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Punching the V-Card by Leta Blake: IG Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Best friend’s hot older brother? Check. A weekend alone? Check.

Finally punching that V-card? Oh yes.

Carl has a pesky “innocence” problem that requires a solution. His best friend’s brother Devon is the perfect answer.

Devon’s experienced, gorgeous, and Carl’s been secretly crushing on him for ages. Carl doesn’t want to “lose it” to just anybody. Everyone says the first time should be special—and what’s more special than sharing it with the guy of his dreams?

It’s not like Devon won’t enjoy it. Solving this so-called problem is an objectively fun experience for most people! The plan is totally win/win!

Shockingly, Devon agrees. But even though it goes better than either of them ever expected, Carl’s moving across the country soon. It’s not possible to have more. No matter how much they both want it.

Right?

Punching the V-Card by Leta Blake is a is a high heat, NO ANGST, new adult gay romance featuring a best friend’s hot older brother, scorching first times, and falling in love with the guy of your dreams.

Title: Punching the V-Card
Authors: Leta Blake
Length: 35k
Series: Standalone.
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, and very light BDSM/Kink, almost nonexistent, but the themes are still there.
Tropes: Best friend’s older brother, losing virginity, whirlwind romance, first love, virgin baby dom and natural older submissive, forced proximity (to a degree), new adult.
Content: Very light BDSM theme.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“I keep some supplies up here,” Carl said, approaching a sizable fallen tree that was hollowed out inside, and the massive, nearly bench-shaped rock beside it. “Lighters, candles, gummy bears, that sort of thing.”

“Gummy bears?” Devon said, watching as Carl knelt in the pine needles and peered into the log using his flashlight. “Checking for snakes or other ghoulies,” he said before reaching inside and tugging out a Ziplock bag. Inside, sure enough, Devon could make out a package of gummy bears, a lighter, a few tea light candles, and what looked like a pack of cigarettes.

“Do you smoke?”

“Huh?” Carl glanced at the bag and grimaced. “Hope and I tried it. Thought it might look cool on stage, you know? But, ugh. I’d rather eat ass than smoke a cigarette.” A sudden grin cracked over his face and his eyes lit up even brighter. “I guess I mean that literally now. I’d much rather eat ass. That only leads to orgasm, unlike cigarettes which lead to coughing, gagging, and smelling like, well, cigarettes, you know?”

Devon watched Carl take a seat on the big stone bench, and he climbed onto it, too. It was big enough that they could sit cross-legged facing each other.

“Okay,” Carl said, pulling out the tea light candles, the lighter, the gummy bears, and a piece of chalk that Devon hadn’t noticed before. “First we draw a pentagram, like this,” he said.

And Devon watched, surprised, as Carl did draw a big pentagram between them. “What are you doing?”

“Magic,” Carl offered, with a little grin. “Fairy magic.”

Devon blinked at him.

“Kidding. But, yeah, sometimes I like to cast a spell or two. It can be fun.”

Devon shrugged, a nagging uncertainty in his gut, but he watched as Carl put a tea light on each point of the pentagram before lighting them.

“Now, we have to focus on what we want,” Carl said.

“What we want?” Devon repeated.

“Like when I did this last week, I focused on you agreeing to this weekend, and look. It worked.”

“You cast a spell on me?” Devon asked, trying to not feel a little weirded out by that. The forest around them smelled of wet dirt, disintegrating leaves, and fresh air, but the light that sparkled off the water droplets all around and filtered through the swaying tree tops did feel otherworldly. Plus, he was tired, so tired, and drained, and kinda horny still. He felt a little possessed, actually.

“J-just a l-li-li—ugh. A small one,” Carl said, with a shrug. “Do you c-care?”

The stutter. He was anxious now.

Devon looked at the small, flickering candles and up into Carl’s glittery eyes. He didn’t care. If he was told that he was hypnotized into this weekend, he’d be happy about it. If he was told that he’d been put under a powerful elf’s spell, he’d be glad. The time he’d spent with Carl was already the most interesting and arousing he’d ever had.

This book had so many surprising elements in it…in fact, the LEAST surprising element was that Carl had been in love with Devon for years. Just a few of the surprises…Devon’s sister set up this weekend punching of Devon’s V-card. Carl, who began the weekend seemingly shy AF, barely saying a word, turns out to be a baby Dom. Meanwhile, Devon immediately falls in line with it, showing a submissive side, when it is obvious he NEVER would have thought that of himself before this weekend. That two young men were able to have that much sex, and eat so little food (ha ha).

This was one very steamy novella, with two really well fleshed out MC’s for a novella. Carl is leaving for LA to begin a music career, while Devon is not leaving TN because his parents want him to do all the right things. Carl has a stutter that really only shows when he is nervous or emotional. Devon meanwhile has no idea what he wants to do with his life, but he knows he can’t go anywhere. He needs to finish college, then get a job…in what, he doesn’t know. They were honestly exactly as many young people that age, just trying to figure out what was next for them.

