Leta Blake

Will & Patrick MEET THE MOB–Review & Giveaway!

Will & Patrick Meet the Mob BannerHi there! I’m so excited to share a review for the fifth book in the Will and Patrick series by Leta Blake and Alice Griffiths. MEET THE MOB is yet another big step for these two men who married while drunk in Vegas and are now, semi-reluctantly, building a life together. You’ll need to read the previous episodes, (WAKE UP MARRIED, MEET THE FAMILY, DO THE HOLIDAYS, and FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS) first, for this one to make any sense, however. It’s certainly worth your time; I’ve enjoyed them all!

Catch the excerpt, my review and enter to win a copy of any of the Wil and Patrick episodes below.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00075]About the book:

Patrick has finally accepted that he’s in love with Will, but his newfound determination to do something about that runs up against his father-in-law’s mobster plans. Though just what those plans are have as yet to be determined. As far as Will and Patrick can tell, they consist of blowing through town, wreaking small havoc, and turning the Patterson family’s lives on end.

Will must face the truth about his family before he can fully come to terms with his feelings for Patrick. And Patrick has to decide if this whackadoodle world is something he truly wants to be part of forever.

Episode 5 of 6 in the Wake Up Married serial.

How about a yummy taste?

The next morning, Will’s romantic musings feel like the product of overwrought exhaustion when Patrick wakes up cranky as a cat dunked in water.

“Turn off the alarm,” he snarls. “Make it stop.” Then, sitting up and glaring at Will like he’s going to kill him with the power of his mind, he demands, “Did you test yet? Did you eat? What’s your BG number?”

Will’s not even out of bed. Only fifteen seconds ago he’d had one hundred and seventy pounds of Patrick spread out on top of him. Of course he hasn’t tested yet. “I just woke up.”

“Don’t make me test you myself.” Patrick flings back the covers and stalks to the bathroom in his underwear. Will rolls his eyes but grabs his kit and quickly tests. Over the sound of piss hitting water, Patrick calls out, “Well? What’s the number?”

“Ninety-eight. Calm your tits.”

Patrick comes out, arms crossed over his chest and his hair sticking up everywhere. “Calm my tits? Calm your tits.”

Will indicates his nipples. “What? Check ’em out. Not even a little bit pointy.”

Patrick narrows his gaze but a reluctant smirk tweaks up the corner of his mouth.

“Let me guess.” Will laughs. “You know how to change that.” The knot of worry loosens in his chest. “Maybe later. I have to eat first.”

While they wait for room service, they shower and shave, and Will endures Patrick making a solid pitch for him to consider a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System.

“I’ll ask Dr. Anastasia about it,” Will compromises.

“And a pump.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

They throw on robes to greet Perry and his cart of warm, delicious-smelling goodies. Conversation is cut dead at that point as Patrick devours his bacon, muffins, doughnuts, and strawberries with fresh cream. Will’s healthier breakfast of cottage cheese, whole-wheat toast, and a small slice of quiche Lorraine isn’t nearly as exciting, but he doesn’t know how Patrick stays so slim eating like he does. If he tried it, he’d be the size of a house.

Once they finish breakfast, Will broaches the topic. “We’re going to need to talk about my dad eventually.”

“What happened to pretending he’s dead?”

“Unfortunately, he’s not.”

“Point.”

“And he’s staying in this building, so we’re bound to run into him sooner rather than later.”

“Better point.”

Will lets a wry grin spread on his lips. “But I’m not going to just sit back and let him run the show this time. I need find out why he’s in town and then get him to leave again. As soon as possible.” He stands up and brings the chess set over to the table, clearing away their plates. “If we can play ahead of his game, we can at least capture his queen. And then maybe even his king. Especially since he won’t be expecting us to be playing at all.”

“If by queen you’re referring to Kimberly, I don’t know about that. She’s a slippery one.”

“You think Tony’s back because of my mother?”

“Historically, her milkshake has brought him to the yard.”

Will sighs as he sets up the board. “She’s only been dating Jason a few weeks. Tony usually waits for her to get serious before he drops in to ruin her chance at happiness.”

“Maybe Jason proposed.”

“That’d be on The Hurting Times forums ten minutes after it happened. Have you seen it there?”

“Nope.”

“And Caitlin would have called threatening to jump off a bridge or shave her head or something drastic in protest.”

“So he hasn’t put a ring on it yet.”

Will moves his pawn forward. “It’s still a starting place.”

Patrick shoves one of his pawns out to an empty square. “Before surgery, I have to know what I’m dealing with. I can’t just cut into someone’s noggin without knowing if I’m going in to repair damage or to cut out a tumor. Same here. We need more information. What’s your dad’s sign?”

Will’s lips flatten. “Seriously?”

Patrick lifts his brows.

“Sagittarius.”

“I knew it!” Patrick shakes his head. “Never trust a Sagittarius.”

Will sighs and ignores this. “Even though the award ceremony isn’t until March, word is getting around now that I won the Healing Hero Award. I hope to God he’s not planning to stick around for that.”

“A congratulatory phone call from Mobster Daddy would have sufficed.”

Will moves a pawn in front of the right bishop. “You’ve been slapped with that stupid malpractice suit. That might have raised his hackles too, if he’s not sure of your intentions toward me.”

“I have zero honorable intentions toward you. So, he’d be onto something there.”

Will snorts. “You made an honest man of me.”

“For now.”

“Yeah.” Will smiles softly as gentle warmth blooms in his chest. “For now.” He bites his lip. “Do you think sex will be even dirtier once we’re divorced?”

Patrick looks up from contemplating the chessboard. “Are you planning on sleeping with me after we’re divorced?”

Will’s ears burn. “Would we have to stop?”

Patrick swallows, his blue eyes shading darker. “Not unless we want to stop.”

Heat zings in the air between them. Will clears his throat. “That’s a long time from now. Who knows when we’ll even have to think about it? You’ll probably be tired of sleeping with me by the time a loophole opens up for us.”

“I’ll never get tired of fucking you.”

Patrick sounds so certain that Will’s dick stirs and he has to look away, focusing his attention back on the chessboard. He’s not sure whose move it is now. “Anyway, there are plenty of reasons for Tony to make the trip from Minneapolis. I’m surprised I didn’t see it coming.”

Ah, Patrick. Always with the sweet talk!

My Review:
This is the fifth book in the Will & Patrick Wake Up Married series and needs to be read in order.

When last we left Will & Patrick they were still determined to get a divorce but separately acknowledged they each had real feelings developing for their spouse. Patrick was especially vulnerable, finally divulging his troubled childhood to Will, and finding Will to be sympathetic and supportive instead of disgusted.

In this episode, Patrick gets a crash course in mob mentality when Will’s father, noted mafioso Tony Molinaro arrives in Healing SD. I absolutely love how Patrick and Will stand on their own two feet in this episode. And Mob Daddy’s definitely pleased in the way that his son, Will, has grown. Tony never liked Will’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan, and he sees the strength and independence that Will now exhibits as something engendered with Patrick’s influence.

Will finally has the heart-to-hearts he’s needed, perhaps for years, with his mom and dad. Their family dynamics are so messed up, and Will’s issues are likely completely related to this dysfunction.

Patrick has his hands full managing his worries regarding a frivolous lawsuit, the indecent proposals he’s facing from Papa Tony, and Will’s medical issues. And, figuring out how to tell Will that he actually loves him. I really respected Patrick’s resistance to being boxed up in the “on the [Autism] spectrum” excuse for his aloof behavior, and the assumed deficiency in his emotional ability as a result. He’s honest, for the first time, with his feelings and wants desperately to own them, but can’t find a way to communicate. His vulnerability is so poignant. Will accepts Patrick at face value, but wishes for more. He’s not willing to imagine his life without Patrick in it, even after their divorce. If that DOES come to pass.

We shall see…I’m totally needing the final episode in this series. #Yesterday.

Expect good-tempered mafia men who play crap practical jokes, Will and Patrick to continue the kink, and some home truths that needed saying long, long ago. Also, love.

Interested? You can find Will and Patrick MEET THE MOB on Goodreads and Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Clink on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win any of the Will and Patrick episodes. (Two winners!)
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Leta Blake
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Alice Griffiths
A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

You can find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Facebook.

Out Today! Will and Patrick FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS–Review and Giveaway!

wake-up-married-banner-4Hi there! Today I’m sharing the release day festivities for the fourth episode in the Will and Patrick series. FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS is a sweet and sexy continuation of this M/M romantic comedy. You can check out my reviews for WAKE UP MARRIED, MEET THE FAMILY, and DO THE HOLIDAYS–but let’s also get to this next books shall we?

Catch the excerpt, my review and enter to win any of the Will & Patrick serial episodes (two winners!).

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00075]About the book:

Follow Will & Patrick in this fourth installment of the romantic-comedy serial, Wake Up Married, by best-selling author Leta Blake and newcomer Alice Griffiths!

Will and Patrick have embraced adding hot sexy-times to their fake marriage, but as their emotions deepen, they confront whether or not they want to be more than friends-with-benefits. Freshly free of a restrictive relationship, Will’s not ready for more than exploratory fun. And no matter how Patrick feels about Will, his own difficult past has left him wary of love.

The heat is high (and occasionally kinky) in this episode of the Wake Up Married serial, but Will and Patrick struggle to accept their mutual affection, much less confess it. How long will they fight their feelings?

How about a tasty morsel?

Wrung out after the long night, Patrick shovels in the eggs and toast he ordered from room service. His mind drifts lazily as he eats, but when he hears the shower turn off, his stomach churns. He hates that his brain can ruin a perfectly good moment with memories that make him twitchy.

“About last night…” Will’s voice cracks slightly.

Patrick’s heart stops.

“Maybe it shouldn’t happen again?”

A sharp, deep pain lances into Patrick and he can’t breathe. It’s so unexpected, this horrible feeling, and he can’t think of anything to say. But hope and lust surge together as Will shoves away from the door. He grabs Patrick so hard it hurts and kisses him until the world shifts under their feet.

Yep, it had happened again. Had it ever. God, their second night in a row of sex had been—

Patrick jerks back to the present as the bathroom door swings open and Will strides out fully dressed in a pair of trousers and a button-up shirt. The eggs churn faster in Patrick’s stomach.

Will sits at the breakfast table. He tests, calculates, and injects his insulin before starting on his cottage cheese on toast. He looks up, fixing Patrick with a resolute gaze.

Patrick dodges the look and pokes his eggs with his fork. “Do we have to talk about it?”

Will takes another bite and chews deliberately.

“Because I don’t want to talk about it.” Patrick’s much more interested in a “don’t think, just do” policy when it comes to sex with Will. He’ll take that over revisiting the surprising pain of Will’s near-rejection the night before.

Will’s brows draw low and he chews for a long, tense moment. Patrick’s heart lurches like a skipping record until Will speaks. “Really? So you think there’s nothing to talk about?”

“Nope.” Patrick’s fork scrapes against his plate. “I don’t see why there would be.”

Will, of course, has other ideas. Like that’s anything new. “Patrick, we had sex again last night. Three times.”

“I know what we did, Will.”

“And?”

“And I liked it. And I don’t regret it.”

Will pulls his lower lip between his teeth. “You really liked it?”

“Puddin’-pop, you were there. Do you doubt you’re the best lay I’ve ever had?”

“The best?”

“Unequivocally.”

Will grins and eats some more of his cottage cheese on toast, joy rising up like the sun on his face. “You too. I mean, you’re the best I’ve had.”

Shocking. Patrick wants an award for not saying that out loud. He reaches out and takes hold of Will’s fingers. “I like being with you. I like what we’re doing and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Will pulls his hand away and scratches his ear uncertainly. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want us to stop.” He clenches his fist on the table and summons the strength to say, “Unless you want to stop?”

Will shakes his head and studies the food. After putting some eggs on his plate and compiling another cottage cheese and whole-wheat toast sandwich, he clears his throat and tentatively meets Patrick’s eye again. “So you think it’s okay if we—”

“Screw without professing our undying love first?”

Will flushes but nods.

“We’re having sex, not committing a crime. Of course it’s okay. Why make it into something it’s not?”

Will butters his toast and carefully doesn’t meet Patrick’s gaze again. This. This is why Patrick doesn’t want to talk about things. “What did I say wrong now?”

Will shrugs and takes a bite of toast. He finishes chewing and swallows. “What would we make it into that it’s not?”

“That’s what I don’t want to talk about.”

“Because you think I’ll say we can’t have sex anymore if there’s no hope of us really falling in love and making a little family together?”

