Song of the Sea by Arielle Pierce

18657472Title: Song of the Sea

Author:  Arielle Pierce

Genre: Paranormal/ Shifters

Length: Flash Short Story (26 pgs)

Publisher: Smashwords sp Airelle Pierce (October 9th, 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Seeker

Purchase Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/365804

Blurb: When a schooner comes to Dylan’s small Welsh village, the handsome captain, Llewellyn, wastes no time letting Dylan in on why he feels so different. He’s a merman. Llewellyn offers Dylan teaching and freedom from a life he’s never really belonged to. But can Llewellyn offer Dylan what he needs most of all—love? 

Review:  A wonderful story of finding one’s true self.  In Song of the Sea, Rhys and Dylan are young men who, now grown, are looking toward the horizon.  And in their fishing village, one looks to sail the sea, the other is dared to look into her.

I knew after the first paragraph that I had placed Arielle Pierce, Song of the Sea’s author, in the same league as epic fantasy writers.  With solid, delicious sentences that make one start to unwind while reading.  Song of the Sea is escapism at the highest form. 

Convergence by Talya Andor

18313477Title: Convergence

Series:  Proud to Be A Vampire

Author: Talya Andor

Genre: Paranormal/ Vampire

Length: Novella (20K)

Publisher: Less Than Three Press (Oct 9th, 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb:Chris and Ling travel the world in search of rare, exquisite curiosities, but treasure hunting is rife with danger and comes with a price. In order to retrieve a lost treasure deep within a perilous mountain, Chris hires on a vampire. But traveling with a predator comes with its own risks, and their venture may collapse into absolute loss unless they can each find the opportunity in one another.

Purchase Link: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=106_117&products_id=506

Review: A quick rundown: Chris runs his Dad’s curiosity store with his friend Ling. They go on trips and find rare items for the shop. This particular journey requires a Vampire. They place an ad and Dorran applies for the job.

I expected a lot more from this story. It had such a great premise somehow it just never got there for me. The plot was a bit Indian Jones like with booby traps and clues. I actually liked the cryptic messages and clues, I just with there had been a bit more action. The traps weren’t all that exciting very basic and didn’t go into much detail I would have liked to have actually seen what Dorran was up against on some of his parts. I also couldn’t really tell if the story was modern-day or past, though I’m thinking it was supposed to be past.  The romance between Dorran and Chris was pretty good and the end was actually satisfying.

If you like mystery, clues, booby-traps, curiosities, and a sweet romance this one is for you.

 

Touché by A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly

8b36f86203dcd273fa075509e2f699be.image.300x450Title: Touché

Series: Orgasmic Texas Dawn 10 

Author: A.J. Llewellyn & D.J. Manly 

Genre: Contemporary, Crime 

Length: Novel (190pgs) 

Publisher: Silver Publishing (19th October 2013) 

Heat Level: Moderate 

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥ 3 – 3½ Hearts   

Reviewer: Pixie    

Blurb: In Touché, the tenth book of the best-selling Orgasmic Texas Dawn series, Marco and Sam grow closer in some respects and yet are pulled apart in others. Whilst Marco, still recovering from his injuries has developed a dependency on his prescription meds and is in constant pain. With Trace and Sam determined to help him, Sam meanwhile accepts an undercover assignment with the US Marshals in the often violent, drug-strewn country of Colombia. Marco flies to Colombia as part of the backup team helping Sam in his guise as a big-time drug buyer, where the US Marshals are hoping to take down the Howard family drug cartel once and for all.

Marco is in obvious pain but it’s Trace who winds up hospitalized. Marco and Nicholas soon become involved in a case of a different kind in the ravaged streets of Bogotá, the nation’s capital. An abandoned newborn baby has been reported to the hospital but the caller is a young girl and speaks only English. With time running against them, Marco and Nicholas race to find the child as Sam enters the twilight world of big-money drug dealing… 

Purchase Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/touche-ebook-p-59263.html    

Review: This story is part of a series and must be read in order. Marco and Sam are still struggling with their feelings for each other, being on opposite sides of the law doesn’t help in the least but staying away from each other is something neither man can do. Marco is still struggling with his injury from the ambush and is becoming dependent on pain meds. Sam finds himself under the thumb of an unscrupulous U.S. Marshal who will sacrifice anything to shut down the Howards. And both Sam and Marco find themselves in danger, when someone from Sam’s gang decides they want Sam gone. 

This is a great addition to the Orgasmic Texas Dawn series but we don’t get to see Jubilee or Kieran :-(. We are now on our third couple in the series after seeing two other sets of U.S. Marshals find their happy relationships but this is the most difficult relationship yet. Sam is the leader of a biker gang who is unhappy with his lot, Marco is the one that got away and is making a life for himself as a U.S. Marshal, their attraction and feelings for each other make their positions hard and Sam finds himself working for the Marshal’s to bring down a cartel. 

We see Sam and Marco admit their feelings for each other but they still can’t really be together. Sam has little choice in his actions, but tries to make them work for him. And Marco has to fight his jealousy, his need for Sam and his constant pain to carry on with his job. Marco finds himself in danger with Sam riding to the rescue and Sam discovers he is tied to a mysterious man who is more involved in the cartels than the US Marshals realize. With investigations and undercover ops their way of life, for the US Marshals hospital visits are to be expected, but two of them end up in hospital for unexpected reasons. 

Now while I have loved reading the Orgasmic Texas Dawn series I found this one to be less exciting than the others, there was less separate investigations and it was more focused on the Howard’s and the cartel. We do see a little diversion with Sam’s gang but that was really about it other than the baby nearer to the end of the story, but I suppose I have just been spoilt with the interesting array of investigations in the past. The story flows smoothly and Marco and Sam are still mega hot, their sex life is still smoking and their imaginations are descriptive and hot. 

I recommend this to those who love U.S. Marshals, hot bikers, great investigations, excitement and action, danger and rescues and an ending that gives us hope for the future. 

 

A Cup of Latte by Bebe Burnside

latteTitle: A Cup of Latte

Series:   N/A

Author: Bebe Burnside

Genre: Contemporary

Length:   Novella (104 pages)

Publisher: Seventh Window Publications (October 10th, 2013)

Heat: None

Heart: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Reviewer:   Eli/Mandingo

Blurb:  Tall, dark and handsome, Michael Stafford is one of the biggest names in business. His job is to take struggling companies under his wing and do what it takes to make a profit from them, even if the people working for the company have to suffer from the consequences.

 

Alan Weissman is a journalist hired to write a fluff piece on Michael Stafford. The only problem is, Alan would rather rip out his eyes than sit across from a soulless creep like Michael Stafford. It isn’t until the interview begins that Alan notices something different about the deeply handsome businessman. Something unexpected and attractive that makes him second guess his opinion of the man with the dreamy brown eyes.

 

Sometimes all it takes to change your mind about someone is good conversation and a hot cup of latte

Purchase Link:   http://www.seventhwindow.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=65&products_id=205&zenid=65i6k38g5e2desl3vbnppehnt6

Review: Okay, let’s start with the good stuff. This is a great story premise.  I like the idea of how the two men meet and the pace of their relationship, that’s seems very, very real.  No insta-love, instead the reader meets two professional men who develop a mutual respect, which turns into a romance – realistic and believable. The story goes well as the reader navigates the relationship that the two men are building while also working on their careers.

Then we get to the conflict/crises moment.  That’s where the story derails for me, which is sad since it’s so close to the end.  There is no warning that the conflict is coming and as such, it jars the reader out of the calm existence that they’d been experiencing. You’re left with “huh”? The behaviour is first out of character; and then, second, followed by some very blurry moments.  These blurry moments were meant to mirror the view of one of the characters, which while an interesting literary strategy, doesn’t help the reader, who simply wanted to be ‘told’ not only what was happening but more importantly why it was happening.

