LGBT

Book Review: Sūnder by Lexi Ander

Posted on November 4, 2017 by thebloggergirls

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Sūnder
Author: Lexi Ander
Series: Darksoul #1
Heroes: Sūnder & Gabriel
Genre: M/M Scifi
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: September 4, 2017
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: If Sūnder Alārd had been born female he would have been cherished for being faeborn—born with magick—and his birth celebrated. Instead, his L’fÿn mother insisted on his death. Only his Panthrÿn father’s desperate escape through the forest saved him. With most Chándariāns uneasy in his presence due to rumors he is doomed to become a darksoul, and unlikely to find a mate because of it, Sunder has nevertheless carved out an honorable existence as a warrior and commander. Serving as bodyguard and chaperone for the Chándariān prince, Sūnder accompanies his charge to the annual mating festival on Earth, and when the prince is injured, he can’t help but be fascinated by the tongue-tied nurse who attends them at the hospital.

At sixteen years of age, Gabriel St. Baptista came home to discover his parents had taken off into space, leaving him behind to look after himself. Gabe never recovered from the unexpected desertion, and keeps everyone at arm’s length to avoid being abandoned again. However, after meeting Sūnder, Gabe finds himself unable to resist the bond between them and breaks all of his carefully crafted rules to spend time with the Chándariān, regardless of the fact that Sūnder will soon leave. Scared by what he feels for Sūnder, Gabe can only hope his heart won’t be too broken when Sūnder returns to Chándaria.

But deceit and treachery is all around them, and when Gabe saves Sūnder’s life, it sets off a chain of events that could either tear Gabe and Sūnder apart or give them both exactly what they want.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Honorary Blogger CB Conwy: The Desire to Write + Excerpt & Giveaway!

Posted on November 3, 2017 by thebloggergirls

Honorary_Blogger_Post

The Desire to Write

by CB Conwy

CB Conwy answers the question, “Where did the desire to write LGBT romance come from?”

If there’s one question every MM writer both love and hate, it’s the “Why do you write this genre? You’re not even a guy! None of your readers are guys!”

(Actually, there are quite a few male readers. But let’s not, you know, confuse the case with logic).

To me, there are two answers. The first one is very simple: I like men. A lot.

The second one is more complicated, and it’s not one I’ve often seen mentioned – but as a matter of fact, I think it’s shared by the majority of readers: MM breaks the gender stereotypes of straight romance. And dear God, do those stereotypes need to be broken.

Romancelandia is a great place to escape for a few hours from the real world. It’s a place that’s emotionally generous and very entertaining. It’s a happy place for many, many readers, me included. But why on Earth should we have to put up with a genre that often pictures the female protagonists as weak, dependent, and powerless compared to their male counterparts? And yes, I get that it’s a fantasy, I get that nobody would act that way in the real world. I also get that I’m probably being unfair to a lot of well written straight romance. But even so: I’m not entertained by seeing women being side characters in their own life while the men decide where the plot goes. I’m a modern, driven woman with a career and a life of my own; I simply can’t see myself in those women. Not even for a couple of hours of entertainment.

That’s where MM romance gives a breath of fresh air. I simply don’t think I could have written the A Russian Bear books with a female protagonist and got any romance publisher to accept it.

That’s also the reason why the character type nicknamed “chick with a brick” (well, actually, it’s another word – you know which one) is the single most despised character type in MM romance. It takes us right back to those clichéd gender stereotypes, and they are, as a matter of fact, equally offensive to women and men. Nobody deserves to be a side character in their own life.

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m deeply judgmental towards straight romance – but I do think that’s why a lot of women like MM.

That, and because they like men. Continue reading →

Categories: Book Promo, Excerpts, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: How to Domesticate a Russian Bear by C.B. Conwy

Posted on November 3, 2017 by thebloggergirls

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: How to Domesticate a Russian Bear
Author: C.B. Conwy
Series: Russian Bear #3
Heroes: Mischa/Tom
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM
Length: N/A
Publisher: C.B. Conwy
Release Date: October 26, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: So, all Mischa really wanted was sex. Hot, kinky sex, and preferably lots of it. But then he got a sub, and then the sub turned into a fiancé, and now apparently Mischa is supposed to settle down and be all domesticated. However, Mischa does not do tame.