Patrick breaks into a fine sweat. “Won’t you?”

He has no idea what thoughts the tiny hamsters on the wheels in Will’s mind are cranking out, but he can imagine they’re racing overtime as Will gazes at him silently. He feels like he might puke.

Will’s mouth tilts up at the corner. “No.”

“What?” Patrick chokes on his toast and has to grab a swallow of water.

“No, I won’t say we have to stop. We’ll keep on…you know.”

“Having sex.”

Will’s eyes go hot with lust. “Yeah. We’ll keep having sex.”

“I knew you liked it.” He leans forward, smirking. “Now, tell me what you liked best. In detail.”

Will adjusts his napkin in his lap. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I didn’t want to talk about ‘Oh, woe, it was wrong, and I’m still hurting over Ryan, and we’re getting divorced as soon as possible,’ because I know all that.”

Will finishes off his cottage cheese sandwich. “I get it.”

“Tell me all the dirty stuff. I want to hear how much you loved it.”

Will’s smile is soft. “Oh, I loved it.”

My Review:
This is the fourth episode in a serial novel, and should be read in sequence. I’ve read the first three and while the romance was slow to build–it truly began in the third episode–it is in full force now. While technically a novella, it’s over 40K words–so it’s a juicy read that’ll keep you occupied for hours.

Summary of the past three books: Will and Patrick have lived in the honeymoon suite of the Tallgrass Hotel in Healing South Dakota ever since their drunken “I Do”s in Vegas in early November. It’s now the beginning of January and they have finally consummated their marriage–twice. They cannot get a quickie divorce because doing so will cause Will to lose control of the Molinaro Trust–former mafia money that he has funneled into Good Works, a multimillion dollar humanitarian foundation. Patrick had lost his staff position in Atlanta and is now the chief neurosurgeon in the new Healing Hospital that Good Works has funded. Will had an emotionally abusive partner, Ryan, whose callous phone break-up triggered Will’s Vegas bender, and Will’s a recovering alcoholic and diabetic that Patrick has managed to keep healthy and sober for their entire marriage (barring the wedding night!).

In this episode, FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS, that’s exactly what’s going on. Will and Patrick have finally become sexually active, much to their mutual delight. Will has a lot of baggage to unload regarding sex, in part because his and Ryan’s sex life was horrendous and in other part because his family has rather peculiar ideas about sex, and homosexuality.

Will felt guilty having relations with a person whom he didn’t “love” but Patrick is someone that he does love–though he holds back from hoping/wishing/praying that they have a future together. Patrick continues to make it clear that he’s only sticking around until they can manage to get divorced. But that’s because Patrick doesn’t want to admit that he’s hopelessly in love with Will.

See, because he’s fighting his feelings…

This is a real emotion-driven episode with both Will and Patrick airing their vulnerabilities and asking for absolution in the only way they can. I liked it so, so much. Also, the sexytimes. GAH! Smoking hot and not skimping on the deets. Expect a bit of kink to make an appearance. (I don’t consider that a spoiler as it’s part of the disclaimer at the front of the book.)

The connections deepen. Will and Patrick build strong bonds that both satisfy and frighten them. And, of course, just when I think these guys are FINALLY on track, well, Will’s family manages to screw it all up. Again. Perhaps.

I’m going to leave you with this song, this freaking song that always brings tears to my eyes, and pretty much sums up Patrick’s feelings for Will.

Dan Hill’s Sometimes When We Touch has QUITE SERIOUSLY been haunting me ever since I finished this episode. So, yeah, I’ve been filled to the brim with melancholy, bittersweet, sentimental, impossible love for three days now. Thanks Leta and Alice.

As the series goes, it’s just getting more and more delicious. Can’t wait for the next episode.

Interested? You can find Will and Patrick FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS on Goodreads and Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Clink on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win any of the Will and Patrick episodes. (Two winners!)
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Leta Blake
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Alice Griffiths
A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

You can find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Facebook.

Will & Patrick DO THE HOLIDAYS–Review and Giveaway

Will & Patrick Do the Holidays Banner
Hi there! You all know that I’ve been following the new WILL & PATRICK serial from Leta Blake and Alice Griffiths. I laughed a bit reading WAKE UP MARRIED, but MEET THE FAMILY wasn’t a hit for me. In fact, I was losing hope that they’d ever get their hearts together…
Well, they did! (Sorta…) DO THE HOLIDAYS is the third installment of this contemporary M/M romance series and it has made me a believer again.

Check out my review and be sure to enter the giveaway for some free copies!

Will & Patrick Do the Holidays (Wake Up Married, #3)About the book:
A couple’s first holiday season is always a special time. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are magical when you’re in love. Too bad Will and Patrick’s marriage is a sham and they’re only faking their affection for each other. Or are they?

Sparks fly in this episode of the Wake Up Married serial. Will the sexual tension between Will and Patrick finally explode in a needy night of passion? Or will they continue to deny their feelings?

How about a taste?

“Ah, the acrid smell of insulin in the morning.” Patrick’s voice is still gravelly from sleep as he turns on the shower and pulls down his black boxer-briefs revealing his tight ass.

Will looks quickly away and back to the syringe he’s filling by the bathroom sink. “I can never get the last dose to eject from the insulin pens. I always have to pull it out with a needle.”

“After living with you, I have an entire list of ways they can improve insulin pen injectors.”

“I should have my lawyer queue up an appointment for you with the pharmaceutical company.”

“You do that, puddin’-pop, and I’ll be there with a PowerPoint presentation. It’ll consist of four words over and over. ‘Do your damn job.’ If pushed, I might throw in a ‘Don’t make me do it for you’ as a closing argument.”

Will pinches a bit of fat from his abdomen and sticks himself quickly. He’s done this for years, but he never stops hating it. Especially syringes. They’re somehow worse than the insulin pens. “I’ll ask Owen to make that happen.”

Patrick snorts from behind the curtain. Will glances over and heat floods his gut as he notices the shadow outline of Patrick’s morning wood. “Oh, um, let me just—” He hustles to deal with the used needle and ends up dropping the syringe in the sink. The scent of insulin grows stronger. “Why does it smell like Band-Aids?” Will muses as he finally gets rid of the used needle and cleans up the syringe, tossing the now-empty insulin pen.

“It’s the preservative. Meta-cresol,” Patrick says. “Mmm, so clinical. So sexy.”

“And you’re so weird.”

“Nothing like the smell of a hospital to get my motor running.”

Will glances back at Patrick’s shadow behind the shower curtain. He’s still got a half chub flopping around as he washes his hair. Will clears his throat.

“Have you considered an insulin pump?” Patrick asks.

Will tries to drag his mind from Patrick’s erection. “I don’t want one.”

“Because?”

“I don’t like the idea of having something attached to me. All the time. Something I have to rely on to do its job.”

“You trust insulin pens have the right dosage, that the dial works, that they’re—“

“I know, Patrick. But I have the right to my own preferences when it comes to my medical treatment.”

“Fair enough. So what’s the deal with your daddy?” Patrick asks sans segue.

“What are you talking about?” Will packs up his testing kit and uses a black marker he keeps in his murse to make a dot on the back of his left hand. He can’t forget to drop by the pharmacy and pick up his replacement insulin pens.

“Papa Molinaro. What’s the deal with him and the holidays? He wasn’t around for Thanksgiving. Will he be dropping down the chimney on Christmas Eve with a bag full of presents for you and a nice hard dick for your mommy? Or what?”

Will rolls his eyes. “Thanks for that image.”

“You’re welcome.”

“He spends Christmas with his daughters. Or at least he used to. I don’t keep in touch with him.”

“Ah, the half siblings you’ve never met. So, no Christmas phone call from Papa?”

“No.” Will feels the familiar hot, impatient squirm of nastiness in his gut. Conversations about his father usually bring it on.

“No Christmas card stuffed with cash?”

“No card, no text, no Skype, no email.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“He’s obsessed enough with you to have you followed by mobster spies but he can’t pick up a phone. At best, that’s inefficient.”

“At worst?”

“At worst, Starshine, you have a deeply dysfunctional father/son relationship.”

“Wow. You really are a genius.”

Patrick barks a laugh and then begins to hum the new Madonna song he’s been singing off and on for the last two days.

“That’s still stuck in your head, huh?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Better than ‘We Three Kings’ mixed with ‘Scarborough Fair,’” Will mutters. Finished with his morning insulin rituals, he starts the water in the sink to begin his shaving routine. “Tony doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do, and being a reliable member of our family was never something he was good at.”

“When did you last see him?”

“It’s been three years. It can be ten more for all I care.” Will pumps shaving cream into his hand and smears it on his face. “He sweeps in on a whim, wreaks havoc on our lives, and sweeps out again.”

Patrick is quiet behind the curtain and Will glances over to see that he’s rinsing out his hair.

“There’s no pattern, unless you count my mom getting serious with anyone. As soon as my dad gets wind of her being happy with someone else, he has to come to town and wreck it.”

“With his dick.”

Will sighs. “Everything’s about sex for you, isn’t it?”

“Nope. A lot of things. But not everything.” He turns off the water and throws back the curtain. Will averts his eyes quickly, but his hands are already shaking enough that he’s not sure he should be trusted to shave himself. Patrick goes on. “But it’s all about sex between your parents. The Hurting Times churns with scintillating tales of your mom inappropriately hopping on your dad’s pole.”

“Like you know anything about ‘inappropriate’.”

Patrick laughs. “Like I know about that time they banged in the bathroom at some old lady’s funeral. The Hurting Times forum had pages dedicated to that one.”

Will’s ears grow hot.

“And, hey, for the record, even I know a funeral home toilet is a bad place for sex. Public bathrooms are tourist destinations for germs.” He shudders and slings a towel around his hips, thankfully covering his dangling dick. “It’s not sanitary.”

“You are such a jerk.”

“So you tell me.” Patrick grabs a hairbrush and runs it through his wet hair. The dark auburn looks almost brown and glistens brightly in the overhead bathroom lights. “There’s evidence of a genetic component to addiction.” Patrick’s eyes go foggy as he muses, “But is it addiction or abuse? Both probably.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You, mainly. But I’m also talking about them. If The Hurting Times gossip about the two of them is even half true, they are their own kind of addicts. Addicted to each other. Addicted to sex. Addicted to falling in love. Especially your mother. But it’s possible your father uses the intense sexual connection between them as abuse.”

“I…” Will’s fingers clutch at the razor and he drags it against his skin carefully. “I didn’t think you believed in psychology mumbo-jumbo.”

“I don’t believe in spiritual mumbo-jumbo. And, yes, psychology is a lot of bull-honky, but as a neurologist, I can’t deny that thoughts and experiences have physical effects on brain tissue. Dubious and whoo-hoo as most psychological theories seem compared with hard science. What’s your dad’s sign?”

“Really?”

Patrick shrugs and sidles up next to Will at the sink, examining his own face in the mirror.

Will sighs. “Early November. So, what’s that? Scorpio?”

“Ah. And your mother’s a Scorpio too.”

“How do you know? The Hurting Times again?”

“I know because I’ve met her.”

Patrick’s arm slides against his as he reaches for the can of shaving cream. Will moves slightly to the side but Patrick just scoots closer. Will can smell soap on his skin and shampoo in his hair. He wonders what those curls would feel like slick and wet under his fingers.

Patrick rubs on shaving cream and reaches for his razor. His naked chest slides against Will’s bicep.

Will tries to concentrate on shaving, but Patrick’s reflection in the mirror is distracting. His normally pale skin is flushed from the shower and his nipples are pink and peaked. Will clears his throat and scrapes his razor over his face again.

“Addiction,” Patrick muses on. “You didn’t stumble into that on your own. You drink…and your parents screw. That’s how these genes play out. And with both of them being Scorpios…”

Patrick’s arm rubs against him, and Will clicks his tongue against his teeth. Between this touching and Patrick’s speculation about his parents’ sex life, Will can’t tell if he’s going to pop an inconvenient boner or if his balls are going to shrivel up into his body.

“Two Scorpios can burn down a barn from the heat of their mutual orgasms.”

Ball-shriveling wins out. “Okay, well, this conversation has covered everything I never wanted to think about. I’m going to be late to work.”

Patrick studies Will in the mirror.

Will wipes his face clean of cream, decides not to care that he’s got one stripe of shiny skin on an otherwise stubbly face, and, grabbing his murse, leaves the sink to Patrick.

He dresses quickly. He really is going to be late. Not that anyone at Good Works would say anything to him.

“Do you have surgery scheduled?” Will calls out as he slides his wallet into his back pocket and hitches his bag on his shoulder.

“No.”

“Meet you here tonight?”

“Will there be more Capheus?”

“Yes. And more Lito.”

“It’s a TV date with the hubby, then,” Patrick says, stepping out into the room with his sharp grin in place.

The hubby.

“First person home calls room service,” Patrick adds. “Order stuff we both like. We can share.”

“Deal.”

“Oh, and Will? For the record, you’d still be hot even if you wore an insulin pump.”

“Thanks. But I’ll stick with the pens.”

Walking out of the pharmacy twenty minutes later with his new insulin pens, Will wonders what kind of sex Libras and Aries are supposed to have. You already know the answer to that. Hot enough to burn down a barn.

“God, just stop.”

He rubs a hand over his hair and decides to focus on the day ahead. He’ll take it one step at a time. Just like AA has taught him.

My Review:
This is the third episode in a serial and should be read in order.

Will and Patrick are still masquerading as a loving, happily married couple in Healing, South Dakota. They met in Vegas just prior to Thanksgiving, and got drunk and married in that order. Because Will’s inheritance, the Molinari Trust, is mafia money that will be forfeit if he and Patrick are divorced, they are making a go of it until they can figure a way out. They cohabitate the honeymoon suite in the Tallgrass Hotel, and things are awkward. The room only has a king sized bed, and Will insists on sleeping on the sofa, because he’s still in love with his ex, an emotionally abusive SOB named Ryan. Also, Will doesn’t want to just have sex with Patrick, his husband, he wants it to mean something. Patrick is a socially awkward, self-important neurosurgeon who is a survivor of child abuse. He’s a prickly one, to be sure.

This book, DO THE HOLIDAYS, spans the time between Thanksgiving and New Years. Patrick meets Will’s younger step-siblings who are all pleasant and he develops a rapport with them over Legos and deep conversations. He is still shunned/baited by Will’s mother who thinks Will should get back together with Ryan (which clearly demonstrates what a poor parent she is). Patrick puts up with it, barely.

In the previous episode Patrick began to observe his feelings for Will change from lust into deep appreciation (and lust!) and that change has progressed into affection. It’s a unique feeling for him, and he’s still not willing to share it verbally. He is the rock that Will needs, however, especially when Ryan stomps all over Will for the millionth time. Also, he’s definitely down for some Will-lovin’ and has an increasingly hard time being near Will without expressing himself physically. The sexual tension is high!

Will doesn’t want to want Patrick, but he’s not immune to the hints of affection he senses from his unwilling husband. Through is conversations with Patrick, and others, he’s seeing Ryan in a whole new, and unflattering, light. We get the first hint of this on Christmas, and it’s only stronger on New Years. I loved how Will and Patrick develop their relationship in this episode. They are nervous and scared, but clearly attracted and also becoming quite close. Patrick jokes that Will is his best friend, but it’s not really a joke after all. They have quiet moments of intense bonding, and finally consummate their relationship when they are both sober enough to enjoy–and remember!–it.

So, YAY for sexytimes happening on the page! I’m so happy these guys are getting closer and building a life together. I was getting nervous that I wasn’t going to like this serial, but I’m grooving with it now and can’t wait for the next episode.

Interested? You can find DO THE HOLIDAYS on Goodreads, Amazon, and Amazon UK

****GIVEAWAY****

Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win one of two e-copies of DO THE HOLIDAYS.
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Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Leta Blake
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Alice Griffiths
A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

You can find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Facebook.

Intrigue in WILL AND PATRICK: MEET THE FAMILY-Excerpt & Review

Meet The Family Banner
Hi there! Today I’m sharing my review of the second episode of Leta Blake and Alice Griffith’s M/M rom-com serial, WILL & Patrick. In MEET THE FAMILY, keeping up appearances of being a happily married couple gets much more difficult, and possibly dangerous.

Be sure to check out my review of episode one, WAKE UP MARRIED, and scroll down to enter the book giveaway!

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00075]About the book:
Meeting the family is challenging for every new couple. But for Will and Patrick, the awkward family moments only grow more hilarious—and painful—when they must hide the truth of their predicament from the people they care about most.

Throw in the sexual tension flaring between them, uncomfortable run ins with Will’s all-too-recent ex-boyfriend, an overprotective mobster father, and a mafia spy tailing them around Healing, South Dakota, and you’ve got a recipe for madcap laughs and surprisingly heartwarming feels.

Follow Will & Patrick as they cope with the fallout from their Vegas wedding in this second installment of the romantic-comedy serial, Wake Up Married, by best-selling author Leta Blake and newcomer Alice Griffiths!

How about a little taste?

Keying open the door to their hotel room, Will tries to fake some cheer. “Honey, I’m home! And I brought dinner!” He stops and grips the bags more firmly as his cock rushes with a sudden influx of blood.

“Just put it over there.” Patrick’s ass is in the air, his hands flat on the floor, and he’s wearing nothing but his black boxer-brief underwear. “I’ll eat it when I’m done.”

Will stares as Patrick swivels, his body moving fluidly and his legs flexing in strong, limber movements.

“What are you doing?”

“This is downward dog. And this—” Patrick moves down with careful, slow strength. “Is plank position.” The muscles in his arms, back, and thighs are like bundles of wires, and Will’s mouth goes dry, remembering clearly how they felt under his hands.

“Looks hard.”

Patrick doesn’t answer. Will turns to put the food on the table, because if he keeps watching, something else is going to be hard too.

He clears his throat, glancing over his shoulder at the flexing muscles in Patrick’s back. “When we met, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a yoga kind of guy.”

Patrick grunts. He’s in a position now that Will can’t even imagine twisting himself into.

“I mean, you don’t seem like an ‘om’ type.”

“Yoga, and meditation for that matter, are legitimate, effective, and scientifically proven means to an end: physical health and reduction of mental stress. In other words, it helps keep me sane.” Patrick moves into an upright position, sweeps his arms over his head, and brings them back to a prayerful place at his chest. “Sanity is something you could stand to try. And none of that spiritual mumbo jumbo has anything to do with it.”

“So says the guy who believes in astrology.”

“Sure, be a Libra about it.”

Will feels heat in his cheeks. “The yoga doesn’t seem to hurt as far as keeping the rest of you in shape either.”

Patrick’s lips turn up into a smirk.

Will clears his throat, turning to the bags of food. He keeps his back to Patrick as he unpacks the takeout packages onto the small dining table. “So, do you want the gyros or the mac ‘n’ joes, because I can go either way.”

Patrick’s breath is tingly in Will’s ear and his body heat warm along Will’s back. “I go both ways too. It’s your call.” He reaches around and plucks up one of the Styrofoam boxes without looking inside.

Will swallows and gestures at the box still on the table. “This will be fine.”

He doesn’t know for sure which it is, but it will be fine, so long as his dick stops acting like a traitor and his mind stops supplying him with images of Patrick bent over, taking Will’s fingers into his tight, hot—God!

He shakes himself.

“Mmm, gyros,” Patrick murmurs from his perch on the bed. “So good.”

Will’s eyes flutter closed as he sits at the table and spreads a napkin over his crotch. No matter how good Patrick looks almost naked, they aren’t doing that again. It would be wrong. Because Will loves Ryan.

Who are you trying to convince?

He sighs and begins to eat. Mac ‘n’ joe is always tasty. Though at the moment it seems hard to choke down.

My Review:
Will and Patrick have been back to Will’s hometown of Healing, South Dakota for a couple days, and Will has more ‘splainin’ to do. He’s enlisted the help of his grandmother, Eleanora, to help get them out of this marriage, and had his first confrontation with his new ex, Ryan, and neither was pretty–but now he needs to introduce Patrick to his mother. Oy vay!

Nobody in town likes Patrick, and that’s not just because his quicky marriage to a very wealthy, and emotionally vulnerable, Will is highly suspicious. No, Patrick is also a jackass. He has zero social graces and is often deliberately obnoxious and obtuse. I really am struggling to like him, at this point. I get that he’s a great doctor, but I do not have to like him–at all–because of it.There are some hints at why Patrick is such a prickly character, but they haven’t (yet) excused his callousness.

Patrick relishes this bubble of insufferability he creates around himself. His only redeeming quality, for me, is that he’s good to Will, in a way. Will has a lot of insecurity, and a deeply ingrained sense of worthlessness and failure. It’s been fostered by many different characters slighting him over the years, and Patrick doesn’t accept any of that BS. He finds Will attractive, and says so. He builds him up, and that’s really great considering what a shit Ryan is. I think if they were standing in front of me, I’d punch Ryan in the junk and slap Patrick, twice. (Ryan is a horror of a man, to me, and I’m well glad that Will is rid of him. Patrick is a whole lotta “tough love” sans the “love” bit, and I can *almost* see that he’s going to be a great partner to Will…eventually.)

Will is warming up to his partnership with Patrick, and feeling more attracted than overwhelmed. He’s still soft on Ryan, which is a shame really because that dude is as emotionally abusive as they come. Though I’m starting to see Will turn the page on his love for Ryan and I HOPE HOPE HOPE that there’s some romance coming for him and Patrick. SOON! Right now we have a developing sexual tension and it’s getting serious, but there are no sexytimes. Memories of past sexytimes. Innuendo and a couple kisses, too, but that’s not enough to balance out the snarky banter, for me. I want to see Will and Patrick fall in love. God! I hope that isn’t the title of the last installment in this series.

Expect a douchey ex, a malevolent mafia tail, a lot of people hating Patrick and Will getting his heart stomped on. Oh, and meals. Lots and lots of eating. Mangia!

Interested? You can find WILL & PATRICK MEET THE FAMILY on Goodreads, and Amazon (US and UK).  As this is a serial, you’re going to want to read Episode One, WAKE UP MARRIED first.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click the Raffle copter below for your chance to win one of two copies of MEET THE FAMILY!
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Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Leta Blake
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Alice Griffiths
A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

You can find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Facebook.

Serial Marriage: WILL & PATRICK-Review, Book Blast And Giveaway

Wake Up Married Banner
Hi there! Sharing a review in the book blast for a new serial from Leta Blake and Alice Griffiths. WILL & PATRICK is a rom-com romp, and sure to be spicy. Each book will come out every three weeks or so, until all six episodes are published. I’ve already read the first one, WAKE UP MARRIED and I’m eager to read more.

Check out the excerpt and be sure to enter the giveaway for your copy!

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00075]About the Book:
Join the wild ride in this vibrant and fun first installment of the new romantic comedy serial by best-selling author Leta Blake and newcomer Alice Griffiths!

After a drunken night of hot sex in Vegas, strangers Will Patterson and Dr. Patrick McCloud wake up married. A quickie divorce is the most obvious way out—unless you’re the heir of a staunchly Catholic mafia boss with a draconian position on the sanctity of marriage.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Will and Patrick don’t like it, or each other, but they have to make the best of it until they can find another way out of their marriage. To ensure the trust fund Will’s charitable foundation relies on isn’t revoked by his mobster grandfather, he and Patrick travel to Will’s hometown of Healing, South Dakota, posing as a newlywed couple in the throes of true love at first sight.

Complicating their scheme are Will’s unresolved feelings for his all-too-recent ex-boyfriend Ryan, and Patrick’s desire to get back to the only thing that really matters to him in life: neurosurgery. Will they fool everyone? Or will the mafia get wind that their marriage is a fake? Throw their simmering attraction into the mix and all bets are off!

Episode 1 of 6 in the Wake Up Married Serial.

How about a little taste?

Patrick sits down beside Will and rubs his hands together in anticipation. “So, what did Granny say? Can she free me from the shackles of our loveless union?”

Will puts his head in his hands. “It’s not going to be as easy as I hoped initially. It might take some time.”

“We knew that. How much time? A week? Two?”

“Maybe a month?”

“What?” Patrick’s voice is loud.

“Maybe more than a month? Possibly up to a year?”

Patrick’s eyes grow dark with anger. “Don’t tell me the all-powerful Eleanora Molinaro you were going on about so enthusiastically when you were convincing me of this half-baked scheme can’t make a little inadvertent marriage disappear.”

“Could you hold it down?” Will whispers. “Or do you want someone to hear?”

“Oooh, right, the Molinaro spies. Might have the place bugged. Guess I shouldn’t yell then? I’m not your toy, Will. I want a divorce and I want one now,” Patrick hollers.

Will glares at him. He raises his own voice, saying, “Don’t be so dramatic, baby!”

He stares Patrick down, daring him to say something else. “You know I love you more than life!”

Patrick looks daggers at him. “Who do you think you’re fooling, Will? The bellhops? The maids?” He wipes a hand across his face and rises. “You know, no. I can’t believe I’ve let your paranoia and insanity drag me across the country into this hornet’s nest of absurdity and—”

Patrick rants on, but Will’s not paying attention anymore, because Patrick’s tossing his new clothes onto the bed, and getting out his suitcases.

“Wait,” Will says, putting his hands on Patrick’s arms. “Wait, don’t.”

Patrick throws a shirt into the bag and sighs. “What do you want from me? I gave your plan a chance, but there is no way in hell I’m going to hang around this town for a year. Not when I could be at the Mayo Clinic or Cedars-Sinai or Vandy. Not when I can be honing my skills and expanding my practice. I am not small-town material, Will. I’m the big-time. I have absolutely no desire to play your loving spouse indefinitely and if
your grandmother can’t get us out of this mess? Well, I sure as hell can.”

“Look,” Will says. “I know you can. I just need you…no, no, stop that. You’re not going anywhere.” Will pushes Patrick, trying to move him away from the bags.

Patrick lurches toward him, gripping his forearms and shoving him back with surprising strength. “I’ve been pushed around enough in my life, Will. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to take care of this my way.”

Will breathes in hard. Terror and attraction jolts through him at once. He swallows and backs away from Patrick, his hands shaking, and his throat dry. Blood rushes in his ears.

Patrick picks up his bag and heads for the door. Will tries to block Patrick from getting it open.

“Really? It’s come to this? Holding me against my will?”

Will pushes the barely open door shut with a hard slam. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Patrick. This is just our first lover’s spat. That’s all. The first of many to come in our long, wonderfully happy marriage.”

Patrick stares at him like he’s kind of impressed by this level of insanity. “Good God, you’re drinking your own Kool-Aid.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a very, very expensive drink.”

“You think you’re so clever don’t you?”

Will shrugs. “I think I don’t know what else to do.”

My Review:
This is the beginning of a serial M/M romantic comedy, but this episode is, uh, not romantic. At all.

Will Patterson is a diabetic and a recovering alcoholic with a lousy (new) ex. He’s also the eldest son of Tony Molinari, incarcerated head of a mobster family. Will’s been raised outside of that syndicate realm in tiny Healing, South Dakota, with his mother, step-siblings and paternal Nonna but he’s in possession of the Molinari trust as the eldest grandchild. He’s using the millions of blood money to fund Good Works, a charitable foundation that provides free and discounted medical care all over the world. He’s just financed the expansion of the Healing Hospital, and is at a medical conference in Las Vegas to recruit neurologists and Neurosurgeons to the hospital when he gets a call from Ryan, his on-again/off-again boyfriend of the past 6 years. Ryan lets Will know, via telephone, that they are through. For good.

We learn all of this when Will wakes up from a killer bender, naked, in a strange hotel room, and married to a man he doesn’t remember. As it all comes back into focus, Will is horrified by his actions. He’d been sober a number of years, and he adores Ryan, and he stands to lose all the monies in the Molinari trust if he divorces the now-surly and soon to be unemployed Dr. Patrick McCloud.

Patrick is a sexy, demanding Neurosurgeon. He’s the epitome of a prima donna surgeon and his ego and big mouth make him zero friends. While freaking out over his newly-married state he supremely pisses off his chief of staff, and is summarily dismissed.

Will convinces Patrick to visit Healing, and help him sort out the possibility of getting the trust amended to allow for a divorce without all the money being given back to the mob.

This predicament is rife with issues, and Will and Patrick are angry with themselves and each other for a good deal of the book. I liked Will, as he’s easily likable. Patrick’s a prickly one. I’m reserving my thoughts on him for the moment, on account of they aren’t especially flattering, and I suspect he’s going to have an epiphany in the very near future. He does show elements of compassion, especially when helping manage Will’s diabetes.

Throughout I was holding out hope for some actual tenderness to pop up between Will and Patrick, but it’s too soon, I think. This episode was truly only the first 36 hours in the aftermath of waking in their debacle. They are both hungover and freaked the heck out. There are some clear elements of Molinari menace in the background, and it’s likely that this will become more prominent in the next episode. Also, I think Patrick’s cockiness is going to get soundly trimmed soon–likely due to having fewer career options than he suspects.

I’m intrigued to read on, and hoping there will be some romantic elements in the near future.

Interested? You can find WILL & PATRICK WAKE UP MARRIED on Goodreads, Amazon, and Amazon UK.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click the Rafflecopter link for your chance to win one of two copies of WILL & PATRICK Episode one.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Leta Blake
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Alice Griffiths
A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

You can find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Facebook.

Changing THE RIVER LEITH–A Review

Hi there! Today’s book is a contemporary M/M romance from Leta Blake. I just adored TRAINING SEASON and jumped at the chance to read more of her work. THE RIVER LEITH is a mind-bender. Mostly because Leith has retrograde amnesia and can’t remember the past three years of his life….

The River LeithAbout the book:

Memory is everything.

After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.

For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.

Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

My Review:
One month ago Leith was hit by an illegal blow in the ring causing a traumatic brain injury. When he wakes from his coma, memories of the past three years of his life are gone. He thinks he’s still in prison, that his father is still alive, that he’s a straight man. None of these are true. Or, are they?

Leith latches on to his brother, Arthur, adrift in loss. Arthur tries to help, but the advice is to reveal little in terms of the lost years, to wait until Leith recovers the memories–if Leith does. See, they don’t want to upset Leith with too many uncertainties–he’s a bit unmoored emotionally, and strong. When he first saw Arthur and learned all he had lost, Leith struck out and clocked his brother in the jaw. Control of his life, and his temper, is hard for the new Leith.

“Friends” visit the hospital to help his transition, but Leith doesn’t remember any of them–not even Zach. Zach is introduced as his “best friend”, but the reader knows more than Leith. He and Zach had been lovers for a year, and totally committed. Zach’s heartbroken, and trying to maintain a brave face, but his video blogs show the gaping cracks in the facade.

Throughout, Leith agonizes to regain his foothold in his new reality. The only thing he knows for sure is the calmness he feels when Zach visits. He longs for more time with his “best friend” and is confused by the sexual arousal he feels in Zach’s presence. Zach’s nearness yet seeming indifference leads Leith to believe his attraction to Zach was one-sided before the injury, and he’s conflicted about revealing his “new” feelings. Meanwhile Zach is falling apart thinking Leith will never love him again. It sparks a one-night stand that comes back to haunt Zach. Big time.

