Reviews

Books I’ve read and reviewed

Loved By A DARK WARRIOR–A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing my review for a release from Lily Harlem. DARK WARRIOR is a contemporary bi-racial M/M romance between a traveling doctor and a Kenyan nurse. And, it’s getting hot on the savannah… 😉

Dark WarriorAbout the book:
While some passions live on the surface, others—wilder, darker passions—have to be kept buried deep.

Dr. Leo Rotherham is following his calling by working in rural Kenya for the charity Medics On Hand. While he expected a primitive way of life and limited medical supplies, what he doesn’t bargain on is falling for handsome village warrior, Malik.

Malik is well respected, knowledgeable and loyal to his tribe. He’s also beautiful, brave, modern and, much to Leo’s dismay, married—isn’t he?

No, it turns out Malik is as free as the animals that roam the African plains at night.

Soon the tension is building between the two men and Leo isn’t sure if he’s coming or going. Whenever he’s around Malik he can’t help but notice the reflected look of lust in his eyes and feel the longing sizzling between them.

Malik stands too close, not close enough. Forbidden attraction simmers between them and the need grows to dizzying heights. But dare they admit to each other what it is they want? And are they brave enough to act on their desires and be honest about their lust? One thing is for sure, a passion this big, this powerful, can’t be contained and it’s all going to explode in the most spectacular of ways.

My Review:
Leo is down of relationships since he and his long-term boyfriend split after 5 years together. He’s been celibate for 18 months, trying to move on, and decides to make the most of his training in tropical medicine serving a month in rural Kenya to work with Doctors On Hand. He is blown away by the beauty, yet desolate poverty, of the tiny village where he is stationed.

His medical training is desperately needed, and he digs right in beside one of the most stunningly beautiful men he has ever seen, Malik. Malik is not only an educated man who spent years in Nairobi, at nursing school and then as a nurse, he is a large man, built like the African warriors of yore. But he is home now amongst his family who live in this small village. In addition to assisting in the clinic, Malik hunts food for his large family and runs the local school. Leo’s absent libido is sorely tested working with Malik, but he knows better than to discuss his homosexuality with anyone in Africa–he truly fears beatings or worse.

It is a careful dance, but Malik learns that Leo is aroused by him, and makes a very cautious foray into the personal realm. Even if Malik returns Leo’s advances, there is no privacy in this village, and Malik’s parents want him to get married. Plus, Malik’s sister has her eye on Leo. It’s all-around difficult.

But not impossible…

This is a refreshing romance written about two men from very different cultures finding love where they least expected it. The setting is lovely, and the stakes are high–neither can be found out. Also, there’s the element of danger with the nearby lions, snakes and hippos–not to mention marauders who come to rob the village. The romance is tender, yet spicy, with the added dimension of the racial differences. Expect an HEA, and a whole lotta sexytimes. I received a copy for my honest review.

Interested? You can find Dark Warrior on Goodreads, Totally Bound, Barnes and Noble, AllRomance and Amazon.

About the Author:
Lily Harlem lives in the UK and is an award-winning author of contemporary erotic romance. She writes for publishers on both sides of the Atlantic including Ellora’s Cave, HarperCollins, Totally Bound, Xcite and Sweetmeats Press. Her HOT ICE series regularly receives high praise and industry nominations.

Before turning her hand to writing Lily Harlem worked as a trauma nurse and her latest HarperCollins release, Confessions of a Naughty Night Nurse, draws on her many experiences while nursing in London. Lily also self-publishes and The Glass Knot, The Silk Tie, Breathe You In (USA Today Reviewer’s Recommended Read of 2013) and Scored have been blessed with many 5* reviews since their release.

Lily also co-authors with Natalie Dae and publishes under the name Harlem Dae – check out the Sexy as Hell Box Set Trilogy available exclusively on Amazon – The Novice, The Player and The Vixen – and That Filthy Book which has been hailed as a novel ‘every woman should read’.

One thing you can be sure of, whatever book you pick up by Ms Harlem, is it will be wildly romantic and down-and-dirty sexy. Enjoy!

You can catch Lily on her website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Author Page, Pinterest. She’s also got a newsletter, Goodreads and Google +.

Check out her blogs on Raw Talent, BritBabes, and Hockey Romance!

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

Captivated by a BLUE EYED STRANGER–My Review for Joyfully Jay

Hi there! As you may remember, I’ve joined with Joyfully Jay to share my love of M/M fiction in a wider audience. As a blogger, it’s fun to link up and have a bit of interaction with other bloggers/blogging communities. It makes all this work seem less solitary… 😉

This week, my review for Alex Beecroft’s BLUE EYED STRANGER went live. It’s a quiet romance between two unlikely men, one a black Englishman having trouble with his employment and the other a shy white man with depression. Both men have an interest in historical performances, reenactment societies, as others may call them. It’s also set in England which is a fave setting for me. I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Blue Eyed Stranger (Trowchester Blues, #2)About the book:
Billy Wright has a problem: he’s only visible when he’s wearing a mask. That’s fine when he’s performing at country fairs with the rest of his morris dancing troupe. But when he takes the paint off, his life is lonely and empty, and he struggles with crippling depression.

Martin Deng stands out from the crowd. After all, there aren’t that many black Vikings on the living history circuit. But as the founder of a fledgling historical re-enactment society, he’s lonely and harried. His boss doesn’t like his weekend activities, his warriors seem to expect him to run everything single-handedly, and it’s stressful enough being one minority without telling the hard men of his group he’s also gay.

When Billy’s and Martin’s societies are double-booked at a packed county show, they know at once they are kindred spirits, united by a deep feeling of connectedness to their history and culture. But they’re also both hiding in their different ways, and they need each other to be brave enough to take their masks off and still be seen.

Please head over to Joyfully Jay to see my full review.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

 

She is the QUEEN OF BRIGHT AND SHINY THINGS–Review & Giveaway

The Queen - Review and Excerpt Tour bannerHi there! Today I’m reviewing a contemporary YA romance hot off the press! Released yesterday, Ann Aguirre’s THE QUEEN OF BRIGHT AND SHINY THINGS is a well-paced story about how a person’s kindness can change your world, and life, for the better.

Queen of Bright and Shiny Things - coverAbout the book:
Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine… until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted.

Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.

But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again…

How about a little taste?

I have forty seconds to spare when I burst through the doors of the Curly-Q. Mildred gives me the side-eye, but since I’m not technically late, she just says, “Get your smock on, girl. There’s cleaning to be done.”

Though it’s not strictly legal or sanitary, I’m pretty sure they save the hair for hours. The stylists just sweep it away from the chairs and pile it out of the way. So by the time I arrive, there’s a small Sasquatch on the floor. It takes me an hour to get the shop pristine. Customers come and go, mostly walk-in haircuts. Around six, it slows down, and Grace beckons me to the chair.

“When are you gonna let me give you some highlights?” She asks this often.

This time, however, I say, “Tonight, if you have time.”

Grace gets excited. “Mildred, get the camera. I’ll do it free if you let me take a picture for the Before and After wall.”

I eye the wall, not sure I want to be immortalized up there, along with all the 80s hair and prom refugees, but eventually I shrug. “Why not?”

My hair is a dark blond, mousy and forgettable. I mean, it’s decent hair, neither straight, nor curly. Left to its own devices, it falls in messy waves. That’s why I wear a lot of ponytails and braids. Aunt Gabby has similar problems, only she gets it lightened and highlighted so it looks bright and flirty, and she spends forty-five minutes a day straightening hers, so it’s sleek and smooth by the time she goes to the shop. UPS Joe seems to like the results anyway.

Grace fastens me into the plastic smock, then snaps a Polaroid. I still don’t care that much how I look; I mean, it’s so superficial, but a small part of me would like to be prettier, at least maximize what I’m working with. I tell myself this is more of a social experiment, and I can evaluate how people react to the new me. But that’s not it.

I’m totally doing this to see if Shane notices. Sometimes I hate being a girl.

My Review:

Sage is 16 and an orphan living with her father’s half-sister. She strives to be a model teen, getting involved in activities and keeping good grades. She’s been abused and placed in foster care before and never wants to return. Her tiny Illinois farm town is a tight community, and Sage has fit in by being the sidekick/best friend of Ryan, a gangly boy who is just beginning to pull off the ‘hipster’ look he’s adopted. They’ve been inseparable besties for the past three years, and Sage often wonders why Ryan isn’t interested romantically…still Sage looks on the bright side, always, and performs daily acts of kindness–like leaving post-it note affirmations on the lockers of kids when she sees they are having bad times.

A new guy moves into town, Shane Cavendish, and his worn clothes and general scruffiness are catnip to the bullies, headed by star athlete Dylan. Sage can’t bear to see this kid shoved around, and decides to step in. For his part, Shane wants nothing to do with anyone. He’s stunned that anyone takes any interest in him at all, and Sage’s interest is really intense. She can see that he’s had a rough life, perhaps rivaling her own, and wants to help, to show him that he is not alone.

They develop a tenuous friendship, which puts Ryan into Protector mode, but, beyond that, Sage starts to see the secrets behind her friendships, and Ryan’s got some big-time explaining. Not that Sage is an open book. No, her shiny veneer hides a darkness that shouldn’t see the light of a high school hallway. Unfortunately, she makes an enemy of Dylan who threatens to ruin her for her interference.

Thing is, the more Dylan threatens, the more friends Sage makes, and her acts of kindness do not go unnoticed. Plus, for the first time ever, it seems that a boy she likes actually reciprocates. Shane is in need of connection, and Sage is a force to be reckoned with in that regard. He is drawn into her knot of friendships and they explore dating in a quiet way, much to Ryan’s chagrin.

I did enjoy the slow reveal of Sage’s backstory. I adored her ‘do-goodiness;’ how she searched daily for someone she could cheer up with a kind note. I loved her relationship with her aunt, and how she refused to ride in a car because her dad died in a wreck. She is strong, and principled, and kind. She isn’t nasty or mean, but can be fierce when pushed.

Shane is….*shakes head* such a GREAT love interest. He is kind and compassionate and loving and all the things that Sage deserves. And she works very hard to get him, and to keep him, even when it means revealing more about herself than she ever planned to do.

This is an age-appropriate teen read with humor, heart and a relentless force for good leading the charge against bullies, pollution and neglect.

Interested? You can find THE QUEEN OF BRIGHT AND SHINY THINGS on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Books-a-Million, Powell’s, and IndieBound.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win on of 5 signed copies of THE QUEEN OF BRIGHT AND SHINY THINGS.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and keep reading my friends!

Ann AguirreAbout the author:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.

You can find Ann online on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, or sign up for her newsletter.
InkSlinger PR Blogger Banner - New

Love in the LIMELIGHT–Review and Giveaway

Hi there! Today I”m sharing my review for an anthology of contemporary M/M romance novellas. LIMELIGHT is a collection that will satisfy all lovers of M/M romance. It’s got friends-to-lover stories, reconnection, and coming out, and it’s got heat…
(This is an adult read.)

Limelight
By H.L. Holston, Sara York, Eleanor Bruce, and E.M. Leya 
 

About the book: 

Some dream of fame and fortune, but it isn’t always everything one might think it will be. It doesn’t matter what entertainment industry you’re in, you have to sacrifice, and when it comes to love, well that brings on a million other issues.

Inside you’ll find three stories about men in the limelight. They worked hard to gain the fame they’ve found, but in doing so, they all have longed for one thing — Love. Some things might come easy for these men, but when it comes to sharing their hearts, things are never simple and either are the men they desire.

 

Available to purchase at
Time Gone By by E.M. Leya

Jon is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. The fame and fortune he has is like nothing he ever imagined, but he left behind the only man he’d ever loved to achieve it.

Wyatt thought he’d put the past behind him and moved on, focusing on his career as he hides the truth about himself from those who are closest to him. Why should he risk his family and friends with being honest when his only reason left town six years ago?

When fate throws the two men together again, they are forced to confront things from the past that they both don’t want to admit, but the passion and desire for each other is stronger than ever, proving that no matter how much time has gone by, the heart knows what it wants.

