Spencer by J.P. Barnaby Blog Post & Giveaway!

Hey look what I have for you today guys! Yep we have J.P. Barnaby and her heartbreaking incredible story Spencer. J.P. has also let us have a peek into Henry’s life (you will so have to read this series now just to find out who Henry is *snigger*) and has a fabulous $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway, I have also thrown in Thommie’s review, and let me tell you that Thommie was emotionally wrung out when she finished reading both Aaron & Spencer (yes these books must be read in order), so enjoy our post today and good luck! *muah* ~Pixie~

Spencer - J.P. Barnaby_SpencerBlogTour

About the Book

A Survivor Story: Spencer

It’s been nearly five years since Aaron woke up in the hospital so broken, he couldn’t stand the sight of his own face. The flashbacks no longer dominate his life, but he’s still unable to find intimacy with his lover, Spencer Thomas. With time, patience, and the support of his family, his therapist, and his loving partner, Aaron has figured out how to live again. The problem is, Spencer hasn’t. His life has been on hold as he waits for the day he and Aaron can have a normal relationship. Hoping to move things forward for them both, he takes a job as a programmer in downtown Chicago, leaving Aaron alone.

Reeling in the wake of Spencer’s absence, Aaron receives another shock when his attackers are caught.

Now, he must testify and verbalize his worst nightmare. Publicly reliving his trauma without Spencer at his side destroys his precarious control. But he finds someone who can understand and empathize in Jordan, who watched his brother cut down in a school shooting. With Spencer gone and the DA knocking at his door, Aaron seeks solace in Jordan, and Spencer will have to risk everything to hold on to Aaron’s love.

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4773&cPath=55_395

Dreamspinner Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4818&cPath=55_395

Spencer Miranda and Henry

“Stephanie,” Miranda Thomas offered with one hand on her round belly. The baby kicked her hand and she smiled. She felt the rumble of a chuckle in her husband Henry’s chest as she rested against him on their plush couch. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on top of hers.

“Chloe,” he countered and nuzzled her hair out of the way to place a kiss on her neck. God, she loved him. Even Nell liked him and her sister didn’t like anyone. That could have something to do with Henry’s new thriving counseling practice, but she didn’t think so. Nell never had a thing for money. She, like Miranda, judged people based on who they were, not what they had.

Henry Thomas was a good man, a good husband, and soon, he’d be a good father.

“I don’t hate that one,” she admitted. “Let’s write that one down.”

“I don’t know why we’re picking girls names. He’s a boy.”

“Did you ask the tech when I got dressed?” She laughed. “Or is that a guess? I thought we didn’t want to know.” Miranda twisted a little to capture her husband’s lips in a slow kiss.

“I didn’t ask. I just know.”

“Okay, so what boys names do you like?”

“Anything but Henry Junior. I only escaped being a junior by the grace of God and a different middle name. Let’s allow him to be his own man.”

“I’m good with that. How about Bernard?” She kept her face solemn as he leaned around to peer at her. The horror in his expression brought a giggle to her lips.

“Seriously?”

“No, you said anything but Henry. I just wanted to test that theory.”

He wrapped his arms a little tighter and kissed her cheek with a grin.

“Okay, if he comes out really hairy with a casket around his neck, we’ll totally go with Bernard.” Henry brushed a wayward piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She sighed, her heart bursting with love for her husband and unborn child. She had everything she wanted right there on their little couch.

“How about Spencer?”

“Eh, I’m not loving that. What about Brandon?”

“That’s pretty common lately. I think Steve and Donna just named their son Brandon.”

“Albert?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, okay, maybe not.” Henry laughed and kissed her behind the ear.

“Do I have to go to work tonight? I want to just sit here on the couch with you.”

“I told you to quit when you got pregnant, honey.” Henry’s voice grew serious. “You don’t have to work at all. I’ll provide for you and the baby.”

“I know. I worked so hard for my degree, though. It seems like a waste when there’s such a shortage of nurses. I didn’t know I’d feel like this.” Miranda rubbed her ever-expanding belly with their joined hands. “Maybe I won’t go back after the baby is born.”

“God, I would love that.”

“I know you would. And now, I just have one more week, Henry. I couldn’t leave with Sharon on vacation. Just one more week, and I’ll be your little wifie, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.”

Henry sat up and turned Miranda gently in his arms.

“You know that’s not how I feel, right? I just want you to be safe and happy.”

“Sweetheart, I was teasing. You may have a few interesting personality traits, but being a Neanderthal has never been one of them.”

She giggled as he tickled her until she threatened to pee on his new couch like a puppy.

“Oh!”

“No, no puppies. At least not until the baby is a little older.”

He grinned at her pout but caught her bottom lip between his as he kissed her.

“Okay, go get ready for work before I call them and tell them you’re never coming back. God, you’re really thinking about staying home with our kids?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“I love you, both of you,” he said, resting his hand on hers over their new son or daughter. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

“And I promise, we’ll get a puppy when things calm after the baby. We have time.”

“A whole lifetime,” she promised back.

Author Bio

 

Spencer - J.P. Barnaby_authorImage

Award winning romance novelist, J. P. Barnaby has penned over a dozen books including the Working Boys series, the Little Boy Lost series, In the Absence of Monsters, and Aaron. As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.

Giveaway

For a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card just click: 

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Review

18664803Title: Spencer

Series: A Survivor Story #3

Author:  J.P. Barnaby

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (216 pages)

ISNB: 978-1-62798-702-8

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards) 4.5 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: It’s been nearly five years since Aaron woke up in the hospital so broken, he couldn’t stand the sight of his own face. The flashbacks no longer dominate his life, but he’s still unable to find intimacy with his lover, Spencer Thomas. With time, patience, and the support of his family, his therapist, and his loving partner, Aaron has figured out how to live again. The problem is, Spencer hasn’t. His life has been on hold as he waits for the day he and Aaron can have a normal relationship. Hoping to move things forward for them both, he takes a job as a programmer in downtown Chicago, leaving Aaron alone.

Reeling in the wake of Spencer’s absence, Aaron receives another shock when his attackers are caught.

Now, he must testify and verbalize his worst nightmare. Publicly reliving his trauma without Spencer at his side destroys his precarious control. But he finds someone who can understand and empathize in Jordan, who watched his brother cut down in a school shooting. With Spencer gone and the DA knocking at his door, Aaron seeks solace in Jordan, and Spencer will have to risk everything to hold on to Aaron’s love.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4773

Review: The sequel to Aaron’s story comes with Spencer and it continues with a heart breaking story three years after Aaron and Spencer became an official couple. While the first book introduced us to the characters and their circumstances, the second picks up and takes us through the difficult journey both Spencer and Aaron have to take in order to continue to live their lives, not merely as shells bound to their suffering, but as people in control of their lives and demons past, present , and future. Not an easy task, but the author delivers a hell of a story, one that will shatter your illusions, break your heart and reform it as the story evolves.

I can’t say how much I liked this book even as it hurt reading it every step of the way. These characters are magnificent and I’m not referring only to our protagonists, but the entire cast. Each and every one of them is a character with a life-like and realistic portrayal rarely witnessed in books these days. They have a personality that sucks you right in in the story, gripping you and keeping you bound till it ends with no means to escape.

If you thought that Aaron would magically overcome his fears and live a wonderful life from that moment on with Spencer, well you were dead wrong. Life is not that easy and this story manages to capture the very essence of what struggling through nightmares is really about. In addition the tiredness that comes through struggling each and every day overcomes our protagonists, new characters are introduced who become causes for turbulence and jealousy, old characters get older and their new problems add onto the already existing pile, and all this is cause for a hell of an emotional punch throughout the story.

The maturity that comes with time is also amazing to witness. There were times that I came to hate Spencer and even get impatient with Aaron, but no matter what, the way that the story was told made it nearly impossible to judge any one character and point fingers. You just couldn’t figure out how you or anyone in a similar situation would react and thus the story reached the goal of making you think and re-evaluate your beliefs and ideals.

As for the erotic part that was quite lacking in the prequel, I loved how the author approached and finally made it all happen. Honestly I didn’t think she could thus I was really surprised with the end of this fabulous book. The satisfaction I got from this entire read is beyond words and I really don’t know if I want another sequel with these boys, because I feel as if this story is now finally told with the best closure ever.

All in all, this was yet another brilliant title delivered by J.P. Barnaby. Strongly recommended for an intense, emotional ride with a heavy dose of a realistically painted love story.

Review for Aaron: http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/aaron-by-j-p-barnaby/ 

 

Painting Fire on the Air by J.P. Barnaby

PaintingFireOnAirLGTitle: Painting Fire on the Air

Series: Survivor Stories

Author: J.P. Barnaby

Genre: Erotic Romance / BDSM-KINK

Length: Novel (200 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 27th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: From her perch on a shelf above my bed, the doll accuses me with lifeless eyes of failing Juliette in the most heinous way imaginable, forcing me to crave the bite of his whip and the steel in his voice to drown out the ache in my chest.

For his entire life, Benjamin Martin’s parents drilled into his head that he must watch out for his little sister, but one horrific night, he failed. Now, the bite of a whip, cuffs digging into his wrists, his arms and legs stretched beyond endurance, these things give him what he needs to forget his sister’s violent death, at least for a while.

When Ben’s latest Dom casts him aside like a broken toy, he manipulates his best friend, Jude Archer, into picking up the pieces. Jude has been in love with Ben for years, but his fantasies about his friend never included whipping him. He doesn’t understand why Ben needs BDSM and he worries about Ben’s addiction. Most of all, he fears losing his humanity because he’s already lost himself in Ben. When he’s forced to trade the marks upon his soul for the pain that ravages Ben, Jude learns the real definition of submission.

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4216

Review: So, I’m opening the pages of this book and start reading. I know it is BDSM themed and I expect it. The blurb indicates as much, as it also indicated that we would deal with characters that are “broken,” hence the Survivor Stories. But when I say I was surprised from this read not only is that a freaking huge understatement, but it doesn’t come nearly enough of what I felt while reading this book. I’m going to give it a shot though to pass my thoughts as eloquently as possible.

I’ll start with the kink factor here. I’ve read BDSM-y books, many of them. They are after all among my favorite genre. However, it is so rare to read a book that involves kink and that will utterly captivate you like this one did. You don’t need to have the same kinks these characters had in order to feel the sensuality, the intensity, the hotness of the scenes described here deeply in your core. You don’t even have to understand, or be in these characters shoes to feel their emotions slap in your face and enter your head and heart and soul. Even if you’re actually unnerved or repulsed by certain scenes, I truly believe that the way this book is written is totally approachable and appealing. For me it was pure magic reading this, it was as if I was suddenly taken from this realm and dropped right in the middle of Inferno, or the guys’ room. How deliciously perverted I felt. Every single molecule of my dark side woke up and took notice. The impact was so strong, I literally had to take the day off today and clear my head. I think I managed some.

But this is not a fun read. This is not the easily read book you read for escapism purpose only. As a matter of fact, this is quite thought-provoking as the characters both of them had some serious issues. Jude, Ben’s roommate and best friend and aspiring lover, has pretty much an obsession with Ben. That was the only way I saw it. He’s already deeply in love with him and has been for the better part of the three years they know each other and live together. It’s so painful reading about a character who constantly beats himself up, pinning after a guy who seems to have no interest in him, that at some point I seriously thought I was going to dislike Jude,. Perhaps I even did for a little while.

As for Ben, oh my God, what a character. Have ever met a person so heavily ridden by guilt they can’t see straight? It is so impossible, so frustrating dealing with such people, so when I saw that this was one of the strongest characteristic of Ben I had half a mind to abandon the book altogether (thankfully I didn’t, I’d be seriously regretting it). I came to a point where I felt so bad for Ben’s sake I couldn’t stand it. He feels guilty for his sister’s rape and death to the point of having PTSD symptoms. He feels guilty for leaving home after that, because he couldn’t bear looking at the shrine his parents put and the constant reminder. He feels guilty for not telling Jude about what bothers him. He feels guilty for being freaking born. No, it’s not extravagant at all. It’s what his parents done to him over the years. No, they are not monsters intentionally, but one particular scene with Ben and his father literally made think they were the very definition of cruelty, and you know what’s worse than cruelty? Cruelty from love… It was Hell. And yeah of course, I loved it. It felt so real it was as if I was living it myself.

Now, I went off a bit there. So imagine these two characters together. Ben is in this incredible place where he NEEDS to be hurt in order to forget about his heartache for a while. He found this in a D/s relationship. His Dom providing him with all the hurt he can take, and boy did he take a lot. But, it’s not only mental; he also gets off on it. He’s what we call a pain-slut. Start spanking, paddling, flogging and/or whipping him and he’s yours. Jude on the other hand screams VANILLA. As in kink=freak vanilla. As in spanking your lover equals abuse even when said partners erection goes above normal charters when he’s spanked and said partner is practically begging you to do that to him. So imagine, this book spends the better half of it with Jude pinning ridiculously for Ben, and most of the other half with him wanting to do anything not to lose Ben, even if the things Ben wants to be done to him are making Jude cringe and loath himself. It was ANGST reading this pair’s… oh dear. They aren’t even together for most part of the book, so I don’t know if relationship is the proper word here. The odd thing is that whenever they get intimate and emotional with each other, it rocks. It rocks so much you forget to breathe. Such a weird pair, so erotic and sensual, and so awkward too. I was not sure I was going to like them, but by the end of the story, I adored them. They were simply fabulous.

As for the plot in its entirety, I think it was simply brilliant. I had this weird reaction when at the beginning Ben and Kage (his Dom) went to Inferno, I relaxed (God knows why) and for a moment there I thought how nice a feeling to read about Ben know. I thought Ben was on his path to healing for some stupid reason. I just believed in Ben and Kage so much I was still trying to see how Jude would fit in there. So when the plot took this massive turn (that’s when the weird reaction came) I felt so cold, I think I was frozen in the same paragraph over and over for a good five minutes. And down the road things changed again… and then just as I’d be comfortable with a setting they would change again. But not in ludicrous way, that was its brilliance, the plot doesn’t keep you reeling, it simply has you on your toes, it demands your attention without making you lose focus or concentration with unworthy details or incredible events.

So before I end this I have one more thing to add. Dear Author, I did not appreciate the attempt you made there at the end to try to make us feel sorry for Kage. I certainly did not fall in that trap. I’m perfectly happy despising him and basking with the revenge.

So these were my thoughts. I could not have written more about this book without actually giving away spoilers. As it is, I sincerely hope I gave an idea of what to expect, and how marvelous a read this really is. I do believe this is a must read even if you’re not attracted to the genre. As for you kinksters out there, enjoy! J

 

Aaron by J. P. Barnaby

Title: Aaron

Author: J.P. Barnaby

Genre:  Contemporary/(Young Adult)

Length:  Novel (238 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (October 8, 2012)

Heat level: Explicit

Heart rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts 

Blurb: I can’t describe what it’s like to want to scream every minute of every day.

Two years after a terrifying night of pain destroyed his normal teenage existence, Aaron Downing still clings to the hope that one day he will be a fully functional human being. But his life remains a constant string of nightmares, flashbacks, and fear. When, in his very first semester of college, he’s assigned Spencer Thomas as a partner for his programming project, Aaron decides that maybe “normal” is overrated. If he could just learn to control his fear, that could be enough for him to find his footing again.

With his parents’ talk of institutionalizing him—of sacrificing him for the sake of his brothers’ stability—Aaron becomes desperate to find a way to cope with his psychological damage or even fake normalcy. Can his new shrink control his own demons long enough to treat Aaron, or will he only deepen the damage?

Desperate to understand his attraction for Spencer, Aaron holds on to his sanity with both hands as it threatens to spin out of control.

Product link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3264

Reviewer: Heart

Review:  By taking on the Aaron challenge you will most definitely come across beautiful writing, a well thought through story, plenty of angst and characters that will pull at your heart.

Aaron had been assaulted, violated and almost killed when he was sixteen. His best friend died and he bears the scars to forever remember the event. Since then, Aaron the world had known for sixteen years had disappeared, and the new, damaged person was born in his stead. The new Aaron barely functions and each day for him is a challenge. He doesn’t see any hope for the future, after all, it’s been two years and nothing has changed, he still dreams about things he would sooner forget and he still flinches each time someone offers touch in comfort.

Spencer has been deaf his whole life and while he’s happy with who he is, it’s the rest of the world that he has a problem with. Others can’t seem to see past his lack of hearing and what’s left for Spencer is a rather lonely existence.

When the two are paired up in a programming project in college things change and their lives take directions neither of the two had expected.

Just the blurb for this story draws you in all but screaming ‘read me’. Two characters with a difficult life who find each other and make their own happy future. What more can you ask for? I enjoyed the story as well as the way the author presented the characters. I did think they needed a bit more developing and I as a reader should have been pulled more into it. The subject matter is really heavy and it is something to keep in mind before reading, but precisely because of it, I expected more. The story seemed unfinished in some aspects and certain situations played out differently than I expected them to. But my biggest frowning moments happened with personality flips that occurred both with Spencer as well as Aaron’s mother. I can’t say they have grown since the beginning of the story, they just changed, maybe for worse or for the better, but either way I didn’t quite appreciate the change.

Believe it or not, this was my first J.P. Barnaby book and I certainly haven’t made the wrong choice for my first try. I didn’t think the book was too emotional, certainly not something that made me cry and with that in mind I do recommend it. Even to those who are afraid to tackle a difficult subject – you will love the characters even if you have to squint at the rough bits.