Aliens, Smith and Jones by Blaine D. Arden Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!

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Hi guys! We have Blaine D. Arden visiting today with the tour for her new re-release Aliens, Smith and Jones, we have a great exclusive excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and mine & Shorty’s reviews, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Aliens, Smith and Jones

(The Primrose Files 01)
by

Blaine D. Arden

“It’s not all about serving coffee and typing reports.”

Working for a secret organisation specialising in alien cover-ups, Connor Smith is no stranger to the abnormal or dangerous. His love life on the other hand… not so exciting. Until he reluctantly agrees to a blind date and meets the perfect bloke, Jason.

Things are finally falling into place for Connor, so of course that’s when he attracts an alien stalker.

Noah Jones, ex-alien, has been stranded on Earth and forced to live as a human since 1648. Alone and detached from the world around him, Noah has spent centuries observing and recording humankind. In all that time, he’s only experienced a connection with a human once… until he finds Connor.

Even knowing Connor is in a relationship, Noah can’t ignore their potential bond, or stay away.

While dealing with missing alien artefacts, a dangerous and shadowy group of collectors, and the ever-present Noah, Connor finds his orderly life crumbling around him. At least he still has the perfect boyfriend…

When Noah goes missing, Connor is forced to face the feelings growing between them and the mounting evidence that Jason isn’t who he says he is…

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK ❣️**.•.•.

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Exclusive Excerpt!

from Chapter 3

Isa arranged a blind date for Connor

“I can’t believe I missed going up north.” Isa laughed. “Ghost sightings. All those people panicking because of one boy playing ghost.”

“You know how it is, three sightings in the same area and we check it out.”

“Pity, I missed it. And you? Noren hunting. Again. I visit my mum for a couple of days, and you guys have all the fun.”

It hadn’t been that much fun. A good result, but if Connor never saw those white, monkey-like creatures again, it would be too soon. At least they’d found something useful buried in the ground.

The owner of the land had been less than happy with them rooting around, but the Noren had started digging before they’d even arrived. In between the trees, deep into the ground and across the field from where Team Delta had found the residue, they recovered metallic slivers of what was now rumoured to have been part of a space ship. Connor preferred waiting for Research to investigate it to listening to rumours.

“I missed out on hunting those Noren twice now.”

Connor rolled his eyes and looked behind him. “You make it sound like we’re always out when you’re not here.”

From the moment they’d exited the train station, walking arm in arm towards the pub, Connor had the uneasy feeling someone was following them. The incident five days ago still played with his mind, and he couldn’t stop checking out every sound. He’d nearly jumped when someone brushed past him on the train. Yesterday, for a mere second, he’d sensed that same odd tingle at the base of his spine, so slight he’d tried to convince himself he’d imagined it.

No tingle now, but there was something that made him look. Isa didn’t seem to notice.

“Last time you were out hunting those Noren was when… where was I?”

“Home with the flu,” Connor reminded her. “And it was two weeks ago.”

“Huh,” Isa said, “I could have sworn…”

“Flu,” Connor repeated. “You texted me at lunch, insisting on me bringing you chicken soup from the canteen.”

Isa frowned as she counted something on her fingers and sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.”

The pub was packed, even if the tiny dance floor was nearly empty. Their mistake for going on a Saturday night. They took the only available stools, right at the end of the bar.

“So, how was dear old mum?” Connor asked, trying to appear casual instead of paranoid as he scanned the room. There was already too much of that in their line of work.

“Mum was brilliant,” she said, gazing at him as if trying to figure something out. “Not sure I like the new boyfriend, though. He’s so clingy it’s sickening. Still, he’s got taste. Mum’s house looks a lot classier with his furniture in it.”

“He moved in already?”

Isa rolled her eyes. “Something to do with his flat being sold, or whatever. I didn’t dare ask.”

Connor shook his head. “As long as she knows what she’s getting into.”

“I wonder if he does. Mum knows how to deal with men.”

“It’s a wonder she’s never been arrested, considering she chased number seven out with a baseball bat.”

“It’s probably because they’re too macho to admit a woman bested them.”

They laughed, and Connor scanned the bar again. Something definitely felt off, and not because they were waiting for that blind date Isa had arranged. No matter how many times he’d told her not to do it, she wouldn’t listen. Yet, fool that he was, Connor had agreed to go through with it. Still, anything was better than staying at home, alone, mulling about the nosebleed incident. That would only end in another sleepless night. “So, who is he?”

Isa didn’t look at him. Instead, she fiddled with her drink. “I met him at Ellen’s.”

Seriously? “Ellen’s?” Connor cried out. “As in dating-anything-that-moves Ellen?”

Isa nodded, still not looking at him.

“You thought it was a good idea to set me up with another one of her friends?”

“He seemed quite nice when I met him a couple of weeks ago.”

Connor groaned. Isa was a good friend, his best friend, but a lousy judge of character. Her choice in boyfriends was terrible. Her matchmaking skills were even worse. For some reason, she thought he needed a boyfriend who was exactly like him, or rather, who she thought was exactly like him. Because they never were. Not to mention that one of him was enough in a relationship.

He suppressed the urge to ask her more about the bloke, knowing that if he did, she would tell him every little detail she knew, from hobbies to job to family and all the strange little quirks she remembered. She was as compulsive about collecting facts as he was, after all. She never understood that part of the fun of dating was the discovering.

With a sigh, he turned and looked around again, hoping against all odds that this one would not be as bad as the last few she’d tried to set him up with. He steered the subject safely away from his blind date and asked Isa more about spending time with her mum and the new boyfriend.

He looked up when the door opened for the umpteenth time. He more than regretted their choice of seats. From this end of the dark, red-lacquered bar, they had a perfect view of the entrance. Connor couldn’t resist glancing at the red-painted door every time it opened. Any random bloke entering could be his date, after all.

When the next to enter were a group of women, he shook his head at his foolishness and turned his attention back to Isa. She talked about her week, managing flawlessly to keep it as generic as possible, considering where they worked.

With one ear on the conversation, he scanned the crowd again. Something still made his skin crawl, as if someone was watching him, but no one seemed to be paying him much attention. At least, not until a blond across the bar caught his eyes. Nice eyes. Warm, smiling eyes.

He hadn’t planned on pulling, but if he found someone interesting himself, he wouldn’t have to go through the whole blind date thing…again. Unfortunately, the blond turned away and the only other bloke watching him wasn’t his type at all—if “too eager” was even a type.

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About Blaine!

Blaine D. Arden is a purple-haired, forty-something author of queer romance mixed with fantasy, magic, and suspense who sings her way through life in platform boots. She is an EPIC Award winning author, and her scifi romance “Aliens, Smith and Jones” received an Honourable Mention in the Best Gay Sci-Fi/Fantasy category of the Rainbow Awards 2012.
Born and raised in Zutphen, the Netherlands, Blaine spent many hours of her sheltered youth reading, day dreaming, making up stories and acting them out with her Barbies. After seeing the film “An Early Frost” as a teen in the mid-eighties, an idealistic Blaine wanted to do away with the negativity surrounding homosexuality and strove to show the world how beautiful love between men could be. Our difference is our strength, is Blaine’s motto, and her stories are often set in worlds where gender fluidity and sexual diversity are accepted as is.

Website | Facebook | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Goodreads | QueeRomance Ink

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Review

Title: Aliens, Smith and Jones (2nd Edition)

Series: The Primrose Files 01

Author: Blaine D. Arden

Genre: Science Fiction, Contemporary

Length: Novel (236pgs)

Publisher: Cayendi Press (October 1, 2018)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 4 1/4 Hearts Combined

Blurb: “It’s not all about serving coffee and typing reports.”

Working for a secret organisation specialising in alien cover-ups, Connor Smith is no stranger to the abnormal or dangerous. His love life on the other hand… not so exciting. Until he reluctantly agrees to a blind date and meets the perfect bloke, Jason.

Things are finally falling into place for Connor, so of course that’s when he attracts an alien stalker.

Noah Jones, ex-alien, has been stranded on Earth and forced to live as a human since 1648. Alone and detached from the world around him, Noah has spent centuries observing and recording humankind. In all that time, he’s only experienced a connection with a human once… until he finds Connor.

Even knowing Connor is in a relationship, Noah can’t ignore their potential bond, or stay away.

While dealing with missing alien artefacts, a dangerous and shadowy group of collectors, and the ever-present Noah, Connor finds his orderly life crumbling around him. At least he still has the perfect boyfriend…

When Noah goes missing, Connor is forced to face the feelings growing between them and the mounting evidence that Jason isn’t who he says he is…

NOTE: This is the second revised/re-edited edition. It was previously published by Storm Moon Press.

ISBN: B07HB3HQ4D

Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewers: Shorty & Pixie

Shorty’s Review: 💖💖💖💖 4 Hearts

Connor works for an organization that keeps track of aliens and artifacts and tries to prevent attacks. His best friend Isa is constantly setting him up though nothing pans out until Jason. On the surface Jason seems perfect. But nobody is perfect in my opinion. Then there was the mind attacks on Connor and the culprit found in Noah, an alien.

Now I found Connor to be, I don’t know the word to use here, clueless, ignorant He should have known something was off about Jason. I could not believe he was that clueless considering what his job was. it felt unrealistic to me. Noah was interesting and I liked his character. His backstory was fascinating especially his reasoning for doing what he did to Connor.

I think I would have enjoyed the story more if not for Connor’s character. I don’t think his character quite fit his job description and he left me feeling stunned at times that he could not see what was right in front of him. Never the less, I still enjoyed the story.

Great read.

Pixie’s Review: 💖💖💖💖💖 4 1/2 Hearts

Connor works for a company that secretly investigates anything alien, making sure alien artifacts don’t fall into the wrong hands. But, just recently somebody is getting to the artifacts before they can. On top of that worry, Connor seems to have gained a stalker who he has a very strange connection with, is it friend or foe? Noah has managed to stay under Primrose’s radar since the company came into being, but now he has inadvertently connected to one of its workers, Connor.  Noah tries to keep clear, but it’s not long before Primrose comes for him. Will the connection between Noah and Connor work for them or against them?

This is a great alien story that has a wealth of detail, great characters and an intriguing plot. Noah has been stranded on Earth for hundreds of years, living a quite unassuming life and not drawing attention to himself.  Inadvertently he makes a connection that he hasn’t felt in 270 years, he has high hopes, but then finds out Connor has a boyfriend. And that isn’t the least of his problems when he receives a visit from Primrose. Connor is shocked when something strange happens to him, but he tries to push it to the back of his mind as he starts dating a new man. Unfortunately, things become confusing for him when he discovers he has a connection to an alien and then he comes under suspicion when alien artifacts disappear from his work place and then Noah disappears as well.

Aliens, Smith, and Jones is far from the typical alien story. Noah Jones might have been found by Primrose, but they never experimented on him, okay so he went through a lot of tests but he wasn’t treated badly. I really liked the way that Primrose is portrayed in this book, although they do hunt aliens and alien artifacts it is more for the safety of the world, but without the need to experiment. I really was puzzled by Connor’s boyfriends’ role at first, but it soon began to come clear and it added a really good twist. I liked how we were drawn into the workings of Primrose and what they actually do, so we didn’t see them as the enemy.

What happens between Noah and Connor because of their connection I won’t say much about, but let’s just say that it saves both of them on more than one occasion. The action is well written and I liked how the mystery was done. There is some betrayal and a really horrific time in store for Noah at the hands of unscrupulous characters.

The sex in this book is really hot and it is intense when Noah and Connor finally get it together.  Their connection is something that is quite beautiful. There are some times when anguish and fear shine through and the descriptions are impressive and you can imagine just how emotionally painful it is.

I am going to recommend this one to those who like clandestine agencies, aliens, secret agendas, alien loving, a great storyline and a happy ending.