This was high heat, low angst, very sweet in places, had a hopeful future and some fun thrown in. It may not be for everyone, as it has A LOT of sex, but it still tells a very good story, as this author always does.

4 pieces of eye candy

Enter the #Giveaway for your chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card. Follow @LetaBlake & Comment on any Instagram host photo with #PunchingTheVCard Tag friends & share on your IG stories for extra entries, make sure you tag GRR! Good luck!

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Uniquely Average by Susan Hawke: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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A twenty year age gap, a neurodivergent ‘boy’ and a gray ace of a ‘Daddy’, both lonely and unable to find their match… until now.

Ethan Humboldt is a cocky, confident chef with zero filter and even less humility. He’s also a very good, neurodivergent boy who’s been searching far too long for the perfect Daddy. At thirty, Ethan knows what he wants—and what he needs. The only problem? Finding a caregiving type of Daddy to provide it.

Danvers Jones has more money than he knows what to do with and nobody to spend it on. He’s not looking for a fling, Dan needs someone to pamper. To romance… to adore. As a romantic gray ace, nothing else will do it for him.

Newly retired, Dan has one final mission—to find his former best friend’s long lost son and deliver a trust fund. After that, Dan’s determined to start fully living his life, which starts with the right partner. Only problem? Dan requires the type of person who’ll need his unique brand of Daddy.

Danvers and Ethan aren’t expecting to meet their perfect match in a random meet cute gone wrong, but when does life ever go according to plan?

This stand-alone novel is a full-length, 43k non-age play Daddy romance. The core of this story was previously published as a 15k short in the USA Today bestselling “Dirty Daddies 2021 Anthology.” It’s now been reworked and lengthened to provide the tale as originally intended.

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Goodreads

Watching for Daddy’s reaction to breakfast, I tried not to stare while taking a bite of my own. I’d served us perfectly cooked Eggs Benedict, complete with Canadian bacon and my own special hollandaise. My secret? A bit of OJ and a dash of orange zest.

It felt like my heart was beating in my throat when he finally took that bite. Pinching my lips tightly shut, I squeezed my legs together with my hands rhythmically patting my knees. I knew I was stimming, even before my hands started going, but I wasn’t concerned.

And why should I be? Some repetitive motion because I was excited was perfectly fine, a fact my doctor had drilled into me. As long as I wasn’t flapping my hands too much or letting my excitement turn to stressed anxiety, I’d be good.

And yes, I did need to remind myself of this every time and this was also okay.

Thank you, Dr. Stapleton. Years of work, God only knew how much money spent, and now I could calmly explain to myself why I was excited and how it was okay for a little light stimming.

Gasping, I jumped when a light knock on the table jerked my attention away from myself. I looked around the room, desperately trying to anchor myself again—I’d been that startled.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Did I frighten you?” And just like that, Daddy’s voice gave me the anchor I was looking for.

“Huh? I guess I was zoned out, lost in my head. I was being stupid, going through a bit of rationale in my head, and I guess I was deeper than I thought if I never heard you speak.” And, now I truly had a reason to be upset but… I glanced down to see my hands resting quietly on my legs. Huh. So much for the stimming.

I couldn’t understand why, but Daddy looked upset. He held up a finger, waving it back and forth. “That’s a no-no, sunshine. Never call yourself stupid, not on my watch. Especially when you are anything but. In fact, now I think I would enjoy hearing what had you lost in thought. Trust me, I wasn’t adding anything to the conversation. All I said was how these were the best Eggs Benedict I’ve ever eaten.”

It felt like my chest exploded with a surge of rainbows and glitter and hearts and all the other things that made my mother squeal like a little girl. At least when I felt myself smiling, I didn’t have to question why. “Sorry about the whole stupid thing, I can respect that rule. But we can agree to disagree on what you consider fascinating conversation because I want to hear more about how much you enjoyed my eggs.”

Daddy started chuckling as he loaded his fork with a fresh bite. “I’m not exaggerating, these are amazing. Definitely the best. I might be prejudiced because I have a crush on the chef, but I don’t think so. And since we both know you tell it like it is, how about you simply agree with me and I can focus on eating instead of talking? Sorry not sorry, sunshine. But this deliciousness needs to get in my belly.”

Why did his dorky side make me like him more? That was a question. One I wasn’t certain how to answer. But quite frankly, I shouldn’t be this enamored by an outdated Austin Powers reference—or the Daddy with the worst Scottish accent ever who’d given it. And yet, here I was with another crazy question I knew I couldn’t answer.

