Hit there! I’m so excited to share a review and giveaway for a recently re-released paranormal M/M romance from Tara Lain. BRUSH WITH CATASTROPHE is the second book in her Aloysius tales series about witches (and more) living among us. This one features Sam, a young witch who thinks his paintings of the future are a rather crummy ability. Until his art becomes the ultimate weapon against evil.

Catch an excerpt below, and enter the giveaway, too!

About the book:
Sammy Raphael is a crappy witch, and on top of that, he can’t seem to get a boyfriend. Where other supernaturals can bring down lightning and manifest wealth, Sammy can paint. Granted, the “prophetic” paintings he creates at night always come true, but they never predict anything important. Sammy feels like a total loser with a worthless ability.
One night he paints a gorgeous guy who turns out to be his secret crush, the human

Ryder, but Ryder’s changed so much he’s almost unrecognizably beautiful. Then Sammy paints an angel who turns out to be a witch. But is that witch also a devil—a devil who can bring down Sammy’s whole community and everyone he loves? And why the hell does Ryder keep changing? Aloysius, the black cat familiar, always backs a winner. So why is he backing Sammy?

How about a little taste?

Sammy looked down into the soup. “That’s the only kind of guy who would ever be interested in me. A cheating rat.”

“Sam, that’s not so.”

His voice shook. “Why the hell do you think he even bothered with me to begin with? What would he want with a stupid loser if he was planning on cheating with half the fucking college?” The tears squeezed out and started to drip down his cheeks.

Ryder put the tray on the dresser and wrapped Sammy in his arms. “You’re not a loser at all. You’re one of the finest people I’ve ever known. You’re kind and funny and so smart. You paint like a master. Even if you do pick strange subject matter sometimes.” Ryder chuckled and nodded toward the painting of himself on Sammy’s easel.

“You saw that?” Sammy snuffled. Maybe if he didn’t move too much Ryder would forget to let him go.

“Hard to miss that painting in a room the size of most closets.”

Pretty embarrassing. But compared to having had your energy drained by a cheating pig and your neck chained by the selfsame bastard while you were blacked out, painting a picture of your best friend you had a secret crush on was small potatoes in the shame department.

“Ready to sleep?”

No. “Yeah.” Sammy pulled the pillows out from behind him and lay back down. Al crawled up next to him. His eyelids felt weighted. “Thank you so much for taking care of me. I’ll rest tomorrow, and I should be able to go to school on Monday.”

“Yes, you’ll rest tomorrow, and I’ll see that you do. I’m not going anywhere. I want to make sure that asshole doesn’t come back. I’ll sleep on your couch and be here to take care of you in the morning.”

Sammy shook his head. “No way a human can sleep on that couch. Aloysius won’t even do it. It has lumps the size of Everest. I’ll be fine. Really.”

“Not leaving, so forget about it.”

Sweeter words were never spoken. I don’t want to be alone. He opened his eyes a slit. Ryder gazed down at him. That expression. He remembered it—from the painting. His deep eyes. So soft. So much like love.

A thick fog of exhaustion rolled over Sam, and his eyes wouldn’t stay open. “Sleep in the bed with me and Al. We don’t move much. Sleep here… prommmmissse….”

My Review:
Sam is a young witch finishing his final year of college and trying to discern his true powers. So far, he can’t cast spells, or divine when someone nearby has magic, but he is an accomplished artist. Lately, he’s had many episodes of waking in the morning with work on his easel that he painted in his sleep, images which come true in the near future. It’s always been more of a nuisance than anything, but his new paintings now illustrate key figures coming into his life.

First is his best friend, Ryder, who’s had a dramatic transformation over the summer holiday. Ryder’s taller, fitter and sexier than Sam can stand. He’s long crushed on his human bestie, and the new-improved Ryder is so so tempting. Then he draws am image of himself with Aloysius, his Witch Master’s familiar (a cat), on his own shoulder. From then on, Sam and Al are nearly inseparable. Which is puzzling, because Al’s known to associate with only the most powerful witches, and Sam’s essentially powerless–he thinks. Still, it’s not until paints Lucien that things get creepy.

Lucien is a newly-transferred witch from Prague. He’s beautiful in a deadly way, and his sights are set on capturing Sam, his power, and the whole of the Witch community, if he can…

This story has many points of view, but the most prominent are Sam and Ryder’s. Sam’s a good guy,and has many friends–a perfect target for Lucien’s attentions. Lucien uses his money and wiles to try and win Sam over, but Sam’s crush on Ryder puts the brakes on that seduction. When Ryder’s overcome seeing Sam out-and-about with Lucien, it sparks him taking a stand against his own powerful father. Throughout there were hints that Ryder isn’t exactly human, though I didn’t quite guess his heritage until the end. I did like the push and pull of the story, and the plot twists kept me guessing as to the outcome. Al, the familiar, has a great personality, and cat lovers will surely be intrigued by a series that winds a cat through all the magic. The love story for Sam and Ryder is sweet, and sexy–with both of them finally revealing their true selves to one another. Lucien and his dastardly plans are put to rest by Sam finally learning the extent of his own unique abilities. All ended well, despite the magic, mayhem and murderous intent. Expect and HEA, and to find a new series to enjoy.

Interested? You can find BRUSH WITH CATASTROPHE on Goodreads, Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a $10 gift card or an ebook.
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Author:
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 23. Her best­selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft.

She lives with her soul­mate husband and her soul­mate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

You can find Tara at: