Review: Sightings by Kari Gregg

Love longer than forever.

Quinn Laramie moved to Mill Valley to care for his sick Aunt Betsy. After her recovery, he invested hours once spent in hospitals hiking and exploring the surrounding hills rather than returning to an empty apartment in the city.

Patrick, a photographer and self-proclaimed paranormal expert, saved Quinn from tumbling into a flooded creek where a bridge had washed away years ago, taking a pair of doomed lovers with it. Quinn and Patrick meet for other creepy jaunts thereafter: a derelict one-room schoolhouse, an abandoned cemetery, the burned-out shell of a home… Quinn hasn’t seen any ghosts yet, but Patrick’s shy kisses haunt him after each paranormal adventure ends.

Quinn wants more, and with their next spooky tour set to begin, Patrick is finally ready to give in. But what surprises wait them in the eerie manse atop Warner Hill?


Happy Howl-loween!!!

Ghosts.

I'm like Scooby Doo at their very mention. Not interested to watch them in movies or read about them, most definitely my least fave paranormal being. I try to avoid most ghost romances

But this is The Gregg.

For her, I'll break my "no ghosts" rule.

And I enjoyed her spooky, sexy, sweet novelette.

Quinn, a medical transcriptionist who remains in a small Pennsylvania town, searching for possible haunted places with a possible new love, Patrick. The story starts in typical Gregg fashion. The reader is thrust into the thick of things while she slowly doles out the twists and turns. And for 11K, there are twists!



It's not as graphic as I've read from the author in the past. And I've read Gregg..."sweet" before, this is leaning to the romantic side. It's not sugary and the lone fuck scene proves that she most certainly can write a hot scene with filthy words (it's not in my Gregg top 5 though). Though fans of big guy bottoming and butt virgins might delight and coo from it. I did.

On one hand, I wished I got a chance to read and experience that month of Patrick & Quinn's dating. I think maybe getting a chance to watch them fall in love, instead of being thrown into the romantic declarations (amidst the twists). It read insta-love. And though when I read paranormal, insta-love can vary, I wish the time was given because it would have made the declarations...sweeter? More believable? I dunno, it was so fast.

And then on the other hand, it didn't pussyfoot around. Gregg is known for introducing her characters, giving just enough to tell their tale and that's it. "Sightings" does exactly that. I get what happened, why it happened and that twist actually surprised me. I liked it. I can't say this was dragged out. The mystery part helped for me. I do question how quickly everything is accepted but overall, I enjoyed.

I enjoyed a ghost romance. LOL What's the world coming to?

Recommended for non-ghost romance lovers (it's not too heavy). It's Gregg-lite.

P.S. The lube bit was worth the laugh.

For more information on Goodreads or Booklikes!

Review: The Accidental Purchase of Love by Amelia Thorpe





Convinced he will never love again, successful businessman Tom Fletcher has given up any hope of a relationship and, instead, pays for his weekend company. Despite his expectations, he finds himself falling for a particular man and spending more and more time with him. Already struggling to control his emotions, Tom is put forward for a promotion that causes a rival to start digging into his personal life, sending all sense of security he once had spiralling out of control. 




I really hate to lambaste a first time author but there is so much wrong with this book I fear it's unavoidable at this point. I will be using a lot of quotes, probably a gif or 8 and even a little anecdote. Spoiling is likely.

In case you're not interested in reading all the words, the long and the short of it is, I haven't hate a book this much since The Wrong Side of Right. And that's saying a lot.

Long ago I worked closely with a bunch of judges. I was just starting to get into pleasure reading and we were talking about Tom Wolfe. I was reading something or other by him and one of the judges piped up and referred to him as "an equal opportunity bigot". That pithy little remark has stuck with me and kept popping up in my head while reading this book. I'm not sure if this author took a page out of the Wolfe school of thought, but I can tell you that say what you will about Mr. Wolfe, his writing is rock solid. His characterizations are layered and unique even if they are bigots and his stories are engaging. I assure you that is not the case here. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. 

If you're going to have your characters be bigoted and generally distasteful then at least make them interesting or colorful; give them some depth. Both these characters are so shallow that combined they couldn't fill a Dixie cup. The story itself is boorish and overflowing with dull and repetitive dialogue and the entire book is heinously edited. What started off as a run of the mill tale of rent boy/client instalove quickly devolved into over the top soap opera worthy dramatics that served to remove me further and further from identifying with either of these characters. The fact that a story with a rent boy as a main character managed to contain nothing but boring sex is actually the least of my grievances. Shockingly enough.




Since I'm a character person let's start there.


He knows he's smarter than all these people, but it doesn't hurt to listen.

Tom, our lonely Prince Charming, who has at the age of 27 sworn off ever loving again after he lost his boyfriend 9 yrs ago. Tom works for a consulting firm where he's on tap to take over. He despises his job and most of his co-workers but he loves the paycheck. His peer, Samantha, is also in the running to take over and, as you can imagine, he hates her too. In short, Tom is an asshat of the highest caliber. Along with being shallow he's a snob who is condescending, catty and a narcissist. I should have known I wasn't going to like this joker when he said he didn't like champagne. Who hates champagne anyway? And p.s. I'm fully capable of remembering that he hates it. There's no need to tell me again and again and again. 

I have to say I did get the biggest chuckle out of this particular editing gaffe because... Freudian slip anyone?


"I told her that was bollocks cos you asked me to marry me."

He really should just marry himself and save everyone else the trouble of never living up to his lofty expectations or his superior rank.

Tom has been frequenting brothels since his first and only boyfriend died in a freak accident which sounds really sad, but the whole information dump of his storied history with Ryan read like something ripped off the front page of the Enquirer. If you're aiming to gut punch a reader with a tragic past then it's best to inject that past with a modicum of relatability or, at minimum, believability




There's is a classic tale wrong side of the tracks teen love. Ryan, the bad boy who terrorized many with his gang of hoodlums, smoking, drugging and rarely going to class and Tom the straight A nerd who also just happens to be beautiful. One day Tom is chin jerked to meet on the other side of the fence where Ryan promptly takes him home so they can both lose their virginity. No angst. No sweaty palms. No butterflies. No second thoughts. So I really shouldn't have been surprised when Tom in a fit of anxiety(?) word vomits his deflowering to his mother and she takes it in stride. 




*what what*

I don't know about you but my mother would've had a litter of kittens and there likely would've been some sort of intervention wherein I would've been bombarded by how disappointed she (AND THE WHOLE WORLD!) was. The events that followed in Tom and Ryan's relationship became increasingly ridiculous with the end result of Tom swearing off love FOREVER N EVER! Until he meets downtrodden Jaime.

Naturally, Jaime is the spitting image of Ryan and this is used as a flimsy platform for their instalove. Why Jaime falls into the instalove vortex can be solely attributed to the almighty dollar, I mean pound. 




Jaime's character is so utterly confounding that I deemed it the kitchen sink of characterizations. One minute he's saying he's not comfortable with talking to other people? The next he's being clever and charming with Tom's peers and family. One minute he's confident and suave and the next he's insecure and awkward? He says he doesn't know what to do when people are nice to him? I understand the end goal of making a character complex, but that complexity has to make sense and be continuous. 


I was just baffled.

I don't claim to be an expert on sex workers but I do have a healthy interest in some porn stars and I can attest that they may be reserved but they are not shy. They know how to carry on a conversation and they have at least an inkling of charisma. BECAUSE THEY ARE SEX WORKERS!!!!!!! Also, since when do sex workers get to choose whether or not they top or bottom? If you're going to have a sex worker as an MC then it might be prudent to have some knowledge of them. Just a thought. I'm still confounded as to how or why he doesn't consider anything about what he does to be professional. He gets paid a mint by Tom alone; that to me connotes professionalism. I will grant you that he is complete shite at managing said mint, but that's neither here nor there.


"Do you live in a mansion?" Jaime asks.  
"No," Tom laughs, "I live in a flat." 
"Oh," Jamie tries to hide his disappointment. "Is it a nice flat?"

Jaime's backstory, also told in another information dump, is even less credible than Tom's. He left home after his mother turned to the bottle subsequent to her husband's untimely death. He bounced around for some time then stumbled into a crack addict who took him back to a crack den, introduced him to the others who said they would "look out for" him. He considered these people "family". Shortly thereafter they began whoring him out. 




I cannot even articulate how disgusted this whole scenario made me. To blithely gloss over childhood abuse or abuse of any kind in such a dismissive way I found to be insulting and disrespectful. I can assure you there is zero chance of someone surviving this sort of childhood unscathed. Not only is Jaime's history treated in a flip and cavalier manner with him dismissing everything he was subjected to as no big deal, but on top of that it doesn't make any sense! I'm not sure if British crack addicts are different than American crack addicts but generally speaking they whore themselves out FOR MORE CRACK! I have a hard time believing crack addicts are organized enough to launch a child prostitution ring. And what exactly is the point of whoring out underage boys in a crack den other than blatant shock value that packs no punch because he waves it all off as inconsequential?




How someone could justify making such a history of no consequence to their character is a gross misrepresentation of child abuse and its aftereffects not to mention pointless when you divorce it from any real emotion. And if you're going to have a character come out of this sort of background of having not finished school, living on the streets, being subjected to atrocities, etc. then you need to have his speech and thought processes be reflective of that history as well. It's called credence. 

I'm not sure which I was more offended by that Jaime's characterization was completely devoid of anything substantive when there was so much potential or Tom's belittling of... everyone. To add insult to injury, Jaime's made out to be simplistic and Tom being Tom he never fails to remind him of his place. 


"We could have met in a library, reaching for the same book..." 
Tom gives him a very sarcastic look. "No. You're a friend of my sister's."


...he thought that he'd just tell Jamie to stand there and look pretty and not say anything, but really that wasn't an option. 


They won't judge Tom on his boyfriend anyway; as long as Jamie stays quiet and doesn't do anything amazingly stupid, it would probably be okay. Maybe if Jamie is there, he would make it more bearable too, and he would look very gorgeous on Tom's arm, after all.


In their fictionalized and white washed for the parents/peers relationship Jaime is a writer who's independently wealthy and all of the "relationship" building, if you can call it that, is cockamamie. They keeping seeing each other on a professional basis despite saying "I love you" every chance they get, declaring they're in a relationship, having Jaime's financial accounts forwarded to Tom's address and getting him a new passport(?) [why the hell he needed a passport to begin with if he's only ever been whored out by crack addicts or worked in skeevy brothels is beyond me. I seriously doubt they're sending him to Zurich for weekend trysts.] all in an effort to get him "ready" for a work holiday party. I found it all to be a feeble attempt at a Cinderfella tale. Why keep paying? Why keep charging him? Jaime only sees him and they spend most of their time together.


No one spends every waking moment with their partners.

...not when they're paying them they don't.

This Cinderfella story comes with an abusive Prince Charming and is not engaging; it's trite and derogatory. Both characters are loathsome, manipulative, shallow and spiteful bigots.

She isn't that pretty; he thinks her small features make her appear rodent-like, and the hair and the eyelashes-she has kids for God's sake-didn't it all reek of trying far too hard? She's going for head of the company, not Britain's Next sodding Top Model.




Every time there was an opportunity for depth or to engage the reader it was brushed aside in favor of superficiality. 


He knows he's picked the most expensive one, but really Jamie deserves nothing less than the best. And nothing says security better than a platinum band with six diamonds in it.

And the editing was non-existent. 

This relationship should be kaput inside 6 mos and Jaime will have half of Tom's assets to blow through inside a year but at least he'll have some bling to look at and maybe, just maybe his next sugar daddy will be slightly less conceited and far less abusive. Tom will probably develop a drinking problem. Not on champagne, of course, and inform all far and wide they he will never love again. For a couple years. Then fall in love with someone in rehab who he can continually remind how he pulled him from the gutter and how grateful he should be for it. Best of luck to the both of them.

I'm certain someone will love this book maybe even because of all the reasons I've listed, but there's nothing I can think of to recommend it. I wish the author good luck in her future endeavors. 





A review copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Review: In Your Eyes (Mates #3) by Cardeno C.

Raised to become Alpha of the Yafenack pack, Samuel Goodwin dedicates his life to studying shifter laws, strengthening his body, and learning from his father. But despite his best efforts, Samuel can’t relate to people, including those he's supposed to lead.

When Samuel meets Korban Keller, the son of a neighboring pack's Alpha, he reacts with emotion instead of intellect for the first time in his life. Resenting the other shifter for throwing him off-balance, Samuel first tries to intimidate Korban and then desperately avoids him. What he can't do is forget Korban's warm eyes, easy smile, and happy personality.

When a battle between their fathers ends tragically, Samuel struggles to lead his pack while Korban works to break through Samuel’s emotional barriers. Two very different men with a tumultuous history must overcome challenges from all sides and see past their society’s rules to realize they are destined for one another.




Stoic, socially awkward Samuel & sweet, understanding Korban? PERFECTION.

Samuel and Korban meet at a young age. They're from neighboring packs and are both the son of their pack alpha. Because of pack business and meetings and such, they occasionally saw each other throughout their childhood.

Samuel was instantly annoyed with Korban. Who is honestly that happy, all the time? Really. Samuel couldn't wrap his mind around Korban's genuine, good-naturedness. So, he was generally rude to Korban and avoided him as much as possible. Because as much as Korban annoyed him, he got under Samual's skin and Samuel had no idea why.

This is where I instantly fell in love with Korban. He was so understanding and sweet with Samuel. Gah. I adored the guy. He was patient and kind, all the time. No matter how standoffish Samuel insisted on being. Korban just waited. And waited. 

...and waited. 

Because Samuel wouldn't notice a thing until it smacked him right in the face. Seriously, some pretty serious happenings had to be going on for him to finally wake up and realize that Korban was more than just a wolf who bothered him. But... Samuel's naivety was pretty darn endearing. He was very wrapped up in his book knowledge about shifters and the lore surrounding them, that it was hard for him to see any other possibilities, besides what he's read in the pack archives. But when he finally did figure everything out? Yeah. Made me grin like an idiot.

Samuel's family was great. Their support was heartwarming, which was nice since I wanted to kick Korban's family in the face. And since we're back to Korban... again, he was amazing. He sacrificed so much for Samuel, of course Korban didn't see it as a sacrifice because it was all for his mate. He was 100% dedicated to his mate, in every way. Awwwwwwwwww! *squishes* Don't get me wrong, Samuel was a great guy too, but Korban just... stole my heart.

I'm definitely sad to see the end of this sweet and sexy series. I really enjoyed all three books. 


A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Excerpt & Giveaway: In Your Eyes (Mates #3) by Cardeno C.


Once again, the oh-so-generous Cardeno C is here with another giveaway! To celebrate the rerelease of her super sexy shifter series, Mates, we have an excerpt and an ebook copy of In Your Eyes for one lucky winner!

Raised to become Alpha of the Yafenack pack, Samuel Goodwin dedicates his life to studying shifter laws, strengthening his body, and learning from his father. But despite his best efforts, Samuel can’t relate to people, including those he's supposed to lead.

When Samuel meets Korban Keller, the son of a neighboring pack's Alpha, he reacts with emotion instead of intellect for the first time in his life. Resenting the other shifter for throwing him off-balance, Samuel first tries to intimidate Korban and then desperately avoids him. What he can't do is forget Korban's warm eyes, easy smile, and happy personality.

When a battle between their fathers ends tragically, Samuel struggles to lead his pack while Korban works to break through Samuel’s emotional barriers. Two very different men with a tumultuous history must overcome challenges from all sides and see past their society’s rules to realize they are destined for one another.


Excerpt: 

“You look like you’re about to fall over,” he said. He sounded concerned, not like he was mocking or judging me, so I didn’t argue. “You haven’t slept in days, have you?”

I shook my head and focused on keeping myself upright.

“Well, that explains why all that tightly held control finally snapped.”

Wincing at the reminder of what I’d done to him when I lost my control, I lowered my gaze and started stepping away so I wouldn’t crowd him.

“No.” He grasped my shoulder and then eased his hand onto my back. “That wasn’t a complaint.” He sighed. “We need to talk, but first we need to get you operating on all cylinders, which means sleep. Where’s your room?”

Pride should have kept me from letting him decide what I needed and when. Instinct should have prevented me from leading him to the place where I slept and was most vulnerable. Self-respect should have stopped me from giving in to my exhaustion by slumping my shoulders and shuffling my feet as I neared the bedroom. And yet I did all of those things without a second thought or a hint of hesitation.

When we got to the bed, he dropped his hand from my back and waited for me to get in. I shivered, suddenly cold in my core. I looked at him, not sure what I wanted, but certain he could provide it.

“I’m filthy,” he said, gesturing to his blood- and dirt-covered body. “You lie down and I’ll go wash up.”

He was right. I could only imagine how he felt, coated in filth and grime. “I’m sorry. I should have thought to… I shouldn’t have put you… I—”

“Shhh.” He cupped the back of my head and massaged my scalp. “You need sleep. You can’t complete a thought or think straight.” He tilted his chin toward the door at the end of my room. “That’s the bathroom, right?”

I nodded.

“Take your clothes off and get in bed. I’ll be right back.”

It wasn’t until my shoes and pants were pooled around my ankles and I was stripping my shirt off that I realized what I was doing. Why on earth was I listening to what he said? Why was I putting myself in an exposed and vulnerable position? Why was I letting him bathe in my shower when I normally couldn’t stand anyone in my personal space?

“You know why, Samuel.”

I darted my gaze up and saw Korban standing in the bathroom doorway, looking at me.

“Did I say that out loud?” I asked. “No.” He shook his head.
“Then how did you—”

He smiled at me, his expression soft. “Sleep, Samuel. You know all of this in here.” He tapped his hand against his chest. “You just need to let go of the things you’ve learned in here”—he tapped the side of his head—“to realize it.”

Whether I would have argued or demanded more answers, I’d never know because Korban walked into the bathroom and I heard the shower turn on. It would have been mean to prevent him from washing, so instead of pushing him for an explanation, I padded into the bathroom, retrieved a toothbrush from the drawer where I kept extra toiletries, and set it on the counter.

“There’s a toothbrush next to the sink,” I said, trying not to look at his form behind the steamy glass enclosure. “Everything else you need should be in the shower.”

“Thanks, Samuel.” When I didn’t move, he chuckled and spoke again. “I promise I won’t be long. Go to bed before you fall over where you’re standing.”

I was tired beyond belief, but I doubted I’d be able to sleep with everything going on. I was far too anxious. Still, I did what Korban asked and slid between the sheets.

Though I remained awake, the sounds of him in the adjoining room lulled me into a relaxed state instead of making me tense. Even the water turning off, his bare feet slapping on the tile floor, and him brushing his teeth melted tension from me. By the time Korban walked into the bedroom, I was breathing easier and no longer felt ice-cold inside.

“You look better,” he said quietly, pressing his palm to my forehead and then brushing my hair back. “Still tired, but better.”

I blinked my eyes open and watched him, trying to figure out what he was doing. He was being nice, tender. It didn’t make sense. And I liked it, which also didn’t make sense.

“A good night’s sleep and you’ll be back to yourself.”

“Why are you doing this?” I said quietly. “I hurt you and you’re taking care of me. Why?”

“For the same reason I’m going to get in bed with you and you’re going to let me.”

“There are lots of other bedrooms in this house,” I said. “The beds are just as comfortable. The doors have locks.”

Not that I couldn’t break through a locked door, but at least it would be some barrier to keep him safe from me.

“I know.” He picked up the blanket and sat down. The man had no self-preservation instinct.

I looked at him for a second and then slid over, making room for him to lie next to me.

Immediately, he reached over, wrapped his arms around me, and tugged me close until we were pressed together. It was then I remembered he was nude. It made sense because he hadn’t been wearing clothes before the shower and he didn’t have any at my house. But still, he was nude. In my bed.

“What?” he asked.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Your entire body tensed and you’re barely breathing.” He smiled and combed his fingers through my hair. I had never let anyone touch me that way, not even my parents. But I let him. I liked it. “That’s saying something with your body. What freaked you out?”

“You’re not wearing any clothes.”

“I know.”

“Oh.” I swallowed hard, thinking about his nonresponse. “Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

“For the same reason you’re glad I’m not wearing any clothes.”



Eeee! I loved that scene, BTW. Wanna win a copy? Duh, right?! Simply comment below with your name and a way of contacting you (email, twitter, goodreads, etc) to enter to win. The giveaway will be open until Thursday, November 5th at 9PM PST, when a winner will be randomly drawn.

Review: Gatekeepers and Dreamweavers by Helena Maeve

Condemned for witchcraft and about to swing for the abduction of half a dozen children, Irene is bewildered when her noose breaks. Her only hope lies in the forests that have protected the women of her family for generations. But when a young man fleeing abuse ventures into her safe haven, Irene's plans are suddenly thrown into disarray.

Too pretty for his own good, Simon Bonnay has been on the receiving end of unwanted attention for years. And though she may be a witch, Simon would sooner earn his keep with Irene than any of the men in town.

As a night of passion gives way to brutal morning, leaving a man dead and a witch hunter wounded on their doorstep, Irene’s secluded home soon becomes a pressure cooker of volatile emotions and sweltering passion. Old enemies may have no choice but to work together to prevent a greater evil – or die trying.





Not what I was expecting.

I like this author and I love m/m/f so I figured this would be a slam dunk. I'd say this barely qualifies as even a menage story and if it does it's m/f/m. Also, I think I read more into the blurb than was actually there. This is far more fantasy thriller than romance. The fantasy elements are good with decent world building, but I requested it thinking it was a romance in a fantasy setting. 

Irene is a witch who's been tried and convicted to hang based on flimsy and circumstantial evidence coupled with a coerced confession. She escapes the noose in a flukey way then makes her way back to her secluded cottage in the woods. Simon is a bar hand who's being whored out by his own brother. Why exactly is unknown, but it does serve to send him into the clutches of the evil witch in the woods, who's actually not evil, when he decides he's had enough. 

I never connected with either one of these characters nor did I feel any chemistry between them. The majority of the novella is spent between them rather than as a triad. When the Vatican sent witch hunter, Lucas, arrives in an attempt to recapture her it's clear it's a half-hearted attempt which, I believe, is intentional since he's to complete the triad. Still I felt no connection between any of them. I don't know what they see in each other besides convenience and generally being outcasts.

The story revolves around the disappearance of children and the culprit was very obvious to me early on, so the tension/suspense never materialized. A lackluster suspense coupled with bland characters left me feeling unfulfilled and mostly bored.

The language is still swoon worthy which is precisely what drew me to this author again. She has an eloquence and a gift for imagery, but overall I didn't enjoy this story as much as I wanted to.







An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads.

Blog Tour: The Heartsville Series - Interview & Giveaway with J.H. Knight!!!




The Heartsville series comes out this week. Yay!! Learn a little bit about this new series, catch up with J.H. Knight (author of Another Shot, released today), and enter the giveaway!


The town of Heartsville means something different to everyone who lives there. For Aaron Forester, it’s a gay-friendly buffer between himself and the rest of the world. After being outed in high school and bullied to the point of violence, his family uprooted their lives and relocated to the small hamlet. He’s moved on from all that and now owns a popular café in the bustling shopping district. But after twenty years of happy living, Aaron’s past creeps up on him in the most unexpected way.
Brad Collins only has one regret and he’s carried it with him since he was a teenager. When he moves to Heartsville and gets set up on a blind date with the most adorable, engaging man he’s met in a long time, he couldn’t be happier. But Brad didn’t expect the guy to be the person he outed in high school—who he’s now falling in love with.
Aaron and Brad hit it off instantly—in and out of the bedroom. But after a long overdue apology and a small serving of resentment, is their fledgling relationship worth another shot? 





***BMBR Interviews J.H. Knight***

What are your favorite M/M themes?
Ohhhhh boy. There are so many. Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, gay-for-you, broken heroes, lost faith, bad boys. Pretty much anything with cops/mystery/suspense. I know that’s not really a M/M-specific theme, but, seriously. I’d say roughly 85% of my library is some kind of mystery.

 What books do you consider Desert Island Keepers?
I started listing them and… the list got crazy long. If I limited myself to three, they would be the Deadly series by Victor J. Banis, the Psycop series by Jordan Castillo Price, and the Bodyguard series by R.J. Scott. I would’ve gone with standalone titles, but I’m a cheater.

What's your go-to tasty beverage?
Ice water! I drink water constantly. But when I want something really yummy, it’s usually a peppermint white mocha. I call it liquid candy.

 Do you have any secret talents? Inquiring minds want to know.
God, no. Can’t draw, can’t dance. I make cards and scrapbook sometimes, but honestly, the average fifth-grader can do just as well. I only sing to my children. The poor darlings.

If you had to choose to be one magical beast, what would it be and why? (you don't have to say unicorn...but we won't say neigh either)
Ahaha! I was going to say dragon (Because, hey, flying! Breathing fire!) but now I wanna be a unicorn. >_>
  
Who's your favorite porn star?
…I feel really lame for not knowing the name! But there’s a redheaded guy who blows me away. I’d eat my breakfast off his ass. (I probably shouldn’t say things like that in public, but, dude.)

Do you have author envy? Whose words do you read and think, "GAH, I wish I wrote that!"?
Lol, um, everyone. Harper Fox and Voinov spring to mind right out of the gate. Honestly, the entire Heartsville crew—doing beta for them on the series was torture because I felt like I was way out of my league. Also Lanyon and Amy Lane. Mary Calmes…. I could do this all day.

What makes the Heartsville series special?
For readers, I hope it’s the characters! And the town itself. I think we really created the kind of place that people would just like to hang out. I know I would. I’d love to stroll down Market Street, check out all the quaint and quirky shops, and see all the friendly faces. It’s a feel-good place, with feel-good stories hidden around every corner.
On a personal level, Heartsville is so special to me because of the amazing writers I got to work with. They’ve truly become part of my family, so deep in my heart. I’d do anything for those girls.

Any new projects you're currently working on?
That’s another long list. The ones I hope to accomplish by the end of 2016 are Ben and Gavin’s (untitled) story, Monty’s story—Old Dogs and New Tricks, and (I hope I’m not spoiling anything here!) two more installments of the Heartsville series. I’ve also started working on a follow up to The Last Thing He Needs, but, uh, that will probably take me a decade. Tommy really won’t leave me alone, though, so it’ll happen eventually.

We're so excited to hear about what J.H. is up to! Be sure to check out Another Shot and also take a look at the other stories in the Heartsville series. They're all available for the sale price of 99 cents! 




Welcome to the gayborhood! In the cozy town of Heartsville, the streets are lined with trees, the shops are full of friendly faces, and happily ever after is just around the corner. Come get to know the boys next door—naughty, nice, and everything in between.

Note: These books can be read out of order, and each book can be read as a standalone. However, note that more enjoyment may come from reading them together because of cameo appearances and shared locations. J
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: Novella. Approximately 20,000 words each.
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
The Heartsville Series also includes...
Bookmarked by Piper Vaughn (Oct. 26th)
To save his bookstore from closing, Mark Werner realizes it’s going to take a miracle—like getting reclusive, best-selling author Shepherd Knight to agree to appear for a signing.
After their disastrous last encounter, Mark doesn’t hold up much hope Shepherd will agree. Shepherd’s never made a single public appearance. In fact, Mark wouldn’t even know what he looks like had he not accidentally discovered the sexy stranger he’d been flirting with for months, aka “Tall-Dark-and-Grumpy,” was also his fanboy obsession.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. If Mark can convince Shepherd, it’ll be a major coup in the book world and might just save Bookmarked from sinking. Too bad Shepherd won’t reply to his e-mails. Yet Mark didn’t earn the reputation of having a “sunshine-and-rainbow-fart” personality for nothing. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his man… and hopefully not make a fool of himself in the process. 
Unscripted by Nico Jaye (Oct. 27th)
Theater manager Teddy Carbone’s life has gone pretty much according to script... until now.
To his surprise, Teddy finds himself co-owner of the Oasis Theater with Carter Monroe, a corporate shark who’s looking at him like he’s chum in the water. Being in charge of the theater is one thing, but having to deal with Carter and his demands is another. With Carter’s proposed plan to sell the Oasis looming, Teddy must convince Carter the theater is worth saving. When Teddy introduces the bright, bold world of the stage to Carter’s cold, all-business lifestyle, though, he soon comes to recognize that the Oasis might not be the only thing he has a chance to save.


Clique by Jayden Brooks (Oct. 29th)


Adam Locke’s youthful looks aren’t the blessing everyone seems to think. At twenty-eight, he’s a successful photographer with his own studio and respected by his peers—but that doesn’t seem to matter to the men who catch his eye. Instead, he’s brushed aside like an underage twink with a daddy fetish.
When a hot, bearded stranger stops him from accidentally walking into traffic, Adam looks up and finds the man of his dreams. Unfortunately, his first meeting with Brandon ends with him being dismissed as a kid. Again. Adam can’t help his annoyance. He also can’t help staring (and drooling) whenever he spots Brandon walking through the neighborhood with a different dog.
He watches from afar, wondering about Brandon’s story—until the day he’s dared to take another chance. It’s just the push Adam needs, and finally, he catches Brandon’s interest. Now if only he could figure out the key to getting taciturn Brandon to open up and let Adam in. But Adam knows sometimes all it takes is a little patience for the last piece to click into place.


Bloom Box by Cate Ashwood (Oct. 30th)
If there's one thing William Sullivan knows less about than how to run a business, it’s flowers. When Will is left carrying responsibility for the flower shop he’d leased for his cheating ex-boyfriend, he is sure it will lead him into financial ruin.
Just when he’s about to abandon all hope, in walks Milo Hart—young, overflowing with energy, and perhaps best of all, a genius when it comes to flowers. Will hires him on the spot and they begin a working partnership that might be Will’s only saving grace. The more time they spend together, the more Will’s feelings for Milo evolve and Will must choose between keeping things strictly business, or taking a chance to let love bloom.

There will be a Rafflecopter giveaway across blog visits. One winner will be chosen to receive five ebooks (one backlist title from each of Piper Vaughn, Nico Jaye, J.H. Knight, Jayden Brooks, and Cate Ashwood), plus a $25 gift certificate (Amazon, B&N, or All Romance eBooks—winner's choice). This giveaway is open worldwide where permitted by law.


The giveaway will run until November 4th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Enduring Night by John Wiltshire

The awesome John Wilshire is here and he's talking about a couple of our favorite guys, Ben & Nik!

Cover & Blurb:
You’d have thought that Ben and Nikolas would have learnt that their romantic holidays inevitably end up as disasters. A short break on the polar ice sees them trapped in a nightmare of murder and deceit. Neither of them, however, foresees the long-term impact that endless winter has on their relationship. They return with a metaphorical darkness that threatens everything they have created together. Desperate and fearing for Nikolas’s life, Ben makes a bargain with a surprising ally. For the first time, Nikolas meets an enemy more powerful than he is. But fortunately, not as sneaky…






Excerpt:
Prologue
The view from the window hadn’t changed since the last time Ben had studied it—one grey, depressing wing of the building, the car park below, and some scraggly trees, still bare in January. Farther away, he could see the roofs of some houses, and perhaps, if he let his imagination run away with it, the distant hills of Bodmin moor. He didn’t speculate in the realms of fiction much these days. He brought his gaze back to the utilitarian architecture.

The seagull was back, perched on the sill, as it had been day after day. Sometimes, it tapped the window with its beak. Ben was never sure if the gull wanted in, or for him to open the window and join it outside, flying or falling. Freedom either way.

Secretly, Ben thought the gull was an albatross. It was so vast, so impressive, that it seemed inconceivable that it could be an ordinary gull blown in from Plymouth Sound and sitting on the grimy ledge. The first albatross perhaps to make it to England, tossed on ocean currents all the way from the Chatham Islands, lost, alone. If it was, then it was in good company. Ben had never felt so lost or so alone, and he had spent a fair proportion of his life being buffeted by metaphorical winds far stronger than those that prowled the vast oceans of the world.


Author Interview:
Today I’m super lucky to be talking with John Wiltshire! Hi John, thanks for chatting with us. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

1) Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:

Enid Toogood is a real person. Her trees were real. They also got taken down for her, very suspiciously, by an ex-army person…He has not yet been caught.
Emilia is real. As she’s too young to read the books, she doesn’t know she’s in the series.
She’s scarier in real life than in fiction.

2) How did you come up with the title of your book or series?

The overall series title is actually explained by one of the characters in Book 6: pound for pound the human body gives out more heat than the sun. Ben and Nikolas burn for each other, so it’s very applicable for this whole series.
Book 1, Love is a Stranger is very much the theme of the book—Ben is in love, but he doesn’t actually know anything about the man he’s fallen for. He’s in for a bit of a shock.
Book 2, Conscious Decisions of the Heart speaks to making a leap of faith, one not entirely explicable by rational thought, and yet deliberate for all that.
Book 3, Bridge of Silver Wings is a quote from a poem by Aberjhani: a bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew. That is Nikolas’s situation in book 3 summed up.
Book 4, This Other Country is based around two ideas…one is the gay theme addressed for the first time, the idea of gay life being a separate nation, and secondly there’s an echo of “and there’s another country, I heard of long ago” which is a hymn to sacrifice, which is the theme of the book.
Book 5, The Bruise-Black Sky I just liked the sound of.
Book 6, Death’s Ink-Black Shadow again comes from a poem, this time from the Spartans: and learn to love death’s ink-black shadow as much as you love the light of dawn. It speaks to the very heart of the novel: embracing the darkness inside and using it to emerge triumphant.
Book 7, Enduring Night is based on the same clever grammatical play on words at work in ‘Enduring Love’, which is a great novel by Ian McEwan. Nikolas endures a very long night indeed in book 7.

3) Have you ever given one of your characters the personality of someone you know?
Very much so. They are all amalgamations of people I know. Some are pretty much spot on their real life counterparts, some are pix-and-mix. I don’t stray far from things I know for my main characters: ex-army.

4) What do you think makes a good story?
Basically, good writing. Good writing can make pretty much anything readable but bad writing ruins even the best plot. Having said that, to make a story fill an entire novel, the premise behind the story has to be good as well.

5) What does your family think of your writing?
Hah, I’ve never been asked that before. To be honest, very few of them have read any of it. My mother is my number one fan though. She’s 85. She’s had a lot to come to terms with about me as it is, so I think reading my books now is the least of her worries. She waits eagerly for each new one in the series to come out in paperback as she can’t use a Kindle. The rest of the family? Not so keen to know the details, I suspect. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

About John:
John is English, an ex-army officer, who emigrated to New Zealand and now spends his time surfing and procrastinating on YouTube.

Where to find the author:
Facebook
Blog
Twitter
Email
Goodreads Group
Goodreads


Enter to win an ebook copy of Enduring Night!

a Rafflecopter giveaway