Blog Tours

Kings of the Mountain by Morgan Brice: Exclusive Author Guest Post, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

June 15, 2020 by Denise

Fast cars. Outlaw country boys. Snarky werewolves, vengeful ghosts, and menacing monsters.

Dawson King’s family has been hunting things that go bump in the night in Transylvania County, North Carolina, since before the Revolutionary War.

Dawson was never happier than when he was racing his souped-up Mustang along winding mountain roads and hunting monsters with his best friend, Grady. Then Grady fell in love with him, which should have been perfect since Dawson had already fallen hard for Grady.

But Grady was only seventeen, and Dawson feared that sooner or later, Grady would realize his feelings were just a first crush, and then he’d be gone, leaving Dawson devastated. They both needed space to figure things out. So Dawson joined the army, while Grady stayed on the mountain.

Four years later, Dawson is coming home. He’s more sure than ever Grady is his forever love, and they’ve both agreed to begin this new aspect of their relationship as soon as Dawson gets back.

Then Grady’s father is killed in a werewolf hunt gone wrong. Grady is devastated, and he’s throwing mixed signals about moving forward. Dawson knows he needs to hold off on this new thing between them until Grady has time to grieve. But monsters never sleep, and one hunt after another throws Dawson and Grady into constant danger, while tension and unresolved feelings ripple between them.

Making it even harder, Dawson’s got a secret. He’s dreamed of death omens—which point to something stalking Grady. Can Dawson figure out who’s trying to kill Grady, save his life, and win back his heart?

Plenty of mutual pining, hurt/comfort, spooky chills, sexy thrills, and a very happy ending. The Kings of the Mountain is the first novel in the series. It is a MM romance intended for readers 18 years of age and older.

Book Title: Kings of the Mountain

Author: Morgan Brice

Cover Artist: Natania Barron

Release Date: May 21, 2020

Genre/s: Urban Fantasy, MM paranormal romance

Trope/s: Hurt/comfort, mutual pining, friends-to-lovers,

childhood best friends, second chance

Themes: coming of age, forgiveness for self and others,

crush maturing into love, letting go of guilt, family

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 63,000 words/238 pages

It’s the first in a new series

Goodreads

Amazon US – Kindle Unlimited

Amazon UK – Kindle Unlimited

Starting from Scratch By Morgan Brice

Starting a new series is exciting and stressful. Exciting because beginnings are always full of opportunities. Stressful because it takes a while to know your way around—to have a feel for the places in the book and really understand the characters and hear their voices clearly in your head.

There’s a lot of worldbuilding that goes on, especially in a paranormal romance, beyond what shows up on the page. That includes thinking through how magic works and who has it, what kinds of abilities monsters can have, what sort of creatures exist, how ghosts can be summoned and banished—all of which provides a framework to tell a solid tale and remain consistent. It’s like building the foundation for a house. If I don’t get the worldbuilding right, the stories built in that world won’t hang together the way they should, and inconsistencies will happen that spoil things down the line.

It also usually takes some time to hear the characters clearly and have a sense of their personalities, likes and dislikes, fears and strengths—all the things that make them real in the minds of the readers. I always learn something about my characters when I’m writing the books, no matter how far into a series I get. That’s part of the fun.

When I start a new series, I usually have a mix of plot, people, and place in my mind. So for Kings of the Mountain, the plot bunny was ‘what would happen if you crossed Dukes of Hazzard with Supernatural, only the main characters were *together*?’ Then as I thought about where to have as home base, Transylvania County seemed like a natural choice (it’s a real place). Everything took off from there.

Starting a new series is so much fun. It’s the beginning of a journey with new friends—and you never know where it will take you!

“Dude, you can’t keep me hanging for over an hour until we get home. Please.” Dawson didn’t care about begging. He needed to know what had happened, so he could figure out what to do when he got there.

Colt slid him a sidelong glance and relented. “If I tell you, you’ve got to keep Uncle Denny from whupping my ass, because he told me not to.”

“You know I will.”

Colt tightened his grip on the wheel, his knuckles bone-white and kept his eyes on the road, a convenient way to avoid looking at Dawson. “We’ve had some problems with rogue werewolves and feral shifters lately. They like our neck of the woods because it’s remote. If they didn’t bother anyone, we might have let it ride. But there’ve been livestock kills and some attacks on people that just barely got pushed back.”

“How did you know you’ve got weres and shifters?” Dawson fell back into hunting mode out of old habit.

“It’s that time of the month,” Colt replied with a smirk. “Seriously? The weres are only out the three days of the full moon. You know this shit—did you forget it all while you were gone?”

Dawson flinched. “Just confirming. Didn’t want to assume.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time you made an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me.’” Colt’s smile faded. “Anyhow, we’ve all been out trying to track down one particular werewolf. He didn’t stay in the forest and feed off the deer. If he had, no one would have bothered him. Kept coming near towns, snatching farm animals. Grady and Aaron thought they’d figured out a pattern and guessed where he’d strike next. So they did a stakeout.”

Dawson found he was holding his breath. He had an awful feeling about how this was going to go.

“They were right,” Colt continued, his voice flat. “The werewolf got the drop on Aaron. Grady shot the wolf—silver to the heart—but he’d already bit Aaron.”

“Fuck.”

“Aaron begged Grady to shoot him. Grady refused. Grady also wouldn’t just leave his gun and walk away.”

“He knew how it had to end,” Dawson said quietly, his voice thick with sorrow for both Grady and Aaron.

Colt shrugged. “Maybe he needed more than a few seconds to be okay with killing his father.” At Dawson’s wince, Colt relented. “Sorry. I don’t know what happened to Aaron’s gun; he probably lost it when he got jumped. Anyhow, Aaron went for Grady’s gun, and in the struggle, it went off. Killed Aaron. Grady walked home, covered in blood, and told Uncle Denny what happened. Denny took care of the body.”

“Jesus,” Dawson murmured. “What did they tell the cops?”

“Sheriff Rollins knew about the rogue were. He had his men out looking for it, too. So what went down could have happened to anyone.”

At least no one was going to jail. That was a small comfort. “What about Knox?”

Morgan Brice is a new author to me, but I am totally hooked. This book has it all: friends to lover, monster hunting, angst, slow burn, action and adventure. Somehow Morgan Brice ties is all up in this super entertaining story that I couldn’t put down.

The monster adventures were amazing to read, there was so much detail and imagination in each scene. I loved that we got to be in both Grady and Dawson’s head, to hear their inner thoughts and their perspective on what happened.

The flashbacks from present to past were easy to navigate, I never was confused about what was happening or when it was happening. Overall, this is one of the best stories I have read this year, I really hope it becomes a series.

5 pieces of eye candy

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.

On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.

Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!

Author Links

Facebook Group | Pinterest (for Morgan and Gail) | Twitter: @MorganBriceBook

Read a copy of my Badlands short story Restless Nights here for free

Follow me on BookBub | Instagram

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

one of three ebooks from Morgan’s backlist.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

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

Come On, Get Lucky by Jacqueline Rohrbach: RDB, Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

June 9, 2020 by Denise

Grant is looking for love, but there’s one big problem—himself. Due to Grant’s massive size, not to mention the fact he’s also a werewolf, all the eligible bachelors steer clear of him, preferring men who are a little less ginormous and a lot less monstrous. Only Lee, Grant’s best friend and vampire extraordinaire, sees him as a gentle giant who longs to give awesome backrubs, cupcakes, and endless affection to his lifelong mate.

Lee is tired of the same old song and dance of dating and then breaking up. The only steady presence in his life has been Grant, a tried-and-true friend who always knows what to say and the right spot to scratch. So, when Grant finally breaks up with his flighty boyfriend, Lee sees an opportunity to let his carefully guarded heart out of its box and try for something real and lasting.

There’s a problem, though: Lee has always forbidden romance between friends, an order he’s drilled into Grant’s head over and over again.

That means Lee might need to throw their friendship to the fire. To find passion, they’ll have to become enemies. To find love, they’ll have to get lucky.

Title: Come On, Get Lucky

Author: Jacqueline Rohrbach

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: June 8, 2020

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 59300

Genre: Paranormal, LGBTQIA+, werewolf, vampire, best friends to lovers, humor, sarcasm, socially awkward character, slow burn-UST, men with pets

Amazon

NineStar Press

Goodreads

Chapter One

Grant wiped sweat from his brow. Hands trembling, he struggled to maneuver the oversized shirt button into its tiny hole. It was like being a virgin all over again. Should he lube the damn thing? Would that make it glide right in to everyone’s satisfaction? Scratch those thoughts; Grant couldn’t afford a sexual itch right now. If he stiffened, he might have a stress boner all night in the fancy restaurant where he’d booked a table for two. And, oh Jesus, everything was a mess. A total, awful mess.

“Knock, knock, big guy,” Lee said, tapping on the wood frame of the doorway. “You almost ready?”

“Come on in. Help me out. Get this thing in there.”

“Goodness, dear heart. I hope you won’t have to say that tonight.”

