Happy Book Birthday to Game On! I’m so happy to be part of Gay Book Promotions blog tour celebrating the release of this third book in the wonderful MM hockey romance series Vancouver Orcas by Amy Aislin! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win your own signed paperbook copy! Blurb When he broke off his engagement to his team captain’s brother the day before their wedding, Jamie Jamieson swore he’d never get involved with anyone associated with a teammate again. Getting traded to the Orcas is a chance at a fresh start, but one glance at his new housemate, and Jamie knows he’s in way over his head. Dorian is his new coach’s cousin. And his team’s social media coordinator. And his housemate. It’s the trifecta of bad ideas. Dorian Shore doesn’t do hockey. He's lived by that rule for years, ever since a season playing as a kid left him with emotional scars. But his new housemate—a big, buff, beautiful athlete who gets under his skin—makes him seriously consider doing a hockey player. It’s not a good idea. They live together. They work together. When the sparks between them ignite, will it be game on or game over? Excerpt It was Jamie’s own bad luck that Dorian looked like a walking, talking version of his every wet dream. He was tall—more or less Jamie’s own height of six two—and slender but toned, with a pointed chin and a small nose. His skin was winter pale, several shades lighter than Jamie’s more naturally tan tones, and it contrasted sharply with the two days’ worth of stubble on his jaw and upper lip and the rich brown hair that looked thick enough for Jamie to grab onto. Gulp. “Where’s the rest of your stuff?” Dorian peered around him. “Still in the car?” “Nah, this is it,” Jamie said, forcing his mind back on track. “I’ll head back to Charlotte at the end of the season for the rest of it and have it shipped to a storage unit so I don’t clutter up your home.” Assuming Jamie hadn’t found a place to live by then. “You don’t have to do that. I’ve got the space. We can store your stuff in the basement.” “I thought you were putting Jamieson in the basement,” Coach piped in, arms crossed over his chest. With his height, thick beard, and broad shoulders, it made him look imposing as fuck. “There’s no bed down there,” Dorian said. “You could’ve gotten one.” “Uh, I’d really rather have a bedroom than a basement,” Jamie interjected, picturing a lone bed among exposed pipes, insulation, and spiders. The stuff a kid’s nightmares were made of. “Oh, it’s finished,” Dorian said, waving a hand. “There are three bedrooms down there, as well as a full kitchen and a separate entrance.” Three bedrooms? In the basement? “Exactly,” Coach said. “Had you put a bed in one of the rooms, Jamieson would’ve had his own apartment.” Dorian crossed his arms over his chest, matching Coach’s posture, and glared, his eyes going all fiery. “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? You’re the one who said you didn’t want him in a sterile apartment. Trust me, my basement is very fucking sterile.” Jamie had just come from a team where he’d been treated like a pariah after his breakup with the team captain’s brother, and now he had two men arguing over what would make him most comfortable. He didn’t quite swallow a laugh. His aborted chuckle drew the gaze of both men. Rolling his eyes, Dorian huffed a breath. “You’re right. We’re being stupid.” Now Jamie laughed outright. “I didn’t say anything.” “Your face said it all.” Well. That was probably true. Just like the other books in the series, Game On was another cute and heart-warming MM romance with adorable characters that immediately stole my heart!
You can find my full reviews of all three books here: Vancouver Orcas series by Amy Aislin About the Author Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit. An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter. Connect with Amy Aislin Website • Facebook Group • Facebook Profile • Instagram • Newsletter sign-up Get your own copy of On Amazon • Apple • B&N • Kobo Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a signed paperback of Game On!
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Tody is my stop on Gay Book Promotions blog tour celebrating the release of the dystopian, Native American MM romance story Twisted Beauty by Maggie Blackbird! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $5.00 eXtasy Books gift certificate! His community or his enemy. He can’t have both. Blurb Deep in the badlands, long after the fall of modern civilization, Hunter patrols the area as the war chief for his Lakota community. His latest mission is to hunt down a marauder who robbed his neighbors of their precious goods. He’ll act as this man’s judge, jury, and executioner. Having lost everything at his former Ojibway encampment, Chassis is far from home. He wanders the badlands, a grim reaper bringing death to those with what he needs to survive. But there is one man courageous enough to challenge him. When the duo faces off, neither expects the sizzling chemistry to erupt between them, nor for their duel to touch what both have denied themselves. Now they must choose to either remain together and sacrifice their beliefs, or go their separate ways, losing what they’ve spent their lives searching for—love. Warning: Dubious consent, violence Excerpt Until assistance arrived, Hunter needed to keep his wits about him. For instance, why a knife and not a gun? This told him the marauder didn’t possess firing artillery, which wasn’t easy to come by. Acquiring such weaponry meant stealing guns and ammunition or scavenging them when taking down parasites—as Hunter had done many times—or daring to infiltrate the walls of Minneapolis to pinch the precious resources, something his community also did. Voodoo Canyon had been built on heavy artillery ever since Hunter’s great-grandfather had started the village. The knife blade now lay horizontal across his throat. His peripheral vision caught the marauder squatting to retrieve the .38 Special. Hunter wasn’t surprised when the tip of his gun was placed against his temple and the knife sheathed. “Where is he?” It was best to play dumb. “Who?” “You know who I’m talking about.” The marauder ground the gun deeper against Hunter’s temple. “He’s not here. It’s just me.” “I know you didn’t take a stroll out here by yourself, so how far away is he?” As if Hunter would admit the truth. “Not far…at all.” “I see. He walked here, as well? Or did he drop you off maybe a mile or two back? Is that why I never saw headlights or heard the car engine?” Great. Hunter’s gut instinct was right all along. The marauder was crafty. Before he could reply, the whistle of rawhide being released invaded the quiet night that contained only their breathing and conversation. Even worse, the rope was tightened around his right wrist. The marauder yanked, ensuring the tough material was taut enough to cut off Hunter’s circulation. Then the bastard forced Hunter’s arm downward and secured his other wrist. Under another circumstance, Hunter would admire the marauder’s ability to snap the rawhide like a whip wrapping a man’s legs, but not tonight. His predicament was…precarious. Nobody had taken him captive before. Or would he be a prisoner? Highly doubtful. If bound, it’d be easier for the son of a bitch to put a bullet into his… Hunter threw out his leg at an extended angle. His boot clipped the marauder. A grunt echoed through the night’s chilly air. The marauder dug his fingers into the knot of Hunter’s bandana, fighting for leverage, but gravity took them down together. They hit the ground. The gun… Hunter attempted to roll. Before he could turn a full 380, strong thighs sank onto his chest. The marauder unsheathed his knife. The look Hunter faced…tilted eyes crazily wide, slim lips tight, and head cocked so the braid fell over the marauder’s chiseled shoulder. No doubt it was taking every ounce of self-control for the motherfucker not to kill him. With eyes colder than the temperature and his mouth curling at the corner, the marauder pressed the point of the blade into the smooth dip beneath Hunter’s Adam’s apple. This was such an entertaining, steamy dystopian romance! You can find my full review here: Twisted Beauty by Maggie Blackbird
About the Author An Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario, Maggie resides in the country with her husband and their fur babies, two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes. When she’s not writing, she can be found pulling weeds in the flower beds, mowing the huge lawn, walking the Mals deep in the bush, teeing up a ball at the golf course, fishing in the boat for walleye, or sitting on the deck at her sister’s house, making more wonderful memories with the people she loves most. Connect with Maggie Blackbird Web Site | Facebook Page | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub | Linked In | Amazon Author Page | eXtasy Books Author Page | Newsletter Sign-Up Get your own copy of Twisted Beauty Amazon US | eXtasy Books | Kobo | B&N | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords | BookStrand Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $5.00 eXtasy Books gift certificate! 11/25/2023 0 Comments Get Frosted Release Blitz and GiveawayI’m so happy to be part of Gay Book Promotions blog tour celebrating the release of the wonderful feelgood Christmas story Get Frosted by Amy Aislin! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win your own signed paperback copy! Blurb For years, Mik has wanted nothing more than to put coal in Rudy Snow’s stocking. As former pro hockey players, they’ve been rivals for years. It started in Mik’s rookie season, when a reporter pitted him against his older brother’s best friend. Rudy pushes Mik’s buttons like no one else, going out of his way to one-up him at every turn. Now they manage pubs in a small town that takes Christmas to a level best seen in Hallmark movies, but not much else has changed. They’re still rivals, this time pitting gingerbread martinis against pomegranate sangria. But when they’re forced to work together to plan a special holiday party, sparks ignite. Maybe it’s a bad idea to put coal in Rudy's stocking after all. They both might just catch fire. Then again, what better way is there to stay warm on a cold winter’s night? Christmas Falls is a multi-author M/M romance series set in a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie. Excerpt “You certainly know how to make a splash,” said a dry voice at his elbow, shaking him out of his irritation. And setting into motion a new kind of annoyance that fizzled in Mik’s blood. “No one asked you,” he said to his brother’s best friend. Rudy Snow raised one dark eyebrow, because of course he could do that. When Mik tried, he ended up with both eyebrows at his hairline. “It’s certainly . . .” Rudy cast his gaze around, taking everything in. “Unique.” “It’s majestic.” “It looks like the Island of Misfit Toys. All you’re missing is a Charlie-in-the-Box.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Mik clenched his teeth. “You’re not allowed to judge. You don’t even have a wreath on your front door.” Rudy made a sound in the back of his throat, a rumbly laugh that made the back of Mik’s neck itch. “Do you often happen to find yourself outside my house, Miki?” Mik’s stupid feelings went all gooey at the nickname. Or maybe that was just hunger. “It’s on my way to work.” “Sure. If you take the long way.” God. Why did he have to be so annoying? And hot. And annoyingly hot. All dark-haired and dark-eyed and scruffy-jawed, with a natural tan to his skin that perpetually made him look like he’d just come from the beach. He stood a couple of inches taller than Mik’s five feet eleven. At a year older than Mik’s thirty-one, Rudy was as fit now as he’d been when he’d played in the NHL, even two and a half years post-retirement. Mik had considered himself lucky to be drafted to his brother’s team’s rival. With Mik playing for Washington and Josh playing for Pittsburgh, it had given Mik the chance to step out of his brother’s shadow and assert himself as his own person. And playing up the rivalry between their teams had been all sorts of fun at family get-togethers. The problem Mik hadn’t anticipated had been twofold. First, because Josh’s rookie year had been the gold fucking star of rookie years, Mik had been instantly compared to him when he’d been drafted a year later, forevermore casting him in the role of Josh Gilmore’s little brother. Second, there was Pittsburgh defenseman Rudy Snow. And Pittsburgh defenseman Rudy Snow wasn’t shy about checking his teammate’s little brother into the boards during Mik’s first Washington versus Pittsburgh game. “It’s no secret in the league that your brother and his teammate Rudy Snow are good friends,” a reporter had said to Mik during the post-game interview after that game. “What do you have to say to your brother’s best friend after that check in the second period?” Um, nothing? He’d barely known Rudy. Plus, checking was what hockey players did. While both those things were true, that hadn’t been what the reporter wanted to hear. So Mik had smirked and said, “That he better watch out. He won’t get the jump on me again. In fact, next time, I’m going to swipe the puck out from under him and score. Just wait and see.” Mik had later learned that Rudy had responded to that with a pithy, “He can try.” And that was it. Instant rivalry. This was such a wonderful feelgood story with all the right Christmassy ingredients! Low on angst and truly bitter rivalry, but full of family, sweetness, Christmas decorations and fun banter.
You can find my full review here: Get Frosted by Amy Aislin About the Author Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit. An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter. Connect with Amy Aislin Website • Facebook Group • Facebook Profile • Instagram • Newsletter sign-up Get your own copy of Get Frosted Amazon Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a signed paperback of Get Frosted! Happy Book Birthday to Game Changer! I’m so happy to be part of Gay Book Promotions blog tour celebrating the release of this second book in the wonderful MM hockey romance series Vancouver Orcas by Amy Aislin! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win your own signed paperbook copy! Blurb It’s Blair Brawsiski’s ride or die year. After a decade in the AHL, if he doesn’t get called up to the NHL this season, it’s time to hang up his skates and focus on other things. But between a second job and family priorities, his attention isn’t where it should be, and his dreams of making it to the big leagues are dwindling by the day. Hiring a personal assistant to help out with day-to-day stuff? Probably the smartest move Blair’s made in a while. But when that PA turns out to be an assertive baker who’s exactly Blair’s type? Blair can’t help but wish those dexterous hands would knead something other than pastry dough. Namely, him. Charlie Shore needs extra income. Desperately. With his expenses about to go up, it’s find a second job or get evicted. Getting hired as Blair’s PA is perfect: flexible hours, decent wages, and a scorching hot professional hockey player who’s willing to let him use his gorgeous kitchen for his baked goods. Too bad that hockey player is exactly Charlie’s type. Too bad Charlie knows better than to date his new boss… Excerpt “Charlie?” The man on his porch turned and . . . oh. Okay. Charlie being Coach Shore’s cousin, Blair had expected him to look like Coach: big, burly, and bearded. But Charlie was short, slim, and clean-shaven. He wore a wool coat in a colour that was somewhere between ivory and tan, a dark green scarf, and a matching toque with a grey pompom. Dark blond hair peaked out the bottom of the hat. He looked like an ethereal fairy from another realm. Of course he was exactly Blair’s type, all cute and rosy-cheeked and elfin. Blair let out a rueful laugh under his breath. As if he had time for dating with everything else going on in his life. Jen and Jerry would be married before Blair found a minute of free time. “Charlie?” he asked again, holding out a hand as he crested the porch’s top step. “I’m so sorry I’m late.” “No biggie.” Charlie’s smile was wide and genuine despite Blair’s tardiness, and it triggered something loose in Blair’s brain. Hand still in Charlie’s, he said, “Have we met before? You look familiar.” “No,” Charlie said with a conviction that had Blair questioning himself. “But we’ve probably been to several of the same functions, most recently the pre-season barbecue at Coach Epps’ place. I work for the organization.” “No kidding. Doing what?” “I’m the baker for our NHL team. I make pastries for team breakfast, breads for sandwiches for lunch, and whatever else the head chef might need. Dinner rolls, desserts, that sort of thing.” Now Blair recognized him. There were only a few times a year when the entire organization got together: the pre-season barbecue, the holiday party, and the end-of-season barbecue. But when you put the entire AHL and NHL teams in a room, along with coaches, management, and office and support staff as well as significant others and children, it made for close to two hundred people. And with Blair missing half of those due to other commitments in the ten years he’d been with the Orcas, it was no wonder he hadn’t officially met Charlie. Plus, not being a social creature meant that introducing himself to a crowd of strangers one by one was basically his version of a living nightmare. He did remember once seeing Charlie from across the yard at one of the barbecues and wondering who the cutie with the smile that radiated warmth was. By the time Blair had set his plate down and turned back to make his way toward the man, Charlie had vanished. And now here he was, on Blair’s doorstep. What was he doing here if he already had a job, though? “Are you . . . seeking a new career direction?” “No,” Charlie said with a quiet laugh. “Just a second job.” He cocked his head, and he might’ve looked guileless if there hadn’t been a hint of humour in his brown eyes. “Can I have my hand back?” “Right.” Blair snatched his hand away, embarrassment tingling across the back of his neck. “Sorry. Uh. Come on in.” Just like the first book in the series, Game Changer was another cute and heart-warming MM romance with adorable characters that immediately stole my heart!
You can find my full reviews of both books here: Vancouver Orcas series by Amy Aislin About the Author Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit. An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter. Connect with Amy Aislin Website • Facebook Group • Facebook Profile • Instagram • Newsletter sign-up Get your own copy of Game Changer Amazon • Apple • B&N • Kobo Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a signed paperback of Game Changer! Today is my stop on the Xpresso Book Tours blitz celebrating the release of the third book in the Shell Grove series, Reasons Why Not to Date the Best Friend by Melanie Munton! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card! Sometimes The One you’ve been looking for… is the one who’s been there all along. Synopsis Reason #1: Finn is Maggie’s best friend. They don’t have secrets. Which means they know exactly how disastrous they would be as a couple. They bicker, they annoy each other, but they also have one hell of a good time together. Outside the bedroom, of course. Why would they risk ruining a great thing just to satisfy years of curiosity? Reason #2: Finn is stable and secure while Maggie acts on any wild hair she gets. She’s always looking for her next adventure. But it’s been a while. Everyone around her is moving forward with their lives, leaving her floating alone in open waters. And when she’s offered the job of a lifetime in Key West—hundreds of miles from their hometown of Shell Grove, SC—it’s too enticing to resist. Besides, it’s not like she’ll ever be the kind of woman Finn would want to settle down with anyway. Reason #3: Losing Finn would destroy her. That’s exactly what would happen if they ever took things too far and it blew up in their faces. But ever since that job offer was put on the table, Finn is putting a whole lot of other stuff on the table, too. Suddenly, Maggie and Finn are forgetting all of their rules. And she’s wondering why it’s taken them so long to be bad when it feels this good. Maggie wants more adventure? Fine. Finn will give her all she can handle. She’s avoiding commitment? No problem. He’ll keep his thoughts on the subject to himself. But he’s not letting her take that job in Key West. She has no idea what she’d be throwing away. It’s taken him a long time to see things clearly, too, but his vision is 20/20 now. And he’s not letting his best friend—who might just be the girl of his dreams—go without putting up the fight of his life. All he has to do is show her he can be so much more than just the BEST FRIEND. Excerpt Finn stepped through Maggie’s back door and immediately ducked, dodging the flying tennis ball at the last second. Without that fourth cup of coffee, that sucker would have nailed him right in the damn eye. As it was, he was alert—and jittery—as hell. Don’t give the caffeine all the credit. Tossing his keys on her kitchen counter, he hesitantly walked across the tile floor, approaching the living room with caution. There was… Shit, he didn’t know what to even call the wide assortment of household items littering her floor. There was obviously a purpose to it all, but that was a code only Maggie could crack. Entering her Alice in Wonderland of a mind made The Butterfly Effect look like a walk in the park. “What the hell am I looking at right now?” Maggie’s head whipped in his direction, whisps of her dark hair plastered to her temples where she was sweating. “Canine calisthenics.” She stated it like he was dumb for not seeing it with his own eyes. “The vet says Berkeley’s weight is teetering right on the edge. Gotta keep my boy in shape, Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta style.” “Isn’t that the movie where they spend an entire scene air-humping each other from across a room?” He dodged another tennis ball that came flying at his head. “Leave it to you to only remember the tawdry details of an 80s classic.” The closer he looked at the objects around him, the more shapes he could make out. She had created her own makeshift obstacle course for their four-legged pet. Canine apparatuses of her own invention were set up throughout the house. As was always the case with Maggie, there was a method to her madness. One only she understood, but there was something to be said for it. Finn rolled his eyes. “Just so you know, the vet only says that so you’ll keep coming back. He’s more interested in checking out your ass in your spandex pants than whether Berkeley’s put on a pound or two. Trust me, his weight is fine.” A new song came over the speaker that Berkeley seemed to recognize because his tail started wagging like crazy. Maggie caught him when he excitedly stood up on his hind legs, and they proceeded to dance in the middle of the living room. Oh, Jesus. Finn only just noticed the matching leg warmers they were wearing. And headbands. “Since when is my dog a Shakira fan?” “Since always. He’s part Colombian, after all.” “We found him on the side of Highway 21, Mags. Pretty sure he didn’t hitchhike from Bogotá.” “But his spirit animal did.” “He is an animal.” When Maggie swerved her hips, he swore Berkeley mimicked her. Finn scraped his hands down his face, groaning. “Look what you’re doing to my dog. He’s going soft on me. He didn’t even bark when I entered the house without knocking.” “Why would he bark at you?” “He wouldn’t have known who it was when the door first opened.” Berkeley dropped back down to all fours and copied Maggie when she started twirling in circles. “If anyone is softening up this dog it’s you with all those steaks you’re feeding him. Why do you think he’s having weight issues?” His molars ground together. “He’s not having weight issues. The vet is having infidelity issues. Dude is married, yet he’s drooling over you like Berkeley does when I pull our steaks off the grill.” “Ribeyes or porterhouses?” “What does it matter?” “If I’m going to be compared to a steak, it better be the finest slab of meat on the market.” For whatever reason, the moment she said those words, Finn’s eyes dropped straight to her ass. He wasn’t even conscious of the action. Some otherworldly compulsion—likely a demonic possession—seemed to take hold of him. She had on a pair of those ungodly tight pants women wore when they worked out. There were slits cut in the spandex that were made of a sheer, mesh material, and her top was one of those dri-fit tanks that had a built-in bra thing. Maggie still always wore a brightly colored sports bra when she worked out, though, regardless of any built-in material. She couldn’t exactly go without one, considering how…ample…her chest was. Jesus Christ. Why was he thinking about her chest size? Or her bras? For fuck’s sake, he only looked because Maggie talking about being compared to a steak had the words prime meat flashing like a goddamn neon sign in his head. Holy shit, he was as bad as the vet. An actual Neanderthal. The next words out of his mouth proved it to be true. “You know you’re filet mignon, Mags.” She tripped over a couch cushion and stared at him in shock. Oh, motherfuck. About the author Melanie grew up in the Midwest, but she loves living in the Southeast (where the beaches are!) now with her husband and daughter.
At the end of the day, she is a true romantic at heart. She loves writing the cheesy and corny of romantic comedies, and the sassy and sexy of suspense. She aims to make her readers swoon, laugh out loud, maybe sweat a little, and above all, fall in love.
Go visit Melanie’s website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects! Connect with Melanie Munton Website • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • Goodreads Buy Reasons Why To Not Date The Best Friend Amazon • B&N • Kobo Add on Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card! I’m so happy to be part of Gay Book Promotions blog tour celebrating the release of the Contemporary M/M Young Adult Gay Romance Butterflies In The End Zone by Jacob Gelman! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a PR Box with candy, the book, a bookmark, stickers, and a media kit! Blurb Alex has everything going for him. He’s the quarterback of the football team. He has a great group of friends. He’s popular. He’s got stellar grades. So, why is he so enamored by the new kid from the Bay Area? Meanwhile, Jamie doesn’t understand why the quarterback of Scalia’s football team could possibly want to be friends with him: the closeted Jewish kid. It’s the last thing he needs to worry about after leaving California for Jacksonville. He planned on just keeping his head down and finishing his senior year quietly to get into his dream school. Against the odds, though, they become close friends in an area that would teach them to be enemies. But, over time, their friendship turns into something deeper – scaring the both of them. Will their love survive the trials of being in a homophobic environment? Or will it all prove to be too much for them? Excerpt I’ve been in Florida less than a day and already I’m in a life or death standoff. The gator stares at me, his eyes glowing against the moonlight. I stare at the gator, my eyes wild with fear. Shit, I’m gonna die. He could have been small as a chihuahua or large as Godzilla, but in my California brain he was the most terrifying thing I’d seen in my life. This was not how I expected my senior year to start. Me dying was the cherry on top, really. It wasn’t like I had much to live for anymore, after leaving the Bay Area and all. My friends. My childhood. My family. It was all gone now. I had come out just a month before, ready to live my truth in an accepting area until...poof. “We’re moving,” my mother had told me. “To Florida.” “Just like that?” I’d asked her. “Just like that,” she’d told me. “Why?” I’d prodded, hoping maybe there could be some solution to this unbearable fate. There wasn’t. We weren’t even in Miami either. We were in Jacksonville. Not even in Jacksonville, an hour away in some nowhere suburb called Scalia – whatever the heck that is. San Francisco to Scalia: the name of my personal horror movie. My parents were architects. Their company decided to move them to Florida. I was suddenly in Florida. Suddenly about to become the dumbest news headline possible: LOCAL GAY KID DIES FROM GATOR. That simple, I guess. My heart leapt towards my throat. His tail, is it...moving? The gator began walking, or waddling, or slithering – whatever it is gators do when they move – away from me. I stood beside my bike, nearly ready to collapse from fear and adrenaline. Finally, he crawled out of sight – back to the depths of whatever abyss from which he came. I let out a sigh, almost sad to live another day. I got back on my bike, slowly peddling back home, tears lining my path. I was sad. Sad about everything. Sad about leaving my friends behind. Sad about leaving my family behind. Sad about no longer being in a Jewish area. Sad about no longer being in an accepting area. I wasn’t only sad, either. I was scared. Terrified, even. My whole life people had talked about the south like it was some far off universe, some faraway hell the Bay Area would forever be safe from. I had heard stories of how unaccepting it was, how women couldn’t choose what happens to their bodies, gay people couldn’t be teachers, trans students were expelled. Now here I was: in the south. In Florida. Back in the closet. My eyes were red from tears by the time they stared at my bedroom ceiling, my pillow resting against my neck. I had only a week before I started school at Scalia High. What would that be like? Visions of people with confederate flags, driving trucks, and listening to country music came to my mind and immediately I was near tears once more. I wasn’t sure about many things, but I was certain of this: nothing good would come of this year. About the Author
I’m a staunch advocate for lgbt rights. I'm originally from Melbourne, Florida. I am a board member for colectiva queer and a founder of the political action group Florida Fighting Fascism. I have worked with the Brevard Democratic Party, Equality Florida (twice), Congressman Darren Soto, and am a current fellow with People for Power Florida. I am a current student at Brown University studying political science. At university, I am part of the philosophy, politics, and economics society and the Brown Debating Union. I have written for Queerty, OutTraveler, and Florida Today. I am the author of the young adult gay romance novel entitled Butterflies In The End Zone (2023). Connect with Jacob Gelman Website • Instagram Get your own copy of Butterflies in the End Zone Amazon • Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a PR Box with candy, the book, a bookmark, stickers, and a media kit! Todayis my stop on the Xpresso Book Tours blitz celebrating the release of the MM Contemporary Friends to Lovers Romance This Will Hurt II by Cara Dee! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card! Blurb Buckle up. Hearts broken and wings clipped, Roe and Jake have mountains to climb, walls to tear down, and countless private moments to bring them even closer in this final part of their journey. I’d gotten what I’d asked for, right? The ground beneath me had finally settled. I had the wife. I had the kid—my beautiful baby boy. Work was great. I was traveling the globe with my best friend, and together we were Roe Finlay and Jake Denver. Inseparable. That was the f— That was the problem. We were inseparable. Even though he would never be the man I’d once wished he could be, I couldn’t freaking cope going a day without seeing him. When we were together, all was well in the world. I could breathe easier. Then I found his damn journal from…therapy. That was right. My best friend, who defined “man of few words,” was in therapy. The ground started shaking again. I got desperate. I swam in denial. I…almost lost him on the job when he saved my life. Nothing was settled anymore. Excerpt What the fuck did you wear to a country concert? I grabbed a pair of jeans and boxer briefs from the closet, then walked back into the bedroom and picked up my phone from my nightstand. I sent Jake a message. I’m fresh out of chaps and cowboy hats. What should I wear, hoss? While I waited for his response, I removed the towel around my hips and put on the boxers and jeans. “Dada, I’m-wa no baff!” I glanced over at the door as my boy ran in, with Sandra hot on his tail. I grinned faintly and swooped him up. “Look out, we got a runner ova’ hea’.” I peppered his face with smooches, and he giggled up a storm. “You can’t escape bath time, baby boy. But you know what comes after, don’t you? Mommy’s gonna read you a story.” “Nooo,” he complained. “Yeees,” I mimicked. Sandra sighed and smiled ruefully. “Let’s go, sweetie. We’ll get extra bubbles and everything.” “Hear that? We love those bubbles.” I handed over the clinging monkey to her and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “I don’t wannaaa,” he whined. Sandra carried him out, only to stop in the doorway and turn back to me. “You sure you don’t wanna cancel?” Positive—and I wasn’t fighting with her about it again. “I won’t be late,” was all I said. The teasing glint in her eyes faded, and she walked out. I released a breath. My phone dinged on the nightstand, and I walked over and read Jake’s text. I’ll tell you you’re pretty no matter what you wear, sugar. I laughed silently and shook my head. Helpful. Whatever. I returned to the closet and dug out a long-sleeved tee that made my biceps look good. We were going to an outdoor place up in Griffith Park, so it was bound to get chilly. But I liked that it wasn’t a huge concert. Only some five thousand people. It beat going to the Staples Center. Jake picked me up downstairs fifteen minutes later, and the most country thing about him continued to be his truck. It made no sense to drive a truck in LA. But he loved it, and I really had no room to argue choices of vehicles. I was still a laughingstock after buying a sports car before Casper was born. Worst deal ever. I’d probably lost twenty grand when I’d traded it in for a family-friendly SUV. “Hey, pretty.” Jake pulled out from the curb. “I see you found clothes.” “No thanks to you.” I smiled and buckled my seat belt. “Will I see a lot of chaps tonight?” “If I drop you off in West Hollywood instead, I’m sure there’s a club for you.” I laughed. Funny. “Oh, this is a good one.” He cranked up the volume on the stereo. “He’ll probably play this tonight.” I side-eyed him, more interested in studying Jake than hearing a song. There was something inherently sexy about how he drove. He made life look easy when he was on the road. One arm along the edge of the window, the sleeves of his open flannel shirt rolled up—some serious forearm porn going on—two fingers gripping the wheel loosely at the bottom. He tapped his foot to the rocky beat, and his lips moved subtly to the singer’s voice. Ratty USMC ball cap on the dash. Since he always wore it backward, he took it off when a headrest was in the way. Fitting lyrics, about holding on to things you believed in. Of course, it being a country rock song, the topic was the singer’s truck. “It’s the miles that make a man.” How many miles till I fell out of love with him? “I’d be nothing without you, so I’m holding on.” Surprisingly, a line not about the truck. “I’m not the openin’ act,” he chuckled. “Quit starin’.” That was the fucking problem, wasn’t it? He was the headliner. I absolutely loved the first part of the This Will Hurt Duet and couldn’t wait to read the second part with Roe’s POV on this emotional rollercoaster friends-to-lovers, bisexual awakening, slow burn MM romance. There were so many things I loved about this series and the wonderful relationship between Jake and Roe that only grew stronger over the years. The story was so realistic and authentic, and I truly rooted for Jake and Roe. The love story itself is definitely a five star one, but I had an issue with the moral lines that were crossed. Read my full review here: This Will Hurt II by Cara Dee About the author Cara Dee
There’s a world to build, characters to develop, interests to create, and a topic or two to research thoroughly.
Every book is a challenge for me, an opportunity to learn something new, and a puzzle to piece together. I want my characters to come to life, and the only way I know to do that is to give them substance—passions, history, goals, quirks, and strong opinions—and to let them evolve. I want my men and women to be relatable. That means allowing room for everyday problems and, for lack of a better word, flaws. My characters will never be perfect. Wait…this was supposed to be about me, not my writing. I'm a writey person who loves to write. Always wanderlusting, twitterpating, kinking, cooking, baking, and geeking. There’s time for hockey and family, too. But mostly, I just love to write. Connect with Cara Dee Cara Dee landing page Buy This Will Hurt II Amazon • Bookbub Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card! I’m so glad to be a part of the Xpresso Book Tours blitz celebrating the release of wonderful and swoon worthy MM romance The Art of Husbandry by Jay Hogan! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card! A world shattered. A hope kindled. A love ignited. Synopsis When life drowns you in lemons, to hell with making lemonade. I wanted to burn the whole world. But eighteen months from the day my life was torn apart, I’m tired of the anger. Tired of the nightmares. Tired of putting one foot in front of the other just trying to survive. Three months on a high country sheep station in the middle of nowhere is exactly the reboot I need. A chance to break free. To breathe again. To find a way forward. I put my entire life on hold and head south to Mackenzie Country. But falling for the captivating young station boss was never part of the plan. Holden Miller might be smart and sexy and push all of my dusty buttons, but we come from two different worlds. I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m not interested in love. I’m done with all that. But Holden doesn’t care about my rules. Nestled safely in the arms of the spectacular Southern Alps, on an isolated sheep farm at the top of the world, Holden begins knitting my battered heart together one careful stitch at a time. And with every pass of the thread, every braid of the river on our doorstep, I catch a tantalising glimpse of something I’d almost given up on. Happiness, and maybe even love. If I have the courage to reach out and grab them. Excerpt “Hang on, Tuck.” I lowered the phone from my ear and squinted at the dusty blue Hilux pulling in at the kerb. It had Miller Station stamped on its door, windows rolled down, and music blaring. The driver killed the volume, pushed his sunglasses up his nose, and leaned across the passenger seat to speak through the window. “Are you Gil Everton?” “Yep.” I raised a tentative hand in greeting. “Cool. I’m Holden Miller. Let’s get you on board.” His full mouth curved up in a high-wattage smile that made my stomach do a weird-arse, vaguely familiar flip. Oh boy. Attraction. Just freaking dandy. Eighteen months with my libido on military-grade lockdown, and it chose that moment to wake up and get with the program. Not only that, but I already knew Holden was gay from my conversations with Emily. Go fucking figure. It was a wrinkle I sure as hell didn’t need in my reboot plan. I hadn’t been laid since Callie’s death and I wasn’t looking to change that state of affairs anytime soon even if I had been able to summon any interest, which I hadn’t . . . for a while. So, yeah, there was that. Which was why my reaction to any man was . . . surprising. “Gil, are you still there?” Tuck called through the phone as Holden disappeared back into the cab and the driver’s door opened. I raised the phone to my ear again. “Yeah, but I’m gonna have to—” I stopped abruptly as a ruggedly handsome dark-haired beauty with a mass of lazy brown waves bouncing around his ears emerged from the Hilux. And since I was a hot mess but not dead, I drew in a sharp breath and whispered, “Wow.” “What?” Tucker interrupted my gawping. “What wow? Gil?” I cleared my throat and mumbled. “Nothing. I’ll call you in a day or two. Say hi to Gail and the kids for me.” “They don’t like you either.” I laughed. “They love me.” “Fuck it. You’re right.” “Bye, Tuck.” “Wait, Gil. Gil!” I hung up on Tuck’s protest and shot to my feet, by which time Holden had circled to the back of the Hilux and was busy opening the hatch. It gave me a few seconds to appreciate the way his dusty jeans hugged a pretty spectacular arse, and an equally dusty black T-shirt showed off lean muscular arms sporting a golden tan. Holden caught my eye and that broad smile widened, no doubt because I was standing there staring at him like a total idiot. “First off, let’s exchange numbers,” he said. “I think you only have Mum’s. I tried to call to say I was running late, but whatever I had in my phone didn’t work.” “Oh.” Shit. Great way to start. “Yeah, I ah, changed my number, sorry. I updated your mum, but maybe you’ve got my old one.” “No problem. Here.” He gave me his phone and I corrected the number he had stored and then he sent me a text. I called him back to make sure we were right, and Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” rang out through the carpark. I bit back a smile and raised a brow. “Really? I think I should be offended.” He chuckled. “Don’t be. Besides, it was before I met you and it kind of fits, right? You’re from the big smoke. You’ve even got your Roberto Cavalli’s on.” He pointed to the label on my jeans and heat rose in my cheeks. “Pretty fancy for a sheep station.” I narrowed my gaze and fired back, “But you recognised the brand which says you have an eye for those things.” He grinned. “Of course. They’re a great jean. Just don’t wear them in the woolshed.” I laughed. “Kind of goes without saying.” “Are those it?” He nodded to four bags of varying sizes siting in a tidy line at my feet. I gave a mute nod, because I was well-educated like that, and wiped my hot palms down the front of my jeans. “Great.” He sauntered over in that loose-gaited way perfected by many farmers like they had all the time in the world. About a metre away, he stopped, lifted his glasses onto his head, and a pair of dark coffee-brown almost black eyes locked with mine. And just, damn. I was in trouble. Then he smiled. “Welcome to Mackenzie Country, Gil.” This is the first book in Jay Hogan’s new Mackenzie country series, following the sheep farm boss Holden with commitment issues and the grieving Gil who lost is daughter in a car accident one and a half year ago, and his marriage soon thereafter. This was such a heartwarming, poignant and addictive reading experience with two amazing main characters to root for, and some added layers of grief and PTDS after the loss of a child. A great start to this new series!
Read my full review here: The Art of Husbandry by Jay Hogan About the Author Heart, humour and keeping it real. Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year. She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She's travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel. Connect with the Author Jay Hogan Get your own copy of The Art of Husbandry Amazon • Bookbub Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card! I’m so glad to be a part of the Xpresso Book Tours blitz celebrating the release of the quirky fake-dating romance Playing For Keeps by Julie Hammerle! Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card! Synopsis USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle’s quirky romantic comedy about two strangers, a fake relationship, and a teeny mid-lie crisis… Bryce Barrett has disappeared off the face of the earth. Well, technically she’s just temporarily hiding out in a teeny Midwest town, away from her ruined marriage and professional demise…at least until she can figure out her next steps. But when she bumps into her ex—dressed in what could be only described as “dumpster chic”—she does the only reasonable thing a woman can do: panics and pretends the cute security guard on the scene is her new boyfriend. Free-spirited nomad Jake Warner knew returning to his hometown was a bad idea. It’s bad enough that his family’s pressuring him to step into his dad’s hypercompetitive shoes and settle down, but when a complete stranger (cute, though possibly unbalanced) enlists him as her fake boyfriend, Jake knows he’s making some questionable choices…especially when he inexplicably goes along with it. Now these two mismatched misfits are temporary allies against a town filled with happy, normal, and annoyingly stable people. Fake dating keeps everyone off their back while they plot their respective escapes. But nothing botches a plan more than unexpected chemistry… Excerpt “Ted, hello.” Bryce offered him her hand, and he pulled her in for a quick, friendly kiss on the cheek. She stiffened up. Damn it, is that moldy cheese smell me? No. It’s Ted. It must be Ted. After he let her go, Ted spoke to the woman next to him, “Ree, this is my ex-wife, Bryce. Bryce, this is Rita, my girlfriend.” We lah-dee-frickin’ da, Ted went and got himself a girlfriend. But I have beaver slippers. Bryce bit her lip to keep from laughing or crying, she wasn’t sure which. Rita offered her hand to Bryce. “It’s nice to meet you. Ted has told me so much about you.” “Yeah, nice to meet you, too.” Bryce greeted her ex’s new girlfriend with a perfunctory handshake as she took the opportunity to give Rita the once-over. She was the kind of effortless beauty Bryce, with her hair dye and multi-session workouts and (previously) gluten free, vegan diet, had only ever dreamed of being. Rita, whose luminous face apparently had no need for makeup, wore her long, dark hair in a cascade over her shoulders. Her white pants and nautical-striped shirt were right out of a J. Crew catalog. Bryce folded her arms across her dingy, dirty t-shirt. “What are you doing in town?” Ted asked. He was definitely staring at her pants—or, well, his pants. She crossed her legs, trying to hide the big, gold “Michigan.” “I’m…I live here.” Ted laughed. “You live in Wackernagel?” Bryce frowned. “Well, I have the house here.” “Yeah, you do, but I…I figured you’d sell it the first chance you got.” Ted laughed. “What about work?” He hadn’t heard. Somehow news of her great professional demise had not reached Ted. Bryce said a quick prayer of thanksgiving for loyal friends, Ted’s aversion to social media, and the fact that their work circles didn’t overlap. His high school teachers’ crowd didn’t have much contact with Big Law beyond Bryce. “I’m taking some time off.” Bryce crossed her arms. “Like, a sabbatical?” Rita asked. Bryce nodded. Sure, let’s call it that. “Good for you.” Tim smiled softly. “I’m glad you’re finally taking some time for yourself.” Yeah, that’s what I’m doing. Bryce shot him a relaxed, self-assured smile. Might as well let him keep thinking things are wonderful. No harm in that. “Things are going really well for me here, in fact. I’m fixing up the house”—or, technically, redecorating it with old chip bags, empty wine bottles, and assorted other garbage—“and I’m really finding myself”—by binge watching TV shows, eating ice cream, and sleeping all day. “That’s great,” Ted said. And his eyes were back on Bryce’s pants. These stupid pants. They were blowing her cover. Her current outfit screamed everything but “I’m thriving!” Bryce chuckled, trying to make light of her oddball clothing. “I see you’ve noticed what I’m wearing.” Ted’s eyes widened. “I have. Have you?” She tamped down any annoyance at his semi-snide tone. About the author USA Today best-selling, RITA nominated author, Julie Hammerle (she/her) writes romantic comedies for adults and teens. Before settling down to write “for real,” she studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. She lives in Chicago with her husband and her two kids and a dog.
Connect with Julie Hammerle Website • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • Goodreads Buy Playing For Keeps Amazon • B&N • iBooks • Kobo • Google Play Add on Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card! Cover reveal! Today I’m excited to help reveal the cover of The Art of Husbandry by Jay Hogan! Enter the Giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Synopsis When life drowns you in lemons, to hell with making lemonade. I wanted to burn the whole world. But eighteen months from the day my life was torn apart, I’m tired of the anger. Tired of the nightmares. Tired of putting one foot in front of the other just trying to survive. Three months on a high country sheep station in the middle of nowhere is exactly the reboot I need. A chance to break free. To breathe again. To find a way forward. I put my entire life on hold and head south to Mackenzie Country. But falling for the captivating young station boss was never part of the plan. Holden Miller might be smart and sexy and push all of my dusty buttons, but we come from two different worlds. I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m not interested in love. I’m done with all that. But Holden doesn’t care about my rules. Nestled safely in the arms of the spectacular Southern Alps, on an isolated sheep farm at the top of the world, Holden begins knitting my battered heart together one careful stitch at a time. And with every pass of the thread, every braid of the river on our doorstep, I catch a tantalising glimpse of something I’d almost given up on. Happiness, and maybe even love. If I have the courage to reach out and grab them. About the Author
Heart, humour and keeping it real. Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year. She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She's travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel. Connect with the Author Jay Hogan Get your own copy of The Art of Husbandry Amazon Add to Goodreads Giveaway Enter the Giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card! |
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