Published in 2015

Honorary Blogger Kenzie Cade: Writing Winter in the Summer

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Writing Winter in the Summer

by Kenzie Cade

Hey guys! Thanks for joining me today, and thanks to the lovely ladies here at The Blogger Girls for having me.

The beginnings of my idea for Reindeer Games came to me this past Winter, but I was already in the midst of writing Prickly Business. Then came a couple of M/M Goodreads stories and then Prickly By Nature, so actually getting this down on paper didn’t happen until July/August (mostly August because I’m really a procrastinator who tries hard not to procrastinate).  

Writing a Christmas story in the heat of summer calls for creativity, because in Arkansas in the hundred-degree heat, finding inspiration for cold and snowy and jingling bells is difficult. We all have our different ways of coping and of creating the inspiration if need be. For me, it was dropping the air conditioning down to sixty (because that’s all the cold I could take), wrapping up in a blanket, making hot cocoa, and listening to Christmas music.

Music makes up much of my means of inspiration. I love it all. So, seeing as we have hit the season where it is now acceptable, I thought I’d share with you my Reindeer Games playlist.

I have tons of favorites, but among these Straight No Chaser’s version of “12 Days of Christmas” is absolutely amazing (and really, I’ll listen to anything SNC sings). But nothing tops Leeann Womack and Harry Connick, Jr. singing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Awesomeness is those two singing my all-time favorite snuggle by the fire song.

What songs do you listen to in order to get you ready for the season?

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About Reindeer Games

reindeergames400Dashing von Stride has one thing on his mind: winning the window display contest for the Miracle on Main Christmas Contest. His plans are set and ready—and then he walks into his toy store, Reindeer Games, to find a sleigh that shouldn’t be there. The mystery sleigh sparks a new plan, however, and now all Dash needs is the perfect Santa to model his display after.

This year, the pranks with his reindeer have gotten out of hand. Instead of preparing for the Big Day, Niklaus Kringle is hunting for his missing sleigh. Locating it should have been easy, but games easily won are seldom worth playing…

Available at: Less Than Three Press

Check out what Nikyta’s review of Reindeer Games to see what she thought of it!

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About Kenzie Cade

Kenzie Cade was born and raised in the South where she spends her days in the field of private medicine observing interesting people and committing them to memory for later use. When she isn’t reading, experimenting with recipes, or being distracted by social media, Kenzie spends time with her family, friends, and fur-babies who likes to keep her company while she writes. Writing to keep the fictional voices at bay, Kenzie enjoys the journeys her characters travel to find their happy endings, and she loves the challenge of writing a great love story.

Find out more about Kenzie on her Blog, Facebook, Twitter or email her at kenziecade.author@gmail.com.

 

Categories: Book Promo, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Reindeer Games by Kenzie Cade

Reviewed by Nikyta

reindeergames400Title: Reindeer Games
Author: Kenzie Cade
Heroes: Nik & Dash
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 22,000 words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Release Date: December 9, 2015
Available at: Less Than Three Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Dashing von Stride has one thing on his mind: winning the window display contest for the Miracle on Main Christmas Contest. His plans are set and ready—and then he walks into his toy store, Reindeer Games, to find a sleigh that shouldn’t be there. The mystery sleigh sparks a new plan, however, and now all Dash needs is the perfect Santa to model his display after.

This year, the pranks with his reindeer have gotten out of hand. Instead of preparing for the Big Day, Niklaus Kringle is hunting for his missing sleigh. Locating it should have been easy, but games easily won are seldom worth playing…
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: The Marrying Kind by Jay Northcote

Reviewed by Morgan 

MarryingKind[The]AUDMEDTitle: The Marrying Kind
Author: Jay Northcote
Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Series: Owen & Nathan #2
Heroes: Owen/Nathan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 3 hours, 10 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 11, 2015
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nathan wants to put a ring on it, but is Owen the marrying kind?

Two years from their first date, Owen and Nathan are living together and life is good – except they’re not on the same page about marriage.

A traditionalist at heart, Nathan wants it all: the wedding, the vows, and a pair of matching rings. Owen, on the other hand, believes marriage is old-fashioned and unnecessary. They don’t need a wedding to prove their commitment to each other. Love should be enough on its own.

All it takes is one moment of weakness on a night out to force the issue. Owen finds himself engaged after a half-drunk proposal, and Nathan’s enthusiasm sweeps him along. But as the big day approaches, the mounting tension finally combusts.

If he’s going to save their relationship, Owen will need to decide once and for all if he’s truly the marrying kind.

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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sweet Ruin by Kresley Cole

Guest Reviewed by Gyn

24002318Title: Sweet Ruin
Author: Kresley Cole
Series: Immortals After Dark #16
Heroine/Hero:  Josephine/Rune
Genre: MF Paranormal Romance
Length: 384 Pages
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  An immortal assassin is caught between desire and duty…

A foundling raised in a world of humans

Growing up, orphaned Josephine didn’t know who or what she was—just that she was “bad,” an outcast with strange powers. Her baby brother Thaddeus was as perfect as she was flawed; protecting him became her entire life. The day he was taken away began Jo’s transition from angry girl… to would-be superhero… to enchanting, ruthless villain.

A lethally sensual enforcer on a mission

A threat to the Møriør has brought archer Rune the Baneblood to the mortal realm to slay the oldest living Valkyrie. Whether by bow or in bed, he never fails to eliminate his target. Yet before he can strike, he encounters a vampiric creature whose beauty conceals a black heart. With one bite, she pierces him with aching pleasure, taking his forbidden blood – and jeopardizing the secrets of his brethren.

A boundless passion that will lead to sweet ruin…

Could this exquisite female be a spy sent by the very Valkyrie he hunts? Rune knows he must not trust Josephine, yet he’s unable to turn her away. Despite his millennia of sexual conquests, he can’t ignore the unfamiliar longing she arouses deep within him. When Jo betrays the identity of the one man she will die to protect, she and Rune become locked in a treacherous battle of wills that pits ultimate loyalty against unbridled lust.
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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, M/F, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Easy Evenings by Mary Calmes

Reviewed by Nikyta

EasyEveningsTitle: Easy Evenings
Author: Mary Calmes
Series: Mangrove Stories #4
Heroes: Laz & Britton
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 77 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Available at: Dreamspinner PressAmazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Lazlo Maguire doesn’t do relationships—he does transactions. Six months of the year, he’s an expensive rent boy in Manhattan, and he moves so fast that settling down could not, would not, ever enter his mind… except for once. Britton Lassiter he meets man to man, not as hustler and mark, and it’s too good to be true when the lawyer wants to keep Lazlo even if he has to share him with the job.

But Lazlo has his reasons to walk away from the man he’s grown to love. The other six months of the year, he is laid-back Laz, a shopkeeper in the sleepy coastal town of Mangrove, Florida, where the artist he never allows himself to be in the Big Apple shines through. He lives for his time by the ocean, the place he hides his secrets and nurses his broken heart.

Then fate intervenes, and Laz gets the surprise of his life when he spies Britton in Mangrove—but it’s not meant to be… not until Britton sees the change in him and wants to be a part of Laz’s new life so that every evening can be easy… together. Hopefully the secrets that tore them apart won’t come back to haunt them.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Say It With Ink by C.C. Dado

Reviewed by Morgan 

27419988Title: Say It With Ink
Author: C.C. Dado
Series: The Seattle Chronicles
Heroes: Levi/Jamie
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 61 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 2, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Levi can remember the exact moment the projection of his life changed entirely, from homeless dropout to college graduate. It was the day he found Jamie Donovan standing on his front porch—the boy Levi had secretly drooled over from afar would become the best friend he secretly drooled over up close.

When Levi gets a full ride scholarship but Jamie doesn’t, Jamie becomes an exotic dancer to help pay his tuition. Watching Jamie perform is pure torture for Levi, and hiding how he really feels starts to take its toll. And when the hot new guy from his Econ class hits on him, Levi has to decide just how long he’s going to stay devoted to his straight best friend.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Honorary Blogger Olley White: Evoking the Christmas Spirit + Giveaway!

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Evoking the Christmas Spirit

by Olley White

Hi, Blogger Girls. Thank you so much for having me on the blog today.

I wanted to talk about evoking the Christmas spirit today. Ha! That sounds like I’m going to have a séance, but I promise I’m not! What I actually want to talk about is the essence of Christmas that makes holiday books so comforting.

I don’t know about you guys, but I am addicted to seasonal stories (and films). I devour them as quickly as that huge tin of chocolates I’m going to get through over the Christmas break. The stories tend to leave me with more of a glowy happy feeling in my belly than the chocs do, even though the ingredients can be as sweet.

