RATR - Monsters

It's been a while since I've contributed to a Read Around the Rainbow group post. Often it's simply because the last Friday of the month rushes at me because of deadlines in the day job and I miss the posting date, no matter all my good intentions. But this month I stuck my oar in with the topic so I have to make the time to post 😃.

It's scary season. Whether you celebrate Halloween, Samhain, or Day of the Dead. Maybe you simply shy away from the darker nights and longer shadows of the shorter days here in the northern hemisphere. Whatever the case, there's no doubting that this time of year is conducive to horror and monsters in all forms of popular culture. 

I'm not a massive horror fan. I avoid scary movies like the plague. Honestly, I got creeped out by Blink, the weeping angels episode of Dr Who. And if it involves clowns, ventriloquist dummies, or dolls, then count me out. However I do have soft spot for the old Universal monster movies of the 30s and 40s. Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Boris Karloff's Frankenstein's Monster, Lon Chaney Jr's Wolf Man. 

To a modern audience these films aren't scary, of course not. The pacing is often slow, the monster is obviously an actor in stage make-up, and the acting can be unpalatable for today's movie goers. It can certainly be camp and over the top, although that is part of the charm of these movies. They are safe, as who doesn't have some knowledge of these characters from traditional and modern literature, but they also have a degree of pathos and emotion that is often lacking from modern horror movies. 

My fondness for these characters bleed over into other forms of pop culture that I indulge in but especially in comics.

One of my favourites is DC's Frank, aka Frankenstein's Monster, a sword weilding undead, who works for SHADE as part of the Creature Commandos. Often mistaken for a dumb monster, he is intelligent and often quotes poetry. 

One of my favourite teams for Frank was the mini series, Gotham City Monsters. Among others, this team included Andrew Bennett, a vampire, and Michael Drown, Phantom of the Gotham City opera. And a whole slew of other monster to fight against. 

Marvel's monster-based characters never quite grabbed me in the same way but I have to admit having a soft spot for Capwolf. If you think that sounds like Captain America as a werewolf then you'd be correct. I love certain incarnations of him so much, I even have him as a Funko Pop. 

And if you want your monster to be a bad guy, then how about Dracula vs Jesus in the second season of Loaded Bible. I'd highly recommend it. 

But enough of my ramblings, let's check out the thoughts of the other members of the RATR squad. 

Nell Iris - Read Around the Rainbow: Monsters

Ofelia Grand - Read Around the Rainbow | Monsters

Ellie Thomas - Read Around the Rainbow: Monsters

Addison Albright - READ AROUND THE RAINBOW ~ Monster Edition #RAtR

Fiona Glass - Read Around the Rainbow: Favourite Monsters 

KL Noone - Read Around the Rainbow: Favourite Monsters 

Didn't believe me about the whole Jesus fights Dracula thing. Thought it was a fever dream? Too much cheese before bed?

I'll leave you with one last image. 

Cover Reveal - The Royal Rogue By Sarah Honey

 

Cover Reveal & Giveaway:
The Royal Rogue
By Sarah Honey

Coming January 27th

Tales of Lilleforth, Book 3

Thomas Malone is the new Captain of the Guard at Lilleforth Castle. He loves his job, but it leaves him no time for himself. It's been way too long since he's had anyone share his bed, let alone his life. To say he's frustrated is an understatement.

To make matters worse, the King’s disreputable cousin Evan Devere, the Duke of Ravensport, is back from his travels. Evan is as scatterbrained as he is attractive, which is a shame—if Evan had even half a brain, he’d be exactly Thomas’s type. As it is, Thomas has resigned himself to spending his days keeping Evan out of trouble

But when a threat emerges against the crown, Thomas and Evan have to work together to find who's behind the plot, and Thomas discovers there’s more to Evan than meets the eye. So when Evan suggests that they act on their mutual attraction, Thomas throws caution to the wind and agrees. After all, it is just a fling, right? There’s no way Thomas is actually going to fall for the sexy, infuriating cousin of the king.

No way at all.

Pre-Order Universal Link

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Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate the Cover Reveal of The Royal Rogue, Sarah is giving away 2 Advanced e-copies of the upcoming release.

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a57939/?

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Check out the other Tales of Lilleforth

Book 1: The King's Delight

King Leopold of Lilleforth rules his kingdom well. He’s handsome, intelligent, and charming. It’s no wonder the neighbouring kingdoms are eager to provide him with a princess to marry. There’s just one problem—Leo has no interest in princesses. His tastes tend more towards handsome young men who enjoy a good spanking.

Felix Hobson left the kingdom of Lilleforth as a teenager to train as a groom. While he was away he learned a lot, and not all of it had to do with horses—although riding crops were definitely involved. Now an adult, Felix is home to take up the position of royal groom, where he hopes he'll have plenty of opportunities for a roll in the hay.

When Felix mistakes Leopold for a horse thief and attempts to seduce him, Leopold is delighted by the irreverent, attractive lad, and sparks fly. Their arrangement is all fun and games, right until they both fall hard and fast. But while what they have together is a delight, there’s no way it can last—can it?

They’ll have to navigate a visiting princess, an assassination attempt, and a kidnapping if they want a chance to find out.

Universal Link

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Book 2: The Stablemaster's Heart

Tales of Lilleforth, Book 2

Mother Jones has spent his life working hard, running the royal stables at Lilleforth, and watching on fondly as those around him fall in love and lust.

But nobody, man or woman, has ever stoked that fire for him—right until the new royal groom barrels into his life. Vasily is all sunshine smiles, golden hair and laughter. For the first time, Mother finds himself attracted to someone, and he can’t help wondering what it might be like to court—and bed—his handsome new groom.

But Mother is over thirty, rough around the edges, and hardly a catch.

Vasily couldn’t possibly return his affections—could he?

Vasily Petrov, the fourth son of the king of Koroslova, is travelling incognito for a year. In Koroslova the old ways are the only ways, and a man being attracted to another man is unthinkable—especially if you're a prince. But in Lilleforth, Vasily has the chance to spread his wings and explore the side of himself that he can no longer deny, and he intends to make the most of it.

Except, he’s falling for his stablemaster—and worse, Mother doesn’t know he’s a prince, and Vasily doesn’t know how to tell him. And the longer he waits, the more he fears losing what they have when the truth comes out.

This was not the plan.

Universal Link

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About the Author

Sarah started life in New Zealand. She came to Australia for a working holiday, loved it, and never left. She lives in Western Australia with her partner, two cats, two dogs and a life-size replica TARDIS.

She spends half her time at a day job and the rest of her time reading and writing about clueless men falling in love, with a dash of humour and spice thrown in along the way.

Her proudest achievements include having adult kids who will still be seen with her in public, the ability to make a decent sourdough loaf, and knowing all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody.

She has co-authored both the Bad Boyfriends, Inc and the Adventures in Aguillon series with Lisa Henry. Socially Orcward, the third book in the Aguillon series, was runner up in the Best Asexual Book category in 2021's Rainbow Awards.

https://linktr.ee/sarahhoney

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B09CPYCS7K
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20441060.Sarah_Honey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.honey.9862
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahhoneywriting/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sarah-honey
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockhenryhoney

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Release Blitz - Melting the Ice, Portland Evergreens #1 by Beth Bolden

Title: Melting the Ice, Portland Evergreens #1

Author: Beth Bolden   

Release Date: October 10, 2024

Cover Art: Book Brander Boutique, www.romancepremades.com

Length: 90,000 words

Available in: ebook, Kindle Unlimited, two paperbacks (cover model & discreet), and audio, soon after release, narrated by Darcy Stark

MM Contemporary Sports Romance

Tropes: double bi-awakening, friends/roommates-to-lovers, hockey player & football player

Tags: but we're just bros, on a couch, conducting a science experiment, a sexy science experiment, he's a jock but also a nerd, can't he be both?, and whoops, there's only one bed

Purchase: https://readerlinks.com/l/4348358

Blurb

Brody’s got enough on his plate.

Recovering from a knee injury he hopes won’t keep him off the ice. His team, the Portland University Evergreens, have a brand new coach, and he’s hoping to impress the legendary leader. Plus, he's got to make a decision once and for all about playing professional hockey or using his love of science to go a totally different direction.

The last thing he needs is a sexual awakening at the large, calloused hands of his football player roommate.

Dean is big and brawny and taciturn, but he doesn’t need words to woo Brody. He wants Dean, and his brilliant "experiment" to test his attraction gives Brody all the scientific results he needs to know he's not straight.

Now, they're proving his theory with new pleasures every night, while pretending during the day that they’re just roommates.

Except the heat burns so hot between them, it doesn’t just melt all the ice on Brody’s rink, it melts all his beliefs about who he is and what he wants.

But even more, it destroys the lie that he can’t fall hard for a guy. Because Brody is falling hard. The only question is will Dean catch him?

Audiobook Tour - Waylaid by J.M. Snyder

 

AUDIOBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Waylaid

Author: J.M. Snyder

Publisher: JMS Books LLC

Narrator: Nick Johnson

Release Date: August 16, 2024

Tense/POV: First person, present tense, single POV.

Genres: MM Fantasy/Romance

Tropes: Forced proximity, only one bed

Themes: Falling in love

Heat Rating: 5 flames       

Length: 5 hours and 20 minutes

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Audible US  |  Audible UK 

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK 

It's only supposed to be one night. Until it isn't.

Blurb 

When the Queen's guardsman enters my inn, the last thing I expect is to be propositioned. But this far north, it can get lonely at times, and my bed fits two easily enough. The guardsman is lithe and fae, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested. Besides, what's one night between grown men?

I don't expect to see him again. But rumors of war bring him back to me, and what starts as a one-off soon blossoms into so much more ...

About the Author  

J.M. Snyder is a multi-published author of gay erotic romance who started writing fanfic (specifically, boyband slash). She has worked with several different e-publishers, including Amber Allure Press and Torquere Press, and had short stories published in anthologies by Alyson Books, Cleis Press, eXcessica, and Lethe Press.

In 2010, she started JMS Books LLC to promote and publish her own work as well as that of other authors she enjoys.

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Audible Profile  |  Blog/Website  |  Facebook 

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