Excerpt
“Hey.”
Jon looked up to see Wyatt standing in the doorway.
“Want some company?”
“Sure.” Jon sat up straighter as Wyatt took a seat across from him. “So nursing, huh? It suits you.”
“Thanks. I debated on becoming a vet, but that was too many years stuck in school. I enjoy this. Now that I’m back home and working here, it’s nice. I worked in Phoenix for about a year, but hated every minute of it.” Wyatt leaned back, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I hate living in the city. I miss this place.”
“You could move back.”
Jon tried to ignore the hopeful gleam in Wyatt’s eyes. “Yeah, I don’t think that would work. Most my business is in California. It’s just easier to stay there.” Honestly, he hated it and thought about moving back all the time, but the main reason he didn’t was sitting right across from him.
“You look good.” Wyatt didn’t hide the way his gaze traveled over Jon’s body.
“So do you.” Jon returned the same stare, and then wished he hadn’t. He could still remember that body pressed up against his, the taste of Wyatt’s lips against his own. It was as if it all happened yesterday.
“You want to go grab a cup of coffee downstairs and catch up?” Wyatt asked.
“Aren’t you working?”
“Got off about ten minutes ago. I was hoping you were still here.”
“Why?” Jon shook his head. “Sorry, that was rude. It’s just…” Jon stood and went to the doorway, looking down the hall.
“I know, Jon. It’s hard for me too, but I miss you. Miss talking about stuff. You’re my best friend.”
“I was.” Jon turned to look at him.
“You still are. No one will ever know me like you do.”
“It’s been nearly six years, Wyatt.”
“Doesn’t feel like it sometimes.”
Jon turned to look at him, struggling with the emotions he’d locked away for so long. “Sometimes it seems longer.” He shrugged. “I didn’t even know you’d gone to school.”
“Yeah, you were pretty upset when you left. I figured you weren’t checking up on me much.”
That wasn’t true. He might not have asked about him, but he did look for him every time he came back to town. Okay, so that wasn’t often, but still, Wyatt was always on his mind when he was visiting. “Can you blame me?”

 My Review:

This is a very tender reconnection story. Jon and Wyatt were childhood friends who became closeted teen lovers. They were each others first, and only, love. Six years have passed since Wyatt told Jon he couldn’t move to LA with him, and they haven’t spoken until Jon returns to their hometown after his father suffers a heart attack.

Wyatt is one of the nurses on the CCU, and they reconnect. When Jon is crushed by the grief, it is Wyatt who he turns to, but Jon is a celebrity, known for being “out” and Wyatt still remain in the closet–his parents are extremely homophobic.

Wyatt and Jon spend time together and it’s as if no time passed for them, their passion is still as hot, but their hearts are tentative. Jon wants a full partnership, and Wyatt to be with him always, anywhere. Wyatt takes some time to convince…

For a novella it packs a serious emotional punch.

 

Suck This, Neil Patrick Harris by H.L. Holston & Eleanor Bruce

Dante Moretti has a big problem. His acting career has hit the skids and he’s desperate to land the lead role in the next Hollywood blockbuster. It’s his last chance to get back on the superstar track.

But, his personal life is a train wreck. No sane director will work with him any longer. Solution? Bribe his best friend and former co-star, Chris Parker to play the role of his long-term boyfriend. Showing the world he’s in a committed relationship will hopefully convince casting agents he’s reformed, stable and trustworthy.

Even if it’s a lie.

What Dante doesn’t count on is the public’s reaction to the announcement that Chris and he are a couple…and his own feelings for Chris spiraling out of control.

Under the merciless cameras of the paparazzi, Dante is forced to choose–his leading man status or the man he thought was just his best friend. Who ever thought that pretending to be in love would be this hard?
Excerpt

He’d never seen
Chris and Katie go at it like this before. Sure, they had bickered on set, but this was a war of words. If Dante had one ounce of bisexuality in his bones, he would have been cheering for them to make out after they stopped arguing. They were that hot together in the heat of passion. He was beginning to see the appeal of their coupling from the show now. No wonder Space
Pirates fans had cried when Katie’s character had died in Chris’ arms.
But he had to stop this now. At least half the crowd had out their cell phones and were filming Chris and Katie’s argument. Going from past experience, Dante knew the clips would be up on YouTube within minutes. He had damage control to do.
Dante pushed himself between his two former co-stars and shouted, “Enough!”
That got everyone’s attention. Chris looked at him in confusion, Katie, well, she looked impressed he’d intervened.
He grabbed Chris’ hand tightly, glanced to the other man for permission, and when Chris nodded, Dante said in a deliberately loud voice, strong enough to reach the line of fans still strolling in the front door of Hollywood Book and Poster.
“I’m sorry we sprung this on you here, Katie and not in private beforehand. But, I’m not going to apologize for dating Chris.” He paused dramatically, and forty fannish faces pressed in closer to listen. “Not when I feel like the luckiest son-of-a-bitch on the planet that he even agreed to go out with me. He’s everything I ever wanted in a partner, and I refuse to hide the fact we’re a couple.”
Dante laid his next monologue on thick.
Staring deeply and what he hoped was adoringly into Chris’ face, he said, “I love him and I’m keeping him for as long as he’ll have me!”
You could have heard a pin drop. They were well and truly out of the closest now. Katie’s expression had softened a bit from her previous stance, but Dante could tell from the fire still in her eyes, they’d have more explaining to do after the autograph signing.
While she still appeared doubtful, the crowd around them erupted into chaos. More phones came out and their fans’ commentary started:
“How long have Chris and you been dating?”
“I thought Chris was straight?”
Finally, one triumphant voice exclaimed, “I knew they were f**king! I knew it.”

My Review:
Dante and Chris have been friends for years. It was Chris, a child actor now grown, who took Dante under his wing years ago and taught him the ins-and-outs of TV acting. Now Chris is going through a rough patch, and staying at Dante’s home.

Dante’s job prospects aren’t great. He’s on the callback list for a big part, but he’s a Hollywood pariah due to his off-screen relationship issues. If he were in a stable committed relationship, even a gay one, the studio would be willing to take a chance, so Dante enlists Chris to be his boyfriend.  He had an initial crush on Chris way back when, but the Friends Zone is where Chris resides in Dante’s heart…or does he.

Chris is (mostly) heterosexual–what happened in college stays in college!–but he’s not really keen on Dante’s plan. Sure, it may help Dante, but at the expense of his own career? Still, he agrees to go along.

Both men struggle with this arrangement, Chris because he’s never been with a man in public, and Dante, because he’s not sure where the fantasy ends–behind closed doors he and Chris do continue their “relationship.”

It seems as if they are really poised to become that power couple their fans had clamored for for years, but Dante’s not good at relationships, and he needs a few kicks in the pants to get it right this time. Not only for his career, but also for his friend and lover.

It’s a fun little story, with a lot of heat and heart, combined. I loved Chris, and how he never took Dante’s crap. Dante was a delightfully oblivious, in the good way. I’m glad this friends-to-lovers story worked out.

Center Stage by Sara York
Country music is Slade Pepper’s first love and he can’t walk away from the stage, but being gay and in country music doesn’t allow him to have a personal life. Slade takes the month off to decompress and search his soul. He meets Corbin Branford and can’t say no to a passion filled night.