Because the story seemed to need to conclude, the details of the conflict are recounted and as such they lose some of the dramatic punch they would have had they been revealed by using the characters themselves to showcase how the conflict was resolved. For example, the real culprit who created the issue should have been able to openly discuss the issue with the main characters and ask for forgiveness rather than the reader hearing a second-hand recount of her tale of woe and apology. Because of this, the reader is left feeling ambivalent about many of the secondary characters who while they should have moved the plotline along, seemed to have been thrown in haphazardly to simply get to the end.  Another example – Why mention Alan’s parents when we’ll never meet them?

Two other minor issues I had were that first Michael’s name kept being misspelled as: Michale, Michel or Michal. One error I can manage, once we get to three, now it’s a distraction. The second was the title. The title should have played up the whole financial/reporter angle, because that’s what the story is REALLY about.  I know authors have creative license, but the title really did throw me, I kept expecting more from the coffee front and all I got was two meetings at Starbucks.  Maybe Reporting on the Financier or something might have been more apropos.  I’m not a writer. I can only say the title didn’t do the story justice.

Finally, what was my overall impression?  I liked the story. I had some issues with plot development and the end seemed rushed, but apart from that, the story was very believable and I liked Alan and Michael, despite Michael behaving like a douche nozzle, which was needed to create the conflict.  Interestingly all the issues I had with the story are probably solvable with maybe another twenty pages of content. 

Bayou Boys Series by Chris Cox

18689967Series:  Bayou Boys

Title: Meant To Be (book 1) Moving On (book 2) Tricked Up for Treats (book 3)

Author:  Chris Cox

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

Length:  Meant To Be (34 pages)

Length: Moving On (43 pages)

Length: Tricked up for Treats (38 pages)

Publisher: Cox Endeavors LLC (2013)

Heat Level:  Mild

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥3Hearts

Blurb:   Rusty Duchene and Sean Delahunt are each other’s first loves. Emotionally rough high school years and financially draining college years have drawn them closer together and now, with Sean graduating, they are ready to enjoy all the good life their beloved city, New Orleans, has to offer. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

After a tough job search, Sean is offered his dream job—in Boston. But for Rusty, moving to Boston means leaving the career and the family he loves.
Stay or go? Either way, someone loses. Will their love survive the sacrifice?

Product Link: Book 1/ http://www.amazon.com/Meant-Be-Bayou-Boys-ebook/dp/B00FHYWGB0/ref=la_B00FIASLYO_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382459649&sr=1-2

Blurb:   Friends since grade school, in love since high school, Rusty and Sean have grown up together. When Sean graduates from college, he is offered his dream job, thousands of miles away from home.

Two months apart, while Sean trains for his new career has stirred all kinds of insecurities in Rusty. When they are finally reunited, Sean seems—different. Or is it Rusty who has changed?

When life experiences challenge their love and commitment, Sean and Rusty must decide. Will they move on with lives together or apart?

Book 2/ http://www.amazon.com/Moving-On-Bayou-Boys-ebook/dp/B00FI9JOY6/ref=la_B00FIASLYO_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382459649&sr=1-3

18619320Blurb:   Rusty Duchene signs up his fiancé, Sean Delahunt for a couples’ amateur drag competition sponsored by a local Cabaret Club. The prizes are awesome. But the real prize, the one Rusty is hoping they will win is the prize of letting Sean be himself, at least for just one night.

But the head game he’s playing with Sean comes with a high risk, a risk that Sean will fracture instead of become whole.

If the worst happens, will Rusty be strong enough to hold Sean together, to hold their relationship together, or will this be the end of their long-term love?

Book 3/ http://www.amazon.com/Tricked-Treats-Bayou-Boys-ebook/dp/B00FYZ63FM/ref=la_B00FIASLYO_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382459649&sr=1-1

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  This was just the sweetest series of Novella’s that occupied my morning and left a big smile on my face!

The story of Rusty and Sean started out when they were just children and as teenagers, they realized they wanted something more from each other. Exploration and discovery led to love. With the complete support of one family, and ignorance and hatred from the other, one would think they could find a balance and tip the scales toward happiness. They manage to maintain a relationship through college, separation and a move to a new city.

In Meant to Be, Sean has just graduated and is having some trouble finding a job. Rusty and his family have always been there for him, loved, and supported him even when his only family turned their back on him. But he wants to be a man and be able to provide for himself. When a job offer takes him away from Rusty, will the separation make them stronger? Or tear them apart.

In Moving On, it’s been two long months that Sean has been in Boston training for his new job. Rusty has decided that wherever Sean is, that is where he should be. So he’s packed up their stuff and awaits Sean’s arrival so his parents can say their goodbyes to their boys as well, before taking a chance and leaving everything he’s ever known behind. Everything but the most important thing, Sean.

In Tricked Up for Treats, Sean and Rusty are settling into their new lives in their extremely small, yet extremely expensive apartment in Boston. Now the tables have turned and Sean is the breadwinner with Rusty unable to secure a job. He finds the odd job here and there, determined to pull his own weight, when he comes across a flyer for a Halloween drag contest. Without talking to Sean first, he signs them up and prays his lover will play along.

18619656This series was just such good fun! The constant throughout all three installments is the love that Rusty and Sean share, a love they’ve shared for over a decade. Cox managed to put a lot of content in the few pages of each story as well. Both young men struggle at different times but usually for the same core reason. Sean still has emotional baggage, even if he has buried it deep, from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father when he told him he was gay. Rusty and his family have helped him to heal tremendously over the years by giving him noting but love and acceptance, but such things leave lifelong scars.

I loved how Cox would show the vulnerability of the characters and then allow their counterpart to reassure and coax them back with love and tenderness. There are no full sex scenes but there is a lot of passion, kissing, and blowjobs to keep the reader satisfied. Innuendos of sexiness were dropped like breadcrumbs in each book, and I think that only added to the joy of this series. Sometimes just a suggestion and your imagination are quite enough. If you are looking for a fun read to fill a couple of hours, or if you are having a blah day, grab these three stories, I guarantee they will leave a smile on your face!

 

Locked In a Room with a Werewolf by Marcy Jacks

18286043Title: Locked In a Room with a Werewolf

Series: Luna Werewolves, Book 10

Author: Marcy Jacks

Length: Novel (118 Pages)

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand, Inc. (October 5th, 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: Zack Bluestone thought he was being mugged when he was ambushed by several huge men. He didn’t expect to wake up in chains in a creepy basement, or to be naked, or for there to be a naked man with him, who is also in chains, and looks pretty vicious.

Brian Lauren is so angry with himself that it’s hard to keep his inner alpha from taking over and tearing everything apart. He can’t believe he was kidnapped and put in a pit, but it happened, and he has to find a way out of here before he goes wild and attacks the only other person locked up with him.

The problem is that person happens to be his mate, and if Brian wants to get them out of this alive, he has to convince the man that they need to mate with each other so he can have the strength to escape before their captors return and kill Zack.

Product Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/locked-in-a-room-with-a-werewolf

Review: Zack was accidentally thought to be his brother Daren when Lawrence’s pack kidnapped him and threw him a hole with a werewolf. A werewolf that also happened to be his mate. Although at first Zack didn’t know that, Brian however did. Brian was an alpha in Roarke’s pack. Six days stuck in a hole was making his wolf lose it, till they threw in a human who happened to be his mate and the brother of another mate to one of his pack mate alpha’s. What Lawrence didn’t know was the two were mates and could give each other strength through touch. This is a pretty good book, with lots of twist and turns, especially when you add in Leon and Eli, who were actually from the future, Leon was actually Leo the son of Roarke’s and Eli was the son of David’s. The future left a lot to be desired and feared, with the treats from the two rogue packs and hunters bent on their extinction, they had to watch each other’s backs. The love they have is what makes them stronger. I cannot wait to read the next book.

Northern Relations by H. Lewis-Foster

NorthernRelationsTitle: Northern Relations

Author: H. Lewis-Foster

Genre: Historical Romance / Regency

Length: Novelette (15K)

Publisher: Amber Allure (October 6th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Edward, Lord Hadnall, leads a hedonistic life in Regency London, along with his friend and occasional lover, Charlie Brabinger. The only blot on Edward’s carefree horizon is the insistence of his female relations that he settle down and get married. He intends to ignore their pestering for as long as he can, and continue his decadent lifestyle of dances and debauchery. But then Edward meets Charlie’s cousin, Arthur Hathwaite, a kind and honorable country gentleman.

Edward accepts Arthur’s invitation to visit his Yorkshire home and is surprised to find life on the rural estate extremely agreeable. He enjoys Arthur’s company immensely and they become firm friends. But when Edward makes an unexpected discovery, he is left in a moral dilemma. Will Edward follow his usual indulgent urges or do the right thing for once in his life? Or might he be lucky enough to do both? 

Product Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/NorthernRelations.html

Review: I certainly enjoy a good regency read, what can I say, the era appeals to me. This one was quite enjoyable on many accounts. It had the erotic sensuality I come to expect from this kind of setting. The language and mannerisms were fitting of the era even explicit sex scenes were described, and that made me one satisfied reader. I loved how the shallow Lord was painted, how his lifestyle was described and how in contrasts his northern noble friend was to his city gent mannerisms. There was a certain care when it came to relying gentlemanlike behaviors and attention/respect for the female family members. The expectations of “society” versus the guilty pleasures, the duty one had to their titles and station in life versus the wants and their personal longing was exquisite. All in all, I loved the writing style of this short story.

Romance-wise I was elated to see how this story developed. The happy end was to be expected, but it came in such a beautiful order. It was filled with the “romance” and the elegance the setting demanded. The growth that occurred for Lord Hadnall was lovely. He matured so wonderfully that I came to adore him in the end. All his playboy behavior shattered in the wake of noble feelings and love were simply delightful. As for Arthur, he somewhat surprised me with his surety and confidence, I expected him to be the seduced not the seducer, but the end result was gorgeous. It displayed his hunger for things he thought he’d never have with a very gentle way. He was a lovely character all over.

All in all, this was a very tasteful and enjoyable read I’d love to recommend for fans of the genre.

 

Saving His Sky Captain by Caitlin Ricci

SavingSkyCaptainTitle: Saving His Sky Captain

Author: Caitlin Ricci

Genre: Steampunk

Length: Short Story (7k words)

Publisher: Amber Allure (October 6th, 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2.5~3 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Damiano Linderhurst is out to prove his worth as the captain of an airship. The young Academy graduate has family history behind him, and their financial backing as well. Damiano intends to go far in the fleet and knows he’s destined for greatness as soon as he makes a name for himself.

But first, he needs to gain the respect of his crew. Not easy to do when you’re the youngest captain in the fleet and completely untested.

When a stowaway appears on Damiano’s maiden voyage, his perfect dream quickly starts to crumble around him. Damiano knows it’ll take a miracle to right things again, and he might end up falling back to Earth before he ever gets the chance to fly… 

Product Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/SavingSkyCaptain.html

Review: So first, I’d like to comment on the cover. Absolutely Stunning! However it gave the impression of a raw, brutal adventure coming alive with the words hidden inside it, and unfortunately that was not the case.

This is precisely why I don’t like to read blurbs and watch covers, they either lead you wrong or rise your expectations way up. In this very short read we got to meet Damiano, who by the way is so full of himself I couldn’t stand it. Damiano comes from a family that breeds sky captains. His brother, his father, his grandfather, and now he himself. He is destined to be great. Of course that is all in his head because the moment a true challenge rears up its head he freezes like a deer in the headlights.

I didn’t like this character. The story was so short that all I got from it was a character that got no chance to prove itself to me, to make me admire him, and like him, and possibly ever love him. Nope, nothing. His first mate did indeed save his captain, but then again we didn’t get to meet him either.

So while all the premises were solid and good for a nice story, there was no story. I needed so much more in there. Truth be told my ire is perhaps caused by the fact that I got so much engrossed with the story I didn’t even realize that it ended. One moment I was reading it and nodding my head because things finally got at that hot point ready to explode, the next I’m reading author’s bio and thinking “what on Earth just happened?”

Yeah so, a good one, but I wish it lasted more…

 

Turbulent Rain by Cheyenne Meadows

5ebd6e731937999ba6bc820a4e74832c.image.300x450Title: Turbulent Rain

Author: Cheyenne Meadows

Genre: MMF/ Paranormal Romance/Mystery

Length: Novella (229pgs)

Publisher: Silver Publishing EBook (October 5th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Seeker

Purchase Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/turbulent-rain-ebook-p-59260.html?number_of_uploads=0

Blurb: Ordered to find a mate immediately, Rain stumbles across alpha wolf shifter Jet and his mate, Garrett. Jet’s offer of matehood sets in motion brutal events, leaving shifters dead, Garrett questioning himself, and Jet struggling to keep the peace.

Rain is ordered to find a mate immediately or else. Desperate, she takes off and literally runs into alpha wolf shifter Jet and his beta mate Garrett from a rival wolf shifter pack. Hearing her predicament and having met her once before, Jet steps up, promising to mate her.

Jet’s actions set into motion a series of brutal events and leaves Garrett questioning himself about their relationship and he looks to Rain with a skeptical eye. Out to expose Rain, Garrett strives to find proof she carries the blame for murders that take the two packs to the brink of outright war.

Jet works to keep peace in his household and between their packs. He needs to convince Garrett that Rain’s innocent, and keep his hands off the beautiful woman who makes his inner wolf growl with need, while striving to become the bonded threesome nature intended.

Can they come together as bonded mates in time to help save their packs? Will Garrett be able to finally see the truth about Rain before it’s too late?

Review: Humans; Shifters who haven’t shifted yet ~ no matter their age; Betas; Alphas; Supreme Alphas – Got it?  OK now we can begin.  Ahh, the things one learns about Shifters along the way.  Writer Cheyenne Meadows brings us into the world of Rain, Jet, and Garrett.  The writing is choppy at first but eventually settles into a bounding rhythm. 

Turbulent Rain is a Male/Male romance story with an introduction of a Female.  And it is written as such.  The scenes of sizzle are between the two mates Jet and Garrett.  The introduction of Rain into their relationship sexually is well done but stunted. The overall story is well crafted with certain plot points given the Jedi’s keystroke where Rain is concerned.  The focus as this crime tale unfolds is, of course, Rain’s rebellion at being forced to choose a mate.  But we don’t get so lost in the rebellion that we forget that Rain is female.  Therein lays the main issue with this otherwise wonderful story. 

I began reading this story as I was taught:  find the main character and follow them.  I presumed from the title that this was Rain’s story and it is not.  This is Rain, Jet, and Garrett’s story – and should be read as such.  Kudos to Cheyenne Meadows for teaching this old reader to see with new eyes.

Smoke in My Eyes by Becky Black

91LSerLRJOL._SL1500_Title: Smoke in My Eyes

Series:   NA

Author: Becky Black

Genre: Contemporary

Length:   Short (45 pages)

Publisher: JMS Books (October 16th, 2013)

Heat: Mild

Heart: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Reviewer:   Eli/Mandingo

Blurb: After a decade together, death took Daniel’s lover away in an instant. A year of grieving kept him from thinking about the future. But now fearing loneliness, fearing aging and its effects, he’s ready to find someone new before it’s too late. Filled with good intentions, Daniel joins a gym. He plans to work hard to keep what time is all too quickly taking away from him. But are good intentions enough against the many distractions and temptations of life? Is he really prepared to make the sacrifices required? Meeting gym owner Chris may be the extra boost his motivation needs — if only he could figure out why Chris keeps blowing hot and cold on him.

Death claimed Chris’s lover too, but took much longer about it. The memory of watching the man he loved suffer has left Chris terrified of getting close to anyone again. He likes Daniel a lot, but there’s a problem and Chris can’t fix it, only Daniel can. If he’s serious about being with Chris. It’s a straightforward ultimatum. Daniel smokes and Chris will not date a smoker. Daniel has a choice. It’s Chris or the cigarettes.

Daniel has to prove to Chris that he’s ready to make changes and he’s not all mouth. But can he do it? Are the sacrifices he’ll have to make worth it? Should he even be changing himself to suit a man who’s made him no promises and who might still back off later? Chris has to learn to accept Daniel’s imperfections and mortality. Only once he gets past the grief and fear can he take a risk on loving Daniel, even knowing he could be hurt again.

Daniel takes on the biggest physical challenge he’s ever faced to prove he’s serious about Chris. But in the end, he has to decide if he wants to make the changes for himself and his own future, whether Chris is part of that or not.

Purchase Link:   http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=945

Review: Well the blurb is going to be much longer than the actual review.  The blurb left little for the reader to actually experience because the entire plotline is revealed. The only thing left to really discover is if you liked ‘how’ the author told the story. The theme of the story is change and one’s motivation to change.  Daniel must find his motivation to become healthy and live a new life and Chris must find his motivation to simply move on from the past.  Both men have to prove things more to themselves than to each other.  This is accomplished through Daniel’s eyes since this is his story.  He moves himself to a new reality and is thus able to move Chris to a new reality as well. 

The story takes place over six months and the interaction between the men is real to what one would or could expect with men both grieving and needing to come to grips with their new reality. Daniel’s journey to physical fitness was interesting to read, but I’d have liked to have read more about his interaction with his fellow athletes and any hook ups he might have had.  But the key is that his journey focused on him and not on his pining for Chris.  It is only after he found himself that Chris returned to the picture.

The best part of the book is the end when both men are able to accept the changes that they’ve each made and you are able to envision what a future for them could be like.  Not a bad short read, I recommend in between flights at an airport.

Double Full by Kindle Alexander

2940148821502_p0_v1_s260x420Title:  Double Full

Series:  A Nice Guy Novel, book #1

Author:  Kindle Alexander

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

Length:  Novel (275 pages)

Publisher:  The Kindle Alexander Collection (October 8th, 2013)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Blurb:   Up and coming football hero, Colton Michaels, makes a Hail Mary pass one night in the college locker room that results in the hottest, sexiest five days of his young life. However, interference after the play has him hiding his past and burying his future in the bottom of a bottle. While Colt seems to have it all, looks can be deceiving, especially when you’re trapped so far in a closet that you can’t see your way out. When ten years of living his expected fast-lane lifestyle lands him engaged to his manipulative Russian supermodel girlfriend, he decides it’s time to call a new play.

Jace Montgomery single-handily built the largest all-star cheerleading gym in the world, driven by a need to forget a life-altering encounter with a handsome quarterback a decade ago. His reputation as an excellent coach, hard-nosed businessman, and savvy entrepreneur earned him respect in the sometimes-catty world of competitive cheerleading. When Jace learns of his ex-lover’s plans to marry, his heart executes a barrel roll and his carefully placed resolve tumbles down without a mat to absorb the shock. Can his island escape help him to finally let go of the past and move his life forward?

Product Link:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?keywords=9780989117388&index=books&linkCode=qs&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  This book was intense, emotional, and passionate. From the opening scene in the locker room to the Hawaiian Islands to an impromptu wedding, Alexander manages to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

Colt Michaels is a painfully closeted pro football player. He’s lived the last ten years of his life in a drunken stupor attempting to drown out everyone and everything around him. He seems to have it all; money, power, success and a beautiful supermodel fiancé, but looks can be deceiving. Ten years ago, he took a chance and took what he wanted, Jace Montgomery. The two fell hard and fast for each other and Colt was determined to have his career and his man. Then Colt’s homophobic father found out and all hell broke loose. He walked away from Jace in order to protect him, but he’s never forgotten him, or the five magical days they spent in Hawaii.

Jace Montgomery has always been open about his sexuality. He’s made an extremely successful career for himself as an award-winning cheer instructor, and even has his own state of the art facility for training. Another man who seems to have it all, again, looks can be deceiving. Ten years ago, he gave his heart away, and it was shattered. The memories of Colt, high school and Hawaii are still very fresh and very painful. Roaming the internet one day he sees the house in Hawaii for sale and on a whim, he buys it. With the announcement of Colt’s wedding, Jace feels his heart breaking all over again and heads off to Hawaii to make some new memories.

In a story full of love, loss, heartbreak, drama, and passion, Colt and Jace will have to find their way back to each other if either of them stands a chance at happiness. But old threats are still looming in the shadows. A life threatening accident forces their hand and decisions that could have negative ramifications have to be made. Can Colt and Jace push through all the bullshit and find their happy ever after?

I loved everything about this book! Soul mates torn apart by a power-hungry and vindictive father, suffering a decade of misery and then finally finding their way back to each other. Colt really transformed from the person he was at the start to the person he became at the end. In the beginning, he was young, uncertain, and scared. But by the end, he was strong, fierce, and loyal. He was never a unlikeable character though. And Jace was always the strong one throughout. He had his moments of weakness here and there, but this just added to his depth and reliability.

If you like strong alpha males, soul mates and some extremely passionate guy/guy reads then you have to get a copy of Double Full, you will not be disappointed!

 

 

Alpha Wolf with Benefits by Marcy Jacks

18278183Title: Alpha Wolf with Benefits

Series: Luna Werewolves, Book 5

Author: Marcy Jacks

Length: Novel (126 Pages)

Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand, Inc. (August 31st, 2013)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: Lucas White rescued his mate from the hands of Bud’s pack of rogue wolves, but then was forced to watch him run away since Charlie Terrell didn’t trust any packs after his time in captivity. His only choice was to wait and hope for the day when Charlie would come back to him to complete their bonding.

That time has come, but Lucas wants Charlie to understand that he doesn’t have to exchange sex for a safe place to sleep at night, though that is one of the fantastic perks.

Slowly but surely, Charlie learns to trust the alpha, and maybe even love him, but when one of Charlie’s former kidnappers becomes jealous and desperate to have him back, Lucas will show his mate that he’s willing to do anything to keep him safe, including accepting a challenge that could see him killed.

Product Link:http://www.bookstrand.com/alpha-wolf-with-benefits

Review: Lucas had saved his mate from the one of the men of Bud’s pack or rogues, only to lose him when Charlie panicked. Mates cannot stand to be apart for very long before they start to hurt. Ten long days go by and Lucas is going out of his mind, so while taking a walk in the woods behind the house, he is rewarded when Charlie returned. Lucas lets Charlie know that he doesn’t have to have sex with Lucas unless he wants to. That they could take the friendship stance, but Charlie says friends with benefits sound better, only to have Lucas change it to Alpha with benefits. When one of Charlie’s former kidnappers becomes desperate to get him back, Lucas realizes he will fight even to the death for the one he loves. I loved this book and cannot wait to read the next book.

A Story in the Dark with a Graveyard Tree by Katalinya Palokova

71yxDOrJ-FL._SL1500_Title:  A Story in the Dark with a Graveyard Tree

Series:  Lights Out, Halloween Sips

Author:  Katalinya Palokova        

Genre:   Paranormal Romance

Length:  Short (20 pages)

Publisher:  Torquere Press (October 8th, 2013)

Heat Level:  Mild

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥3Hearts

Blurb:  In a small town on Halloween night, the dryad of the graveyard’s ancient oak tree meets Marlon, a lonely man who is visiting the grave of a recently departed friend. When they take shelter in a nearby haunted house for the night, they discover that they have quite a bit more in common than loneliness and a need to get out of the cold. With some behind-the-scenes assistance from benevolent ghosts and beloved memories, they turn the night into the start of something magical.

Product Link:  http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_107&products_id=4033

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  Marlon sits in a chair by a grave reading a book to a dearly departed friend. The Dryad of the graveyard, a part tree part man spiritual being, stumbles across Marlon and is enthralled by the care in which he reads. The Dryad invites Marlon back to his house on the hill to stay with him for the night. The sex isn’t expected, but when the opportunity presents itself, neither man shy’s away.

This was the cutest m/m Halloween them story ever! It’s super short, but super sexy as Marlon and The Dryad get to know each other as best as they can with what little time they’ve been given. The ghosts in the background adding a little spark, so to speak, was the perfect complement to the story.

Like I said its super short, but if you are looking for a Halloween themed quick read that will leave you satisfied and smiling, grab a copy of this one!

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship by Tinnean

StartOfABeautifulFriendshipLGTitle:  The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Series:  A Spy vs. Spook Novella, Prequel to Houseboat on the Nile

Houseboat on the Nile
Houseboat on the Nile

Author:  Tinnean

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Length:  Novella (78 pages)

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press (October 15th 2013)

Heat Level:  Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Blurb:   It’s 1996, and Mark Vincent, senior special agent of the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security, has been assigned the task of assassinating the head of a terrorist organization in Europe. When the mission goes south and he’s ordered to take a vacation, he reluctantly goes to Paris, where, in a little bar called Le Petit Home, he sees a man who intrigues him. However, like ships passing in the night, they go their separate ways, only to meet again the following morning, and over breakfast, the man introduces himself as Louis.

Is it too much of a coincidence? Perhaps, perhaps not, but Mark is intrigued and, unable to resist, he gives his name as Rick. A comment of Louis’s leads Mark to assume Louis hustles for a living, so Mark decides to “rent” him for the week. Unbeknownst to Mark, Louis has his own reasons for going along with the charade, which leads to… the start of a beautiful friendship.

Product Link:  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4262

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  Short and Sexy, I got two of my favorite colors with this odd little novella.

Mark Vincent (Rick) is a secret agent called to Paris on his latest assignment. In the aftermath of an assignment gone bad, and losing a friend, he’s also dealing with the illness of a father figure back home. Taking a night off he spots a man at the bar that interests him in a way no one has in a while. The man leaves with someone else, but as fate would have it, Rick stumbles across him again the next day.

Louis has come across to Rick as a ‘rent boy’ and the two enter into an agreement for the evening. An evening that turns into a week spent making love, ordering room service and taking romantic strolls through the streets of Paris. As their journey comes to an end, Rick discovers that Louis is not the man he initially thought him to be.

I was a little lost at the start of the story, trying to keep the various agents separated. But once the story started to focus on just Mark/Rick and Louis, I was beyond engrossed. And then once that little twist presented itself at the end I was ecstatic! If you’re looking for something short, sexy, and fun then give this one a whirl!

 

Tristan's Despair by Lavina Lewis

2339-210x336Title: Tristan’s Despair 

Series: Shifter’s Haven 08

Author: Lavina Lewis 

Genre: Paranormal

Length: Novella (108pgs)

Publisher: Totally Bound (11th October 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate     

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts    

Reviewer: Pixie     

Blurb: Wolf shifter Tristan Ambrose is delighted to finally meet his mate, but is human Joey Brooks prepared for the constant danger that life with a shifter entails?

When wolf shifter Tristan Ambrose unexpectedly meets human Joey Brooks outside the guesthouse where they both stay, he couldn’t be happier to have finally found his mate. But Joey is an ambitious young newspaper reporter who came to Wolf Creek looking for a story on the arson attacks that have recently ravaged the town.

Can Tristan trust Joey to keep, not only his secret, but also that of his entire pack? And when Joey is nearly killed by a fully shifted wolf, will he decide that a future with Tristan is not worth the risk to his life?     

Purchase Link:  https://www.totallybound.com/tristans-despair

Review: This story is part of a series and must be read in order. Tristan finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place when he meets his mate, while he is delighted to meet his mate he is horrified to learn that he is a reporter who is there to dig up the truth behind the fires that plagued the town. Joey is an ambitious reporter determined to get to the truth, but when he gets involved with local Tristan, he discovers more than he bargained for. Tristan has to discover if he can trust Joey with the towns secrets and Joey has to decide if a story is more important than love.

This is a great addition to the Shifter’s Haven series giving us a new couple with problems to solve and a storyline that weaves previous plots into this one. Tristan is feeling the weight of pressure from his brother and pack when he discovers his mate Joey, after all Joey is asking questions that they can’t answer to a human, but Tristan doesn’t want to deny his mate. Joey is instantly attracted to Tristan and thinks he knows one of the towns secrets, but it isn’t long before he realizes his error. Joey knows he has a hard choice before him and although Tristan has come to mean everything to him, giving up his dreams is hard to do. 

Tristan and Joey make a great couple and they do face some hostility at first because of Joey’s job, but a mate is a mate and Joey’s job isn’t their only problem. We discover that the storyline from Pete’s Persuasion lingers on with the discovery that the arsonist has sort protection from another pack, the news astounds the pack, but Joey and Tristan have more to worry about when wolves attack them. We see both Tristan and Joey suffer from their decision and it takes them both long enough to pull their heads out of their arses and come up with a way to be together. 

I did enjoy this story and enjoyed seeing the wolves of Wolf Creek again, seeing how they had moved on from the devastation that befell them in Pete’s Persuasion and catching up with the hunt for Evelyn. The story is well written and a nice light easy read, there’s a couple of tense scenes and some great sex scenes and it was also really nice to see that although there’s still the instant attraction and the urge to mate, it isn’t easy sailing for Joey and Tristan. 

I recommend this to those who love shifters, a progressing storyline, great characters, a touch of danger, great sex, hot shifters and a brilliant ending. 

Someday It Will Be by S.A. McAuley

17402464Title:  Someday It Will Be

Author:  S.A. McAuley

Genre:   Paranormal Romance

Length:  Novella (49 pages)

Publisher:  Totally Bound (October 23rd 2013)

Heat Level:  Mild

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts

Blurb:   Poe is about to learn death and time are fragile barriers—if he has the strength of will to let go.

Poe passes through a graffiti-laden alley, his chin tucked into his chest, a scarf wrapped tightly over his mouth to keep out the cold. He has nowhere to go since Isaac’s death, but something compels him out in the frigid Chicago winter.

He steps out of the alley, off the curb, and…into sand. In summertime. Isaac told him it would happen but Poe doesn’t care how it’s possible, only that now he has a chance to make everything right

Product Link: https://www.totallybound.com/someday-it-will-be

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  This short story was just that, short and sweet with an endearing passion to it that transcends time, to make things right. Who doesn’t love second chances.

Poe walks through the frigid cold in Chicago, through an alley and emerges onto a sunny beach, a decade ago. He realizes his husbands dying words, “Someday it will be”, are coming to fruition and although he doesn’t understand how, he only knows he has to find himself and attempt to change his destiny. He finds Artie, his younger self, right where he knew he would, the memory of the time and date are still vivid in his mind. Can he convince Artie to take a different path and not waste the life he could possibly lead with Isaac?

I loved the time travel or alternate reality aspect to this story. “If I knew then what I know now” takes on a definitive meaning here. Poe knows exactly what he did wrong and exactly what… who he stands to lose if he makes the wrong choices. There were some really passionate scenes between the ML of the future, Poe and Isaac. I did get confused enough at times throughout to have to go back and re-read to make sure I was with the right character. And Poe/Arties decision to leave in the past was never quite explained well enough.

To spite these few minor flaws, I thought this was a cute paranormal romance with some decent guy on guy action and a HEA.

 

Wallflower by Heidi Belleau

Wallflower_400x600Title: Wallflower

Series: Rear Entrance Video, #2

Author: Heidi Belleau

Genre: MM / Contemporary Romance / Cross-Dressing

Length: Novel

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (October 21st, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3.5~4 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb:This gamer geek has a lacy little secret.

Art student and MMORPG addict Robert Ng has always been a loner, but he’s recently made it his goal to make more (IRL) friends. Which is how he winds up working nights at Rear Entrance Video, shilling sketchy porn and blowup dolls as a favor to his roommate. The longer he works there, though, the more he realizes he’ll never be truly happy until he becomes the person he is online: his female persona, Bobby.

Bobby is cuter and funnier than Rob is, and a thousand times more popular with boys. Becoming Bobby IRL presents its own set of challenges, though . . . especially when you’re sitting on the fence between two genders, only one of which has caught the attention of your seriously cute customer/classmate.

Dylan Ford is a six-foot Inuit comic book artist who always says what’s on his mind, and screw anyone who doesn’t like it. As rough as he appears, though, Dylan has a soft spot for Rob. But will out-and-proud Dylan still want Rob if he’s not all man?

Product Link: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/wallflower

Review: And this reviewer’s inner geek thrilled with this book.

So yeah, my former addiction with MMORPG’s is not hidden, the fact that I simply love those games and especially the ones that contain elves and orcs in there are my absolute favs. So when I picked up this particular book I was already biased, but add to that the cross-dressing character and a fabulous writing and damn, this was a very, very enjoyable read for me.

So yeah, the book starts a bit slowly and steadily introduces us Rob. At first I disliked that slow pace (I’m much fonder of the fast and furious pace where events hit you full force), but I admit that in order to truly appreciate Rob/Bobby you needed a bit of time and some clarifications.

Rob/Bobby is this very confused young man. An online game addict with a very shy personality Rob is the classic “loser.” He goes completely ignored by everyone (literally) except his sister and his online friends. Yeah, his sister has an obligation toward him right, so she can’t ignore him, but even his “friends” don’t know the real him simply because in-game Rob is Bobby.

Bobby is flirtatious, confident, and social. She is admired and always cool. Bobby is still non-existent up until Rob decides to make her part-real IRL too. And while he passed for female, making his customers at the video club he works finally looking at him/her, acknowledging him and telling him he’s pretty, a strange thing happens. Rob gets some confidence as well (was it Bobby’s influence or his new classmate/customer Dylan’s) and he starts a relationship. Miracle of miracles and his boyfriend Dylan not only looks at him, but also literally starts loving him. However, Dylan has made one thing clear since the beginning, he’s gay, and he likes his men all man…

This was a very well studied plot in my opinion, one that made me want to re-read this book to truly appreciate it. Things that are a bit mysterious at the beginning lead you on the wrong path (or at least they did me) and only near the end the complete clarification comes, after many twists and turns that were steadily building up that tension that the beginning lacked. The entire confusion Rob’s character suffered was practically brilliant and very believable. The essence of the twenty years old who’s not 100% sure of what, why or how was perfectly captured and that whole angst people that age pass through was delivered without the additional burden of unnecessary drama.

The relationship between Dylan and Rob may have made it into myfavorite couples list, they were so well suited. I loved them both together and separately as characters. Dylan was just wow. The fact that he was a punk looking teddy bear was adorable, the in your face, no-censor brain-to-mouth and the flawed external appearance were simply brilliant and invigorating. Rob’s complicated personality along with the lovely presentable Chinese appearance made him a lovable character as well. Yeah there were times where you wanted to spank the hell out of him, but that’s just proof of how alive that character came to be for you while reading, a treat actually and a mark that the author did well with giving him life.

So yeah, I loved the story, the plot, the characters, the sex (yeah definitely that, quite hot). I loved the geeky guy, I loved the cross-dressing guy and I could go on and on, but in the end, what matters is that if you find the above slightly appealing I strongly recommend you give this one a shot. It’s guaranteed to be an enjoyable read.

P.S. I wonder is the next book going to be Austin’s story? Hmm, I really, really hope so.

Riptide 'Bump in the Night' Blog Tour and Author Giveaway!

Hey guys, Pixie here! Yes I know, I know, has Portia finally gone insane? But hey, I finally wrest control from Portia to announce a fantastic blog tour from Riptide publishing !!! Just read below for the details and you can be in for a chance to win a Riptide Publishing gift certificate (imagine the books *drool*) or a Brien Michaels ebook! (whoop!). I’ve also added Thommie’s review for Bump in the Night and let me tell you I had hours of fun teasing Thommie about tentacles!! LOL

So I leave you in the hands of Riptide Publishing and Brien Michaels and their awesome competition, have fun guys. Pixie 😉

BumpNight_TourBanner1Hello there, I’m Brien Michaels and welcome to the Bump in the Night blog tour. Bump in the Night is an erotic horror anthology edited by Rachel Haimowitz and featuring my story “Out From Under.”

Anybody who knows me knows how big a role music plays in my writing. Can’t write without it, can barely think without it sometimes. And if they really know me, they know that each of my books share titles with some of my favorite songs. It’s funny (to me, at least) that the original title for my offering to the Bump in the Night anthology was Monster, which is a song from Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster EP. It seemed fitting, considering how horrific this story is (we’re talking demons, tentacles, being held against your will and some serious dubcon bordering on noncon) and that the main antagonist is a sperm-eating plant demon. But my editor told me that the title seemed a little flat and she thought it was a good idea to change it. So I went back to the drawing board.

I came up with a whole list of titles and spent nearly a week going through them, but none seemed to fit. Every time I looked at them I was BumpNight_150x300just overcome with a sense of blah. Then I was doing a read-through before I sent back the first round of edits and I realized the answer was literally staring me right in the face.

I have a borderline unnatural obsession with Britney Spears (fun fact of the day), and there’s a song on her fifth album Blackout that’s always resonated with me. It’s basically about what to do when you can’t go any further in a relationship. When you’ve tried literally everything you could have tried and it’s just not working, but the other person still wants to keep trying. The song is called Out From Under, and it’s heartbreaking in its vulnerability. Anyway, near the end of the chorus, she sings, “I don’t want to feel the pain. What good would it do me now? I’ll get it figured out when I’m Out from under. From under… From under…” When I first heard the song and her chanting “From under” I thought to myself “Wow…that would make a really cool name for a demon.” This was four to five years ago, mind you. But I finally got to use it. My demon/plant monster in this story is called Fromunder and it fits so perfectly I jumped up and down when I figured it out

So the story itself is called Out From Under and I think that title ties in so well to the struggles not only my protagonist but also my antagonist are facing it’s scary. I won’t give anything away here, but just know…it’s pretty fucking terrifying. Want a blurb?

When Brant’s lover is killed, he’s left with no choice but to complete one last task for his demon master Fromunder. The prize? His lover alive again. The alternative? Eternal servitude. But the stakes of this mission are higher than Brant realizes, and now he might now survive the night.

And because I love you all…I’m going to be doing a drawing from all the comments on this post. The prize, an e-copy of my first erotic horror publication, Last Friday Night.

BumpInTheNight_400x600“Tyler Mack is straight almost to the point of being homophobic. He’s with a different woman night after night, secretly longing for the one who will make him feel something besides the soul-crushing emptiness following orgasm number X.

Jessie Nalick used to be married. His wife left him for a man with a bigger check, a bigger car and (from what she says) a bigger dick. He’s relocated to another state and is planning on starting his life over. The house he’s having built is almost finished and things seem to finally be looking up, until he receives a panicked call from Tyler, one of the construction men working on the house, claiming there’s trouble.

Someone has lured both of them from the safety of their normal lives and is about to force them into a situation where it’s not their lives at stake, but the lives of the people they love. There’s only one thing they have to do to ensure no one dies, but it’s the one thing Tyler would rather die than do.”

Thanks so much to everyone for coming out! Hope to see more of you in the future. And thanks to my wonderful host for having me over today. Happy reading!

You can read an excerpt of “Out From Under” and purchase Bump in the Night here.

 

Contest:

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a $25 Riptide Publishing gift certificate! Entries close at midnight, EST, on November 2nd, and one grand prize winner will be announced or contacted on November 3rd. Contest is valid worldwide.

 

Blurb:

Turn off the lights . . . and turn on your darkest fantasies.

Demon pacts. Ghostly possessions. Monsters lurking in the depths. The things that go bump in the night frighten us, but they also intrigue us. Fascinate us. Even turn us on.

Join us as fan favorites Ally Blue and Kari Gregg bring over-amorous aquatic beasts to life with their mythic twists on the Siren and the monster in the lake.  Erotic horror pros Heidi Belleau, Sam Schooler, and Brien Michaels show us just how sexy scary can be with a pair of demon deals destined to curl your toes and set your heart thrashing. And literary masters Laylah Hunter and Peter Hansen weave haunting worlds where ghosts and dead lovers can touch our hearts (and other, naughtier places too . . .) and teach us lessons from beyond the grave.

By turns exciting, evocative, and exquisitely explicit, the stories in Bump in the Night are sure to scratch your sexy paranormal itch. Explore your wildest fantasies with us in this collection of dark erotic tales.

 

Find me online at:

http://www.Brienmichaels.com

http://www.Brienmichaels.blogspot.com

http://www.Twitter.com/brienmichaels

http://www.Goodreads.com/brienmichaels

http://www.Facebook.com/brienmichaels

BumpInTheNight_400x600Title: Bump in the Night Anthology

by Rachel Haimowitz (editor), Heidi Belleau, Ally Blue, Kari Gregg, Peter Hansen, Laylah Hunter, Brien Michaels, Sam Schooler

Genre: Paranormal / Dark Erotica / Horror

Length: 198 pages

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

BlurbTurn off the lights . . . and turn on your darkest fantasies.

Demon pacts. Ghostly possessions. Monsters lurking in the depths. The things that go bump in the night frighten us, but they also intrigue us. Fascinate us. Even turn us on.

Join us as fan favorites Ally Blue and Kari Gregg bring over-amorous aquatic beasts to life with their mythic twists on the Siren and the monster in the lake.  Erotic horror pros Heidi Belleau, Sam Schooler, and Brien Michaels show us just how sexy scary can be with a pair of demon deals destined to curl your toes and set your heart thrashing. And literary masters Laylah Hunter and Peter Hansen weave haunting worlds where ghosts and dead lovers can touch our hearts (and other, naughtier places too . . .) and teach us lessons from beyond the grave.

By turns exciting, evocative, and exquisitely explicit, the stories in Bump in the Night are sure to scratch your sexy paranormal itch. Explore your wildest fantasies with us in this collection of dark erotic tales.

Product Linkhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/bump-night

Review: So, I’ve been reading anthologies lately and almost all of them have this thing in common. No, not the theme (that is a given) rather the fact that after a while all the stories in the anthology seem the same, no unique ones to make a stand, a very few grab your attention. They are nice, but you forget them after a day or two.

But this one, oh my God, this anthology has made it straight to my favorites shelf, and I’ll be damned if I don’t take it down every so often to re-read it again and again and again. You might notice down below on each review how some of these stories have made quite an impact in me, one perhaps has scarred me for life. I swear I’m still going to re-read that incredibly horrifying story for as long as I live. Hell I’m going to have a great time telling them tales when with friends to scare the heck out of them too. Because that’s what this anthology is about. An incredible mix of dark fiction and explicit erotica meant to scare the living daylight out of you while simultaneously stoking that forbidden dark fire deep down in your shadiest part of your soul. Bump in the Night is definitely my favorite anthology among them all. Many thanks to the very talented authors who created these stories, they were simply wonderful.

Resurrection Man By Laylah Hunter

Oh my, what a marvelous story, how very creepy and brilliant.

What would you do if you were to lose the love of your life? What if you could bring him back from the cold darkness of Death? What price would you pay?

There is nothing Josef wouldn’t do for Adel. All his artistry, all their money, everything he can he’s ready to give. But when he pulls Adel’s spirit back into the living world he realizes the price he ultimately has to pay is much, much bigger than mere money or knowledge. The hunger for life is so much bigger when you’ve been dead after all…

A brilliant paranormal story and so very unique to what I’ve read so far. Honestly I don’t think I’ve read anything similar and the balance between the creepy and sexy and horny is just plain perfect. It’s like a mix of Frankenstein and Vampires with a slight dose of magic thrown in for good measure. I liked it, no I loved it. Everything about it was way cool, the writing, the idea and the way the story went, the play of emotions. Excellent indeed!

This is definitely a story I’d love to tell when around the fire on dark, stormy nights, or around Halloween. And if you love the style I think this is one of those you should not miss.

Mating Season By Kari Gregg

Horrifying, oh I have no words… This is terror, pure, unadulterated terror. Oh my God!!! Oh my guts are screaming in sympathy with the poor character of this story. Oh I have no words as my skin crawls and goosebumps travel my whole body. Oh my freaking God, this is definitely a story I’ll never, ever, EVER forget.

Ok, here it is. Danny has been humiliated. His girlfriend left him right before their marriage for his boss, and said boss fired him right after. Feeling useless and in a dead end in his life Danny hides in his apartment until his friend Keith drags him out for a game of basketball all the time trying to make him feel better and suggesting him to go hiking the lake and get his shit together.

Danny never goes to the lake once autumn rounds the corner. There are tales of a monster living there and Danny deep down believes them. But his friends insistence make him careless and he eventually makes his mind to go hiking. What follows is a crazy scientist, a slimy monster with enormous tentacles, and a poor guy forced into being a lab-rat, all dancing around a horrifying story that includes forced… things and death and addiction and… I have no words!

This is a horror story people! Horror with capital “H”. There is no other way around it. The things that happen to Danny from the very first night he sets foot on that lake are made from the worst of nightmares. I was literally screaming for half this read. My skin still hasn’t stopped crawling and I’m awed at this author’s creativity and slimy tale. OH MY GOD!!!

So I don’t know; did I like it? I don’t know. Was I fascinated by it? Hell yeah. Did it grip me and held me captive despite the gut wrenching horror I felt the entire time? It sure did. Is this what you want? Only if you don’t faint easily and have a strong, strong stomach. Oh God, I’ll never step foot on a lake, ever, ever again.

Flesh and Song By Ally Blue

La Terre de la Belle MortThe Land of Beautiful Death. The island found in no map, whispered only in frightening tales, a sinful promise of all your heart’s desires that come with a severe price.

That is what Noah has been looking for, for nearly eight months. The tale wants the island unfound when you so much search for it. Only by sheer luck or mistake one can land there, only when lost one can be found, but then you might never leave it again…

Just as he’s about to give up the search though a mighty storm leads him to this gorgeous island. But Noah doesn’t know what he wants. Now that he’s here what exactly is he looking for? The gorgeous naked man on the beach calls to him, running through the jungle the call becomes near painful. He must go to him, he needs to before he dies. And there, on a beautiful pool under a waterfall his God awaits, his fathomless black eyes beaconing him forward, his wonderful musical voice urging him to this astonishing creature.

Days, weeks, months pass in the haze of dream that takes everything from him besides the longing for his God. No memories, no ambitions, no will for anything else beside the arms wrapped around him and the sex God giving him all he wants, nothing else exists. Finally Noah understands what he’s been searching for. But he forgot that once he got his heart’s desire, it would come with a price…

This is a gorgeous story, heartbreaking and a bit sad in the end, but gorgeous nonetheless. I believe when I think of a Siren, the emotions this story evoked are exactly right. The promises, the longing, the will to do anything, to give anything for the call of the Siren. Homer would have been ecstatic to have read this version of his Sirens’. What a wonderful story this one.

Out from Under By Brien Michaels

How did it come to this? To get trapped between two demons and their century long vendetta? Each more horrible than the other, every path leading to death… or worse.

Three years under the demon’s spell. Three years of nightmares and being a slave to the demon’s twisted wishes, luring men into their deaths. But when Fromunder killed his lover right in front of his eyes Brant felt his world shift and true Hell consume him. The demon had no hold on him now that his lover was dead, or had he? The promise to bring Jason back was too alluring to deny, the price for that burning his soul, yet nothing would deter him from doing whatever in his power to achieve it.

And that’s how it came to this… lying in the middle of a bed between two sworn enemies, waiting for one to die and the other to consume him… After all he suffered, he would never see his lover again. Right?

This was a very nice story, the evil and viciousness of the paranormal world was so strong, the read so raw not shying away from explicit violence, torture, or sexual abuse, but rather basking in it. A story made from the stuff nightmares come from, a story fit for the spirit of Halloween, a story strong enough to make you lose yourself in its dark depths.

Can you tell I loved this one too?

Sleeping With Ghosts By Peter Hansen

Oh, wow! This was quite a cold story. I don’t know what to make of it really.

In this story Yordan is a Bookman, a priest who is sent to turn the last page of men’s life in order to give a chance for a soulless newborn. A weird world with many Churches, Priests, Brotherhoods. Religion and politics that make an appearance and give you a notion of what this world is about without delving much into it. The story is mostly about Yordan taking a life that was uncalled for, simply by blindly following orders. The soul who lost his body now wanders without a new one to take residence. A haunted night, a cold encounter, rippling feeling of dread… Yes, cold is how this story leaves you, cold from inside out. It gave shivers and frankly it made me want more. I was not satisfied with this short, I wan’t more Bookmen, more Ironmen, more of this world.

However this story was quite worth it and so very in the ghostly atmosphere. Lovely indeed. I still want more though. *sigh*

Blasphemer, Sinner, Saint By Heidi Belleau and Sam Schooler

Oh this story was quite brilliant as well. See this is another “deal with a Devil” themed one, but it was so very well executed.

The man who makes the deal doesn’t make it for himself, rather for someone else. He makes a deal for a person he once loved as a boy in dark corners, but shunned in broad daylight. He made the deal for a man he held in contempt, humiliated, and crushed his hopes when he most needed him. Tobias makes a deal for David’s life.

What I loved more in this story was the fact that the Devil here is a creature that as horrific and repulsive as he was described to be, I ended up admiring and actually being my favorite character here. Tobias was this self-righteous Christian charitable man who lacked humbleness and was blind by his bigotry. He perverted and twisted his love for David by convincing himself that David “tempted” him and he still stayed strong and moral, while David “chose” to be the immoral person he became. The brilliancy of the writing here was how the Devil made Tobias become David in the end. How he made him feel and understand and comprehend that sometimes in life there is no choice, sometimes you simply have to do everything in your power for the person you love, own it and never once back out from it.

I loved this story, it was deep with meanings while in the same time was full of those dark sinful erotic scenes that come when you strike a deal with a devil…

The Dark Bokor by Diane Hartsock

TheDarkBokar600Title: The Dark Bokor

Author: Dianne Hartsock

Genre: Zombies/Horror

Length: Novella (14,500 words)

Publisher: Breathless Press (October 18 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Hearts Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb:When it comes to the dark weavings of hoodoo magic, only a few can survive.

It’s started. Bodies have been found in the French Quarter, torn limb from limb. The undead have been seen walking. For Detective Matthew Rieves, this is the worst news he can imagine. Having spent his entire life in Orleans Parish, Matt’s no stranger to the bizarre. Though, despite the growing evidence, he still has a hard time believing in the occult. But when two hoodoo bokors vie for supremacy, it’s the innocent civilians that pay the price.

For Jesse Dalembert, he’d left New Orleans to sever his ties with hoodoo. But when a friend is brutally murdered by the bokor’s zombies, he returns, falling at once into danger and into Detective Rieves’s bed. With their lives on the line, their simmering attraction flares into a passion they can no longer deny.

Working against time, can the lovers find a way to stop the hoodoo war, or will they fall victim to the dark magic, maybe becoming zombies themselves?

 

Purchase Link: http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=1&products_id=487

Review: The Dark Bokor is a unique take on Zombies.  I found the story very original and interesting.

Jesse has tried to sever his ties with the Hoodoo community but when  his friend and ex-lover is found murdered he finds himself back in action and back  working with detective Matt Rieves the man who has been starring  in his fantasies far too long.

This story has a lot of mystery, lots of magic or hoodoo and lots of hot mansex.  Oh did I mention Zombies?

I liked the unique take on the Zombies, the New Orleans hoodoo and dark magic setting, and how the backstory and the romance and the Zombies are all wove together smoothly so that nothing was overwhelming. I also liked that it wasn’t gory.

I recommend this to anyone that likes a good mystery, hot mansex and Zombies.

Saving Sonny James by Lou Sylvre

SavingSonnyJamesLGTitle: Saving Sonny James 

Series: Vasquez & James 04 

Author: Lou Sylvre

Genre: Contemporary, Action 

Length: Novel (221pgs) 

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (18th October 2013) 

Heat Level: Moderate 

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts 

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Luki Vasquez and his still newlywed husband are back home after pulling off a harrowing desert rescue of their teenage nephew Jackie. But the events of the last couple of years have begun to catch up with Luki—loving Sonny James and letting Sonny love him back has left gaps in his emotional armor. In the gunfight that secured Jackie’s rescue, Luki’s bullet killed a young guard, an innocent boy in Luki’s mind. In the grip of PTSD, memories, flashbacks, and nightmares consume him, and he falls into deep, almost vegetative depression. 

Sonny devotes his days to helping Luki, putting his own career on hold, even passing up a European tour of galleries and schools—an opportunity that might never come again. But when Luki’s parasomnia turns his nightmares into real-world terror, it breaks the gridlock. Sonny realizes what he’s doing isn’t working, and he says yes to Europe. Enter Harold Breslin, a dangerously intelligent artist’s promoter and embezzler whose obsessive desire for Sonny is exceeded only by his narcissism. When Harold’s plan for Sonny turns poisonous, Luki must break free of PTSD and get to France fit and ready in time to save his husband’s life. 

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4269    

Review: This book is part of a series and must be read in order. Luki and Sonny are back home and Luki is suffering from the after effects of shooting a young guard during the rescue of their teenage nephew Jackie. Sonny is reaching the end of his patience as Luki seems to slip further away everyday and Luki can’t seem to pull himself out of his downward spiral. When Sonny gets into trouble, it brings Luki to awareness. And when Sonny sets off for his European tour, Luki begins to seek the help that he needs. When Sonny becomes impossible to contact Luki begins to worry and sets off to find his missing husband, Sonny desperately needs his husbands help as an obsessed art agents plans for him turn deadly. 

Sonny and Luki are back and this time Luki has to deal with PTSD before he can run to Sonny’s rescue. Luki begins to realize that he has to improve and get help if he is to continue in his role of Sonny’s protector and husband and the beginnings of his recovery comes just in time when he realizes that something isn’t quite right. Sonny’s dreams of an exhibit is Europe comes to fruition but it soon goes wrong when he notices that there is something wrong with his phone and email, and his agents behavior makes him wary. 

This is another brilliant Vasquez and James story, which delves into PTSD. Luki isn’t the tower of strength that we have come to know and love. He was hit hard with the death of the young guard in Finding Jackie. It was something he has done many times before but this time he feels guilt, but Luki can’t get the image of green eyes out of his mind, he has tumbled into a world that is gray and suffers from nightmares. As he swims through the fog in his mind, he ignores all around him, until he gets a wakeup call and realizes what he is doing to Sonny. Sonny is as lovable as ever but he is struggling with Luki’s illness, he feels helpless but knows nothing he is doing is helping, Sonny has tried all that he can to help Luki, but Luki refuses professional help and there is nothing that Sonny can do except love Luki. As the book progresses we see how both of the feel and although their love is strong and they would stand by each other through anything, Sonny can’t put his life on hold forever and Luki gets the kick in the ass he needs to get help. 

The book then shifts to the action part with Luki recovering enough to begin to function as a human being and realizing that something is wrong with Sonny in Paris. Sonny finds himself in trouble with no way out and Luki sweeps in like a vengeful angel with the help of an old flame. This is a really well written story that has us seeing strife in paradise as Luki struggles with his demons. We feel Sonny’s frustration as he sees Luki fall under the weight of his demons and we are encouraged when Luki begins to fight back against the demons. But then comes the twisted man who wants Sonny for his own. And while Luki runs to the rescue, he still has to fight against the PTSD that tries to pull him under. 

I recommend this to those who love action Luki style, an incredible love, dealing with demons, danger, hot loving and a great ending.