There are certain things that can be added into a story to sum up that seasonal feeling: snow, trees, Santa, mistletoe, gifts and roaring fires. Sleigh bells and carols. The scent of pine and cinnamon. Really though, it’s all about love; love of family, love of friends, love of a lover—this needs to be at the heart of Christmas stories, because it is what is at the heart of Christmas. Or at least, it is for me. I think that is why we strive so hard at this time of year to try and create a perfect scenario…

…except; love isn’t perfect. It’s messy and it hurts sometimes…and yet it’s the most beautiful thing on the planet. The downfall of real Christmas is often that refusal to accept that it doesn’t have to be perfect. If Uncle Jim is drunk, or the turkey is burnt, or Aunt Julie and mum are wearing the same outfit and not talking to each other again, those are the kinds of negatives that people can focus on. But to me, all of those things don’t matter, because humans are not robots. We are wonderfully flawed and unique. We have the capacity to love despite of, or because of, the imperfections. It’s so worth remembering this at Christmas and not having high expectations that cannot be reached.

That’s what I love about Christmas books… the story doesn’t run smoothly.  The characters accept or overcome their limitations or adapt the situation and they find their Happily Ever After. I’m pretty sure our Happily Ever After is there to find too, if only we’d just stop trying to reach perfection.

I will concede though that their tree might be just that bit more Hollywood…

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and that you enjoy reading about Rhys and Toby’s Christmas miracle as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Olley White x

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About For Want of a Christmas Miracle

27301063When one down-on-his-luck gardener and one garden centre owner meet, neither could predict the attraction they’d feel towards each other. Toby is just about turning round the business he’d inherited from his dad, and it’s all going well—until a risk he took looks like it might not pay off. Rhys’s employment at Toby’s garden centre is temporary, just to cover the Christmas sales, and frankly he’d much rather be outside gardening. And avoiding Christmas.

When an accident means Toby can’t be at work at a crucial time, it’s time for Rhys to step up to the mark. But can the Christmas Scrooge make the difference required for the man he’s starting to love?

Available at: NineStar Press

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About Olley White

Olley White is the alter ego of Lori Powell. Her home is in England with her husband, children and animals. She uses the fenland where she lives as inspiration for her writing. She loves romance in stories – boy/girl, boy/boy, girl/girl…if they’re in love she loves them.

Find out more about Olley on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or email her at pglicp@googlemail.com

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As part of this blog tour, Olley is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card & NineStar book credit!! 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 Nikyta’s review of For Want of a Christmas Miracle to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

Book Review: For Want of a Christmas Miracle by Olley White

Reviewed by Nikyta

27301063Title: For Want of a Christmas Miracle
Author: Olley White
Series: Holiday Hopes #1
Heroes: Toby & Rhys
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: Novella
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: December 7, 2015
Available at: NineStar Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When one down-on-his-luck gardener and one garden centre owner meet, neither could predict the attraction they’d feel towards each other. Toby is just about turning round the business he’d inherited from his dad, and it’s all going well—until a risk he took looks like it might not pay off. Rhys’s employment at Toby’s garden centre is temporary, just to cover the Christmas sales, and frankly he’d much rather be outside gardening. And avoiding Christmas.

When an accident means Toby can’t be at work at a crucial time, it’s time for Rhys to step up to the mark. But can the Christmas Scrooge make the difference required for the man he’s starting to love?
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Final Round – Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow

Reviewed by JustJen

27797254Title: The Final Round
Authors: Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow
Series: The Square Peg #4
Heroes: Shane/Ben
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 298 Pages
Publisher: Loose Id
Release Date: November 17, 2015
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Reeling from the news of his mother’s death, Shane heads back to England to face a hostile father. Benedict’s with him every step of the way, providing a shoulder to cry on and an escape from sorrow by way of their increasingly powerful and intense scenes.

Grieving and guilty, seeking a reconciliation with his father, Shane makes a hasty decision that brings him peace of mind, but at a heavy cost to his relationship with the man he loves. Is it time to call it quits or time to grow closer still? In the wake of his loss, Shane finds that question doesn’t have a simple answer — but questions of the heart never do.
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Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Christmas Miracles of a Recently Fallen Spruce by Brandon Witt

Reviewed by Morgan 

28041070Title: Christmas Miracles of a Recently Fallen Spruce
Author: Brandon Witt
Series: Sleigh Ride – 2015 Advent Calendar
Heroes: Paxton Peterson/Logan Charles
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 25 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 30, 2015
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Paxton Peterson’s favorite day of the year is his annual Gay Boy Christmas dinner. He’s checked and double-checked his to-do list, because nothing stresses him out like the unexpected. Confident everything will run smoothly, Paxton embarks on his yearly snowshoed hike through the Rocky Mountains near his home. His perfectly planned evening is cut short by Logan Charles’s careless enjoyment of his brother’s snowmobile, and Paxton is stranded in the woods. It’s the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened to him—or maybe the best.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2015 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment