Tara Lain

Betting on His BF: A Friends-to-Lovers, Buddy Trip, Bisexual Awakening Romance (Nerds vs Jocks) by Eli Easton and Tara Lain: New Release Review

September 24, 2021 by Denise

Big Bet. Big Trouble. Big Love.

When Felix the Quiz Bowl Champion reveals other oversized assets besides his brain, it takes PJ, the super-wheeler-dealer, to wangle maximum profits from it—in bets, wet jock strap contests, and Wang of the Week.

But winning money turns out to be second to falling in lust, and sexual escapades replace time at the poker tables as the number-one activity of their wicked week in Vegas.

Still, accepting the hospitality of PJ’s father’s client, the mobster Joey Oretano, proves a nearly fatal money-saving scheme, and brings Felix and PJ face-to-face with the serious side of life.
Very. Serious.

Will someone take the chance to be a hero?
Or will someone wind up dead?

BETTING ON HIS BF is a friends-to-lovers, bisexual awakening, what-happens-in-Vegas-can-win-you-money, dash-of-suspense, MM romance—with large assets.

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Let me preface this by saying that I KNOW there are some hard core fans of these authors. And while I don’t know who wrote what parts, I can pretty much guess, but I won’t point it out. But, at least to me, it is super obvious that it was written by 2 different people.

The story started out pretty well. Felix and PJ, characters we know from the previous 3 books, on a road trip together to Vegas. First stop- a buffet. Of course! But they got scammed by the small print and PJ being PJ made a wager to get their food for free. And what he was betting was a continuous theme throughout. Constantly. Always. Like omg we get it. It doesn’t need to constantly be talked about. And if I were Felix, I’d be SO PISSED at PJ. The fact that he isn’t is mind boggling.

Ok. Felix and PJ are cute together. Doing that flirty bff thing. You know there will be more, but it is fun to watch them flirt and squirm.

PJ, who has very wealthy parents, scores a free suite for them from one of his father’s clients. Can you say stereotype? “Mafia” springs to mind. And how these kids didn’t realize is beyond me.

Anyway, PJ really persuades Felix into things he is uncomfortable with (again, friends don’t treat friends like that), but whatever. They are having fun until something happens with PJ’s father, which makes the hotel owner/client of PJ’s father mad and drama ensues.

It was SO convoluted and completely unnecessary. It was like they realized they had to fill in a lot more story to make a book and added this whole nonsense. Eye rolling nonsense.

Literally the best part of the book was the epilogue.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Head to Head (Nerds Vs Jocks, Book 3) by Eli Easton & Tara Lain: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

May 31, 2021 by Denise

If these two don’t kill each other, they might fall in love.

Rand hates Jax because he’s the laid-back, vegan-eating, tree-hugging, total-Zen-until-I-get-a-chance-to-screw-you president of Sigma Mu Tau, the nerdy fraternity that’s the sworn enemy of Rand’s house, Alpha Lambda Alpha. What a phony!

Jax hates Rand for being the privileged, rich-heir-to-an-oil-empire, environment-destroying, soul-sucking president of the ALA jocks—but mostly because Rand hated him first. Rand has sent nothing but hateful vibes his way since the day they met. What a douche!

The enemies have never had a single conversation that didn’t involve shouting—until Jax’s old Buick breaks down on a road trip and Rand plays reluctant rescuer. Jax is forced to sit on Rand’s dead cow seats. Rand learns chickens can enter the living room and that Jax’s beliefs are more than skin-deep. The bitter rivals embark on a quest to save a family member and discover that sometimes animosity is a mask for crazy-hot attraction. With this much face time, head-to-head might become heart-to-heart.

HEAD TO HEAD is an enemies to lovers, forced proximity, opposites attract, searching for his sister, clashing cultures, MM romance—with a whole lot of fracking.

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I’d been so angry after the meetup with the Johnsons that I’d just walked away from my father and fucking Fremont before I said something I couldn’t take back, and I wasn’t ready to hang out with them on a long flight either.

I grabbed for my phone and dialed.

Two rings and my father’s anxious and pissed-off voice said, “Where the hell are you?”

“Go back without me. I’ll come later on commercial.”

“What the fuck, Rand? Don’t be childish. I have a perfectly good jet waiting at the airport.”

“I said I’ll take commercial.”

“Why?”

“You know why, and so does Fremont. Thanks for a happy graduation day, by the way.”

“Dammit, Rand, be fair. Neither Fremont nor I had any way of knowing we were walking up to some alternate boyfriend you never told us about. Yes, Fre told me that you two weren’t engaged, but come on. Couples fight. They break up and get back together. It never occurred to me you wouldn’t even want Fre at your graduation, for craps sake. So I made a gaff? I’ve got a big mouth. Sue me.”

Shit, my head was spinning. Had I overreacted? Everything he said made sense as usual, but my heart hurt and my stomach wanted to lose its contents. “Look, Dad, I just need to think. I’ll be home later tonight or tomorrow, whenever I can get a flight.” I hung up and wiped angrily at my eyes.

“Hi. Are you an SMT?”

I blinked and stared at a kid, maybe seventeen or eighteen, standing at the base of the porch. “No.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Darn. I just love the SMTs. My dad says they’re the very best fraternity with all the smart guys. I really hope they ask me to pledge.”

“You’re a freshman?”

“In the fall. So why aren’t you an SMT? You look like a smart guy.” He grinned and pushed up his glasses. He was SMT material all right. He reminded me of Sean.

“I’m an ALA.”

“Oh.” His eyes widened as he looked across the street. “Aren’t the SMTs and the ALAs enemies?”

I gave him a tight smile. “We used to be. But things kind of changed this year.”

“Darn. I thought all the jokes and pranks sounded like fun.”

“The Dean got tired of them.”

“Oh.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “So is there anybody inside?”

I shrugged. “There might be, but I didn’t see anyone.”

“I’ll go see.” He walked up the first two steps, then stopped. “So if ALA and SMT are friends now, maybe I’ll see you.”

I shook my head. “I just graduated. I’m headed home.” The words felt like rocks scratching over my throat.

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.” He took another step. “I thought you looked like an adult.” He walked inside as my stomach did a flip. Jesus. Didn’t I wish.

About Eli:

Coming from a background in computer game design, Eli has written over 35 books in m/m romance since 2013. The Mating of Michael (2014) and A Second Harvest (2016) both won The William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance, and Eli’s books have won many awards from the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Reader’s Choice Awards. She is best known for her Christmas romances, the Howl at the Moon series of rom coms featuring dog shifters, and her Sex in Seattle series, which revolves around a sex clinic in Seattle.

Connect with Eli:
www.elieaston.com
Facebook: Eli Easton
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164054884188096
Twitter: @elieastonAbout Tara:

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Tara loves animals of all kinds (even snakes), diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers.

She has around 57 books published or scheduled for publication.

Connect with Tara:
Website: https://taralain.com/
Facebook Reader’s Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/255111391312743
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taralain/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taralain
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taralainauthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tara-lain

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Schooling the Jock (Nerds Vs Jocks, Book 1) by Eli Easton & Tara Lain: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

February 23, 2021 by Denise

Only an unfair universe makes a guy who’s that gorgeous so damned obnoxious.

A-hoe!
Poindexter!
Snarky, superbrain Dobbs and snooty football star Jesse stare at each other from their rival frat houses on opposites sides of the street — and opposite sides of everything else.

Alpha Lambda Alpha and Sigma Mu Tau have been sworn enemies for decades. Then one disastrous prank proves to be the last straw, and the college dean blows his cork!

Work together or lose both your houses.

Question – -How can Dobbs win his coveted Quiz Bowl championship with when he’s forced to put a dumb jock on his team?
Answer — Lots of personal schooling.

But when personal becomes very personal, Jesse risks causing his overtaxed family one more huge worry and the running back starts running.

Will Dobbs give up on the shocked jock, or show him that the answer to the big question is, Yes?

SCHOOLING THE JOCK is an enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, campus romance – with one hell of a lightning round.

Title: Schooling the Jock

Series: Nerds Vs Jocks, Book 1

Authors: Eli Easton & Tara Lain

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After lunch, Jesse’s mom said she’d clean up if Jesse watched Eli, so the three of us went out to the barn with the family dog, who I’d learned was named Mack, at our heels. Bella, the brown cow, wasn’t in the barn, but she was out in the pasture. When Jesse called her, she lazily ambled toward the fence. Eli stood on the lower fence railing and held out a baby carrot. The cow walked up and took it with an alarmingly huge gray tongue. Eli clapped his hands and petted her head.

“Look, Dobbs!” Eli said. “She’s real.”

“She certainly is,” I agreed. “She has pretty eyes.”

Eli didn’t say anything.

“And shapely legs. For a cow.”

I glanced at Jesse who rolled his eyes but smiled.

“She’s the prettiest cow in the world,” Eli pronounced.

“Well, she needs a crown then, don’t you think?”

Eli looked at me like I was nuts. I glanced around. I spotted a holly bush by the barn and went over. I took out my handy-dandy pocketknife and cut some branches. I bent them to form a circle and wove the ends together to make it stay.

When I presented it to Eli, he grinned. “This isn’t a crown! A crown is gold.”

“Au contraire, little dude. A crown can be made of all sorts of things. This is a cow crown.”

Eli placed it on Bella’s head, looping it over one ear. Bella looked unimpressed. She tr

ied to nose Eli’s hand, looking for more carrots. Finding none, she started walking along the fence, eating grass. The holly circle dangled.

Eli followed her along the fence line, chattering to her. Jesse and I stayed where we were and watched.

“Thanks for, you know, being nice to Eli.”

I gave him a don’t-be-weird look. “Despite what you might have heard, I reserve my venom for grown men.”

“Ah. That explains it. And here I thought you might have a kernel of decency.”

“Nope. Although, I can’t be mean to you today either. Not after you fed me sloppy joes and, uh, helped your mom at lunch.” My cheeks heated. That was such a lame thing to say even if I’d been thinking it. I tried to make up for the compliment. “You guys have a whole routine. You should take it on the road.”

He shrugged. “We’ve all learned how to get things done as efficiently as possible, I guess.”

And yet, you’re at Madison. “Bet she misses you when you’re gone.”

Jesse’s face tightened. “I got offered a good football scholarship to Madison, so it made sense. And my mom wanted me to go.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? You’re not that intolerable.”

He rolled his eyes. “I think she wanted me to get away from it for a few years. To be more independent.” He made a face. “Not that it’s bad, Eli and Micah. It’s just…”

“Challenging?”

He shrugged. “More like all-consuming. The first five years were really rough, especially since my folks were trying to get a diagnosis so they even had a clue what to do. But they’ve come a long way. Eli especially.”

“Yeah, I noticed Eli’s really affectionate with you. That’s great. I thought autistic people didn’t like to be touched.”

Jesse nodded. “None of us can touch Micah. Eli’s like that with most people. Even my mom and I can’t touch him sometimes. But, when he’s in the mood, he lets me. I think he missed me. And you were there. Like, he was maybe feeling a little jealous or insecure? And he’s upset because Micah’s in the hospital.”

That all might be true, but I knew what I saw. “Grammy Dobbs always said, the eyes speak louder than words. Eli looks at you like you’re his hero. He loves you a lot.”

Jesse’s face softened. “Yeah. I don’t know. It’s kind of a brother thing.”

“A brother thing?”

“Eli and Micah are in their own world. Micah’s non-verbal, so Eli talks for him. I guess, as their older brother, I’m sort of on the fringes of that bubble too.”

Jesse’s tone made that sound like a special thing. And I wasn’t sure what to feel about that, or this farm, or this family. He looked so ridiculously handsome standing there with the red barn behind him, the snow under his boots, and that sheepskin-lined corduroy farm jacket, hair mussed by the wind, pink cheeks, eyes bright. Like, if he were a calendar model, I’d leave it on that page for perpetuity. And he was looking at me in a way Jesse Knox had never looked at me before. His face was open and his eyes warm. Hot even? He stared at me. And I stared back. His gaze flickered to my lips.

A frisson of lust shot down my body, lighting me on fire. I suddenly had a bone-deep urge to kiss him. I coughed, shocked at myself. I mean, I was only human, and Jesse was…Jesse. But I was getting way out over my feet here. Thinking of him that way was extremely unwise.

“So! I hear there are chickens,” I said to lighten the mood.

Jesse waggled his eyebrows. “There are. Real live ones.”

“Oh, my God. This is practically a safari!” I shouted.

Jesse laughed.

This was a fun story of two guys who are seemingly complete opposites. Two frat houses who aren’t really rivals since one is a jock house and the other is a nerd house, but being that they are across the street from each other, they play pranks on each other. Until one prank got a little out of hand and the dean comes down hard on them. The jock house has a competitive flag football team and the nerd house has a quiz bowl team. And they each have to send two people to the other teams.

This story focuses on the 2 jocks sent over to compete on the quiz bowl team. Dobbs (a nickname from his last name. Seriously- why do guys always do that?) is the quiz bowl team captain and he takes his position and his team VERY seriously. And when Dobbs and Jesse, the jock, end up stuck with each other for a weekend, expectations start to fall away.

Of course Jesse is in the closet. But he doesn’t even try to fake it with girls. He is committed to football because of his scholarship, and his college program because he is all about being a nurse. But you know the jock is going to fall for the nerd. And the nerd is going to figure out that the jock is pretty smart and a giant softie.

I loved how the entire story really involved a lot of different characters from both houses, as well as Jesse’s family. It made the whole story more believable.

One of the things that bugged me was the 2 frat guys who were responsible for the final prank never got any repercussions from their house. I understand how the dean was punishing everyone, but you would think that those two guys would face disciplinary actions.

And there were two sides to the punishment from the dean. But the flag football story will be in book 2.

If you enjoy college stories, opposites attract, etc, you will enjoy this story. Low angst and mostly fun.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Connect with Eli:
www.elieaston.com
Facebook: Eli Easton
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164054884188096
Twitter: @elieaston

She has around 57 books published or scheduled for publication.

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Prancing of a Papillon (Fuzzy Love Book 2) by Tara Lain: Exclusive Excerpt, Blog Tour, New Release Review and Giveaway

July 16, 2020 by Denise

Opposites attracting, billionaires getting kidnapped, a Papillon who’s smarter than you are, and near-death at a dog show….

Jericho Jones is giving up on social life. What social life? Six-foot-five and packed with muscles he barely earned, Jericho looks like an alpha top, when he’s actually a gentle bottom who teaches first grade and lives with his hypochondriac mother. When Jericho’s friends, Finn and Em, suggest he accompany Finn to a dog show as the handler for their Papillon, Batshit, he decides, while he might be the world’s least likely Papillon prancer, he’d be grateful for a new experience and a few days away from Mama.

Jericho’s prepared to take dog handling seriously, but he’s not prepared for the pure lust he feels for wealthy dog owner, Brees Apollonia, a guy totally out of Jericho’s league. But Brees’s family issues make Jericho’s look tame – his father wants to marry him to the daughter of a prospective business partner. When Brees starts being followed by unknown guys, he thinks his father’s trying to scare him and uses it as an excuse to be “protected” by big, hunky Jericho. But pretend gets way out of control, and suddenly the only thing between Brees and possible death is a smart dog with big ears, three intrepid women, and gentle wimp, Jericho Jones.

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As the elevator rose, Brees’s finger slid under Jericho’s crotch and tickled his balls through the fabric of his pants. Oh shit, I could come right here. He wanted it to stop. He never wanted it to stop. Dear God, in minutes, Brees Apollonia’s cock would be in his ass. In his life, he’d never wanted anything so much.

The elevator door opened and two people got off.

They closed and opened again in agonizing, throbbing seconds on eleven. Jericho burst out the door like he was shot from a cannon, and Brees was right behind him. They ran to the stairwell, stepped inside, and before he could take a step, Brees grabbed Jericho’s arm, turned him, and dragged Jericho’s head down.

Oh. My. God.

Somehow, in all that, he’d kind of forgotten that he and Brees had never kissed except for that brief peck in the grooming tent. They kissed now.

Brees’s mouth was so hot and so soft. Those two things went together like melted chocolate with butter cream frosting, but Brees was not playing pattycake. He pushed Jericho against the wall and ground out, “Bend your knees.”

Jericho did, and instantly, Brees was on him, their erections grinding together as their mouths devoured each other. They rutted so hard, Jericho knew his suit would be toast. Small sacrifice. But Brees growled, “Bed. Want bed so I can reach you better.”

All Jericho could manage was a head nod, and Brees turned and took off up the stairs. Jericho sucked in breath and ran after him. They made it one full floor, which was two flights of stairs, and started toward the thirteenth floor when Brees held out an arm and stopped Jericho. He put a finger to his lips.

Jericho stopped, gasping from a combination of strain and lust, but finally quieted his breath enough to hear it—soft music and voices coming from above. Music?

Brees was standing one stair up so Jericho could lean into his ear. He spoke super softly. “It has to be the same guys as last night. But seriously, they’re listening to music while they wait for you to show up?”

Brees turned his head. “If they don’t get the fuck out of there, I may play them the Funeral March, just so I can get you in a bed.” He slid his lips a few inches and captured Jericho’s mouth again, his tongue sliding deep.

A fun little caper…

We met Jericho in book 1, although this book totally works as a stand alone. He is the classic teddy bear. Big and tough looking, but really he is far from it. He is a first grade teacher who lives with his mother. Two strikes against him when looking for a boyfriend. With school out for summer, he takes his friends up on the offer to show their dog, Batshit (book 1) in dog shows. Eh, why not, right?

Enter Brees, filthy rich, owns papillon dogs because he loves them and has a professional handler show them. He really is kind of a down to earth guy and is intrigued by Jericho. If only his father hadn’t been insisting he marry a woman for business purposes. And to produce the all important heir.

Brees and Jericho hatch a plan to act like boyfriends so that word gets around that he really is gay and getting married to a woman would look ridiculous. But then there are men following Brees, other random men hitting on Jericho, stairwell plan whispering, etc.

Without giving the whole plot away, Brees ends up in some trouble, Jericho and Batshit discover the trouble, they enlist more help and now we have amateur sleuths working together. With a bunch of show worthy papillons as sidekicks.

It was fun and silly. Brees and Jericho together were hot, but also adorable. I love that Brees- this rich, hot guy who could seemingly have anyone- just adores Jericho for who he is.

This is a good beach read with some silly things (please, authors, “buns” is in no way a sexy way to describe a man’s ass), some hot things and some cute dogs.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor or maybe a Ravensclaw but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her reader

To celebrate the release of Prancing of a Papillon, Tara is giving away a $10 Amazon Voucher.

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway HERE

Passions of a Papillon: A Fuzzy Love Romance by Tara Lain: New Release Review

January 27, 2020 by Denise

After you’ve sold your soul to the devil, can you renegotiate with a dog?

Brilliant defense attorney, Finn Morgenstern, knows the worst guys pay best, so defending slimeball, Rance Franklin, becomes his path to senior partner and a whole lot of benefits. But then a walk home to his pricey townhouse brings him face-to-ears with a batshit-crazy little dog who just won’t leave him alone. So Finn takes the dog to the local veterinarian to find out how to get her back to her owners. Hello vet! Emerson “Em” Fairweather sure doesn’t match his stodgy name. Tall, platinum blond, and gorgeous, Em puts the pet in pet ownership. But Em has ugly secrets and Batshit dog is up to her ears in larceny. Suddenly Finn is the one who needs defending, and he’s faced with a choice between what he thought was important and a whole new batshit-crazy life.

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Really I give this a 3 1/2 star rating. Mostly for the suspension of disbelief needed. The story was fairly convoluted as far as the crime or crimes happening, but it was still a cute little caper. With a dog that had a personality bigger than any of the humans.

Finn is a cut throat defense attorney, who ends up turning to mush for a run away dog. This is a smart guy, right? But he doesn’t know what to do with this stray dog. Ok, he was career focused, never had a pet before, etc. Just made me giggle a little.

Emerson is the vet he goes to for advice. From there, there is a bit of sexual tension (but honestly not a lot at all) as they get sucked into busting a crime ring- so they can get the dog back.

It was a fun read though, fluffy, cute, more than a few laughs. Definitely not hot and steamy, if that is what you are looking for, even though there are a few sex scenes. Both main characters were quite likable, I just didn’t feel their chemistry.

I am sure I will read book 2 when it comes out- especially if it is who I hope it is. I would put this in the fun beach read category.

3.5 Pieces of Eye Candy

Home Improvement – A Love Story by TaraLain: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt and Release Day Review

July 11, 2019 by Denise

Romance on Aisle Sixteen—opposites attract amid the hammers and screws of the home improvement store.

Gabe Mason became a father at seventeen, and his daughter, Ellie, is the most important thing in his life. But being the parent the courts demand means Gabe has given up most of his dreams—education, making furniture, a gay social life—to be a model dad with a steady, reliable job in a home improvement store. Life’s predictable until Jerry, a shy, eccentric guy in a hat and sunglasses, begs Gabe to oversee the renovation of his run-down mansion.

Gabe loves the house and the work, and Jerry’s pretty lovable too, but when Gabe discovers Jerry’s secret identity, he fears their passion could overturn both their lives forever.

Title: Home Improvement – A Love Story
Author: Tara Lain
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 192

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Favorite Tropes – What are Yours?

Welcome. I’m so happy to be here to introduce my new romance, HOME IMPROVEMENT – A LOVE STORY. This is a single dad, opposites attract, secret identity story. Funny how I use those words and we all have a solid idea what they mean in a book. In literature, we call them tropes. While the literal definition of the word trope has to do with figures of speech, in novels, especially genre fiction, tropes have come to mean the familiar themes that we find in stories– especially romances – that have thrilled us since the days of the Greeks, Shakespeare, and Moliere. These are themes like “secret baby”, arranged marriage, rich boy/poor girl (or boy!), friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, boy disguised as girl or vice versa, studly cowboy, dashing sheik, and on and on. Our love for these familiar plot devices unite and connect us through shared experience.

Tropes always remind me of the famous Star Trek The Next Generation episode called Darmok, one of the most praised shows of any scifi series. (Look it up.) The premise was that there was a planet that had been unable to join the community of nations because no one could understand their language. The reason? All the words and references were based on cultural norms and common experiences that other planetary societies didn’t share. That’s how we are with tropes. If we refer to a Romeo and Juliet story, virtually anyone vaguely familiar with the play knows just what we mean. Rich girl/poor boy suggest immediate conflicts that we all know, and friends-to-lovers means something to everyone who reads or watches any kind of popular culture.

What are your favorite tropes? I only have to glance at my books to know what mine are. Opposites attract has been way at the top of my list from my earliest novels. I love the immediate conflict that arises from two people who appear to be different in most every way like a blue collar guy and a fashion stylist, an NFL football center and a drag queen, or a guy who works in a home improvement store and someone rich and famous.

I also find I love single dad stories. It took me a while to get into this trope. Most of my early books don’t have kids in them. But once I dipped in a toe – I think it might have been in my short story, Trex or Treat, I was hooked. I’ve written lots of single dads since then, in Lord of a Thousand Steps, High Balls, Cowboys Don’t Come Out, and, of course, in HOME IMPROVEMENT – A LOVE STORY.

Shakespeare and I share a love of secret identities. Shakespeare constantly dressed his woman as boys and got them in all kinds of trouble. I tend to do the opposite, of course and dress my guys as girls, but I also like stories where the identity of one of the lovers is hidden for some reason. That’s true in my new book.

I hope you love reading HOME IMPROVEMENT – A LOVE STORY and that it captures some of your favorite tropes.

When he got to the end of the aisle, he looked casually to his left. Tight against a display of light fixtures, back turned to Gabe, stood the guy in the beanie. He had long legs in baggy jeans, an equally baggy sweatshirt that still stretched across really wide shoulders, all his hair covered by the cap, and still the total strangeness didn’t obscure the view of one world-class ass inside the jeans.

Gabe cleared his throat but didn’t get too close. “Can I help you find something, sir?”

“Wha—” He half turned, and Gabe saw he’d put on sunglasses after he’d withdrawn from peering around the corner.

“Can I help you, sir?” Gabe thought he should probably walk away, but the guy had become kind of a challenge.

The customer reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a drawer handle. He muttered, “Need handles this size.”

Gabe took it. “All right, sir. If you’ll come with me, we have the drawer pulls at the end of aisle sixteen.”

The guy nodded and turned but never raised his head enough to look Gabe in the eye. Still, his high cheekbones and full lips made his face striking, even when it was pointed at his shoes.

Gabe started walking, trusting from the soft scuffling of sneakers behind him that the man was following. Those footsteps slowed when they passed the woman with the kids as she gathered the last of her screws, but he sped up again after she dragged the children toward the checkout registers. In front of the rows of drawers containing handles and knobs, Gabe pointed to the samples attached to the front of each drawer. “See any you like?”

The guy’s head barely moved, so through the glasses, Gabe couldn’t see if he even looked. He shrugged.

“Do you like modern? Traditional?”

“Modern.”

“Brushed nickel, maybe? Or are you a chrome guy?”

The slim nose wrinkled.

“So no chrome. Nickel, then.” Gabe walked to the drawers and held out the sample the guy had given him to check for size and spacing center to center. He picked a couple of modern pulls he liked and took them from the drawers, then held them out to the man.

He looked at the pulls intently, cocked his head, and then ripped off the glasses somewhat impatiently, as if someone had made him wear them.

Gabe sucked in a soft breath. The guy’s eyes were two different colors, one a deep blue and the other light green. Startling and very distinctive. Maybe it affected his eyesight or sensitivity to light and that’s why he was wearing sunglasses in ImproveMart?

The guy reached out a long-fingered hand and tapped the handle that was Gabe’s favorite—a simple wide U-shape of brushed nickel. Gabe nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good one. How many do you need?”

“Uh, eight.” His voice was soft to the point of nonexistence.

Gabe pulled the drawer out farther and began counting out the plastic packages that contained the handle and necessary screws, piling them on the shelf beside him. “Need anything else?”

The guy had put his glasses back on by the time Gabe turned to him. Darn. Those eyes are something. The man nodded his head and pointed to some simple, ball-shaped drawer pulls. “Ten.”

“Oh, I hope I have enough.” Gabe pulled open the drawer and started counting.

The dude stepped closer to watch the counting, which turned out to be a bad idea for Gabe’s autonomic responses. What is that smell? Like some mix of orange and spice. Whatever it was, Gabe’s lower regions came out for a sniff. He shifted his feet and pressed his elbows against his work vest to be sure it covered his crotch. Down boy.

He forced a smile as he scraped the last package from the drawer. “There you go. We just made ten.” Gabe looked around. The guy had no cart. Not even a carry basket. What exactly was he planning on hauling stuff in?

The man seemed to realize it at the same time as Gabe. He grabbed his lip between his teeth, looked down, took hold of the hem of his giant sweatshirt, and held the bottom out like a bag.

Gabe chuckled. “Excellent save.” The problem with the dude’s invention was it raised the shirt from his narrow hips—and what might, just might, have been a half-mast condition thrusting out the front of his jeans. Don’t need to know that—if it’s true. Hell, just what he needed. To get turned on by weird customers.

Gabe’s life consists of two things… working at the homewares store and providing the best life he can for his teenage daughter. He puts everything else on the back burner, partly because he wants her to have the best life, but also because his ex-wife, depending on the man she’s with at the moment, is just itching to take him back to court to get custody of their daughter, even though she’s almost 17 and able to make those decisions for herself…..

I first want to say that I adored this story, but the whole storyline with the ex and all the trouble she makes, is ridiculous when at the end, she just kind of gets over it when the whole story she’s been this evil, bigoted, hate-spewing woman that causes both Ellie and Gabe nothing but stress and misery. Gabe even goes so far and spends his life alone, not dating….ever, just because she’d make trouble! Then all the sudden she calls, they go running and all is forgiven??? Uhm, no.

So, Gabe is excellent at his job and he’s probably the most experienced man there, so when a clueless and shy guy comes in for help, Gabe is sent to help him out. That’s when he meets Jerry.
I adored Jerry… Painfully shy and socially awkward, I knew there was something about him that he was hiding. It’s obvious from the beginning and though it was easy to figure out, I can’t believe Gabe didn’t before he did.

I loved how slow their relationship formed and progressed. It was sweet and realistic, watching them tip toe around each other and hope that the other was feeling the same way… you could tell they had feelings for each other but neither of them would come out and say it. It was a little bit annoying that Gabe kept jumping to conclusions and ran away when things got even a little bit tricky, but they always worked it out.

I also didn’t understand Jerry’s brother…. He seemed shady and bad news, and I thought for sure that Jerry would have it out with him, but he just kind of disappeared as well. Causing trouble one second and then gone the next. I’d have liked for Jerry to have told him off and not let him have all the say in his life anymore. I’d have liked the satisfaction… but meh, I’m petty.

It was tricky, being a celebrity and trying to be a normal person with a private life, as Jerry tried to do, and it proved a bit tricky to be the little piece of normal for the celebrity that so very much needed that, but they got there in the end.

Overall though, I loved how Gabe and Jerry was with each other, and I loved each one’s relationship with Gabe’s daughter Ellie. She’s sweet and helpful and she just wanted them both to be happy. Other than the ex-wife and Jerry’s brother… I really enjoyed it!

4 pieces of eye candy

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her best-selling stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes — the beautiful boys of romance — and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers. She also loves to hear from you.