Hi guys, we have Ella Keaton stopping in today with the tour for her series Accidental Roots, we have a couple of short excerpts, my review of Storm Season and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and click that giveaway link! <3 ~Pixie~
Storm Season
Ella Keaton
They say you can’t go home again, Adam Klay doesn’t intend to until the death of his father, a famous artist, forces his return to Skagit, Washington. Cleaning up his father’s chaotic life was never on Adam’s bucket list. Worse, Adam finds himself inexplicably drawn to the elusive, terminally-clumsy, gorgeous, Micah Ryan. No way is he getting involved with someone from his hometown, he’s always insisted the best view of Skagit was in his rearview mirror.
Micah Ryan has been coasting on auto-pilot since his family was killed in a car accident a decade earlier. He runs a web business and has an irritable cat. He hardly leaves his house, unless it is for his afternoon espresso. His world tips upside down when Adam Klay rolls into town. For the first time in years, he feels alive. Unfortunately, Micah’s return to the living has been noticed and is not appreciated.
Someone has a secret. Someone is exploiting the vulnerable youth population in Skagit. Teenagers are disappearing, young women turning up dead, the dirty secrets of Skagit are surfacing.
No Pressure
Accidental Roots 02
Home is where the heart is, right? Except when it’s not. Not when you’re afraid for your life.
Joey James has given up on finding his ‘Prince Charming’. There is no such thing, he needs to be realistic about his chances of a lasting relationship. A chance encounter with a former school mate at the local grocery store changes everything-maybe. Before Joey can decide what to do about it, he is swept into a terrifying scheme. Forced into helping a dangerous stranger in exchange for his family’s safety, Joey begins a perilous journey into the criminal underbelly of Skagit. He will do whatever is needed to protect his family.
Buck Swanfeldt had a secret crush on Joey James in high school. Social anxiety and a two-year age difference made it impossible for him to approach Joey then. Life since high school has been challenging. And lonely. Eight years later, fate brings them together and Buck decides to act. He utterly fails. He would have left it at that, except fate seems to be intent on pushing Joey in his direction, and clearly Joey needs someone at his back.
Dark, sordid secrets hiding in Skagit are bubbling to the surface, danger lurks in unexpected places. Buck has never been anyone’s hero but something about Joey has him throwing caution to the wind. Together the two men take on a dangerous force greater than themselves. But sometimes our worst enemy is ourselves.
Excerpts!
Storm Season:
A crash startled him from his brooding. The perpetrator was a hot mess who, in the space of three minutes, knocked over a chair with the grocery bags hanging from his wrist and then backed into a woman on her way to the restroom. The poor guy almost expired on the spot.
Adam was immediately and inexplicably fascinated by him. At first it was pure rubbernecking. The guy seemed to have no idea where his arms and legs were in relation to his body or the space around him.
Three days later, when Adam realized he was waiting for the poor guy to come in for his afternoon coffee, he knew he needed to quit going there. There was no reason to waste time going over paperwork and files if Mohammad wasn’t going to let him actively participate. There was absolutely no reason to keep his eye out for a lean man with dark curly hair and green eyes (he thought) who couldn’t walk a straight line sober.
The next afternoon he found himself disappointed when Cute Hopeless Guy didn’t come in for his standard triple Americano, with room. Adam was so disconcerted by the unfamiliar emotion he stayed away a full day.
Instead, he drove out to his dad’s property. It kind of reminded him of Rochelle’s meadow. He wasn’t wearing his third-best suit or his dress shoes, but he felt just as useless. Just as unsure of the timeline of his father’s life and death. The house was shabby and unkempt, more so than when he had left 18 years ago. It hadn’t changed since the other night when he had pulled off I-5 and driven straight there: dark, empty, brooding.
“Why?” The two huge Douglas firs had heard it all before. Their long limbs scraped across each other, whispering their secrets into the damp. Still not answering him.
No Pressure:
“The way Joey was staring at him gave Buck the distinct impression that he had a pretty good idea what Buck had been thinking about. Was still thinking about. His dick, which had never reacted to anyone on its own accord in the history of Buck’s existence, chose that moment to chub up. Joey’s eyes flickered again. Buck was mortified. Joey had to have seen the twitch of his stupid coveralls. When his beautiful hazel eyes flicked up to Buck’s they were filled with very real heat.
For the first time in his life Buck didn’t think; he acted. Responded. He shushed his inner editor, reaching out to pull Joey close enough so Buck could bend down and touch his lips to Joey’s lush ones, their bodies touching from chest to hip to thigh. For a few short moments that all it was, a gentle press of lips. Until Joey opened his mouth and tentatively ran his tongue along the crease of Buck’s lips, his grip tightening on Buck’s biceps.
Buck couldn’t tell where he ended and Joey began; didn’t care. Everything was the heat of their mouths coming together, the rough texture of their tongues against one another and the faint taste of the coffee Joey must have had before he arrived at the shop. Buck could have stood there kissing him for hours; the little sounds Joey made slayed him. It certainly had gone on for more than a few minutes when there was a quiet throat-clearing and Xena went ballistic, barking and lunging at the interloper, nearly pulling Joey over onto the floor. Buck knew exactly how she felt. He reluctantly released his hands from where they were cupping Joey’s face, letting them fall back to his sides.”
About Ella!
Author, photographer, rare Pacific Northwest Native, Elle grew up in Seattle, WA., with the Cascade Mountain range to the east and Olympics to the west. Less than two hours northwest lie the majestic San Juan Islands. To the northeast is the Methow Valley and the scrub deserts of Eastern Washington. Geography ripe with material.
A graduate of Western Washington University, Elle has a BS in biology which taught her to be tenacious. The closest she has come to biology since then is having two kids. Like an experiment or something. She’s lived in four states (none of which were gaseous), London England, and Hong Kong; always knows what time it is, and has no problem finding parking even in the most difficult places. Cannot balance a checking account.
Elle’s series Accidental Roots, mostly set in the Skagit Valley of Western Washington, will make its debut spring of 2017. Storm Season is tender, sometimes irreverent, full of nosy neighbors and help when the hero didn’t think he needed it. Writing has always been a passion but not something she was able to take seriously until recently. Now her head is full of ideas and not enough time in each day.
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Giveaway!
Win ebook of Storm Season & No Pressure!
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Review
Title: Storm Season
Series: Accidental Roots 01
Author: Ella Keaton
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: Novel (308pgs)
ISBN: B06XDRQQJW
Publisher: Dirty Dog Press (March 10, 2017)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ – 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: They say you can’t go home again, Adam Klay doesn’t intend to until the death of his father, a famous artist, forces his return to Skagit, Washington. Cleaning up his father’s chaotic life was never on Adam’s bucket list. Worse, Adam finds himself inexplicably drawn to the elusive, terminally-clumsy, gorgeous, Micah Ryan. No way is he getting involved with someone from his hometown, he’s always insisted the best view of Skagit was in his rearview mirror.
Micah Ryan has been coasting on auto-pilot since his family was killed in a car accident a decade earlier. He runs a web business and has an irritable cat. He hardly leaves his house, unless it is for his afternoon espresso. His world tips upside down when Adam Klay rolls into town. For the first time in years, he feels alive. Unfortunately, Micah’s return to the living has been noticed and is not appreciated.
Someone has a secret. Someone is exploiting the vulnerable youth population in Skagit. Teenagers are disappearing, young women turning up dead, the dirty secrets of Skagit are surfacing.
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XDRQQJW
Review: Adam returns to his hometown after his father’s death never planning to stay, he just wants to sort out the estate and then return to his work. But he meets a clumsy sweet man who tempts him to want to stick around. Micah has lived in a state of limbo since his parents and sister were killed in a car crash; he’s coasted along living his life but that all changes when he tumbles into the lap of a man with mesmerizing brown eyes.
I must admit to being a little disappointed with this story, I was looking forward to being plunged into a mystery with a hot FBI agent and a clumsy love interest, I was really looking forward to rooting out all the little nuggets as the mystery unfolds and we discover all the little secrets. But it fell short, because while the mystery and secrets did come out it felt like we were getting third hand information, a lot of things happened off page, it would jump in places so you felt like you missed something and I actually felt left out of the investigation *pout*.
But, the relationship between Adam and Micah was pretty spot on, they seemed to fit together quite nicely, they are pretty hot together too 😉 and we discover a lot about them so the characters are fleshed out and we can understand what drives both of them. I mean hell Micah has had a really crappy event that happens that drags him down so he feels like a ghost and Adam has had a kinda crappy childhood where he basically raised himself so they both have stuff to overcome.
The writing was disjointed at times, yeah it did confuse a little at times but after a while you get used to it and fall into the flow. The chapters are really short but there’s a lot of them so no worries there and while there are several characters floating around you do get to have some insight in to a couple of them so I get the feeling that they may have larger parts in later books.
Overall I enjoyed this story and while Adam and Micah look like they are getting a happy ending there is still the investigation that has more to offer in future books.
I recommend that you give this book a go, you just might be surprised.
Check out the other blogs on the tour!
Congrats on the books! Thank you for the review!