Lily Morton

Spring Strings by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Excerpt, Audiobook Review and Giveaway

January 10, 2023 by Denise

. .

Malachi Booth is a supermodel. He’s used to moving about the world, sleeping with whoever takes his fancy and watching the money roll in. The last place he expects to find himself is on a run-down farm in Cornwall, but a bad bout of bronchitis means that he’s stuck there. The only compensation for this dismal state of affairs is that the farmer is very good looking, even if he’s the grumpiest person that Malachi has ever met.  

Cadan Landry’s farm has been in his family for hundreds of years but that doesn’t make it any easier to make ends meet. As a consequence, Cadan could be called grumpy. Most men would consider a supermodel collapsing at their feet while dressed in the skimpiest pair of briefs ever made to be a sign of good fortune. Cadan just resents the fact that the young man is taking up space in his cow field.  

These two men are from different worlds, but can they ever meet in the middle?   

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a novella about snarky models, misconceptions, and finding a home in the most unlikely of places. 

Spring Strings
By Lily Morton

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Audible

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“There’s no need for a hospital. It isn’t pneumonia yet, and I’ve given him something to make him sleep. I’ll also give you a prescription for some very strong antibiotics. He needs plenty of sleep and taking care of. He’s very run down.” He huffs and pats his big belly. “Damn good job I wasn’t a model. I’d have collapsed if I was as thin as that lad in there.”

I try hard to repress the image of Doctor Samuels modelling the very tiny underpants that the model called Malachi was wearing. “And sure

ly he’ll get that care in a hospital,” I say with emphasis.

He shakes his head. “Cadan, I’m not sending him to hospital. He needs rest and then fresh air and feeding up.”

“Have you somehow got mixed up and forgotten that I run a farm and not Champneys health spa? I can’t have him here. I’ve got too much to do.”

A look of disappointment crosses his face, and I resist the impulse to shuffle from one leg to the other like I’m once again the child he used to see and give lollipops to. “Cadan, your mother would have a fit if she heard about your lack of hospitality. We look after our own in Cornwall.”

“But he isn’t our own,” I argue. “He’s somebody else’s own. I don’t know whose. Maybe Yves Saint Laurent.”

So, I did not read the ebook when it came out. I meant to, but just didn’t get to it. However, I’ve seen a lot of the newsletters that Lily Morton has sent out with Mal’s podcast, and loved his snark, so grabbing this audiobook, with the bonus of Joel Leslie’s amazing voice…that was an easy call.

I just loved Mal. He wasn’t the typical super model, instead being snarky and helping around the farm, with lambing, etc. He just made me laugh.

Cadan, meanwhile, was serious and hard-working, but still gave back the snark just as hard. He had a heavy burden with the finances of the farm, but was willing to work as hard as he needed to, to get ahead.

These two very different men found a lot of similarities together, and both had the same work ethic, work as hard as you can whenever you can.

Cadan’s mother was fantastically written, a flawed person who loved with her whole heart one time, then kept trying to find that magic. Yet, she immediately loved Mal, and knew he would be perfect for Cadan.

I enjoyed this one a lot, and would love to listen to it again, for any little things I might have missed.

4 pieces of eye candy.

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.

She 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 got her Kindle.

Lily 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 would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – Chocolate Baileys.

Vow Maker (Mixed Messages Book 4) by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

December 8, 2022 by Denise

. .

Dylan Mitchell wants to get married.

However, after seven years of being engaged, that’s looking slightly doubtful. After going through ten wedding planners, they’re gaining a reputation somewhat akin to Henry the Eighth on the wedding circuit.

Gabe has vetoed symbolic dove releases, forests of flowers, fire-eating performers, and puce as a wedding colour. He’s confounded an army of wedding professionals, and now Dylan, the man who knows and loves him better than anyone, has joined the ranks of the confused. Can anything please his fiancé and get them to the altar?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes the sequel to Rule Breaker. A romantic comedy novella full of family chaos, meddling friends, sexy bathroom encounters, and love. Always love.

Title: Vow Maker

By: Lily Morton

Series: Mixed Messages, Book 4

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

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Book 1: Rule Breaker

Book 2: Deal Maker

Book 3: Risk Taker

“Okay. I can certainly see what I can do, but at this short notice, many big venues are booked. They’re probably booked until you both draw your pensions.”

“Really?” Dylan asks.

I stir. “Even if we throw obscene amounts of money at the venue?”

Joe blinks. “You’re going to gazump a bride?”

“If necessary,” I say silkily.

“Well, I like a brave man. Brave or foolhardy? I’ll leave that to posterity and whoever does the speech at your funeral.”

“We are not doing that, Gabe,” Dylan says firmly. “For shame.”

I sit back in my chair. “I sense my bloodthirsty nature isn’t suited to a marital discussion.”

“You’d be amazed,” Joe says cheerily. “You’ve obviously never been near the Harrods bridal department during a sale. Russell Crowe could have done all his research for Gladiator in one fell swoop.”

Engaged for SEVEN YEARS? That’s bonkers. But I digress.

Dylan and Gabe were my first story by Lily Morton. And probably many people. We just fell in love with the cranky, perfectionist boss and sassy, sarcastic assistant. It was hard not to. Two more books with other couples followed and we’ve circled back around to the originals.

Now I am going to admit that sometimes I feel like follow up books like this are thin. No real substance, just wanting to be a people pleaser that sells. But this one didn’t feel that way for me at all. I was thrilled to pick up seven years later and watch them try to plan their wedding. As soon as they could find a wedding planner.

The wedding planner they do ultimately hire had a very easy chance of taking over the story with pratfalls, etc. But nope. He mostly stayed in the background, gently guiding both men toward their goal.

Of course we get a little Ivo, Henry, Jude and Asa. And Dylan’s boisterous family.

In the end, they get their perfect wedding and we get the perfect end to a great story line.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.

She 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 got her Kindle.

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – Chocolate Baileys.

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Vow Maker (Mixed Messages book 4) by Lily Morton: New Release Review

November 24, 2022 by Denise

Dylan Mitchell wants to get married.

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes the sequel to Rule Breaker. A romantic comedy novella full of family chaos, meddling friends, sexy bathroom encounters, and love. Always love.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Engaged for SEVEN YEARS? That’s bonkers. But I digress.

Of course we get a little Ivo, Henry, Jude and Asa. And Dylan’s boisterous family.

In the end, they get their perfect wedding and we get the perfect end to a great story line.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

The Sunny Side (The Model Agency, Book 1) by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

September 26, 2022 by Denise

. .

Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan.

Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback and lighthearted and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed.

Dean has always been interested in Jonas and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back.

However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder.

Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love.

From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.

Title: The Sunny Side
Authors: Lily Morton
Series: The Model Agency, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Comedy.
Tropes: age gap, controlled man/carefree man.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

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Dean nods. “Last week, a model didn’t turn up to a fitting. No excuse,” he says in a scandalised voice. “Just couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed.”

“One of mine?” I ask, frowning.

“No,” Dean says. “He was from Browns.”

“They don’t so much run a modelling agency as a circus,” I say with no small amount of satisfaction.

I eye him and Mal. They don’t make them like these two anymore. They come from a background where serious work was the norm. Mal might throw tantrums to rival Marie Antionette, and at one point Dean might have been more stoned than the entire cast of Reefer Madness, but both are as reliable as the sun coming up. They’ve always turned up on time and got the job done.

I’ll miss them when they retire and leave me to the less than tender mercies of the new models. I shudder at the thought and feel a sudden sadness at the idea that one day I won’t see Dean anymore. I rub my stomach absently and look up to find the two of them watching me. Mal looks amused as if he can read my mind, which I wouldn’t put past him, but Dean seems concerned.

“Is your ulcer playing up again?” he demands.

Mal snorts, and I roll my eyes. “No, it is not,” I say in a reproving tone that, as usual, Dean completely ignores. He picks up fewer social cues than an old matron in a Jane Austen story.

“No coffee, then. I’ve got some green tea brewing.”

“Where did that even come from?” I ask despairingly. “I’m sure I don’t have that in my kitchen.”

“Dean carries it around with him,” Mal says, filching a piece of Dean’s omelette and feeding it to the dog. “Remember when Dutch customs found it, Dean?”

Dean grins. “I still remember that strip search. It’s definitely in my top ten.”

I stare at him. “You have a top ten of strip searches?”

He shrugs. “Of course. Most customs officers are rough, but that one had very gentle hands.”

Do a little dance, readers. Lily Morton has started a new series. Squee! And what a start it is!

Obviously it centers around a modeling agency in London. Jonas runs it after a sort of hostile take over from his mother. Dean is one of his most popular models. They have separately and quietly crushed on each other. But Jonas thinks he has no chance with a model (and the whole boss/emplyee thing) and Dean thinks he is too stupid to have a chance with Jonas. Silly boys.

This is a pretty slow burn because of the obstacles they put in their own way. But that makes it all the sweeter I think. In so many stories they will suddenly come together, ripping clothes off, etc. But not this time. I mean it does come to that but it doesn’t start that way. There is WAY more flirting and courting without saying it.

Besides getting to know some new fun characters (PIP!) we get to see characters from previous series and books. Dean is step brothers with Asa and actually set up he and Jude. And his best friend is Mal, who still leaves Cadan on the farm to model, but then runs right back.

I love how it is highlighted that male models aren’t nearly as popular as female models and they still are driven to perfection. By themselves, by photographers, by designers. Dean eats almost NOTHING because he has runway shows coming. Sexual harrassment is also mentioned. And I am sure it is FAR worse than what was in the book.

Dean will absolutely steal your heart. Pip is just amazing. Jonas loosening up is a revelation. Plus kids and dogs and vacations to France. Just swoony.

I cannot wait for more.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

. .

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.

She 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 got her Kindle.

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – Chocolate Baileys.

The Sceptic by Lily Morton: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

June 12, 2022 by Denise

As the best friend of a psychic, Will Buchanan can’t help but believe in the dead. It’s the living that he finds to be problematic. However, after a spate of betrayals, he finally has the chance of a new life within his grasp, and he’s not going to risk it for anyone or anything. Staying safe is the name of Will’s game.

Jem Dawson defines the word temporary. A talented cameraman, he’s here today and will undoubtedly be gone tomorrow chasing adventure and danger. But, while he’s in York, he’s made it clear he wants Will, and Will can’t help liking the charming daredevil.

This inconvenient attraction results in Will accompanying Jem to the site of a notorious poltergeist outbreak. A malevolent spirit has targeted a family, and now the ghost hunting team for whom Jem does camerawork are going to be locked down in the house for three days.

The house is strange and filled with sinister and violent undercurrents. One by one, the group experiences threatening incidents, and as events escalate, Will has to ask himself if he’s risking not just his heart but also his life with this impulsive gesture.

This is the first book in the Arcana Books series featuring characters from the bestselling Black and Blue series.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

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“It’s the big thing at the moment. Ghost hunting groups get locked into haunted places for a few days. Apparently, it gives them a better chance of recording psychic phenomenon.”

“And you do that along with Exspiravit?”

“Fuck no. I go to a bed and breakfast nearby at night, and they film themselves. Psychic phenomenon doesn’t have a comfy bed and a tea tray. It just isn’t as crucial to me as filming wildlife would be.”

I bite my lip to stop a smile breaking free. “I can understand that because of the baby penguins.”

“You do know they’re not the only thing I film?”

“Would your attitude change if they were ghost baby penguins?”

He points his fingers at me in a gun shape. “That’s the motherlode right there.”

I laugh. “So basically, they all get their sleeping bags out, and you’re down the road eating a three-course meal.”

“Did I happen to mention that I’m an award-wining natural-world photographer?” he says in a haughty voice that’s slightly spoilt by the laughter in his eyes.

“Only a few thousand times.” He gasps and loses the battle against laughter. When he’s calmed down, I fasten him with a gaze. “So, what’s got you worried, Jem? You’ve done a few ghost hunts with this group and never seemed bothered before.”

He bites his lip. “We visited the house last week to do a run-through. It’s common practice. The group get to meet the family and then Ben interviews them while I sit back, cynically wondering what they’re getting out of it. Then I get to do a walkthrough to see what kit we need and map out the house in my head.”

“What possible kit could you want?”

“You have no idea. Heat-sensing thermal cameras, spirit boxes, motion sensors—and that’s just the immediate stuff.”

I blink. “I usually just take Blue.”

“I wish I could.”

“Why?”

His brow is furrowed, his nervous fingers pleating the serving mat on the counter in front of him. I wait him out and finally he looks up at me. “Because, unlike the other places they’ve visited, there’s actually something wrong with this house.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know.” He shoves his chair back, looking exasperated. “I honestly don’t know, Will. It’s an ordinary thirties semi on an ordinary street. There’s no history of any violent death there at all or any record of ghostly activity until the Preston family moved in but—”

He pauses, and I stare at him. “What?”

“It felt wrong.” He leans forward, talking quickly as if he thinks I’m going to laugh at him. I’m not. “I always rely on my intuition. After all these years of working in some rather dangerous countries with unpredictable climates and animals, I have fucking good instincts. When I feel uncomfortable, I know there’s usually a reason for it. And I felt it there. When I walked through, it was sunny and warm. There’s kids’ artwork on the walls and family photos, and it’s nicely messy, but—” He spreads his hands. “I wanted out of there so badly, I could feel it in my belly. I was shaking by the time we left.”

If you read the Black and Blue series (ok, 2 books) you know Will already. Best friend of Blue Billings. Big, quiet, stoic. Takes care of what is his. A teddy bear in a grizzly bear suit.

We met Jem in the second B&B book as a cameraman working for some ghost hunters after he is hurt and can’t go on a big job he had been hired for. Still in recovery mode, he kind of shows up off and on in Will’s life. Until he is hired by another set of ghost hunters and he wants Will to be the sceptic. The guy who explains away different things instead of thinking it is ghosts. I’ll say I was a sceptic of Will being a sceptic because just be being Blue’s best friend, he has seen some things. But, who knows.

Well, based on the fact that whatever otherworldly thing is happening is showing itself to Will immediately, he isn’t much of a sceptic.

But the story of what is happening in the house is a fun read. Maybe scary for people who get scared with that kind of thing. Some pretty creepy things too. Maybe read it with the lights on if you are easily spooked. But it was creative and fun to read about, what went on.

There were 4 others who were the “ghost hunters” and while it was their ghost hunt, we were really focused on Will and Jem. They made it hard not to be.

In my no spoiler way, I kind of feel like one character made a big concession toward the end. It had to be done I’m sure, but still.

I still loved Will and Jem getting their HEA and I particularly loved Will getting HIS own happily ever after and going from homeless to where he ends up.

4 pieces of eye candy

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author. She writes love stories filled with heat and humour.

She 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 got her Kindle.

She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – Chocolate Baileys.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Charlie Sunshine (Close Proximity, Book 2) by Lily Morton: Audiobook Review

February 14, 2022 by Denise

Sometimes love is a lot closer to home than you think.

Charlie Burroughs can’t keep a man. All he wants is a good relationship like the ones he sees his friends having, but none of the men he picks ever work out. Despite him trying to be the perfect boyfriend, the men are either threatened by his looks or his epilepsy or a combination of the two. It’s lucky that he has his best friend Misha to turn to. The two of them are closer than peas in a pod and fiercely loyal to each other. He can’t imagine his life without Misha in it.

Misha Lebedinsky is the complete opposite of his best friend. Being the support system for his mum and twin sisters leaves Misha with neither the time nor the inclination for a relationship. Quick and frequent hook-ups are his favourite means of communication and any other pesky emotional needs he has are met by Charlie, who he’s devoted to. He lives a life of happy compartmentalization with no intention of ever changing.

All of this changes when the two best friends move in together. Being in close proximity means that they suddenly start to see each other in a very different light. But Charlie struggles when his drive to be the perfect partner clashes with the fact that he’s in love with a man who knows every little thing about him. And even if he can get past that, can a relationship ever work with a man who’d need a dictionary to tell him what love means?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a love story about a sunny librarian who has relationship written all over him and a cynical banker who doesn’t even have it in his blurb.

Amazon Ebook – KU

Audible

My original book review from last year here.

Story wise, I don’t have a lot to add to the review. I really enjoyed the book, the quirky characters and the representation of a disability. So let’s talk about the narration, which is ultimately what I am reviewing, right?

Overall, I enjoy Joel Leslie’s narration. He isn’t one to shy from verbalizing sex scenes well and his tone is very nice. Within the story you can tell who is speaking by the tone, which is very helpful as I tend to flip to the beginning of a chapter to see who is speaking because I can never remember.

This is the second Joel Leslie in a row that I have listened to, so maybe I need a break. Although the characters are differentiated by voice within each book, those same voices seem to carry from book to book. Charlie sounds like the main character in the one I just listened to that was a different author. Misha the same. Charlie’s step dad Aidan has the same Irish lilt as Blue Billings.

I probably wouldn’t have really noticed that much if I didn’t listen to Joel Leslie back to back.

My biggest complaint is that when it is an intimate scene- not just sex wise- his tone goes from a regular speaking voice to almost a whisper at the end of each sentence. It gets to a point that it is almost hard to hear. Like the difference of watching a tv show and then the commercials are so much louder. I’ve tried with ear buds, through my car stereo and with a bluetooth speaker. All the same. I understand WHY he is doing it, but I feel like I miss so much because I am straining to hear. If I turn it up, the regular speaking voice is far too loud.

Ultimately, I think I need a Joel Leslie break. I am sure I will go back to listening to him, but some new voices and better modulation would be great.

3 pieces of eye candy