Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

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Color of You by C.S. Poe: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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Bowen Merlin—yes, that’s his real name—accepts a position in the quaint town of Lancaster, New Hampshire, as the high school band director. He leaves New York City for the snowy countryside of New England just in time for the holidays. With class, homework, after-school activities, and a surprise Christmas concert to plan and rehearse, Bowen is plenty busy. And since he’s never had much luck with romance, factoring in time to find Mr. Right isn’t a priority….

Until he meets the proprietor of Snowy Ridge Apple Orchard, Felix Hansen. Suddenly, true love seems like a possibility for the first time in Bowen’s life. The two are a perfect match and fill the skipped beats of each other’s hearts. But as wonderful as Felix seems, he’s harboring scars that could end their budding relationship when someone in town goes to great lengths to sabotage their careers.

If Bowen is to survive the holidays, he’ll need to lean on old friends and new, convince Felix he’s worth any hardship, and prove they can come out of the catastrophe stronger if they do so together.

Hello, everyone! I’m C.S. Poe, and welcome to the final stop on the Color of You blog tour, here at Two Chicks Obsessed. We’re only a few days away from Christmas and the release of my first novel-length contemporary romance. I’m so excited, and I really hope you all enjoy Color of You.

I’m happy to introduce you to the main characters at each stop of the tour, and be sure to check out the unique giveaway at the end!

Name: Stephen Kelly

Nickname: n/a

From: Boston, Massachusetts

Current location: Lancaster, New Hampshire

Age: 45

Hair: White with hints of black

Occupation: High school accounting teacher

Hobbies: Reading

Favorite holiday: Valentine’s Day

Favorite piece of clothing: Socks

Summer or winter: Winter

Coffee or tea: Coffee

“I can’t wait to:” Meet someone

Interesting fact: Has always wanted a Dalmatian

Quote: ‘Never order the turkey, meatloaf, or chili.’

 

“Bowen,” he repeated. “I’m Stephen Kelly. Accounting and school newspaper advisor.”

Stephen had a pleasant green voice and a sort of Anderson Cooper thing going on. Nice. And definitely why I’d caught a passing group of girls staring.

“Not me,” he stated.

“Huh?” Stephen smiled and nodded at the girls after they put some distance between us. “A young, cute, new teacher. They were staring at you.” He held out a hand. “Can I carry those for you? I’ll walk you to the music room.”

“Thank you,” I said, offering Stephen the folders before collecting my instrument case and following.

“I used to get those dreamy looks from students…. You know, twenty years ago.” Stephen gave me a wink.

I laughed but felt my cheeks getting warm and hoped I wasn’t blotchy. “Ha-ha… well, I’m definitely not looking to relive acne, long division, and learner’s permits. Nothing is more attractive to me than maturity.”

Stephen chuckled. “Mortgages and worrying when that thin spot will suddenly become a bald spot.”

I stood on my toes to inspect Stephen’s hair. “Nah. Looks full to me.”

He grinned, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Better watch it, Mr. Merlin, or you’ll have more than just fantasizing sixteen-year-old girls hanging around outside your classroom.”

If you read the tagline for C.S. Poe, it is “Murder. Romance. And the bizarre.” And she never fails to slip something bizarre into her books. In this, a contemporary romance, one of the MC’s has a condition that I had never heard of, likely most people have not, synesthesia. For Bowen, that means sound to color synesthesia. He SEES sounds as color. I’d say that qualifies as a bit bizarre. But he is also an incredibly caring and (as this author always seems to do) entirely unique character. And I loved him. I loved all of the characters! Well, except… 😉

Anyway, the sweetness of this is offset by a dynamic that shows the reader that looks can be deceiving, and stereotypes are often miscalculated. And can bring some hotness and fun to your screen! J One of the best moments was with Felix’s son, Alan, as they went to cut down a Christmas tree for Bowen.

“Closer. On your knees,” Felix said.

“Hey.” I looked at him. “I say that.”…

“I can hear you,” Alan stated from nearby.

“Pretend you didn’t,” I called back.

I laughed so hard at that little scene. It showed that Bowen was never afraid to be himself, even at the discomfort of his boyfriend’s teenaged son.

As always, C.S. Poe brings intrigue, humor, sexy scenes and such clear descriptions that I felt like I could understand what it was like to have synesthesia. The characters were wonderfully drawn and clearly, undeniably themselves. And take a good hard look at that beautiful cover, it is so appropriate for this book. It tied it all in together. What a joy to read!

4.5 pieces of eye candy

Tour:

12/18 – Bayou Book Junkie

12/19 – Open Skye Book Reviews

12/20 – Sinfully Gay Romance

12/21 – Love Bytes Reviews

12/22 – Two Chicks Obsessed

 

 

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Barnes & Noble

GooglePlay

iTunes

Kobo

Goodreads

C.S. Poe is an author of gay mystery, romance, and paranormal books.

She is a reluctant mover and has called many places home in her lifetime. C.S. has lived in New York City, Key West, and Ibaraki, Japan, to name a few. She misses the cleanliness, convenience, and limited-edition gachapon of Japan, but she was never very good at riding bikes to get around.

She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful and a major weakness for toys. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats. She’s rescued two cats—Milo and Kasper do their best on a daily basis to sidetrack her from work.

C.S. is a member of the International Thriller Writers organization.

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Blog | Goodreads | Newsletter |

 

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Roger by SJD Peterson: Release Day Review with Giveaway

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Texas native Colt Burrow isn’t happy about his third cold, lonely Christmas in frozen Michigan. But when fate sends him a gift in the form of an abandoned puppy, he can’t keep his heart from melting. With the puppy’s companionship, he doesn’t feel so isolated anymore, and the holidays don’t seem as bleak. He even finds enough Christmas spirit to take Roger tree shopping. But just when Colt’s starting to hope Roger’s owner doesn’t show up… he does, and Colt doesn’t want to say goodbye.

Will Roger end up being Colt’s Christmas heartbreak… or his Christmas miracle?

Title: Roger
Author: SJD Peterson
Release Date: December 20, 2017
Category: Holiday
Pages: 51

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Dreamspinner Press

Kobo Books

 

Christmas and pets are two things I’m a sucker for, so Roger by SJD Peterson sounded like the perfect read. Colt finds a lost dog who winds up thawing his cold heart and brings love to his life. Sound great, right? Well…

Now, don’t get me wrong, the book was cute. I chuckled when Colt caught himself talking to Roger. Thought it was amusing that the dog was a chick magnet, not the best trait for a gay man. But as the pages turned, I grew unsettled. More than pets, I love stories about people falling in love during the holidays. And maybe Colt did fall in love. With the dog.

Unfortunately, this is where my issue comes in. Animals are easy to love. People, not so much. And other than their mutual adoration of the dog, I’m not sure why Killian and Colt will make a good couple. Colt went from being upset with Killian for being so irresponsible to adoring him so fast it gave me whiplash. And then it’s over. It’s a year later and they’re hopelessly in love. How? Why?

Short stories are tough. There’s a fine line and, unfortunately, this one missed it.

3 pieces of eye candy

 

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12 Days of Kissmas Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott: Exclusive Guest Post and Giveaway

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Day 8 of the 12 Days of Kissmas is already here. Wow, this is flying by! Two of my fave authors are here today, Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott, who together make up Drake & Elliott. (Side note, they each have quite a few solo books as well!) I found their Unbreakable Bonds series by accident. They had book 1 on sale for 99 cents, and I loved the cover (FYI, all the covers in that series are effing amazing!), so I snapped it up. And fell in love with four men who lived and loved, and seemed to get shot at or blown up a lot, in Cincinnati. My favorite series of 2017 without question. And then I got to meet these two ladies at GRL, and I fan girled…a lot…and they were incredibly generous and nice, and oh how I wished I’d been able to spend more time with them. They are amazing writers, and even more amazing people, so I am so happy to welcome these two ladies today. Take it away, Rinda!

Warm, Holiday Kisses, Kittens, & New Book Title!

Ahhh, crisp, winter days, warm fireplaces, and romantic holiday novellas with sweet kisses. Or… hot kisses. I’ve bought so many holiday novellas; it’ll take me far into the next year to finish them. I’ve been working, so I haven’t been able to read many this month, but I’ve also been busy because I did a crazy thing for our family holiday gift.

Two new kittens.

I got them from a rescue center and am thrilled to give them a new home and I love them already. But wow, I had forgotten about the work they require. I sit down to write and hear them getting into… everything. I’m getting up over and over to pull them out of and off things. (At least it’s exercise!) As I’m writing this, the black one—Morrigan—is climbing around a stack of open boxes with my husband’s collectibles and the Siamese—Ash—is finding all the dust under my bed. Yep, I’m bad about cleaning under there, so I’ll have to wipe her down. Again.

And no, I did not name these two after the light and dark fae leaders in the show, Lost Girl. It was a happy coincidence! My husband picked Ash because it looks like she’s crawled through it. I picked Morrigan because there is a lot of magical lore around the ash tree. The world tree, the Ygddrasil tree in Norse mythology. Witches brooms are made from ash. There is a lot. So, I thought about the Celtic goddess over magic and prophecy and that was it. Morrigan is an elegant name that fits this pretty, black cat perfectly just as Ash is for the Siamese. (And yes, another happy coincidence is having a cat carry the nickname our Lucas Vallois has for his best friend, Ashton Frost in our Unbreakable Bonds Series.)

Why am I talking about cats on a book blog? A lot of writers have pets as company. We spend so much time alone, and at home, and it can get lonely. For me, cats are the perfect companions because they don’t require as much work as dogs. (Okay, when they’re older, of course.) They are also just so affectionate. As I’ve been writing this, they’ve settled in next to me. Pets just warm your heart.

And speaking of warming your heart, for those that follow Jocelynn Drake and me, we are hard at work on Quinn and Shane’s book and I have a fun surprise for you guys. The title of book two in the Ward Security Series is… drumroll…

 

Dantés Unglued

 

I can’t wait for you guys to see why this particular book got this title. I love all of the titles we’ve picked for this series so much! Book one is Psycho Romeo, so you can see we have a fun theme going on with this new series. Famous literary hero stories threaded into the suspense in each novel. It might be subtle or it might be blatant, but we’re having a blast coming up with the complexities that tie in some of our favorite classic stories. Dantés Unglued is due out around the end of January or beginning of February. It will depend on edits.

Until then, back to the romantic holiday novellas. Did you know Jocelynn has one out this year?

Here’s a little about Ice, Snow, & Mistletoe!

Happy holidays everyone!

John Sullivan is escaping to Denver. Even with a massive snow storm on his heels, he plans to hide away in his cabin in the mountains and ignore Christmas. It’ll be just him and a bottle of whiskey until the new year when he must return to Cincinnati for his best friend’s wedding.

At least, that’s the plan until he runs into Oz at the airport.

Oz … the man who should have been just a fling. The man who was fun and laughs but quickly turned into so much more before he completely kicked John out of his life.

Oz who desperately needs his help…

John is ready to leave Oz stranded at the Denver airport in the coming blizzard, but he finds himself possibly staring down at the reason Oz pushed him away, and John can’t say no.

Second chances don’t come around often, but John is willing to fight for one with Oz.

Who are Drake & Elliott? Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott have teamed up to combine their evil genius to create intense gay romantic suspense stories that have car chases, shoot outs, explosions, scorching hot love scenes, and tender, tear-jerking moments. Their first joint books are in the Unbreakable Bonds series.


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Daddy Needs a Date by Sean Michael: Release Day Review with Giveaway

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With four girls, single dad Ryan Withers has his hands too full to look for romance. He’s not complaining—he loves his daughter and the three nieces he adopted when their parents died, and he would do anything for them. He’s caught off guard when his mother and daughter decide to play matchmaker.

Alex Bernot works in disaster relief, his job taking him all over the world, helping others, for extended periods of time. He’s staying with his aunt while he’s home, and she sets him up on a blind date. Finding a special someone isn’t really on his mind, but he goes to make his aunt happy.

Ryan and Alex enjoy each other’s company more than either of them expected, and they soon make a second date. Their lives are complicated, though, in very different ways, and soon family needs and their jobs conspire to pull them apart. They’ll need to figure out how to work through the things keeping them apart, but first they’ll have to decide if they even want to….

Title: Daddy Needs a Date
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: December 18, 2017
Category: Contemporary, Holiday
Pages: 200

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Dreamspinner Press

Kobo Books

 

I went into Daddy Needs a Date with no information other than what I got from the cover. Kids and a dad who needs some adult interaction. These are things I understand, so I dove in.

Ryan definitely has his hands full with not only his own child, but also the three little girls he adopted when his sister died. From page one, I loved Ryan, because he has a huge heart and it’s so apparent he will do anything for his girls. Including facials with ranch dressing, which I’m not sure I fully understand or am brave enough to try, but it has to be love to let that garlicky goodness soak into your pores.

I wanted to be upset with Alex, or maybe the meddling women who set him up on a blind date with Ryan, when he found out Ryan was a father of four. But it was a realistic reaction and he didn’t bolt away from dinner. He won my heart when… okay, not telling you that, because it’s a HUGE part of the story and I don’t see how anyone wouldn’t love him.

But then he left. And I was more angry with Ryan, his mom, and his oldest daughter (the women being 2/3 of the set up crew) for being upset that he left. Yes, it sucked and the timing was horrible, but they knew ahead of time what he did for a living. It was unrealistic for them to think he could just stay.

When Alex came back, we got to see their growth as a family. Was it too fast? Probably. Would it happen in real life? Probably. Like I said above, something happens that makes it nearly impossible for Alex to not be part of their lives. And it proves that he’s a good man through and through. I love the fact that one of the girls became just a little more special to him than the others. I even liked that the teenager didn’t always love him.

Daddy Needs a Date was a great read. Some angst, but not as much as there could’ve been. My only complaint is that the book ended.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

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Kairos by Mary Calmes: Release Day Review with Giveaway

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Sometimes the best day of your life is the one you never saw coming.

Joe Cohen has devoted the past two years of his life to one thing: the care and feeding of Kade Bosa. His partner in their PI business, roommate, and best friend, Kade is everything to Joe, even if their relationship falls short of what Joe desires most. But he won’t push. Kade has suffered a rough road, and Joe’s pretty sure he’s the only thing holding Kade together.

Estranged from his own family, Joe knows the value of desperately holding on to someone dear, but he never expected his present and past to collide just as Kade’s is doing the same. Now they’ve stumbled across evidence that could change their lives: the impact of Kade’s tragic past, their job partnership, and any future Joe might allow himself to wish for….

Title: Kairos
Author: Mary Calmes
Release Date: December 15, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: TBD (Novella)

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

Honestly… did you expect this book to be anything other than Mary Calmes perfection? Shame on you, if you did.

If you love Ian and Miro, you’re going to love this one, they reminded me so much of them… not too much, that it’s like reading the same thing but with different dudes, but enough to where I’m like… oh yes, I love them already!

Kade and Joey are PI’s in Chicago, partners, roommates and best friends. Hired by someone that Kade knew, back when he was a police officer, has some truths thrown up in the air along with everything he thought he knew crumbling around them when the guy they were supposed to find. He has a lot of information on Kade…. This kid reminded me a little of Jory and a little of the two kids Ian and Miro found, Cabot and Drake… Can I tell you how much I love them all?

Well, deciding to get out of town, Kade takes it upon himself to reunite Joey with his estranged family. Estranged by Joey’s doing, not theirs and you’ll fall in love with all of them, they’re their own brand of crazy!

Also, like Ian and Miro, they’re best friends, partners and always together, they’re also madly in love with each other and my heart broke for Joey several times because I thought Kade just didn’t see it, or didn’t want to. That wasn’t the case though and I loved every heart breaking minute of it!

It’s short and a bit familiar, but everything we love about this author and the boys she gives to us. It’s short-ish, but you won’t be disappointed…. AND there’s a mention of Mr. Aaron Sutter, would you not read it just for that? I mean, come on!

Overall, it’s an amazing story, with amazing hot guys and their amazing love….

5 well deserved pieces of eye candy from me!


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12 Days of Kissmas Aimee Nicole Walker: Exclusive Guest Post and Giveaway

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Day 5 in the 12 Days of Kissmas brings us to Aimee Nicole Walker, who I had the extreme joy of meeting at GRL in October. I’m so glad I got to hang out with this smart, sassy and oh so sweet lady. I know now where Josh gets his sassyness. Even if you aren’t a baker, you have to read Josh’s recipe below, it is…enlightening shall we say? Laughing so hard! Thank you and welcome to the blog, Aimee. 

Hello everyone. I’m so happy to stop by the Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy blog to celebrate the holidays with you. This time of year is so hectic with all the hustle and bustle of trying to find the right gifts and planning the perfect meal for your company that we often lose sight of what the season truly means. It’s about family, friendship, and faith—whatever your beliefs may be. It’s a time to believe in miracles again.

Recently, I published A Dye Hard Holiday, which happens to by my first holiday book. It’s the fifth installment in my Curl Up and Dye Mysteries. If you’ve read any of my series, you know that family, friends, and faith in ourselves and each other are common themes in my books. There’s another F word that I’m known for in my writing: food. Get your minds out of the gutter! (TCO note to insert here: hahahaha) Food and family go together for me. I can’t think of one without the other, so I incorporate that into my books.

In A Dye Hard Holiday, I shared a few of Josh Roman-Wyatt’s favorite recipes. Fans of the series loved them so much that we (Josh and I) decided to release one more. This is his Snickerdoodle recipe, so I’ll let Josh take it from here.

 

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup of shortening

1-1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 eggs

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

 

Sugar Topping:

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of sugar (You can use colored sugar if you want to jazz them up)

 

Directions:

Sift together the dry ingredients, which includes cream of tartar. I don’t know why they call a powder a cream, but just toss that shit in the sifter with the rest of the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. You don’t have to add one egg at a time like those fancy cooking shows. Just crack those bitches and add them to the sugar and shortening. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Chill dough for 30 to 60 minutes.

Roll into balls—the size is up to you. My recipe calls for walnut size. Pretty sure they mean unshelled walnuts because otherwise that’s a damn big cookie. Size queens, keep in mind that the bigger your balls the longer they’ll take to bake. I think mine are around an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Cookie balls, folks! My man berries are considerably larger than an inch, thank you very much. Where was I? Oh, yes! Roll your balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture then place them about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Josh tip: I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper for even baking and easy cleanup. Bake in a 400F degree oven until the cookies are lightly brown but still soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. If you’ve chosen to make big balls like Gabe’s, you’ll need to bake them a little longer. Just keep an eye on them. I hope you enjoy my cookies!

Thank you, Josh! Sorry about him. He can be quite a handful sometimes. *wicked laughter in the background* Okay, he’s a handful all the time. We hope you enjoy this recipe for many years to come! Its one of our favorites.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of year for Gabe and Josh Roman-Wyatt as they celebrate their first holidays as fathers, but someone’s war on St. Nick threatens to ruin their holly jolly Christmas.

The Norman Rockwell holiday they had envisioned implodes and shenanigans ensue in true Josh and Gabe style, but that only makes the couple more determined to rejoice in the love and joy they have found in one another. A Black Friday showdown, two foul-mouthed birds, one lumbersexual, ugly Christmas sweaters aplenty, four invading grandparents, and a sexy twist on an advent calendar lead up to oh, holy nights. Catch up with your favorite characters and meet some new faces in a tale that is sure to make you feel as warm as Josh’s creamy, hot-buttered rum concoction.

A Dye Hard Holiday is a funny story about two fathers trying to hold it all together as they juggle busy careers and family life while planning the perfect holiday season. Will they be rocking around the Christmas tree or will it be a blue Christmas? The book is approximately 50,000 words long and is not intended as a standalone book. This supplements the Curl Up and Dye Mysteries series, which should be read in order. This book contains sexually explicit material and is intended for adults 18 and over.

I am a wife and mother to three kids, four dogs, and a cat. When I’m not dreaming up stories, I like to lose myself in a good book, cook or bake. I’m a girly tomboy who paints her fingernails while watching sports and yelling at the referees. I will always choose the book over the movie. I believe in happily-ever-after. Love inspires everything that I do. Music keeps me sane.
I’d love to hear from you.
You can reach me at:

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