Hiya peeps, we have Chris Quinton & R.J. Scott popping in today with their newest release Ice, the second book in the Salisbury series, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Lisa’s review so enjoy the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Ice
R.J. Scott & Chris Quinton
With millions in diamonds at stake, can Jon make Greg see that some things are not worth dying for?
Footloose adventurer Greg Drakowski used to live for the moment but these days shadows of grief and guilt cling to him. Recklessly following one lead to the next, Greg crosses oceans at the very hint of treasure, and doesn’t care that he rushes into danger.
This time his quarry is a cache of diamonds, hidden away decades ago. When the clues bring him to the ancient city of Salisbury, he knows he’s close to success.
Renovations expert Jonathan Ellis is part of Ageless Wood Restorations – three generations of knowledge and trade. Focused and hard-working, Jon finds value in recreating the elegance of the past with his own hands, and it will take something – or someone – extraordinary to break into his enclosed world.
When Greg drops into Jon’s lap he finds it impossible to refuse him. Even when the bad guy appears and Jon isn’t sure whom he can trust, he knows he has to stand by Greg, if only to save the idiot from himself.
Excerpt
Greg woke up a good hour before his alarm went off and rolled out of bed to shower and shave, and dress in his usual jeans and T-shirt ready for work. He drank instant coffee and ate the small wrapped cookies that came with the room, then took out all his notes and spread them out in chronological order on the floor, holding down recalcitrant corners with anything he could find.
A mug held down one, a notebook another, a pillow near his knee, and a shoe furthest from him.
Not exactly the best way to have this laid out, but he couldn’t pin everything up on the wall.
Andrey would laugh at him, seeing him on his hands and knees like this. Familiar grief welled inside him. A year and he could still conjure up Andrey’s face. He held the pendant that hung around his neck in a tight grip.
Greg sat back on his haunches to get a better perspective on the papers and to get a grip on the heartache that wouldn’t leave him. Instead he focused on why he was doing this: a mental promise to Andrey to find the Khlebnikov Diamonds. Somehow, in his screwed-up brain, he had rationalized the guilt he felt over Andrey’s death with finding the diamonds. Like it would restore some sort of cosmic balance in his life.
“Stupid,” he muttered to the empty room. “Find the diamonds, give them to Mack, get your cut, give the money to Lena, and fucking retire, already.”
His own island in the Aegean, beaches, warm water, peace.
Find the diamonds.
About R.J. & Chris
My goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.
I’ve been writing since age six, when I was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies and a mixing bowl. You can’t tell a six-year-old not to lick the bowl!
I was told to write a story, and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.
As an avid reader myself, I can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, my first real true love will always be the world of romance. I love my cowboys, bodyguards, firemen, and billionaires (to name a few), and I love to write dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between them. (Yum.)
With over ninety titles to my name and counting, I’m the author of the award-winning The Christmas Throwaway, which was the All Romance eBooks bestselling title of 2010.
I’m also known for the Texas series, which charts the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series, which follows the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.
I’m always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers, and other writers. Please contact me via the links below:
rj@rjscott.co.uk | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Librarything | Tumblr (some NSFW (not safe for work) photos) Pinterest | Full list of all books and works in progress | List of all print books | Reviews for RJ’s books
Chris Quinton
Chris started creating stories not long after she mastered joined-up writing, somewhat to the bemusement of her parents and her English teachers. But she received plenty of encouragement. Her dad gave her an already old Everest typewriter when she was ten, and it was probably the best gift she’d ever received – until the inventions of the home-computer and the worldwide web.
Chris’s reading and writing interests range from historical, mystery, and paranormal, to science-fiction and fantasy, writing mostly in the male/male genre. She also writes the occasional male/female novel in the name of Chris Power. She refuses to be pigeon-holed and intends to uphold the long and honourable tradition of the Eccentric Brit to the best of her ability. In her spare time [hah!] she reads, or listens to audio books while quilting or knitting. Over the years she has been a stable lad [briefly] in a local racing stable and stud, a part-time and unpaid amateur archaeologist, a civilian clerk at her local police station and a 15th century re-enactor.
She lives in a small and ancient city not far from Stonehenge in the south-west of the United Kingdom, and shares her usually chaotic home with her extended family, three dogs, a Frilled Dragon [lizard], sundry goldfish and tropicals.
Where to find the author:
Giveaway!
Win a $15 Amazon or ARe Giftcard!
Chris Quinton & R.J. Scott Rafflecopter giveaway!
Review
Title: Ice
Series: Salisbury #2
Author: R.J. Scott & Chris Quinton
Genre: Gay Erotic Romance, Contemporary
Length: Novel (297 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-78564-047-6
Publisher: Love Lane Books Limited (July 1, 2016)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb: With millions in diamonds at stake, can Jon make Greg see that some things are not worth dying for?
Footloose adventurer Greg Drakowski used to live for the moment but these days shadows of grief and guilt cling to him. Recklessly following one lead to the next, Greg crosses oceans at the very hint of treasure, and doesn’t care that he rushes into danger.
This time his quarry is a cache of diamonds, hidden away decades ago. When the clues bring him to the ancient city of Salisbury, he knows he’s close to success.
Renovations expert Jonathan Ellis is part of Ageless Wood Restorations – three generations of knowledge and trade. Focused and hard-working, Jon finds value in recreating the elegance of the past with his own hands, and it will take something – or someone – extraordinary to break into his enclosed world.
When Greg drops into Jon’s lap he finds it impossible to refuse him. Even when the bad guy appears and Jon isn’t sure whom he can trust, he knows he has to stand by Greg, if only to save the idiot from himself.
Product Link: Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)
Review: This story is the second book in this series and normally I would suggest starting with the first book however it is not needed. Although Lewis and the others are mentioned in this story, it is more focused on Greg and Jon.
Jon is one of the partners hired to restore the restaurant, The Laurels, from book one. Jon is a bit of a strange character to me, he comes off as a very old man at first, but then you realize it is just his attitude. After Paul’s accident, Jon needs to find some help if they want to get the restaurant in shape. He just had not expected to have one walk in from the street so to speak. There was something about Greg that had him a bit leery with working with the man, but damn did he know what he was doing. Now if only he could keep his hands off the man.
Greg is basically a thief and stole for a man who raised him. Greg’s last job got his best friend killed and with the amount of grief and guilt Greg felt he decided to get out. Too bad Mack didn’t want him to. He had one last job for him, retrieve some diamonds. However the people Greg works with are dying in ‘accidents’ and he might just be next.
Now you know Greg is not innocent but damn does he come off that way. Whereas Jon comes off as stodgy but there is some heat behind the man. He acts like he doesn’t want a relationship, what with his trust issues, but he wants Greg.
Now there is suspense, danger, death, violence, and some hot sex involved in this story. I have to admit that I felt off about the love interest Greg gave Jon right from the start. If I was going to do a job I don’t think I would try to hook up with someone, however I understood from Greg’s perspective.
This story took off with an explosive scene at first and I have to say that it rocked. You learn about how Greg became a thief and what is going on with him right off the bat in a way. It was an exciting read and I had not expected it to be so captivating.
I absolutely loved this story and can see myself reading it more than once. It had my attention from the moment I started reading and kept it all the way to the end. This is one story that I would definitely recommend to read.
