Release Day & Giveaway: The Summer House by RJ Scott


Summer House
by R.J. Scott
M/M Contemporary
Release date: May 29 2015
Buy Links

Ashby Sebastian Sterling-Haynes has had a lot of boyfriends, but he's never found the one.

The only person he can form an attachment to is his fourteen year old niece, and even that is in jeopardy when babysitting her cat goes all kinds of wrong.

Veterinarian, Connor Lawson is much happier working with animals than with people. He has deliberately returned home and to the Summer House he recalled from childhood holidays for peace and quiet and the chance to heal from wounds no one would ever see.

When his next door neighbor comes into the practice with a cat that has been in a fight he hides in his office because this Ashby guy is all kinds of dangerous. Too hot, too rich, too titled, and way too sexy for his own good.

Can two men who refuse to believe in love ever learn that love is the easy part of the journey to forever?

***

Excerpt:


A few beers turned into more beers and a certain level of moroseness that Ash hadn’t indulged in for a very long time. Together with the rest of the party, he’d just waved Ben and Chloe off for their one night alone in a hotel in Aston-Under-Wold, and Stephanie had gone to stay with friends. He had no responsibilities left tonight except for himself. Even Landon and Rachel had disappeared and his mum and dad not long after. Darkness had fallen slowly on Upper Fordham, and here he was in the beer garden blocked from everyone else’s view by a well-placed hedge and comfortable on the garden chair he’d borrowed from the main area.

This place was different from the city, quiet, open, with stars dotted bright in the velvet-black sky. Ash was tired and stared up at the stars with thoughts on a loop in his head.

“…join you?”

Ash opened one eye and looked up, and up, into the expectant face of one Connor Lawson. He looked about as worse the wear for drink as Ash was.

“Why?” Ash had to ask.

“Think I owe you an apology or something.” He held up his left hand with two beers hooked between fingers. In his right hand was hooked a similar garden chair to the one Ash had stolen. The beers were bottled but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Ash closed his eye. “Help yourself,” he said. Apology was not what he wanted at the moment. He needed quiet so he could sort through the thoughts in his head in order to present them in some uniform way to his brothers when the time was right. But he couldn’t exactly say that to Connor, could he?

Connor settled himself next to Ash, and Ash felt a bottle being pressed to his arm. He took it with a soft thanks and took a sip from the already opened beer.

“So I talked to Landon. He explained a lot,” Connor began.

Ash sighed. Landon was effusive at the best of times but didn’t often stay on topic and Ash wondered what his brother had said.

“Like what?”

“That he needed help with Rachel, and that even though you are who you are, he asked you for that help.”

Even though you are who you are? Thanks, Landon. “Nice. Anything else?” Ash couldn’t help the hint of sarcasm in his tone.

“He’s clearly the sensible brother. Every family has a sensible one.”

“So what does that make me?”

“Well Ben seems like a nice guy, so that just leaves you as the odd one out. But I’m drunk,” Connor said. “So I’ve lost perspective.”

Ash actually opened his eyes at that. He could ignore the character assassination, he’d heard it all before, but this was new and Connor’s tone was soft. “Sorry?”

“Hey, at least you’re looking at me now.” Somehow Connor had moved closer and was far too near for comfort.

“Rachel is a friend,” Connor continued. Ash waited for the punchline, about how Connor had just been protecting this friend. But the intriguing blond said nothing. Instead he was staring right at Ash with a blank expression. Ash wished he could see Connor’s hazel eyes to see what the other man was thinking. Clearly this was not a social visit, but maybe Ash would get to the bottom of the other man’s animosity.

Ash finally snapped at the silence. “You clearly have something to say, so say it.”

“I’ll be watching Landon. I’ve seen what people like you do to people like Rachel.”

That had Ash’s full attention. He sat forward in his chair, the beer dangling from his hands. “Wait? People like me?”

Connor shrugged and swallowed some more beer. “Rich, entitled, taking what they want from people who can’t fight back.”

Ash’s beer buzz slipped away as he considered the words. “What the fuck?” Taking from people who couldn’t fight back? Ash wasn’t like that, neither of his brothers were like that. What the hell had happened to Connor to make his point the finger at the brothers?

Connor leaned forward in his chair so they were really close. Suddenly he wasn’t all cosy drunk, but deadly serious. In a low commanding tone, he said very firmly, “Your brother hurts Rachel, he needs to know she has me in her corner. She needs a lawyer and I’ll get one. I won’t let entitled shit happen to someone else.”

***

About RJ

RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.

As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.

With over seventy titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.

Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

rj@rjscott.co.uk
www.rjscott.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/Rjscott_author
www.facebook.com/author.rjscott
www.librarything.com/author/scottrj
www.tumblr.com/blog/rjscott  (some NSFW (not safe for work) photos)
www.pinterest.com/rjscottauthor/

***

Giveaway

Competition to win $15 Amazon/Are giftcard, closes 12th June at 00:01 GMT (London)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Stripped with the Vampire by Jax Garren


Stripped with the Vampire
Book 1 Austin Immortals
by Jax Garren
M/M Urban Fantasy/Vampires
Review copy from Netgalley
3 Stars

Blurb:

In a world of dark spells and blood ties where no one is safe, love is the most powerful magic of all.

Shy vampire Charlie never intended to see Vince again after the bad boy human broke his heart. But when Vince turns up beaten and marked for sacrifice to an Aztec God, Charlie will do anything keep him safe.

Vince has never forgiven himself for the lie that ended things with Charlie. The spark between them is as hot as ever, and Vince would risk body and soul to make it a fire again. But as they hide deeper in Austin’s supernatural society—a world of lies, dark magic, and warring immortals—he finds the path to reconciliation more twisted than he’s ever imagined.

Review:

I don't normally go for urban fantasy, but I saw this one as a read-now on Netgalley and decided to give it a go, get out of my comfort zone as it were.

I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't get into this book at all and I can't really put my finger on why.

The author can write, there's no doubt about that, but I was left feeling I was dropped into the middle of something and left to my own devices. It doesn't read like the first in a series, it reads like a contiuation of something else and I was lost from the start.

The romance scale is very low on this one and there is a lot of plot that is confusing. Too many other characters when I really wanted to read Vince and Charlie's story, not have history lessons on vampire politics etc. I could hardly keep track of who was who.

There were lots of hints of what Charlie and Vince had been to each other in the past, how Vince had to wear the vampire down, woo him in fact. That was the story I wanted to read, not this one.

Disappointing for me, but I think other vampire fans would enjoy it, as there is a lot of world-builidng and mythology etc. about the vampires. I'd say it was urban fantasy/paranormal with a bit of romance rather than an outright romance. Maybe my expectations were just too high.


Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Love Cubed by Eddy LeFey

Love Cubed Blog Tour






Title: Love Cubed
Author: Eddy LeFey
Length: novel
Genre: gay romance, contemporary, new adult, menage, MMM

Synopsis

Three very different young men meet at St-Frederick’s University.

Francis, haunted by his past and seeking a new life.

Andrew, the introverted football jock.

And Sebastian, the charismatic and confident hockey star.

LoveCubed

Francis, wary and troubled, didn’t count on meeting anyone he could care for.

Andrew, closeted and lonely, didn’t think anything would matter more than his football career.

And Sebastian, content to float from conquest to conquest, never believed he’d meet someone who could hold his interest.

An encounter with a journalist causes consequences for all three.

Will they be able to take what they need from one another in order to cope?

***

Excerpt:


Francis was feeling hungry after a full day of sports, but he was also anxious to see if he could spot the photographer, who he now remembered was some kind of journalist for the National Herald. However, he didn’t want to spoil the camaraderie that had developed between him and the others—Andrew and Sebastian especially—so he decided to leave the photographer thing alone for now. He was enjoying the praise Andrew and Sebastian were pouring onto him, and the closeness. It felt good. Suddenly, he heard a shout. Someone was shouting a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. He panicked. He got loose from Andrew and he ran. He wouldn’t stop until he was safe in his room. He knew now he should never have left it.

Sebastian and Andrew saw John and Heather talking to the photographer guy, and tried to distract Francis from noticing him. Andrew put his arm around Francis, guiding him away. They would have succeeded if it weren’t for Francis hearing someone shouting. It wasn’t even his name, but all of a sudden, Francis bolted. Andrew’s and Sebastian’s instincts were telling them to run after him. However, they both stopped abruptly and turned back to the photographer when they heard John yell, “Are you telling us our Francis is really Robert Katz? The Robert Katz?”

Everyone had heard of Robert Katz. It was a scandal involving a young high school student from a very prestigious private school who had broken a sexual abuse ring involving a teacher. The accused had committed suicide. This caused a backlash toward the accuser, Robert Katz, who had then been bullied and harassed, accused of making up the whole thing. It culminated in Robert being physically abused by fellow students who were trying to torture the truth out of him. Charges had been laid. People had been found guilty and sentenced. An inquiry was started. There was a publication ban throughout the trials and the inquiry. No one was to publish pictures of Robert, to ensure he could at least try to live a normal life.

Andrew stomped his way to the journalist, followed closely by Sebastian. “That was Francis Hollingsworth who just ran off. Are you saying that he is really Robert Katz? You have proof?”

Denis sighed. “I didn’t mean for this to get out just yet, not like this. I should not have shouted his name. I could be fired for this. I know what Robert Katz looks like because I saw him at the trials. His full name is Robert Francis Katz. His mother’s maiden name is Hollingsworth. It’s him. I need to talk to him.”

Heather was the one who put a hand out to stop him. “You aren’t going anywhere near him. He didn’t deserve to be outed like this.” Heather turned to Sebastian and Andrew. “You two need to go to Francis. He’s probably locked himself in his room. God knows what he’ll do. He needs to know that people care about him—that he’s loved—before he does something stupid to himself. You both need to go and tell him how you each feel about him. Be honest with him and with yourselves for once. Do it. Now!”

Stunned, bewildered, and spurred on by the urgency of the situation, Andrew and Sebastian ran in the dorm’s direction.


Book Trailer

https://youtu.be/7WiSesBOsBM

Buy Links

Love Cubed is 30% off on the WIP website till the end of May. Don’t miss the Mammoth May Sale!
WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/love-cubed-by-eddy-lefey/
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W814OUQ/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00W814OUQ/
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00W814OUQ/
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00W814OUQ/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lovecubed-1795917-340.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-cubed-eddy-lefey/1121763485?ean=9781925222401

Giveaway

Prizes: 1 x $20 WIP Gift Card and 1 x ebook copy of Love Cubed




About the Author:

Eddie LeFey started reading m/m romance fanfiction a few years ago. At one point, during a crucial point in the soap opera storyline of his favorite gay couple, the story went on hiatus. He needed a fix and decided to write his own version of what he wished would happen. Friends wanted to read it, so he plucked up his courage. Pressing the submission button was nerve-wracking, but he did it. People liked it. He wrote a few more.

Up until that point Eddy had tried his hand at writing many times. The delete button was his friend, as was starting over, and over, and over, but he could no longer do that if he wanted people to read his works.
A few of his writing friends decided to create original stories, and feeling brave, Eddy did the same. The stories were shared among a select few. They encouraged him to submit one of them. Low and behold, it is now being published.

Eddy lives in Canada with his husband Ken and his cat Oscar Wild. He is busy writing many more stories.

Email: authoreddylefey@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Author_E_LeFey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EddyLeFey


Book Review: Jack's Diary by Damian Jay Clay


Jack's Diary
by Damian Jay Clay
YA LGBT Fiction
Amazon UK
4 Stars

Blurb:

Jack's parents cleared out his room and boxed away his things. How had this happened?

Then they found the diary and in reading found out exactly what they had done to him.

Did Jack live or did Jack die? Only the reader can make the choice.

Jack's Diary is a LGBT themed novella which was written in real time while Damian Jay Clay was studying at Ruskin College, Oxford. Though primarily aimed at a Young Adult readership, this book is one that will stay with any reader for a long time to come.

Review:

Jack is a young gay teen with very religious parents, who believe that being gay is a sin. Despite all his prayers to make his gayness go away, Jack is still gay.

He's scared and ashamed with no one to confide in and so starts to write in a diary, as the only confidante he'll ever have. He thinks he's fat and ugly and that he deserves to be punished, so that he won't go to hell and he starts throwing up after meals and taking lots of laxatives. It's not really got anything to do with wanting to be thin, Jack is doing it to punish himself for his so-called sins.

Jack's diary is heart-breaking to read. Angst piled upon angst, I wasn't sure I could read on in some places, but I'm glad I persevered. Not only does Jack have an eating disorder, his parents abuse him both physically and mentally and one line really stood out, before his father beats him, he always makes Jack get naked, and Jack says in his diary "That too was all part of the ritual." As if this has happened quite frequently and he is used to it.

Jack is so lost and confused and even when people try to help, he doesn't believe that they can. He thinks if he tells social services what happens at home, that it will just make things worse. There were times I just wanted to reach into the book and give him a hug and tell him everything was going to be all right. But I'm not sure Jack would have believed me.

He falls in love with another boy, which seemed to happen fairly fast, but I suppose at that age, things did happen fast and everything was just more frantic. The author has really got into the head of a teenager for this book. It reads as a very real story. It's very emotional

There is a prologue and author's note towards the end of the book, read beyond the note to get the happy ending. Jack deserves it after all he's been through.

Book Spotlight: Heart Knot Mine by Lily Velden

Heart Knot Mine by Lily Velden Blog Tour
Title: Heart Knot Mine
Author: Lily Velden
Genre: gay romance, contemporary
Length: novel
Publisher: DreamSpinner Press

Despite a successful college teaching career, Noah Daniels has become depressed. He feels he’s leading a monochromatic life: love has eluded him. When he’s offered a chance to teach in London as part of an exchange program, he accepts, hoping a change of scenery will do him good. But once he’s there, his outlook on love and sexuality changes in ways he never expected.

HeartKnotMineFS
Robert Callinan is Noah’s English counterpart in the program. The men exchange not only their jobs, but also their homes, and it is what Noah stumbles across while staying at Robert’s house that sends him on a journey of self-discovery — both mentally and physically. A journey that puts color back into his life… just not in the way he expected. When the exchange program ends, Noah has to go home, but he doesn’t know if he wants to return to the life he left behind.

***


EXCERPT: ONLY HERE FOR THE SPA AND SAUNA

MY STOMACH muscles clamped down as they fought against the nest of vipers writhing in my belly. I couldn’t decide if they were seeking their freedom via my belly button or my esophagus. All I knew was my body was too small and too rigid to contain them. I wanted them to leave my body. They made me feel ill.

My head was too full and overflowing, my limbs too heavy. I couldn’t hold onto a single thought. Hell, I couldn’t hold on to the smallest of breaths.

I was more nervous, strung tighter than I’d ever been for any exam I’d sat for or job interview I’d attended. What was I thinking? What on earth was I doing? Did I really want to open this can of worms?

While my mind tied me in knots, my legs hastily carried me of their own volition across the road with my head down and shoulders hunched.

While my inhibitions crippled me, my hand acted of its own accord and turned the doorknob that would take me into a foreign world… a gay world.

I hesitated with my hand still on the doorknob, unable to resist, quickly scanning up and down the street, needing to make sure no one I knew was around to witness what I was about to do. Seeing no one I recognized, I gave the door a small push.

After stepping inside the discreet entrance to the bathhouse, I paused and took a deep breath, scanning the room. The first thing that struck me was how quiet it was. Other than some softly playing generic background music, I couldn’t hear a thing. It was only as that information registered that I realized

I had anticipated hearing something.

The room appeared innocent enough, with a rather plain wooden reception desk immediately in front of me and some comfy-looking armchairs and coffee tables to my left. Glancing behind the reception desk, down a long corridor, I could see a sliver of what appeared to be a bar. To my right, beyond the L-shaped desk, was a closed door I assumed led to the rest of the complex—to the areas that made me in equal parts nervous and excited.

The guy at reception wasn’t what I expected, though what I’d expected was somewhat vague—I just knew a six-foot-four hulk of a guy with a shaved head and pierced ear through which he’d hooked a dangling, almost chandelierlike earring, wasn’t it. My gaze traveled down to his thickly muscled chest, covered by a tight white T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase “I’m only here for the spa and sauna.”

I smiled, the tension flowing out of my limbs. At least the management had a sense of humor.

Still feeling very unsure of myself, I slowly approached the guy, who watched me with an amused grin on his face. He was, it seemed, an expert at spotting newcomers.

“Let me guess,” he began with a big, rather toothy grin. “You’re only here for the spa and sauna.”

Buy Links:

Amazon US http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K2NT2MW
Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K2NT2MW
Amazon AU http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00K2NT2MW
Amazon DE http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00K2NT2MW
DSP https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4936
ARe https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-heartknotmine-1496007-149.html
B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-knot-mine-lily-velden/1119404587?ean=2940149377640

Giveaway

3x DSP Gift Vouchers for any Lily Velden Title – $6.99 each



About the author

Lily Velden avatarLily Velden lives on the east coast of Australia, her family having emigrated from Holland when she was a child.

She’s both a left and right brain person, holding qualifications in both Finance and Fine Arts. She tells her friends that her way with numbers will make her a profitable artist and writer… one day.

Lily has always had a love of language and a beautifully crafted sentence, and admits to having a fetish for collecting quotes, poems, and song lyrics. What she won’t admit to is how many notebooks she’s filled with those quotes… Her fascination carries on into her artworks where she often incorporates text. When a shoulder injury slowed down her art practice she decided to explore her love of the written word more fully and began writing. “I’ll paint my pictures with words.”

Not that she’s abandoned artmaking in its entirety—Lily collaborates on the designs for all her book covers.
There are many things Lily loves, here are just a few of the PG rated ones: a good laugh (all the better if caused by a naughty joke), the smell of freshly baked goods and mown grass, a smile from a stranger, rainbows after the rain, and witnessing a promise kept.

Lily Velden can be found at:
Website: http://lilyvelden.wordpress.com/
Email: lilyvelden@live.com.au
Twitter Name: @LilyVelden
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lily.velden
Tumblr: http://lilyvelden.tumblr.com/

Book Spotlight: Square Affair by Tomothy J. Holt


Square Affair
by Timothy J. Holt
Gay Fiction/Historical

In the small Midwestern town of Dewers, among the turmoil of the 1960s, the conversations of five men lead to sexual exploration, which takes them and the town on a journey through good and evil that will change the entire community and confirm the town¹s resolve to survive.          

Arrested on charges of public indecency for anonymous sex in the courthouse restroom, five men reveal complex, unknown, and differing motivations for their actions. As they face not only criminal prosecution, but also the tribunal of Dewers, two questions are on their minds: Who am I, and is anyone out there like me?          

Clara May and Frieda, guardians of Dewers gossip, narrate Square Affair, where the reader becomes a citizen of Dewers: walking through the square, drinking in a bar, trick-or-treating, buying a hat in the local store and gossiping in a car. This candid narrative will draw you in from the start as you step into the shoes of the Dewers townsfolk.

***

Excerpt:

Gary is the only one in the group of 5 men to admit that he is gay. He is from Chicago but now lives in Dewers where he owns an insurance agency. Gary and Bob were roommates in college. Gary and the other men, Bob, James, Thomas, and Danny are life long citizens of Dewers. The 5 men meet at Squeaky’s Bar on The Square every Wednesday night for drinks while their wives go to church meetings.

Gary narrates the piece

I barely had sex in Dewers until I observed unusual activity in the courthouse restrooms. I discovered anonymous sex there. Problem is, it’s become an addiction. It bothers me, the restroom sex, but I can’t stop. Even when I’m in Chicago, I seek out the restrooms when there’s no need. For Christ’s sake, I can take men home to my apartment.

****

When I moved to Dewers, Bob and I had a routine. We’d meet every Wednesday evening at Squeaky’s for drinks. Drinks led to weekends of fishing and sex at Lake Warren and eventually to the courthouse bathrooms for sex. He discovered them on his own and often went without me. The danger of being discovered aroused us, pulled us into its web, and onto the cold concrete floor. The longer you go without being caught, the more you want to go. This must be like cocaine or heroin. We had an occasional romp in my apartment, but we preferred the sleaziness of the restrooms.

*****
Weekend at Lake Warren

Morning brought a chill in the air and a change in us. Danny was the first to wake up, “God, it’s cold in here. Who let the fire go out? Move over guys. I’m coming in bed for some warmth.” Danny climbed into bed on my side and snuggled. His back was to my front. We were spooning each other. Bob woke up shivering and cuddled up to me on the other side. Suddenly I got an erection. Next Danny got an erection, and then Bob got an erection. Bob spoke first, “You know you’ve got your dick between my legs.”

Danny commented, “And you’ve got your dick between my legs.”

We lay still for a few minutes with no one’s erections showing any signs of going away. I was the first to stroke Danny. There was no mistaking the sound of Danny’s moaning so Bob reached and stroked my erection. We became entwined and then the inevitable ejaculations. It was Bob who first leaned over to kiss me. Then the three of us were hugging and kissing. We fell asleep again cuddling.

I woke first and ran into Thomas and James kissing in the kitchen. “Excuse me. Did you two have a good night?” As they turned around, I could see that if they didn’t have a good night, they were going to have a good morning. Both were erect and red faced.

Thomas spoke first. “We were just …”

Finishing the sentence, I said, “Just kissing, I think.”

Thomas tried to change the subject, “But we’re not …we didn’t.  And how did you sleep last night? We heard a lot of commotion in your room.”

There was no need to lie. “After we had sex this morning, we all slept very well.”

It was James’ turn to look surprised. “You, all three, sex?”

I responded, “Yes, James, don’t get bug eyed. Stop drooling. You knew it was going to happen, and you’ve done it before, both of you.”

I turned around and noticed that Danny and Bob had walked in. Danny spoke. “Well, well what have we here, a little hanky panky?”

I was in a mood to be smug and responded for them.

“There’s no need to deny it. I’ve seen both of you many times going into the courthouse restrooms, far too many times for just a pee. I see the coffee is done. Let’s all put on some pants and go on the porch for a cup. I still need my morning pick me up.”

It was so quiet on the porch. I think you could hear fish swimming. Everyone was staring into their coffee cups and no one was drinking, except me. “I don’t know about you guys, but I like my coffee hot. If you don’t want it cold, you better start drinking.”

Almost in unison they all raised cups to lips and drank. Danny put his cup on the porch floor then spoke. “Gary and I are single, and the rest of you are married. I had some idea

from the bar discussions that something might be going on. But you guys are married. Have we all been in the courthouse bathrooms?”

I said, “Yes, they have. I’ve seen you all coming and going and I’m no stranger to those concrete floors. Once I knew it was good for anonymous sex, I kept watch on it from my office and apartment. You were all good about your timing. Nobody went on Saturday when The Square was full, but all of you must have known Sunday late morning and afternoon was a good time because everyone’s in church or having Sunday dinner with family. Late morning, early afternoon is also a good time. Kids are still in school and there aren’t many people shopping. You’d park on the outside of The Square and pretend you were using the courthouse grounds as a shortcut to the other side.”

Bob was watching with an open mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew all of this? You knew I was having sex there and I knew you were, and occasionally we did together, but the others?”

I said, “I didn’t want to ruin a good thing. Obviously you all are into anonymous sex. I understand. We’re in a small town: small town attitude, small town gossip, small town life. You’ve urges you don’t understand, and one day, when you innocently go for a pee you find the source of those urges. I’ve known I liked men since high school, but no one told me either. Bob discovered he liked men while in college with me but fought it and got married anyway.”

The married men still weren’t willing to talk. I wondered if they just needed to have some time to come to grips with the fact that their secret life was not so secret anymore, at least among us.

***

Author Website:  http://www.timmholt.com

Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Square-Affair-Timmothy-J-Holt/dp/0692350640/

Release Day: Love Cubed by Eddy LeFey

LoveCubed_Banner_1

Synopsis

Three very different young men meet at St-Frederick’s University.
Francis, haunted by his past and seeking a new life.
Andrew, the introverted football jock.
And Sebastian, the charismatic and confident hockey star.
LoveCubed
Francis, wary and troubled, didn’t count on meeting anyone he could care for.
Andrew, closeted and lonely, didn’t think anything would matter more than his football career.
And Sebastian, content to float from conquest to conquest, never believed he’d meet someone who could hold his interest.

An encounter with a journalist causes consequences for all three.
Will they be able to take what they need from one another in order to cope?

Book Trailer


Buy Links

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W814OUQ/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00W814OUQ/
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00W814OUQ/
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00W814OUQ/
WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/love-cubed-by-eddy-lefey/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lovecubed-1795917-340.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-cubed-eddy-lefey/1121763485?ean=9781925222401

Excerpt

Suddenly, Francis felt someone sit down beside him. He heard a very sexy-husky voice state matter-of-factly, “So, dude, we’d all like to know what your story is, especially Heather over there. You might as well spill.”

Francis lifted his head to see two very athletic-looking blondes staring back at him. They both had annoyed looks on their faces. The young woman, whom Francis supposed was Heather, nodded and smiled at him. The extremely good-looking young man grinned and said, “Hey, kid, I’m Andrew. Your nosy neighbor is Sebastian. Don’t mind him. He’s just a busy-body.”

Francis frowned. Why did he always have to go through this? He made sure his speaking voice was in his lower register before replying, “I’m eighteen. I’m as much of a kid as you are—my name is Francis.”
He turned to Sebastian, was about to say something snarky, but was taken aback by how handsome Sebastian was. Then, Sebastian gave a cocky, self-absorbed smile and it changed everything. Francis knew that kind of smile—he knew the kind of personality that produced that kind of smile—and he was afraid of it.

LoveCubed_3DRender
Just before Francis could do anything that anyone could construe as being antisocial, the group was interrupted by rustling near the door. The floor’s leader, a fourth-year geology student named Harold, garnered people’s attention and started his welcoming speech, which consisted mostly of enumerating the house and floor rules—respect of property and respect of other floor-mates being chief among them. Oh, and cleaning up after oneself was rather enthusiastically emphasized.

The next announcement came as a surprise to everyone, especially to Francis. “Okay, now some of you have already come to me complaining about the fact a first-year on this floor was appointed to a single room. I am here to tell you that it’s true. The university has granted first-year Francis Hollingsworth the right to a single room because of special circumstances. Those special circumstances will not be discussed. I can say that it isn’t because of financial privilege. I am asking all of you to let Francis have his privacy. No one is to hound him for an answer, and yes, Sebastian, I mean you. Let the kid, I mean guy—let the guy be. If he wants to talk about it, he will let you know.”

Francis was mortified. No one had warned him, and he certainly didn’t expect to be singled out like that. He glanced at Heather and Andrew. They seemed intrigued but genuinely concerned and interested about him. Sebastian looked like a cat that had just found a mouse. Francis knew Sebastian was bound to be trouble for him in more ways than one. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. He hoped he wouldn’t have to endure him for too long. With his luck, Francis figured he and Sebastian would probably be teamed up in a get-to-know-you exercise; Francis shivered at the thought.

About the author

Eddie LeFey started reading m/m romance fanfiction a few years ago. At one point, during a crucial point in the soap opera storyline of his favorite gay couple, the story went on hiatus. He needed a fix and decided to write his own version of what he wished would happen. Friends wanted to read it, so he plucked up his courage. Pressing the submission button was nerve-wracking, but he did it. People liked it. He wrote a few more.

Up until that point Eddy had tried his hand at writing many times. The delete button was his friend, as was starting over, and over, and over, but he could no longer do that if he wanted people to read his works.
A few of his writing friends decided to create original stories, and feeling brave, Eddy did the same. The stories were shared among a select few. They encouraged him to submit one of them. Low and behold, it is now being published.

Eddy lives in Canada with his husband Ken and his cat Oscar Wild. He is busy writing many more stories.
Email: authoreddylefey@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Author_E_LeFey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EddyLeFey

Book Review: The Lion of Palmyra by Julia Von Rist


The Lion of Palmyra
by Julia Von Rist
M/M Historical/Yaoi
Novella Length
4 Stars

Blurb:

“It takes courage to surrender.”

His city under siege, his army decimated, Amir-el-Assad was bound by a promise to his dying father: surrender the city and wait for reinforcements to liberate Palmyra from its conquerors.

While Amir hides in the shadows and bides his time, William of Woodsworth fights a different kind of battle: he must choose between a forbidden love and his honour as a Crusader.

On the sidelines, two other men watch and wait: Geoffrey, the squire whose devotion to William is shattered by the arrival of the mysterious Zeena; and Manouh, the exotic bed slave whose hunger for pleasure hides a broken heart.

The war has ended, but the battle has just begun. The fate of the city will not be decided in the battlefield...but in the bedroom

Review:

Sir William of Woodsworth's squire Geoffrey is his cousin and also his lover, much to William's father's disgust. He takes his anger out on Geoffrey from morning to night, whipping and beating the young man bloody, all the while hoping his son will somehow grow out of this unnaturalness and discard Geoffrey.

When the city of Palmyra surrenders after the siege, the concubines and pleasure slaves of the palace are given to the Crusader knights. William has been given one of the most beautiful and skilled concubines, Lady Zeena, but he has no interest in bedding her. When his father comes to his rooms the next morning, the concubine suddenly announces that William had bedded her six times in the night and once in the morning.

William's father is pleased, his son is finally acting like a man at last, but not so Geoffrey who has overheard and seeks his own solace in the arms of one of the male pleasure slaves, Manouh.

This novella has more of a love quadrangle than triangle. Manouh is in love with Amir, Geoffrey is in love with William, William is in love with Geoffrey but accedes to the advances of Amir. Amir is an equal oppotunities lover, he likes men, women, but isn't sure he is in love with any of them.

The love scenes are sensual and lushly evocative, but there was just one problem with most of them: no preparation or lubrication. It was mostly a case of something like "he entered him in one swift thrust." Ouch!

There is a bit of emotional angst between the characters and all are very well-drawn and developed. Manouh was one of my favourites - although a slave, you could tell he was really in love with Prince Amir.

Although a short novella, there is a complete story here. The book has a bit of everything: angst, romance, emotional turmoil and adventure.

It's heavily yaoi-inspired, so if you like yaoi manga or light novels, I think you'd enjoy this


 
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