Nearly a year after being rejected for another man, Seattle paramedic Peter Morse is still pining, so when the one that got away asks him for a favor, he agrees. His mission: track down Sean Reid, the runaway brother of a mutual friend. Peter isn’t thrilled about it—until he finds Sean injured by the side of the road.
Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running from him. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.
Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?
Review: In Saving Sean we pick up with a character we’ve met before and meet another. Peter was a love interest for Theo in After Ben and in the year after that book ended, Peter is now getting over his crush for Theo. It is Morgan and Theo who actually call upon Peter to help a friend, which leads him directly to Sean.
These two guys are a tad argumentative and very much alpha males – or maybe just stubborn. Like with After Ben, this is a well paced book. The main characters have brilliant chemistry and it is a bonus that it now feels like we’re settling with friends when it comes to the minor characters.
Hi guys, we have Con Riley stopping by today with the tour for her new re-release Saving Sawyer, we have a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~
Saving Sawyer
(Seattle Stories 02)
by
Con Riley
No more running from love…
Nearly a year after being rejected for another man, Seattle paramedic Peter Morse is still pining, so when the one that got away asks him for a favor, he agrees. His mission: track down Sean Reid, the runaway brother of a mutual friend. Peter isn’t thrilled about it—until he finds Sean injured by the side of the road.
Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running from him. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.
Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?
Hi guys, we have Con Riley stopping by today with her new re-release Saving Sawyer, we have a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~
Saving Sawyer
(Seattle Stories 02)
by
Con Riley
No more running from love…
Nearly a year after being rejected for another man, Seattle paramedic Peter Morse is still pining, so when the one that got away asks him for a favor, he agrees. His mission: track down Sean Reid, the runaway brother of a mutual friend. Peter isn’t thrilled about it—until he finds Sean injured by the side of the road.
Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running from him. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.
Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?
Hi guys, we have Con Riley stopping by today with the tour for her new re-release After Ben, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~ p.s. keep an eye out for Prime’s review!
After Ben
(Seattle Stories 01)
by
Con Riley
No more kissing a ghost…
A year after the sudden death of his longtime partner, Ben, Theo Anderson is still grieving. The last thing he’s looking for is a new lover, but as Theo discovers, sometimes life has its own plans.
The strength of his attraction to fellow gym member Peter is surprising. So is how compelling he finds Morgan, a new friend he makes online. Morgan is witty and fierce on the internet forum they frequent, while Peter is physically present in a way that’s hard to ignore.
Both men bring Theo closer to acceptance: he needs to lay Ben’s memory to rest if he’s to start afresh with a new lover.
Getting honest about the reasons for his yearlong isolation means confronting why he lost Ben… only just when he’s ready to commit, Theo finds he isn’t the only one haunted by the past.
Whether with Peter or with Morgan, choosing to love again—after Ben—might not be Theo’s toughest challenge.
Hi guys, we have Con Riley stopping by today with her new re-release After Ben, we have a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~
After Ben
(Seattle Stories 01)
by
Con Riley
No more kissing a ghost…
A year after the sudden death of his longtime partner, Ben, Theo Anderson is still grieving. The last thing he’s looking for is a new lover, but as Theo discovers, sometimes life has its own plans.
The strength of his attraction to fellow gym member Peter is surprising. So is how compelling he finds Morgan, a new friend he makes online. Morgan is witty and fierce on the internet forum they frequent, while Peter is physically present in a way that’s hard to ignore.
Both men bring Theo closer to acceptance: he needs to lay Ben’s memory to rest if he’s to start afresh with a new lover.
Getting honest about the reasons for his yearlong isolation means confronting why he lost Ben… only just when he’s ready to commit, Theo finds he isn’t the only one haunted by the past.
Whether with Peter or with Morgan, choosing to love again—after Ben—might not be Theo’s toughest challenge.
Hi guys! We have Con Riley stopping by today with her new release Be My Best Man, we have a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Be My Best Man
by
Con Riley
Will Jason’s third time as a best man lead to first-time love for Vanya?
After fleeing violence in Moscow, student teacher Vanya Petrov winds up lonely in a run-down London hostel. At least visiting the Bond Street store where his roommate works lets him practice his English, but as Vanya’s vocabulary expands, so does his isolation, especially when he sees happy couples planning their perfect weddings.
According to Jason Balfour, weddings are a waste of time and money. After all, he’s been best man for his brother twice already. Saying that a third marriage will end in divorce too leads to an angry ultimatum: to save his relationship with his brother, Jason must meet his fiancée, at last, and make a good first impression.
Jason’s need to dress to impress brings him and Vanya together. Language is no barrier to falling in love with the young and fragile Russian, and neither is their age difference. But Vanya’s bruised soul carries secrets that could rip them apart. As the wedding draws near, Vanya must confess, and soon, or risk losing Jason—his own best man in Britain.
Hi peeps, we have Con Riley stopping by with her new release Must Like Spinach, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Xiomara’s review, so check out the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Must Like Spinach
by
Con Riley
Jon’s future in New York seems bright. He’s on the corporate fast track as an executive problem solver, but somehow he can’t help feeling hollow. Yearning for a life spent outdoors makes no sense if he wants to flourish in this city, nor does losing his cool with clients when they make bad decisions. Only leaving the East Coast behind for three months can save his business reputation.
His exile in Seattle has unexpected upsides. Jon’s rented home has a garden where his true passions blossom. It’s overgrown yet idyllic—perfect if he didn’t have to share it with another tenant. Tyler might be as cute as hell, and their landlady adores him, but Jon can’t let himself fall for someone who seems lazy.
Three months could be enough time to see Tyler clearly, but choosing which to nurture long-term—love or a business career—might take Jon longer than one summer.
Hi peeps, we have Con Riley stopping by with her new release Must Like Spinach, we have a fantastic giveaway so check out the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Must Like Spinach
by
Con Riley
Jon’s future in New York seems bright. He’s on the corporate fast track as an executive problem solver, but somehow he can’t help feeling hollow. Yearning for a life spent outdoors makes no sense if he wants to flourish in this city, nor does losing his cool with clients when they make bad decisions. Only leaving the East Coast behind for three months can save his business reputation.
His exile in Seattle has unexpected upsides. Jon’s rented home has a garden where his true passions blossom. It’s overgrown yet idyllic—perfect if he didn’t have to share it with another tenant. Tyler might be as cute as hell, and their landlady adores him, but Jon can’t let himself fall for someone who seems lazy.
Three months could be enough time to see Tyler clearly, but choosing which to nurture long-term—love or a business career—might take Jon longer than one summer.
Hi Guys, we have Con Riley stopping by today with her snazzy cover reveal for her upcoming release True Brit. We have a tasty excerpt and a great giveaway, so check out the post and click that Rafflecoper Link <3 ~Pixie~
True Brit
by
Con Riley
Winning the United Kingdom’s favorite singing contest is a challenge for half-Afghani Pasha Trueman. He doesn’t have the best voice, but success would be life-changing. His strategy is simple—he’ll make the British public love him.
Ex-soldier Ed Britten has a different agenda. Winning means he’ll keep a promise made after a deadly Afghan ambush. His voice is his weapon, but he leaves his heart unguarded.
Ed and Pasha’s discovery that the contest isn’t a fair fight calls for creative tactics. Staging a fake love story could bring victory, only there’s more at stake than the prestigious first prize. If winning means surrendering each other, they could both end up losing.
Yes I just can’t leave you alone today 🙂 but we have a fabulous visit with Con Riley for her newest release Recovery, Con answers our question about the Salvage series, she brings along an incredible Giveaway and I will graciously let you read my review 😉 so enjoy yourself and click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
Recovery
(Salvage 02)
by
Con Riley
San Diego is a city of second chances for Jamie Carlson. His new career as a photographer is taking off, and with the support of a loving surrogate family, he’s finally putting his party years behind him. The Bailey family helped him solve his drinking problem, but there’s no easy solution to staying sober now that Belle Bailey’s dying. Her last wish is a challenge Jamie can’t overcome without help.
Solving problems is Daniel Priest’s specialty. More than twenty years older than Jamie, he’s successful and experienced. He makes his living resolving corporate crises—but his personal life has been far from perfect. Now that his marriage is over, Daniel’s determined to make up for lost time. One night with Jamie isn’t nearly enough for him.
Daniel’s honest offer of help is more than Jamie expects from a one-time hookup. Even so, fulfilling Belle’s last wish is a tall order. Repairing her damaged family as she requests proves difficult when Jamie has to face his own past as well.
Jamie could risk his hard-won recovery by admitting why he hit rock bottom in the first place. If he wants a future with Daniel, he’ll have to address those reasons head-on.
San Diego is a city of second chances for Jamie Carlson. His new career as a photographer is taking off, and with the support of a loving surrogate family, he’s finally putting his party years behind him. The Bailey family helped him solve his drinking problem, but there’s no easy solution to staying sober now that Belle Bailey’s dying. Her last wish is a challenge Jamie can’t overcome without help.
Solving problems is Daniel Priest’s specialty. More than twenty years older than Jamie, he’s successful and experienced. He makes his living resolving corporate crises—but his personal life has been far from perfect. Now that his marriage is over, Daniel’s determined to make up for lost time. One night with Jamie isn’t nearly enough for him.
Daniel’s honest offer of help is more than Jamie expects from a one-time hookup. Even so, fulfilling Belle’s last wish is a tall order. Repairing her damaged family as she requests proves difficult when Jamie has to face his own past as well.
Jamie could risk his hard-won recovery by admitting why he hit rock bottom in the first place. If he wants a future with Daniel, he’ll have to address those reasons head-on.
Con Riley lives on the wild and rugged Devonshire coast, with her head in the clouds, and her feet in the Atlantic Ocean.
Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time instead. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that makes them live and breathe.
When not people watching, or wrangling her own boy band of teen sons, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don’t disturb her—she’s probably thinking up new plots.
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press, September 15th, 2013
Heat Level: Explicit (read … HoT!)
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Mandingo
Blurb:Five years ago, an accident fractured Gabe Cooper’s family. Believing it was broken beyond repair, Gabe and his best friend Jamie Carlson left Minnesota behind for San Diego sunshine and college. Now another crisis brings Gabe home to help his ailing father, and he finally has to face the guilt that kept him away for so long.
Scott Stark also returns to Minnesota, with his young niece and nephew in tow, shouldering new family responsibilities. While Gabe comes to grips with his past, Scott struggles to accept his present role as a substitute parent, caring for two children, each with different needs. As Gabe and Scott get to know each other, reclaiming family life almost seems possible. Only two things stand in the way of love: Gabe’s unresolved relationship with Jamie, and Scott’s plan to leave Minnesota as soon as he can. Both men will have to accept past mistakes if they want to salvage a future together, and time is running out.
Review:“Since I’ve been home, I’ve figured out that you can’t fix things from a distance, and you can’t expect change after a single conversation. You have to live your life and let people decide what’s more real—how you used to be, or how you are now. And”—he looked across to the kitchen window—“I don’t think that’s ever a quick thing. It takes time to see past first impressions.”
The quote from the book above sums up the story of Salvage in a simple sentence. By the time I was half way through the book, I stopped and made the note – Theme: Disillusionment and realizing the things and the people who are really important will always be there if you take the time to see it. I held that opinion to the end of the book. The sentence above only confirms my opening opinion.
Salvage is one of those books that you start reading and then you find yourself sinking into your blanket and pulling up the covers as you wrap yourself up in the story. It’s the type of story where somewhere you begin to identify with the character so much that you feel everything that they feel. The first time Scott kissed Gabe, I just about ignited, and I could sense every single combustible emotion both men were reeling from.
The story is about so many things. For both Gabe and Scott it’s about finding a new reality, and understanding that you are not defined by your past and that you can create a life that you want if you are willing to make the sacrifice for it and if you are willing to see that the path you thought was the right now, may not necessarily be so. Gabe is named after an angel and he portrays one in the book. He’s larger than life without even knowing it. He’s a good, decent man who doesn’t quite see himself that way. He knows that it’s the right thing to do to help people. But it is in helping Scott that he found his own salvation and his own route to happiness, by accepting that he needed to accept that his life had changed and carve out a new ‘now’. It was in letting go of his past, that he was able to change not only his own life, but that of Scott, his father, sister and his best friend, Jamie.
The story is well crafted; the language beautiful, the dialogue meaningful and the pace of the story allows the reader to be sucked into the characters and to feel them in a way that is real and tangible. You can feel Scott’s frustration at not knowing how to handle suddenly being a single parent; you can sense Gabe’s fear of creating any more strife in a family that he’s not quite sure he deserves. You don’t always understand Gabe’s father’s anger but you root for him and Gabe to find a resolution and their way back to each other. And you find yourself despising Jamie only to be jolted into a reality that makes him such a believable and sympathetic character.
The journeys that these man embark upon is not just about them being together, it’s about the reality of ‘how’ they can meaningfully be together and how they blend their lives, dreams and hopes to make a life together that incorporates not just them but all those whom they call family.
Another excellent piece of work Ms. Riley – I look forward to reading more.
Blurb: House-sitting for a friend is supposed to be a lucky break for Aiden Daly. Discovering his new housemate is the image of his first crush turns it into a nightmare. Marco de Luca is obviously interested in being more than housemates, but his resemblance to Aiden’s ideal man seems only skin-deep. Besides, Aiden doesn’t date.
Since his adoptive father’s suicide, Aiden’s first priority has been supporting his remaining family—and shielding them from the truth of their financial situation. Deeply concerned for his mother’s mental health, Aiden remains closeted and lonely, convinced that bad luck is the only luck he’ll ever have.
As if the pressure of keeping his father’s financial secrets weren’t enough to handle, Aiden’s birth father makes contact, sending Aiden’s anxieties spiraling out of control. But it’s a crisis at work that finally brings Aiden to his breaking point. Accepting support from Marco is a gamble, but it could be just what Aiden needs to turn his luck around.
Review: This is the third book in the Seattle Stories series. Like with After Ben and Saving Sean, there are many things to like about this book.
These are the things I thought worked well:
1) The author delivers clever, well-written sentences, that make the imagery and emotion shine off the page.
2) The characters are mostly very likeable and three-dimensional – not always perfect in their decisions – in this book, you see a clear arc in how Aiden approaches his life.
3) Marco has a wonderful liveliness about him and is an adorable character.
4) The story has some sweet moments. For example, how Aiden chose Evan to be his adoptive brother – this little story is touching.
However, there were a few things that didn’t quite work, and unfortunately made this a much harder read for me. Consequently, I found myself often bored and irritated.
·There was too much internalization – Aiden’s thoughts and reflection went on for pages at a time in places, and it often felt like he was repeating himself. I think there needed to be more action and showing of relationship developments rather than reflecting on it after the matter.
·There was also too much looking back on something that recently happened and talking about it in the past. Important scenes were cut and then talked about in a flashback. There would have been more impact if these scenes had been in the here and now and shown to give more immediacy and reader connection.
In the end, I felt disappointed with this read. Aiden’s Luck had interesting story elements and good descriptions, but it would have been that much more powerful if more scenes were written at the time they were happening and more page time given to the really important ones.
Blurb: A year after the sudden death of his longtime partner, Ben, Theo Anderson is still grieving. The last thing he’s looking for is a new lover. But as Theo soon discovers, sometimes life has other plans.
While Theo experiences a powerful physical attraction to fellow gym member Peter, it’s his new online friend, Morgan, who provides the intellectual challenge to make him come alive. Morgan is witty, brave, and irreverent, and Theo is ready to take the plunge… until he discovers Morgan might be half his age.
Theo’s late partner was significantly older—enough to strain Theo’s relationship with his family—and the potential of another relationship being cut short leaves him gunshy. Theo needs to lay Ben’s memory to rest, reconcile with his family, and rekindle neglected friendships if he’s to start afresh with a new lover. But Theo isn’t the only one with a past.
His biggest challenge, in living after Ben, might not be his to face.
Review: There are so many things to love about this book.
I particularly appreciated these things:
1) The author is very good at hooking the reader with clever, well-written sentences at the end of scenes and chapters. The opening sentence is a great example: “Sometimes, just sometimes, Theo forgot he was single.”
Brilliant. It opened up so many questions for me that I needed to read on.
2) The story is emotion driven.
3) Characters and relationships are complex, not all honky-dory.
4) The fact Morgan and Theo get it on in the later part of the book, so the sex doesn’t overshadow the plot and therefore (at least the first time they meet and do the deed) it’s more intimate.
About 80% of the book I really enjoyed, certainly the first half felt quite refreshing, slow but I felt I was really discovering the character.
However, there were a couple of things that didn’t quite do it for me and this is where I found myself starting to skip: The flashbacks. Some of the ones with Ben were important for the main story line and character development, but sometimes there were too many and it felt unbalanced to the central romance. I could have done with about half of them.
Also, even some of the current story was written in flashback. Theo would go home to his mum and dad and then think about what’d happened with Morgan or his interns etc, when I feel this might have been more effective if those scenes played out in current time.
And, the last little thing that wasn’t for me was very little sex, to way too much. I’m talking about balance here. That first explosive sex scene between Theo and Morgan was wonderful, but it quickly got boring the more they went at it (especially when other plot points were still open — like what happened to Morgan and more on those issues, which I would have found more fascinating to focus on). I guess, for me, it felt not quite right considering the slower, more emotionally intimate beginning.
One thing that I am GLAD I knew before reading, otherwise I would have been disappointed, was that Peter is NOT the love interest, although he is lovely and has (I thought) a spark with Theo and they do get physically close. If I had NOT known he wasn’t the main love interest, I would have anticipated Morgan being Peter . . . (especially for the first half of the book) I would have thought that maybe Peter was Peter Morgan. In fact, I know myself as a reader, and I would have been secretly hoping that was the case. However, knowing that going into the story helped and I had not much issue with that little plot.
In fact, I really loved Peter. I would LOVE to read his story. Also, I would be interested in Evan’s brother’s story as well. I have temporarily forgotten his name, but I got the feeling there could be an interesting story there . . .
I absolutely loved the Jory and Evan’s story. Such characters, lovely side romance. 😀
All in all, I liked this story. I think this is going to be one of those authors that just gets better and better and I can’t wait to see how she develops her next books.
Title: Saving Sean (2nd Edition)
