Blurb: The truth is rarely seen on the surface, and getting to it might mean digging deep….
After a devastating accident and a long stay in the hospital, the last thing petroleum engineer Sean Wilkinson wants to deal with is the settlement the oil company tries to force on him. He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.
As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous.
Review: An intriguing read about Sean and how he copes after an accident leaves him in a wheel chair battling the company he worked for over a settlement. In steps Nate Delaney to negotiate the terms of the settlement.
These two men are not without their struggles in life but they grow closer amid a wide variety of suspicious things going on around them. I found both characters to be interesting. I liked the way they interacted with each other and others.
This story will draw you in and not let go until the very end. I enjoyed this story and it’s characters. Well written with the right amount of mystery and romance.
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (12th January 2018)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’– 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: The truth is rarely seen on the surface, and getting to it might mean digging deep….
After a devastating accident and a long stay in the hospital, the last thing petroleum engineer Sean Wilkinson wants to deal with is the settlement the oil company tries to force on him. He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most law-yers take one look at his tattoo-covered father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.
As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove – to his father, the world, and himself. Sean in-trigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report – including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to pro-tect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, be-comes a lot more dangerous.
Review: Pins and Needles is a standalone novel by AJ Thomas. I’m not really all that familiar with Thomas’s writing, although I think I might have read some books but I know I don’t have anything by the author in my Audible library. The narration for the audio was performed by Jason Riley, a completely new narrator for me. Therefore, it’s safe to say I went into this book not knowing what to expect from both the story and the narration and only knowing that I liked the look of the blurb.
The narration was great. I will definitely be interested in any more books which are narrated by Jason Riley. His voice and tonal differences between the MCs suited the characters well. Overall, a pretty awesome performance and by the end of it I would go as far as to call it a flawless performance too.
The story centres around Sean Wilkinson and Nate Delaney. Sean has had a tough upbringing, but he was lucky that there was someone there to support him (not just financially) as a kid, through college and now to the third day on his job shortly after graduation. Coming from an unconventional background (his stepdad runs a tattoo parlour), Sean is super smart and has become a petroleum engineer, so smart that during his internship he invented a machine to use on the oil platforms. However, on the third on the job, there was an accident that ended in his losing his leg. This is the start of a lot of legal and medical issues which Sean has to navigate, with the help of his kind, tough teddy-bear like stepfather. And that is how Nate Delaney comes into his life.
Nate has worked his butt off to become a lawyer, like his father, and after college and passing the bar has been working for his father’s law firm. He loves being a lawyer but he doesn’t love his job. He is treated a lot tougher than any other intern or lawyer at his level because his father is adamant that there will be no special treatment. Which is understandable, however, it has been taken too far and his father does not see the hours of thankless tasks he does, proving him more than competent. Sean doesn’t want to be his father or his father’s firm, and is ready to make it on his own. Circumstance leads him to Sean’s stepfather and then to Sean.
While there is an instant attraction between Sean and Nate there is also a lot of trouble. Nate is trying to make it on his own, while his father’s firm could ruin his reputation after leaving so sensationally. Not to mention the conflict of interest issue brewing as he gets closer to Sean and starts to fall in love. Sean has gone through a major trauma, has a tonne of personal baggage connected to his old job, and he needs to heal both mentally and physically. The loss of his leg has changed his life, but his drawing and gift when it comes to tattoos is something that helps him through the tough times.
Things aren’t simple with Sean’s accident. When Nate begins to dig, he finds a lot more happening that what appears on the surface. At first he wants to ensure that Sean gets enough money to pay for medical bills as well as to keep Sean afloat with his chosen career now lost to him. This aspect of the plot is an adventure with twists and turns. Nate’s astute observations brings the story forward, while Sean’s fears throw in the occasional roadblock. But together this gives us an interesting and engaging plot.
