excerpt

Sand-Man’s Family: An M/M Coming of Age Romance by CJane Elliott: RDB, Exclusive Author Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

August 25, 2020 by Denise

It isn’t easy to leave a family that hurts. But what if it’s the start of finding a love that heals?

High-school senior Sandy’s Catholic parents are furious to discover he’s had sex before marriage. But when he blurts out he’s bisexual, they go ballistic. To avoid conversion therapy, Sandy runs away from Rockford, Illinois to move in with his gay uncle in Portland and start a new life.

He leaves behind Jade, the fabulous out gay kid in their Catholic high school. They hooked up—once—to confirm Sandy’s bisexuality. Jade had never expected to get that far with star athlete and altar boy Sandy. But he was crushed when Sandy disappeared without even telling him.

A year later Jade and Sandy run into each other on the train going home to Rockford for Thanksgiving and form an alliance to help Sandy confront his parents. Will they keep building where they left off or will their spark turn to dust?

If you like coming of age stories, queer kids finding the courage to be themselves, and the comfort of found families, you’ll love Sand-Man’s Family.

Title: Sand-Man’s Family: An M/M Coming of Age Romance

Series: Wild and Precious Book 3

Author: CJane Elliott

Publisher: CJane Elliott

Release Date: 8/24/20

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 36,800 words

Genre: Romance, New Adult, Young Adult, Coming of Age, coming out, family drama, bisexual, college, hurt-comfort

Goodreads

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Book 1, Wild and Precious, is on sale for just $0.99 for a limited time.

Find the entire series HERE.

Hello there! I’m CJane Elliott and happy to be on the Two Chicks Obsessed blog today to share Sand-Man’s Family, the third book in my Wild and Precious series.

Sand-Man’s Family differs from the first two stories in the Wild and Precious series in the age of the main characters. In the first two novellas, those ages ranged from mid-twenties to late thirties. In Sand-Man’s Family, Sandy and Jade (and Dare, who Sandy dated before Jade) are seniors in high school (for the flashback scenes) and most of the action takes place the following year, when they are at the most nineteen years old.

I enjoy writing New Adult characters who are teetering on the edge of adulthood. They’re often still sorting out who they are in relation to themselves, their gender/sexual identity, and their relationships. Family still plays a big role, positive or negative. This is the age when people start living away from home and begin to create their families of choice. Some of them are lucky in their families of origin but many are not.

I’ve brought you a short scene that happens after Sandy’s parents bring the parish priest and a conversion therapy expert to the home when Sandy returns for Thanksgiving to continue to pressure him to give up his “sinful” bisexuality. Needless to say, they don’t succeed. Sandy is rescued by the arrival of Uncle Phineas, his partner Cody, and Jade. After confronting Sandy’s parents, they all go the Phineas and Cody’s hotel, along with Sandy’s younger brother Connor. I love that Sandy has found a loving, accepting family with his uncle, his brother, and his budding love interest, Jade.

Sandy lay on the big hotel bed, his head on Uncle Phinney’s shoulder while Connor rested on Phinney’s other shoulder. Jade snuggled in against Sandy’s back. Cody had declined the puppy pile in favor of providing soft soothing music on his guitar.

“I love you both so much.” Uncle Phinney patted them tenderly. “I’m so proud of my nephews.”

“Thanks, Uncle Phinney.” Connor’s voice sounded muffled, like he’d stuck his face into Phinney’s armpit or something.

Sandy soothed the emotions swirling inside by concentrating on the safety of Uncle Phinney’s sturdy shoulder and the soft touch of Jade’s arm around him. He didn’t want to think about his parents or his former home or his brother and sisters stuck there. He wanted to be here, warm and loved, with Cody playing softly in the background.

Cody paused. “We can cut our trip short, you know. We can come home with you if you want, Sand-Man.”

“No. I’m cool.”

“You sure?” Uncle Phinney’s frown was full of concern. “It’s really okay. Cody and I already talked about it.”

“I’ll be fine, Uncle Phinney. I’ll be where I want to be, in Portland. Blaine and Gemma are around if I need anyone.”

“And I’m only a few hours up the road,” Jade said softly into Sandy’s ear.

Sandy grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I know.” Then he peered over at Connor.

“Connor’s the one we need to worry about.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m sticking around till I graduate, then I’m out of there. I don’t want to leave the girls until I have to.”

“Call us. Anytime, day or night.” Uncle Phinney made an anxious sound. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I’m worried for you.”

Jade stirred and raised up on one elbow. “Papa’s aware of the situation. I sent him the video.”

When everyone looked at him funny, he added, “He’s got a lot of cop friends. He’ll keep an eye out. Connor, he said for you to call him if things get hinky.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

They all flopped back down, and Sandy relaxed completely. He found himself stroking Jade’s hand and wishing they had a room to themselves. As if reading his thoughts, Jade leaned up and nibbled his earlobe. Now Sandy really needed for them to get a room.

“Come to my house tonight?” Jade whispered.

“Um, Uncle Phinney?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it cool for me to go over to Jade’s? He’s gotta go to the airport tomorrow too, so I can get a ride to the shuttle with them. You guys could drop Connor off and be on your way.”

He saw Uncle Phinney smile and glance over at Cody, who smiled back. “Sure. As long as Connor is okay with his brother ditching him his last night here.”

“Whatever, man.” Connor yawned. “I’ll be here, cockblocking Cody and Uncle Phinney.”

After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, award-winning author CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane writes sexy, passionate LGBTQ romances that explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.

CJane is bisexual and an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality. In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her family supports her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.

CJane is the author of the award-winning Serpentine Series, New Adult contemporary novels set at the University of Virginia. Serpentine Walls was a 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Aidan’s Journey was a 2015 EPIC Awards finalist, and Sex, Love, and Videogames won first place in the New Adult category in the 2016 Swirl Awards and first place in Contemporary Fiction in the 2017 EPIC eBook Awards. Her contemporary novel All The Way To Shore was runner up for best bisexual fiction in the 2017 Rainbow Awards.

http://cjaneelliott.com/

https://facebook.com/cjane.elliott

https://twitter.com/CJaneElliott

cjaneelliott@gmail.com

http://instagram.com/cjaneelliott

http://bookbub.com/authors/cjane-elliott

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The Assistant by John Tristan: RDB, Excerpt and Giveaway

August 24, 2020 by Denise

Burned out ex-soldier Nick Kurosawa has drifted from job to job since he lost his family in a car crash. Lately, he’s been working on and off as a bouncer, barely managing to cover his bills; an opportunity for steady, well-paying work is just what he needs to get his life back in order.

Jacob Umber, a secretive philanthropist, gives him that opportunity. Umber has fibromyalgia and needs a personal assistant to help him with the tasks of daily living—someone strong, adaptable, and, most of all, willing to let Umber take the lead.

It seems a perfect opportunity for Nick. More than anything, he craves guidance and a purpose, and Umber gives him that in spades. When Nick starts craving more, it seems an impossible complication, but even the reserved Umber can’t deny Nick’s talent—and need—for following his orders. But Umber’s shadowy past holds secrets that could undo their fragile new relationship and any hope Nick has of a normal life.

Title: The Assistant

Author: John Tristan

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: August 24, 2020

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 52900

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, gay, Japanese-American, trans, interracial, BDSM, D/s, power play, slow burn, personal assistant, disability/ chronic illness, depression, age gap

Goodreads

Amazon

Nine Star Press

It was a clear autumn night, with the moon low and yellow above the city. Between its fullness and the lights, only a few stars could be made out, pinpoints in the raw black silk of the night. Nick stood with his fists balled above the man breathing hard in the gutter. A trickle of spilled beer ran into his hair, foaming like shampoo. He smelled sour, of sweat and fear.

“Jesus, man!” The man’s companion—a skinny young guy with a circular Band-Aid over one eye, like a discount pirate—crouched beside him. “Somebody call an ambulance! Call the cops!”

“By all means,” Nick said. He forced himself to take a step back, unclench his fists. “Let’s call the cops and tell them the whole story.”

Discount Pirate slit his eye at him and helped his companion to his feet. The man was dazed but seemed unhurt. Still—he could easily have a concussion.

Nick hesitated. “Maybe we should call an ambulance—”

“Forget it,” the man said thickly and spat into the gutter. In the neon and moonlight, the blood in his mouth looked black. His eyes met Nick’s, and this was the worst part: they understood each other perfectly. He’d wanted to start a fight, and Nick had taken the bait. Another night, it would have fallen out differently.

“Let’s get out of here,” Discount Pirate said, putting a proprietary arm around his companion’s waist and dragging him off into the darkness.

Nick let out a shaky breath. The street was empty, now; if he was lucky, this wouldn’t get back to Merritt, who owned the Hellhole. He hadn’t hired Nick to start fights but to stop them as gently as possible—de-escalation, not macho bullshit. The Hellhole was the only gay bar in Westerley, which meant it drew both the occasional snickering asshole and its share of ex-boyfriend drama. Merrick wouldn’t thank him for bad publicity.

“Jesus, Nick.”

Fuck. This was the last thing he needed. He turned toward the familiar voice. “Hey, Alex.”

Alexander Finn—his friend, once-upon-a-time fuck-buddy, and self-appointed social worker—had come up out of the Hellhole at just the wrong time. Sweat was still beaded on his pale forehead, cooling rapidly in the night air. “What happened?”

“Didn’t know you were down here tonight,” Nick said, affecting a breezy tone. “Must have been here before my shift started.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I know you’re not jealous, so you’re trying to deflect. What happened?” He took out his cigarette case—silver, engraved—and popped one into his bow-lipped mouth, then offered one to Nick.

He reached for it, then hesitated. “Haven’t smoked in months.”

Alex gave him a skeptical look. “Come on.”

“Vaping doesn’t count.”

He laughed softly. “I’ll give you that one.” He snapped the case closed and tucked it away. “Talk.”

“I don’t know.” Nick ran his hands through his hair. “The guy just. Got under my skin. It’s like he knew how to push my buttons.”

“You’re not supposed to have buttons while you’re on the door.”

“Fuck you. Give me a cigarette.”

He did; they smoked together in the neon-lit dark.

“This job…” Alex chewed on his thoughts for a moment. “It’s not good for you. This isn’t the first time you’ve let someone…push your buttons.”

Alex was right—he’d never let himself take it this far before, but there were more than a few times over the last few weeks when a sneer or a snicker or a muttered insult had gotten under his skin and launched him right in someone’s face, teeth bared, eyes glittering. His fuse frayed shorter every week he was out here. He took a long, slow draw from the cigarette and laughed bitterly. “Well. I still need the rent paid.”

“How long until your shift is over?”

Nick grinned sideways at Alex. “Why, you want to take me home?”

He sighed and shook his head, but it had raised a smile. “Just think you could do with a good night’s sleep. After that…” Alex hesitated a moment. “Can you take the next few days off?”

“I’m not back on shift until Monday evening.”

Alex nodded and took a card out of his pocket—his business card, Nick recognized—and then fished out a pen. “Turn around,” he said.

Nick did. Alex leaned on him, using his back as a desk to write on. He could feel the scratch of the pen through his shirt.

When Alex was done, he handed him the card. Nick frowned at it. There was an address on it, a place in the financial district, and a name: Jacob Umber. “What’s this?”

“Someone—someone I know is looking to hire. I thought…well, you already have a job, and I had someone else lined up, but—”

“You always have someone lined up for something, don’t you?” There was a slight edge of bitterness to Nick’s words. Alex networked—he always had a side hustle lined up for someone, for the washouts and burnouts, the ex-cops and ex-military, the bikers and drifters he seemed to draw into his orbit. His type: like Nick. “Is this meant to be charity? Because you can pass it on to one of your other tricks. I don’t need it.”

“Call it what you will. And you’re not a trick, Nicholas.” Alex leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, chastely. “You’re my friend.”

Nick swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and stuffed the card in the back pocket of his jeans. “Yeah, all right, fine. There’s no number on the card—am I meant to just show up?”

“I wrote hours on there,” Alex said. “Nine to three. Weekdays.”

“Right.”

“Nick…” He seemed to be struggling with his words. “This isn’t a guaranteed job. I can get you a way in, but you’ll have to impress.”

“Come on, Alex.” Nick flashed a smile. “Don’t you think I can pull out the stops when I need to?”

He laughed and shook his head. “I know you can. Good luck, Nick.”

“Thanks. No, really…thank you.”

He nodded and left him on the empty street. Nick took his vape out of his pocket and sucked down a nicotine cloud; he noticed his hands were shaking. There was a subtle ache in his knuckles, where they’d collided with the man’s cheekbone. He felt a tiredness deeper than exhaustion, something like lead in his bones, and on top of that, a thin hot skin of queasy arousal. He didn’t know if he wanted to sleep for a year or get fucked up against the wall of the nearest alley. Well, he told himself, right now it’s going to be neither. He smoked until his hands stopped shaking and then waited for the sky to lighten—for his shift to be over—so he could go home.

John Tristan is a multinational gay nerd, currently living in Manchester, UK. When he’s not writing, he works in the voluntary sector; when he’s not doing either, he’s probably playing video games or tabletop RPGs. After his mother banned books at the table during mealtimes, he read the backs of sauce bottles. His stories are sometimes romantic, sometimes erotic, often speculative, and always queer.

Website | Twitter

http://www.johntristan.com/

http://twitter.com/johntwitstan

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Nothing Special VII: Ex Meridian by A.E. Via: Audiobook Review and Excerpt

August 23, 2020 by Denise

Police Lieutenants, God and Day are under intense pressure from the chief to take back control of Atlanta’s streets. The last thing their task force needs is a pair of trained killers in town with a personal score to settle.

Take a man and strip him of his ability to feel compassion, empathy, remorse, or any of the emotions that make him human, but leave the ones that ignite rage and aggression and you have the perfect killing machine—now imagine two of them.

Code names Ex and Meridian are synonymous for ‘guaranteed death’ to international terrorists. Two broken men from the same crooked streets, recruited into an unsanctioned government program that few know about. Trained to operate most efficiently—lethally—together.

When Ex returns from an op in Bolivia to learn his little brother has been accidentally killed in a feud between drug gangs, he’s stateside before he can consider the rules he’ll be breaking, and of course Meridian is right beside him. There’s mayhem on the streets of Atlanta and the police are losing control. If Godfrey and his elite team of detectives can’t get the job done then they’d be happy to lighten their caseloads for them. And Ex nor Meridian care about doing it quietly.

“I know who you are.” The man grunted when Ex turned to leave. “You’re the fucking devil.”

Meridian walked past, glaring one final time. “Say that loud enough… maybe God will save you.”

But after their first run-in with the big lieutenant and his protective husband, Day, Ex and Meridian start to reevaluate their own relationship. Wondering if they could be even deadlier if they let loose the feelings for each other that they’ve been forced to suppress for years.

Meridian’s dark eyes stayed locked on his, “A man who can fight beside the one he loves doesn’t make him weaker, Ex—it makes him more dangerous.”

No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a HEA.
Note: This is a partners-to-lovers, out-for-you, action romance.

Title: Nothing Special VII: Ex Meridian

Series: Nothing Special

Author: A.E. Via

Genre: M/M Action Romance

Publisher: Tantor

Narrator: Aiden Snow

Length: 9 Hours

Audio Release Date: 07.07.20

Audible

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Neither of them spoke while they ate. Ex never felt the need to fill their long moments of silence with idle words, and his partner wasn’t a big talker. Besides, Ex could enjoy Meridian by him simply being there. His presence was just that powerful.

“So, what’s next?” Meridian asked after he’d pushed his empty plate to the side.

Ex drank some of his water, the coolness feeling good to his parched throat, but he wished he had something stronger. He reclined in his seat, mimicking Meridian’s posture and trying to appear casual.

“First and foremost, we go to Virginia and get our supplies. My contact there is ready for us, we should be in and out,”Ex explained. “Oay night. Of course, flying would be faster but we can better stay under the radar if we avoid TSA. Amtrak will be easiest to transport our cargo as well.”

“Works for me. He knows what we need?”

“Yes. As soon as we get back we can start to have some conversations around town. We’ll backtrack over the task force’s recent arrests and see what we can find. I also wanna keep an eye on that deputy district attorney. Something seems off there to me,” Ex said.

“Agreed.”Meridian put his cigarette into his mouth and finally lit it. He blew the aromatic smoke away from Ex but he still caught the robust scent of cloves.

Ex thought the smoking habit was atrocious, but he found he liked it when Meridian did it. The addiction made him seem less programmed. It was something his partner did when he was battling on the inside, and it was also something he only showed Ex.

Meridian’s eyes were half covered by his long black eye lashes, appearing as if he was enjoying what he was doing. He had one arm braced on the back of the seat and Ex could see the shiny Italian silk lining of Meridian’s jacket and the butt of his chrome Wesson Valor resting against his rib cage.

This story was overwhelming and intense while I was reading it… but hearing it? Experiencing it through this deep voiced narration had me ON EDGE. In the best way of course, but I”ll tell ya, these two make God, Day and their crew of crazies, look like kittens compared to America’s most savage defenders. Ex and his partner Meridian are the types of guys they make movies about. Jason Bourne type of guys, chemically and physically modified to be killing machines for our country. They’re the baddest of the bad, because they’re basically robots… or they should be… but when Ex’s baby brother is killed in God’s neck of the woods, the guys go rogue in order to exact vengeance on his killers. Sounds cray, right?

And oooh, what a ride it is. These two have been through everything together, they’re like two halves of the same person, so naturally, when one wants revenge, the other is at his side. Being off on their own without their handler in their ear, Ex goes through the loss of one of the only few people in the world who ever meant something to him and it was messing with his head. He felt it. Which meant Meridian felt it as well.

It opened up all kinds of feelings he didn’t know he possessed, and the biggest of that, aside from anger, guilt and pure rage at the persons responsible for his brother’s death, is his love and need for his other half. Now, I’m a reader. I read and I narrate in my own mind and it’s good. I think I’ve got a good imagination on a good day… but hearing the emotion and the longing and the torture of doing what you feel you should and doing what you need, and it was a need… I had zero words. It honestly left me speechless and when in the world has that ever happened to me? I’ll tell ya, not often.

it wasn’t one sided either, which I loved. Mere would do anything for Ex, including this off the radar mission to get justice for Ex’s baby brother. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as getting in, getting messy and getting out… Nay, we were up against dirty DA’s, dirty cops and God and Day’s crew to get around, because as we know, if anything goes on in God’s city, he knows about it and he and his guys go above and beyond to stop it. It was fun to see God’s crew stumped for a change… it made things more exciting, though, it was a lot to handle. They weren’t prepared for how dangerous these guys are at first… And it all plays out like the most gloriously action packed audio.

I wish I could tell you this whole story…but honestly, it needs to be experienced first-hand. We get to see all the guys and their guys, we get the guns and explosions and heart-stopping emotions that I’m just not used to when I’m simply reading myself. It’s about a thousand times more intense because these guys don’t have rules, they don’t have red tape, they don’t have anyone to answer to… not even God and Day and Aiden Snow is a master at conveying every feeling you’re supposed to have and ones you weren’t even ready for. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t even like audio books! I wasn’t converted until I heard this narrator and I swear to you, every time, he’s different.

And I’m borderline obsessed with these guys…They get in, they get messy and they get out, before anyone even knows they’ve been there. It was impressive and scary and it makes you think about how real these kinds of guys are and how terrifying it would be to come face to face with one, but how badly I want to do it anyway.

What a frickin ride this one. I’m still flummoxed lol I’m impressed and I cannot wait for Fox and Bull. Every book is my new favorite, though I still have such a soft spot for Ruxs and Green, and if you haven’t, you should listen to all of them too. I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of these guys in the future, too, and I am READY for it!

Overall, I wouldn’t suggest skipping any book in this series, but if you do… make sure it isn’t this one. This one deserves all the stars.

5 pieces of eye candy

A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for six years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay literature for over twenty years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great, new up and coming MM authors.

A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her.

Writing.

A.E.’s novels embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.

She’s recently celebrated her 20th book anniversary, and is well-known for her hardcore, love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.

Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peek at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48195130-bishop

Author Official Website: http://authoraevia.com

A.E. Newsletter Signup: https://goo.gl/4hfuMh

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/aeviaauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAEVia

Loving Logan (Writing Our Love Novella Book 4) by Sammi Cee: Quick Review

August 21, 2020 by Denise

Logan’s life changed forever six months ago when he lost his best friends and support system. Now it’s up to him to raise the two-year-old son they left behind.

Creed’s family teases him for being a serial dater, but that’s because he refuses to settle. He’s searching for the right person to fall in love with, but no one fits—until he meets the tattooed giant behind the bar.

Logan may look like a tough guy, but he has a shy, vulnerable side that sparks protective instincts Creed didn’t even know he had.

When Creed pursues Logan full stop, will the other man’s insecurities get in the way or will Creed get the love he’s always longed for?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Super sweet romance about a single man raising his 2 year old nephew and a man who up until now hasn’t been able to make any relationship stick.

Logan is still reeling after losing his cousin and his wife, trying to pick up the pieces and raise his 2 year old nephew. Just going through the motions; working as a bartender during the day and spending every second he can with Jakey trying to keep his life as close to normal as possible.

When Logan fills in at the spur of the moment for an evening shift at work he meets Creed. Hot, successful, personable Creed. The exact opposite of the way Logan sees himself. Creed is enamored at first sight and asks Logan out for coffee after his shift, not taking no for an answer.
The two will have to find a balance between getting to know each other and Logan’s need to be the best parent he can to Jakey. Logan soon learns that together is so much better than trying to forge his path alone.

This one is so good. There is family and romance, cute movie dates watching Finding Nemo. I really enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed, the storyline was engaging and makes me want to read it again.

5 Pieces of Eye Candy

A Guy Walks Into My Bar by Lauren Blakely: Exclusive Excerpt, Teaser and Giveaway

August 20, 2020 by Denise

Today, to celebrate the release of A Guy Walks Into My Bar by Lauren Blakely, we have an EXCLUSIVE excerpt reveal AND a giveaway for a SIGNED paperback of A Guy Walks Into My Bar, for you. I cannot wait to dig into this one! It looks super hot, fun, and sexy. Check it out below and make sure to enter the giveaway!

A sexy, passionate, utterly addictive standalone MM romance from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely!

Every bartender should follow one simple rule—don’t go home with the customers.

That’s been easy for me to stick to, until the night a cocky, confident, and sinfully charming hockey star walks into my bar. This sexy athlete is too hard to resist, especially when he makes it clear how much he wants the “sarcastic, witty, hot AF” guy behind the bar—also known as me.

Still, I’m not keen on breaking my own rules since I know where that can lead—no place good. But when that man makes his case with one bone-searing kiss on the streets of London, I throw resistance out the window.

What could go wrong with a hot, no-strings-attached fling before he leaves town in five days? Trouble is, soon our nights together lead to days, to long conversations, to getting to know each other, and to something I never expected—falling ridiculously hard for a man who’s getting on a plane to America when I live a world away.

My life is here. His is there. And no amount of falling or feeling will change that one big problem.

Warning: contains hot hotel nights, loads of dirty talk, PDA all over London, and two sexy, witty, charming heroes…

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Fitz scrubs a hand across the back of his neck, his voice hoarse. “You’re killing me. You are the sexiest man I’ve ever met. You know that, right?”

People say things in the heat of the moment, but he looks like he means it.

“I suspect it’ll be hard for you to walk right now. Why don’t I go ahead and I’ll meet you in the lobby, and you can think about tea cakes or the queen or something on the way over?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Don’t care. And I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

He pays the bill and rises, an impressive impression in his trousers.

Well, I’m not complaining about that.

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•ADD to GR: https://blkly.pub/GoodreadsGuyWalksIn and comment on this post!

After Felix (Close Proximity Book 3) by Lily Morton: Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review & Giveaway

August 18, 2020 by Denise

Sometimes the best love stories come in two parts.

When Felix met handsome journalist Max Travers, it was lust at first sight. It was just his luck that he then had to develop a terrible case of feelings and got his heart broken. However, two and a half years later, he’s over all of that. His job is going well, he has good friends, and he doesn’t lack for male company. Which, of course, is when Max has to come bursting back into his life.

Felix Jackson will always be the one who got away to Max. He’s spent their time apart regretting his actions and hoping for a second chance. When an accident lands him in Felix’s less than tender care, Max is determined to grab this opportunity. The only problem is that Felix is equally determined that he doesn’t.

From bestselling author, Lily Morton comes a story of missed opportunities, second chances, and two very stubborn men.

This is the third book in the Close Proximity series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

So, you’re buying Charlie that book? Ooh, if it’s got pictures, take some photos of them for me.”

“I’m not taking photos of pictures in a boring old book so you can wank over them without having to pay the recommended retail price.”

A woman giggles, and I grimace apologetically at her. “He won’t,” I assure her. “He prefers his porn to be actually moving. This isn’t the dark ages.” She laughs and walks away.

“Are you going to have to do your usual thing with Charlie?” he says sympathetically.

I sigh. “Yep. I’ll have to read it too, so we can discuss it. Fucking hell, it’s huge. It’s going to take weeks of my life that I’ll never get back. I’m far too young for the wrinkles that reading this shit will give me.” I seize a copy. “Wow, it’s so fucking heavy too. Still, if Charlie doesn’t read it, he can always use it as a doorstop.”

A loud laugh comes from behind me, and when I spin around, I find a man leaning against the entrance to the travel section. He’s staring at me. He’s obviously the source of the laughter because it’s still flirting with the edges of his wide mouth and dancing in his dark eyes. He’s tall and broad-shouldered with thick black hair that falls in shaggy waves and frames a high-cheek-boned face.

I blink and consider rubbing my eyes because I have never in my life seen anyone this gorgeous in Waterstones before. I hope it’s a sign that my luck has changed. As I smile at him, I make a mental note to buy a scratch card on the way home.

“Can I help you?” I ask.

He straightens from his leaning position. I let my eyes roll down his body, and it’s well worth a slow pace. His ancient jeans cling to the long lines of his legs and catch on the edges of a pair of battered motorcycle boots. A white T-shirt and a leather motorcycle jacket with stripes down the arms complete the outfit.

“Just listening to your little book club,” he says casually, folding his arms over his chest. “It sounded lively.”

“Oh, really? Did you want to join? I have to tell you that there’s an admission price and you’ll have to learn the password and the group theme song.”

“What’s the theme song?”

“Pink Floyd’s ‘We Don’t Need No Education’,” I say.

He laughs.

“Oh my God,” Tim hisses in my ear. “That’s your sexy, snarky voice, Felix. You’re flirting with someone, you dirty bitch.”

“Bye, Tim,” I say, clicking End on the sound of his laughter.

Wow. Felix definitely wins the snarkiest of snarky awards. Lily Morton always has sharp witted dialogue, dripping sarcasm and usually a lot of laughs. But Felix might have been a bit TOO snarky. Especially in part 2.

Anyway…this is book 3 of a series but can easily be read as a stand alone. We met Felix in book 1 as the personal assistant of Zeb. He easily stole scenes he was in and I was looking forward to his story and happily every after.

Felix is the classic one off, no strings, no relationships guy. Until his sarcastic comments get noticed by a guy in a book store. Their “one off” turns into a mutually beneficial friends with benefits (but no strings!) deal.

Felix and Max definitely play off of each other. Max zings Felix right back and they can’t keep their hands off of each other. After a few months Max ends up bringing Felix to the wedding of his former work partner, best friend and sex buddy. Fans of Lily Morton will recognize a lot of characters. But that ends up being a BIG mistake. I was MAD at Max. MAD. He was a jerk. There was no innocent miscommunication here. Felix was justified in his hurt and anger.

Max realizes the error of his ways. TOO LATE BUDDY! (I told you I was mad right?) Everyone moves on. But Felix and Max keep running into each other. Of course it is by design of someone they are both connected to. Ultimately, months later (maybe a year? I’m a little fuzzy) Max and Felix are thrown together again and Felix is guilted into helping Max with his book tour. Cute, right?

And I get it, Felix was still hurt, but still cared for Max. But really, he was a jerk. And Max laughed him off. It’s in his nature to do that and the whole defense mechanism thing but ugh. I wanted to slap him.

Ignoring Felix’s beastly behavior, Max works on winning him over again. And it was swoony. He definitely redeemed himself. And in the process showed Felix that it is ok to love and be loved.

I really enjoyed how the book was split in 2. Felix and Max as friends with benefits, big break up. Then Felix and Max as tentative friends, big wooing romance.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Lily writes contemporary romance novels, and specialises in hot love stories with a good dose of humour.

Lily lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven’t had a proper conversation with her since she bought her first Kindle.

She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else could she get to spend her time with hot, funny men!

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – chocolate Baileys! Her lifetime’s ambition is to have a bath in peace without being shouted by one of her family.

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