeyed wood paneling I’d installed on the walls and ceiling in the kitchen and the living area just beyond it. Despite baby crap everywhere, my home was clean and bright. It may have been small and really run-down on the outside, but I’d been working hard to fix up the inside myself, and I was proud of it.

“Thank you,” I said gruffly, turning away to look for enough space in the fridge to fit his chicken dish. I didn’t have much in the way of food right now, so it was mostly an excuse not to have to meet his eyes after throwing him under the bus like I had.

“So… this is chicken pot pie with bacon-and-cheddar biscuits. I forgot to write down the reheating instructions. Do you have a pen and piece of paper?”

I glanced up at him from the door of the fridge. That was it? He wasn’t going to ask me what kind of crack I was smoking and why I’d claimed him as mine before we’d even officially met?

“Uh, sure. Lemme see…” I rooted around in the nearby junk drawer until I found a sticky-note pad and half-chewed pencil. “Sorry,” I muttered.

He took it delicately between two fingers and began to write the instructions in tidy penmanship before placing the sticky note onto the tinfoil.

“There. I hope you like it. I know it’s not much, but… I wanted to apologize for the way I snapped at you the other day, and Uncle Beau says no one’s ever gone wrong with an apology casserole.” He blinked rapidly and began looking everywhere but at me. “Which is probably not true. I kind of wonder if anyone’s accidentally poisoned someone with one, you know? Like, God forbid, at a funeral or a wake? What if they’d accidentally used old mayo or bad eggs or…” He blinked up at me and blushed as red as his old beater car out front. “Maybe that’s inappropriate. I promise I used all fresh ingredients in yours.”

He was adorably flustered, and I wanted to kiss his fool face off right there in the middle of my kitchen.

“It’s alright. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I managed. I wasn’t about to tell him I was a vegetarian. I didn’t tell most people anyway, but I for damned sure wasn’t telling a man who’d gone out of his way to bring me a bacon-and-chicken casserole thing.

We stared at each other for a beat before he pulled the dish off the counter and shoved it at me. “Fridge is best. And, um… I probably have to go now.”

I took the dish and turned to throw it in the fridge, but when I turned back around, he was already halfway across the room waving goodbye over his shoulder and thanking me for my generosity in supplying him with writing implements. He reached the door and pulled it open, only to realize it was the coat closet. “Oh.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth as he turned in a few confused circles and tried a different door. That one was to my bedroom. He let out a little squeaky noise of alarm and slammed the door closed again. The sound shot like a crack through the small house, waking the baby he probably hadn’t noticed asleep in the portable crib on the far side of my bed. Suddenly, Marigold’s angry shrieks rang out around us.

The look of horror on Parrish’s face was almost comical. “Oh my God, my apology casserole visit is going to need an apology casserole,” he whispered in shock. “This is unprecedented.”

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so the opportunity to read Parrish and Diesel’s story, was a “gimme”. These two authors write very well together, and bring the funny.

I laughed out loud several times. The fall festival??? HILARIOUS!

“Now everyone knows Johnsons are big fans of the Lickin.'” Amos rolled his eyes. “That ain’t no secret. Big Red Johnson goes crazy at Lickin’ time. And don’t get me wrong. Nutters like the Lickin’ too, But you might say bobbing is what Nutters do best.”

Just dying laughing. However, I also cried at some of it (you’ll know when you get there…it’s a nose blowing time).

Overall though, these two men…they definitely needed a class on communication. Liars was an apt name for this book. They had a really hard time telling the truth and actually talking to each other, not just about their needs and wants, but about things as simple as Diesel not eating chicken casserole because he was vegetarian.

The two MC’s really stood well together in the face of the challenge of raising one infant, and it was so endearing. Where Diesel had some challenges at being a sudden father, Parrish was able to step in, help, and teach Diesel some of what he needed to know.

Another fun, sexy (HAWT!), and endearing book by these two authors who know how to do small town romance right. 🙂

4 pieces of eye candy

After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

May is an M/M author who lives in Boston. She spends her days raising three incredibly sarcastic children, finding inventive ways to drive her husband crazy, planning beach vacations, avoiding the gym, reading M/M romance, and occasionally writing it. She also writes MF romance as Maisy Archer.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bear Essentials (Bear Lake Chronicles Book 1) by Rain Carrington: RDB, Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

October 26, 2020 by Denise

A man determined. Another wounded to his soul. A town that slumbers.

A sleepy little town doesn’t know what, or whom, is about to hit it when Ked, Kaden Edmond Donegal, comes to live there.

Hyper and determined, Ked longs to be a great forest ranger, taking care of the land, watching over it like its protector. What he didn’t count on is falling in love with the people there nearly as much as the land, and one in particular that doesn’t give him the time of day.

Sean Ashby moved to Bear Lake to hide away from the world after he nearly died while serving in the army. A local artist, he makes his living bringing pieces of wood to life with stories of their own. When he sees Ked, he sees someone who needs tamed, but he doesn’t feel as if he’s up to the job.

Not giving up on the bearded ginger bear, Ked does everything he can to get in the way of the man, and he finally gets what he wants. Or, at least, what he thought he wanted. Sean is a dominant who needs a submissive, and Ked never thought of himself that way. With Ked’s rambling voice hushed and his hyper movements slowed, Sean leads him into a new life he didn’t realize he needs so badly.

The townspeople take him in as family, a man loves him unconditionally, and poachers are in need of catching. Is Ked up for his new life? Can he be a part of a community that is quirky and quiet, or will his own quirks and rarely silent voice make him permanently an outsider?

Contains BDSM and consensual sex between two men. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence and PTSD flashbacks.

Book Title: Bear Essentials

Author: Rain Carrington

Release Date: October 25, 2020

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Themes: Small town, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, BDSM

Goodreads

Amazon US – Kindle Unlimited

Amazon UK – Kindle Unlimited

Having a very rare moment of quiet, Ked leaned on the frame of the door as he watched his two roommates going at it, letting him relive the months he’d rented a room from them.

They were a devoted couple, sure, but they definitely weren’t monogamous. As soon as he answered the ad for the gay-friendly room for rent, he’d had no idea what that would entail. The fact that two days after he’d moved in, he had been involved in an orgy, well, he could have never predicted that in a million years.

It was time to leave. His schooling was complete, his education less than his parents were happy with, but enough to be the forest ranger he’d longed to become. He was an officer of the law, the law of the actual land, a certified first responder, could work as a wild firefighter, and it was all about to be tested in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Bear Lake, Colorado.

“Are you going to say goodbye?”

Calvin looked up and grinned while Ron kept pounding him. “Be with you in about fifteen seconds, judging by his breathing.”

Ron was much bigger, a beefy gym rat that never once took his eyes from the hole he was pounding, making Ked roll his eyes. “Ron? Done?”

“Umph, umph, umph,” he grunted, then stiffened as he climaxed, bringing Calvin’s hips back and holding him there, leaning his head back.

Ked had seen that a lot over the previous two years but knew he wouldn’t miss it. He had no real feelings for the two except friendship, no matter how much they’d tried to pull him into to their relationship.

Calvin got off the bed, not a stitch of clothing on, and ran over to him, hugging him tight. “We’ll miss you.”

Usually talkative to the point of people trying and failing to shut him up, Ked, which was a nickname, hugged his friend back and kept from sobbing by biting the tip of his tongue, a move generally saved for keeping it from wagging.

Ron groaned as he moved from the bed, slapping him on the arm. “Yeah, it was fun. Keep in touch.”

Just sentiment from the big guy. “Thanks,” he croaked, the tears retreating some.

To Calvin, Ked started to ramble, “Thanks for everything, I mean, well, the sex was great, you know, but I mean the job, the movie theatre, you know, and feeding me until I got on my feet. I don’t know what I would have done without you, and it’s been fun, well, the sex, it was great, you know.”

“Shh, I know all that. You rambled about it for hours last night.”

Calvin was dark-skinned and skinny as a rail, but he blinked his chestnut eyes at Ked, and Ked melted. “Sorry. I know I did.”

“It’s okay. We’re gonna miss that, and you.”

Ked’s blue eyes welled with tears once more; a cobalt blue, his mother had always bragged. One thing he’d miss the most was not being the smallest man in the room at a hundred and forty pounds, five foot practically nothing. Well, five foot seven inches to be exact, but he didn’t look it. He towered over Calvin, though, and he’d miss that.

“Get moving if you want to get there before nightfall.”

The drive would be long, and he’d have a lot of time to worry and wonder. He did that a lot, worrying that his parents were right, that he was throwing away opportunities others would kill for.

I struggled a bit with this book. It was just a bit too insta-love for me. I liked the MC’s, and the quirky side characters, as well. However, something about the way this couple came about just didn’t work well for me.

However, the two MC’s were their own brandy of quirky…first kiss and love scene in a place I will admit I have never read before. You definitely feel a little dirty after reading that one…in many of the best ways. And for Ked to research his way into finding his submissive side, that was pretty awesome, actually. He approached it from a logical side (after a little bit of spying) and determined through research what might work for him.

Meanwhile, Sean, the mysterious wood carver, definitely made Ked work for his affections and time. While trying his best to help protect Ked in whatever ways he could from the present danger of the poachers. I loved that Sean respected Ked’s work, and their shared love of the land. It wasn’t just about what was best for Sean.

The visuals created of the location in the book were amazing. It’s clear the author has a genuine love for that area of the country, and portrayed it very well.

3 pieces of eye candy

I love writing, it’s been my dream for many years, and in October of 2013, when my first book went live on Amazon, that dream came true.

Writing love stories that are centered on flawed but lovable characters is my passion. Finding love between people isn’t easy, nor should it be. Even in a book, there have to be obstacles for the story to feel real.

I am a mother of three amazing people, and three adorable fur babies. I live in Colorado but love many other places besides my home. One state in particular is New Mexico, the state where I was born has always held a place in my heart.

People and places make my stories what they are. Each character I’ve written is a part of me in some way. Each place I write is as well. Adventures come in many ways, and each of my stories has taken me on an adventure that I treasure.

Come with me on my adventures and fall in love with my characters, as I have. I promise, you will love the ride.

Social Media Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Page

Instagram | BookBub | Queeromance

MeWe | Newsletter Sign-up

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card and an unsigned print copy of Bear Essentials

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

Flirting with Fire by Grace Kilian Delaney: New Release Blitz, Excerpt and Giveaway

October 23, 2020 by Denise

A stuntman with a love for fire.

A yoga teacher in search of zen.

A holiday season neither will forget.

Stunt performer and self-declared badass, Tate Astbury returns to his hometown to spend another dreaded Thanksgiving with his dad. But his father forgets and makes other plans, resigning Tate to a quiet and depressing holiday alone unless he can find someplace else to celebrate.

When Tate’s mischievous friend learns about the unfortunate twist, he dares Tate to enter a radio contest to become a fake boyfriend for a desperate caller’s holiday dinner, and Tate never turns down a dare.

Endre Michel is a mess. His yoga business is on the cusp of ruin, and his moms are visiting from out of state for the holiday, intent on meeting his boyfriend, a person Endre invented. Through the contest, he meets Tate, a crude, tattooed older man who plays the role of doting boyfriend so well, Endre suspects and hopes it’s not all for show.

Neither man can deny the unintended connection, and they struggle to overcome the distance between Tate’s put-together Hollywood career and the chaos surrounding Endre’s unsteady future—a situation that intensifies when an unthinkable tragedy uncovers a dark and painful truth.

Will Tate and Endre’s future together perish in flames, or can their love rise from the ashes?

Flirting with Fire is a standalone holiday romance with several cups of angst, questionable jokes, a bird with a wicked sense of humor, a bed with loud, squeaky springs, and an HFN/HEA ending.

Flirting with Fire by Grace Kilian Delaney

A Shore Thing Novel, Book 3

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

TATE

Brown leaves crunched as Tate Astbury walked to the granite headstone symbolizing the division of his life into two parts: Before and After. Winter lingered in the air; that clean, cold scent seeped into his bones, bringing back childhood days in New England with family celebrations and weeks that carelessly slipped by into spring then summer.

That was Before. Before the guilt festered. Before he saw two people in the mirror instead of one. Before he took the one person who meant everything to him for granted.

Tate approached the headstone with the name he learned to spell at the same time as his own, the date of birth he shared, and the date of death he didn’t. He plucke

d off the dried leaves and twigs that had fallen on the plaque and put a single white rose down.

“Never thought I’d make it past thirty, yet here I am, thirty-three years old. All the dumb shit I’ve done since you…since I last saw you, you would think I’d be the one interred.” He should’ve been. They had done everything together. Death shouldn’t have been any different.

Tate squinted, staring across the field of headstones to where a couple stood holding hands in front of a grave.

“It’s gotten easier. Like, some days, I don’t think about you or what happened right away.” Until he looked in the mirror. Then he saw the irreplaceable soul whose face he would never forget, a blessing and a curse. “You’d tell me to quit being so dramatic and get on with my life. But today it’s hard, so cut me some slack, aight?”

A cardinal perched in the tree above him and whistled, its song like someone calling for its dog. And then it shit, missing Tate’s head but landing on his shoe with a splat.

“Fucker.” Tate laughed, figuring he must look like a crazy person out there laughing alone. Well, not entirely alone. There was that bird with a wicked sense of humor.

“I get it. Enough with the pity party. I’m going to celebrate with the boys later. But this one’s for you.” He unscrewed the miniature Jack Daniel’s bottle, not his favorite but his twin brother liked the brand, and poured the entire contents on the grave.

“Happy birthday, Mazi.”

Author, musician, and human slave to the dog and cat that rule her house, Grace Kilian Delaney enjoys giving her characters a dark sense of humor and a happily ever after.

Connect with Grace:
Twitter: @GracekilianD
Instagram: GraceKilianD
Facebook Group: Delaney’s Dearies
Goodreads
BookBub
Newsletter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Origin by AJ Sherwood & Jocelynn Drake: Exclusive Excerpt and New Release Review * 2

October 22, 2020 by Denise

Cameron wants to make it clear that he did not go into the festival to find a dragon mate.

Germany is supposed to be an escape. With a new mechanical engineering degree, a new job looming, and a whole life planned out that isn’t his, Germany seems like the best place to find himself.

So how does he end up discovering his lost magic heritage, running from bad guys with a secret agenda, and being adopted by the not-so-extinct Fire Dragon clan?

Cameron blames tall, dark, and sexy Alric, king of the Fire dragons. His fated mate. Because of course he is, and mates are meant to take the blame, right?

It may take a hot second, but as Cameron learns more about the scarred Alric and the life he’s landed in, Cameron realizes that perhaps this is where he’s meant to be, magic and mates and kidnapping and all.

Turns out coming to Germany wasn’t an escape but his awakening.

Title: Origin (Spells n’ Scales, Book 1)
Author: AJ Sherwood & Jocelynn Drake

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Alric’s body burned. Every seductive pass of Cameron’s amazing hands left Alric aching to pull Cameron closer. He wanted to claim his mouth in a deep, drugging kiss that would finally wipe away his knowing little smirk. The man massaging tense muscles was well aware of how he was driving Alric crazy. It was all Alric could do to hold back the moan rising in his throat.

He was fairly certain all the blood in his body had flooded south to his throbbing cock pressed against the front of his slacks, demanding to have a turn with Cameron’s magical hands and that wonderfully slick oil.

To have those long, nimble fingers wrap around him and—

No! No thinking about that.

Clenching his teeth, Alric fisted his right hand at his side, inwardly praying Cameron didn’t notice the fine trembling of his muscles as he struggled to get control of himself.

Of course, that wasn’t possible.

Cameron chuckled softly, his warm breath brushing against Alric’s bare neck. Goosebumps broke out across his flesh, and Alric sucked in a breath through his teeth.

“Relax,” Cameron murmured. “The point of the massage is to help you relax. Make you feel good.”

“Would you be able to relax if someone was doing this to you?” Alric asked, his voice little more than a harsh growl.

Cameron hummed as if he was giving it some thought. He bent, dipping his fingers into the oil again. Moving behind Alric, he cradled his neck on either side, gently massaging muscles there before sweeping down across his chest. Alric’s nipples hardened to painful points, and there was no stopping the quick breath he sharply sucked in. This wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t stop how his body reacted to each amazing caress. He could only control what he did about it. And right now, he was going to sit there and take it because it made Cameron happy.

Alright, fine, he might be enjoying it too. A little.

“Just anyone massaging me?” Cameron asked.

Rage scorched through Alric’s body, and he glared at the wall in front of him at the thought of anyone putting their hands on Cameron. No one should touch him. Just Alric. Only Alric. Scheiße, and that was his dragon flaring up with possessiveness. Alric shoved it back down mentally.

“Whoa! You just got really warm,” Cameron gasped, his hands leaving Alric for a moment. “Are you okay?”

Alric nearly groaned at himself. “Yes. Of course. Hot flash,” he muttered and then rolled his eyes at himself. A fucking hot flash? Wonderful. That was really sexy. Now he was a menopausal woman.

I’ve only read one other book that had dragon shifters and it definitely wasn’t my favorite. But since Jocelynn Drake is one of the authors (I’ve never read AJ Sherwood, so no opinion yet) I figured why not?

Looking at it from completely a fantasy aspect- it was a fun book. The world building was pretty excellent and I love how Dragon shifters and mages (doers of magic) need each other for different reasons. I also REALLY loved that the one main character is Asian. I don’t think Asian people get nearly enough representation in books. Not only is he a main character, he seems to be fairly powerful, is mated with the dragon king and his twin sister and grandmother are also mages. Pretty cool.

Two things really bugged me. First- dragon shifters need mages in order to procreate. Dragon shifters are all pansexual because they don’t know what gender their fated mate will be. Ok, so like in this story we have a male dragon king and a male mage that are fated mates. They talk about having a family together. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? Seems kind of integral to the story, in my opinion.

Next is the clan of mages that are out for revenge. Meaning kill all of the dragon shifters. Ok. But I thought they needed each other? Mages get the power for their magic from dragons. So how are they able to do powerful magic without dragons?

I know, I know, I should let these things go. Maybe they will be addressed in book 2. But seriously, Cameron, the mage fated to mate with Alric, king of the dragon shifters, should be questioning these things! He didn’t even know he was a mage. And then they are talking about having a family. And this formerly human gay guy doesn’t say “Whoa, whoa, whoa… who here is getting pregnant and how?” Because I would TOTALLY ask that question.

Other than those two fairly glaring things, the story as a whole was well done. The history, even the citizens having a dragon festival unbeknownst to them that dragons are real.

Ok, I do have more questions, but they are minor.

I do want to read book 2 as I am invested now in their story, having the dragons find more mages, how they are going to find and fight the evil mages, etc.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

I loved the excerpt I read on this so much that I had to read it, even though I hadn’t read anything on dragon shifters previously.

I absolutely loved the two MC’s. Cameron was fun, and lighthearted, yet so smart and willing to do whatever needed to be done in the moment. Meanwhile Alric was very old school, taking his responsibilities very much to heart, and guarding his heart due to his injuries. They complimented each other very well. The side characters were great as well. Loved Cameron’s sister and grandmother, and Ravi, of course.

I’m definitely with Erin on one of the things that I felt needed to be addressed further. There was talk throughout the book about how dragons needed mages in order to have children, but never HOW. Is it surrogate, does someone suddenly develop the parts to do that. And I feel like if they are going to talk about having children, which they did, right before their mating ritual, then it is kind of imperative to let the person who has no idea what the process is, know so that he can step back and maybe decide.

Overall, this is a fun start to the series. It made me laugh out loud several times, and tear up a little. And I’d definitely like to see more of the Fire Dragon Clan, as well as see how they deal with their enemies.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She’s often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.

She currently resides in Tennessee with aforementioned cats, dogs, and her editor/best friend/sister/partner in crime.

Connect with AJ: https://www.ajsherwood.com/

New York Times Bestselling author Jocelynn Drake loves a good story, whether she is reading it or writing one of her own. Over the years, her stories have allowed her to explore space, talk to dragons, dodge bullets with assassins, hang with vampires, and fall in love again and again.

This former Kentucky girl has moved up, down, and across the U.S. with her husband. Recently, they’ve settled near the Rockies.

When she is not hammering away at her keyboard or curled up with a book, she can be found cuddling her cat Demona, walking her dog Ace, or playing video games. She loves Bruce Wayne, Ezio Auditore, travel, tattoos, explosions, and fast cars.

She is the author of the urban fantasy series: The Dark Days series and the Asylum Tales. She has just completed a gay romantic suspense series called The Exit Strategy about two assassins falling in love and trying to create a life together. Her newest project returns to her vampire roots with a MM paranormal romance series Lords of Discord.

With Rinda Elliott, she is one half of the Drake & Elliott writing team and has produced such series as Unbreakable Bonds, Ward Security, Pineapple Grove, and Weavers Circle.

With AJ Sherwood, she is journeying into a new MM paranormal romance series called Spells n’ Scales that is set to launch in September 2020.

Connect with Jocelynn: https://jocelynndrake.com/