Jay Hogan

The Science of Attraction: A Mackenzie Country Story by Jay Hogan: Book Excerpt and New Release Review

February 26, 2024 by Denise

I am Mackenzie Country born and bred. Farming the high country runs in my blood, like my father, and his father, and my great grandfather before him. My future has been mapped out for me since the day I was born. Or at least it was, until Liam Skelton walks onto Lane Station, lights a fire in my heart, and turns my whole world upside down.

Bossy, tatted, and out and proud, Liam is everything my father abhors.
And I want him.
Badly.

But having a chance with Liam means risking everything. My family. My future. And my life in these mountains that I love.
Still, the heart wants what it wants, and mine wants Liam.

With so many things against us, maybe we don’t have a chance.
Maybe we’ll crash and burn.
Or maybe we’ll find a way to have it all.

Title: The Science of Attraction

Series: Mackenzie Country #3

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

When we arrived back at the cottage, Jules looked pretty much like I figured I did—grilled to within an inch of his life. I’d barely stepped in the door when he grabbed my hand and pulled me back out onto the veranda and proceeded to kiss me like he hadn’t seen me for months. I loved it, along with far too much of the man actually doing it considering I’d only known him a month.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologised, brushing my hair out of my eyes. “How bad were they?”

“It was fine,” I reassured him. “I just have to be nice to you if I don’t want my balls fed to Holden’s stud Angus bull while they’re still attached. A terrifying thought if I let myself dwell on it too much.”

“Oh god,” he moaned. “I’m gonna kill him.”

I laughed and grabbed his arm before he could follow through. “Forget it. Besides—” I lifted up on my toes and pressed our lips together. “—I have zero intention of being anything other than very, very nice to you.” I palmed his dick through his jeans and squeezed. “So, I figure I’m safe.”

His eyes rolled back in his head and he thrust into my hand, adding in a strangled voice, “The kennel shed out back should be friend-free if we hurry.”

“No time for that.” Zach waggled his brows at us through the window.

“Fuck me,” Jules groaned under his breath.

“I heard that.” Zach smirked. “But Gil needs a hand on the barbecue and your name was volunteered.”

“Go on.” I gave Jules a shove toward the front door and then slapped his butt on the way. “We have all night.”

He grumbled over his shoulder, “If there’s anything left of my nerves after the Gordon Ramsey of the Mackenzie is done using me as his bitch.”

I laughed and gave him another shove.

Oh man I knew this would be good, and I was right.

Full disclosure, this can be read as a stand alone, but you should really read the first two for quite a bit of back story.

Ok. Julian. Jules. Golden son. First born. Running the sheep station since his father had a stroke. His very bigoted father. The one who kicked out his other son for being gay. Which is why Julian has buried the fact that he is bisexual. That’s a can of worms he doesn’t want to open. They have enough problems with his father still trying to run the station even though he physically and mentally can’t.

So the family hired one of the best therapists in New Zealand to help Paddy with his rehabilitation. And when he just walks into the family home in the middle of a situation, Jules worries about that can of worms.

Liam is out and proud and isn’t afraid to call people out. Even people he is hired to help. Like Paddy. There’s quite a bit of tension which just reinforces Julian’s desire to bury his attraction to men. Except Liam ticks a bunch of boxes Jules didn’t even know he had.

This is a great story that really allows Julian to grow and to come into his own. He is moving the station into producing better wool, spending where it needs to be spent as an investment. Without the support of his father. Or his father’s best friend who lives there as well.

But with his father out of the day to day grind, Julian shines. He is a great boss, working right alongside the other men, never expecting them to do something he wouldn’t. Which is the biggest reason most of them know he’s been sneaking around with Liam.

I won’t say much more because there’s a lot of story there. But none of it was tedious. I gasped, I cried, I swooned, I cheered.

I will say that I love that Jay Hogan (and other authors) from New Zealand or Australia don’t pander to American readers. Kiwi slang is used often and it’s fun looking things up. Plus I feel like I learn stuff reading these books. I google everything to get a good idea of where the story takes place.

I think this one is the strongest story of the three. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books. But this one, with Julian standing up for himself, growing into his own man, I loved it.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Heart, humour and keeping it real.

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

Find Jay in all the places: https://www.jayhoganauthor.com/landingpage

The Mechanics of Lust: Mackenzie Country #2 by Jay Hogan: Excerpt and New Release Review

October 23, 2023 by Denise

. .

I broke the rules and fell in love with my best friend. Newsflash. He didn’t feel the same. I had to stand by and watch him fall for someone else. Moving on hasn’t been easy since we all live and work on the same high country sheep station, but I’m finally getting there.

I’m building a new life, a new set of dreams, planning a different future, just me and my dogs. The last thing I need is Luke Nichols, the sexy, enigmatic, ex-husband of my nemesis, filling my head with a laundry list of cravings. Talk about complicated.

Luke is only in Mackenzie Country for a few months and I’m not about to put my heart on the line again just for a little fun. But the more I’m around Luke, the harder it is to remember exactly why Luke and I are a bad idea, the worst idea.

Things between us are about to go nuclear.

Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe we can keep it simple.

Maybe I can satisfy my cravings and hold on to my heart.

And maybe pigs can fly.

Note: This book contains references to the past loss of a child.

Title: The Mechanics of Lust

Series: Mackenzie Country #2

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

“Speech, speech!” A slow clap reverberated off the faded walls of the Oakwood pub’s back bar, which locals had affectionately named The Fleece.

I put my back to the wooden bar and watched a furiously blushing Gil throw Holden a withering, you-are-in-so-much-trouble glare before stepping onto the small stage. He surveyed the crowd from under the Happy Fortieth Birthday banner, which had taken four of us an embarrassing amount of time and a few beers to finally get in place.

I was amazed we’d managed to keep the surprise party a secret, but somehow we’d done it, and Gil had been stunned, tearful, and touchingly overwhelmed when he’d walked into the packed bar to a loud chorus of happy birthday that rattled the rafters.

As I listened to his emotional thank you to everyone who’d turned up to celebrate, including some of his friends who’d flown in from Wellington, it was hard not to be charmed by the man. Not quite a year in the district and Gil’s name was almost as synonymous with Miller Station as Holden’s. This was partly due to their gay-couple status, but also because of the run of free seminars Gil had begun offering locally on grief, stress management, and rural mental health. The result was a bar chocka with birthday well-wishers.

And I was one of them.

Cue the shocked gasps of disbelief.

Keeping my eyes on Gil, I shuffled sideways to let a man in at the bar behind me.

“We must stop meeting like this.” The gravelly voice sent a shiver down my spine, and I turned to find a familiar pair of blue eyes dancing over my face.

Luke Nichols. Dammit.

Luke flashed that wicked smile that always made my dick sit up and pay attention and just, damn my bad luck. The man smelled of Tom Ford, summer, and trouble, and I cursed the familiar tingling sensation his proximity always managed to induce in my body. A fact that only strengthened my resolve to make sure he caught my eye roll. He did. But the amused smirk he returned my way didn’t help matters.

“Well, look who the cat dragged in.” I tried not to lean in for another waft of that expensive cologne. “Guess there’s no show without Punch, right?”

Luke gave an amused snort. “I guess not.” His gaze raked over me, head to foot, before he turned his attention to the small stage where Gil was winding up his speech. “Ah, the birthday boy.”

I followed Luke’s gaze, pretending to listen while shooting covert glances back his way because . . . well, because I was an idiot. And because he looked so fucking edible. Dressed in dark-wash jeans paired with a crisp white shirt—open at the neck and with the cuffs rolled up to reveal the green silicone wristband he always wore—Luke looked annoyingly cool as a cucumber in the late January heat that had the rest of us layering on the deodorant.

Smelling fresh from the shower, Luke brushed a stray lock of dirty blond hair back into place in a way that made me want to shove a hat over my own shaggy, auburn waves. A woven black leather cord hung around his neck and disappeared under his shirt, and a pair of trendy black loafers poked out from the bottom of his jeans. It pained me to admit it, but the man was effortlessly chic.

Enough already. I refocused on Gil who was gesturing to Holden to join him on the small stage.

“Get up here, baby.” Gil drew Holden in for a long, slow kiss that had the birthday crowd whooping and wolf-whistling.

I waited for the once familiar knot of jealousy in my chest, but it never came. Wistful? Sure. Envious of what they had? Absolutely. But jealous still? I thought about it again. No. Maybe I was fooling myself, but I was going to take that for a win.

Luke leaned in close. “Does this feel as weird for you as it does for me?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “I’ve no idea what you mean,” I lied.

His lips twitched in an almost smile that I chose to ignore. “Oh really?” he asked sardonically. “Because here we are, you and me, at a party celebrating my ex-husband’s birthday, thrown by his new love who just happens to be your best friend slash ex. One could be forgiven for saying it’s a bit of a mindfuck, right?”

When I didn’t answer, he elbowed me gently. “Oh, come on. A little conversation won’t kill you.”

I huffed. “Says you.” I was being a dick and we both knew it, but that was par for the course as far as things between us went.

To be fair, Luke had attempted to build a bridge many times since our inauspicious first meeting. He’d arrived uninvited at the station the year before in an attempt to force Gil to talk and I’d been . . . less than welcoming. I might not have liked Gil much at that time, and I still didn’t know the whole story of what had happened between them, but to walk out on your husband six months after your daughter was killed in a car accident? The rest of Miller Station might have found a way to gloss over that fact and forgive him, even Gil. But as far as I was concerned, how much more did you really need to know about a guy?

Not to mention, getting all buddy-buddy with the man would’ve meant having . . . conversations and likely being paired up to work when he helped out on the station. The problem was that any proximity to Luke brought with it a minefield of potential disaster best avoided.

Luke was sexy as shit and his obvious interest in me might fizz in those wicked blue eyes. But he was trouble with a capital T, and I wanted no part of him for too many reasons to list. Although if I did happen to list them, right at the top would be the fact that my body lit up like a Christmas tree every time the man came within spitting distance.

Not since those first times with Holden had I felt anything like that.

Maybe not even then, and that fact just plain pissed me off.

Too bad I was done with complicated men.

D O N E.

Well. I thought book one made me cry. Then I read book 2. Yes, you really should read both to get the full story.

What this book, even moreso than the first because it takes place after the first, shows with such compassion is how grief affects a person. In daily life and long term. And how continuing to live your life is the best thing you can do.

Luke lands himself in Oakwood, the closest town to Miller Station to be a helicopter pilot, at least temporarily. He’s also been untethered since his and Gil’s daughter died and their marriage fell apart.

I love when a broken up/divorced couple are mature enough to realize that sometimes, for a myriad of reasons, they didn’t work out. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to hate each other. Zach didn’t really get the memo that there were no hard feelings and decided he didn’t like Luke on principle. Mmmkay

Zach was dealing with a lot. His father threw him off of their sheep station, cut him out of the business and will and openly mocks him in public. So he’s a little raw as well.

He does do that typical “I am not a relationship guy, blah blah blah”, but that doesn’t stop he and Luke from getting down and dirty. Often. And they think they are keeping it on the down low. But they are in a remote area of NZ with not a lot of people. Things get noticed. Except the oblivious Holden.

I loved that Zach rally encouraged Luke to open up about Callie and to feel his feels. Of course that just makes Luke fall a bit harder. Zach just needs to let himself feel his feels.

I really love the setting for these books. It’s so unique and interesting to read about. It’s obvious that research went into making life on a sheep station realistic. I loved revisiting it and the people there.

4 pieces of eye candy

Heart, humour and keeping it real.

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

Find Jay in all the places: https://www.jayhoganauthor.com/landingpage

Strut (Style Series, Book 2) by Jay Hogan: RB, Excerpt and Release Day Review

July 14, 2022 by Denise

. .

New Zealand farm boy turns New York fashion model.
Fairy tale? Maybe. But it hasn’t been easy. A year in this crazy city, working my tail off just to survive in a ruthless industry where sex sells and boundaries are too readily crossed.

A year and a reassuring ocean away from Hunter Donovan—a sexy, humiliating mistake that I’m not about to repeat. Distance is good. Distance is safe.

But now Hunter is back. In New York. In my life. In all those treacherous feelings that haven’t gone anywhere. But when my world suddenly crashes and I have to piece myself back together and fight for my career, will Hunter be there when I need him? Will we have what it takes to make it through this, together?

Note: This book contains themes of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Title: Strut

Series: The Style Series #2

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Release date: July 14th, 2022

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Halfway down the block I came upon a small queue outside a tidy brick establishment which proved to be Color. The distant thrum of Ariana Grande leaking through the double wooden doors onto the sidewalk reminded me I was close to a generation older than most of the guys ahead of me waiting to get in.

I joined the line, ignoring a low whistle of interest from one of the guys as I passed. I took his appreciation as reassurance that my skinny black jeans paired with one of Rhys’s new season tight black-and-white-checked T-shirts passed muster. I checked my phone as I waited and fired off a text to my younger sister knowing it was afternoon in New Zealand. A few seconds later the phone rang in my hand, and I smiled and swiped it open.

“Hey, sis.”

“Hey, you. I’m heading to the supermarket. What’s up?”

The line shrank by a couple of guys, and everyone shuffled forward. “Not much. I’m waiting to get into a bar and thought I might catch you.”

Silence. “Hunter Donovan is in a queue?” She chuckled. “You don’t do queues, bro. I thought you rarefied fashionista types skipped those pesky things.”

“It’s not that level of club,” I explained. “Think popular, off-the-beaten-track gay bar. I doubt I’ll see anyone I know and certainly no one who knows me.”

“A gay bar? Ohhhhh, are you on a date?”

“No, I am not on a date. You know me. Besides, I’ve only been here two days.”

“You’re right. I do know you. Which means you’re cruising for some pretty arse. You after a bit of downtown rough, big brother?”

“Jesus, Patty, you sound like a low-budget movie, and we are not having that conversation. Ever. If you must know, I met a guy I worked with in Auckland and he happens to tend bar here. I said I’d drop by.” Kind of, almost.

“Riiiight.” She sounded sceptical. “Do I know them? You’ve always said the best thing about your trips to New York was all the great clubs. I’ve never known you to waste your time on suburban bars.” My sister was way too perceptive.

“True, but this is that model from fashion week last year? The guy Rhys discovered—”

“Oh my god,” she blurted. “That gorgeous hunk of drool you shot for Flare. Alec someone, right?”

“Alec Williamson. He got signed by Cage Talent after the show and has been in New York since. I ran into him quite by chance.”

Patty was quiet for a few seconds as the cogs in her brain ticked over. “But you liked him, right?”

What the fuck? I said nothing

“You can’t lie to me, Hunter. I know you. He’s the one hanging in your office on your wall of fame, aka my personal wall of hotness. He’s wearing Rhys’s design. Holy shit, Hunter. Do you have a thing? Are you—”

I needed to shut this down fast. “He’s hanging there because it was my best friend’s signature shoot for his new label,” I argued. “Not because it’s Alec.”

“Mm-hmm.” There was an irritating smile in her voice. “Pull the other one. I called into Flare that day, remember? You couldn’t take your eyes off him. Neither could I, to be honest, but you were a little smitten kitten.”

I so was. “I so wasn’t. You’re dreaming. Alec is a great model, that’s all. If I was smitten, it was on a purely professional level.”

“And yet you’re queuing to have a drink at the place he works?”

Well, when you put it like that. “Maybe.” It was all she was getting. “It’s the friendly thing to do, right?”

“Aha. Yep. Very neighbourly of you. Oh, here’s a thought. If you like him, how about you keep it in your pants for once, at least for more than a day? Get to know him.”

Too fucking late. “Oh, look at that, the bouncer’s waving me in. Gotta go, sis. Nice talking to you.” I stabbed the End Call button, stared at the double doors for a second, took a deep breath, and then pushed through.

The immediate assault to my eardrums almost rattled my brain from my skull. Add that to the heaving crowd and multicoloured light display circling the room and dripping down the walls, and I needed a minute to orient myself. I passed the coat check desk and slid against the closest wall to take a look around.

The place was humming, the music pulsing loudly above the thrum of a hundred different conversations, while the surprisingly spacious dancefloor writhed with every possible combination of couples, throuples, and dogpiles of slick bodies. Like the queue outside, it was a younger crowd, mostly early twenties, but with enough around my age to drop the creep factor to acceptable. I watched the dancers for a bit, appreciating all the hot skin and tight muscle on display before scouting the bar.

“You wanna dance?” A warm body leaned close, and I turned to find an attractive dark-haired man just inches from my face. He had the greenest eyes I’d ever seen and a pouty mouth made for sucking cock. He licked his lips and ran his hand up my arm. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

On any other night I would’ve had him down the back and on his knees with my dick down his throat in about five minutes flat, but I wasn’t even tempted—a disturbing fact that was worth an alarm bell or two. Instead, I simply smiled and covered his hand with mine.

“Thanks. You’re pretty hot yourself, but I’m meeting someone.”

After reading Flare, the first book in this new series, I couldn’t wait for Strut. Totally worth the wait. You don’t have to read Flare, but you should. I said so.

Strut time jumps us almost a year or so. Alec was signed by a modeling agency and has moved to New York City. He is hustling all he can modeling, trying to make a name and face for himself. But it is a tough gig. He’s in a 3 bedroom apartment with 9 other models. They rack up debt with the agency (I had no idea this was a thing and I was scandalized) and many have second jobs. Alec is a bartender at a small gay club on the weekends.

Then one day he runs into a photographer from his home in Auckland. The photographer who helped him (and his friend’s design line, Flare) get exposure. Same guy he had a hot encounter with at a bar and watched as he immediately walked away. THAT guy.

Honestly, I’m surprised it took them a year to run into each other. Yes, NYC is big, but the male modeling world isn’t. Anyway. Even though they both were so obviously into each other back in New Zealand, Hunter ran and Alec was pissed, and he isn’t getting over it quickly.

Let me first say that this is the first book by this author that wasn’t set in NZ. It was set in NYC which I am very acquainted with, growing up less than an hour away. And I’d like to say well done. There were no stereotypes of the City or it’s people. That was SO refreshing. No clichés, distances between places was correct, etc. New York City was a gorgeous background character in and of itself.

I loved how Alec did not immediately swoon over Hunter. He didn’t even want to hear his apologies or excuses or anything. Bravo, Alec. But Hunter wore him down, pulling romance he didn’t know he had right out of his back pocket.

Alec runs into some trouble with another photographer when he is up for a campaign that will completely change his career. There are rippling effects to this trouble and Alec enlists his friends in NZ.

Seeing everyone come together- including other models and his model roommates was great. And something that I am positive happens in real life and is never spoken about. So this really broadened an already big issue without downplaying the original issue.

Alec and Hunter are great together. Their personalities just mesh and even though Hunter is new to the whole boyfriend thing, he really tries to be the best one he can.

If you loved Flare, you will love Strut. Even if you didn’t love Flare you will love Strut. A book that was romantic and sexy and real life conflict and awareness raising with a plot.

4 pieces of eye candy

. .

Heart, humour and keeping it real

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

Find Jay in all the places: https://jayhoganauthor.contactin.bio/

Flare: Style Series #1 by Jay Hogan: RB, Excerpt and Release Day Review

April 25, 2022 by Denise

Fashioning a heart, love by design.

FLARE

My own fashion label. The shiny new sign above the door means everything. My dream. My life. Worth every gruelling hour I’ve spent making it happen. Nothing can stop me now. Not the fear. Not the nightmares. Not my sad excuse for a love life. And certainly not Beckett Northcott, the sexy English professor who wouldn’t know a fitted shirt if it slapped him in the face and who has flannel down to an art form.

I don’t date for a very good reason, and yet Beck makes me want to break every damn one of my rules. But with my debut at Fashion Week looming, my business in trouble, and Beckett Northcott peeling open my terrified heart to a future I’ve never imagined, the threads of my carefully woven life are unravelling at the seams.

I could walk away. Or I could take a chance that Beck and I might just have what it takes to fashion a new life, together. A fresh design from a new cloth.

Past sexual assault and PTSD.

Title: Flare

Series: The Style Series #1

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Release date: April 21^st, 2022

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Rhys

Shayne extolled the virtues of his lookbook in painful detail, careful to point out all the high-profile designers he’d modelled for. The message was clear. If I wanted Flare, my shiny new label, to succeed in its first appearance at Fashion Week, I needed him, front and centre. I didn’t even have an open call going. He’d just arrived on the doorstep of Flare and assumed I’d be interested, no, gagging to see him. I’d have choked on the sheer audacity if it wasn’t for the fact he had a point.

I did need something, but it certainly wasn’t his or anybody else’s bullshit.

My gaze flicked over his shoulder to where my shop assistant stood with his lips flattened against the glass, his tongue darting obscenely in and out. Kip made no bones about his gutter-dragging opinion of the excruciatingly beautiful but arrogant-as-fuck model, and I made a fair attempt at swallowing my laugh. But the resulting half snort almost blew the show.

Shayne spun in his seat, but you had to be quicker than that to catch Kip Grantham napping—his attention locked on his steamer as he pressed my new season feather-collared jackets fresh from my manufacturer. He gave Shayne a waggle of his fingers that got ten points for insolence but didn’t fool anyone.

Shayne turned back with his lip curled. Beauty never made up for a personality that verged on the nasty, which was only one of the reasons Shayne wouldn’t be gracing my runway anytime soon. The other reason being his tendency for drama with a capital D, and I prized composure as much as looks in the models I employed.

“All my slots are gone for this year, sorry,” I lied unapologetically, doing my best to ignore Kip thumbing his nose in the background.

“That’s not what I heard,” Shayne said tartly.

Bugger.

“I can wear anything well, and you know it.”

Which was unfortunately true, but beside the point. “I’m sure you’ll have a ton of designers clamouring to add you to their list once they know you’re back. I’ve already chosen the one pinch-hitter model I’m allowed from outside the casting call. You missed that day, right?” I couldn’t resist the dig.

He sniffed. “I was overseas. Miami. Stockholm.” He waved a hand in the air. “The casting agency contacted my agent, of course, but it couldn’t be helped.”

Behind Shayne, Kip gave an epic eye-roll that would’ve given the London Eye a run for its money.

Shayne studied his fingernails. “And yes, I’ve had a lot of requests since I returned. But I like your work, Rhys. It’s a little raw, but there’s a freshness to it—”

I imagined strangling the man by his Hermes scarf, knowing Kip would help me hide the body.

“—and since this is your debut year, I thought I’d give you first shot at me. I can help make that splash you need.”

Again, unfortunately true. But Jesus fucking Christ, he’d never speak like that to a seasoned designer. It was all I could do not to boot the arsehole from my office, but New Zealand fashion was a tiny industry, and the last thing I wanted was to earn a name for myself as a prima donna in my first year.

“I’m flattered you thought of me.” I almost choked on the words as Kip mimed hanging himself with his tie while walking downhill. “But not this time.” Read ever.

Shayne stared, bewildered, like I’d lost my ever-loving mind, and maybe I had. Then he shrugged. “Well, I hope you don’t come to regret your decision.” He shoved his lookbook in his fashionable Burberry satchel with an audible huff. “Young-gun invites only happen once, right?”

“Right.” I nodded sagely, wondering if it would be considered a service to humanity to throttle dickhead sanctimonious pricks on a Friday afternoon before they were let loose on an unsuspecting weekend. If it wasn’t, I was going to petition for a law change. “I guess I’ll have to rely on my actual designs, won’t I?”

He sent me a look that said he knew there was an insult in there somewhere, but I wasn’t worth the effort to search for it.

“I should be getting back to work.” I pushed to my feet and circled around the desk, making it clear the meeting was over.

Shayne gathered his coat and satchel and then stood. “I, um, ended things with Marc, in case you were wondering.”

I wasn’t and looked puzzled just to piss him off. “Marc?” I knew damn well who he was talking about.

He narrowed his gaze. “Marc Norman.”

“Oh. Shame.” I felt oddly relieved for Marc, who was in fact a lovely guy, if a bit . . . vacant.

Shayne ran his gaze slowly up my body and I suddenly needed a shower. “Maybe you and I could do . . . something?”

Not in a million years. “Thanks, but I’m too busy to date right now.”

He shot me a sly grin. “It wouldn’t have to be a date.”

And yeah, I might’ve thrown up in my mouth. “The answer’s still no.” I plastered a grin in place. “Sorry.”

A spark of annoyance flashed in his eyes, but he didn’t push.

“Let me walk you out.” I ushered Shayne past Kip, who discreetly stabbed a finger in and out of his mouth, and then out the front door of Flare and into the crisp June air laced with salt from the harbour beyond. As soon as the coast was clear, I spun back to my assistant, my mouth open in a silent scream. Kip raced to my side, and together we watched Shayne cross the road and disappear from view in a cloud of Yves St Laurent and pissy flounce.

“Oh. My. God. That man is a douchebag of the highest order.” Kip slipped his arm through mine and pulled me toward the service desk. “He’s always dropping into the shop looking for you. I put him off as often as I can, but he does actually spend money, so I don’t want to piss him off too much. I don’t know why he’s so fucking popular.”

I snorted a laugh. “You mean apart from his scorching angular waifish look and ability to have both men and women drooling over their credit cards as they rush to buy whatever the fuck he wears?”

Kip huffed. “People will follow any idiot off a cliff if they look like they know what they’re doing. Your clothes stand on their own, Rhys. They don’t need a pretty clothes horse.”

I shot him a look and he pulled a face.

“Okay, maybe one or two pretty clothes horses wouldn’t go amiss.

BIG trigger warning for this book. Sexual assault on page (kinda) but it is talked about throughout as it is a big big plot point.

Now you know.

Ok. We start 22 years ago when Rhys was an underage guy who just wanted to go to the newest gay club and dance with his best friend. Instead he is roofied and raped.

Time jump to present. Rhys is an up and coming fashion designer who recently left a well known designer to create his own label. He also opened a clothing store that carries not only his work, but other designers as well. He has also been invited to participate in fashion week as a new designer.

An angry teenager with sticky fingers and his uncle come into Rhys’ life. The uncle, Beck, who wears a lot of flannel and clothes that are way too big and doesn’t know a thing about fashion. But he does know poetry. There’s a bit of miscommunication between Beck and Rhys leading to ruffled feathers and that seems to be a running theme with them.

What follows is a couple of guys who really want each other but their issues have issues. It is messy, but they deal with the mess as best they can.

There are a lot of characters involved in this book-which is nice because real life people have people! Kip, the only employee that Rhys has. And he would be lost without him. Jack, Beck’s nephew. Drew, a trans kid who does not have a good home life, Hunter and Rafe, best friends of Rhys and Beck, etc etc etc… All of them added to the story for the most part. Leon, the neighbor tattoo artist just seemed to antagonize Kip but I see a book in their future.

Jack really grows up throughout the book as well. Between working in a high fashion store with Rhys and Kip to befriending Drew, he positively blossomed. I kind of wish he started modeling. I think he can really do it.

Ultimately, the poet and designer work through everything thrown at them- and there is a lot- to get their happily ever after.

I really loved this book. My biggest complaint, if you can even call it that, was Beck being SO accommodating to Rhys. I mean, he is a nurturer, but still. I wanted him to stand up for himself a little bit more.

There was no magic cure, no “Rhys is better now!” Instead it is a realistic representation of what survivors go through- even 20 plus years later.

4 pieces of eye candy

Heart, humour and keeping it real.

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

Find Jay in all the places: https://jayhoganauthor.contactin.bio/

In Step: Painted Bay #3 by Jay Hogan: Excerpt and Release Day Review

February 10, 2022 by Denise

When hearts collide on the dance floor.

Karma. You reap what you sow, and KANE MARTIN isn’t looking for forgiveness.

But the arrival of ABE TYLER in Painted Bay has Kane dreaming of the impossible. The sexy, silver fox choreographer is determined to pull Kane out from the shadows, but Abe’s career isn’t about to shift to Painted Bay, and Kane’s life is in neat little boxes for a reason.

A past he isn’t proud of.

A family he’s walked away from.

A job he doesn’t deserve.

A secret he’s ashamed of.

But life’s dance can make for unexpected partners, and learning to trust and keep up with the footwork is the name of the game.

Two steps forward, one step back.

It takes two to tango.

Trigger Warning: Contains references to past abuse and bullying.

In Step: Painted Bay #3

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Standalone: Yes

Amazon

Off Balance: Painted Bay #1 – Kindle Unlimited

On Board: Painted Bay #2 – Kindle Unlimited

Apart from the rain clearing, nothing had gone right on the mussel farm all day, and everyone was in a foul mood by the time we docked at six, in the dark and much later than usual. We’d let Martha know not to hang around, and the entire wharf was cloaked in evening shadow apart from a glow in Morgan and Judah’s boathouse and another in the studio out back.

Were Judah and Abe still working? I knew Morgan didn’t like Judah pushing himself too hard. Then again, it was none of my business.

We cleaned up and left Patrick talking furtively on his cell while the three of us, and Mack, headed toward Leroy’s SUV, still bitching about the pissy day.

“Is Patrick seeing someone?” I glanced back. “He’s been very close-mouthed about his social life lately. And he’s been on his phone a ton.”

Leroy snorted. “Wasn’t aware he ever had a social life.” He caught the rugby bag Fox threw his way from the SUV.

“Didn’t think you guys had training on a Friday?”

“We normally don’t,” Leroy grumbled. “But our beloved coach has decided we need to win this bloody game tomorrow afternoon against Russell United, and we apparently sucked big hairy donkey balls at Wednesday’s run on the paddock. Like another lot of drills is gonna somehow raise our standard of ball handling from pitifully woeful to hands of steel. If there isn’t a beer in this after we’re done, I’m gonna be fucking ropeable.”

Fox chuckled and pulled Leroy into a kiss. “You’re such a big softy.”

“Idiot.” Leroy wriggled free but failed to hide his lopsided grin.

“Do you need me to take Mack home?”

The dog cocked her head at her name and Fox opened the rear door, waving her in. “Nah, she likes to run with the team. Tires her out.” He headed for the passenger seat, buckled up, and then pinned me with a look. “And here’s a novel idea. Since Patrick only needs you tomorrow morning, maybe you could actually leave the bedsit for once and go have some fun.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

Fox rolled his eyes and I waved them off. So, I didn’t have a life. There was nothing new about that. I threw my bag over my shoulder and set off up the hill, my attention drawn to the glow in the studio and the upbeat music leaking through the fire door, which had been propped open with a chair.

The closer I got, the slower my steps, until I found myself at a complete stop about ten metres from the open door. I glanced around but I was alone. Beyond the studio lay Madden land and the hill up to the homestead. Judah’s boathouse, the wharf and Painted Bay were out of sight to my right, at the front. And behind me, the road was flanked by a steep, bush-covered bluff up to the township perched on top of the hill.

Feeling like a spy in some low-budget movie, I detoured down the small bank and picked my way across the sodden grass to the open fire door, the muffled thuds of feet hitting the floor growing louder by the second. The studio floor sat about thigh height, and I dropped my bag on the damp ground and sneaked my head through the opening.

The room was about twenty by thirty metres, big enough for Judah’s kids to comfortably move around with their wheelchairs and canes and other equipment that might be necessary, but tonight there was only one person using the space. Abe. And I was instantly spellbound.

His body flew across the room in a whirlwind of turns and leaps in sync with the rhythmic bass so loud it rattled my spine and thundered in my chest. Big band music—horns and saxophone, and double bass and piano, and drums. Memories crashed through my head and almost took my knees from under me—my mother dancing in our kitchen, my tiny hands in hers, spinning and laughing, dipping me, spoon in one hand like a mic as she crooned words that never seemed important at the time. The music was everything. How had I forgotten that?

A word popped out at me. Swing. This was swing music.

I startled as Abe landed a jump close to where I was hiding, so close I could pick out the small holes in those soft-as-butter leggings. The thin material outlining every fibre of muscle in his thick thighs and the bunched muscles of his arse, his cock nestled soft and large in his groin. The waistband rolled low on his flat stomach tight with ridged abs over a steel core lightly dusted with hair. The cut-off T-shirt wet with sweat and clinging to his toned chest and budded nipples.

Holy fucking hell.

I barely contained a yelp, ducking back into the shadows until the sound of his feet fell into the distance and I risked another look. Perspiration coursed down his face, his dark hair threaded with silver pulled into a topknot that bobbed with every leap and turn, eyes closed like he was dancing by feel, led around the space by some invisible force. And I stood transfixed, my ridiculous dick thickening in my jeans like the traitorous fucker that it was.

And still Abe danced, sliding past the open door where I crouched watching, his voice low with the music, singing, stray words catching in my ears, arms wide, then high, then circling into a spin. Around and around until he suddenly stopped, dancing on the spot, tap, shuffle. Whatever the fuck it was called. His body dipping and rocking to the beat, a wide smile on his face.

And then he was off again, and I lost myself in the pure, raw joy of his energy, pretty sure of only one thing: that I’d never felt anything close to whatever Abe was feeling in that moment—the energy of life rippling through him, power and hope and emotion. I’d never felt that, not even close. There was a magic to it, and heat and lust and wonder. A hunger I’d never allowed myself to feel ripped open in my heart. In that moment, Abe was alive to his core, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that felt like.

You definitely need to read the first two books in the series. There is a lot of background story that plays out.

I really enjoyed the first two books and I couldn’t wait for Kane to get his happily ever after. He was ostracized already by so many people. Partly because of how he acted in high school and partly because of his father. Mostly because of high school.

Kane has a story to tell, though. But no one wants to hear it. He wasn’t looking for absolution for what he did to Judah back then. And then Abe showed up. Abe, an independent choreographer that knows Judah and is there to help with the recital for the disabled kids dance class.

Kane has NOT had an easy life. Like so many kids, he hid it well. But he is dealing with an alcoholic, homophobic father (who doesn’t know Kane is gay) who wants Kane to sign over his half of the farm that was willed to him. Kane’s father is the classic bully. I think a lot of us know or knew at least one. But because of his father, Kane has been in the closet his whole life. The only time he had one foot out of the closet was when he was in college. But that was never about relationships and only about taking care of needs.

I loved how Abe saw everything from a different perspective because he was an outsider. He had no preconceived notions of Kane. He saw a guy who was shy and quiet, wasn’t included in things but had a killer blush.

I really loved these two guys coming together. There was a 14 year age difference which isn’t necessarily huge, but I think Kane needed that maturity in his life. Kane is really so tender hearted- obvious with the way he was with the litter of kittens in a previous book, the cat he kept, the rabbit he is fostering and the other cat he is fostering so the cat can lose weight. It was just adorable.

And Abe really is a down to earth person, even though he has been living a nomadic lifestyle for 20 years. He genuinely CARES about Kane, well before they developed a sexual relationship.

After Kane’s ENTIRE story is out, not only to Abe but also the Judah, Leroy and various parents and boyfriends it was kind of like, oh. Kane ISN’T still this jerk bully from high school. And once they realized that, they really rallied around him when he needed help. I loved it.

There is a HEA, naturally, but I really like how it was done. Which wasn’t necessarily the easy way out. I hope we revisit them if there are more books in the series.

4 pieces of eye candy

Heart, Humour, & Keepin’ It Real

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year. She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor.

Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

Find Jay in all the places: https://www.jayhoganauthor.com/landingpage

On Board (Painted Bay #2) by Jay Hogan: RB, Excerpt, and New Release Review

September 29, 2021 by Denise

Love on the deep blue…

Leroy Madden is in trouble. Big, handsome, Fox Carmody trouble.

Leroy has buried his attraction to the enigmatic fisherman in irritation and pointless bickering, keeping Fox at a safe distance. But with the troublesome man now living in Leroy’s house, it’s becoming impossible for Leroy to keep his true feelings hidden, or the fact that Leroy isn’t so straight, after all.

Leroy hungers for something different between them. He wants more. But Leroy’s business is struggling, his newly mended relationship with his brother is at risk, Fox doesn’t plan to stay, and their mothers are lovers.

Regardless of what Leroy’s heart so desperately wants, his entire world is at stake, and nothing about a relationship with Fox Carmody was ever going to be easy.

Title: On Board

Series: Painted Bay #2

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Tropes: Bisexual Awakening | Forced Proximity | Enemies to lovers | Hurt/comfort |Humour

Release date: September 23, 2021

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

I stole a sideways glance to where Fox lounged in the passenger seat of my Hilux, his interested gaze soaking up the countryside. The worst of the Monday morning traffic was behind us and the driving was easy, not that you’d know it by my white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

Sister Sledge streamed through the speakers, Fox’s fingers tapping away on one thickly muscled thigh wrapped in tight stonewashed denim. A fashionable rip mocked me from just above the knee, revealing the faintest glimpse of tanned skin and short dark hair, not that I was looking.

Yeah, right. I was soaking that shit up like sugar in hot coffee.

The universe was definitely fucking with me. Well, that and my mother who’d arrived for Sunday lunch with a surprisingly edible peach cobbler and what she called the ‘best idea ever’ for me to give Fox a lift into Whangarei the next day since I was already going. He wanted to check out some boats, but his car was still waiting on parts.

Fucking wonderful. Why he couldn’t wait for his own vehicle to be fixed wasn’t a question I was prepared to ask based on my mother’s I-dare-you look. I’d caved and agreed.

I could’ve killed her. And by the constipated look on Fox’s face at her suggestion, I was pretty sure he felt the same. It had been a long, long weekend and entirely my own damn fault. Other than forced interaction at work, rugby training, and Sunday lunch, I’d avoided Fox at all costs, and he’d been good enough to play along and pretend he hadn’t noticed, other than a notable drop in temperature whenever he looked my way. I could hardly blame him for that. If only he knew that my epic arseholery stemmed from lust and not disgust.

And the Academy Award for epically fucking yourself goes to . . . yeah. Enough said.

Note to self: don’t get tipsy around the guy. Without the benefit of way too many beers, we wouldn’t have talked and got all chummy on the deck, and I wouldn’t have realised that I maybe, actually liked the bastard, not just wanted to kiss him, or touch him, or have him touch me, or . . . goddammit, wait for the drum roll—fuck me.

I swallowed hard. Me fucking him would, of course, be marginally more acceptable to my brain, but who was I kidding? I’d spent the entire weekend thinking, fantasising, googling, watching, and yep, definitely him fucking me. Good God, the sooner he was out of my house the better. Still, it sounded like it wouldn’t take much to get him to shift back down south, so I could only hope.

“You okay, Leroy?”

My gaze jerked his way. “Fine. I’m absolutely fine,” I lied, because no, I didn’t want to go there, or talk about it, or think about it, or do anything other than bury it as unsuccessfully as I’d done for the last five days, make that a year—my, doesn’t time fly—because I’m chickenshit as all hell and my life is a fucking shitshow of irony.

Why now?

Why him?

Why . . . this?

Bisexual. I’d even practised saying it in front of the mirror, barely able to spit the word out as it sat huge and sour on my tongue. It wasn’t that I hated the man-on-man part, because I was clearly on board with that in so very many, many Fox-shaped, lickable ways. It was more that the admission held an extremely unflattering mirror up to the jerk hypocrite that I’d been, and very likely still was, my entire life.

Whoever said sexuality was a choice, I needed that fucker’s address and a suitably sized cactus to shove where the sun don’t shine.

My head had been buried so far in the sand for so long that I had grit coming out my arse, and that shit had to stop. After my appalling behaviour in the kitchen, I’d sulked and pondered long and hard over the weekend and gotten more than my money’s worth from my broadband provider. It all came with an uncomfortable realisation. The infatuation I had with Fox wasn’t going anywhere, and that meant either making myself and everyone around me miserable or pulling it into the light and stop running. How had I completely missed this rather critical aspect of my nature?

And then it occurred to me, maybe I hadn’t. I had the pieces, but nothing or no one had caused them to fall into place, until Fox.

After reading book 1, Off Balance (On Board can be read as a stand alone if you choose), I couldn’t wait for book 2. I had a feeling it would be Leroy but I wondered how the author was going to redeem this anti social, completely grumpy, formerly a homophobe. It was a journey and I loved it.

Leroy was definitely redeemed. Learning more about him, about his childhood of living in his younger brother’s shadow, of suddenly giving up his dreams to take over the family business, of being utterly lonely made me teary at times and want to hug him. But it wasn’t instant at all. There were plenty of times I wanted to smack him.

Fox is also kind of a mess. Deciding how to start his live over while nursing a broken heart. Sharing a house with prickly Leroy. Missing his home, but not sure if he wants to go back. At least he has his dog.

Leroy and Fox danced around each other for a year of random meetings at their mothers’ house. Even though Leroy was straight, right? So now, under the same roof and ultimately working together, the sexual tension was through the roof.

Leroy is probably the most stubborn character I ever met. But being a stubborn person, I recognized so much. Knowing you are being a jerk, but sticking with it. Refusing to back down even though you want to. Getting caught being nice so then being extra grumpy to make up for it. It was just so real to have him slowly peel back the layers of who he is meant to be. He even takes the time to self reflect on his life to see if he missed signs.

Fox is pretty much an open book. Well, an open wound. But he is drawn to Leroy and even though he “doesn’t want a relationship yet”, he is that guy that needs to be in a relationship.

There was a lot of story in this book. Not just Fox and Leroy, but the farm Leroy works but his mother owns, Leroy and his brother Judah still working on their relationship, a bully from the past needing help, Fox’s ex causing trouble. It wasn’t just filled with sex to make it a longer book. There was a really engaging story that was well rounded and I was never bored.

As I said, this can be read as a stand alone, but I recommend the first, Off Balance, as well.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Heart, humour and keeping it real.

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

Find Jay in all the places: https://jayhoganauthor.contactin.bio/