It was super hard not to find it cute when Daddy powered through his breakfast, finishing before mine was half done. I gave up and started laughing when he actually lifted his plate and began licking it clean.

Finding a romance with anyone who is neurodivergent is difficult. I have looked for them, as someone I am very close to is on the spectrum. Finding a romance where one of the main characters is neurodivergent, is very rare, so I was excited to pick this one up, and I wasn’t disappointed.

What I loved most about this book was that Ethan wasn’t portrayed as a lost man, someone who hadn’t known anything about himself until he found his true love. He was a confident chef, tried to be a good person by using the social cues his mother had drummed into him, and knew enough about himself to know that a Daddy was exactly what he wanted and needed in his life, in the bedroom and out…but definitely NOT in his business. He just hadn’t found the correct Daddy. He didn’t hide this part of himself, and in fact, his mother presented Dan with the contract that they would use for the one week trial. It was so refreshing to see all of this, all the while still having many of the same issues that someone on the spectrum might have; i.e. lack of eye contact, zero filter, anxiety, etc.

Meanwhile, Dan himself knew enough to know that he really wanted a boy that he could cherish, and found all of Ethan’s differences from “normal” to be adorable, and exactly what he wanted in his life. He saw himself as being on the ace scale, although in the book he does discover that perhaps it isn’t as cut and dry as he once assumed. So, he was willing and able to grow and change in their relationship as well.

Portraying someone on the spectrum with a “normal” life (I keep putting that in quotes because it comes up several times in the book, and is simply a descriptor, and not an indicator that Ethan wasn’t as normal as the next person) can be difficult, because no one is the same, and yet, there are many areas that will be seen in many people. But the author did a great job of showing that they can fall in love, they can feel, they can have a great sense of humor (which Ethan does!), and still may need to avoid eye contact, flap their hands, and try to wheedle a puppy out of their Daddy. 🙂

This was sweet, a little sexy, funny, and all around, a read well worth the time.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

As an avid reader and big romance fan myself, I love sharing the stories of the different people who live in my imagination. My stories are filled with humor, a few tears, and the underlying message to not give up hope, even in the darkest of times, because life can change on a dime when you least expect it. This theme comes from a lifetime of lessons learned on my own hard journey through the pains of poverty, the loss of more loved ones than I’d care to count, and the struggles of living through chronic illnesses. Life can be hard, but it can also be good! Through it all I’ve found that love, laughter, and family can make all the difference, and that’s what I try to bring to every tale I tell.

I’m a happily married mom with one snarky teenage boy, and three grown “kids of my heart.” I’m more widely known for my mpreg writings as Susi Hawke; this new name is a departure from that. Whether written by Susan or Susi, the books are filled with that all-important love, laughter, and family I mentioned; the only difference is that this name has no male pregnancy. I look forward to sharing my stories with you, and to bringing more romance and laughter into this world that needs it so very badly.

Connect with Susan:

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Website |  | Facebook Group: The Hawke’s Nest

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His Heart Knows by Riley Long: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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People fall in love with their best friends all the time. But for me, the circumstances of this unrequited attraction are even more agonizing.

I am gay.

My best friend, Sawyer, is not.

Since we were fifteen, I’ve harbored this torturous crush. Now, as we both enter our thirties, it seems time to resign myself to the fact that nothing is going to come of it. Ever.

Or so I thought…

One night, a bottle of gin and a little uncharacteristic self-pity were all the inspiration I needed to launch into a ramble about being alone because I’m bad at everything – even kissing. Determined to prove me wrong, Sawyer decided to shut me up with a kiss.

I know he meant for it to be innocent.

Turns out it was anything but.

Sparks flew as we unlocked a side of Sawyer he never knew existed. Now, more than anything, he wants me by his side forever. But this realization comes with its own set of obstacles. Can we learn to lean on each other as we build a future together? Or will the stresses of our day to day lives tear us apart?

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Goodreads

Ricky tapped on my open door with his fingertips and leaned against the door frame. “You were out late.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Crashed at Sawyer’s place. You know how it is.”

“Do it?”

I shot him an unamused look. “Yeah. You do.”

“You sure you didn’t…” He made a crude gesture with his fist and his index finger. Before I could say anything, he held up his hands in defense and laughed. “I know, I know. Just friends, right?”

“Right.” I sounded more uncertain that convincing though and Ricky picked up on it and latched on like a cat on catnip.

“Oh my God, what happened? Please tell me you finally fucked that man.”

I snorted. “I didn’t—” But my throat tightened and I had to stop to clear it. “It was just a blow job. Which I’m sure he regrets.”

“Why would he regret it?”

I gestured to myself. “You honestly think we’re in the same league?”

“Stop it. You were a football player and still have the body for it, except you’re also in grad school and that automatically makes you the smartest person in this room. And he looks like a fucking sculpture of man and makes eyes at you like you’re the only human in the world and the sun shines from your ass. You’re perfect and you deserve someone who cares about you like that.”

“Just because you didn’t go to grad school doesn’t mean you’re stupid.”

He pushed himself to standing. “I am not the point here. Focus on the blow job. Tell me everything.”

“Fine, fine.” I shooed him out of my room. “At least let’s sit in the living room, though, and not stand in my damn doorway.”

Ricky took a seat in his favorite spot, the overstuffed leather recliner, and patted the arms the way he did when he was excited about something. “Okay. Spill.”

This was a sweet, sexy friends to lovers story that I mostly enjoyed.

Axel and Sawyer are total opposites. Axel, poor, raised by a single mom who loved him with everything she had. Sawyer is the son of 2 lawyers who grew up with a cook and housekeepers and anything he wanted. When Axel moved to a new town he and Sawyer just clicked.

Now they are nearing 30, Axel is in grad school, he is out and proud but doesn’t date much and works at a bookstore. Sawyer is a lawyer in a prestigious firm hoping to make partner in 5 years like his father, he is straight and his mother is always trying to set him up “with a nice girl”. But those two have that best friend chemistry that is hard to find.

The premise that got them to kiss the first time was a little contrived, but it got the job done. They very quickly fell into a relationship after the first morning after freak out.

Sawyer seemed to be just fine with the fact that he was suddenly in a real relationship with his best friend. Even though he had never been with a man before. You’d think he had plenty of experience.

The story was far from perfect (see above about falling into a relationship with little issue), as well as Sawyer recovering from a family issue quickly and the continuity issue of he has an older brother, he’s an only child, he has an order brother, he’s an only child. Seriously, how did that not get caught it beta reads or edits?

Fluffy beach read that doesn’t take a lot of mind power at all, but it’s not bad.

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Riley Long is a wife and mother living a quiet life in Virginia, with her husband, son, and one goofy pit bull. She passes her evenings writing, reading, and watching bad television (or not so bad television). For fun, Riley participates in NaNoWriMo, GISH, and reads with her book club, the BAMFs. She likes things with silly acronyms. The craziest thing Riley has ever done involves whipped cream and hugs. Riley writes sweet and sexy romance, with a special place in her heart for hipsters and musicians.

Connect with Riley:
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/riley-long
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/writerrileylong
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Dirty Work (Book One of the Dirty Deeds series) by TA Moore: Blog Tour, Exclusive Author Guest Post with Short Story and Giveaway

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I’m so very excited to once again have TA Moore with us giving us a little prelude to her newest book series, Dirty Deeds. She’s bringing us Chapter 3 in the short story prequel. Make sure you check out all the blog posts in the series, and enter the giveaway!

Crime Scene Cleaner [kraɪm siːnˈkliːnə] – Cleans up crime scenes…before the cops know there is one.

People always say ‘you can’t go home again’. It turns out that doesn’t count as a guarantee…especially not during a global pandemic.

After the jobs in LA started to dry up, crime scene cleaner Grade Pulaski was forced to pack up and move home. He loves his family, but the last thing he ever wanted was to face the ghosts he’d left back in Sweeny, Kentucky.

Also, the place just sucks.

He certainly isn’t going to stay any longer than necessary. The plan is to save up enough money to move back to LA and give his business a kick-start. The problem is that, as previously mentioned, Sweeny’s a hole and the locals are anything but professional.

Now a body has gone missing, Grade’s reputation is being held hostage, and people keep asking whether his Dad really did run off with 100 grand of meth in the back of Dodge. Plus, even though you shouldn’t sleep with your employers, crime lord Clay Traynor is exactly the sort of bad idea that Grade can’t resist. Tattooed, bad news, and dangerous.

…oh, yeah. Grade’s job is to clean up the crime scene before the cops know someone’s dead. That’s why he needs to sort this out before he gets a bad review on dark net Yelp.

Title: Dirty Work (Book One of the Dirty Deeds series)

Author: TA Moore

Publisher: Rogue Firebird Press

Release: March 4

Amazon

 

Thanks for letting me pop in to talk about my latest book, Dirty Work, which comes out on March 4. This is the first book in the Dirty Deeds trilogy and I had a lot of fun with it! It’s available online – https://books2read.com/Dirty-Work-Dirty-Deeds-Book-1 – and I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing it!

I also hope you enjoy ‘Clean Hands’ a short story prequel to the series.

Clean Hands – Chapter Three

“Do you want some jerky?” Shannon asked. They held up the vacuum packed baggie of meat and cocked their head to the side expectantly. “Original or spicy?”

“Neither,” Grade said.

“Well, I’m hungry,” Shannon said snottily. “And I’m getting the spicy.”

“Get the original,” Grade told them. “It’ll sting less when you puke it back up later.”

Shannon pulled a narked face and ripped the packaging open with their teeth. They gnawed on a long strip of it resentfully as they shuffled along behind Grade. The smacking wore on Grade’s last nerve, but he tried to ignore it as he navigated his way around the angles of the two shitty security cameras.

Back home Grade would have gone to the hunting goods store, or the gas station off the Wildcat Highway that stocked everything a hunter might have forgotten to pack for a month in the woods: MREs, ammo (you’d be surprised), and porn magazines. LA’s economy wasn’t quite so dependent on providing every convenience for someone while they shot shit in the woods.

So the local restaurant supply store it was. Lucky enough Shannon worked part-time on a couple of local food trucks, so they had a membership card to the Depot.

Grade had subbed out tarps for a couple of rolls of heavy duty black plastic bags, but he’d actually managed to get almost everything else he needed. Bone saw, pruning shears, a meat tenderizer, and now he just needed…

“Do they have cleaning supplies?” he asked.

Shannon swallowed the mouthful of chewed meat. They nodded and pointed to the far corner. “Yeah,” they said. “Over there.”

The wheel of the trolley squeaked, repetitive and annoying, as they headed that way. Grade kept his head down.

“It wasn’t our fault,” Shannon said.

“Yeah,” Grade said. “I don’t care.”

Shannon was silent for all of two seconds before they blurted out. “It wasn’t my fault.”

Grade stopped in front of the rack of cleaning supplies to look them over. He grabbed a bucket. That hadn’t been on his list, but now that he thought about it he didn’t think he’d ever seen a bucket at the house so better safe than sorry. Once that was in trolley he added two massive bottles of bleach and one of Ice Machine sanitizer, because it sounded particularly clean.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yeah,” Grade said. “I just still don’t care, and I definitely don’t want to talk about it in the middle of a store. Either shut up and live with it, or get a therapist. Leave me out of it. Got it?”

Shannon looked nonplussed. They fidgeted with the torn bag of jerky as they headed for the tills.

“Shit,” they muttered suddenly. “Are we going to look like a serial killer or something? Should we throw in, like…”

They cast around in a panic and grabbed a catering pack of toilet paper rolls off a shelf. Blunt, painted nails dug into the plastic and dimpled the paper below as they held it up expectantly for Grade.

“Then we’ll look like serial killers with the shits,” Grade said. “Put it back. It’s past one am. You think whoever caught the night shift in here cares what the hell we buy? They want to go home tonight, not deal with the cops. Let them have that.”

Shannon stared at Grade over the top of the pack. “We might be out,” they said.

“Then use your hand,” Grade snapped. “Put it back.”

He didn’t bother to wait to see if Shannon did as they were told. The back of his neck itched persistently as he got to the till and started to move everything onto the belt. The tired looking girl behind the register didn’t even bother to look as she scanned things through. Grade watched the total on the register go up with each purchase and his chest tightened uncomfortably as he did the math in his head. It wouldn’t leave him broke, but his safety margin would be down to fifty quid and sleeping in bus stations on his way back to Sweeny.

Shannon wouldn’t have it. They spent money like they were allergic to it. They probably didn’t have enough in the bank for the now empty bag of jerky that was sheepishly added to the end of the belt.

Grade didn’t even bother to ask. He just paid in cash, took his receipt, and headed to the car.

“That bone saw was 80 bucks,” Shannon said, his voice thinned to a squeak from the shock of it. “Couldn’t you have got a cheaper one?”

“Don’t skimp on your tools,” Grade said. “That’s what my mom taught me.”

“Usually that’s a dad thing to say,” Shannon said with a nervous chuckle. “You know, dad wisdom is always about cars and shit.”

“Yeah,” Grade said. “Well, mine’s dead.”

That shut Shannon up. It wouldn’t last, but Grade leaned into it while it did. He needed to focus on not thinking about what he was about to do. There was only so much disassociation could do for you, he didn’t think it was a good time to test it. They packed their haul into the back of the car in silence.

“Shit,” Shannon said abruptly as they froze in place, the only thing moving their lips and the nervous twitch at the corner of their eye. “It’s the cops.”

The police cruiser turned into the parking lot and rolled slowly along as the cops inside checked the shop fronts and alleys.

“Yeah,” Grade said. “It is.”

Shannon stank of spicy jerky and the sudden hit of sweaty, panicked adrenaline. They licked their lower lip and shifted their weight as they glanced toward the road. Grade could feel the tension as Shannon got ready to do something stupid.

“Calm down,” he said. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”

Shannon gave him a panicked, disbelieving look and leaned in close. “Are you fucking kidding?” he hissed. “There’s a dead drug dealer in the garage, and we’re going to…going to get rid of him.”

Nope. Apparently disassociation was still going strong. Grade calmly tossed the black plastic bags into the back of the car.

“Yeah, but right now we’re just putting stuff in the car,” he said. “Nothing illegal about that.”

Tour:

4th March – mmromancereviewed

7th March – Reading Reality

9th March – Two Chicks Obsessed

10th March – Boy Meets Boy

11th March – Love Bytes Reviews

TA Moore is a Northern Irish writer of romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance novels. A childhood in a rural, seaside town fostered in her a suspicious nature, a love of mystery, and a streak of black humour a mile wide. As her grandmother always said, ‘she’d laugh at a bad thing that one’, mind you, that was the pot calling the kettle black. TA Moore studied History, Irish mythology, English at University, mostly because she has always loved a good story. She has worked as a journalist, a finance manager, and in the arts sectors before she finally gave in to a lifelong desire to write.

Coffee, Doc Marten boots, and good friends are the essential things in life. Spiders, mayo, and heels are to be avoided.

Website: www.tamoorewrites.com

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

Twitter: @tamoorewrites

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Stronger Than Hope (Chesapeake Days, #1) by Katherine McIntyre: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Reviews and Giveaways

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One man looking to set down roots, the other looking to leave…

Fresh out of a relationship, Nate’s searching for a change—what better way is there than renovating his uncle’s old coffee shop in Chesapeake City? He has a new job, in a new town, and a new lease. And when he almost runs over his hot neighbor, Linc, who happens to be his contractor? Well, based on the explosive attraction between them, maybe he’ll find something new there too.

Linc’s been treading water ever since his wife passed away in childbirth, focusing all of his energy on raising his son, Beckett. The obvious solution? He needs to get the hell out of Chesapeake City. But when Nate charmingly fumbles his way into Linc’s life, he finds his defenses lowering for the first time in years. One date leads to another, and hell, this man makes him feel in ways he’d forgotten.

Even though Nate just finished piecing his heart back together, he falls fast. Yet Linc’s made it clear he’s a bad bet. The man hasn’t clicked with anyone since his wife, and if Nate ends up being “not enough” again, that won’t shatter just his heart—the fragile home he’s trying to build in this town will crumble too.

Title: Stronger Than Hope

Author: Katherine McIntyre

Series: Chesapeake Days, #1

Genre: Gay Romance

Release Date: March 5, 2022

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Cover Designer: BookSmith Design

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Stronger Than Passion (Chesapeake Days #2)

Linc stood, and Nate took that as his cue, rising beside him. A second later, Linc slid in front of him and glanced back. The corner of his mouth quirked in the faintest grin.

“Hop on,” he said, gesturing to his back. “I’ve got something to prove at this point.”

Nate’s mouth dried with want, even as his nerves took over. “No way, I’m not going to be responsible for wrecking your back. I need you to do the remodel on my business, remember?”

“Do it, do it,” Nico chanted behind him, like the devil incarnate.

Linc leaned forward a bit, knees bent at the ready. Goddamn, the man looked delicious, his defined arms as biteable as ever. Nate glanced over to Sarah, who offered a thumbs-up with a cheeky grin, and he rolled his eyes at her.

“Fine,” he murmured and placed his hands on Linc’s shoulders. Within seconds, the man grabbed his legs and hoisted him up. The strong grip around his thighs felt even better than he’d fantasized. Hoots and hollers sounded from the bar as he leaned in, his chest pressed against Linc’s back. The two drinks had nothing to do with the way his mind dizzied right now.

Linc began to carry him out, moving forward with steady strength he should’ve expected, given the man’s livelihood. Nate settled against him, his body lined flush against Linc’s, thighs wrapped around his hips. He dug his fingers in a little tighter as Linc hoofed down the stairs with him on his back. The bumpy way his crotch brushed against Linc’s back had his cock growing hard, something he’d be more mortified about if he didn’t have the pleasant buzz of alcohol numbing him. Nate let out a helpless laugh at the ridiculousness. He’d never expected the spontaneous move from Linc, but damn was it hot.

Hello, hot cover!

I love a good single dad story and this one didn’t disappoint.

Linc has lived in the small town of Chesapeake Bay his entire life. Married his high school sweetheart and had his whole life planned in the town where his parents lived, and his parents parents lived and he was all set to live the rest of his life with his little family forever. However, life doesn’t always work out the way we intend for it to and the loss of his wife during the birth of their son had him stuck in a familiar cycle of casual hookups when the need arose, but otherwise, he was just trying to survive being a single dad in a town where everybody knows everybody and their mama’s.
I live in one of those tows so it was all too relatable LOL

What Linc isn’t prepared for, is the new neighbor, new job that he’d just signed on to, and being completely charmed and smitten with the clumsy softy that is Nate McAlister.

Nate is new to town after an inherited coffee shop comes just in the nick of time. Still reeling from a bad breakup, Nate wasn’t at all looking for the butterflies in his stomach every time he runs into local handyman, Linc, or his adorable little boy that he knows Linc lives for.

The two kick up a quick friendship that naturally turns into a little more, though Linc is honest with about what he wants and how his very first priority will forever be his little boy.
Is that not the cutest?!
Don’t even answer, it is.

Unfortunately, moving on from a great love is hard. Finding a new normal is hard. Coming to terms with a new love is hard. Inviting that love to meet and know and love your child is hard. Figuring out your life after you already had it figured out and then refiguring it to include someone else… is hard.

And I admired Linc so much for how well he navigated it, even though, as an outside, I was like….nope, that’s not good, don’t do that…. a time or two… I knew he’d work it out in the end, and not only because Nate was so worth it and I knew that he knew that, but also because, you could feel how much he cared about Linc from the moment they met.
With every charming glint in his eye to the sexy smirks and the soft looks… even when he didn’t think he’d be able to give him more or even want more, he couldn’t help it.

I loved everything about this story, from beginning to end. I do wish we’d have gotten a smack down drag out with the old manager of the coffee shop but the satisfaction that we did get was enough LOL I’m just petty.

Overall, I adored this story and I cannot wait to see who’s next.
I reeeeally hope it’s Nico! <3

5 pieces of eye candy

What a fantastic story! The fact that Linc, after such a tragic beginning to his son’s life, was still raising his son in the town he grew up in, met and fell in love  with his wife in and still had so many memories in, was such a challenge for him. And who could blame him for wanting to leave Chesapeake? He had spent his entire life there, and felt like the only thing left for him was a new start, where no one knew him.

Meanwhile, Nate was starting a new life as well, and needed Linc’s help to get his new start moving in the right direction. He falls for Linc fairly quickly, but Linc just doesn’t think he can ever get past the great love of his life, and certainly would never have another one. Also, Nate is just super adorable! (And definitely did not like conflict, which ended up leading to some huge conflict!)

This story was not just sweet (and definitely smokin’), it really did tell the story about how someone can be lost, and still continue through each day, until something wakes them back up. Linc was a person lost, just trying to keep himself afloat for his son. Meanwhile, Nate wormed his way into both Linc and his son’s hearts, even as Linc wasn’t aware it was happening.

This book really touched me with the depth of Linc’s pain, and his working out of it, without even knowing he was doing just that. Sometimes grief is a cloud that stays with us, until the sun peaks through and gives us a glimpse of a new day. Linc needed that, and seeing his unwillingness to try that seemed appropriate for his situation. He had lost so much, and just needed that sunshine.

Also, that mean old woman…she deserved so much more than she got…but isn’t that sometimes the way of life? 🙂

I just loved the story. 4.5 pieces of eye candy

Katherine McIntyre is a feisty chick with a big attitude despite her short stature. She writes stories featuring snarky women, ragtag crews, and men with bad attitudes—and there’s an equally high chance for a passionate speech thrown into the mix. As an eternal geek and tomboy who’s always stepped to her own beat, she’s made it her mission to write stories that represent the broad spectrum of people out there, from different cultures and races to all varieties of men and women.

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Only for Ollie by Lisa Henry: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

by

Xander Finch is a top-ranked MotoGP rider, desperate to get back to the circuit after an injury. He’s going stir-crazy in his parents’ house in Ventura while he works on his recovery. Xander has tunnel vision when it comes to his sport—it’s all he’s ever wanted to do in life. When he hires a massage therapist to help speed up his recovery, he’s not expecting the guy to completely flip his universe on its head.

Ollie Baker is living in his car after a disastrous break-up, and jumps at the chance to earn some extra cash through massage. Xander Finch might be hot as hell, but Ollie’s not going there. He’s never going to let some rich guy screw him over again. Besides, Xander’s straight. Isn’t he?

When their friendship deepens into something more, Xander discovers that Ollie makes him feel a way that nobody ever has before, and maybe motorbikes aren’t his only passion after all. Navigating Xander’s newly discovered demisexuality isn’t the only challenge they’ll have to face if they’re going to be together, because Ollie’s been burned before. It’s hard for him to trust Xander, to believe that he’s really willing to make room in his life for Ollie as well as his racing—assuming he recovers enough to race at all.

Only for Ollie is the third book in the Star Crossed series, where regular guys meet famous ones, and sparks fly.

Only for Ollie

Star Crossed, Book 3

By Lisa Henry

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

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Ollie waved off Xander’s protestations and loaded the dishwasher. Then he said, bending down with his back to him, “So you’re going back to the Netherlands?”

“That’s how it works.” His chest ached. “I race, and when I’m not racing, I go back to Assen, and I train.”

That was how it had always worked. Not with all the guys, maybe, because most of them had made space for partners and kids in the gaps in their lives between track time, but Xander had only ever filled that space with more training. He was the engineers’ darling. If they needed a rider to test drive something, he was their guy because he was always at the track, always learning, always striving to be better. There were rules in place that limited the riders’ time on their race bikes, but Allard had a dirt track where their guys could practice on different bikes, and he was there as often as he could be—it was the reason he’d moved to Assen. The dirt track reminded him of the motocross tracks he’d loved so much as a kid, except there were no jumps.

Ollie stood up and turned to face him, leaning against the kitchen counter. He took his glasses off and cleaned them with the hem of his T-shirt, the movement allowing tantalizing glimpses of the pale skin above the waistband of his jeans. He put the glasses back on. “Your dad isn’t very happy about it.”

“They don’t like that it’s dangerous,” he said. He didn’t want to talk about how his dad felt about his return to racing. He wanted to know how Ollie felt about it. He wanted to know what they were to each other, or could be. “What you said earlier, about not thinking I was gay.”

Ollie froze, staring at him like a meerkat.

“I’m not,” he said. “At least…shit, I don’t know. There’s a lot of different words, you know?”

Ollie’s startled look said that no, he very much did not know what the fuck was he talking about.

“I’m demi,” he said. “That’s what fits, I think. So I’m not attracted to random people, you know?” He scrubbed a hand over his head, his face burning. “Except I didn’t figure it out until really recently because I literally had no idea what I was missing.”

Ollie’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Until?”

He winced. “I don’t want to be a creep, Ollie.”

Ollie closed the distance between them and stood on the other side of the counter to Xander. He planted his hands on the granite, his fingers splayed. The index finger of his right hand almost brushed Xander’s left. “Until?”

He lifted his gaze and lost himself for a moment in those wide, dark eyes. “Until you.”

Ollie’s intake of breath cut through the air as sharply as a knife. And then, just when Xander thought he’d ruined everything, Ollie twitched his finger so that it rested against his. “You’re not a creep, Xander.”

His eyes stung and watered. He looked down to where Ollie’s finger pressed gently against his own. Ollie had beautiful hands. “You don’t have to leave. I’ll be going soon, so it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable here for you. I—”

“Xander.” Ollie’s eyes were bright. He curled his fingers around Xander’s hand and drew it upwards. Leaned in and pressed his mouth to his knuckles, and that faint, warm brush of his lips sparked electricity inside him, sharp and brilliant and burning in a million different arcs. The blood roared in his skull as Ollie smiled and kissed his knuckles again. “Shut up. You don’t make me uncomfortable. I like you, Xander.”

And then, as though he was making sure that Xander couldn’t misinterpret that, he turned his hand over in his grasp, uncurled his fingers as carefully as if he were unwrapping a fragile treasure, and pressed another warm, smiling kiss to the fleshy part of his palm.

Xander’s heart stuttered over a few beats before it remembered how to do its job.

Another moment, and this was a big one. He would remember this one for the rest of his life because this was the precise moment when he fell head over heels for Ollie.

Catch-up on the series with Book 1:
Not Until Noah

Carter Westlake is on the brink of being Hollywood gold. Cast as the lead in a highly-anticipated sci-fi trilogy filming in Australia, he’s primed to be the next A-list action hero: all-American, hot as hell, and straight. The problem is, Carter can only check off two of those boxes. But that’s okay—his bisexuality can remain a secret until these movies are behind him.

Childhood educator Noah Jones has a plan. Work as a nanny for six months, make some extra cash, and move to the UK to teach. He doesn’t expect his new boss to be a Hollywood star. And he certainly isn’t prepared to fall for the guy.

One kiss sends them tumbling into a secret relationship, even though they both agree it can be nothing more than a fling. Carter needs to stay in the closet for the sake of his career, and Noah’s leaving. But when their feelings continue to grow into something deeper, Carter has a decision to make. Knowing that exposing his sexuality could cost him his career, would he rather carry on living a lie, or risk it all to stand tall in his truth?

Not Until Noah is the first book in the Star Crossed series, where regular guys meet famous ones, and sparks fly.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Lisa has been published since 2012, and was a LAMBDA finalist for her quirky, awkward coming-of-age romance Adulting 101, and a Rainbow Awards finalist for 2019’s Anhaga.

To connect with Lisa on social media, you can find her here:

Website
Facebook
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Goodreads
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Twitter

She also has a Facebook group where you’ll be kept in the loop with updates on releases, have a chance to win prizes, and probably see lots of lots of pictures of her dog and cats. You can find it here: Lisa Henry’s Hangout.

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