“I’m trying to not think about sex!”

“Boring.”

As lithe and graceful as Grant was bulky and clunky, Lee glided in on a cloud of glitter and sarcasm. His slender fingers made quick work of the task, and before Grant knew it, his dress shirt was smoothed down the length of his torso and tucked neatly into his black slacks. Standing to the side, his palm supporting his chin, Lee inspected his handiwork. Grant, for his part, stood straight under his critical eye and endeavored not to dwell on the lingering tingle along his spine where Lee’s fingers had touched him.

Muttering and twirling his finger, Lee said, “Turn around.”

Grant rarely dressed to the nines because it made him feel like he was ten. Lee, who searched him over for any flaw, didn’t help matters, especially not when he tsked like a disappointed mother.

“Well, do I pass inspection?” Grant asked him.

“Oh, you’re delish. Real wagyu beef.”

Grant dipped his head and made a show of inspecting his shoes to hide the sudden rush of heat to his face, which no doubt stained his cheeks a telltale shade of alarm-bell red. Then, to his mortification, he noticed a toe poking through a hole in one of his socks. Shit, he’d forgotten his shoes. Disaster. This night was going to be a total disaster.

Practically hyperventilating, Grant asked, “Where are my wingtips? The nice ones.”

Lee tapped his chin. Casually, as though he’d organized Grant’s closet himself, he kicked—literally—the polished wingtips onto the bedroom floor. “There are your big, goofy shoes. But, trust me, tonight is a big mistake. David is not the one. ”

“Thanks! You’re a lifesaver. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Yes, I know you couldn’t manage without me. But don’t ignore my warning.”

Wagging his finger in Lee’s face, Grant said, “No, no. We’re not playing the David-is-no-good game tonight. Tell me what wine should I order, instead.”

“Are you asking me what pairs nicely with showing your flighty, dimwitted boyfriend your werewolf form?”

Exasperated, Grant said, “I’m bringing this one home for good, Lee.”

Relenting with a sigh, Lee flounced around the bedroom, windmilling his arms in dramatic fashion as though getting ready to run a marathon. Was he stretching? Yes, yes he was. Lee hadn’t surrendered: he was ramping up to continue the fight. Grant should have learned to not underestimate his best friend when it came to matters of the heart, which he saw as his expertise as a vampire. The undead, according to him, had their fingers on the pulse of life. Werewolves, well, they had their noses in its crotch. The long-term rivalry between their species was great. Truly.

Ever since Grant brought David home, Lee had gone on about how it was a poor fit. Things heated up between them when David farted and blamed Lee. Fangs out, Lee had said, “Vampires can’t even pass gas. He’s messing with the wrong Edward. I will glitter bomb his ass to hell. My sunlight sparkle will burn out his eyes.” From there, matters got worse.

“You’re being petty,” Grant said, dabbing a bit of cologne on his neck. “Get over the whole fart thing. He was nervous. That’s all.”

“This is more than passing gas, dear heart. Although your little beau does disturb the oxygen balance of the room.”

“You’re a brat.”

Lee said, “I know, dear heart. That doesn’t change anything. David is… David is yuck. I’d eat him but it’s an affront to my sensitive palate. Blah.”

“Say ‘blah’ again but do it in a Transylvanian accent.”

“If I do, you have to listen to my rant. You can’t block me out, not even for a second.”

Grant’s inner survivalist debated the merits of the proposal. On one hand, the Transylvanian accent version of blah never failed to put a smile on his face, and he could use a bit of humor to settle his nerves before his big date. On the other, Lee’s rants lasted as long as an immortal desired, which was a very long time indeed. Grant couldn’t gnaw his foot off to get out of the trap should he decide to walk into it.

“Decisions, decisions,” Lee said as a taunt without bite.

“You make it so hard.”

“That’s what all the guys say.”

This book, had a good premise. However, it didn’t quite deliver like I had hoped. I liked the characters. The sweet and “fluffy” Grant, and the snarky and caustic Lee. However, they didn’t quite mesh for me as a couple. Grant was depressed about his ex-boyfriend, and rumors that were spread about him. Lee’s idea was for them to f**k it out over a week at an event in the woods. I felt like they were great friends, but the transition to trying to be more was not a normal friends to lovers. There wasn’t much flirting, it just kind of happened.

There was also a lot going on in this book. Some I didn’t understand why it was there…like Lucky, I didn’t get why Lucky was a thing, but he was cute, so there’s that. It just seemed to jump around quite a bit. It also seemed as if this was a follow up book, maybe not to this couple, but I felt like I was missing pieces I should have understood,

The storyline itself was cute and had some suspense, but overall, I would say it’s a read it once for the cuteness, but not really a reread.

3 pieces of eye candy

Jacqueline Rohrbach is a 36-year-old creative writer living in windy central Washington. When she isn’t writing strange books about bloodsucking magical werewolves, she’s baking sweets, or walking her two dogs, Nibbler and Mulder. She also loves cheesy ghost shows, especially when the hosts call out the ghost out like he wants to brawl with it in a bar. You know, “Come out here, you coward! You like to haunt little kids. Haunt me!” Jackee laughs at this EVERY time.

She’s also a hopeless World of Warcraft addict. In her heyday, she was a top parsing disc priest. She became a paladin to fight Deathwing, she went back to a priest to cuddle pandas, and then she went to a shaman because I guess she thought it would be fun to spend an entire expansion underpowered and frustrated. Boomchicken for Legion! You can find Jacqueline on Twitter. https://www.twitter.com/ImmutableMoon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Say You’ll Be Nine by Lucy Lennox: Exclusive Excerpt, RDB and Giveaway

June 4, 2020 by Denise

One dilapidated cabin in need of renovation.
Two stubborn men pretending to be a couple.
Three summer months to get the job done.
Four tangled legs in only one bed.
Five cameras catching it all for YouTube.
Six hundred thousand Instagram followers.
Seven nosy family members with Opinions.
Eight thousand reasons they should never fall in love.
Nine million reasons why they will.

Say You’ll Be Nine is a standalone novel.

Cover Designer: Cate Ashwood

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

“I already told you. I like you.”

I kept tickling him even though it was making Nacho nervous. He pranced at the end of the bed until Cooper finally called uncle and made me stop.

Cooper’s eyes shone and his face was flushed. I wanted to jump his bones.

“I like you too,” he said softly. He crawled over to me and straddled my lap, sliding his arms around my neck and leaning in until our noses were touching. “And I’m awake enough now to show you how much.”

He kissed me then, and I thought maybe my life would never be the same. Now that I’d had a taste of Cooper Heath, how could I be satisfied with anything less? I didn’t really think it was the fact he was a man so much as the fact he was funny and sweet and giving. He was just… perfect. At least for me. And I never wanted this to end.

I’d also begun to notice how creative he was and how working with him made the videos we posted so much better than anything I’d done on my own.

“Come back to me,” he whispered against my lips. “You go away sometimes.”

“No,” I said, rolling us over until I had him pinned to the mattress. “I was only thinking about you and how perfect you are.”

His arms and legs wrapped around me. The warmth of his skin against mine was heavenly. “Oh, well then keep going.”

To celebrate Lucy’s release, we are giving away 3 eBooks copies of Say You’ll Be Nine!

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

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!

Dancing with Daddy by Susan Hawke: Exclusive Excerpt, Blog Tour and New Release Review

June 1, 2020 by Denise

I love my daughter, but finding out she wasn’t biologically mine is the best news ever.

I’m a widower who is too scared to have the stupid test that would tell me whether or not I even have the gene that would mean dealing with a horrible illness and certain death. A gene that could’ve also been passed to my child, had she been mine.

She’ll need her father, if something ever does happen to me…That’s why I search for Maddie’s biological father, and when I find him, ask him to become part of her life.

What I didn’t expect is for him to become my best friend. Shane is fun and easygoing, the exact opposite of me. He makes me laugh. He’s the perfect antidote for my neurotic existence. And he’s bi, like me.

But am I courageous enough to take the leap into falling in love with him?

Dancing with Daddy is a super sweet, full-length, standalone, feel good mm romance. There’s no angst, just two very opposite men who befriend each other super fast then slowly find their way to love…all while parenting the precocious five-year-old who belongs to both of them.

Audio coming soon. Narrated by Michael Dean

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

BookBub

Maddie’s eyes popped open. “I’m awake!” A sleepy smile spread over her face as she took a good look at Gary. “Your hair is blue.”

Gary struck a pose. “I know, isn’t it delish? And before you say it, yes, I’m aware there are holes in my ears.”

I smiled when Maddie started giggling. She pushed the button on her bed—a neat trick the nurse had taught her the night before—until she was sitting up. She studied him for a moment, her eyes sparkling with delight. “You’re silly.”

“I know you are, but what am I?” Gary teased and lifted a lollipop and a large sticker from his bin. “Listen, my precious. Don’t hate me but I have to poke you with a super tiny needle so we can check your blood. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t feel a thing. You might, but I won’t. Isn’t that great? And even better? If you’re super brave while I take your blood for my dumb test, I’ll give you a sticker and this red sucker. What do you say, gorgeous? Can Gary do his job so your doctor can decide if you can go home this morning?”

Maddie’s head bobbed up and down. “Yes, I want to go home.” She nervously eyed the small bin of supplies he carried. “Promise it won’t hurt?”

Gary grimaced and shrugged. “Wee-eell… promise is an awfully big word. How about I promise to try my best? If I do it right, it probably won’t hurt any more than getting bitten by a mosquito.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose. “Mosquito bites are itchy. I got stung by a bee one time when I was little. Will it hurt that bad?” She held up her index finger, as if Gary could see the ghost of the bee sting she’d gotten last summer.

“Hmm…” Gary pretended to think about it while he tapped his chin. “I’m pretty good at my job, so I don’t think it will hurt as bad as a bee sting but I can promise it won’t be itchy like a mosquito bite. So what do you say, do we have a deal?” He held out his pinky to swear and flashed her a wink.

Maddie hesitated for a few seconds before holding her small finger out to hook it around his for the official pinky swear. “Deal.”

While Gary got to work, he kept her preoccupied by discussing the new Frozen movie. I was impressed when Maddie didn’t do more than flinch when he poked her with the needle. If anything, she’d been more upset by the pinch from the length of rubber he’d used as a tourniquet. I fought a yawn while I watched as Gary answered a stream of curious questions when she saw the blood filling the vials.

I’d been halfway prepared for her to freak out, so it was a relief when she was fascinated instead. When he was done, Gary let her pick the Band-Aid color—blue to match his hair, she decided—that he used to cover the wound. Next came the sticker, a three-inch circle with a picture of a cartoon vampire with a big letter A beside his head.

Whether it was from my lack of sleep or my relief that this hospital ordeal was nearly done, I couldn’t say. But… I didn’t give any thought as to what the A represented until Maddie asked an innocent question.

“Does my sticker have an A on it because I passed the blood test?” She smiled proudly at the sticker then held it up for me to see.

Gary chuckled. “Nope, it’s not that kind of test, silly girl. The letter on your sticker stands for the kind of blood you have. Everyone’s blood has a letter that says what type it is and yours is A. Isn’t that cool?”

I sucked in such a deep breath that I nearly choked on my own spit when I realized what he’d said. Shaking my head as I coughed, I was quick to correct him. “That can’t be right, Gary. My wife was type O like I am. If I’m correctly remembering what I learned in biology, isn’t that impossible?”

He winced and looked uncomfortable as he quickly started packing up his things. “There’s no mistake, Mr. Weston. I’m surprised it didn’t come up when your daughter was born or you would’ve already known. We even verified it against the records her doctor sent over before surgery yesterday. I don’t know what to tell you but your daughter is definitely type A.”

The poor guy looked like he was hoping the floor would swallow him. I was too stunned to smooth it over while I tried to make sense of this new information when I felt Maddie tugging at my arm. “Why, Daddy? Does that mean my blood is bad?”

And just like that, everything was okay. As I shook my head and began to answer that simple childish question, I felt lighter than I had in years. It was as if a gigantic weight had been lifted from my shoulders that I hadn’t known was there. Discovering my precious little girl wasn’t biologically my daughter was the best news I’d heard since Trina found out she was pregnant.

Gary looked worried when I started laughing. And laughing. Then laughing some more.

Super slow burn at warp speed.

Confusing, right? If you love stories with single dads, you’ll enjoy this story, though if you’re a parent at all, you’ll likely spend the first half like me, saying whaaaaaaat are you doing???

See, Bradley lost his wife with whom he had a good relationship and a very sweet daughter. After losing her, he was a bit neurotic when it came to making sure Maddie stayed safe and happy, as someone who might carry the gene for Huntington’s Disease, I think it was… so he was worried about what might happen if he was diagnosed with it, what that means for his daughter Maddie (who is seriously, so cute).

Not having the best relationship with his deceased wife’s mother, he worried who would get Maddie if something should happen to him. I know, morbid, but you think about these things as a parent. So, when Maddie gets rushed to the hospital with appendicitis and has to have it removed, an ‘off-handed’ comment about blood type has Bradley realizing that he’s not Maddie’s biological father. Instead of being upset by this, he’s thrilled. No way she might have the same gene he was worried about, right?

Okay, I can see that being a relief, especially because he saw his dad suffer from it at a very young age and he lost him at a young age as well. So, I can definitely see the plus side… but just being okay with the fact that your wife got pregnant by another man and never told you, then to find out that this little girl that is your whole entire world is not yours? I would be devastated. Simply put, devastated. I’d be so mad at my SO for lying to me for so long, but not Bradley. He’s just happy…. So happy, in fact, that he jumps on social media and finds this girl’s real dad and messages him out of the blue without doing any other background search on him other than social media and a quick question or two from his wife’s crazy (and I do mean crazy) sister.

Not for me. Not in today’s world, not without an extensive background check, contacting a lawyer to see what my options are or if there’s a chance that she could be taken away, literally anything. But nope, not Bradley… he messages him out of the blue, tells the dude he has a daughter, and then offers for him to move in with him without doing any of the above-mentioned things at all! I mean, a few messages on social media where he tells you that he’s not an ax murderer is not the same as knowing he’s not an ax murderer! I dunno… I found it very hard to get past this, as a parent myself and a single parent for much of their toddler years, I could’ve never….

If you forget that these guys are virtual strangers and a little girl is in the middle of it. I actually did really enjoy the three as a little family, though it took the guys over half the book to admit anything towards each other, nothing really happened between them til about 80% in, though it was an entertaining 2/3 of the story. That’s where I went with slow burn that happened at warp speed because everything felt so rushed until the romance came in.

And everything wasn’t always easy, I liked the realness of a lot of situations, if you forget the whole first bit and how that went down… it was definitely a very cute, low angst read. I loved the relationship between Shane and Maddie and I hated that he missed so much time with her and ended up thankful that Bradley reached out to him, I just wished he’d have done it in a smarter way lol alls well that ended well though, these two were perfect for each other. I was glad about that because honestly, I wasn’t so sure about Shane in the beginning, but he grew on me quickly. I loved the way he was with Bradley, especially after they got together. He made him not seem so neurotic and overly ….everything lol

I also loved their support system, the few family members sprinkled throughout, and then Shane’s little old lady neighbor was the cutest. Overall, it was a cute story and if you like single dad romances with cute kids and hot guys, you won’t regret picking this one up. Super cute ending, too!

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: Facebook Page | Twitter | Instagram

Website | | Facebook Group: The Hawke’s Nest

Amazon Page | Goodreads | BookBub

The New Normal by L.J. Hayward: Exclusive Guest Post, Release Day Review and Giveaway

May 27, 2020 by Denise

Brian Stagliano’s life should be pretty sweet right now. Two of his closest friends are getting married, and he’s taking a new, exciting step in his career as a doctor. Most amazing though, his best mate has been given the all-clear from cancer. But Brian’s normal has just been tipped A over T and the friendship he’s relied on for years is in danger. All because of five little words.

Andrew Fitzroy should be on top of the world. The cancer that’s haunted him is gone. He can finally get on with his life—except he doesn’t know what that life is anymore. Is he brave enough to come out as bisexual? Should he pursue architecture or stay in construction? Either way, Andrew knows happiness won’t be his until he has what his engaged friends have—love, joy, passion. So, he says those five little words to Brian—I’m in love with you.

Friends since childhood, Brian and Andrew have always been closer than brothers. Best mates. Nothing could ever tear them apart. Except for those five little words. Now, Brian’s not sure about so many things—their friendship, his own desires—and the foundation Andrew’s built his world on feels like its crumbling. But if they manage not to destroy everything they have together, Andrew and Brian might just find a new normal with each other.

A Gold Coast Collage Novel, Book 1

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

Hello! I’m L.J. Hayward and you may know me from the Death and the Devil series, MM romantic suspense about a spy and an assassin. Now I have a new story for you all, the first book in a series of MM contemporary romances set in my home city of the Gold Coast, Australia. The series is called Gold Coast Collage and book one is “The New Normal”, about Brian Stagliano and Andrew Fitzroy, best friends since they were kids. They’ve shared a lot of ups and downs, including the Big C, and now they’ll have to fight to survive the next one as well—the one where Andrew tells Brian that he’s in love with him.

For various reasons, it’s been years since I’ve had a furry/feathered/scaled companion. I do plan on rectifying that soon (I really want a Bengal cat or two!), so until then (to be honest, after then even) I have to satisfy myself with giving my characters pets, so Brian and Andrew have Schrodinger. They also have Archimedes. Occasionally, they have Tolstoy. In other words, Schrody is Archy is Tolly. A cat with enough names he’s actually got an excuse for ignoring them all.

Archy began his life with Andrew and Brian as a weak, scared kitten who hid in Andrew’s shirt. He grew into a large, opinionated cat with a penchant for dairy milk and terrorising the local German Shepherd. Schrody loves his humans in his own way, but his affections are easily bought, depending on who has what he currently wants . . .

Archimedes, currently planted on the end of Brian’s bed grooming himself intimately, looked up at Andrew, gave a purely feline sniff of distaste, and went back to licking his butt.

“Traitor,” Andrew muttered to the cat on his way past to the stairs. He was barely halfway down when the cat trotted past him.

Archy was sitting by the fridge when Andrew got to the kitchen. His purr kicked in like an outboard motor when Andrew opened the fridge. Up on his hind legs, front paws on Andrew’s knee, he smashed his face into his thigh, rubbing one cheek then the other over him.

“Aw, kitty kisses. Someone wants milk.”

Archy/Schrody is based on two cats I’ve had. One was Jerry, a tiny, grey feral kitten my dad rescued from a cane field. Jerry was so little when he came home my mum had to teach him to lap milk. He grew into a beautiful giant, peaceful and patient, and while we never knew his heritage, he looked very much like a Russian Blue. My dad used to vacuum the loose fur off him. The second cat to inspire Archy/Schrody was Lister. He came from the pound and was a feisty, unknown mix who took forever to grow into his huge ears. He was hugely independent and enjoyed lying in ambush for the unwary. When Willow, a cattle dog/German Shepherd mix, joined us, Lister was the boss of her too, even when Willow grew to four times his size. I used to walk Lister on a harness and lead whenever we moved and he needed to learn his new territory because keeping him inside was impossible.

Our pets are important. They’re companions and confidants, giving comfort, loyalty and amusement. My characters are always going to have pets, even if they aren’t conventional ones.

I’ll start off with this…there was a lot going on in this book, almost too much. There were ex’s all over the place, some sleezy people, lots of friends around and in the MC’s business, and a cat who shan’t (literally) be named. Amongst all that, there were two MC’s who had clearly been together in every sense except the actual physical sense. They lived together (except when they fought), had a cat together, and carried each other through the toughest of times.

It was very clear from the beginning that these two loved each other, and so I have to say I was honestly fairly shocked that Brian became so hung up initially over Andrew’s telling him he loved him. However, as the book continued, it became clear that Brian had his own issues to deal with, since he was not out as bisexual either. That was a wild ride, as well. lol

In the end, what I enjoyed most about the book (besides the cat who could never be named, but also was quite sassy) was that the relationship evolved for them. No pressure from Andrew that Brian had to come out, once they were together. They just found a good rhythm that worked for both of them. Their friends were a bit nosy, but definitely had their friends best interests at heart…most of the time. 🙂

I enjoyed watching the evolution of these two, as they went about their daily lives, trying to figure out what was best for them together and separate. Also, as an aside, because of the book, I had to look up what chicken spaghetti was, and then made it over the weekend. Delicious! Try it. I recommend the Pioneer Woman recipe. lol

I definitely want to see what a second book in this series looks like. 🙂

4 pieces of eye candy

Hi! I’m L.J. Hayward and I’ll be your author for this biography.

Official Blurb
L.J. Hayward has been telling stories for most of her life, a good deal of them of the tall variety. She loves reading but doesn’t seem to have enough time between wanting to be a more disciplined writer, being the actual erratic writer she is, and working for dollars in a dungeon laboratory. She also lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland, but rarely sees a beach and can’t surf, though she thinks living on a houseboat might be fun. At least then she’d have an excuse to get a cat.

Me Just Rambling & Stuff
I’ve been telling tales (some of them of the tall variety) for most of my life. The first book I ever produced was about Easter, as I recall, and was written in crude pictographs. In my defence, I reckon I was about three. Stapler-binding was the format of choice (way, way before the advent of the e-book). First story with words (and pictures) was about a trip to the moon, in which I included the exhaustive research I did on the matter by saying it took three days to get there. Sadly, the trip was cut short when a puddle of blood (!! – quite gory for its day and age) was discovered on the moon, so the characters had to leave before the murderous aliens found them. Nail bitting stuff!

Beyond that, I don’t recall exactly when I began to think seriously about writing. I always enjoyed a creative writing exercise in high school, but hated scientific writing in university. Not enough room for drama or humour or unicorns. But even before I began writing stories down, I was writing them in my head. Serious writing started around the mid-twenties. Good writing started a couple of years later. Even better writing is still in progress.

As a pathology scientist, blood and medicine is a big part of my life and, naturally, have an influence on my writing. My first book, Blood Work, had its origins in how blood behaves in transfusions (vampires drinking blood is basically a transfusion, right? Right.).

