LGBT

Book Review: How to Deal by T.M. Smith

Reviewed by JustJen

27406341Title: How to Deal
Author: T.M. Smith
Series: All Cocks Stories #3
Heroes: Jon Brennan/Kory White
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 185 Pages
Publisher: TTC Publishing
Release Date: November 27, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Jon Brennan comes from a long line of men in uniform; all born and bred to both bleed and wear blue. His family and the majority of his co-workers support him every step of the way, so he doesn’t need to hide the fact that he prefers men over women. Between the job and his larger than life, loud and rowdy half Irish, half Italian family, there isn’t much time for dating, much less finding a guy that can deal with the stress and demands placed on the shoulders of an NYPD Detective.

Kory White is cocky and abrasive with most people, but it is all a mirage, a façade he hides behind to keep his heart safe. As a child, Kory lost his mother to an act of violence. Soon after, he and his baby sister Kassandra were separated by the system. Kassandra was immediately adopted, but Kory spent the next ten years cycling through foster homes before moving to the Big Apple. In an effort to keep everyone at a distance, Kory has meticulously built himself an alter ego: Hayden Cox, All Cocks’ cockiest model.

These two strong willed men definitely prove opposites do attract. Both are stubborn and hard headed to a fault, Kory more so than Jon. But Jon is used to being in control, the one calling the shots, and Kory fights him at every turn. Just when it seems they have found a way to navigate the unchartered territory that is love, tragedy knocks on Kory’s door yet again. Volatile and strong, even in the face of adversity, both men refuse to give up on each other – or their love.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Audio Review: Shock & Awe by Abigail Roux

Reviewed by Susan65 

27073977Title: Shock & Awe
Author: Abigail Roux
Narrator: Brock Thompson
Series: Sidewinder #1
Heroes: Kelly Abbott/Nick O’Flaherty
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 3 hours, 57 minutes
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: After barely surviving a shootout in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has to suffer through a month of recovery before he can return home to Colorado. He’s not surprised when fellow Sidewinder Nick O’Flaherty stays with him in New Orleans. Nor is he surprised when Nick travels home with him to help him get back on his feet—after all, years on the same Marine Force Recon team bonded the men in ways that only bleeding for a brother can. He’s very surprised, though, when Nick humors his moment of curiosity and kisses him.

Nick knows all of Kelly’s quirks and caprices, so the kiss was a low-risk move on his part . . . or so he thought. But what should’ve been a simple moment unleashes a flood of confusing emotions and urges that neither man is prepared to address.

Now, Kelly and Nick must figure out what they mean to each other—friends and brothers in arms, or something even deeper?—before the past can come back to ruin their tenuous future.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Protecting His Asset by S.A. Welsh

Reviewed by Morgan 

27247624Title: Protecting His Asset
Author: S.A. Welsh
Series: Shifter Protection Specialists, Inc. #2
Heroes: Scott/George
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 226 Pages
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Float like a butterfly. Kill like a swallowtail.

Scott knows his boring day is over the second a bloody and scared George Kelvin crashes into his office, claiming people are trying to kill him. He knows he should pass the case over to one of his brothers, but he can’t seem to do it. The strength and resilience of the man mixed with a quirky sense of humor fascinate him. He may be a human in the company of powerful shifters, but he’s just as deadly and well trained as the rest of his brothers.

With devious CIA agents, foreign forces gunning for what George possesses and George’s power-hungry father, who is also Deputy Director of the FBI, Scott begins to wonder if he’s bitten off more than he can chew.

George always knew his father was dangerous and cruel. However, he never thought that those titles would inadequately sum up the lengths his father is willing to go to, to get what he wants. The only chance he has is using whatever is on file against his father. Staying alive to do that is another challenge. When he runs into the Shifter Protection Specialists, Inc. office, he’s desperate, but isn’t convinced anyone can protect him from his father. Risking more than he’d thought possible, he discovers that maybe he is more than he’s always been taught to believe.

One thing is for certain—his father is not going to give up easily
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Author Q&A with Becca Burton + Giveaway!

Interview Banner

Hi Becca, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Thank you for having me. Something Like a Love Song is my first novel, a story about two long time boyfriends who find themselves facing a life changing tragedy and have to find the courage and love for each other to fight through.

While this is my first novel, I have posted many stories online, and have been writing ever since I learned how. I currently work as a nurse in a Neonatal ICU, and medicine has been a big interest in my life, and always seems to find a way into my writing. I am passionate about diverse, LGBTQ fiction, and am very excited to contribute to this genre.

Talk to us about your characters in this book. What makes them unique?

I think Dylan and Landon are unique because of their love for each other. They don’t have super powers or super skills, but they love each other with their whole hearts and they stick by each other when things are at their most difficult. They are victims of a hate crime, and Landon suffers a traumatic brain injury, and despite how much their lives change, they still continue to fight for their love and their life together.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in getting your book from start to publish?

I think I was surprised by how support I had. Not that I ever thought I would be alone in it, but every step of the way I had the support of the amazing Interlude team, and from fellow writers who gave me advice and commiserated and celebrated with me, and from readers of the original story who expressed how excited they were for me. The whole experience has been wonderful, and while it was definitely very difficult at times, the support always made me feel like I could actually do it.

Have you ever gone to a convention? If so, how was it? If not, do you think it’s something you’d like to do in the future?

I’ve gone to several conventions, including Comic Con, Leaky Con twice, Ascendio (a Harry Potter convention), and a few smaller, local conventions. I love going to them – there is something amazing about being in a place with other people who are so passionate about the same things that you are. I love finding others to talk to and fan about things over, and there are always so many talented artists and vendors selling their art and apparel and jewelry that I always spend too much money. But it’s completely worth it, and I really hope to go to more conventions in the future!

Would you like to be a full-time writer?

I would to be a full-time writer, but I also really do enjoy my nursing job in the Neonatal ICU. I think someday I would love to be able to balance both and do both equally. Maybe someday I’ll find enough hours in a week to be able to spend as much time as I need on both!

Design the ultimate pizza.

I would start with a thin crust because I love the crunch, and layer it with a garlicky white sauce, because tomato sauce is my least favorite part of pizza. Then topped with lots of cheese, lots of olives – both green and black – and maybe some mashed potatoes (if you’ve never had mashed potato pizza you must do so immediately), some spinach because vegetables make it healthy, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top. Perfect!blogger_bee_trans

About Something Like a Love Song

27859947One tragic night left Landon and Dylan’s dreams of happily ever after in apparent ruin. Forced to overcome physical and emotional trauma, the young lovers turn to a network of family and friends as they attempt to rebuild their lives. Can their one constant—their love—survive the changes both undergo on the road to recovery?

Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Nobleblogger_bee_trans

About Becca Burton

Becca Burton penned her first Nancy Drew fan fiction at the age of nine and has been an avid writer ever since. Currently working as a Neonatal Intensive Care nurse, Becca is a recent Oregon transplant from the Midwest. Becca has a weakness for coffee, the smell of old books, rainy days and her cat, Luna. Something Like a Love Song is her first novel.

Find out more about Becca on Facebook or Twitter.

Blog_Tour_Giveaway

As part of this blog tour, the Grand Prize is a $25.00 Interlude Press Gift Card and First Prizes are 5 e-copies of ‘Something Like a Love Song’!! To enter, just click the link below!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway unless otherwise stated but are still welcome anyway.

Don’t forget to check out Susan65’s review of Something Like a Love Song to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!

Categories: Author Q&A, Book Promo, Excerpts, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Something Like a Love Song by Becca Burton

Reviewed by Susan65

27859947Title: Something Like a Love Song
Author: Becca Burton
Heroes: Landon/Dylan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 308 Pages
Publisher: Interlude Press
Release Date: November 19, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: One tragic night left Landon and Dylan’s dreams of happily ever after in apparent ruin. Forced to overcome physical and emotional trauma, the young lovers turn to a network of family and friends as they attempt to rebuild their lives. Can their one constant—their love—survive the changes both undergo on the road to recovery?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Breakaway by Avon Gale

Reviewed by Morgan 

27384973Title: Breakaway
Author: Avon Gale
Series: Scoring Chances #1
Heroes: Lane/Jared
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 240 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 27, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Drafted to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm, an NHL affiliate, twenty-year-old Lane Courtnall’s future looks bright, apart from the awkwardness he feels as a gay man playing on a minor league hockey team. He’s put his foot in his mouth a few times and alienated his teammates. Then, during a rivalry game, Lane throws off his gloves against Jared Shore, enforcer for the Savannah Renegades. It’s a strange way to begin a relationship.

Jared’s been playing minor league hockey for most of his career. He’s bisexual and doesn’t care if anyone knows. But he’s determined to avoid another love affair after the last one left him devastated. Out of nowhere a one-nighter with rookie Lane Courtnall gives him second thoughts. Lane reminds Jared why he loves the game and why love might be worth the risk. In turn, Jared hopes to show Lane how to be comfortable with himself on and off the ice. But they’re at different points in their careers, and both men will have to decide what they value most.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Home Series by Cardeno C. on Sale & Giveaway!!

“Home” for the Holidays by Cardeno C.

I love the holiday season – cool weather, glowing fires, hot beverages, and most of all, enjoying time with friends and family. To celebrate this season, I’m offering the box set of all seven of my Home eBooks for a sale price of $9.99. The special offer will begin on Thanksgiving, November 26 and expire on December 2nd.

homecollectionset

The Home Collection: finding love brings you home. 7 full-length, free-standing, feel good, gay romance novels. Find them at AmazonAll Romance ebooksB&N & Kobo.

Where He Ends & I Begin: For best friends Jake & Nate the question isn’t how they ended up in bed together but how they stay there.

Walk With Me: Serious, responsible Seth longs for sexy, outspoken Eli but must decide if he’s willing to veer from his safe life-plan.

The One Who Saves Me: Boyfriends come & go but best friends are forever has always been Andrew & Caleb’s mantra. Can they be both?

Love at First Sight: David must find the courage to share himself & Jonathan must find the strength to tell the truth.

Home Again: Two men whose love has never faltered relive their most treasured moments in order to secure their future.

Just What the Truth Is: If Ben wants to find love with Micah, he’ll have to own up to the truth of who he is.

He Completes Me: Aaron has waited years for a man who can share his heart and he insists it’s party boy Zach.

I wish you happy reading this holiday season and all year long!

CC

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About Cardeno C.

Cardeno C. – CC to friends – is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few “awwws” into a reader’s day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno’s stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset.

Heartwarming Stories. Strong Relationships. Forever Love.

Find out more about Cardeno on FacebookTwitterWebsiteBlogGoogle+PinterestYoutube or by email.

Blog_Tour_Giveaway

As part of the sale, Cardeno is giving away a boxed set of the Home Series to one lucky winner! To enter, just click the link below!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway, except to verify your Rafflecopter entry.

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, LGBT | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sub-Mission by Sage Marlowe

Reviewed by JustJen

22094910Title: Sub-Mission
Author: Sage Marlowe
Series: Sub-Mission #1
Heroes: Pierce Hollister/Noah Conway
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM
Length: 152 Pages
Publisher: Me and the Muse Publishing
Release Date: May 15, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  How far would you go to save the one you love? Pierce Hollister is a down-to-earth businessman. Most of the time. His romantic side has him secretly dreaming of Mr Right, a family and happy ever after. Noah Conway is a single father who doesn’t believe in happy families anymore. When his daughter’s life is at stake, he would sell his soul to save her but as a sadistic Dom takes an interest in him, he sells his body instead. A shared session at a BDSM club leaves Pierce intrigued and soon he finds himself willing to do anything in his power to heal the wounds that life has left on Noah’s soul. When he realises that the very thing Noah dreads the most might just be what he needs, Pierce sets out on a mission – but maybe it’s just not in his power to save Noah. Will Noah be able to battle the demons that haunt him and find the happy ever after Pierce has dreamed up for them?
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Stardust by Andrew Grey

Reviewed by Morgan 

StardustAUDTitle: Stardust
Author: Andrew Grey
Narrator: Andrew McFerrin
Series: Celebrate! – 2014 Advent Calendar
Heroes: Duncan/Georg
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 1 Hour, 50 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 27, 2015
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Duncan is an ocean from home over the holidays and expects to spend them alone. To his pleasant surprise, one of his European co-workers, Georg, befriends him and includes Duncan in the holiday traditions of his homeland: cutting a Christmas tree under starry skies at Georg’s country estate, decorating it at the family’s city home, and shopping at the Christmas market in Munich. Both men are lonely and realize they have much in common. But Georg’s life is in Germany and Duncan’s is in Boston. With the project they’re working on nearing completion, any chance for more than a holiday fling seems as elusive as stardust.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package “Celebrate!”.

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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Honorary Blogger HelenKay Dimon: Location, Location, Location + Giveaway!

Honorary_Blogger_Post

Location, Location, Location

by HelenKay Dimon

I’m a big fan of holiday romances.  Combine the cold weather (I live in San Diego where there is almost none), the food (I can’t cook but I can eat), the music (I sing very loud) and the general festive atmosphere, and I’m in. Notice how I’m not mentioning the crowds, the running around and all the other issues that go with family-time celebrations. The holidays can be rough for some people, so the idealized happy holidays doesn’t always fit in real life but it works in romance. There is something very romantic about the idea of a happy ending in this setting.

One of my favorite holiday settings also mixes well with one of my favorite romance tropes – trapped in a cabin. Putting the couple – in the case of STRANDED a lethal alpha male couple – in a “can’t easily get out” situation just ups the tension. The snow is falling around and the cold is rolling in and they are forced to talk it out…and end up doing other things. They can’t walk away or ignore each other. Location demands that they do and say something.

In STRANDED, two men who used to work together and were formally a couple reunite in a cabin in Alaska. They are away from other people and not close to easy transportation home. They have a stack of emotional baggage piled between them.  Lies, secrets, and the fact one of them once tried to kill the other. Not exactly easy issues to overcome, but the mix of close proximity, bad weather and a mutual attraction that neither of them can kick give them no choice. It’s either work it out or be done forever. Since this is a holiday romance, I’ll let you figure out which one happens.

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About Stranded

Cabe got out of the gun-for-hire business the hard way—by nearly dying. Except then his former boss calls in one last favor for one final job. The mission should be simple: get a message to a retired operative in Alaska. But it puts Cabe face-to-face with the one man he doesn’t want to see and can never forget. Not after all the secrets and lies. Not after Brax almost killed him.

Brax Hughes lived hard and retired young to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Well, that was the plan, but before he can hang up his sniper rifle, he has one last mission: win back Kyle Cabe. Brax wants another chance, wants to come clean, but after months of lying to Cabe, he knows he could face a bullet—or worse—when they meet again. And they will meet. Brax made sure of that.

With a storm moving in and someone lurking outside the cabin, time is running out. Brax needs to talk fast and keep his weapons ready. And his best weapon is the truth.

Available at: Riptide PublishingAmazon and Barnes & Noble

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About HelenKay Dimon

HelenKay Dimon is a former divorce attorney turned full-time romance author.  She has sold over thirty novels and novellas to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Kensington, Harlequin, Penguin, Carina Press and Riptide Publishing. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues and her books have twice been named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Find out more about HelenKay on her Website.

Blog_Tour_Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Stranded, HelenKay is giving away a $25 Amazon or B&N gift certificate (winners choice)! Your first comment at each stop on this tour enters you in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 28, 2015. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Follow the tour for more opportunities to enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to leave your email or method of contact so Riptide can reach you if you win!

Don’t forget to check out JustJen’s review of Stranded to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , | 13 Comments