In some ways, Leith died in the ring. The post-injury Leith is a different man in so many aspects, but it may be that this man is a better man, a more stable partner, than the man Zach first loved.

As time moves on, Leith is better able to control his temper–revealing his feelings for Zach helped immensely–but there are still struggles. Leith wants to box again. It was a major way he coped throughout his life, and the absence of that physicality brings its own strain. And Zach is terrified that one bad hit will kill the man he has had to woo, and come to love, twice over.

While this book centered on amnesia, there are lots of people who endure other neurological injuries and have personality changes. The hardest thing for their loved ones to reconcile is the change–Zach is a good partner, but a confused man in his own right, understandably so. His love has suddenly and without question forgotten him completely. He could walk away, but he doesn’t. His struggle is no less hard than Leith’s–overcoming his own memories to make a totally new life with a Leith is a decision. I was glad he made the right one.

The book is brutal in its emotional landscape. Highs and lows. Confusion and resolution. Anger and peace. And, love. At the center, love shines. Zach’s patient acceptance, bringing all Leith’s fave foods to the hospital. Moving out so Leith can have his own space to reconnect. Coming back after Leith clobbers him in a blind rage. All of these are acts of love. Leith working to regain his memories, his sense of self, so he can recover the good times of his life with Zach is an act of love. Even more so, Leith abandoning this effort and committing to simply making new memories is the biggest show of his love.

At times I just wanted to reach into my iPad and grab these two into a group hug and whisper that it was all going to work out. To that end, I kinda felt the resolution was a teeny bit rushed. That said, I loved the book. The smexytimes were predictably hot and fantastic, so thanks for that. I had to chuckle when Leith’s doctor said it was time to leave the hospital because all the nurses were distracted trying to get a peek of Zach and Leith together….LOL, for real. The book steams, so not safe for the youngin’s.

Interested? You can find THE RIVER LEITH on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I snatched a copy from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

About the author:

While Leta Blake would love to tell you that writing transports her to worlds of magic and wonder and then safely returns her to a home of sparkling cleanliness and carefully folded laundry, the reality is a bit different. For as long as Leta can recall, stories have hijacked her mind, abducting her to other lands, and forcing her to bend to the will of imaginary people. This absence from reality results in piles of laundry and forgotten appointments. In between abductions, Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can catch up with Leta on her website, Goodreads, and twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends! 🙂

 

He Sacrificed for TRAINING SEASON–A Review

How much must an athlete sacrifice for Olympic glory?

Training SeasonLeta Blake‘s TRAINING SEASON is just the thing to get you out of your post-Olympics slump. This contemporary, M/M romance follows the Olympic dreams of figure skater Matty Marcus as he rebuilds his mind, body, and career. Too bad he didn’t workout his heart…

Matty Marcus is a World Champion figure skater recovering from a back in jury and a disappointing showing at the Olympics. He is on the verge of bankruptcy and needs money to begin training for the next Olympics two years away. One of his fans offers him a lot of money to house-sit for her Montana ranch and horses while on a six-month trip to Australia/Asia. Having no better prospects, Matty agrees.

Problem is, Matty’s flamboyantly gay. He, perhaps, never says this explicitly in his interviews, but he wears women’s clothes and shoes and makeup, so…it’s pretty obvious. He can’t really un-gay himself, even if the judges don’t favor it.

Matty’s a bit afraid that he’ll run up against some gay bashing in his new remote locale, but, what he finds is his new neighbor–the man who owns the next ranch over, is himself gay. Rob is much more the burly, athletic, male specimen, but he’s drawn to Matty and they engage in a passionate affair. This passion is tinged with frustration, however, knowing that Matty’s time is fixed. Still, Matty bonds with Rob’s son, Ben–a pre-teen boy interested in figure skating. Matty relates well with Ben, recognizing the boy has size and power that Matty lacks. Masculinity is now being highly regarded in the figure skating world, and though Matty has talent, he can’t change his stature.

Rob gets Matty. He sees how he struggles–to maintain his weight, his focus, with his fear of failure and his self-loathing for previous failures–and through some Dom/sub interactions Matty experiences an emotional purging. They are deeply connected with one another, more so than either had been with another man before.

Still their time comes to an end and Matty asks for a clean break–knowing he will devote himself 24/7 for the next two years to his dream of Olympic gold. Because of this, Matty is, in part, better able to focus on skating as a means to bury his grief over letting Rob go.

Matty trains relentlessly and achieves his Olympic dream…sort of. Even years later, he struggles with the loss of Rob, and contemplates giving up his competitive career. While recuperating from yet another sidelining injury, Matty discovers Ben in training for junior figure skating competitions. Matty connects with Rob again, but Rob is unwilling to pick up Matty’s pieces. Again. Rob can’t bear any more diet management and ten hour training days, seeing the love of his life sacrifice everything for figure skating, when the rewards are so slim.

About 3/4 of the way through this book I just started crying.

See, I’ve been around elite athletes–people training for the Olympics/World Championships. Not figure skaters, but intense, driven individuals who will sacrifice everything to attain their goals of competing/winning at that level. Moving across country to train with an esteemed coach. Families investing their entire financial resources behind the training of a promising athlete. The sacrifices Matty makes seem very much in line with those people. The constant training, the constant diet management, forgoing relationships in order to “stay focused”; this is the hallmark of many an elite athlete. It was so hard to read Matty’s struggle for that reason–because I know this is happening right now with talented athletes who are great, and perhaps–like Matty–amazing, and yet, who will not see the top of the podium, nonetheless.

This book, by the way, is not an indictment of elite sports. It is a realistic portrayal of the sacrifices some athletes will make to achieve. I was satisfied that Matty really learns what is most important in his world; what he is willing to settle for, and that which will bring him the most happiness.

It is a solid contemporary story, a come-back story, a romance with scorching love scenes and some BDSM. Rob and Matty are blistering together, and their short Montana love affair changes each of them in unexpected ways.

Interested? You can find TRAINING SEASON at Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I received a free copy of this book with the Don’t Buy My Love program at Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. Reading this story I had the image of Johnny Weir in my head the whole time. So will you…

Thanks for stopping by! And, keep reading my friends!