Christina Lee

Regret by Christina Lee: Quick Review

July 23, 2017 by Denise

When Brian “Brin” Schubert’s condo floods, he takes his co-worker up on the offer to stay on his crappy futon for a while. The last thing he expects is for his friend’s roommate to be the one guy he despises the most. The same guy who stomped on his heart senior year of high school. And by the looks of the girl on his arm, the same man who’s still deep inside the closet.

Nicholas Dell never predicted that eleven years later, one of his greatest regrets would show up on his doorstep down on his luck. Nick has made some terrible mistakes—story of his life—and he’s been paying for them ever since. And if the guilt and shame aren’t enough, his first crush had to turn into one of the sexiest men he’s ever laid eyes on.

Nick and Brin have weeks to steer clear of each other. Weeks to avoid strangling each other. But when stubbornness leads to skyrocketing sexual tension, hate-sex doesn’t seem like such an awful way to work through their frustration. Except hate is a powerful emotion, especially when it’s turned inward. And in Nick’s case he’s been drowning in a sea of self-loathing for so long, he can’t see his way out.

As Brin reconnects with Nick, his perception of what really happened in their past begins to change. He’s finally ready to forgive him and take a second chance on the one guy who stirs him like no other. But Nick’s demons are complicated, heart-wrenching…demanding. So devastating, he might never allow himself true happiness—even with the one man who’s always owned his heart.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I can pick up a Christina Lee book and know that it will be a good book. Enjoyable, sexy, not a ton of angst. I liken them to comfort reads. They are kind of a safe place, good stories that probably won’t make me cry and that is ok. And they will give me a happily ever after.

All of the above is true for Regret. A sort of second chance love but maybe more of an enemies to lovers story.

I started out really liking Brin. He seemed like a good guy. And faced with the guy from high school who not only blew him off, but set him up for ridicule, I felt badly for him. But then he became kind of bratty. Nick is who I really ended up feeling sorry for. He seemed contrite and wanting to make things right with Brin- but couldn’t get him to crack at all.

What I couldn’t understand was why Nick hated himself so much. Until the truth came out. Ugh, my heart. It was broken. And then Brin totally redeemed himself to me by being there for Nick. That was a twist I wasn’t expecting. I want to say more, but I don’t want to give anything away.

Ms Lee writes 20-something guys really well. They are current without being caricatures or stereotypes. They are just guys living life the best they can.

So yes, this was the comfort read I expected, with a bit of a twist that I didn’t expect and a happily ever after that left a smile on my face.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Regret by Christina Lee: Release Day Blitz, Excerpt and Review

June 27, 2017 by Denise

REGRET

CHRISTINA LEE

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 06.26.17

COVER DESIGN: KANAXA

Nick and Brin have weeks to steer clear of each other. Weeks to avoid strangling each other. But when stubbornness leads to skyrocketing sexual tension, hate-sex doesn’t seem like such an awful way to work through their frustration. Except hate is a powerful emotion, especially when it’s turned inward. And in Nick’s case he’s been drowning in a sea of self-loathing for so long, he can’t see his way out.

As Brin reconnects with Nick, his perception of what really happened in their past begins to change. He’s finally ready to forgive him and take a second chance on the one guy who stirs him like no other. But Nick’s demons are complicated, heart-wrenching…demanding. So devastating, he might never allow himself true happiness—even with the one man who’s always owned his heart.

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2rjELhF

Amazon

Regret Teaser 1

3 Regret Teaser

Tally pawed at the pillow for a few seconds before finally sinking down, apparently resigned to her position. I straightened to back out of the room, only then allowing my gaze to slide over Brin’s sleeping form. My pulse spiked when I noticed his eyes on me.

“Not sure Tally will want to sleep without you,” he rasped out. The words were like a thunderbolt to my chest. As if he was referring to more than the dog finding her way to my bed.

“Not sure I’ll want to sleep without her,” I replied in a hoarse voice, attempting to get my emotions under control.

Without you. Because you’ve taken up residence inside my heart once again. But maybe you’ve always been there, winding inside my rib cage, coiling around my lungs. Making it impossible to breathe, to think, to stop wanting.

As I turned to leave, his warm fingers curled around my wrist, searing into my skin. My breath caught in my throat. It was the first time he made the first move and my heart bloomed into an impossibly large bouquet of hope and aching desire inside my chest.

Our gazes snagged and held as his other hand slowly reached for the edge of the blanket and pulled it aside.

Regret (Under My Skin, Book #1) Christina Lee

This is a second chance kind of story between Nick and Brin, who went to high school together and crushed pretty hard on one another. Brin was the smart one and Nick a jock, which in high school, as we all know, doesn’t go so well…Also, Nick was closeted, but not because of typical reason’s… just trust me, it all makes sense.

My heart broke for Nick; for all he’d been through in his life. I couldn’t imagine such tragedy and to be honest, the few times I got frustrated with him, it was impossible not to understand where he was coming from, because… you could see the hurt in him, every second. He carried such guilt with him, it was impossible for him to see passed anything else. He knew he hurt Brin, he’d thought about him often over the years, but never seen him again, until his roommate Elijah offered their guest room to his friend from work…Who just happened to be Brin.

It’s rough at first, because like I said…Brin was hurt and angry at Nick and Nick, had such a low self-worth and he was hurting too. Brin didn’t make it easy on him, which hurt to read because you could see how remorseful Nick was. Brin didn’t know the facts though, he didn’t know what Nick was living with, then and now. Had he given him a chance to explain all those years ago, he might’ve but I feel like, it wasn’t their time then. I feel like Brin came back into Nick’s life at a time he really needed him and I was so happy when he finally confided in Brin.

This story was hard…I definitely shed a few tears during their journey, which isn’t really saying much because I’m a crier…but, it was so heartfelt and raw and heartbreaking and hopeful that you can’t help but to feel for both of these guys and their families. Similar in a way.

I loved seeing Brin’s family being so accepting, even though I saw the reservations his dad had, I was so glad that got worked out by the end. I loved Nick’s mom, being a mom myself, I couldn’t imagine seeing my kid in so much pain all the time, I felt like Nick needed her to set him free from everything he was carrying…And while she done what she could, Brin done the rest.

I don’t want to spoil too much of it and it’s so hard, especially when all I want to do is gush about it.

If you like second-chance romances with heartbreaking storylines and happy endings… you’ll love this one, as did I. I can’t wait to see what happens next for these guys and I’m really hoping for more about Elijah, and him getting away from his controlling boyfriend. Overall, it’s a great start to a really good series, I can’t wait to read more.

4 pieces of eye candy from me!

CL Pic

Mother, wife, reader, dreamer. Christina lives in the Midwest with her husband and son–her two favorite guys. She’s addicted to lip balm, coffee, and kissing. Because everything is better with kissing.

She writes MM Contemporary as well as Adult and New Adult Romance. She believes in happily-ever-afters for all, so reading and writing romance for everybody under the rainbow helps quench her soul.

WEBSITE

FB FAN GROUP: THE SWOON ROOM

INSTAGRAM

NEWSLETTER

Touch the Sky by Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn : Blog Tour, Review and Excerpt

April 5, 2016 by Denise

Touch the Sky

Free Fall, Book 1

Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn

New Adult M/M Romance

COVER DESIGN: Natasha Snow

PHOTOGRAPHY: Giovanni Dall’Orto

RELEASE DATE: 03.28.16

AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/1RV49A0

AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/25oGoY7

AMAZON AU: http://bit.ly/1SbDVGP

B&N: http://bit.ly/1ZBf8S5

iBook: http://apple.co/22rX0iC

Lucas Barnett and Gabriel Stewart didn’t have it easy as kids. They were only trying to deal with bad situations at home when they became lifelines for each other. Their pipe dream was to someday meet in LA, where Lucas would design skyscrapers, and Gabriel would learn to fly. But then Gabriel disappeared without so much as a goodbye, and Lucas got himself in trouble with the law.