Of course, recently I’ve moved into M/M romantic suspense, with the publication of Where Death Meets the Devil. I’m blaming Manna Francis’s Administration series for hooking me into the wonderfully wide and diverse realm of queer fiction. It’s a genre pool I plan on wallowing in for good long while. 😉

Connect with L.J.:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008255073283
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3357919950947183/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/L-J-Hayward/e/B00MT509K0/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3103648.L_J_Hayward
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_hayward
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lj_hayward/

To celebrate L.J.’s new release, we are giving away $10 Amazon GC and an e-copy of your choice of one of L.J. Hayward’s back listed books.

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Never Say Never by Felice Stevens: Blog Tour, New Release Review and Giveaway

May 22, 2020 by Denise

One taste leaves them wanting more…

INGREDIENTS:

Francisco “Frisco” Martinelli. Hot and spicy. Beautiful on the outside, dark and damaged on the inside. Handle with extreme caution.

Salvatore “Torre” Rossi. Sweet with a kick of spice. Gentle at first, can become swiftly and irrevocably addictive to the heart.

A RECIPE FOR ROMANCE

One snobby food critic who doesn’t believe in love

One down-to-earth food blogger who does

Add a touch of suspicious brother

A heaping serving of best friend who’s been waiting for this to happen

Blend with secret identities, past hurts, and judgments.

Stir in equal portions of desperate longing, desire, fear, and snarky humor.

Set over open flame, step back, and wait for sparks to fly.

Serve as is for an explosive love story that will leave you with a full heart and a ridiculously happy smile at the end.

Title: Never Say Never

Series: Lost in New York

Author: Felice Stevens

Release: May 21, 2020

Genre: M/M Romance

Goodreads

Amazon US

Amazon CA

Amazon UK

Amazon AU

Fool For Love

The Promise

Amazon US

Amazon CA

Amazon UK

Amazon AU

Guess who has a new favorite book by Felice Stevens? This girl! I love a broken, snarky guy. Especially when we, the readers, see how soft he really is before his love interest does.

We met Frisco back in book 1 as the best friend to Presley. You don’t have to read book 1, Fool for Love, but I think it really gets you to really want to know his story. He is snarky, arrogant, a total playboy and totally damaged. And by his full name he is a famous restaurant critic. One that has drawn the ire of Torre- a local blogger who devotes his blog to “real” New Yorkers. Not the ones who drop a grand on dinner for two at the trendiest spot in Manhattan. But the guy who knows where to get the best tacos or pizza or pasta in the outer boroughs. So he has a deep dislike for Francisco Martinelli. And Francisco Martinelli doesn’t understand why Salvatore Grant has it in for him. Lucky they know each other as Frisco and Torre, huh?

Ms. Stevens can write New York. And I mean that. New York as a character. Because it isn’t just Manhattan. It is Brooklyn and Queens and middle class working people as well. She loves New York and it shows.

Watching Frisco begin to be a “normal” person and not just the stuck up food critic is a treat. Rediscovering his first love of cooking. And perhaps discovering something like love with Torre? He sure drags himself to Brooklyn often enough to raise eyebrows. His own.

Torre is a total family guy. He lives in the basement apartment below his mother still. He drops everything to help out his brother at the restaurant by picking up a server shift. He got burned before by a guy who wanted connections. But Frisco is just a guy, right? HA!

The entire book- until the REVEAL of who they each are- had me turning the pages and holding my breath. It was amazing that they didn’t figure it out sooner, but it also made complete sense.

Of course we get Presley and a few cameo appearances by Nate. Presley wants nothing more than his best friend to find love and let someone love him. So many things with Frisco broke my heart.

So good, it was just so good. We quickly learn to love a man who we should hate. But he owns that arrogance, so just go with it.

4 pieces of eye candy

Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. She believes that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. Her characters have to work for it, however. Like life in NYC, nothing comes easy, and that includes love.

She lives in New York City and has way too much black in her wardrobe yet can’t stop buying “just one more pair” of black pants. Felice is a happily addicted Bravo and Say Yes to the Dress addict and proud of it. And let’s not get started on House Hunters. Her dream day starts out with iced coffee and ends with Prosecco, because…why shouldn’t it? You can find her procrastinating on FB in her reader group, Felice’s Breakfast Club.

You can find all my books, grouped by series in proper reading order on my website located here:

Website

Follow me on social media to keep up with all my news of releases, sales and exclusive content!

Discover my character inspirations for all my books on my Pinterest Boards here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway