romance

Unquiet by Melanie Hansen: Cover Reveal, Excerpt and Giveaway

December 21, 2015 by Denise

Loren Smith has been in love with Eliot Devlin almost his entire life. During their turbulent childhood and teen years, Loren didn’t always understand Eliot, and sometimes he could be a challenge, but Eliot was the only one to ever truly ease Loren’s deep loneliness and accept him. When Eliot’s increasingly erratic and self-destructive behavior culminates in a suicide attempt at seventeen, Loren is devastated.

Upon meeting again by chance nine years later, Loren is enjoying a successful career as a police officer while Eliot’s life has been a constant struggle for stability. In and out of mental hospitals, with a rap sheet a mile long, he continues to be buffeted by the twin storms of mania and depression. Loren’s love and protectiveness for Eliot are deeply ingrained in him, however, and their feelings for each other are quickly rekindled.

Loren has issues of his own he’s dealing with, and trying to understand and cope with Eliot’s bipolar disorder isn’t easy. They believe they’re meant to be, and Eliot brings a fulfillment to Loren’s life that no one else will ever match. But as they both come to realize, love by itself can’t cure all.

Author Name: Melanie Hansen

Book Name: Unquiet

Series: Resilient Love

Book: Three

Unquiet can be read as a standalone

Release Date: January 22, 2016

Pages or Words: 102,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

“Are you happy, El?” Loren finally asked. “I’ve seen so many different incarnations of your moods, but I honestly don’t know if I’d recognize happiness in you.” His voice held a faint note of apology for asking, and Eliot glanced at him, surprised but pleased by Loren’s candor.

“I don’t know if I’d recognize happiness either, Loren,” he admitted, rubbing his thumb over the back of Loren’s hand when he threw Eliot a stricken look. “Hey, hey,” Eliot said reassuringly. “I don’t mean that the way it sounds.”

Eliot blew out a breath, thinking about how to explain this. Loren waited, but his lips were pressed together in a tight line, and Eliot squeezed his fingers.

“Usually when I wake up in the morning, I’m afraid,” he said, and Loren opened his mouth to speak but then didn’t say anything. Eliot glanced at him again, then continued, “I feel the craziness, the madness lurking, just waiting for me. It feels like it’s attached to me, that when I get out of bed, I’m dragging it with me. It’s always there, ready to pounce and swallow me up.”

“Oh, El,” Loren whispered.

Eliot stroked his hand. “And this morning when I woke up, I wasn’t afraid. I think that’s what it feels like to be happy. It’s enough for me.”

Loren didn’t say anything, but a lone tear slid down his cheek. Eliot reached up and wiped it away with his thumb, stroking Loren’s jaw tenderly.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

Just then the sign for a scenic lookout appeared, and Loren took the exit, parking the truck. He stared through the windshield, blinking fast, more tears welling up.

“The thought of you for all those years, waking up afraid,” he whispered brokenly. “And I wasn’t there, Eliot. I wasn’t there.” Eliot could see Loren’s throat working as he fought not to cry, and with a soft exclamation, Eliot opened his arms, gathering him close. He stroked Loren’s hair, feeling the hot wetness of tears against his neck.

“But you were there, Loren. Shhh,” he soothed.

When Loren calmed a little, Eliot pulled back and took Loren’s face in his hands, forcing him to meet his eyes.

“I’ve been in a lot of therapy over the years, and they always ask me the same thing, what my best memories are, what memories do I have of feeling happy or safe. I’m supposed to bring them to mind when I’m stressed or scared or angry. It’s part of cognitive therapy, learning to readjust your thinking, to focus on good things and not negative things.”

Eliot caressed Loren’s face. “And Loren, there’s a lot I don’t remember, but what I do, every single one of those types of memories is about you. Being kids, riding our bikes, playing with toys, laughing at stupid jokes. Then later the way you held me in the dark after a nightmare or sat with me when I was so sad and hurting that I wanted to die. The way you—the way you loved me, loved my batshit crazy and fucked-up mess.

“You’ve always been with me, Loren, through my memories. Always.”

Loren completely lost it then, and Eliot let him cry it out, murmuring to him, rocking him, reveling in being the one to comfort, to soothe, of being able to shore up the man he loved when he needed it.

Finally the storm passed and Loren pulled away, sitting up and scrubbing his hands over his face.

“I’m glad, El,” he rasped, clearing his throat several times before starting the truck and pulling back onto the interstate. “I’m glad I’m your best memories.”

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7150 ebook

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7151 paperback

Melanie Hansen has spent time in Texas and Florida prisons…for work. She’s been in a room with a 17-year-old mass murderer who was also one of the most soft-spoken and polite teenagers she’s ever met. After a 13-year career as a court reporter, she can tell many stories both hilarious and heartbreaking.

She grew up with an Air Force dad, and ended up marrying a Navy man. After living and working all over the country, she hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to her stories about people finding love amidst real-life struggles.

Melanie left the stressful world of the courtroom behind and now enjoys a rewarding career transcribing for a deaf student. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009084006829

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelJoyAZ

Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Books A to Z, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, The Hat Party, Molly Lolly, Divine Magazine, Happily Ever Chapter, Boy Meets Boy Reviews, Havan Fellows, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Love Bytes, BFD Book Blog, Louise Lyons, Nephy Hart, Iyana Jenna, MM Good Book Reviews, Jessie G. Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Alpha Book Club, Mikky’s World of Books, Book Lovers 4Ever

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Holiday Roundup: Authors and Reviewers Picks

December 20, 2015 by Denise

Who doesn’t like Holiday reads? We asked some of our favorite authors and our own reviewers what their favorite holidays reads are, and some of the answers caused us to rethink our own answers. The good thing with holiday reads is that there are so many to go around, and its just the perfect time to sit back with a glass of wine or hot cocoa and spend the night with a couple of delicious men…on paper of course! 🙂

Let us know what your favorites are!

Denise: Found at the Library by Christi Snow

Morgan: If Only In My Dreams by Keira Andrews

Heather: Sleigh Ride by Heidi Cullinan

Felice Stevens: The Dickens with Love by Josh Lanyon

Cardeno C: A Great Miracle Happened There by Kim Fielding

Sloan Johnson: He Completes Me by Cardeno C

Michelle: Against the Grain by Charlie Cochet (for the Thanksgiving scene!)

Jessie G: Dreaming of Snow by Teodora Kostova

Sno Ho & Life in Fusion by Ethan Day : Quick Reviews

December 19, 2015 by Denise

Boone Daniels seems to have trouble finishing things. Along with the half dozen or so novels he’s started, only to abandon mid-way through, his love life could be best described as a series of drive-bys.

Boone has spent the past week staying at a ski lodge in the tiny mountain town of Summit City. He’s been using his time alone to write while waiting for his boyfriend to join him for their anniversary.

What happens to Boone when he winds up dumped on the eve of his one-year anniversary and ends up at a bar having one too many cocktails? Wade Walker.

Do you know that friend who’s absolutely amazing most of the time, but sometimes goes off on these wild tangents that make you roll your eyes, wondering why they’re trying so hard? That’s how I felt about Sno Ho by Ethan Day.

Boone is an interesting character. When he chilled out, I loved him. But when he was trying to be funny, I felt it was exactly that. He was trying. Or rather, Ethan Day was trying to craft a hilarious character and could have pulled it back a bit. At one point, the joking around when Wade was trying to be serious annoyed the hell out of me.

And Wade… oh, Wade… I spent a great deal of the book trying to figure out what his deal was. He’s obviously the golden boy of Summit City and he has a pure heart, but sometimes, I felt like he’d gone from being a big teddy bear to a bearskin rug. He was willing to call Boone out on his eating habits, and asked a few times about the inappropriate banter and inability to be serious, but I can’t imagine many people sticking around long with how Boone behaved.

The story opens with Boone waking up after a drunken one-night stand, but by the time he leaves, the only reason he knows the name of the man who left him walking funny is that he dug through his mail. Okay, cool. It happens. But honestly, I’m still not sure WHY these men were attracted to one another. It may have been the hot sex, but other than that, I’m somewhat clueless. I guess what I’m saying is I wish we had more connection and fewer antics in Sno Ho.

This was a quick read, and I’ll admit I’m getting ready to dive into Life In Fusion. My hope is that we’ll get to learn more about why Boone and Wade work when it’s more than a one week vacation rebound fling.

3.5 pieces of Eye Candy

Aspiring author, Boone Daniels, always figured love would be as easy as he was. Fresh off a whirlwind winter-vacation romance with ski-god and would-be boyfriend, Wade Walker – Boone was certain that saying goodbye would be the hardest part.

He’d survived the unconventional way in which they came together, proven himself somewhat worthy to Wade’s hometown of Summit City, and felt certain the self-imposed, six month boy-buffer would prove one thing – their fate was to be forever entwined.

Once real life settles in, Boone suffers the realization that no one ever actually said love was easy and that even after you fall, you can still break. As their two worlds collide, he begins to understand that if he can navigate the landscape of life in fusion, he just might get that happily-ever-after…after all.

Wade and Boone’s story continues from Sno Ho into Life in Fusion…

For the most part, I enjoyed Life in Fusion more than I did Sno Ho. Boone seemed to chill out a bit and wasn’t quite as immature. He still had his moments of randomness, but they didn’t feel as forced in this book.

I enjoyed seeing Wade and Boone tackle their time apart. I fell in love with them as people and was cheering for them to have their happily ever after. There were a few moments when I wanted to shake the life out of Boone and tell him to use his big boy words instead of getting pissy, but I got past them.

The friendship with Gabe, and how upset he was about Boone being with someone, confused me. At first, I thought he was worried for his friend, but the longer it went on, the more it felt like he was a jealous tool. I wound up really NOT liking him. And never understood why Chip and Wade didn’t like one another.

The only reason this book didn’t rate higher is that I found myself skimming. A lot. The background stories threatened to barge their way into Wade and Boone’s time. And I’ll admit, after reading the first part of Boone’s WIP, I skipped over the rest. I get that the author was trying to show that Boone had his mojo back, but it wasn’t the type of story that intrigued me as a reader. And there wasn’t just a paragraph here and there, it was pages at the beginning of each part of the book.

3.75 pieces of Eye Candy

Ethan Day | Author

ethan@ethanday.com w. www.ethanday.com

A Forced Silence by Cate Ashwood : Blog Tour, Excerpt, Review and Giveaway

December 19, 2015 by Denise

For paramedic Adam Carson, his world is lights and sirens and saving lives. Pressures at work keep him firmly in the closet, and life is too busy to contend with the complications that come with dating and relationships. When a familiar face from his past turns up where he least expects it, Adam starts to question whether or not there is room in his life for those complications.

The last person forensic pathologist Sam McKenna expects to see at pub night is Adam, the guy who made his life hell in high school. The attraction is instant, but Adam isn’t gay and Sam has no interest in pursuing him. Still, the leftover animosity from their teenage years isn’t enough to extinguish the lust growing between them. After both are called to the scene of a horrific murder, Adam admits he’s not as straight as he led Sam to believe and they seek comfort and distraction in each other’s arms. One night becomes many as the murder investigation intensifies, but when Adam is faced with losing Sam, he is forced to make a choice: to break his silence, or to give up everything for the job he loves.

Author Name: Cate Ashwood

Book Name: A Forced Silence

Series: Zero Hour

Book: One

Release Date: December 11, 2015

Pages or Words: 200 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Melody Pond

This was my first book by Cate Ashwood, and I will say that immediately after finishing A Forced Silence, I went an grabbed Tasting Notes to read that as well. It seems I have some books to catch up on to get through her library.

The story of these two men began in high school, with Sam (aka Dex) and Adam being at odds, an enemies to lovers story. Dealing with not only the murder of a young man, both the paramedic who dealt with it at the scene and the forensic pathologist who gave voice to the young man who died, had to find a way to not only co-exist, but quickly gave into their passion.

One thing that was exceptional to me was Adam being in the closet. Now, this is nothing new, quite often we read about characters struggling to get out of the closet, wondering how it will affect their family, friends, co-workers, etc. However, in the case of Adam, I loved how Sam reacted. He let it be. He didn’t try to force Adam out of the closet. He didn’t tell him he was silly for being in the closet. He respected his decision, and let him know that if and when he was ready to come out he would be there, but he wasn’t going to be the one to push him out.

Their relationship was well connected, as these were two very fleshed out characters, with not only history between them, but passion, and both with a need to help people.

I did find the ending rather abrupt. It had a little bit of a cliffhanger (not with the relationship), but it just felt slightly unfinished. There were a few questions that should have been dealt with, and its entirely possible the next book may deal with them. However, I did feel that at least one or two needed to be dealt with in this book, as it was specific to these characters, and not the overall arc of the secondary storyline.

In the end, I still found it an enjoyable read.

4 pieces of eye candy.

“Ah, here they are,” Ford said, turning his head toward two men who were making their way to the table.

“Adam, John, this is Sam. Sam, these are two of the city’s ugliest heroes, John and Adam.” Ford made the introductions as John slid into a chair across from him, lifting his head in greeting.

Sam swallowed hard, barely registering anything other than the man still standing in front of him. Adam Carson. He watched as recognition dawned in Adam’s eyes and a slow smirk appeared on his face. It was the same familiar cocky expression he wore when Sam knew him a billion years earlier.

“You sure have grown up, Dexter,” Adam said, exercising the nickname he had used for him all through school.

Sam lifted one eyebrow. “It seems you haven’t.”

“You two know each other?” Ford asked, eyebrows lifted in question.

“Oh, me and Dex go way back,” Adam supplied, never taking his eyes off Sam.

“Dex?”

Sam rolled his eyes. Ford was his friend, but that didn’t mean he wanted to rehash the shit that happened back in high school. That name was one that haunted him right through the twelfth grade. When he moved, he tucked it safely away, but tonight, it seemed, it had followed him.

“Long story,” Adam said. “It’s good to see you. It’s been a long time.”

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

ARe

Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cate.ashwood

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Cate-Ashwood-Author-288329491267435/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cateashwood

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cateashwood/

Newsletter: http://www.cateashwood.com/contact.html (Sign-up on the right hand side of the blog)
Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Bayou Book Junkie, V’s Reads, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Cate Ashwood, KathyMac Reviews, Just Love Romance, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, The Hat Party, The Jena Wade, Carly’s Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Happily Ever Chapter, Iyana Jenna, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Molly Lolly, Divine Magazine, MM Good Book Reviews, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Sassygirl Books, Alpha Book Club, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Andrew Q. Gordon, Velvet Panic, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, My Fiction Nook, 3 Chicks After Dark, Kirsty Loves Books

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Moment of Silence by Karen Stivali : Release Day Review and Giveaway

December 18, 2015 by Denise

Growing up, Jason Stern led a charmed life complete with devoted sisters, a father who was one of Brooklyn’s most respected rabbis, and a mother who made the world’s best babka. He headed to NYU ready for anything—except falling for the wrong guy, coming out, and getting disowned by his once-loving family. In spite of that, Jason managed to graduate with honors. He’s got friends who treat him like family, and he’s proudly running the largest LGBTQ teen shelter in Manhattan. Life is good, but he’s still falling for the wrong men.

When charming, sexy Quinn Fitzpatrick begins work at the shelter, Jason falls hard and fast. Quinn is tall, blond, funny—damn near perfect. Only if Quinn’s gay, even he doesn’t seem to know it. If he does, he’s not telling anyone. And he’s about one ceremony away from becoming a Catholic priest.

Long hours of work turn to long nights of talking and laughter, and Jason dares to hope this time he’s falling for the right guy. But Quinn’s got a past to deal with and major decisions to make about his future. When Quinn leaves for a silent retreat, Jason knows the silence may change everything.

Author Name: Karen Stivali

Book Name: Moment of Silence

Series: Moments In Time

This book is a ‘Moments in Time Novel’. It takes place in the same world, but can be read separately.

Release Date: December 18, 2015

Pages or Words: 76,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5170527.Karen_Stivali

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska

Pierogi were just what the evening required. We got two orders, potato with fried onions, and cheese doused in butter. To round things out, we added a gigantic link of kielbasa and finished it all off with blueberry blintzes. By the time we were done eating, I was so full I could barely move.

“This was awesome.” Quinn licked a purple streak of blueberry off his fork before setting it down and pushing his plate away.

I was too mesmerized by the sight of his tongue to speak right away.

The waitress stopped at our booth. “All set?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

She placed the paper check between us, and Quinn reached for it, but I grabbed it first. “I’ve got this one. Make up for the popcorn you gave away.”

“You don’t have to do that.” He pulled out his wallet and put a twenty on the table.

“You can’t let anyone do anything for you, can you?”

Quinn’s eyes bugged, then softened. “Yeah, I guess I do have a problem with that sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“Okay, most of the time.”

“You know what they say. The first step is admitting you have a problem. And the second is letting me pay for dinner.” I stuck the check and enough money for the meal and tip under the glass sugar shaker, then grabbed Quinn’s twenty, folded it in half, leaned over, and tucked it into his shirt pocket.

My fingers were in the pocket before I fully realized what I was doing. Then the whole universe condensed into the drag of my fingers on that two-inch-square area of his chest. His rock-solid chest that tightened the instant I made contact. My own chest froze, devoid of air. I’d forgotten how to breathe. All I could do was think about the fact that I had my hand on this man who’d consumed my waking and sleeping hours for weeks. And I had to let go. Literally.

I pulled my hand away, trying to turn the rush of breath that returned to my lungs into something resembling a laugh. “Ready to get out of here?”

Quinn nodded.

Shit. He’s silent again. Did he notice that moment of fantasy lust I just played out? What the fuck is wrong with me? Way to make him uncomfortable. Fuck—My monologue of self-criticism was interrupted by his hand on my shoulder.

His hand was probably a normal temperature, but given the heat it generated in my body, he might as well have been the Human Torch . Great. I’m not only in love with a straight priest, he’s also a superhero.

Quinn chuckled, and for a second I worried I’d said my crazy thoughts out loud. My face flushed to match the heat that coursed through the rest of me. “What?”

He handed me my keys. “You left these on the table.”

“Oh.” I took them, heat flaring through me in another rush when his fingers brushed mine as he placed the keyring in my hand. “Thanks. Geez. That would have sucked if I’d left those here.”

“Yeah.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I nearly tripped over the step as we left the restaurant. It was a text from Campbell. I laughed. “Apparently my roommate’s having an orange juice crisis, as in we’re out of orange juice. I need to stop at the bodega on the way home. I feel like we’re married sometimes. In a weird, sexless way.” Stop talking. Now.

“It’s good you get along so well.”

I gestured to the store on the next corner. “You need anything?”

“Nah. I’m too full to even think about eating or drinking anything.”

“The power of the pierogi.”

He grinned. “See you tomorrow?”

“Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll work on those shelves. Unless you think we need to run the math one more time.”

“Just triple-checking your skills.” The teasing sound in his voice made me want to stay on that corner and talk to him all night. Anything to keep hold of the pleasant hum that was vibrating through my body. But then he turned away, heading toward his place, hand in the air in a backward wave of sorts. “Good night.”

It was indeed. “Night.”

I’m a huge fan of the Moments in Time series. It took me a while to pick up Moment of Impact, but once I did, I couldn’t get enough. Now that Tanner and Collin are happy and in love, Karen Stivali has moved on to writing about some of their friends and family.

Moment of Silence is the story of Jason and Quinn. Those who’ve read the earlier books in the series will remember them from Moment of Truth and Moment of Clarity. Jason was the friend who was crushing on Collin when they were on Fire Island, and Quinn is Collin’s almost-priest brother.

I went into the story blind because Karen Stivali has yet to let me down with a book in this series. That may have been a bit of a hindrance, because it took me a little while to remind myself who they were. Once the puzzle pieces started to fall into place, I couldn’t get enough.

I worried about how this story would play out given the fact that there was not only Quinn’s potential priesthood, but the fact that Jason’s father is a Rabbi. That could have been a recipe for disaster because sometimes books with such strong, religious characters tend to come across preachy. Not the case here.

Quinn definitely struggled with his feelings for Jason and the future he’d been working toward for a decade. As I read, I felt for him. I wanted him to be happy. And luckily, Jason didn’t go into this relationship with any expectations of what would happen in the future. He knew the score. He knew there was a chance Quinn would walk away.

I can’t say too much more without giving away major parts of the story, but I will say this is one of the first books in a while to make me both laugh and cry. When I finished the last page, I couldn’t help but read the excerpt for Moment of Fate at the back of the book, because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to this cast of characters. Karen Stivali is still firmly on my must-read list with this great new release!

4.5 pieces of Eye Candy

Amazon

DSP eBook

DSP Paperback

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She’s also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. She writes novels about love…like real life, only hotter.

Karen’s lifelong fascination with people has led her to careers ranging from hand-drawn animator, to party planner, to marriage and family counselor, but writing has always been her passion. Karen enjoys nothing more than following her characters on their journey toward love. Whether the couples are m/f or m/m, it’s guaranteed that Karen’s novels are filled with food, friendship, love, and smoking hot sex—all the best things in life.

When Karen isn’t writing (and often when she is), she can be found on Twitter attempting witty banter and detailing the antics of her fruit-loving cat, BadKitteh. She loves to hear from readers (and other writers), so don’t hesitate to contact/follow/like her at: [insert contact info here]

Where to find the author:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenstivali

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karenstivali

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karenstivali/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5170527.Karen_Stivali

Blog: http://karenstivali.com

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/KarenStivaliAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, BFD Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Unquietly Me, KathyMac Reviews, 3 Chicks After Dark, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Jessie G. Books, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Elin Gregory, Inked Rainbow Reads, Divine Magazine, MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Just Love Romance, Three Books Over the Rainbow, Book Lovers 4Ever, Butterfly-O-Meter, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Charley Descoteaux, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, A.M. Leibowitz, My Fiction Nook, V’s Reads

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Snowed In by Teodora Kostova : Quick Review

December 15, 2015 by Denise

Be careful what you wish for…

Nate has been in love with Quinn, his brother’s best friend, for as long as he can remember. But when he finally gets the chance to show Quinn how he feels, his heart gets broken in the most unexpected way.

Second chances come when you least expect them…

Quinn doesn’t believe in miracles, especially not Christmas ones. When he decides to win Nate back he knows it won’t be easy. The last thing he expects is a health scare, a road trip and a vicious snow storm to work in his favor.

In the end, a cabin in the woods turns out to be not only the shelter they desperately need, but also Quinn’s very own Christmas miracle.

Sometimes, to forgive, you need to get snowed in…

*Stand alone novella, not connected to any series

Amazon

This holiday novella follows Nate and Quinn, through their very young adulthood for part one. Then again several years later for part two, as they get to their HEA.

Nate was such a sweet young man in part one, who couldn’t wait to see the man he had been in love with since they met. Quinn left town, and broke his heart, and Nate became an angry, promiscuous man, who hated Quinn upon seeing him again.

I will admit, that after Quinn broke Nate’s heart at the end of part one, I was angry myself. I couldn’t read the novella for a while after that, stewing in my anger, much the way Nate seemed to do. When Quinn came back, to win Nate over, I was hesitant at first too, not knowing why Quinn left in the first place. He tried to convince Nate that he wanted him back, that he wanted to make up for the pain he had caused.

I did have a few issues with the characterizations in this novella, though. There might be a few small spoilers ahead, so you are warned.

The brain tumor of Quinn’s roommate led the pack here. Quinn felt beholden to the roommate as he got sick, and that he needed to care for him. That was the type of person he was, wanting to take care of a man who had taken care of him. However, in all honesty, they had been roommates and friends, so why would Quinn choose to hurt a man so tremondously, that he claimed to love, because someone who was a friend was sick? Could it be because he didn’t want Nate to see him struggling to deal with it? Perhaps. Another reason might have been their ages. Making a decision like that, at that age, could very well be what someone would think was best. However, for me, it didn’t strike me as something someone who loves you would do.

In addition, remembering that Nate’s parents had taken in Quinn, much as the roommate had, why would the roommate win over Quinn’s devotion more than Nate? Was it because Nate had his brother and parents, and the roommate had no one? That is entirely possible, but again, I go back to the fact that the roommate was just a friend, and Nate could have easily been a source of support for Quinn as he helped the man die with dignity.

All that being said, I definitely felt the connection between these two. One of the issues sometimes with novellas is they are so fast, it’s hard to feel the connection that the reader wants in order to get to the HEA satisfactorily. In this case, that wasn’t an issue. Because Nate and Quinn had a connection prior to expressing their love to each other, the reader was able to feel that bond reform as they traveled towards Denver, and found themselves at the place that their previous falling out had taken place.

There was so much to love in this novella, two men who tiptoed around each other for years, then had to find a way to go from enemies to lovers, some hot sex scenes (because Teodora can definitely write some of those!), and an awesome cover, that my other issues could be put to the backburner somewhat.

I definitely enjoyed this one, and was glad I got a chance to read it. I would love to read a little more on these men. How they were able to work through some of the lingering anger and fears to solidify their relationship could be an entirely different novella!

3.75 pieces of Eye Candy for me

Hi, my name is Teodora and I live in London with my husband and my son. I’ve been writing ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job a few years ago when I decided that everything else I’ve tried bores me to death and I have to do what I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the guts to fully embrace. I’ve been a journalist, an editor, a personal assistant and an interior designer among other things, but as soon as the novelty of the new, exciting job wears off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud and hasty are not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably still, and write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It’s the only time that I’m truly at peace and the only thing I can do for more than ten minutes at a time – my son has a bigger attention span than me.
When I’m procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at every Nintendo Wii game by a kid.
Don’t be shy and get in touch – I love connecting with my readers.

Blog: www.teodorakostova.blogspot.com

Twitter: @Teodora_Kostova
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teodorakostovaauthor

E-mail: t.t.kostova@gmail.com

Instagram: teodorika1