One night turns into more, but Corbin has no idea who Slade is, and Slade tries to keep it that way…until a fan blows his cover. Corbin is angry enough to leave, but Slade Pepper won’t give up without a fight.

Excerpt

Corbin rocked his hips against Slade’s, his thumb playing with the button of Slade’s jeans. “I’ve been watching you all night, and God, I’ve wanted to touch you.”
Thunder rumbled outside and the lights flickered. The rain came down, growing louder as the thunder died out. Corbin leaned back, his gaze searching. “Let’s eat and then we can figure out what…Mmm, damn, you sure are sexy.”
Slade nodded, his body hot from Corbin’s touch. “Eat first, then maybe something else later?”
Slade wanted that something else very much. He was hot and getting hotter, but Corbin hadn’t eaten. The guy was probably starving.
“I’d like to know more about you. Are you visiting with your family?”
Slade moved to the table and pulled out a chair, holding it for Corbin. He was a southern gentleman. No matter who he liked to fuck, he’d been raised with manners, and those manners would be used.
Corbin quirked a brow as he sunk into his seat. “Nice touch. I think we’ll most definitely be doing something after I’m no longer starving.”
Slade slid into the other chair and picked up his burger, taking a bite. He moaned and closed his eyes, focusing on the flavors in the meat. “They really are good burgers.”
“Thanks. I’ve won a couple of awards, nothing big, but you know, it helps.”
Slade smiled and took another bite as he stared at Corbin, taking in his small frame and lean muscles. The guy really was beautiful. If only he could stay on this island, then maybe he could actually have a relationship. But he’d be gone in a few weeks. Perhaps Corbin wouldn’t mind a part-time gig. Hell, he might actually enjoy it.

My Review:

Slade is a well-known country singer with a big secret. He’s gay. Being in the spotlight has been rough on him, physically and emotionally, and the lack of any romantic involvement for the past two years has left his creativity well run dry. At the end of his tour, he takes four weeks on vacation to a quiet South Carolina island home of a friend.

While staying there he meets Corbin, owner of a local pub, and the attraction is immediate. Still, he’s nervous about revealing himself–he’s afraid that Corbin will only see his fame, or won’t want to be in his spotlight.

As it turns out, Corbin is very attracted to “Matt” the super helpful customer who volunteered to help man the grill when his regular cook called in sick. Corbin and “Matt” work well together! but the bedroom menu is far hotter and spicier! with a dash of sweetness than either man predicted.

Slade knows he needs to come clean, and makes a plan to, but his identity is revealed before he has a chance. Corbin is upset, for different reasons than Slade had expected–he’s been betrayed by men in his past. Through some very candid conversation, they decide to continue, but this all may end in a few weeks, anyway.

It’s not like Slade’s ready to risk his career in country music to come out publicly…right?

This is a really sweet coming out story. Slade and Corbin may fall for each other a tad to quickly, but both men had been without a partner for years leading up to their meeting. I liked the level of support on both sides, and the touch of bad blood from some of Slade’s band mates added to the realism.

About The Authors
Emma Marie Leya, aka E.M Leya lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her daughter, two dogs, a cat, and two birds. When she isn’t writing, she is an avid swimmer with a passion for the mountains. She’s often found playing outdoors.

You can find E.M at             

Writing is Sara York’s life. The stories fight to get out, often leaving her working on four or five books at once. She can’t help but write. Along with her writing addiction she has a coffee addiction. Some nights, the only reason she stops writing and goes to sleep is for the fresh brewed coffee in the morning. Sara enjoys writing twisted tales of passion, anger, and love with a good healthy dose of lust thrown in for fun.

You can find Sara at       

H.L. Holston & Eleanor Bruce met when a friend put them in charge of the writing awards at a local sci-fi convention, but bonded over their mutual love of Bruce Springsteen. In real life, after many years of teaching social studies at the high school level, Holly has now semi-retired to Florida where she tutors reading and writing in between scrapbooking and reading romance novels.

Eleanor has been a professional business writer since 1989 and an amateur fiction writer for over fifteen years and dreams of following the E Street Band around once she retires, unless Holly talks her into buying a condo on the beach in Costa Rica.

You can find Holly at       

You can find Eleanor at    

****GIVEAWAY****

Click the Raffle copter link below for your chance to win a Fandango giftcard!

Good luck and keep reading my friends!

Presented By

They Find Life is NOTHING LIKE PARIS–A Review

Hi there! Today I want to share some love for a book recently released by a fellow Chicagoan. I really enjoyed Amy Jo Cousin’s OFF CAMPUS, and thought, “Hmmm, I”ll give book two a try.” I was bit nervous, because the main character in NOTHING LIKE PARIS was a bully and the subject of conflict in OFF CAMPUS. I wondered: How can the villain be transformed into the hero? Well, that’s an author’s job, and Ms. Cousins did it well! (This is an ADULT read)

Nothing Like Paris (Bend or Break, #2)About the book:
Humble pie wasn’t supposed to taste this sweet.

Jack Tarkington’s life is in the toilet. He was supposed to be spending his junior year studying someplace cool like Paris or Rome. Instead, after taking out his anger on the campus “golden boy”, whose dad ripped off his parents, Jack is facing possible expulsion.

Sure, it’s all his own fault, but coming back to the small Iowa town he thought he’d escaped, after crowing about his admission to a prestigious school, has been a humbling experience.

When he runs into Miguel, Jack braces for backlash over the way he lorded it over his old friend and flame. Instead, Miguel offers him friendship—and a job at his growing farm-to-table store and café.

Against the odds, both guys bond over broken dreams and find common ground in music. But when Jack’s college gives him a second chance, he’s torn between achieving a dream that will take him far from home, and a love that strikes a chord he’ll never find anywhere else.

Warning: This book contains a humbled guy who’s on the brink of losing it all, a determined entrepreneur who seems to have it all together, apologies issued through banjo-picking duets, and two lovers who can play each other’s bodies like virtuosos.

My Review:
This is the second book in a series–it can likely be read as a standalone.

Jack has been suspended from his east coast college for harassment of a fellow student, Tom Worthington. Tom’s father had orchestrated a Ponzi scheme which took down the retirement, college and investment funds of many–including Jack’s father’s. While a student, Jack resented seeing Tom on campus and his campaign of hate resulting in Jack’s discipline–and a disgraceful return to his dismal home in Colchester Falls, Iowa. Jack’s family is in a bad way–his mother’s a functional (but really dysfunctional) alcoholic and his father is emotionally unavailable. Plus, these relationships have been further strained by Jack being an out gay man.

Upon his return, Jack encounters his high school boyfriend, Mike Vargas, who is now running a farm-to-table eatery featuring the produce of his family farm. Mike was supposed to go east with Jack three years ago, but gave up his scholarships to stay on the farm when his father had a second heart attack. Mike is a smart, industrious man, but he’s stifled in this small community, always on guard to keep his sexuality on the down low. People know he’s gay, but he’s too timid to “flaunt” it, fearing his business will suffer. He’s hopelessly angry/in love with Jack. The love was from their six year history as friends/lovers (junior and senior high school) but he hates how Jack just left–early–for college and left him behind.

This reconnection story is well told and has good pacing. Jack doesn’t win Mike back immediately. Mike is on constant guard of his heart, never giving Jack the chance to work his Jack-magic. In the meantime, they do work together, and through Mike’s selfless example, Jack grows out of his angry-at-the-world stance. He reaches out to other at-risk youth, helping to form a GSA at his former high school. This brings him in touch with his old guidance counselor who helps him find some peace regarding his mother worsening alcoholism.

All the good is really working in Jack’s favor–so much so, he makes a grand gesture to resolve his difficulties at school–and tries to broaden Mike’s world, as well.

Mike had felt overlooked by his father for a long time–being passed over for management of the farm was especially cutting–but through some hard truths from papi and Jack, Mike learns that, perhaps, this small town life isn’t his ultimate destiny.

It’s a good story. I really enjoyed Jack’s change from petulance to maturity. Mike is a great guy, and he deserves all that he receives. His recognition that his need to “save” Jack was a hindrance to their growth as a couple, and enabled them to become more equal partners going forward.

Interested? You can find NOTHING LIKE PARIS on Goodreads, Amazon, Samhain Publishing, AllRomance and Barnes & Noble. I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

The first book in this series, OFF CAMPUS is another steamy read about an unlikely couple. Check out my review or you can find OFF CAMPUS on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, iBooks, and on the Samhain website. (I got a review copy of this book from NetGalley.)

Amy Jo CousinsAbout the Author:
Amy Jo Cousins lives in Chicago, where she writes contemporary romance, tweets more than she ought, and sometimes runs way too far. She loves her boy and the Cubs, who taught her that being awesome doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with winning.

You can find Amy Jo online on her website, Goodreads, Facebook and twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

He Will STEELE: INTO YOUR HEART–Release Day Review

Hi there! I’m so excited to share with you my thoughts on a contemporary erotic romance from Rie Warren. I’ve really enjoyed STONE: AT YOUR SERVICE and LOVE: IN THE FAST LANE, both books in her Carolina Bad Boys series. STEELE: INTO YOUR HEART is the third book, but can be read as a standalone.

Steele: Into Your Heart (Carolina Bad Boys, #3)About the book:
Brodie Steele is a badass MC dude. Ashe Kingston is a sexy police officer with an attitude. Their bad blood runs deep. But after they hook up at a wild biker week, can they keep their pact? What happens at Bike Week stays at Bike Week. Yeah, right.

Riding out the rough years following a family tragedy, Brodie is still trying to put his life back together when he finds something he never expected with Ashe. She annoys the ever lovin’ hell out of him, and turns him on so much he can’t see straight. He keeps coming back for more.

Ashe isn’t just a hard-nosed police officer. And she wants no part of Brodie outside of their no-strings-attached fling. There’s no way he’s settling-down material but he’s hard to resist with his inked sleeves and rebellious ways, not to mention piercings in places that make Ashe melt. Brodie Steele is dangerous, delicious, and suddenly determined to have her.

If there’s anything more risky than laying his heart on the line for this sexy woman, it’s Ashe’s job. It puts her life in danger in a way he can’t possibly protect her from. Can their hot bond win out over the bad blood of years past? Or will Ashe be taken from Brodie before she lets him into her heart?

My Review:
As with the previous books in this series, it’s written entirely from the male lead’s POV–so we get the inside of Steele’s filthy mind, as well as his filthy mouth. Thing is, it’s awesome, because Brodie Steele isn’t just a big bad biker–he’s a good guy.

He works hard, and loves his siblings and misses his parents and wants a real life with a real woman. He’s played the field a good long time, and we can’t believe the connection he makes with Officer Ashe Kingston on his Bike Week vacay to Myrtle Beach. No, the tough-as-nails cop who, years ago, arrested his junkie sister (Cat, from LOVE IN THE FAST LANE) cannot be the sexy tiger lily tatted sex nymph with whom he spends five luxurious days and five incendiary nights.

Well, okay, it’s the same gal, but he doesn’t think about her the same after that. Some people have a Come-To-Jesus moment, Brodie has a Come-With-Ashe week, and it’s not okay that she cuts him out the second their tires hit the serene streets of Mt. Pleasant.

Brodie can’t handle the separation, but he does, out of respect–but soon the lines get blurred and he and Ashe reconnect, only to have him be on the outs again. People in his motorcycle club think he’s a traitor for dating a cop, but all he wants is a real try with Ashe, one she isn’t willing to give him…until her daughter walks in.

That’s right, Ashe is a single working mother, and she never brings men home. But Cara is a charmer, and she has NO problems with Brodie, or his tats or his motorcycle, because Cara sees how happy Ashe is when Brodie’s around. And, Brodie? Absolutely smitten with this 8 year old truth-bomb-dropping soccer phenom.

But, as Ashe and he get closer to the real deal, life gets in the way. Ashe is promoted to Detective, and her first case is investigating Brodie’s motorcycle club. Brodie and his brother Boomer–who run the club–are good guys and squeaky clean, but there are brothers in their midst who are not, and it looks like Ashe is a big target for them. Brodie’s already lost his parents, losing Ashe isn’t even an option.

As always, with these books I’m just along for the ride. Living and loving alongside a stand-up guy who will melt the heart of his chosen one. Brodie is as delicious as they come, from groomed goatee to body art to junk jewelry. He loves with his entire self, and will not turn his back, even to protect his own heart. Ashe is a strong, fierce woman who won’t take crap from anyone, except, perhaps, her daughter.

You want a sexy read with a seriously good guy, not a controlling lover? Steele is your man.

Interested? You can find STEELE: INTO YOUR HEART on Goodreads and Amazon. For release day it’s on sale for $.99. You won’t regret it…

Again this is the third book of delicious Carolina hotness, from Rie Wareen. You can find the buy links for STONE: AT YOUR SERVICE and LOVE: IN THE FAST LANE in my review pages.

