Release Blitz - Off Balance by Jay Hogan

Title: Off Balance                                                    

Series: Painted Bay #1               

Author: Jay Hogan

Genre: MM Romance

Tropes: Age gap / hurt comfort / opposites attract /ballet dancer/ medical / humour / widower/ small town/ fish and game officer

Release date: September 29, 2020

Amazon Universal: https://readerlinks.com/l/1448259/02

Synopsis:

When JUDAH MADDEN flees his tiny suffocating home town in New Zealand for the dream

of international ballet stardom, he never intends coming back. Not to Painted Bay. Not to his

family’s struggling mussel farm. Not to his jerk of a brother. Not with his entire life plan in

shreds. And certainly not into the tempting arms of MORGAN WIPENE, the older, ruggedly

handsome fisheries officer who seems determined to screw with Judah’s intention to wallow

in peace.

But dreams are fickle things. Shatter them and it’s hard to pick up the pieces. Hard to believe.

Hard to start again.

And the hardest thing of all? Finding the courage to trust in love and build a new dream where

you least expected to find it.

Excerpt:

I braced a hand on the ice-white tiles and jerked myself off to the image of a man who had no business occupying my boathouse shower on a Saturday morning, especially after I’d thrown his sorry arse off our property less than twelve hours before. And yet here he was—in my head. And where was my hand? On my fucking dick. Go figure.

The upside? I actually had the energy to expend on a little self-pleasure. I’d managed to sleep until ten and it had been five days without a full-blown vertigo attack—the drop attacks didn’t drain me quite the same way. Go me. Maybe the meds were finally working. It was enough to have me looking at the world in a better light, at any rate.

So Morgan had been married, huh? And there he was again, front and centre in my pea-sized, lust-addled brain. Still, I hadn’t seen that particular twist coming. But then, an attractive guy like that, it made sense that someone nailed his arse down at some point. I couldn’t imagine losing someone so important after such a short time.

And judging by the tone in Morgan’s voice, the loss was still painful, still fresh. What would it feel like to be loved by someone, by a man, by Morgan, so deeply? There was an intensity to him that promised you’d never have to question it. He’d show you every day.

I shook my head at the thought. Like Morgan would be remotely interested in someone as fucked up as me. For a quick fuck? Sure. For more than that? He’d have to be a raging masochist.

Nothing said doomed relationship like a guy with no job, no prospects, a bad attitude and a chronic illness. Which is why I needed to keep this thing between us to friends. I liked Morgan, more than was good for me, or explicable from the brief time we’d spent together. I liked him enough to know that if we started something, I’d miss him when it fell apart. But if we kept it to friends, then maybe he’d stick around for me to enjoy, and I liked the idea of that, liked it a whole lot.

I dried off, threw on some old dance leggings and a T-shirt, and froze once again at my reflection in the full-length mirror, briefly contemplating a life where I didn’t have Meniere’s and could give free rein to the attraction I felt for Morgan.

How the hell had this become my life?

I stared at my reflection and realised the answer didn’t matter. It was time to stop wallowing. Enough.

I sucked in a deep breath all the way down to my diaphragm and my thighs flexed like they were hopeful or something, tentatively lifting me up on the balls of my feet.

Move. The imperative pushed at my brain.

I stretched a leg behind, teetering a little, testing the weight I hadn’t carried in months—arms out, reaching for that point of balance, clocking into the ‘office’ I worked in, the place I called home, and hearing that silent but familiar addictive mental click when I reached it and tipped over into weightlessness.

There. Like a soft sigh in my head. The rush of connection, the sweet sing of my body surging to life, adrenaline ticking up my heart.

Try.

A fouette spin. And then a second. The centrifugal pull to another, and another. I nailed them all. But a stutter on the sixth as the world tipped slightly with the roar of the sea in my ears. I fell out of the spin and hit the floor in a graceless lump.

Fucking, fuck, fuck. My sneaker hit the mirror and a sea of fissures exploded across its face. Less than a year ago I’d have done thirty-two spins without breaking a sweat. Five was a joke.

No. More. Wallowing.

I gave myself five minutes to fall apart then scrubbed my hands down my face, ripped the sheets from my bed and threw them in the wash. That done, I stood barefoot in my kitchen and studied the current state of my tiny house while I chewed on a slice of stale toast and jam.

The picture told a sorry tale. I could’ve started my own recycling plant with the number of empties from my determination to singlehandedly underwrite the local liquor store.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what Morgan must’ve thought—nothing good, for sure. I blamed my perpetual brain fog for even inviting him in. These days my grey matter functioned like a rusty, poorly tuned Lada, as opposed to the hot pink sharply primed Audi convertible it used to be.

His opinion shouldn’t matter. Morgan was an overbearing boor, if somewhat sexy, because that shit couldn’t be denied—cue my recent shower scene for confirmation. Not that we’d be crossing paths again if he could take a hint. I didn’t need yet another person treating me like a pretty but fragile ornament, thinking they knew what was best for me.

And if only he’d stop texting me an endless supply of more than decent apologies, I might even begin to believe it. The man had a good line in grovelling and my resolve was wavering.

‘I’m an arse.’

Yep.

‘I have no excuse.’

Nope.

‘I should never have said what I did and I’m sorry…’

Too late.

‘I was worried for you…’

Ah, shit.

‘I would never have forgiven myself…’

Goddammit.

‘You were right to be angry.’

Fuck.

‘I hope we can still be friends.’

A pestilence upon all your houses.

When I woke up this morning and read them all, I’d texted one word. ‘STOP’.

He had, and I’d been checking my phone ever since.

About Jay:

I am a New Zealand author writing in m/m romance, and romantic suspense. I have traveled extensively and lived in the US, Canada, France, Australia and South Korea. In a past life I have been an Intensive Care Nurse, Counselor, and a Nursing Lecturer.

I'm a cat aficionado especially of Maine Coons, and an avid dog lover (but don’t tell the cat). I love to cook, pretty damn good, love to sing, pretty damn average, and as for loving full-time writing, absolutely… depending of course on the day, the word count, the deadline, how obliging my characters are, the ambient temperature in the Western Sahara, whether Jupiter is rising, the size of the ozone hole over New Zealand and how much coffee I've had.

Welcome to my world.

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJayHogan/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hoganshangout/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jay-hogan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayhoganauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayhoganauthor

Website: https://www.jayhoganauthor.com/

Amazon: amzn.to/jayhoganauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17632551.Jay_Hogan

Release Blitz - The Ghost of Hillcomb Hall by Joshua Ian

Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:

The Ghost of Hillcomb Hall
By Joshua Ian

Darkly Enchanted Romance, Book 2

England, 1910.

Landscape designer Jonas Laurence arrives at the cheerless and fog enswathed Hillcomb Hall, home to the Earl of Stanley and his family, to renovate their crumbling gardens. With a great storm crashing all around, his time is at the mercy of the house's odd and mysterious occupants. Captivated by the hauntingly attractive portrait of Lord Stanley's ancestor, which constantly seems to watch and taunt him, Jonas's dreams become weird and distressing. And his waking moments are consumed by the strange stories and weird atmosphere of the manor estate. Ghostly visits in the night leave Jonas no choice but to accept his attraction to the otherworldly spirit from the painting. But is this affaire de coeur real? Or is it all just a trick of the mind, a sinister game being played by the inhabitants of Hillcomb Hall?

Universal Link

Goodreads

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Special Release Blitz Excerpt:

Hillcomb Hall appeared to be a great medieval monstrosity of a thing, Jonas noted as the car got further up the long and winding entry road cutting across the estate. It was, of course, only a century or two old but it had been constructed with the obvious intent of being commanding. The Hall was surrounded by a great forest of trees, ranging in type and size, and although they did not come very close to the house, they succeeded in helping to block out much of the sunlight. The driveway, crushed shell wet from the torrent, which made a discomforting slippery kind of noise under the car’s tires, was cut through a cove of tightly packed ancient trunks. From the plans he had seen, Jonas knew that behind the house was a swath of open ground that led down to a lake. But looking at it from the front, the whole property appeared hemmed in, cloistered away from the rest of the world, and deeply shadowed like some decrepit castle from a storybook.  Though the rain had finally broken, and it was only yet mid-afternoon, the house sat in what resembled a cloud of night. A great blanket of fog clung close to the ground and the house almost seemed to float in his vision.

It was a forlorn and sad-making scene and reminded Jonas of the depth of loneliness he had been feeling of late.

“Damn creepy,” muttered Donaldson louder than he had intended. “Beg pardon, sir.”

Jonas inclined his head at the chauffeur and thought he couldn’t have put it more succinctly if he tried. Damned creepy, indeed, and daunting besides. How in the world, he wondered, was he supposed to design a garden that gave any life or joy of light to such a dreary pile as this?

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Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of The Ghost of Hillcomb Hall, Joshua is giving away 2 prizes, 1 for a local winner and 1 for an international winner!

• US winner - a paperback copy of Classic Victorian & Edwardian Ghost stories & an e-copy of The Ghost of Hillcomb Hall
• International Winner - an e-copy bundle of the Darkly Enchanted Romance stories including The Harvest Moon & The Ghost of Hillcomb Hall

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a5771/?

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About the Author:

Joshua Ian can easily be captured by a witty turn of phrase or a low-bottomed electronic bassline. If you manage to combine the two, then you have his heart forever. He lives in New York City and writes mostly historical, speculative, and sci-fi/fantasy fiction but he does love a good mystery. He watches too many movies, eats too much dark chocolate, and falls into way too many Wikipedia rabbit holes- but it's all in the name of research (or so he tells himself). One day he plans to travel the world - to see what each country has to offer in the way of movie theatres and dark chocolate, naturally.

Connect with Joshua:
Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/joshuaian
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshuaianauthor/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/joshua-ian
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuaianauthor
Instagram: @moodyboxfan
Website: https://moodyboxfan.com

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New Release - Taking Stock by A L Lester

Let's welcome A L Lester who is here to talk about her new release.

Thank you so much for having me today to tell you a little bit about Taking Stock!  

It's 1972. 

Fifteen years ago, teenage Laurie Henshaw came to live at Webber’s Farm with his elderly uncle and settled in to the farming life. Now, age thirty-two, he has a stroke in the middle of working on the farm. As he recovers, he has to come to terms with the fact that some of his new limitations are permanent and he’s never going to be as active as he used to be. Will he be able to accept the helping hands his friends extend to him? 

With twenty successful years in the City behind him, Phil McManus is hiding in the country after his boyfriend set him up to take the fall for an insider trading deal at his London stockbroking firm. There’s not enough evidence to prosecute anyone, but not enough to clear him either. He can’t bear the idea of continuing his old stagnating life in the city, or going back to his job now everyone knows he’s gay. 

Thrown together in a small country village, can Phil and Laurie forge a new life that suits the two of them and the makeshift family that gathers round them? Or are they too tied up in their own shortcomings to recognise what they have? 

Taking Stock is a 40,000 word gay romance set mostly in rural England. It’s set on Webber’s Farm, which I first wrote about in Inheritance of Shadows. Inheritance is set in 1919 and is part of my spooky paranormal universe. I based the farm on somewhere I used to know as a child on the Quantock Hills in Somerset and didn’t want to leave after Inheritance. Taking Stock is the result. Although it’s set in the same universe as my other books and some of the same background characters are there, there’s nothing paranormal or suspenseful. 

Instead it’s a gentle story about two people who are hurt and angry and tired, who find their way toward each other and help each other heal.

Initially Laurie was going to have a similar chronic condition to me…I have fibromyalgia and seizures…but then just before I actually sat down to get the words out of my head and on to the page, my Mama had a very severe stroke. She is in her eighties and has been more or less working her seven acre smallholding singlehandedly for years. Her frustration and anger at her situation translated directly into Laurie as I was writing. So he’s a combination of both my own feelings about my lack of agency through my disability, and hers.

It was a very emotive story for me to write and I hope you enjoy it.

• Tags: MM, gay, romance, historical, ownvoices, disability, farming, 1970s.

• Length:  40,000 words

• Publisher:  JMS Books LLC

• Release Date:  Sept 19th 2020

You can buy/preorder Taking Stock here: https://allester.co.uk/takingstock/

About A. L. Lester 

Writer of queer, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense. Lives in the South West of England with Mr AL, two children, a badly behaved dachshund, a terrifying cat and some hens. Likes gardening but doesn't really have time or energy. Not musical. Doesn't much like telly. Non-binary. Chronically disabled. Has tedious fits.

You can stalk me on all sorts of different internet platforms here: https://lnk.bio/gjD5

Release Blitz - Skins Boxset by Garrett Leigh

 

 

ALL BUY LINKS 

Cover Design: Black Jazz Design

The bestselling SKINS series.

“I can’t get enough of this gorgeous series. Heartfelt and beautiful, I’m totally addicted."


Dream

When unrequited love leaves Dylan Hart sleepless and nursing his wounds, instinct draws him to the one place he's found mindless respite in the past—Lovato’s. It’s a place for every fantasy—where a night of insane NSA fun with former ballet dancer Angelo brings relief to Dylan’s fragile feelings.


Friends to lovers, hurt comfort, angst.

Whisper

Lonely physiotherapist Harry Foster has the world at his feet. A full client list, a six figure Instagram following, and a publishing deal for a book he doesn’t have time to write until his agent offers him a break—a retreat to the wild south west coast.

Cornish horseman Joe Carter is lonely too. On paper, they have nothing in common, but Joe is beautiful…glorious, and when an accident puts his life in Harry’s healing hands, the whisper of true love is inevitable. If the trouble that put the farm on its knees in the first place doesn’t get in the way.

Friends to lovers, hurt comfort, horses, forced proximity.

Believe

Flight paramedic Rhys Foster is hooked on adrenaline. By day it’s blood and guts, by night it’s the thrill of the club. Entertainer Jevon Campbell is a play therapist like no other—dancer, magician, acrobat. Their connection is instant. As the days slip by, Rhys must learn to believe he’s worth the happiness Jevon is offering.

Friends to lovers, first times, men in uniform.

Crossroads

Angelo Giordano and Dylan Hart are more in love than ever. As the end of a tough year approaches, they reach a crossroads. Dylan returns to Cornwall for Christmas and Angelo can’t imagine watching him leave again. Can the love that surrounds them on Whisper Farm show them the way home?

Christmas novella, favourite characters, found family.

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

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Release Blitz - Draw (Overtime #3)

 

All Buy Links

Length: 62,000 approx.

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Vic & Dan Books

Point Shot Trilogy
Coach's Challenge (Cayuga Cougars #3)

Overtime Trilogy

Book #1 - Rebound
Book #2 - Final Shot

Blurb

They say first loves never last. Jackie Blue Kalinski was about to show them—whoever they are—that the word never is not in his vocabulary.

From the time Jack Kalinski was a preschooler he had a good sense of who he was and where he wanted to go in life. His childhood was spent drawing beautiful dresses for pretty people, male and female alike. Growing up with two dads who played hockey wasn’t exactly conducive to late night talks about tulle or tailor’s chalk, but he never let that stop his dreams of becoming a fashion designer or expressing the genderqueer heart that beat in his chest. His family’s love and support helped him through some painful losses that shaped him into the strong, vivacious, and charismatic college student he is today. Life hasn’t been a smooth ride, but Jack has persevered and is about to take the fashion world by storm.

Little does he suspect that his tidy life is about to be scorched by a chance meeting with one of the men playing hockey on the gay team his father coaches. Martin McKittrick not only catches Jack’s eye, but the much older man wins his heart. The passionate affair with the captain of the Marine Unit of the BFD burns red hot until the new couple run into a few snags that might dampen the inferno: Jack’s ascent into the fashion world, Martin’s job and the inherent dangers that come with it, and the fact that the well-kept secret romance has just been exposed to the world in a rather big way.

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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Blog Tour - On the Wings of War (Soulbound #5) by Hailey Turner

On the Wings of War by Hailey Turner

Series: Soulbound V

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: Print & ebook – September 2, 2020

Length: 109,151 words

Subgenre: LGBTQ Urban Fantasy

Warnings: None

Get it now:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CST5MVV

Author Site: https://haileyturner.com/book/on-the-wings-of-war

Book blurb:

Remembering the dead will always give them life.

The coveted Morrígan’s staff is up for sale on the black market to the highest bidder, and SOA Special Agent Patrick Collins will do whatever it takes to ensure the Dominion Sect doesn’t get their hands on it. Returning the weapon to its rightful owner is another step on the long road toward clearing Patrick’s soul debt, but he won’t walk it alone. Jonothon de Vere won’t let him.

Obeying the gods means Patrick must travel to London. For Jono, it means facing a past he thought he’d left behind forever. His return to England isn’t welcome, and neither is their pack, but Jono and Patrick will face the antagonism together. Politics aside, their priority must be the mission, but the bone-chilling secret they uncover in the London god pack will have far-reaching repercussions no one can ignore.

A race against time takes Patrick and Jono from the streets of London to the bright lights of Paris, where hospitality is thin on the ground, the air is filled with whispered prayers for the missing, and the Morrígan’s staff will end up in the one place it should never have gone—a graveyard.

For beneath Paris lie the long-forgotten dead, and when they rise to walk again, the living can only hope to die.

On the Wings of War is a 109k word m/m urban fantasy with a gay romantic subplot and a HFN ending. It is a direct sequel to A Vigil in the Mourning. Reading the first book in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one.

About On the Wings of War by Hailey Turner: This is an exciting sequel that builds on the series plot and makes readers keep wanting more!

Praise for The Soulbound Series:

Hailey Turner never disappoints! The Soulbound series continues in On The Wings of War with Turner's unique and compelling world-building, beloved characters including Wade the ever-snacking cutie pie, and the same kind of page-turning action we've come to expect from a Hailey Turner story. Whenever I read a Soulbound novel, I come out of it feeling smarter and a little bit breathless, like if I looked behind me there might be a tiny bit of magic and dragon smoke wafting in the air. I can't recommend this new Hailey Turner novel enough. Grab it now! - Bestselling author, Lucy Lennox

With every new book in the Soulbound series, I ask myself how Hailey Turner could possibly top this, and in true Patrick style, challenge accepted. Each book in this series is even better than the last, and I’m absolutely in love with these characters. I can’t get enough of Patrick, Jono, Wade, and On the Wings of War is an adrenaline-fueled adventure you don’t want to miss! - Bestselling author, Charlie Cochet

Hailey Turner is a wonderful writer, and nowhere is this better illustrated than in the Soulbound series. The world of Patrick and Jono is so perfectly realised and populated with rich characters drawn from mythology and folklore. I couldn’t put this book down. - Bestselling author, Lily Morton

I have been a fan of the Soulbound series since the very beginning, but somehow it gets better with every new installment, and this one is the best yet. The twists and turns are tighter, the action more explosive, the love between Jono and Patrick deeper, and the bonds with their found family even sweeter, making On the Wings of War one of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a long time. This book was a roller coaster ride I never wanted to end. - M/M Author, May Archer

Excerpt #1:

“Want is a meaningless desire. That was one of the first things Ashanti ever told me,” Patrick said slowly.

Jono shook his head. “That’s a load of bollocks.”

“It doesn’t matter. Letting my mother’s side of the family know I’m alive would be a messy distraction I can’t afford right now. We have bigger problems.”

“Like what?”

Patrick straightened up enough that he could dig his cell phone out of his pocket. “Like we need to have a meeting with Lucien before we go home. The government needs his help.”

Jono made an aggravated sound. “Must we? I had plans. They involved you naked and under me.”

Patrick sighed wistfully even as he dialed the latest burner number to reach Carmen. “I’ll let you fuck me after we deal with Lucien.”

“This is why Sage always says you’re terrible at bargains. We should probably have her come with us and do the talking instead of you.”

“You think you’re funny, but you’re not.” Patrick pressed the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. “We can have a pack meeting after Lucien pisses me off.”

Connect with Hailey Turner:

Newsletter: You can keep up with Hailey's future projects by joining her newsletter, where you can instantly download several free short stories: http://bit.ly/HaileyTurnerNews

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/haileyshellions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haileyturnerwrites/

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014824811406

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/hailey-turner

Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHaileyTurner/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/haileyturnerwriter/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16473068.Hailey_Turner

Website: www.haileyturner.com

Giveaway: to celebrate the release of On the Wings of War by Hailey Turner, we are giving away three e-books to kindle email addresses from Hailey Turner’s back catalogue. Open internationally, must be 18 to enter and win.

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Blog Tour - Abstract Love by Sara Dobie Bauer

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Abstract Love

Author: Sara Dobie Bauer

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Release Date: September 4, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary MM romance

Trope/s: enemies-to-lovers, age gap, co-workers, office romance, 

bisexuality, businessmen, artists, bondage, comedy

Themes: sexual awakening

Possible triggers: depression, suicidal ideations, biphobia

Heat Rating: 4 flames 

Length: 71 000 words

It is a standalone book.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

I hate Sam Shelby. So why do I want to kiss him?

Blurb

Sam never expected to move back to Cleveland.
Donovan never expected to be attracted to a man.
Well, shit happens.

After high school, Sam Shelby moved to New York. Eight years later, he returns to Cleveland and lands a job at the best ad firm in town. It would be the perfect gig, if his boss weren’t such an ass.

After his wife leaves, Donovan Cooper questions everything. The arrival of a young, arrogant, gifted graphic designer at Donovan’s firm is the last straw.

Tempers flare over office gossip, and following a nasty argument and scathing kiss, Donovan flails away from heterosexuality while Sam struggles to keep his “no relationship” rule intact.

Despite ugly socks, fiery fights, and their best intentions to not fall in love, these bullheaded coworkers can’t deny their chemistry. Donovan seeks happiness while Sam seeks success, but is there room for more?



My Two Pennies Worth

Oh my, that was quite the rollercoaster ride. I loved Sam. I adored Donovan. I got angry at Sam. I hated Sam. Donovan broke my heart. I cried. Donovan fixed my heart. I warmed to Sam again. I loved them both. I'm exhausted.

I had already read the short story that this story was based on so I was aware of the dynamic and basis of the story, but I hadn't expected to have quite such an intense reaction to Sam's continual hooking up with other people throughout the story. I'm not one of those people that think the MCs must be faithful from the moment their eyes meet or their feeling are realised or they kiss. Life is messy, people are human and complicated, relationships are a minefield. I'm still not sure if my anger at Sam was based on the way he so blatantly threw his other relationships (because despite what he said they were relationships not one night stands) in Donovan's face, or with Sam's complete disregard for his own self worth. Probably a bit of both. 

Donovan is my sort of character. Grumpy, strapping, with a resting bitch face. It was great to see his transformation as he reassessed his life. Of the secondary characters, I adored Monica and Joe, was curious about Jamie, fascinated by Zon, and hated Elliot (oh, and Sam's mother, but that's a given).

As usual with this author the sex scenes are sizzling, with D/S undertones although due to Donovan's gay virgin status these are tentative and occasionally cautious. 

Highly recommended.

Excerpt

Donovan sifted through a few hand-drawn logos on the desk and froze when he found a crudely drawn sketch of himself. Sam must have done it during a meeting at some point, capturing Donovan’s faux hawk, wide jaw, and severe expression.

Jesus, was this what other people saw when they looked at him? Did he really look so miserable?

“Make yourself at home?”

Donovan dropped the picture and stood straight at the sound of Sam’s voice.

He leaned against the doorframe, with one ankle crossed over the other.

“It’s really bullshit when people say that, you know?” Sam said. “Make yourself at home. No one actually wants their friends to take off their pants, drink all their beer, and binge The Great British Bake Off.” He paused. “What are you doing in my office?”

“I didn’t mean to snoop.”

The office door closed as he stepped inside. “Sure you did, or you wouldn’t be in here, so what’s up?”

Sam circled the desk, so Donovan circled the other way, although he noticed it was true what coworkers said: Sam did smell good—like clean laundry and cedar. “I think we started off on the wrong foot.”

Sam snort laughed and flipped through some files on his desk. “More like wrong continent, man.” When he found what he was looking for, he tapped the file’s corner against his palm. “I can handle guys like you, you know.”

Donovan shifted back on his heels. “Guys like me?”

“Hmm. Corporate assholes. All you see are dollar signs. You take no pleasure in your work. Advertising is money to you, not art, but without the artists, there wouldn’t be advertising, so…” He sucked his cheeks into his mouth, a momentary fish face.

Donovan wanted to tell him it wasn’t true. Donovan loved art.

He used to love art.

Sam continued, “I know I look like a six-foot-two Disney princess, but you’re not gonna rattle me.” To prove his point, Sam got right up in Donovan’s personal space until Donovan took a step back. Again, he was not used to dealing with someone his own height. “And I’m right about the Great Lakes ad campaign. If you’d pull your head out of your ass, maybe you’d notice.” He turned away abruptly.

“Sam.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” Ouch, that hurt coming out.

Sam’s rebuttal: “Prove it.”

“Excuse me?”

He rested a hand on the desk and cocked his hip out—the very picture of young attitude. “Listen to me in meetings.”

“I was listening.”

“Nope.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his unkempt, unprofessional hair. “No, you were hearing. I need you to listen. There’s a difference. And I know I’m just some fucking kid to you, but I ruled the New York City advertising scene. I know what I’m doing, Donovan, so let me do it.”

“Fine.” He’d had enough. He’d apologized, okay, so he’d done his Monica-enforced duty. He didn’t owe Sam anything else.

He didn’t run for the door, but he definitely moved with speed.

 

About the Author

Sara Dobie Bauer is a bestselling author, model, and mental health / LGBTQ advocate with a creative writing degree from Ohio University. She lives with her hottie husband and two precious pups in Northeast Ohio, although she’d really like to live in a Tim Burton film.

 

 

Author Links

Blog/Website | Facebook | Private Facebook Group

Twitter | Instagram | Newsletter Sign-up | Freebies

   

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Release Blitz - Risking The Shot by Amy Aislin

Risking the Shot by Amy Aislin  

Series: Stick Side #4

Publisher: Self Published

Release Date: September 8, 2020

Subgenre: M/M Contemporary Romance

Cover by: Natasha Snow Designs 

Order here:

Amazon: http://readerlinks.com/l/1346949 

Kobo: http:// readerlinks.com/l/1348526

Apple: http://readerlinks.com/l/1346950 

B&N: http://readerlinks.com/l/1348525 

Synopsis for Risking the Shot:

Time for distractions? Hardly.

A chance at making the playoffs? It’s a dream for NHL forward Taylor Cunningham that just might come true. If he can keep his eyes on the ball—ahem, puck. And study for midterms. Dakota Cotton, eleven years his senior, isn’t just a distraction, though—he’s everything Tay’s ever wanted.

Dakota has no interest in introducing someone who might not stick around to his four-year-old son. Been there, done that, with the divorce to prove it. But there’s something about Tay that hits all of the right buttons and has him wanting to take a chance.

As things heat up between them, and the pressure to succeed hits an all-time high, will they risk a shot at happiness or choke?

Extra info to share:

Shots on Goal (Stick Side #3) will be reduced to $0.99 from September 7-17 across all retailers.

Teaser

Clearing his throat, he said, “What are you drinking?”

“Oban 14. Scotch,” Dakota added at Tay’s questioning look.

“Smells good.” The scent had been wafting in his direction since he first sat down, strong and vaguely smoky, peaty. It reminded him of Dakota for reasons he couldn’t name.

Scooting forward on the bench, their knees touching, he said, “Can I try it?”

Dakota’s gaze caught his, gray and shadowy and searching. Tay held it, refusing to break eye contact. Let Dakota see how attracted he was to him. Dakota must already know anyway. What was the point of holding back? Tay wanted Dakota and he wasn’t shying away from it.

Without looking away, Dakota leaned forward, bringing their faces within inches of each other. Dakota’s soft breath whispered across Tay’s lips, making his own breath catch. Holding his glass out, Dakota still didn’t look away as Tay brought it to his mouth, placing his lips over the outline of Dakota’s on the glass.

Dakota didn’t miss it, his smile turning knowing. The heat in Tay’s blood had nothing to do with the scotch.

Which, in itself, was... “Holy fuck, this is good.” Strong and smoky, yes—even the taste reminded him of Dakota—with hints of fruits and honey.

Dakota made a sound in the back of his throat, an acknowledgment that sounded like a groan. The heat in Tay’s blood spread outward, flushing his cheeks, dotting his temple with sweat. Fuck, it suddenly got very, very warm in this coatroom. Warmer still when Dakota’s gaze dipped down to Tay’s mouth.

About the author:

Amy's lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she's read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she's been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn't at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada's largest environmental non-profit.

An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group, Amy Aislin’s Readers, to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram and Twitter, or sign up for her newsletter. 

Website: http://amyaislin.com  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyaislin/  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.aislin  

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amyaislin/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_aislin  

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/amy-aislin  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16693566.Amy_Aislin  

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ddvWFv  

GIVEAWAY:

Win one of two signed paperback copies of Risking the Shot, plus author swag. Open internationally.

Rafflecopter direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c8c1c64115/?

Release Blitz - The Lucky Cat by L M Somerton

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: The Lucky Cat

Author: L M Somerton

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Cover Artist: Louisa Maggio

Release Date: September 1, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, thriller/suspense, light BDSM

Heat Rating: 4 flames 

Length: 60 343 words/ 241 pages

It is the first book in a new series.

Goodreads

Buy Links

First for Romance | Pride Publishing 

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Antiques and ammunition do not mix well.

Blurb

The antique trade is not known for its life or death excitement and Landry Carran is happy that he has to contend only with furniture polish, woodworm and his irascible boss. He gets all the thrills he needs at his favorite BDSM club, Scorch.

Detective Gage Roskam is hunting stolen jewels taken from a Tokyo exhibition then shipped to Seattle. Mired in a deadly race involving the Yakuza, an enigmatic Englishman and too many indecipherable clues, he doesn’t have time to indulge in Dominant fantasies.

When their worlds collide, neither Landry nor Gage expects things to get quite as complicated—or dangerous—as they do. When Landry steps into the path of some powerful, ruthless people, it’s up to Gage to protect him. Along the way they might just discover what they both need.



Excerpt

Sometimes there were advantages to being vertically challenged. Landry, his ass sticking out from under a seventeenth-century folding card table, paused to contemplate other occasions when his five-feet-six-inch stature had been of benefit. Not when attempting to get served at his favorite leather bar, though getting squished between all those black-clad hunks was always bearable. He snorted. Not when reaching for his preferred brand of chips at the market, which were always on the top shelf. Put there, he was sure, by the snotty assistant manager as revenge for Landry turning down his offer of a quick blow job in the staff restroom. As if. Never at family meals when he got to sit between his older twin brothers like a blond munchkin between two extras from Vikings. He reversed, wiggling his back end to avoid a willow-patterned platter balancing on a brass coal scuttle. His knees ached and he’d banged his elbow on a cast-iron fireguard, but he had rescued the battered cannonball making an escape attempt beneath teetering piles of stock.

“Well, there’s a pretty sight.”

“Hey!” Landry went for indignant rather than flattered. He tried to get up too soon and banged his head on solid, woodworm-free oak. “Fuck me!” He finally made it to open air and scrambled to his feet, rubbing his already messy hair into further disarray.

“Is that a request?”

Landry looked up…and up…into a pair of twinkling pale-blue eyes. The customer, because that was who Landry guessed the newcomer must be, was drop-dead, my-ass-is-yours gorgeous and he was grinning. Well, smirking.

“Funny man. What can I help you with, sir?” Landry gritted his teeth and remembered that Mr. Lao, his boss, would swat him like a bug if he snarked at a potential patron. Though, on this occasion, it might be worth it to mess with the man.

“Another leading question.”

Landry rolled his eyes. Black hair, blue eyes and a stubbled, chiseled chin did not equate to a free pass. “The massage parlor is three doors down, just before St. Peter’s. You can get a full-body whatever then confess all in the space of an hour.” He made an ineffective attempt to brush dust from the knees of his ripped black jeans. Blue Eyes reached into his jacket and produced a wallet, which he opened to display a Seattle PD badge and ID card.

“Gage Roskam. Is your boss around?”

Landry was more turned on than intimidated by the badge. Cop plus handcuffs equaled sexy time. Every cop he’d ever met had had a ‘don’t fuck with me’ attitude and a natural bent for control—just the type of man Landry liked to mess with. He batted his lashes. “And what makes you think I’m not the boss?”

“You’re not a sixty-eight-year-old Chinese guy by the name of Jian Lao?”

“Very observant, Officer. All that training paid off.” Landry put an extra bit of swing into his hips as he walked toward the cash desk at the rear of the shop.

“Putting your tax dollars to work, brat.”

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to call me sir, what with you being a public servant and all?”

“In your dreams, and you should show more respect for law enforcement.”

“Gonna make me?”

“You’re lucky I’m on duty or I’d bend you over the nearest flat surface and give you the spanking you’re begging for.”

 

About the Author 

Lucinda lives in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.

She loves the English weather, especially the rain, and adores a thunderstorm. She loves good food, warm company and a crackling fire. She's fascinated by the psychology of relationships, especially between men, and her stories contain some subtle (and some not so subtle) leanings towards BDSM.

 

Social Media Links

Pride Publishing Page | Blog/Website and newsletter sign-up 

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page

Queer Romance Ink | Instagram | MeWe Group

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

 

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