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With A Kick (Collection #2) by Clare London, Narrated by Joel Leslie: Audiobook Review

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This collection includes Clare London‘s second two charming London-based novellas of the With A Kick series – Pluck and Play, and Double Scoop.

Read the enthusiastic reviews at the individual book pages!

WITH A KICK: A new and enticing ice cream franchise, with a unique blend of full flavour, mischief and romance. Patrick and Lee are struggling to make a success of their alcoholic ice cream shop in the centre of tourist London. At the same time, their business partnership may take a turn towards the personal – if either of them can find the time and nerve to go for it! Meanwhile, they cater to the wild and wonderful range of customers in the area, many of whom have their own romantic agenda. Will ice cream be the final ingredient they’re all looking for?

Each story is a self-contained romance, but will follow the history of the shop throughout.

PLUCK AND PLAY: Curtis is a cheery young entrepreneur, secretly licking his wounds after being beaten up by his ex-lover. Handsome cowboy Riley is stranded in London without money. His consolation is his music, and his fascination is Curtis. Their music brings them together, Riley’s guitar and Curtis’ poetry. But when Curtis is threatened by his ex-lover, Riley intends to be the man to help.

Ebook Link

DOUBLE SCOOP: A sudden disaster strikes the novelty ice cream shop, With A Kick, threatening the livelihood of its owner, Patrick, and also his assistant Lee. The last thing in the world Patrick wants is to hurt Lee, but deeply-held insecurities prevent him from confessing his love. And how long will Lee wait to make his own move? Hopefully the disaster brings a new opportunity for them to make a go of things.

Ebook Link

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW TOUR

Book Title: With A Kick Collection #2

Author: Clare London

Publisher: Jocular Press

Narrator: Joel Leslie

Release Date: April 2, 2019

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Trope/s: Opposites attract, friends to lovers

Themes: Diverse romances, May/Dec, finding community

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length:  8 hours 58 minutes

Includes 2 standalone novellas with a connecting arc

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Audible US

Audible UK  

Amazon US – Kindle Unlimited

Amazon UK – Kindle Unlimited

Listen to an excerpt on SoundCloud

Collection #1 has also been released, featuring Clare London’s first two novellas, A Twist and Two Balls and Slap and Tickle, and also the two bonus short stories Nice and Snow and Smack Happy.

Romance, London, and alcoholic ice cream – what’s not to love?

When I see Clare London pop up for anything, I am always willing to give it a go. Clare writes smart, sassy and fun characters. When you then have Joel Leslie as narrator, and especially doing English accents….there is no chance I am walking away. He is a true performer, and how he can take 8 different characters in one book, all with very different dialects, accents, and personalities, and turn them into completely different people in my eyes is always amazing to me. I’m not sure I’ve heard him do the same voice twice ever. (Well, if you don’t count that one…) 😉

Clare’s stories are often novella length, and her characters have such differing backgrounds, yet they manage to find each other in a city the size of London. There’s always an element of fun in them, and these two stories had all of that. (As an aside, I really would like With a Kick to be real, and I want to visit it very much!). These two novellas were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Pluck and Play was two men meeting by happenstance, falling in lust, and being torn apart by someone from Curtis’s past. Meanwhile, Double Scoop was friends to lovers, with Patrick unable to get out of his own way enough to love sweet Lee.

These novellas, though, were even more about true friends, and what they will do to help each other through the tough times. These friends did not allow each other to fall, they were always there to catch them, or to help them fall in love. Made for very satisfying endings, and a craving for more.

Story: 3.75 pieces of eye candy

Narration: 4 pieces of eye candy

Clare London took her pen name from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home, she juggles her writing with her other day job as an accountant.

She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with award-winning novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic, and sexy characters.

Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter-three stage and plenty of other projects in mind… she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home.

Clare loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her on all her social media.

Join her occasional newsletter.

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Impacted! (Bay Area Professionals Book 1) Mickie B Ashling: New Release Review

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On his way home from vacation, Scott Gregory, a closeted sub, hooks up with the gorgeous Red, a flamboyant Dom, for a thrilling one-off at a BDSM bar. They part ways after a satisfying scene… but meet again when Robin Kennedy—Red—arrives at his new job as a dental hygienist and discovers one of his two bosses is Scott.

Robin and Scott embark on a journey of exploration into their kinkier sides and discover they’re more than compatible—they’re a perfect match. But keeping employer/employee and Dom/sub separate at the office presents difficulties, and to make matters even more complicated, the owner of the dental practice is an acknowledged homophobe.

They fall in love, but Robin chafes at all the secrecy, refusing to live in the shadows. Scott isn’t as brave; he’s desperate to protect his job and his future. Will they be able to find some middle ground… or will their entire relationship fall apart because of fear?

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

This is a re-edited rerelease of a 10 year old book. Ya, it should have been edited more. So much was just so unbelievable and eye rolling.

Scott is at the end of a month long vacation (3 months into a new job? who does that?) and wants to go out with a bang. He is a sub that hasn’t been satisfied. But when he goes to a club, it is the bartender he wants. He waits until his shift is over to hook up. In the parking lot. In the back seat of a car. What? Two grown ass men having kinky sex in the back seat of a BMW? Sorry, dumb. And there is not mention of tight quarters or awkward movements, nothing. Like they had all the room in the world.

Scott’s “best friend” who he hasn’t talked to in a year wants a job. Boom, hired. Then we get her whole back story which is totally irrelevant.

Scott goes back to work to come face to face with the Dom he has sex with in the back of his car.

Scott and Robin (AKA “Red”) have to stay in the closet at work because of a homophobic owner. In San Francisco.

I could go on, but I will save you. I’m sorry, but this book was just not good.

2 Pieces of Eye Candy

Forever Moore: A Gay Fairy Tale (Forbidden Love book 2) by Christina Lee & Riley Hart: New Release Review

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With his raven hair and snow-white skin, Lord Ansil Eirwin draws unwanted attention wherever he goes. After his father’s untimely death, Ansil is set to become Duke of Ravenswood on his next birthday. The gallant and timid lord would never dream of shirking responsibility, so he subverts his desires in order to please his mother and new stepfather, Reginald.

Orien Moore, known as the Huntsman, lives on the fringes and has forsaken close bonds with anyone, even the misfits he has taken in. When Orien is called upon by his brother, Reginald, to kill the pampered future duke, it is the perfect opportunity to seek revenge against his power-hungry brother. Orien formulates a plan to use Reginald’s vicious request to his advantage by kidnapping Ansil and holding him hostage until he can fulfill his birthright.

Soon Orien realizes that Ansil is nothing like he’d expected. Kind and joyful, Ansil enchants Orien and his ragtag group. And Ansil, in turn, cannot help but be curious about the gruff huntsman as Orien’s vulnerabilities are exposed. Their mutual interest transforms into affection, followed by overwhelming desire. But they are living on borrowed time.

With Reginald seeking power in Ravenswood, they have no way of knowing what will transpire once Orien returns Ansil to his proper place in society. The only certainty is that the odds are stacked against them. Will the young lord and his huntsman ever have the chance to experience the happily ever after they’ve found in each other’s arms?

***PLEASE NOTE: FOREVER MOORE is a romantic fairy tale—minus the magic—that features one reluctant lord, one brooding huntsman, and plenty of angsty, forbidden love. It’s loosely based on a treasured fairy tale in a make-believe setting that isn’t part of any specific time period and doesn’t play by any traditional rules.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

These two authors are generally automatic one click buys for me. But to be honest, when the first “gay fairy tale” by them came out, I wasn’t so sure. I mean, it just looked so…cute. Too cute. So I put it on the back burner of ‘if I have nothing to read’. Then I won an audio copy of it and listened to it in my car. And loved it so much I went and one clicked the book and read it. And loved it. So ya, I was all in for this book.

This installment is a play on Snow White and the Huntsman. Although there are also seven other characters. A couple of them were obvious- Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc…but the others not so much. But it was still fun. I’ve never seen or read Snow White and the Huntsman, but I assume that the general story line is similar. But maybe not. Doesn’t matter.

Orien, the Huntsman, is an innate caregiver. But it doesn’t outwardly seem that way. But if you are his enemy, watch out. So when the chance comes to knock his brother off of his pedestal AND save a young Duke to be, he jumps at the chance.

Ansil is scared out of his mind to have been kidnapped, but when he finds out that he isn’t to be killed and no ransom to be paid, he relaxes a bit. He befriends Doc, and then when Doc passes out, he yells for help instead of running away. That earns Orien’s trust some.

This is a slow, slow burn book. But it was totally worth it and meant to be that way. Neither man had been with another man- although Ansil fantasized about it. So once they finally kiss, they take their time learning about each other and how to please another man. Orien is so sweet with Ansil you can’t help but smile. This big, scary, gruff man turns into a pile of mush when Ansil is around.

I just love how this story unfolded- not only Ansil and Orien coming together, but also Ansil bringing the whole household of people together as a family.

And because of that, the authors made me cry. GAH! I am totally down for the super angsty cry. I was not expecting the sweet, emotional cry.

No spoilers, but the ending was very satisfying. One more nod to the original Snow White and a happily ever after. Because what is a fairy tale without a happily ever after?

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Thirst For You by Jaclyn Quinn: Blog Tour, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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“What happens when thirst becomes an obsession that can’t be quenched?

Forty-year-old Zachariah Taylor prides himself on being the overprotective older brother of seven. He owns a successful bar, Zach’s Bar and Grill, in the quiet town of Riverside Falls and loves the life he’s built for himself. But as his siblings move on and find their forever partners in life, he’s starting to feel less and less needed—not to mention old. Suddenly, he’s finding it even harder to ignore the younger man who has pursued him for years, but the twelve years separating them is something Zach can’t seem to overlook.

Twenty-eight-year-old Drew Belford has been in love with the stubborn Zach Taylor for seven years. Sure, he was a kid when they’d first met, but what Zach is determined to ignore is the man Drew has become. Drew, however, is just as strong-minded and refuses to let Zach use their age difference as an excuse to disregard the attraction burning between them. He doesn’t need an overprotective older brother—he needs Zach.

When Drew begins to get unsettling messages from an unknown person, Zach feels helpless in a way he’s never felt before. How can he protect Drew from someone he can’t find? The thought of anyone hurting Drew unleashes years’ worth of pent-up desire Zach has had for the younger man. Is his thirst for Drew enough to protect him from the danger lurking in the shadows, or will the threat of the unknown be enough to dowse the spark of love between them—and silence Drew forever?
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Warning – This book contains acts of violence which some readers may find disturbing.

THIRST FOR YOU

A BEYOND THE COVE NOVEL

JACLYN QUINN

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 04.10.19

COVER DESIGN: CATE ASHWOOD

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Hearing the snickers around the room, Zach stood up and headed to the front door. As he walked out onto the steps, he asked, “So…what’s up? Something happen at the bar?”

Drew’s eyes narrowed for a second in confusion before growing wide. “Oh! The shipment didn’t come today. I didn’t know if you wanted to give Joe a call or if I should.” He ran his pink tongue across his plump, bottom lip, the skin glistening in its wake. Zach was grateful for the fact that only his face could be seen by Drew as he pressed the heel of his hand down on his erection. The kid was too damn sexy for his own good. Okay, so kid was pushing it. Drew was twenty-eight; the same age as Eli. The problem was…Drew was the same damn age as Eli. Zach was twelve years older, for fuck’s sake. But he couldn’t deny how gorgeous the guy was with his dark, short hair that was always perfectly styled, his bourbon-colored eyes, and those lickable, plump lips that were meant for—

“Hello? Earth to LumberZach.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?” Zach growled.

“You know I’ll never listen. You should probably punish me.” Drew wiggled his eyebrows, and Zach could hear people in the background laugh.

Zach covered his face then ran his hand down through his beard. “Do you really have to say that shit where people can hear you?”

“No, I don’t. Your place or mine?” Drew winked, and the laughter next to him got louder.  When Zach hung his head back in frustration, Drew said, “Relax. It’s just Grant and Lisa.” He shifted the camera to his right. “See?” Drew’s older brother Grant and his girlfriend Lisa waved, each with mocking grins on their faces.

“Your brother’s a pain in my ass,” Zach said to Grant as his friend continued laughing. Hell, it was Grant’s fault Drew worked at the bar to begin with. He’d only hired Drew as a favor to Grant, but in all fairness, that wasn’t why Zach kept the younger man on. Besides the fact that Drew was a hard worker and loved by the customers, Zach knew there was another—nope, don’t even go there. There’s no other reason you keep Drew around.

“You know,” Drew said, bringing Zach’s attention back to the phone screen, “you could be a pain in my ass. A delicious pain in my—”

“I’ll call Joe,” Zach replied quickly then disconnected the phone. “Jesus Christ.” Too bad he couldn’t get the guy to shut up by putting those alluring, full lips to good use.

Yes! I was so looking forward to Zach’s story!

Now I’m going to be impatiently waiting for what I hope is Mason, Grant and Sawyer’s story. I want them all together! And maybe Ryder and Avery, I”m looking forward to them too… .Can we just have all of them, right now? I didn’t want this one to end!

So, okay… in this one, we have Zach, who we know his own bar, aptly named, Zach’s. But then we get to meet and get to know Drew, who is Zach’s best friends little brother and the man that Zach has been pushing away for the last seven years since Drew made it well-known that he wanted Zach.

Something about their age gap and the fact that Drew works for Zach, and the fact that Drew is supposed to be off limits as his best friends little brother… but mostly it’s the age gap and Zach’s own fear standing in there way.

Drew is a little spitfire though. Not ashamed of what he wants or how he goes about getting it. Even if his brazenness does rub some the wrong way. I thought he was charming and sassy.

But, in all the pushing away that Zach does, it gets harder to do when Drew starts getting threats at the bar and a little later in person and they’re getting progressively worse, until they try to succeed in getting to him.

I will admit that the person that I thought it was the entire story, wasn’t the stalker/murderer. While I do think it was weird who it ended up being and kind of like, whaaaaat? I feel like it was just thrown in at last minute to have this dun dun duuuuun moment. It didn’t really make sense, but meh, it kept me guessin, so….

Overall though, I just love this series. I love all the guys, the family, the friends, though I would’ve liked to have seen what happened with Angie, she just kind of up and left and then with Silvia. I hope Drew got to keep being apart of her life, she was the best. I’m just really looking forward to who’s next, and I really hope it’s the threeway with Mason, Grant and Sawyer. Or Ryder and Avery… I don’t care which… I want them all!

If you haven’t read Haven’s Cove, you should… then come back to these ones and get more! I recommend them all!

5 pieces of eye candy from me!

I have been an artist from a very young age. From drawing cartoon characters and evolving into portraits, making jewelry, photography, and now writing. I have an amazing support system in my family and friends and couldn’t be more grateful.

I live in central New Jersey, love summers at the Jersey Shore, rock music, wine, sexy men, and laughing a lot with my amazing friends and family. Sunday dinners at my parents’ house are crazy, hysterical and you can count on a movie quote…or ten…being thrown out. Insults between siblings is how we show our love for each other!

When I’m not creating, you can find me reading books from my favorite authors. I’m a hopeless romantic, starving for passionate characters and always craving that happy ending, whether in reading or in writing my own books.

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Ties That Bind by Alex Whitehall: Exclusive Guest Post and Giveaway

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Thank you to Alex Whitehall for joining TCO to talk about his latest story, Ties That Bind. This looks really good, and at a short story length, a quick read to get drawn into. 🙂 Make sure you enter the giveaway at the end.

Thank you for joining me on my blog tour for Ties That Bind, the story of three men searching for a way to keep one of them alive. Now out at all major retailers!

Originally Ties That Bind was written for a submission call looking for poly relationships, but it wasn’t the first story I dreamed up. Today I’m going to talk about a few of the other ideas I brewed and what it might mean for future books I’ll write.

My main goal while brainstorming was to not have the relationship be the driving conflict. It’s too easy for me to want to fall into the insecurities of one character and have that become a central issue, so I immediately took that off the table. From there, I spent a lot of time telling my ideas to the dogs I was pet-sitting and trying to figure out what might work.

The first idea involved two men going on vacation to a house in the middle of nowhere and the “ghost” that they find there. I actually wrote several openings for this concept, but the more I brainstormed the story and how it would unfold, the more I realized that there was no way it was going to fit within the original word count limit! So it was shuffled to the side to languish until I have the time and focus to give it the attention it needs.

The next idea stemmed from one similar to Ties That Bind, drawing on threes as a source of power in magic. However, in Ties That Bind, one of the characters isn’t actively involved in the day-to-day magic, while in the potential story, it was going to be a plot point, specifically centered around the solstice and conveniently (or inconveniently) falling in love with someone you remember from high school. Again, the more I pondered, the bigger the story became and it went on the shelf. For another day.

Thinking my problem was involving magic, I wrote several openings in a contemporary setting, but after the first few pages, the characters fell flat. So I wandered back to magic, and not magic, and how a world with both would exist together, and how a mixed triad of magic and non-magic users would work, and I definitely needed to have a familiar in there…

And that’s how I got Ties That Bind. But don’t be surprised if you see something of those other ideas show up in future books!

For Chel, Tomlin, and Mathias, life is simple but good. They share a home and a love, and despite a few conflicts of personality, are happy. Mathias runs a magic shop, where he makes magic items and potions for his customers, and Tom is his familiar, helping supply his magic. Chel, who’s not magical, works at a bookshop and makes sure dinner is on the table for his lovers.

When Mathias suddenly comes down with a mysterious illness, Chel and Tomlin seek out answers. As Mathias’s familiar, Tomlin can sense that nothing is wrong with the magical parts of him, but when a trip to the doctor’s indicates nothing is wrong with him physically either, they start to worry.

Then Mathias collapses, and the search to find the truth becomes urgent.

Word Count: 17,000

Price: $1.99

For Chel, Tomlin, and Mathias, life is simple but good. They share a home and a love, and despite a few conflicts of personality, are happy. Mathias runs a magic shop, where he makes magic items and potions for his customers, and Tom is his familiar, helping supply his magic. Chel, who’s not magical, works at a bookshop and makes sure dinner is on the table for his lovers.

When Mathias suddenly comes down with a mysterious illness, Chel and Tomlin seek out answers. As Mathias’s familiar, Tomlin can sense that nothing is wrong with the magical parts of him, but when a trip to the doctor’s indicates nothing is wrong with him physically either, they start to worry.

Then Mathias collapses, and the search to find the truth becomes urgent.

Less Than Three Press

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

If there are two types of people in the world, Alex Whitehall probably isn’t one of them, despite being a person. Their favorite pastimes include reading, horseback riding, sleeping, watching geek-tastic television, knitting, eating, and running. And wasting time on the internet. And spending glorious evenings laughing with friends.

While Alex prefers sleeping over doing anything else (except maybe eating), sometimes they emerge from the cave to be social and to hunt for food at the local market. They can be found blogging, reading, and tending after their aloe plants.

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Comment with your email address below to be entered in the giveaway! The winner will be able to choose between an ebook copy of Hard Truths or an Audible download of Magic Runs Deep! Selection will be made Sunday, April 28 at 7pm. The winner will be contacted by Alex.

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win:

Boy Meets Boy Reviews – April 24

MM Good Book Reviews – April 24

Love Bytes Reviews – April 25

That’s What I’m Talking About – April 25

Book Reviews and More by Kathy – April 26

Bayou Book Junkie – April 27

 

The Doctor’s Secret by Heidi Cullinan: Release Day Review

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The brilliant but brooding new doctor encounters Copper Point’s sunny nurse-next-door… and nothing can stand in the way of this romance.

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu has come to Copper Point, Wisconsin, after the pressures of a high-powered residency burned him out of his career before he started. Ashamed of letting his family down after all they’ve done for him, he plans to live a quiet life as a simple surgeon in this tiny northern town. His plans, however, don’t include his outgoing, kind, and attractive surgical nurse, Simon Lane.

Simon wasn’t ready for the new surgeon to be a handsome charmer who keeps asking him for help getting settled and who woos him with amazing Taiwanese dishes. There’s no question—Dr. Wu is flirting with him, and Simon is flirting back. The problem is, St. Ann’s has a strict no-dating policy between staff, which means their romance is off the table… unless they bend the rules.

But a romance that keeps them—literally—in the closet can’t lead to happy ever after. Simon doesn’t want to stay a secret, and Hong-Wei doesn’t want to keep himself removed from life, not anymore. To secure their happiness, they’ll have to change the administration’s mind. But what other secrets will they uncover along the way, about Copper Point… and about each other?

Title: The Doctor’s Secret
Series: Copper Point Medical: Book 1
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Release Date: April 23, 2019
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 250

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

There were just so many things to like about this book. Doctor and nurse. Secret relationship. Great friendships. Small town. K-Pop and Asian dramas. There was so much and all of it was fun, sexy, hot, interesting and just a really good read that kept me engaged throughout.

Dr Hong-Wei (Jack) Wu is starting his career over, almost as soon as it began, in tiny Copper Point, WI. Quite a change from the urban Texas town he mostly grew up in. After moving there from Taiwan at 10 years old. He is a blend of Americanized and traditional Asian. He feels guilty for not living up to his potential at a highly rated hospital, but the pressure was too much.

Simon is a surgical nurse tasked with picking up the new permanent surgeon from the airport. He had no idea that the doctor would basically be his fantasy man come to life. But the hospital has a fairly new and very strict no fraternization policy. Of which he is reminded constantly.

But Jack is determined and methodical. He wants to slowly court, flirt with and win Jack over. It is so sweet. He takes his time. Really getting to know not only Jack, but his best friends and roommates (who are also doctors at the hospital).

There was so much to this story that kept it moving along. Jack befriending the old Chinese couple who own the one Chinese restaurant in town (and so sweet when he calls then auntie and uncle!), fill in doctors with attitudes, church meetings, fund raisers, a sting quartet waiting to happen. And yet none of it seemed like filler. Just a full life for those living in the story.

Even with the clandestine meetings, subtle touches when there were people around, it never got super angsty at all. The biggest angst is with the Human Resources manager. There is a story there I am dying to hear.

I stayed up past my bed time to finish this book and it was totally worth it. I feel like I am not giving a great story the justice it deserves.

4.5 pieces of eye candy