Rie WarrenAbout the Author:
Badass, sassafras Rie Warren is the author of Sugar Daddy and the Don’t Tell series—a breakthrough trilogy that crosses traditional publishing boundaries beginning with In His Command.

She lives in gorgeous Charleston, South Carolina with her small family where she basks in the sunshine during the day, and adjourns to her woman cave at night. A nocturnal creature, she stays up way too late talking to herself, her characters, and anyone who will listen. She’s all about writing with heat, heart, and a hint of the dark, and she doesn’t shy away from the impossible.

Rie’s work has been called “edgy”, “daring”, and “some of the sexiest smut around”.

You can find Rie online Goodreads, Facebook and twitter.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!

Can’t SCRAP Love–My Review on Joyfully Jay!

Hi there folks! Well, I’ve been blogging a bit, and as it stands I think I’m doing it right. I read books, I write about books, people actually read what I write about books, and I’m feeling good about that.

I recently snatched up the opportunity to “branch out” a bit as an ad hoc reviewer for Joyfully Jay. That’s a lady with a kick-ass book blog, let me tell you.

Anywho, from time to time, I’ll be reviewing books on her blog, and I’m going to post a short bit here to let you know you can find me there.

Make sense? Of course it does!

You folks are awesome, that way.

Today’s my first appearance on Jay’s blog, so I hope you’ll tune in and check out my review of SCRAP by Josephine Myles. It’s a heartwarming story about two unlikely British men–one a toff and the other a working-class bloke–finding love in a junkyard. Here’s the cover and info…

Scrap (The Bristol Collection, #3)

About the book:

When things come to a head, there’s nowhere to go but down…

On the surface, Derek “Call Me Dare” Nelson’s life is simple, doing up custom campervans while living in a slightly illegal caravan in his riverfront yard. When a handsome, smooth-talking developer offers to buy the land out from under his feet, Dare realizes it’s the same man he had to escort home from a party months ago for causing a drunken scene.

Grant Matravers lives a double life, attempting to adjust to weekends as a single, divorced gay man while staying closeted at work. The strain of keeping up the part-time pretense, missing his kids, and now a problematic attraction to the shave-headed, tattooed Dare, has worn his emotional barriers dangerously thin.

Dare blasts through those barriers in a way Grant isn’t prepared for, challenging everything he thought he knew about himself as a gay man. But as their chemistry heats up and the intimacy between them grows, Grant edges toward a decision that could blow up in his face. Exposing a hornet’s nest of complications that could destroy any chance for happily ever after.

It was ever so luscious… Click here for my full review.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

Happy Book Birthday FEVERED HEARTS–Review and Giveaway

Hi there! I’m sharing in the release day hijinks for Em Petrova‘s FEVERED HEARTS. This is a quickie mĂŠnage that packs a lot of heart and a good story into its pages. THIS is an ADULT read.

Fevered HeartsAbout the book:
When faced with a challenge, it’s best to pool your resources.

Liam Mattson used to play his wife’s body like a fine violin. Until a logging accident dampened his fine motor skills and rendered his legs—and the most important part of his below-the-waist playground—useless.

If only Liam would throw himself into therapy with the same vigor he used to throw into bed, Ivy is sure he’d fully recover. But lately she’s felt adrift, while he’s stuck in self-pity and pre-occupation with a serious threat to his logging business.

When Ward Bose returns from the backwoods, Liam isn’t blind to the heated, guilty glances between his best friend and his wife. And he takes a step he never could have taken if his legs were working—ask Ward to service Ivy in bed.

The moment the three come together, Ward’s heartstrings are tied in knots, and Liam holds them in his fist. But secrets they’re each keeping could tear them all apart…unless they can find a way to share their burdens as easily as they share their love.

Warning: Men who wield big saws know how to care of business—in bed and out.

My Review:
Ward has returned to his western Pennsylvania hometown to help run his family logging company now that his father is on his death bed. For the past six months a poor manager has been running the company into the ground, authorizing an illegal clear-cut of prime forest. Unfortunately, this gross mismanagement of he land has been blamed on another company, one owned by Ward’s former lover’s (Liam) family.

Liam has been wheelchair-bound for the past year since a logging accident. He’s surly and standoffish with his wife, Ivy, barely speaking to, or touching, her. The doctors believe Liam might make a more stable recovery, and even walk again, but he feels diminished physically and sexually and won’t undergo therapy in the event he fails. Plus, he doesn’t know how Ivy will react to finding out that he and Ward were lovers, and a radical activist group is attacking his business as a result of Ward’s manager’s clear-cut….and Ivy’s life is under threat.

Ivy loves Liam like crazy, but finds Ward remarkably attractive. It’s been a bad, lonely year, with no hope in sight as far as Liam’s recovery. She makes ends meet as a court recorder and selling knitted handicrafts, hoping that Liam might snap out of his funk.

Ward is attracted to Ivy, and fully acknowledges that he is still in love with Liam–he attempts to reconnect, and doing so puts him in the right place at the right time, directly between husband and wife. That’s right. Indecent proposal time. Liam asks his former lover and current business partner, Ward, to be his surrogate, and well, there’s some fireworks to this request… The book? It gets hot, and hotter.

The fun thing about this steaming hot mĂŠnage story is that there is a story unrelated to all the sexytimes. Ward and Liam have to track down and neutralize the threat to their businesses, and to Ivy. Ivy, for her part, is a smart woman who gets the best of two men. I enjoyed the development of this story, and the relationship, where each partner had his/her say and they all felt equally valued. There are parts that seemed a little physically unrealistic, mostly pertaining to Liam’s recovery of function, but it didn’t detract. Readers who enjoy mĂŠnage will love this one.

Interested? You can find Fevered Hearts on Goodreads, Amazon (US and UK), Samhain Publishing, and Barnes & Noble.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win one of 4 $5 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift cards!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Author:

Em Petrova lives in Backwoods, Pennsylvania, where she raises four kids and a Labradoodle named Daisy Hasselhoff. Her dream is to buy an old pickup and travel small-town USA meeting people and hearing their stories. Her heroes are hardworking—in bed and out—and she is known for panty-scorching erotic romance.

You can find Em online on her website, twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, or join her Street Team for exclusive insider action!

 

Cephalopod Coffeehouse March 2015–MY BEST EVERYTHING

0ed81-coffeehouse
Hi there! Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the tomes they enjoyed most over the previous month. Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.

As part of the Coffeehouse I’m obligated to share the best book I read this month. And this time it’s a YA adventure/romance newly released from Sarah Tomp.

My Best EverythingAbout the book:
“You say it was all meant to be. You and me. The way we met. Our secrets in the woods. Even the way it all exploded. It was simply a matter of fate.

Maybe if you were here to tell me again, to explain it one more time, then maybe I wouldn’t feel so uncertain. But I’m going back to the beginning on my own. To see what happened and why.”

Luisa “Lulu” Mendez has just finished her final year of high school in a small Virginia town, determined to move on and leave her job at the local junkyard behind. So when her father loses her college tuition money, Lulu needs a new ticket out.

Desperate for funds, she cooks up the (definitely illegal) plan to make and sell moonshine with her friends, Roni and Bucky. Quickly realizing they’re out of their depth, Lulu turns to Mason: a local boy who’s always seemed like a dead end. As Mason guides Lulu through the secret world of moonshine, it looks like her plan might actually work. But can she leave town before she loses everything – including her heart?

The summer walks the line between toxic and intoxicating. My Best Everything is Lulu’s letter to Mason – though is it an apology, a good-bye, or a love letter?

My Review:
This is an excellent coming-of-age YA story that is light on the romance and heavy on the message.

At first I was struck by the narration. The MC, Lulu Mendez, addresses a “you” in her constant speech. At first I wasn’t sure if I’d fallen into that elusive “2nd Person” narrative, but I quickly recognized the book is written as if it’s a letter, or communication, to another character in the book, Mason Malone. This immediately upped the tension for me, because it was clear that here was a separation between Lulu and Mason, but I didn’t know if that separation was distance or death. I will say that this question is raised on the first page and answered on the last page, and it boiled in my brain for all the pages between.

Lulu is a smart girl, living in Dale, a tiny town in the rural mountainous area of southwest Virginia. Dale is a place of hillbillies, hicks and moonshiners and Lulu cannot wait to escape it. It has long been her plan, and she has just the summer to endure before she moves to sunny San Diego for college. Lulu has always been the straight-laced good girl, avoiding drugs, drinking and boys, but she intends to cut loose a bit with her BFF, Roni, and Bucky–Roni’s boyfriend and Lulu’s good friend, too. Lulu has far bigger dreams than Roni (who wants to get married to Bucky) and Bucky (who wants to stay in Dale despite his college scholarship, he’s not ready for marriage like Roni however). Trouble is, college costs money, and Lulu’s dad has just dropped the bomb that his business is struggling and he can’t afford her tuition. She is outraged and sullen and desperate, as a result.

Lulu and Roni work at a local junkyard, and when a confiscated still turns up, it sparks an idea that is just crazy enough to work. Moonshining is a lucrative, yet dangerous and illegal, activity. Lulu, Roni and Bucky could all use money, but they can’t work a still–they have no experience of these things. Mason Malone, however, does.

Mason is the youngest of the Malone boys–and his family is known for its moonshine. Thing is, at 21, Mason is out of the family business. He’s a recovering alcoholic and can’t even bear to be around alcohol, let alone make it. Lulu is persuasive, and not in a bad way. She proposes that Mason help them set everything up, and that she, Roni and Bucky will manage the rest. Thing is, Mason’s been moonshining his whole life but for the past two years of his sobriety. His family, a collection of serious and functional alcoholics, no longer trust him, and pretty much have shunned him. He is rebuilding his lif, taking odd jobs and attending AA meetings. He makes furniture and does carpentry on the side. He does not associate with drunks–including his own family–ever.

He agrees to assist, knowing that it will be more than he can bear, also knowing he will do anything to help Lulu escape Dale, VA. As one can imagine, three teens and Mason making moonshine in the backwoods of VA, this goes more than haywire. Moonshine is made, sold, stolen, exploded and destroyed. Money is made, and plans resurrected and blown to kingdom come. The relationships that were so central at the beginning of the story become strained and reformed. Lulu and Mason have a precarious romance that can’t even cross the border to West Virginia on account of Lulu being 17 and Mason knowing he can’t take a minor over state lines. Mason’s very much aware of the legalities of life, and the moonshine business. With all his family connections, Mason is able set up buyers for their product, but this is a very slippery business–it brings out the ire of his scorned family, for one.

The language in this book is outstanding. I truly felt as if I was coasting down the Bottoms on a raft, and hiking through a midge-filled forest to stir the mash in Aunt Jezebel, the still. The characters leap off the page, from Mason’s quiet grace, to Lulu’s agoraphobic mother, to sassy Roni who finds a path she never fathomed in her high school imaginings. Lulu is a faithful narrator, and her insight is slightly self-deprecating. She acknowledges her faults and tries to atone for them, with explosive results.

And, as I mentioned at the beginning, the final page reveals the whereabouts of Mason, recipient of Lulu’s love and apologies and musings. It all ends on a high note, though this not a typical Happily Ever After. It is a mostly innocent book (expect an off the page issue with contraception) with nothing more than making out between our characters for the readers to see. There are lots of moral questions posed, and answered, and a whole lot of growing up being done. A solid teen read.

Interested? You can find MY BEST EVERYTHING on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Thanks for popping in, and don’t hesitate to check out my fellow bloggers on the Coffeehouse. I find lots of new reads this way!

1. With Every Letter 2. mainewords
3. Stephanie Faris, Author 4. Two Square Dogs
5. WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME 6. The Armchair Squid
7. Trisha @ WORD STUFF 8. StrangePegs — The Scarlet Plague
9. V’s Reads 10. StrangePegs — Assholes (a theory)
11. A Creative Exercise 12. StrangePegs — Living with a Wild God
13. Wishbone Soup Cures Everything 14. StrangePegs — the curious incident of the dog…
15. StrangePegs — Lyon’s Legacy 16. Life Before the Hereafter

Love Amidst the SEX, LIES, AND WEDDING BELLS–A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for what one might call a Throwback Thursday book… SEX, LIES & WEDDING BELLS is the first book published by EM Lynley way back in 2009. Well, it’s just got a facelift–revised and re-released I had a good time learning all about a snarky columnist and a (potentially) ‘to be jilted’ groom.
This is an adult read.

Sex, Lies & Wedding BellsAbout the Book:
Of all the tiny towns, in all the world, he walks into mine.

Texas native Kieran Quinn has hit the big time, working in Manhattan as a columnist for Gloss, a national literary magazine. He’s well-known for his snarky, sardonic columns, but deep down he’s more interested in exploring what makes people tick than his editor would like. He keeps his desire to find his own Mr. Right hidden under a sexy, carefree persona that favors champagne and underwear models of the male variety.

Jaxon Lang loves being the high school principal in tiny Buckwheat Springs, Texas after relocating from Austin to pursue his relationship with Danetta Archer, despite her reputation for leaving grooms at the altar. So far, he’s avoided examining the questions he has about himself, certain that marriage will put them to rest. Then Kieran arrives in town. Kieran’s charm and unique attitudes about sex and attraction soon challenge Jaxon’s concept of what—and who—he wants.

While covering the latest wedding of a real-life “runaway bride,” Kieran falls hard for the gorgeous—and supposedly straight—groom, Jaxon Lang, despite that ridiculous X. Then Kieran discovers the bride’s hiding a shocking secret.

How about a little taste?

“So, you never… ya know… with a girl?” Jaxon asked, the alcohol probably having lowered his inhibitions. His voice was quiet, and Kieran had to lean in to hear him, their faces only an inch or two apart.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You must not have liked it much, didya?”
“I didn’t say that, either.”
“Well?”
Oh God. Kieran was way too close to those mesmerizing green eyes, the scattering of freckles, and Jaxon’s clean, fresh scent to start talking about sex now. He wasn’t sure he could handle it. He tried not to watch Jaxon’s mouth as he spoke, but Kieran didn’t have that much self-control. He didn’t really have any lately, it seemed.
But Jaxon’s stare forced an answer out.“I never found girls particularly arousing. I figured things out pretty early on.”
“You think that’s easier?”
“Definitely. No hurt feelings or bruised egos trying to make something work that never will.”
Jaxon opened his mouth, then closed it and inhaled slowly before replying. “And you weren’t at all curious, just to make sure you weren’t into girls?”
Kieran paused a moment. This discussion was going to strange places. Was Jaxon asking what Kieran suspected he was, just reversing their situations? Jaxon looked so serious; he wasn’t just making conversation now.
“I never tested it out with a girl because with another guy it felt so right, not like something was missing. That’s me, but it’s different for everyone. I’ve always just said that if you’re into someone—or not— you know. Then having sex with that person is taking it to the next level. I happen to only like men, but plenty of people enjoy sex with both men and women.”
“Well… I think there’s more to it than that.”
“Are you asking me about sex or about love? Because there’s a difference.”
“Yeah, there is a difference. A big difference,” Jaxon said. “I guess sometimes you can confuse them, huh?”
“Are you still talking about me, now?” Kieran asked with a smile.
“Yeah.” Jaxon was quiet for a few moments as he took another sip of tequila. “Did you ever love a woman?”
“Romantically? No.”
“And you didn’t get turned on by them. Is that why you tried guys?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s exactly like I ‘tried guys.’ I never consciously—at least at first—chose men over women. I just knew that I didn’t get that spark with women.” Kieran didn’t want to think about sparks. There were far too many when he was around Jaxon.
“Spark.” Jaxon smiled and nodded, as if he’d just learned something significant. “But that’s about sex again, right? I’m asking about love this time. Have you loved a man?”
Kieran closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. Why was Jaxon getting so damn personal now? Kieran would rather talk about sex than admit he knew fuck-all about love. “No.” He took another breath and shook his head.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Okay, now who’s interviewing whom?”
“You can’t call this an interview, not when you buy me tequila. That’s got to be against some sort of journalistic code of ethics.”
“There is no journalistic code of ethics when it comes to alcohol,” Kieran said, laughing. “But I suddenly feel that the tables have been turned here. No one’s ever asked me this many questions before.”
“Ha, now you’re on the other end of the question, it seems really nosy and personal, doesn’t it?”

My Review:
I received a copy of the re-released, revised, second edition of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Kieran Quinn is an out gay columnist for Gloss magazine. His snarky wit have made his column famous, but he’s starting to tire of the treadmill ride he’s on. He has no lack of gorgeous sexual partners, but he longs for an actual partner.

In search of his next column fodder, essentially the schmucks who’ll be subject to his literary vivisection, Kieran travels to tiny Buckwheat Springs, Texas in search of Danetta Archer and her fourth fiance, Jaxon Lang. Danetta has jilted her last three fiances at the alter, and, with two weeks to her impending nuptials, it seems she’s ready to finally tie the knot. Or, will she?

Kieran is surprised to find that all of Danetta’s former beaux are quite amiable. And, hang out together as if part of some exclusive club. Jaxon is, unfortunately for Kieran, a very attractive man who is (perhaps) questioning his sexuality, if not the prospect of marriage. While Kieran is searching for the secret behind Danetta landing some of Texas’s most eligible bachelors, he learns just how deep her lies run.

Finding out that Jaxon shares his attraction, Kieran is torn between letting Jaxon live his chosen life, and swaying him onto a new path. Kieran has never been in a relationship, and he’s not sure Jaxon is ready–he’s never even been with a man before–but, as the big date closes in, it is more than just coincidence that these men have found each other at this time in their lives. Jaxon is a quality man who has some very serious choices to make, and not only about Danetta.

Expect break-ups, angry fiances, covert gayness, first times, and big mistakes. There’s a bunch of breaking up and a bit of making up, with an HEA that will satisfy. I have not read the first edition of this book, so I can’t comment on the changes between them, but this book read as a complete story with no cliffhanger.

Interested? You can find SEX LIES & WEDDING BELLS on Goodreads, Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

EM LynleyAbout the Author:
EM Lynley writes gay erotic romance. She loves books where the hero gets the guy and the loving is 11 on a scale of 10. Her Precious Gems series is best described as “Indiana Jones meets Romancing the Stone”—only gayer. The Delectable series is Gay Romance with Taste.

A Rainbow Award winner and EPPIE finalist, EM has worked in high finance, high tech, and in the wine industry, though she’d rather be writing hot, romantic man-on-man action. She spent 10 years as an economist and financial analyst, including a year as a White House Staff Economist, but only because all the intern positions were filled. Tired of boring herself and others with dry business reports and articles, her creative muse is back and naughtier than ever. She has lived and worked in London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., but the San Francisco Bay Area is home for now.

She is the author of Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells, the Precious Gems series from Dreamspinner Press, and the Rewriting History series starring a sexy jewel thief, among others. Her books are available in print and e-book from Amazon & other book distributors.

You can find EM Lynley on Goodreads, her website, Facebook, and twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!