Well, at least he didn’t use to. Now he’s beginning to think that yes, he does indeed do tame. Unfortunately, his sub doesn’t seem to get that.

Tom knew that Mischa was a handful. Hell, that’s basically what made Tom fall head over heals for him. But figuring out how to handle his postgraduate studies combined with a long-distance relationship is driving him nuts. And not in the great, Mischa-is-torturing-me-with-kinky-sex-toys way (even though that happens, too. A lot). More like in the this-is-killing-me-slowly-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do-about-it way. Unfortunately, Mischa finds out and puts his foot down, and then suddenly Tom has some very hard choices to make.

Then there’s Mischa’s busybody bridezilla friend, karate practice with people who actually hit back, and the arrival of the inlaws. That’s when Tom realizes that domesticating a Russian bear may take more work than even he realized.

Warning: An unrepentantly grumpy Dom with an unrepentantly pain-loving sub, kink so hot that the reader will be in imminent danger of blushing, and two characters who do their very best to turn a perfectly nice romance into a porn movie every chance they get.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Release Day Blitz + Giveaway: Life on Pause by Erin McLellan

Posted on November 2, 2017 by thebloggergirls

Welcome to the Life on Pause blog tour! Follow along as I stop off at several blogs this week to learn more about this small town m/m romance, which follows a nerdy museum worker and a high school choir teacher as they watch way too much sci-fi on Netflix, wear ridiculous historical costumes, and fall in love.blogger_bee_trans

About Life on Pause

Niles Longfellow is a nerd, and not the trendy type of nerd, either. He wears a historically accurate homesteader costume to work every day, has a total of one friend, and doesn’t know how to talk to guys. So when he gets a flat tire and the hottest hipster ever stops to help him, all Niles can think is that he’s wearing his stupid cowboy getup. Normally, Niles feels invisible to other men, but he’d take that invisibility any day over Rusty Adams seeing him in suede and fringe.

Rusty moved to Bison Hills to help his sister raise her daughter, and nothing is more important to him than that. He’s also fresh off a breakup, and isn’t prepared for anything complicated. But then he meets Niles. Rusty sees Niles as more than a clumsy, insecure guy in a costume. He sees a man who is funny, quirky, and unexpected.

Nothing about their connection is simple, though, especially the lies and insecurities between them. Niles doesn’t know if he can trust Rusty with his heart, and when Rusty’s sister decides to move away, Rusty doesn’t know if he can stay behind.

Available at: Riptide Publishing and Amazon

blogger_bee_trans Continue reading →

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments

Author Q&A: S.J. Foxx + Excerpt & Giveaway!

Posted on November 1, 2017 by thebloggergirls

Interview Banner

How important is research to you when writing a book?

I suppose it depends on what it is I’m writing. I make sure to know my stuff before I attempt to write it. For ‘The Valet,’ I already had a base knowledge of the 1920s and the period before. I’m a complete history nerd and love classical civilisations, as well as the periods between 1800s – 1940s. When I wrote ‘The Valet,’ I already knew a lot about servants and the sort of lives they lived because that world fascinates me.

What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?

I always handwrite my first drafts. There’s something so free about writing with a pen, it makes my writing flow so naturally. So, I always do this and then type up later.

Do you have a set schedule for writing, or are you one of those who write only when they feel inspired?

I have a very haphazard schedule. I always keep one free day on the weekend to dedicate to writing. I also write on two or three evenings after work. I take my laptop to my local coffee shop and smash out as many words as I can. It doesn’t produce the fastest results but it’s an improvement from my once a week schedule I used when writing ‘The Valet.’ I’m getting better at writing more frequently, and a lot faster on the days I do write too. I think it’s important for writers starting out to not worry about how long it’s going to take. As long as you keep going, you will finish!

Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?

I know I shouldn’t, but I actually hate outlining. Instead, I get a basic plot, have a very rough idea of something that might happen in the next two to three chapters and just write. I’ve tried to make outlines or even just bullet points of ideas but it really stumps my flow and produces less interesting writing for me. What’s been working for me lately is just to write and then fix later.

What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?

Finding faith in yourself and believing that this is a story worth writing. After that, I always find the first edit terribly difficult too.

What would you say is the easiest aspect of writing?

The initial write! I love getting the first draft down on paper and barfing out all of my ideas. It’s something I do really, really quickly. Continue reading →

Categories: Author Q&A, Book Promo, Excerpts, Giveaways, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Honorary Bloggers Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott: He Was Never Supposed to Stick… & Excerpt + Giveaway!

Posted on October 31, 2017 by thebloggergirls

Honorary_Blogger_Post

He Was Never Supposed to Stick…

by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott

There are your plans…

And then there are your characters’ plans.

Sometimes it’s best to let your characters win.

Rinda Elliott and I are plotters. We have to be with two people working on the same book. No plot outline means lots of chaos. We are both writing at the same time, and we must have a solid idea of what the other is planning, where she is going.

Of course, it’s not planned to death. There’s room for improvising, changes, or going completely off the rails if a really good idea strikes.

In short, you leave room for the magic that you can’t plan for.

And Geoffrey Ralse was pure magic.

His first appearance was in a scene in Shiver, book one of the Unbreakable Bonds series. We first see him drunk and crawling all over the gruff and grumpy Dr. Ashton “Snow” Frost. He was supposed to be one of those one-off, adorable and funny characters that enhances a scene but is ultimately forgotten.

But Geoffrey was never forgotten.

When readers took a chance on Shiver, they asked if they’d seen more of Geoffrey. Rinda and I were also asking if we’d see more of Geoffrey. He was flirty and sassy and so much fun to write. We could feel his hidden depths and wanted to explore them.

So…we gave Geoffrey a bigger, more important scene in Shatter, book 2 of the Unbreakable Bonds series. That particular book also included Sven Larsen, who would also find a home in Psycho Romeo with Geoffrey.

As before, Geoffrey shined.

He appeared again in Torch, book 3, and had some touching words to add in Devour, book 4, when we closed out the series.   

Of course, by the end of Torch, Rinda and I had started to scheme a new future for Geoffrey, where he would get his own book, his own adventure, and his own happily ever after. He’s a great, dynamic character. He’s not at all what we expected when we first introduced this sexy club kid in Shiver, but we fell in love.

Psycho Romeo with Geoffrey and Sven was amazing fun to write. It was like watching one of your children grow up over the years and finally achieve the happiness that you always hoped they would find.

We hope that you love Geoffrey too. Continue reading →

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT, Published in 2017 | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Psycho Romeo by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott

Posted on October 31, 2017 by susan65coug Miss Behaving

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Psycho Romeo
Authors: Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott
Series: Ward Security #1
Heroes: Geoffrey Rales/Sven Larsen
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 232 Pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 27, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Geoffrey Ralse is known for being the life of the party. He loves the club scene, hanging with his friends, and flirting with whomever catches his eye. He certainly isn’t going to stop living his life just because some would-be stalker starts sending him threats.

But it all changes when Geoffrey is drugged and wakes up half naked in his own home with a new message from his stalker.

He needs help and there’s only one person he trusts…

Protective Agent Sven Larsen has been fighting Geoffrey’s flirtatious advances for months, even though he’s impossibly drawn to the man. There’s no way he can be around him twenty-four/seven and not finally crack. But one look at Geoffrey’s haunted eyes, and he knows there’s no way he’s letting Geoffrey walk out of Ward Security without him.

Even if it means breaking his own rules, he will keep Geoffrey safe.

Trigger warning: There is a very short section with sexual assault that some could find upsetting.
Continue reading →

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment