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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

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Rules to Ignore (Davey’s Rules Series Book 7) by Susan Hawke: Excerpt and Quick Review

June 10, 2020 by Denise

Davey’s Revised Rule #1: A good Daddy will love his boy with all his heart.

Davey Hendrickson doesn’t mind being forever single when he’s got his bestie at his side. It’s not that he wants to be single. He’s spent most of his adult life searching for his own perfect Daddy. Even if he’s not naturally submissive, someone that fabulous is obviously meant to be a boy… right? Over the years, he’s dated every type of Daddy imaginable but not one of them could come close to meeting the requirements from his ridiculous list of rules.

After losing his husband, Sammy Robustelli has learned to be strong while raising two children on his own. No matter what life has thrown his way, nothing seems too hard with his best friend and roomie Davey at his side. When the two friends learn that people believe they’re a couple, they can’t help but laugh. The very idea is a big joke… until it isn’t.

It only takes a few wake-up calls before Davey wonders what happens if a guy might be in love with the best friend he can never have. It could never work for a pair of boys in need of a bossy top, right? Except… maybe Davey doesn’t know himself—or Sammy—as well as he thinks.

This is the final book in a series about not-so-perfect Daddies, adorable “boys,” and one sassy brat with an insane list of rules. Grab your fan and tissues because this series comes with both a high heat advisory and all the squishy feels you’d want from a Susan Hawke book.

Rules to Ignore

Davey’s Rules Series Book 7

Susan Hawke

M/M Romance, Daddy/boy

Release Date: 03.16.20

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Preston finally held my card out, but didn’t release it when I reached for it. “Not so fast, boo. I know you’re going to disappear the second I let this go—and you’ll be too distracted to pay attention when I read the announcements—so I want to run over a few things. We have the tables set up in a row against the far wall, as we discussed. You’ll begin your date by handing this card to the moderator.”

“Moderator? And who will that be?” Preston looked irritated when I interrupted, but I wasn’t sure I needed my interactions to be judged.

Preston rolled his eyes. “We discussed it, remember? Pay attention, sweetie. Our regulars have volunteered to act as moderators. They aren’t there to interact, so just ignore them. They will take each of your cards and rate your three-minute date. At the end of the event, we’ll look through everyone’s cards and match couples according to those ratings. You’ll have the same moderator, because you won’t change tables. So I’d suggest picking someone you like before you choose their table. When the bell rings, the boy will move on to his next date while a new one will take the seat in front of you.”

When he finally let go of the card, I frowned at it for a second. “No wonder I didn’t know what was going on, that sounds complicated. I probably zoned out during our planning sessions.”

“Right? You did seem to get distracted easily, now that I think about it.” Preston paused and smiled kindly. “Relax, Davey. The only thing different about tonight is the length of the date and the side of the table you’re sitting on. Remember to keep an open mind and have fun. Besides, didn’t I see Sammy walk in with you? If he’s doing the mixer, at least you know you’ll have a three-minute break to bitch at your bestie about what I’m putting you through.” He paused to waggle his eyebrows. “Unless maybe you’d prefer to make better use of those three minutes and explore the chemistry everybody sees between the two of you.”

Okay, so while it’s true I’ve only discovered this series this week, I was so excited to see that Sammy gets another chance at happy because he deserved it so much. It broke my heart when he lost Raph, so I was just waiting, hoping for something amazing.

Then Davey… it’s hard to find words for him. He’s one of a kind, that’s for sure. Determined to find his own Daddy, we’ve gone through this whole series with the hopes that he’ll eventually find him by the end, right? …. Didn’t quite go down like that, did it? Though I’m so happy that within finding himself, he did it with his best friend and beautiful soul, Sammy.
I loved seeing him step up and help Sammy raise his little family. I adored their friendship and I feel like it’s exactly what they both needed, to give Sammy time to grieve and to learn to be okay with moving on and finding love again. He’d been with him since the very beginning and it was perfect.

The only thing that I didn’t quite understand, is that Davey has run a kink club for what, 10-15 years now? And he doesn’t understand the logistics of the different kinks? How? I only know what I read in books like these, and you’re telling me that he thought that big guys were tops and little guys were bottoms and alllll kinds of other stereotypes that are so ridiculous that I’m like, what?

Davey, who was probably as open-minded as they came and had claimed to have seen every kink in the entire world, especially at his club, and had never seen a leather Daddy be a bottom, or the big jock guy be a bottom or a big guy like Sammy, be submissive??? Never? I found that so incredibly hard to believe and his ignorance on the matter was just…. Not right. I don’t know how to explain it, it threw me for a loop. Annnnnnd, while everyone else saw Davey and Sammy as a couple, it never, in all the years, occurred to them that they loved each other? But once they opened their eyes to it, it was like, oh yeah, and they jumped right in? I just didn’t buy it.

Another thing that bothered me was Samantha Jade… that girl, at 12 had one of the world’s worst attitudes, she was a disrespectful, BRAT… one that could’ve given the old Preston a run for his money. Now, I have a 14 and a 15 year old, so I’m not one of those parents that shame other parents, or one of those people with no children trying to tell other people how to parent… but OMG, how can you be so good at disciplining Sammy, but Samatha Jade? That girl deserved a smack in the mouth MORE than once, and she’d have been grounded for about a year, had she been my daughter for sneaking out in the middle of the night at TWELVE…. Wow….

Aside from those two things, I did love seeing Sammy and Davey give each other a try. Not only was it extremely hot seeing Davey flip flop and switch up to a Daddy, though I did have to try to forget how he was in all the other books because seeing him as a Daddy was just…. Weird after 7 books of seeing him as a boy. Diva Daddy also didn’t quite work for me, but… to each their own, I reckon.

I dunno, I hate to be so prickly about it, because I was so so excited for this story, and in a lot of ways, it really worked for me, but in other ways, it just really didn’t. I’m on the fence. I also really hoped to see something great happen with Ethan, though I was glad that Davey helped him, I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a story, whether a spin-off or whatever, I bet he’d be so cute!
So, while this one didn’t work for me as well as the other ones did, I will say that I’m glad that they both got their HEA, I really did adore Sammy so much. ♡

3 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.

Amazon Author: https://amzn.to/30s3xOp

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

Uniting Hearts: Discovering Me #3 by AM Arthur: New Release Review

June 9, 2020 by Denise

Can their hard-won romance survive a new test of love and devotion?

Cole Alston’s only goal when he returned to his rural hometown was to offload his inherited property and leave. Now, he’s very much in love with Jeremy, and he’s determined to make his own career goals mesh with the life he wants to build here. But an unexpected announcement from Jeremy throws Cole’s carefully ordered life completely off track.

Adjusting to their new normal isn’t easy, but Jeremy Collins is determined to make things work. To build the life he’s always wanted with Cole by his side. Reality doesn’t always place nice with dreams, though, and it will take both men’s strength and love to truly unite as a family.

This is a brand-new conclusion to the Discovering Me trilogy.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

The is book 3 of a triology. All three books follow the same couple. So don’t read this book (or review) until you’ve read the first two. Which are totally worth it.

I loved Jeremy and Cole right from the start. I wanted to protect Cole from the world. But Jeremy swooped in. He didn’t “save him” but just helped him be his own person.

And then book 2. Grr. I don’t like disliking a character, but seriously. Bethann was ridiculous. I still don’t think I have forgiven her.

And now, the conclusion to their story. Again Bethann has a HUGE thing to ask Jeremy. Which is like OMG. I kind of get it, but then again- nah. She put Jeremy on the spot. Which in turn causes Jeremy to put Cole on the spot. Not cool.

Working through this big thing brings a lot of feelings up for everyone. Maybe I don’t hate Bethann still. But I also don’t love her.

I am being vague. I get it. But I have to or I will spoil left and right. And I don’t want to do that.

Let’s just say it was a satisfying ending to their trilogy and the epilogue was perfect.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

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

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The Engineer by C.S. Poe: New Release Review

June 9, 2020 by Denise

1881—Special Agent Gillian Hamilton is a magic caster with the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam. He’s sent to Shallow Grave, Arizona, to arrest a madman engineer known as Tinkerer, who’s responsible for blowing up half of Baltimore. Gillian has handled some of the worst criminals in the Bureau’s history, so this assignment shouldn’t be a problem. But even he’s taken aback by a run-in with the country’s most infamous outlaw, Gunner the Deadly.

Gunner is also stalking Shallow Grave in search of Tinkerer, who will stop at nothing to take control of the town’s silver mines. Neither Gillian nor Gunner are willing to let Tinkerer hurt more innocent people, so they agree to a very temporary partnership.

If facing illegal magic, Gatling gun contraptions, and a wild engineer in America’s frontier wasn’t enough trouble for a city boy, Gillian must also come to terms with the reality that he’s rather fond of his partner. But even if they live through this adventure, Gillian fears there’s no chance for love between a special agent and outlaw.

Title: The Engineer

Book #: 1

Series: Magic & Steam

Author: C.S. Poe

Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Genre: Steampunk, gay romance

Release: May 28, 2020

Amazon

BookBub

Goodreads

The thing about C.S. Poe’s writing is she writes characters and storylines so different than what you might see in a “typical” contemporary romance novel that it is easy to suspend belief when it comes to the reality of a steampunk storyline.

This was a short novella, really a prelude, to what I am hoping is another fun series by this author. I love that the author always writes characters with heart, some serious flaws, and gifts that you just can’t quite imagine. This book had a lot of 1881 references, but also some references to things that would not have been available back then, and that’s what made it so fun! Steampunk can be whatever the author wants it to be, and then some. You haven’t really visualized a book until you visualize a transformer train in the streets of the Wild Wild West…just sayin…

Gillian and Gunner are going to be a fun couple, and I would guess going to keep each other on their toes.

A fun start to another anticipated series.

4 pieces of eye candy

C.S. Poe is a Lambda Literary and two-time EPIC award finalist, and a FAPA award-winning author of gay mystery, romance, and speculative fiction.

She resides in New York City, but has also called Key West and Ibaraki, Japan, home in the past. She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful and a major weakness for toys. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats. She’s rescued two cats—Milo and Kasper do their best to distract her from work on a daily basis.

C.S. is an alumna of the School of Visual Arts.

Her debut novel, The Mystery of Nevermore, was published 2016.

Author Media:

| C.S. Poe’s Curious & Mysterious |

Looks Can Be Deceiving: An M/M Age Play Romance (The Lodge Book 2) by Quinn Ward: New Release Review

June 8, 2020 by Denise

How can a single parent long for someone to call Daddy?

Everything I do is to make sure my daughter has a good life. More often than not, that means I have to ignore my own desires, but she’s worth it.

Working at a kink club might not have been my best move, but the tips make up for the torture of being faced with my fantasies every night.
One night, that’s all William asked for…

One night will never be enough for me. As soon as I felt his arms holding me while I fell asleep in his lap, I was hooked. He encourages me to be little, but understands it’s not something I can give him all the time.

He loves me just as I am, whether I’m little and needy or on my knees and begging for him.

When the sides of my life collide, will it all be too much for William?

Looks Can Be Deceiving is the second book set at The Lodge, the quirkiest kink club in Annandale. It features an overworked single dad and a retired soldier who avoids any structure in his life until his boy needs mandated nap time and play time

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Okay, so I’m coming into this series late, but that’s okay, it didn’t take anything away from the story for me. I am curious to go back and read some, though I will say that this one took me a bit to get into because my husband’s name is Corey and it was hard to separate it when his name was spoken, especially when he was little. I also dunno how I’ll go back and read about Jack, as that’s my dad’s name and I dunno if he’s a Daddy or not, but… also very weird.

ANYWAY… in this one, we have William and Corey. Now keep in mind, I don’t know these two from any other story but this one, so if they make an appearance in previous books, I dunno. William though, is retired from the military and moved to town to be closer to his sister, who now has a teenage son and has been a single mother with no help from their parents, he feels guilty for being away when she needed help…. Trying to make up for it now, he still likes the fact that he can kind of do whatever he wants with no one tying him down anymore. I’m sure being career military would get tiresome doing everything on someone else’s time, I can understand his need to not have any ties… though his sister and nephew kind of are, his nephew is out and in college now, so he really has no responsibilities to speak of… unless you count the work he does at his friend’s club from time to time, but he isn’t there in any official capacity, he doesn’t even technically work there….still, that’s where he meets Corey.

Corey, I felt a kinship with right away. A single dad (which is absolutely my kink) with a selfish baby mama and an adorable daughter that he’s breaking his back to give the best life to because of said selfish baby mama. Not only did I have a selfish baby daddy before meeting my husband over a decade ago, I related with the arguments and the constant having to readjust schedules for their irresponsibility. I also loved that he didn’t just jump in and throw his kid into anything until he was 10000000 percent sure about whatever it is. Kids come first, period and even in a romance novel, I was glad to see that.

Aside from all that, William and Corey did not start out on the best foot. William was a bit of an assumer, especially when he found Corey sleeping on the couch in the office of the bar or calling in at what is definition of the very last minute without having someone to cover his shift …. So it was rocky at first, but when William opened his eyes and started seeing for Corey for all the is and all that he’s struggling with, especially his need to be little, he offered him everything that Corey needed but was too afraid to ask for.

After William stopped being stubborn, I adored how patient he was with Corey and how he too, put Corey’s needs before his own. I enjoyed seeing him get Corey to open up and feel comfortable in this space that he longed for but never felt comfortable acknowledging. He thought that maybe one day, but until his daughter was grown, he didn’t know how to delegate because he never had the time to even explore…. Did I mention the selfish baby mama? Yeah, you won’t like her, I dind’t and never warmed up for her, even if she did end up doing the right thing for the kid she didn’t really seem to care about… but whatevs on that… it’s probably my own prejudice of selfish parents clouding my judgement there.

I did have a little trouble with the “dark” parts of their sexual relationship though only because it seemed so opposite and came out of nowhere for me. While I find it appealing in some aspects, I didn’t know if I liked the very very slight humiliation and diiiiiirty talking while Corey was little. To each his own, I am all for that, but it seemed out of place to me. Again, probably just to me, but I thought I’d give it a mention.

Overall though, it’s a very sweet story with an adorable little girl, a very vernerable and needy little and an endlessly patient Daddy, along with some sweet side characters/family members as well. I’m really curious to read more about William’s nephew and his roommate/boyfriend/little, Chase. I think he’ll be super cute and I hope they’re next. For now, I’m off to read what I missed by coming into this series in the middle.

4 pieces of eye candy