Pins and Needles is one of those awesome discoveries, where I was so happy that I took the chance when I read the blurb and decided to get the audio book version. Firstly, I instantly connected to the characters thanks to a very relaxed writing style that made the emotions of the characters accessible to me as the reader. I also felt the chemistry between the characters, which was woven well into the greater plot, which involves some intrigue, mystery and danger. It also helps that there is a lot of depth to these characters and they change so much throughout the book as individuals and it’s a development that goes hand in hand with the developing relationship.
I recommend this for anyone that likes a bit of a mystery, characters who are more than meets the eye and sprinkling of danger.
But the minister who exploited him wants him back.
Exiled hellhound-turned–bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory’s orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he’s supposed to be hunting….
Review: I liked both Mal and Jory’s characters but found it hard to believe that Jory had no clue that he was something more than human. I mean with his abilities he should have had some idea. Mal’s deception I understood because of the job he took to find Jory and retrieve him.
The overall feeling of the book was good suspense. The ending was the icing on the cake but it felt rushed at times. The bad guy I figured out pretty quickly. I was disappointed with the fact that the story never revealed what happened to Asmodeus. He was never a key character but he was mentioned so much that I wanted to know.
Aside from that I enjoyed reading about Mal, Jory, Neal, louise and the dragon. They were all interesting characters that brought the story to life. Plenty of action scenes added an edge of your seat element to the book.
Blurb: The truth is rarely seen on the surface, and getting to it might mean digging deep….
After a devastating accident and a long stay in the hospital, the last thing petroleum engineer Sean Wilkinson wants to deal with is the settlement the oil company tries to force on him. He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.
As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous. . ISBN-13: 978-1-63533-687-0
Review: An intriguing read about Sean and how he copes after an accident leaves him in a wheel chair battling the company he worked for over a settlement. In steps Nate Delaney to negotiate the terms of the settlement.
These two men are not without their struggles in life but they grow closer amid a wide variety of suspicious things going on around them. I found both characters to be interesting. I liked the way they interacted with each other and others.
This story will draw you in and not let go until the very end. I enjoyed this story and it’s characters. Well written with the right amount of mystery and romance.
Hi guys, we have A.J. Thomas stopping by with her brand new release The Way Things Are, we also have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Prime’s review for you to enjoy. So check out the post and then click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
 The Way Things Are
 by
A.J. Thomas
A night of drunken confusion at nineteen resulted in Patrick Connelly fathering a child. Determined to be there for his son, Patrick walked away from a sport he loved and forever hid his sexuality. After Patrick’s brutal divorce and a vicious hate crime, his son, Jay, has become obsessed with graffiti. Hoping for a fresh start, Patrick moves Jay to his childhood home in Seattle. Within two weeks, Jay is arrested again. On his way to pick Jay up, Patrick stops an assault, then finds himself in handcuffs too. Thinking things canĘĽt get any worse, heĘĽs confronted by the sexiest man heĘĽs ever seen—his sonĘĽs new probation officer, Ken Atkins.
The hardest part of KenĘĽs job is working with difficult parents, and the undeniably handsome Patrick Connelly is going to be a difficult parent. A chance encounter and steamy hookup with Patrick leave Ken blindsided. As they work together to try to keep Jay on the right path, the passion between them proves impossible to resist. When the assault Patrick prevented comes back to haunt them and Jay gets into trouble again, Ken must convince Patrick that ensuring his sonĘĽs happiness doesnĘĽt have to mean sacrificing his own.
Series: (Least Likely Partnership #2)
Spin-off from A Casual Weekend Thing.
Author: A.J. Thomas
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Length: Novel (250 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-62798-706-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 9th 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Cat
Blurb: When his vicious cousin Alejandro makes a violent late-night visit, San Diego homicide detective Ray Delgado gets a brutal reminder of why he left his family behind. Alejandro wants Ray to find his sister, Sophia, who disappeared from the UC San Diego campus, before the FBI digs too deep into his business.
Special Agent Elliot Belkamp spent his entire life jumping from one place to another, but his new assignment assisting a FBI task force offers him a chance to settle down. When Elliot catches a missing person’s case as his first assignment, the last person he expects to find poking around the victim’s dorm room is Ray, a one-time hook-up he’s more inclined to punch in the face than kiss hello. After discovering Sophia’s disappearance is linked to a massive computer-based theft that has two powerful crime families ready to declare war, Elliot focuses on his investigation and tries to ignore Ray. As the search for Sophia turns dangerous, Elliot and Ray discover that tackling organized crime might be easier than resisting the urge to tackle each other.
Review: Ray is a homicide detective and his family is a big crime syndicate. However Ray isn’t connected to his family, he is a good detective and one of the best at solving a problem and reading people. Ray has discovered that he is attracted to men, but is fighting his desires though he has flings he has limits. He refuses to let himself be gay or out.
Elliot has transferred to the FBI in San Diego. Ray Delgado was the last man he wanted to see. The way Ray left him stung, yet seeing him dredges up memories and desires, but he has decided he is holding out for a relationship and Ray will never, be in the place where he can be involved in one, so he is off limits.
Ray’s cousin Sophie, that he has raised and feels more like a sister, has been reported missing. Ray knows that if Alejandro is after her its more than she is missing. A report of stolen money and a big gang uprising ensues and Ray and Elliot are thrown together by links.
I really liked this book a lot, but once I began, I got the big impression this was part of a series. He further I got into the first few chapters the more I felt I needed to know a few things. I went out, looked at the book and front matter, and found nothing about a series. The story started with lots of action and pulled me in so I kept on. Now having said this, I will say there was plenty of information drop done skilfully and throughout the book. By the time the book ended, I had a good picture of what was going on. Though I wanted to know more about Ray’s ex-partner and the past case and Rays family.
After the book was done, I found this is a spinoff from A Casual Weekend Thing. I do suggest you read it first to really get the full impact of the story (I will be getting a copy myself) however, you can read it as is and still enjoy it as I have.The story line is fast paced, lots of action and twists and turns. The dynamics between Elliott and Ray are intriguing, suspenseful and very hot and sexy.
So if you like a really good police drama, mystery, action packed suspense involving crime syndicates, twists and turns and some really hot man-sex with a very satisfying, sweet ending this I for you. And I want more!!
Blurb: Anders Blankenship never intended to hike the Appalachian Trail alone, but when his boyfriend cancels, Anders steels his courage, leaving the abusive relationship to tackle the long-distance hike. Though a hiking virgin, he’s glad he made the decision when he receives threatening messages from his ex. Luckily, Kevin, an experienced backpacker, takes him under his wing.Â
Kevin Winters isn’t looking for a hiking partner, let alone a fling with a cute man on the rebound. After learning he has the autoimmune disorder that killed his father, Kevin left his family to wander remote trails. Convinced his future holds only pain and death, Kevin refuses to get close to anyone. The family sourdough recipes he recreates over a campfire are his only solace.Â
In the wilderness, Anders and Kevin discover a lot of common ground. While the future holds uncertainties they may not be ready to deal with, it might also hold the chance for happiness.
Review: So let’s start the story with two broken men from totally different backgrounds who begin a journey and after four months find themselves both totally changed. The story is a case study in the m/m romance genre of broken men who must dig within themselves to find their own strength if they are going to be able to even embark upon a relationship. Anders must exit an abusive relationship, rebuild his confidence and determine what to do with his life. Kevin must deal with the tragic loss of his father, his youth and the onset of a life-threatening disease. There is absolutely no reason for either of these men to bond and find anything in common with each other.
What instead happens is these men become each other’s ying and yang playing off their individual strengths and weaknesses and thus forming a rather firm bond. They will be separated and events will become tragic and melodramatic, but they will find each other and both learn to grow from their pain and experiences into a strong partnership. Anders will find a man who really understands and values all that he is; and Kevin will find a man who is not afraid of his illness and who does not see him as any less than a strong man.
The book explores a multitude of themes: Living life to the fullest and family and it is done while exploring the word of hiking. The reader will learn much about hiking along the Appalachian Trail and nothing about the story seems forced or pretentious. The men take on the trail as a metaphor for how they will need to take on their own individual struggles. For Anders, he’s finally taking control of his life and happiness while Kevin is learning to enjoy having someone to share that journey with despite his fear of relationships and his seeming self-reliance.
This is a great read that blends great visual scenery, social studies, ecological conservationism, heat, passion and a touching love story.
Blurb: Doug Heavy Runner left the life of an openly gay Miami police officer and returned to his home on the Salish-Kootenai Indian Reservation when his mother got sick. In the two years since she passed, he’s carved out an empty life as a small-town deputy, relying on out-of-town one-night stands to keep him sane. Then he meets Detective Christopher Hayes, and they share a wild night so incredible Doug breaks his own rule and allows a one-night stand to grow into a weekend of amazing sex.
When Christopher travels from San Diego to Montana to deal with his abusive brother’s suicide, he doesn’t expect to find the man he spent the weekend with to be handling his brother’s case. He certainly doesn’t mind spending more time with Doug—but then an arsonist destroys the house Christopher inherited from his brother, and Christopher and Doug discover they are the primary suspects.
As they investigate, they discover Christopher’s dead brother has set them on the trail of a psychotic pedophile who will stop at nothing to silence his last victim. However, the search for the victim goes horribly wrong, leaving Doug hospitalized and Christopher at the mercy of the killer….
Review: Doug left Miami and returned to the town of Elkin and the Salish-Kootenai Indian Reservation when his mother fell ill. Now, he is a deeply closeted gay deputy at the sheriff’s department snatching stolen nights with men out-of-town. One such night leads to an amazing weekend with Christopher Hayes and the hope of future stolen weekends with the detective. Christopher was shot in the line of duty, recovery isn’t looking promising, but all that gets pushed to the side when he has to travel to Montana to deal with his older brother’s (Peter) suicide. It also gives him the opportunity to spend more time with Doug, when he discovers Doug is the one handling the case. But things start to go wrong when his brother’s house burns down and the FBI gets involved. Christopher realizes Peter has given him clues to follow and it is a dangerous path for both Christopher and Doug when a dangerous psychotic pedophile turns his sights on them.
Wow! Just wow. This story is absolutely fantastic. A brilliant mystery, and with a suspense that keeps you guessing. Doug is a brilliant character. He isn’t perfect. He has his hang ups with his background, he’s closeted and a vegan. When he meets Christopher the attraction is sudden and the sex mind-blowing and it’s something he wants more of. Christopher’s character has its own hang-ups that have haunted him from the past; he is strong-willed and is out of the closet. Meeting Doug and having a fling with him helps him put his feelings for his work partner, Ray, into perspective, but Christopher is still conflicted over what to do next.     Â
I am very surprised that this is a debut novel. The writing is brilliant, and the storyline absolutely ace and it switches nicely between the relationship between Christopher and Doug and the suspense of just what is going on in Elkin. The mystery that Peter leaves for his brother Christopher to solve is disturbing. Especially as Christopher and Doug dig and make new discoveries which will shock the town. Doug and Christopher’s romance is tricky as they hide it from the town, but they also have the knowledge that Christopher will be returning to California. We are also treated to Ray, Christopher’s work partner and best friend, and the conflicting feelings the pair of them have. Ray is a great character and I truly hope we get a story for him and also maybe for FBI agent Elliot Belkamp.
So what more to say? Well, the sex is really hot and Doug has to work through some of his fears. Hmmm, the characters are great and really work well together. Doug and Ray are just excellent as rivals. What else? Oh, the storyline leads you through horrific discoveries well, but it is all surface details so there are no really horrific scenes played out on page.
So, I have no choice but to recommend that everyone gives this book a read. but especially those who love mystery, suspense, danger, digging into dangerous secrets, great relationships, hot sex and an ending that gives us great promise for Doug’s and Christopher’s relationship.Â
Title: Pins & Needles
Title: Strays