Five years later, both men are at a loss when they run into each other at a Hollywood bar. Lucas is still angry, but it’s not as if Gabriel could control how his mind and body had betrayed him. Being found on the ledge of that bridge had changed everything.

The attraction is immediate, but it’s more than their inability to keep their hands off each other. Neither man expects the fierce connection pulling them together. Unfortunately, ignoring their problems doesn’t make them disappear. Gabriel’s internal struggles are serious…dangerous. And no matter how much Lucas wants it to be true, saving Gabriel won’t make up for not being able to save his mom. If they don’t find the strength to face their own demons before the darkness takes hold, they risk more than just losing each other forever.

Goodreads Link

lucas

touch the sky teaser 4

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to speak for you. If you want to—”

“I don’t,” I say, finally meeting his gaze. “I only want you too.”

His eyes soften and he exhales a hard breath as if we’re finally on level ground. I feel giddy with relief and contentment as I clutch at his hand and drag him to the dance floor. At first he protests about his drink but then he places it in an empty spot on a ledge.

It’s a pulsing rap beat and my body feels like a live wire. My hips start swaying, my hands rise in the air, and the vibration of the music takes over. Lucas has no trouble keeping up with me, though not with as much enthusiasm.

“Fuck, you’re sexy,” he rumbles in my ear. I feel his hips gyrating as he grasps my waist and slides up behind me. His hard length is digging into my ass and that only spurs me on more.

After a few numbers, I follow Lucas to the back wall where we find a spot to rest between other couples swaying to the music. He pins my shoulders against the column, his breath heavy, eyes glazed over with lust, as his lips crash against mine.

My fingers reach for his waist but he grabs hold of them and raises my hands above my head as he bites my lips, licks into my mouth and then sucks on my tongue. Holy fuck, if we weren’t in a public place I’d ask him to pound me straight into oblivion.

“I didn’t know you could dance like that,” he rasps against my cheek as he releases his grip on my hands.

His fingers connect with my neck and he hauls my lips to his again. His tongue digs deep in my mouth and I groan shamelessly as I grab on to his hair and pull him flush against me. I’m so thoroughly turned on that my eyes practically roll to the back of my head.

He drags his mouth away and licks along my jawline up to my ear as he arches his hips into my groin. “You’ve got me so goddamn hard.”

“Yeah?” I ask, gasping against his neck. “Well, I know how to take care of that. Remember, you’ll need to beg.”

He laughs and kisses the side of my head. “Not here. I’d rather have you in my bed tonight.”

I love Nyrae Dawn. I love Christina Lee. So, when I was given the opportunity to review Touch the Sky, it was a no-brainer that I jumped all over that like a fat kid goes at cake. (and don’t get crabby about that, I was the fat kid with the cake)

As it turns out, I also love Gabriel and Lucas. There were times through the first half of the book when I felt like the story was dragging out a bit, but once I finished, I couldn’t think of a single moment that could’ve been pulled out and still given the story the same impact it had.

It was raw and painful seeing how circumstances kept these two apart when they were younger. So many “if only” moments that made them appreciate what they had in the present.

What struck me most about Touch the Sky was how the authors handled Gabriel’s bipolar episodes. My heart shattered for Lucas, desperately trying to save the man he loved. For Gabriel when he did something he didn’t necessarily want to do. For both of them as they started to overcome their situation, but weren’t where either of them wanted to be.

And in the end, seeing them both truly living for the first time in years was amazing!

Nyrae Dawn

Nyrae Dawn pic

Nyrae Dawn can almost always be found with a book in her hand or an open document on her laptop. She couldn’t live without books—reading or writing them. Oh, and chocolate. She’s slightly addicted.

She gravitates toward character-driven stories. Whether reading or writing, she loves emotional journeys. It’s icing on the cake when she really feels something, but is able to laugh too. She’s a proud romantic, who has a soft spot for flawed characters, who make mistakes, but also have big hearts.

Whether she’s writing young adult, new adult, or adult you can always count on a healthy dose of romance from her books. She likes to tackle tough subjects, and believes everyone needs to see themselves in the stories they read.

Nyrae is living her very own happily ever after in California with her gorgeous husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two incredibly awesome kids.

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/nyraedawnwrites/?fref=ts

Website:

http://www.rileyhartwrites.com/p/home.html?zx=48696725e5833865

Blog

http://www.rileyhartwrites.com/index.html

Twitter: @NyraeDawn

Christina Lee

Once upon a time, I lived in New York City and was a wardrobe stylist. I spent my days shopping for photo shoots, getting into cabs, eating amazing food, and drinking coffee at my favorite hangouts.

Now I live in the Midwest with my husband and son—my two favorite guys. I’ve been a clinical social worker and a special education teacher. But it wasn’t until I wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper that I realized I could turn the fairytales inside my head into the reality of writing fiction.

I write Adult, New Adult, and M/M Contemporary Romance. I’m addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. I believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChristinaLee

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/Christina_Lee04

Touch the Sky by Nyrae Dawn and Christina Lee: Release Day Blitz including Excerpts and Teasers

March 28, 2016 by Denise

Touch the Sky

Free Fall, Book 1

Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn

New Adult M/M Romance

COVER DESIGN: Natasha Snow

PHOTOGRAPHY: Giovanni Dall’Orto

RELEASE DATE: 03.28.16

AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/1Ryugwl

AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/25oGoY7

AMAZON AU: http://bit.ly/1SbDVGP

B&N: http://bit.ly/1ZBf8S5

iBook: http://apple.co/22rX0iC

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29145268-touch-the-sky

touch the sky teaser 5

Small airplane against a stormy sunset sky

I grab a piece of pizza and we finish the whole box, while drinking soda and watching a horror flick on TV. With each minute that passes, Gabe gets closer to me. It’s not one of those lame-ass things you see in movies, where the distance keeps shrinking while they get the balls to make a move. I just think Gabe craves contact—skin and flesh and warmth. And even though I’m not typically like that, I suddenly want to give it to him. Or maybe I’m just a selfish bastard and I’m fooling myself because I really just crave him.

So I do it, blatantly just move closer. Our legs touch, jeans against jeans. Our arms though? That’s skin against skin and I think maybe I really do crave skin and flesh and warmth the same way he does. At least when it’s him, I do.

The movie ends, and out of the corner of my eye, I see his head turn. Feel his gaze on me.

I want to taste him.

Me taste him. I’ve felt his lips twice and both times were both Gabe’s doing. This time it’ll be mine. I turn to him, touch his cheek with my left hand, let his hair slide through my fingers and then grab on.

Then I’m leaning forward, my tongue at the seam of his lips. Gabe opens up for me and I thrust my tongue inside. The feel of him, the taste of him goes straight to my head—both my dick and the one on my shoulders.

He moans into my mouth as I push closer to him. Reading my body language, Gabe turns, lies down so that he’s on his back and I’m between his legs, leaning over him.

My dick aches. I feel his, hard and thick against my stomach as I kiss him deeper.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I say as my lips slide down his neck. I can’t believe I just said that either.

Gabe’s hand tightens in my hair and his hips move, as he rubs his erection against me.

“I can’t believe it either.” He’s breathless, his voice hoarse with lust. It rocks through me and I suddenly want nothing more than to see what he looks like when he comes.

Nyrae Dawn

Nyrae Dawn pic

Nyrae is living her very own happily ever after in California with her gorgeous husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two incredibly awesome kids.

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/nyraedawnwrites/?fref=ts

Website:

http://www.rileyhartwrites.com/p/home.html?zx=48696725e5833865

Blog

http://www.rileyhartwrites.com/index.html

Twitter: @NyraeDawn

Christina Lee

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChristinaLee

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/Christina_Lee04

The Deepest Blue by Christina Lee : Quick Review

December 14, 2015 by Denise

Lee exchanges skyline for swampland in the next book of her male/male romance series, Roadmap to Your Heart.

Rugged and conventional Callum Montgomery enjoys running Shady Pines hunting preserve, except for the secret that’s eating him alive. When his sister brings a date for a family wedding, he can’t stand the arrogant city slicker with the stick up his perfectly fine ass. He doesn’t understand his draw to Dean, who pushes his buttons at every turn, but he’d never dream of betraying his sibling over some lust fueled fantasy.

Handsome and conscientious Dean Abbott is a research assistant in his university’s biology lab. When his roommate, Cassie, begs him to be her pretend date in front of her meddling family, he begrudgingly agrees to help. He doesn’t anticipate being enchanted by the countryside, the colorful cast of characters, or her sexy and brooding straight brother.

When contempt turns to passion and leads to stolen moments in a sugar cane field, Callum can’t help longing for the kind of connection he believes he can never have. But not even the world’s most heart-melting kiss can bridge the vast philosophical differences between the men.

Dean’s return to his urban lifestyle leaves him restless, his mind continually wandering to the charming setting that spoke to something missing deep inside him. Because you can take the city boy out of the country but you can’t make him forget the intriguing man he left behind.

Author: Christina Lee

Title: The Deepest Blue

Series Title and Number: Roadmap to Your Heart #2 (can be read as a standalone)

Publisher: Self Published

Release Date: 12-4-15

Genre: LGBTQ Romance

Tags: Contemporary, M/M Romance

Heat Level (1 being no sexual content, 5 being erotica): 4

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 250 pages

Amazon

Most of the time, every book in a series follows the same characters in the same world. Early in The Deepest Blue by Christina Lee, I felt a bit lost because there was nothing about this book that followed The Darkest Flame, which is the first book in the series. That feeling didn’t last long, because Christina Lee is a master storyteller and she sucked me into the Montgomery family and left me needing more.

The biggest fear with this book was that it could’ve easily taken on a Duck Dynasty feel with the southern, backwoods family and the city boy. It didn’t. It toed the line a few times, but never stepped over into something cliche and annoying.

I wanted to slap Callum on more than one occasion, because it was so obvious to me, the reader, that most of his family loved and supported him. But it wasn’t just his family he had to worry about, and he acted the way he did because he was trying to protect his family. Was that necessary? Quite probably.

Yes, there were some moments that seemed a bit out of character, mostly on Callum’s part. Yes, there was a moment or two where I wanted to slap Dean for treating Callum like an uneducated hick. But overall, I love this book just as much, if not a little bit more, than the first in the series.

Christina Lee has written two complete standalone books that have a very minor tie holding them together. That’s a good thing, because you will lose nothing if you pick up The Deepest Blue without having read The Darkest Flame. That being said, you really should grab both of them because both are among my favorite reads of this year.

4.5 pieces of Eye Candy

The Deepest Blue by Christina Lee : Book Blitz, Excerpt and Giveaway

December 6, 2015 by Denise

Lee exchanges skyline for swampland in the next book of her male/male romance series, Roadmap to Your Heart.

Author: Christina Lee

Title: The Deepest Blue

Series Title and Number: Roadmap to Your Heart #2 (can be read as a standalone)

Publisher: Self Published

Release Date: 12-4-15

Genre: LGBTQ Romance

Tags: Contemporary, M/M Romance

Heat Level (1 being no sexual content, 5 being erotica): 4

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 250 pages

Book/Buy Links: Goodreads | Amazon | iBooks | B&N

“Isn’t there some law about killing snakes in this state?” I heard our company say. Even out of the corner of my eye I could see that the guy was one of them pretty city boys. He was walking beside my sister, Cassie, who was busy filling him in on rattler containment on personal property. He must’ve been the guest she’d mentioned bringing.

Did he need to be that handsome? Too bad he had to go and open his mouth.

“We can always walk away,” I said. I didn’t dare take my eye off the rattlesnake for a second time. “But that leaves you out here with no protection.”

I heard him gulp at the same time Grammy snickered. “Sounds like our Cassie might’ve brought home some tree hugger.”

Grammy gripped the heavy rock in her fingers, ready to bash the rattler’s skull at a moment’s notice.

“They say when a rattler strikes, your blood turns to fire. Like the venom is boiling away in your veins,” I said and I could hear whatshisname’s breathing change. “You’ve got about a ninety-minute window of time before the poison spreads.”

“And then what happens?” he asked, and I could just imagine his pulse throbbing in his neck. I heard his one foot scrape across the other as if rubbing some imaginary dirt from his spotless shoes. Either that or it was some nervous tick.

I shrugged. “Then you’re dead.”

“Callum. Knock it off,” Cassie said and I could hear the tightness in her voice. It pained me that we hadn’t been in touch for a long while and I certainly didn’t want to piss her off even further.

The snake retreated toward its hiding spot and disappeared without a second glance at the mouse. Damn.

Now I looked our new guest square in the face while my irritation bubbled over. Grammy had banked on making a fresh batch today. Lately I left the hunting to my brother, Braden, but he had a full plate, so I agreed to be a stand-in. “You Cassie’s date for the wedding?”

“That’s right. I, uh, attend the same college,” he said and I couldn’t help my gaze from snagging on the deepest set of blue eyes. Not quite as dark as that tangle of hair that swept in a high arc away from his forehead. Wearing a pair of fancy designer jeans that showed off his trim form, he was smaller than me, but most guys were. And now I felt shitty for checking out my sister’s guest. “The name’s Dean Abbott.”

Now I live in the Midwest with my husband and son—my two favorite guys. I’ve been a clinical social worker and a special education teacher. But it
wasn’t until I wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper that I realized I could turn the fairytales inside my head into the reality of writing fiction.

I’m addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. I believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.

I write Adult, New Adult, and M/M romance. I also own a hand-stamped jewelry business, which requires me to stamp letters and/or words onto pieces of silver. They go hand-in-hand perfectly.

Visit my WEBSITE.

Or my FACEBOOK author page.

You can also find me on TWITTER.

Tour Schedule

12/4/2015	KathyMac Reviews	www.kathymacreviews.com
12/4/2015	Reviews by Tammy and Kim	http://tammyandkimreviews.blogspot.com/
12/5/2015	Nose Stuck In A Book	http://ycervera.blogspot.com
12/5/2015	Obsessive Reading Disorder	http://obsessive-reading-disorder.blogspot.com/
12/5/2015	Readers Live A Thousand Lives	http://readerslive1000lives.com
12/5/2015	Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy	twochicksobsessed.com
12/6/2015	Drako’s Den	drakosden.weebly.com/blog
12/6/2015	Lili’s Books	http://lilisbooks.canalblog.com/
12/6/2015	Mikky’s World Of Books	http://mikkysworldofbooks.blogspot.fr/
12/6/2015	Sinfully	http://sinfullymmbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/
12/6/2015	The Novel Approach	http://thenovelapproachreviews.com
12/7/2015	Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words	http://ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords.com
12/7/2015	Unrandom Randomness	http://bronwynheeley@blogspot.com
12/8/2015	Abbey’s 1-Click Book Blog	http://www.abbeys1clickblog.com
12/8/2015	Alpha Book Club	http://alphabookclub.org
12/8/2015	Bayou Book Junkie	http://bayoubookjunkie.blogspot.com
12/8/2015	Inked Rainbow Reads	www.inkedrainbowreads.com
12/8/2015	JB’s Book Obsession	http://jbsbookobsession.blogspot.com/
12/8/2015	Literary Nymphs Hot List	http://literarynymphshotlist.blogspot.com/
12/8/2015	MM Good Book Reviews	https://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
12/8/2015	Nautical Star Books	http://nauticalstarbooks.com/
12/8/2015	Southern Babe’s Book Blog	Www.facebook.com/southernbabesbookblog
12/8/2015	The Literary Gossip	http://literarygossip.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway