Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

Victoria Sue

Mirror of the Sun (Enhanced World: Book 7) by Victoria Sue: Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

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.                              .

Together, they might stand a chance.
Divided the world might never survive.

Richard, chased by the memory of losing his entire team in Syria, agreed to help his younger brother Talon, in an attempt to forge bonds between them that had been broken when Talon had transformed.

Adam, terrified of the team that had given him a chance at life, finding out what he had done. Would it result not only in losing the family he had always wanted but never had, but the real risk of harm to those not expecting it, and knowing he was going to be forced to choose between the two?

Sawyer, torn between the real possibility that his ability was out of control, and terrified to admit it even to those who had always had his back, was secretly being drawn to both the warrior that might save the world, and the innocent that might have to sacrifice himself for it.

And the very real possibility that the evil they faced would defeat all three.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Enhanced World Books 1-6 – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Too stupid to live? Wasn’t that what the kids said? Or was that just Finn? Adam snorted and pressed his face to the glass. It was going to rain. Hardly surprising in Florida. And even though it was hot and sticky outside, everything inside him chilled.

“Hi, I’m Finn.” Adam had been shy. Everyone else’s mom or dad had been standing at the bus stop with them that first day, but the two who had parents who didn’t give a fuck had naturally gravitated to each other. “You wanna sit next to me?”

And they had just about been inseparable for the next five and a bit years. Thanks to Tammy, Adam had already been reading when he started school, but he hated math. Finn was exactly the opposite. He struggled with words. Not the ones he heard but the ones he was supposed to read. Finn was clever. Far cleverer than Adam, but just because he didn’t understand other people’s words when they were written down, everyone thought he wasn’t.

Adam had quickly disabused Jamie Salmon of that idea in first grade. And any of the other idiots who thought they could pick on his friend. Jamie was named after a big pink fish, so who was he to talk? Adam was big for his age and had a sister who anyone only took on if they had a death wish. Finn had a brother but wished he didn’t. Adam wouldn’t have wanted a brother like Deke, either.

They’d been inseparable right up to that last year. Adam had told Finn he liked Mandy Jameson even though he was pretty sure she ate poisonous plants like Brussels Sprouts, and Finn had gone quiet and then confessed he liked Mandy’s older brother. The one in high school that sometimes dropped her off at school in the mornings. That had given Adam a lot to think about because, yeah, he was pretty sure he liked Mandy Jameson’s brother as well. And it had always been like that. That they could say anything to each other.

Until that morning. That morning when his world had ended because he’d woken up with a scar on his face and found out that the people who were supposed to love you never really had.

Except Finn. Adam knew beyond any doubt Finn would have stuck with him. Finn would have taken one look at his face and probably likened him to some weird superhero, or alien, or someone else in a book no one else would have ever heard of. And it wouldn’t have mattered. They’d have gotten on the bus and talked about pink fish and liking boys and how they were always going to be best friends. Forever.

But forever was a long time, and Adam didn’t think even Finn could forgive this one.

The screen door banged, and Adam turned around, surprised he hadn’t heard Todd’s truck only to come face to face with Sawyer. He ducked his head, but it was too late, and Sawyer swore, striding over and hooking his thumb under Adam’s chin and raising his face. His black eye would be more visible. Not that you couldn’t see it from space.

Instead of Sawyer getting angry, getting defensive, his expression gentled, as did his fingers. Adam missed the feel of them when they left his face. “What do you need me to do?”

Adam wished so fucking much he could tell him. “I’m handling it.” He didn’t look at Sawyer as he said it. He didn’t need to see the doubt or the disbelief, and he wished so fucking hard he could tell him. He turned away because he had to blink rapidly, but Sawyer had seen, and his warm fingers returned as his palm landed on Adam’s cheek. The one with the scar. Not that Sawyer would flinch because he had one of his own, and Adam closed his eyes on the world and leaned into the touch. He caught a hurried breath from Sawyer, then Sawyer’s thumb slid down his jaw until he was nearly touching Adam’s lip. What would that touch feel like? Adam slid his face a little more toward Sawyer.

He opened his eyes because he had to know and met Sawyer’s green ones and marveled for a second at how deep and wide they had gotten. And how much they seemed to draw him in. He took in the slight flush on Sawyer’s neck and the way his breathing seemed to have sped up. And the way Sawyer looked at him. Saw him. He didn’t see a scar. He didn’t see a failure. He didn’t see betrayal.

Adam knew he needed to step back. He couldn’t drag Sawyer into his mess. Fuck, but he didn’t want to. He wanted—

But the lips that touched his own sent all rational thought somewhere else, somewhere that didn’t hurt. Somewhere where bad decisions belonged to someone else. Somewhere he could be someone else.

Adam’s arms were around Sawyer before he knew what was happening, and he drew him closer. His lips were gentle on Adam’s, but Adam didn’t want gentle. He wanted fierce and possessive, not tentative and unsure. Sawyer moaned into his touch, and Adam explored with his tongue. He could feel Sawyer’s hardness through his jeans and rubbed their hips together. Sawyer groaned again and ground against him. His lips left Adam’s, but only to mouth the base of his neck, and Adam slid his hands down the back of Sawyer’s jeans, yanking him forward even more. Adam could feel the warmth start in his spine as his body responded. Fuck, how long had it been?

“Adam,” Sawyer gasped, a small whine leaving his throat, the vibration against the skin of Adam’s neck addictive. He wanted more. More touching, more kisses.

“Adam, come with me. Come to my place,” Sawyer whispered.

Reality.

Adam stilled so completely that Sawyer hesitated and looked up. “Adam?” When Adam couldn’t seem to form an answer, Sawyer tilted his head, confusion chasing away the passion in those lust-filled eyes.

“I can’t,” Adam choked out and took a step back. The hardest one he’d ever taken.

Sawyer’s arms dropped to his sides. “You can have your own room if—”

But Adam shook his head. “No, sorry. I was upset, and I took it out on you.”

“Adam, that wasn’t an angry kiss. I was two minutes from dragging you into bed until I remembered where we were.” And who you’re supposed to be with. The words weren’t spoken, but Adam heard them all the same.

“I’m sorry, that was bad. I didn’t mean to give you the impression that I wanted more. I just needed a distraction.” Adam wanted to flinch at the hurt that flashed across Sawyer’s face, scream. He didn’t mean it, but he couldn’t unsay it. He didn’t dare. “I guess you’re here for those things you left?”

Sawyer didn’t reply. He took one disbelieving look at Adam, then simply turned and left. Adam closed his eyes. He didn’t want to watch someone else leave him.

Because, in the end, that’s all they ever did, even if this time Adam had pushed them away.

Bullets and Babies!
Victoria writes about guys loving other guys in between dodging bullets, kidnappers, and serial killers. She enjoys putting them through hell to get their happy ever after—it’s a character flaw she
embraces.
She also believes that family is who you choose, that dogs are often much wiser than human beings, and that we’re steadily destroying the world we live in.
She also believes that if people read more books, they wouldn’t screw up as much.

Victoria Sue is giving away a free ebook from her backlist for someone who comments on this post. Check out her backlist here.

Bad Daddy (Unexpected Daddies Book 3) by Victoria Sue: Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

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Bad so bad.

Caleb DeLuca knew that tattooed, scarred ex-cons didn’t usually get trusted with anything precious. He’d spent the second half of his forty-three years atoning for the lives he had destroyed in the first half and was shocked to get invited to the club his brother-in-law owned, especially when he found out what type of club it was.

Max was too young, too beautiful, and too fragile for Caleb to get any ideas they could ever be more than friends. Besides which, Max was searching for a man that could inflict the pain he craved, and Caleb was done hurting people.

Even if that was what they wanted.

Bad Daddy is the story of a man who doesn’t believe he deserves anything good and the boy who finds out that sometimes the best things might come in the most unexpected packages.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Book 1: One Cup Of Daddy and a Dash of Love

Book 2: A Daddy for Christmas

“Max?” Caleb called out loud enough to rouse him but not to frighten him. Max grunted but didn’t open his eyes. “Max, you’re going to have to take the cock cage off. It needs to come off.”

Max mumbled and tried to turn on his side again. Caleb sighed, then as quickly as he could, eased the strap that the key was hung from over his head. Max never stirred, and he eased the shorts down and unlocked and removed the cock cage, trying really, really hard not to look. He would not lech over a barely conscious man. Even if he would really like a second look when Max was conscious.

Although when Max knew where he was and who he was with, he would probably go back to being disdainfully polite. He’d seen the dismissal in Max’s eyes when he’d walked in and had taken the hint that Max had dropped like an anchor. Not that he blamed him. At forty-three, Caleb had to be at least double his age. Caleb huffed as he eased a pair of his sleep pants on Max. They were ridiculously large, but he hoped Max would appreciate waking dressed. He followed that with a too-tight T-shirt—or too tight on him anyway—and managed to rouse Caleb sufficiently to get him to swallow a couple of sips of water before rolling him over and putting a bowl on the floor in case it was needed.

Now what?

He could go downstairs and sleep on the couch. That was easy, and he’d slept in far worse places, but what if Max got sick again? He was still pretty much out of it, and Caleb wondered why. He’d been better at the club, but this seemed like more than exhaustion, and he knew he’d had a glass of wine, but he knew two was everyone’s limit. Not that that had stopped him from drinking anything beforehand.

Or taking anything.

Should he get him to a doctor? Although Adrian hadn’t suggested it. It was a good job he was off tomorrow. He’d just finished the Morgan order and was ridiculously proud of it, and he had at least twenty-four hours before he needed to start his next one. His new part-timer, Rachel, could handle orders.

Caleb chewed his lip and gazed at Max. Then, getting a cloth from the bathroom and a little moisturizer he occasionally tried to use on his back, he very carefully wiped the black smears away from under Max’s closed eyes. If he slept with all that on, they could be sore in the morning. Max never moved. He was completely out of it. Caleb pushed a pillow against his back so he couldn’t roll on it, then tucked him up. Caleb’s lips curved into a smile. He was really cute.

He got the spare blankets from the cupboard and a pillow and made himself a bed on the floor. Close enough to be near in case Max needed him, but far enough away to resist temptation.

A little while later, Caleb wasn’t sure what had woken him at first until he heard the toilet flush, and everything came back to him in a rush. He immediately sat up as the bathroom door opened and Max crept out.

“You feeling any better?”

Caleb kept his voice low and steady, but Max still jumped a little, then groaned. “My head’s going to explode.”

Caleb stood, glad he had sleep pants on, and walked over to where Max sat on the edge of the bed, shivering. “Did you have anything earlier that would interfere with taking some Tylenol now?”

Max hesitated for a fraction of a second, and Caleb knew he was going to lie before he did so.

“No.”

Caleb’s heart sank. He guessed this was what had been wrong earlier, and he sat on the bed next to him. Much as Caleb wanted to wring Max’s pretty little neck, Max was an adult, even if he wasn’t acting like one. “How about we try that answer again?”

Max’s head shot up, and his eyes widened as if he hadn’t been expecting to be called out.

Caleb could see his pupils were normal even in the dim light. He was conscious and alert, just miserable. “I’m not going to give you anything.” Max shivered again and seemed to fold in on himself. Caleb’s heart went out to him. “Come on, let’s get you back in bed.” Max obeyed instantly, shuffling down and closing his eyes.

“I assume this is your place?”

“Yep,” Caleb acknowledged. “You felt sick in the car, and according to my GPS, your address was over twenty minutes away.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Max murmured, opening his eyes again and biting his lip. Caleb didn’t correct the “sir” again. Whatever made Max feel comfortable was fine by him.

“No worries. Try and get some more sleep. Is there anywhere you have to be in the morning?” He checked to make sure Max had some water.

Max’s response was really quiet, but Caleb heard him loud and clear. “There’s never anywhere I have to be.”

Caleb didn’t reply. What could he say? He closed his eyes again, determined to get some more sleep, but when Max had turned over for what seemed the hundredth time in half an hour, he sat up again. “Is it your head?”

Max waited for a moment before answering. “I-I guess.”

Caleb thought about that. He didn’t seem at all sure. He also didn’t sound in as much pain as before, just frankly miserable. His eyes narrowed on the mound in bed. Maybe he was cold? He seemed to be trembling. Caleb got up and padded over to the bed, perching on the edge and touching Max’s forehead, which was about the only part of his body visible. He trembled again.

“Are you cold?” For an awful moment, he was worried it was fear that was making Max shake. He didn’t exactly inspire confidence in a lot of people. Which was ironic as for years he’d tried to make himself as frightening as possible.

“I think it’s a reaction from earlier,” Max whispered pitifully. “I’m sorry I disturbed you. I’m afraid I don’t sleep very well.”

Caleb chewed his lip indecisively, which was totally not his thing. Mel would have asked Max if he needed a hug, but Max didn’t know him, and he knew he scared a lot of people. Max shivered again. Sighing inwardly, and hoping he wasn’t making things worse, he lifted the top blanket and comforter and got in, making sure a sheet still separated them. He tugged at Max’s arm wordlessly, but Max didn’t seem to need things spelled out because the speed at which he rolled over and practically buried himself against Caleb’s side shocked the fuck out of him.

Caleb tucked all the blankets firmly around Max and shushed him soothingly. In another moment, Max had stopped shivering. Maybe five after that, his body relaxed. Caleb doubted it took another five minutes before he was asleep.

Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for. 
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/VictoriaSueNewsletter

Victoria Sue Amazon Page

One commenter on this post will receive anything from Victoria Sue’s back list plus a $5 Amazon gift card (US)!!!! Just leave your comment.

Everybody Burns (Enhanced World Book 6) by Victoria Sue: New Release Review and Exclusive Giveaway

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Eli was only seven years old when he had been given to monsters.

Sixteen years later he finally gets the chance for revenge, and with his enhanced abilities changing, nothing and no one is gonna stop him, especially a new partner that seems to see right through the black holes in his soul.

Agent Daniel Connelly left Washington trying to keep his sanity, but the images of the innocent victims are still haunting him and knows the horror in Eli’s eyes is exactly what he is trying to forget.

Everybody Burns is a story about two men falling in love. Except, one doesn’t think he is capable of it…

And the other doesn’t think he deserves it.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

This series is really damn good, if you like paranormal type stuff…although the paranormal isn’t crazy if that isn’t your usual cup of tea.  It truly is abilities that are enhanced.

That being said, this book was a hard one, because when you see Eli’s story unfold, there are a couple things that could be hard for an author to make happen in 200 or so pages and still feel like it was realistic. One of them was that Eli just had not gotten over, or really even started to heal at all, his deep wounds from childhood abuse. He truly didn’t believe he deserved to be happy, and to fall in love during that, well it just isn’t going to work in most cases. There were also physical “wounds” that many survivors of abuse cannot get past…no matter how much therapy, how many drugs, or how many times they “try”. That also really makes it hard to find the person that is going to accept you, and be willing to stand with you as you heal.

I’ll be really honest…as I saw this unfolding, I just didn’t see how that was going to happen without it being wrapped up in a tidy little bow of joy and rainbows. That is a lot of hurt, and pain that one person cannot safely and realistically get through in a very short period of time. Color me surprised when it did work! 🙂 The author didn’t rush it. She didn’t have Daniel make it all better with his magical personality and p***s. It was clear that it was work, and understanding, and a lot of love.

Eli needed all of that to heal and be able to find love. Without it, he couldn’t love himself, and certainly couldn’t love Daniel. The story around the love story, in this case, was more about redemption. The meat of this book was simply that Daniel didn’t force his love on Eli, he simply let Eli find it. Meanwhile Daniel let Eli know that whatever worked for them, worked for THEM. Their love, and their relationship was about what they needed, and what they would find in each other.

And isn’t that what we all want in a relationship?

Also, it was fantastic catching up with all the guys–LOVED the scene with Finn, Sam, and poor wide-eyed Eli. Totally fantastic!

4 pieces of eye candy

Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/VictoriaSueNewsletter

Victoria Sue has generously offered up an ebook from her backlist to one commentor to this blog post. 🙂

Dead of Knight (Guardians of Camelot, Book 2) by Victoria Sue: Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Victoria Sue is stopping by today, to bring an exclusive excerpt from her most recent book, Dead of Knight (Guardians of Camelot, Book 2). If you haven’t checked out this series, it is a good one, combining some historical, some contemporary, some paranormal, and a whole lot of love. Check out the excerpt, and the giveaway at the end. 

A battle is coming…

…and the immortal knights aren’t ready.

Will an orphan be the key?

For fifteen hundred years Lucan has waged war with the greatest enemy the world has ever known

…and fought the ancient curse that means loving someone with all his heart and soul might be the reason they die.

Tom wasn’t supposed to be born… twice.

How, as a young child, had he even heard the monsters at all?

How, as an adult, is he caught up in a deadly battle to fight evil, but cannot get one stubborn man to even acknowledge he exists?

Time is running out, not just to unravel the secrets of Tom’s destiny, but for Tom to show Lucan that loving someone with all that they have doesn’t mean breaking their heart.

Or does it?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“How will we know where to look?” Ali shot a worried look at Lucan. Lucan had already walked around the perimeter railings. The cemetery had shut at 4.30 p.m., but it wouldn’t be dark for another hour. They needed to find Tom, and fast. Lance pulled up, and he and Mel got out. Mel didn’t speak, just gazed at the ornate gates and dipped his hand under the collar of his jacket.

Kay looked over the huge area. “Where do we start?”

“Fan out?” Ali suggested. Lucan closed his eyes. He’d hoped for something, anything to say Tom was here, but there was nothing.

Mel brought out the pendant he wore around his neck and glanced at Lucan. “Do you feel him?”

Lucan shook his head. “But I don’t know that I would do.”

Mel scoffed, making his opinion of Lucan’s answer abundantly clear.

Kay looked around. “He would want somewhere as isolated as possible.”

“No,” Mel said slowly. “I don’t think he would. The college wasn’t isolated. I think he enjoys hiding in plain sight.”

“Are there any other places near?”

Mel tilted his head on one side, seeming to think. “He’s not here.”

Lucan growled in frustration. There was nowhere else. They could search the city if they had a few spare years maybe, but Tom barely had an hour before dusk. Tears clogged his throat, and he swallowed hard. He didn’t have time for this. He didn’t—

“Wait.” Everyone looked at Charles, a frown marring his features. “That makes no sense.”

“Nothing makes any sense,” Lucan bit out.

“No. I’ve been going over in my head all the things Gawain told me. What you know about them. The safeguards Merlin made as much as he could. But didn’t Father Joseph just say when Tom was born he heard the Ursus?”

“We assume so,” Lance agreed. “He wouldn’t know what the sound was, but he described it perfectly.”

He glanced at Gawain. “And I know humans can’t hear them even if they are standing next to them, but what if the night Tom was born caused something to go wrong?” He grimaced. “That’s the wrong word, but if great magic is generated when the Tresors are created, what if it was taken from somewhere else?”

“What do you mean?” Mel queried.

“Magic doesn’t exist in a bubble. Earth magic cannot be created without harnessing power from elsewhere.”

Gawain glanced at Mel. “Do you remember when I explained rebirth?”

Mel nodded. “That the way I use fire draws on the power of the earth.”

“And the way Merlin altered Morgan’s spell. Dark magic could only come at a heavy cost,” Lance added. “And how we will only be able to defeat it when we are joined as whole.”

Gawain chewed the inside of his cheek. “But I don’t think you’re saying that, are you?”

Charles shook his head. “Or not just, no. One of the notebooks mentions the word tentoria. It means devoid of soul, and I took it to mean how your souls were originally split, but it appears with the phrase incompleta mortem which means incomplete death and renascentia which as you know means rebirth.”

Gawain leaned forward, his face a study of concentration. “You are worried that one causes the other, and that incompleta mortem means tentoria or that bringing someone back doesn’t make them whole.”

“I have absolutely no idea what either of you mean,” Lance said with frustration.

Neither did Lucan.

“Necromancy is a forbidden art,” Gawain explained. “Morally it was always so, but the notebooks explore a deeper meaning.”

“What?” Lucan asked, running out of patience rapidly.

“That bringing back someone from the dead means they have an incomplete soul.”

Mel shuddered, and Lucan and Gawain both noticed. “I don’t mean you,” Gawain said hurriedly. “Your soul was reborn; you weren’t brought back from the dead.”

“And what has any of this got to do with Tom’s birth?” Lucan said, his voice gaining in decibels.

“Sorry.” Charles was immediately contrite. “That was my roundabout way of explaining there has to be a balance. Gawain told me about the teenager, and I have seen many things in my life to doubt any possibility, no matter how fantastic it sounds. What if he’s incomplete? What if it takes magic to generate him? But he doesn’t have enough? What if good magic can only take power from bad, the same as good and evil being two sides of the same coin? He’s been in the chapel twice. What if he’s a warning? What if he’s trying to tell us something? And Mel said about Aalardin hiding in plain sight. I just—”

Lucan stared at Lance, comprehension and horror registering on his face.

Lucan was running for his bike before Charles had finished his sentence. He heard the shouts behind him and the start of car engines. He swore under his breath because if Charles was right—and Lucan knew, absolutely knew he was—Tom had been under their noses all day.

This series….Oh, this series…I really do like this series a whole lot. It has a lot of what I look for. I love historical, and this definitely has some aspects of King Arthur’s Court in it. I love some suspense, and there is definitely plenty of that. This author really excels at suspense in my eyes, throwing out a few clues here and there, then just tossing it all on the table. And even some contemporary aspects, although they are a bit smaller in book 2, than they were in book 1.

For my tastes, I think I preferred book 1 more simply because it had more romantic elements than I felt Dead of Knight did. In book 2, it wasn’t insta-love, because they really had loved each other the entire time, age was what was holding Lucan back. It was more a breakdown of the walls that had been holding Lucan back, and a realization that they really did belong together. This book was far more, in my opinion, heavily towards the suspense side. That was fine, just not what I had expected.  There were a lot of small details in this book that the reader needed to keep track of, in order to understand why something happened, or would happen. I always enjoy a book that makes me think.

Lucan was exactly what you want for your Valentine, steadfast, loyal, and when he loved it was with everything in his heart. Meanwhile, Tom was discovering who he was, who he was to become, and dealing with a past that wouldn’t let him go. During that though, he never gave up on his love for Lucan…well, there was one tiny moment, but…you’ll see. 🙂

Seeing how everything worked out, at the end, even with Lucan and Tom’s HEA (well, really right now it can only be a HFN), I’m looking forward to how the story arc continues to play out. Kay gave us a little bit of a shock at the end of this book, so seeing where it goes will be interesting.

4 pieces of eye candy

Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/VictoriaSueNewsletter

For a chance at a $5 Amazon US voucher an ebook from her backlist, just leave a comment on this post.

The Twelfth Knight (Guardians of Camelot #1) by Victoria Sue: Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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To battle an ancient evil, the greatest weapon each hero will have is each other.

Hundreds of years ago, facing defeat, the witch Morgana sent monsters into the future to vanquish a humanity King Arthur wouldn’t be able to save. The King might have won the battle, but now, centuries later, a few chosen men will have to fight the war.

Merlin always hated being named after some mythological wizard. His dad had been obsessed with the magic man of King Arthur’s Court before his untimely death – a loss that had sent Mel reeling in a downward spiral. He is ill-prepared, to say the least, for the outrageous claims of a proper English knight bent on overcoming evil.

Born a commoner, Lancelot was never supposed to be a knight in his own time, never mind now in a modern world he is so woefully untrained to protect. Thrown into a battle centuries in the making, this flawed hero, and a young man too-used to battling monsters of the present day, will have to come together in a last desperate fight to save humanity.

Can Mel and Lance defeat the greatest enemy the world has ever known? Or in the midst of fighting evil, will they discover the real threat has always been a shattered heart?

And what if the one fight they cannot ever hope to win is with themselves?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

What the fuck am I doing?

Mel leaned his back on the door as it clicked shut with finality. Okay, so if he’d just let a serial rapist or murderer into his apartment, he’d be really annoyed. The being dead part would take care of that though, he supposed, and he tried not to roll his eyes. The fact that the guy was insanely hot hadn’t escaped his notice either, although with Mel’s track record that probably meant he was best buds with Ted Bundy.

Liar. Although the shitty record with men was right but not, he thought, the question over Lance’s integrity. There had been something inherently right about the man which drew Mel in like a moth to a flame. Unresolved hero issues. As in he was still dreaming some crusader—caped or otherwise—was going to rescue him. All it probably went to prove was that he was a bad judge of character. Mel rubbed his eyes with resignation. It had been a crappy day on top of a crappy week. The funeral where he had been one of only three people there, and the pathetic small bag which was what all the home had given him belonging to his gran. And then tonight it had nearly been his own.

The small window Lance wandered over to gave a clear view of the street and his SUV, so he would know Mel had been watching him. Lance turned and studied him, equally silent. Mel flushed a little at his calm, unhurried gaze. His eyes traveled from his cheap sneakers up his too-skinny, too-short legs.

Mel wanted to fidget. He really should move, say something—say anything—but the gray eyes that had studied him so closely had now arrived at his face. Pinned him still. He’d always wondered where the stupid saying about deer and headlights came from. Now he knew, because he felt like he was about to get run over by a truck.

In the alley he’d felt the same, although maybe that had been simply relief at being saved. Because obviously “not dying” was a big thing. Whatever hero complex Lance had going on, it seemed to be working for him anyway. He supposed offering a cup of tea was the least he could do, and for a second he regretted Lance turning down the blow job.

“Don’t like tea?” Lance had put the cup untouched on the kitchen counter. Mel wanted to kick himself at the random question and followed Lance’s gaze. Mel looked critically around the small space and not for the first time acknowledged it was crap. He didn’t see any cockroaches though. There’d been three when he woke up this afternoon. So, there was that. Mel studied Lance for a brief moment as he stood at the window near the kitchenette. Although kitchenette was a very optimistic word for the white piece of laminated something he’d found outside by the dumpsters that he currently had balanced on a few pallets. It had nearly killed him to get up the four flights of stairs, but the sink worked okay, so he couldn’t complain. The electricity did too whenever he had cash for the meter. The plumbing was often questionable, but not a health hazard.

Lance was looking around the small space as well. Maybe that was why he wasn’t drinking the tea. Maybe he was frightened he’d catch something.

“So why are you here?” Mel asked after another ten seconds’ scrutiny.

Lance stared at him. “We need to talk.”

If it had been remotely funny, Mel would have laughed. Five minutes in his apartment and he was breaking up with him already? “Tell me why you go around fighting monsters in alleyways?”

Lance tilted his lips upward in a small smile. “I don’t just fight them in alleyways.”

Mel sighed and rubbed his forehead. He could feel the headache starting behind his eyes. “I mean—”

“I know what you mean.”

“Can we just get this over with? I’m sure no explanation could be worse than me thinking I’m actually certifiable.”

“It’s a long story.”

“One you don’t want to tell or one you’re about to invent?”

Lance scowled. “I do not tell untruths.”

Mel lifted his brows like sure. “Thief?” And what was with the weird speech? Untruths?

Mel clicked his fingers. Of course. “You’re a Brit, huh?” Made sense. He spoke like that royal. Although he preferred the younger one, and it was a damn shame he’d gotten married. Every fantasy he had ever needed to keep him warm generally involved a prince.

“I was born in England,” Lance acknowledged. “Lived there for a while.”

“You must have lived there quite a while because you don’t have much of an American accent.”

“You don’t have much of a New York one,” Lance countered.

Mel shrugged, unwilling to give anything away. “I’ve traveled.” To avoid the cops, children’s services, landlords, pimps. You name it, Mom had run from it. “You were explaining,” he prodded.

“Look, this is going to sound really strange—”

“Stranger than being attacked by eight-foot zombies straight out of The Walking Dead?” Mel waved a hand when all he got was a blank look at that reference.

Lance took a deep breath. “Have you heard of Merlin?”

“As in…”

“As in the wizard.”

Mel groaned. “Really? This shit, again? What part of me telling you my father was a history teacher didn’t you get? I have no idea why he gave me such a stupid-ass name.” And he’s been dead for a really long time.

“What if I told you it was all real?”

Mel pushed away from the door, irritation winning over his curiosity and tired of whatever BS he was about to get fed. “I changed my mind, and I think you need to go.”

Lance’s eyebrows rose. “I—”

“Get out,” Mel interrupted. “I don’t know what you are doing, and frankly I don’t give a fuck. I don’t care why or what you were doing in that alley, because I won’t see you again, so—”

Lance’s cell phone rang. He fished it out of his coat quickly and answered it. A look of dread passed over his features, which silenced Mel.

“Understood. Call the others.” Lance pushed the phone back in his pocket and focused on him. “You have five minutes to pack anything you can’t live without.”

Alarm clutched Mel like talons. “What?”

He took a step closer. “I haven’t time to explain. That thing that attacked you in the alley? There’s more of them on their way.”

“B-but—” He looked wildly around his apartment. Impossible. “Five minutes?”

“I mean it. Any longer and you won’t be alive to worry about what you’ve left behind.”

Oh my gosh! I truly don’t know what to say about this start to a new series from Victoria Sue. So much!

First, I loved this era in history. So, when I read the title and series name, I didn’t even read the blurb, I just said “give it to me now please”, and then waited patiently. I was the model of patience, I promise. 😉 This is such a mystical time in history, and the reader gets to glimpse pieces of it in this book. The author did a lot of research on little things here and there to include, and it was much appreciated.

This book had a similar feel to the Enhanced Series by Victoria Sue, in that there were specific things each person had or could do that was unique to them during this time in their lives. I loved that one of the characters didn’t even know until he had been alive for hundreds of years.

Second, it surprised me, which doesn’t happen often anymore as I am reading. It was set in current era, rather than back in historical times, which I wasn’t expecting. Even though, the author ensured that explanations were made for little things like cameras possibly seeing the knights, cell phones, etc.

It also contained a lot of humorous little bits. I loved Mel for his humor, and the knights as well. Made for some fantastic little hits in what could have been very heavy scenes.

I don’t want to give any more away, because honestly I hope you read it and enjoy it as much as I did. I can’t wait for Book 2. I mean, I will be the same model of patience I was for this one, of course.

4 pieces of eye candy

Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/

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In Safe Keeping by Victoria Sue: Exclusive Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

by

He can’t save everyone…

Firefighter Lucas Attiker is mired in guilt by his inability to save his young son, who perished in a fire three years ago. When he rescues a troubled young man and his baby daughter from a Colorado forest fire, Lucas finally begins to forgive himself. But the wildfire is only the beginning of the dangers facing them.

Hell-bent on saving his daughter from his crime boss ex, Owen Michaels is on the run with the baby in tow—fleeing both the killers who are after him and the US Marshals Service deputies assigned to protect him. When his desperate flight lands them in the midst of an inferno, the man who saves them offers hope for more than just survival.

They might have escaped a blazing forest and a hail of bullets, but both men will need to risk their lives—and their hearts—to give a little girl a loving family… if they can make it out alive.

Title: In Safe Keeping
Series: Heroes and Babies: Book Two
Author: Victoria Sue
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Category: Romantic Suspsense
Pages: 199

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Owen closed his eyes. Sometimes the fight was too hard. He felt a touch on his leg and opened his eyes to see Mia grabbing his sweatpants. Smiling. He smiled back. Or maybe, sometimes to protect those you loved, the fight wasn’t hard enough.

“I don’t know who to trust,” he admitted. “We were in an apartment—some kind of safe house they used—and Terry got a call. I didn’t even get a chance to ask who was on the line because I’ve never seen people move so fast in all my life. Terry grabbed the diaper bag, Barry lifted Mia from the small cot we had and handed her to me, and what seemed like only two minutes later, we were running from the building.” And being fired upon. He swallowed. “I’ve never been so scared in all my life. Barry got hit as we came out—”

“You were shot at?” Lucas interrupted, sounding shocked.

“Yes. There was more than one shooter. Terry bundled me between two cars. It was dark, around midnight, and pretty deserted.”

“Where were you?”

“Just north of Old Town in Fort Collins, but it was a Tuesday and really quiet.” Not like the weekends, which were kind of wild. “Mia woke up at the sound of gunfire. She started crying, so it was obvious where we were. There were footsteps, and Terry just stood up and started firing. He shouted for me to run. His truck was only a few feet away, but he was shot.” It hadn’t been the first time Owen had seen someone killed by a bullet, but he hoped to God it was the last.

Something told him that was unlikely.

“Terry must have shot them. I don’t know if they were killed, but they didn’t come after me.”

“Why are people shooting at you?”

And there it was—the question he had been expecting since yesterday and still didn’t know how to answer. “Are you sure you really want to know?”

Lucas didn’t reply, but then he didn’t have to. His confidence, some deep assurance on a different level screamed the answer to Owen. Trust me.

He glanced down at Mia, not only for the little bolt of courage he needed, but to remind himself of why he was here and why he would fight to his last breath to keep her safe. “Because I saw my ex-boyfriend kill her mother.” Lucas’s eyes widened a little, but he still kept silent. Waiting. Owen half smiled. “That’s a good interrogation technique you’ve got going on there.”

“Patience?” Lucas’s lips tilted upward at the corner, and from out of nowhere, Owen suddenly had the desperate urge to press his lips to that spot. Shocked, he jerked back a little.

“Did you know her?”

Owen refocused himself, pushing the inexplicable urge away. “She was my friend.” And he was the reason she was dead.

Lucas waited again, but Owen knew he had to answer. He would see the disappointment on Lucas’s face. Maybe even judgment. Disgust was a given, but he might as well get it over with. He shouldn’t forget that Lucas had saved his life yesterday, and even though Owen had sometimes been in that strange halfway place between fighting for your life and being ready to give up, he was the only thing keeping Mia from Damien. And if there was one thing he absolutely had to do for his best friend, it was to keep her daughter safe. Especially since he had failed so spectacularly at being a friend.

“I met Mary two days after I left home. A couple of guys followed me after I had used the cash machine.” He had been so clueless. “One pinned me, and the other took my cash and card. He wanted the PIN number, and I thought I’d be hard-core and refuse. Turned out they had a knife.” And really shaky hands. He would never forget the press of metal against his throat and the sheer terror he’d felt as it slid across his skin. “I thought they were gonna kill me, even after I told them, but Mary walked into the alley and called them by name. Told them to stop fucking with me.” And they laughed. He had thought he was going to die, and they had thought it was funny. “They took all the money I had left, but Mary stayed.” She’d even gotten him some water after he had puked his guts up. “That was four years ago.”

He glanced out the window, praying Lucas wasn’t going to want it all. He wasn’t ready for that.

“How did you get a car?”

Owen shot Lucas a grateful glance. Lucas could easily push, and Owen was in no position to say no, but as he focused on the deep understanding in Lucas’s gaze, he knew Lucas was giving him a breather. “I stole it.” He watched Lucas carefully, but again, there was no reaction. “I wish I’d gotten a better one, but it wasn’t even locked, and old cars are easier to hot-wire.”

Lucas’s eyes crinkled with sudden humor, and he laughed quietly. “I’m not surprised, if it was that blue Ford Taurus from the cabins. I think rust was holding it together.”

Owen stared. Lucas didn’t seem to be judging him. He’d done a lot of things over the years he wasn’t proud of.

“How long have you got to wait to give evidence?”

“I was supposed to give evidence to the grand jury three weeks ago so they could indict Damien, before we had to run. Now I’m not sure what will happen.” He didn’t know how he was going to last that long on his own. “I just want to disappear.”

“Not easy with a baby,” Lucas said doubtfully.

“I know.” Owen knew he was right. “But I don’t know who to trust.”

“Have you met Deputies DuPree and O’Connor? They’re the two who came to see me in the ER.”

“I like DuPree. She said her niece was called Mia.” He wasn’t sure about O’Connor, though. “I saw her with Terry a couple of times, once just after we left their offices the first time. I have absolutely no idea if I can trust either of them.”

“They can’t all be dirty. Jacko—remember him from the fire? African American? Big guy?”

Owen couldn’t help a short laugh. “You’re all big guys.”

“Well, Jacko comes from a family of cops. His dad and two brothers are on the force, and his uncle is a vice detective.” Lucas grinned. “It took months before his old man forgave him for becoming a firefighter. Anyway, we could ask Jacko to ask his uncle to check into the situation.”

That might work. It was just such a huge risk.

“You can’t run forever.” Lucas pointed to Mia, where she was chewing her fist. “Not with her, anyway.”

No. “So what? You’ll talk to Jacko?”

“How about this? You stay here with me while I sound things out. I don’t even have to mention your name—”

“No? How many witnesses running for their lives do you usually keep around—” Owen clamped his lips closed. He was joking, but his throat had suddenly gotten really tight.

Lucas’s face softened. He’d seen. Owen had a feeling Lucas didn’t miss much. “Why don’t you both plan to stay—at least for today. I don’t think you’re going to be any worse off, and you both need a rest.”

Owen nearly laughed. He possibly would have, if he hadn’t been keeping his lips clamped shut. A rest? When was the last time he’d had that? “I need some things for Mia.”

Lucas stood up. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge for her and make me a list.”

A loving home.

A father who knows what he’s doing.

But they’d start with diapers and milk.

Wow, what a ride!

Lucas is part of the wildfire first responders for the fire department. During a dangerous wildfire, he and his team are sent to check the area and make sure the park and cabins are cleared out of anyone who might be there and in the path of the fire. As I’ve realized over the last several years, and again with this story… the saying, “spread like wildfire” is faster and more dangerous than you realize.
When the team gives the all clear, Lucas chances a glance behind him and sees someone in a car, trying and failing to get it to start. He jumps into action, and that’s where he meets Owen and baby Mia.

Owen is on the run from a very powerful mob boss kind of guy with more power and more reach than any of them know what to do with. Inprisoned by Damien for far too long, he risks his life by running with the baby that was his best friends, who he saw murdered at the hand of the Damien, who happened to be his ex. The things that man put him through will turn your stomach. It was hard to read, at least for me, because I know that these things happen in real life and the police and judges and people of power who are in on it too, make it impossible to tell anyone or escape. So, he run… runs with the baby he considers his daughter, and luckily finds Lucas who isn’t willing to let them go without a fight.

Struggling to deal with his own demons from a life that got taken from him, he feels strongly for Owen and baby Mia. They kind of come in and bring him back to life, when he’d just been going from one day to the next, wallowing in guilt, shame and memories, both painful and beautiful.

Unfortunately, the guys don’t know who they can trust and are surprised a couple of times at who Damien has under his thumb, even someone close to Lucas…. That kind of sprung up out of nowhere, because it was either a small town or Damien’s reach was so long that he just had people sprinkled along everywhere. It seemed a little too convenient, but, whatever. I’d hoped we’d gotten closure from the man’s wife or at least an explanation, so that Lucas didn’t have to live with anymore guilt than he already had.

Being on the run together, trying to keep one another and the baby safe, and having to put all your trust into another person when it was proven that you literally couldn’t trust anyone… had brought these two together and thought was both insta-lovey and slow burny for me… I enjoyed them together. I loved Lucas and the way he was with both Owen and the baby, and I loved how Owen was with both Lucas and the baby… They made a cute little family that would do anything to protect one another and they proved it time and time again throughout this action packed story.

Fortunately, the bad guy doesn’t get away with being the bad guy and everything gets worked out. I won’t tell you how or what happens or why, but it’s a crazy ride and if you like suspenseful reads and don’t mind pricy ebooks, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

4 pieces of eye candy

Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/VictoriaSueNewsletter

Leave a comment for Sue about her new book, and you could win a ebook copy of any of her backlist books.