When the Band Came to Town by H. Lewis-Foster *Retro Review*

Title: When the Band Came to Town

Author: H. Lewis Foster

Genre: Historical, New Adult

Length: Novella (84 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (8 April 2015)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’– 5 Hearts

Blurb: In the swinging Sixties, life gets rockin’ for Jeff McInnery when a new band plays at the local pub. Caught up in lead singer Danny Speed’s cool, Jeff sneaks a kiss. But being found out as homosexual could stop Danny’s hot career fast, and even land him in jail. With harsh words, Danny leaves to head for fame and fortune while Jeff starts university. On campus, Jeff meets Archie Ballatine, a history student living as openly as possible. It’s an exciting new world of sex and friendship for Jeff, but then the band comes back to town.

ISBN: 9781632168276

Product Link: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is a nice, short and exceedingly charming story which I realised once I got to the end is actually meant to be more like a memoir of Jeff McInnery.

In a time where in the UK one could get arrested and gaoled for being homosexual, it’s a bit like a journey of discovery into love for Jeff and his two love interests – rock star Danny and fellow student Archie.

It’s a very light hearted/rose coloured view of this time in history but the ending is just perfect!

Wehr Wolff Castle by B. Bentley Summers Blog Tour, Playlist, Excerpt & Giveaway!

B. Bentley Summers - Wehr Wolff Castle Banner

Hi guys! We have B. Bentley Summers visiting today with his new release Wehr Wolff Castle, we have a great excerpt, B. Bentley’s playlist and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and click that giveaway link! <3 ~Pixie~

B. Bentley Summers - Wehr Wolff Castle Cover

Wehr Wolff Castle

(The Wehr Wolff Chronicles 01)
by

B. Bentley Summers

During the rise of Nazi Germany, Hagen Messer joins the Royal Air Force as an American soldier who specializes in tracking. He’s attached to British commandos and given a seemingly simple mission—to find a captive and destroy a dam—but everything goes awry. Hagen’s plane crashes into Germany’s Wehr Forest and he has to use his extrasensory abilities to track the captive to nearby Wehr Wolff Castle, a secret Nazi base where vile experiments are being conducted.

Hagen and his surviving team members must sneak into the castle and devise a way to destroy the experimental labs creating diabolical creatures. Hagen is horrified to find Nazis and scientists with no scruples, and at the most inconvenient time, he learns that he may be in love with one of his teammates, an Irishman named Liam. In order to protect his love and his friends, Hagen must feign nonchalance amidst pure degeneracy and suspicion. Hagen soon discovers, though, that he is in over his head.

What may not only redeem him, but also save his lover and friends, is a childhood past and a darkness lurking deep inside him, just waiting to be engaged.

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo

Continue reading “Wehr Wolff Castle by B. Bentley Summers Blog Tour, Playlist, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

The Star of Versailles by Catherine Curzon & Willow Winsham

Catherine Curzon & Willow Winshaw - The Star of Versailles Cover sTitle: The Star of Versailles

Author: Catherine Curzon & Willow Winsham

Genre: Historical, Sweet Romance, Thriller, Suspense

Length: Novel (270 pages)

Publisher: Pride Publishing (February 7, 2017)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Blurb: As the Reign of Terror tears Paris apart, a dandy and a spy are thrown together on a desperate race through France.

In the darkest days of the Reign of Terror, rumors grow of the Star of Versailles, the most exquisite treasure ever owned by the doomed Marie Antoinette. For Vincent Tessier, the notorious Butcher of Orléans, this potent symbol of the ancient régime has become an obsession and he’ll stop at nothing to possess it.

When Alexandre Gaudet arrives in France to find his missing sister and nephew, the last thing he expects is to fall into Tessier’s hands. With Gaudet tortured and left for dead, salvation stumbles accidentally, if rather decorously, into his path.

For Viscount William Knowles, life as a spy isn’t the escape he had hoped for. Yet a long-held secret won’t let him rest, and the fires of Revolution seem like the easiest way to hide from a past that torments him at every turn.

Adrift in a world where love, family and honor are currencies to be traded, the world-weary Viscount Knowles and the scandalous Monsieur Gaudet have no choice but to try to get along if they want to survive. With Tessier in pursuit, they search for the clues that will lead them to the greatest treasure in revolutionary France—the Star of Versailles.

ISBN: 978-1-78651-523-0

Product Link: https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/the-star-of-versailles

Reviewer: Shorty 

Review: I did not know what to make of this story the first few chapters but then the characters seemed to come alive and piqued my interest. They were night and day from each other. Gaudet was anything but boring with his over the top personality. I found myself liking him from the start. William is me reserved and quiet as is expected of someone on the hunt for something. 

Together these two go on amazing journey with deceit, betrayal, danger, action and drama hot their heels the entire way. But they do get close to one another as the story progresses.

I liked the fact that there was a whole cast of characters introduced in the story that played one part or another for the two men on their travels. It was entertaining and enjoyable to the very end.

Great read.

We Met In Dreams by Rowan McAllister Guest Post & Excerpt!

Rowan McAllister - We Met In Dreams Banner

Hiya guys, we have Rowan McAllister popping in today with her upcoming release We Met In Dreams, we have a brilliant guest post from Rowan and we also have a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Rowan McAllister - We Met In Dreams Cover

We Met In Dreams

by

Rowan McAllister

In Victorian London, during a prolonged and pernicious fog, fantasy and reality are about to collide—at least in one man’s troubled mind.

A childhood fever left Arthur Middleton, Viscount Campden, seeing and hearing things no one else does, afraid of the world outside, and unable to function as a true peer of the realm. To protect him from himself—and to protect others from him—he spends his days heavily medicated and locked in his rooms, and his nights in darkness and solitude, tormented by visions, until a stranger appears.

This apparition is different. Fox says he’s a thief and not an entirely good sort of man, yet he returns night after night to ease Arthur’s loneliness without asking for anything in return. Fox might be the key that sets Arthur free, or he might deliver the final blow to Arthur’s tenuous grasp on sanity. Either way, real or imaginary, Arthur needs him too much to care.

Fox is only one of the many secrets and specters haunting Campden House, and Arthur will have to face them all in order to live the life of his dreams.

Release date: 27th February 2017

Continue reading “We Met In Dreams by Rowan McAllister Guest Post & Excerpt!”

The Christmas Wager by Jamie Fessenden (2nd Edition)

Jamie Fessenden - The Christmas Wager Cover sTitle: The Christmas Wager (2nd Edition)

Author: Jamie Fessenden

Genre: Historical European, Holiday 

Length: Novella (149 Pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 14, 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Blurb: Lord Thomas Pendleton, second son of the Duke of Branmoor, needs to discharge a debt to his friend Andrew Nash. In doing so, he must return to the family estate he fled six years earlier after refusing to marry the woman his father had chosen. To Thomas’s dismay, Branmoor Hall is no longer the joyful home he remembers from his childhood, and his four-year-old niece has no idea what Christmas is.

Determined to bring some seasonal cheer back to the gloomy estate, Thomas must confront his tyrannical father, salvage a brother lost in his own misery, and attempt to fight off his father’s machinations.

As Christmas Day draws near, Thomas and his friend Andrew begin to realize they are more than merely close friends… and those feelings are not only a threat to their social positions, but, in Victorian England, to their lives as well. 

ISBN: 978-1-63477-906-7

Product Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-christmas-wager-by-jamie-fessenden-7891-b

Reviewer: Lisa

Review:  I need to pay attention to certain things when picking out a story or letting a friend pick out my stories.  I have never really been a fan of historicals in any country although the cover is cute.  It is the time period itself that I just don’t get and never probably will get.  When people can’t be who they truly are meant to be.

Thomas has come home to fulfil a debt to his best friend.  When he does he realizes that his home has become something else.  His own niece has no idea what Christmas is let alone what it’s about.  She was still morning the mother she never really knew.  Then there is the fact that he is starting to have feelings for Andrew.  He is slowly realizing who he truly is.

I am afraid that I only really skimmed this story.  I just couldn’t get into it and that was my fault for not realizing it was a historical romance and times were different.  Times when it could cost them everything if they chose to be with each other.  Now other than it not being for me, the story is a very catchy love story about finding out who they are in a sense.  I did enjoy the end of the story though and how Thomas’s father even if it was through manipulation was also an olive branch. 

I would definitely recommend this story if you love a good historical romance. 

Stronghold by Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna Guest Post & Excerpt!

Nickie Bennett & Ariel Tachna - Stronghold Banner

Hi guys, we have Nicki Bennet & Ariel Tachna popping in today with their upcoming re-release Stronghold, we have a brilliant guest post and a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna - Stronghold Cover

Stronghold

(All For Love 03)
by

Nickie Bennett & Ariel Tachna

“Are you surprised that strength is drawn to strength?”

For the last six years, the gypsy healer RaĂşl has lived a life he never dreamed possible. Gerrard Hawkins has stood at his side, his love a source of silent strength like nothing RaĂşl has ever known.

When a letter from Gerrard’s estranged father forces them in separate directions—Gerrard back to England to make peace with his family and Raúl to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer for his annual pilgrimage—Raúl expects to suffer for their parting, but he holds on to their plans to meet again in France when Gerrard has satisfied his father’s demands.

Gerrard left England never expecting to return, especially after he pledged his life and love to Raúl. Yet he cannot dismiss his father’s offer of peace without some acknowledgment. When he arrives in England to find tragedy, his sense of duty toward his family’s tenants wars with his promises to Raúl.

As tensions mount and illness spreads in France, Raúl stands as a bastion of hope, but his strength is not limitless. Gerrard is the rock he leans on, and without that strength, Gerrard’s arrival in France may come too late.

Release date: 28th November

Continue reading “Stronghold by Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna Guest Post & Excerpt!”

The First Act by Vanessa Mulberry Guest Post & Exclusive Excerpt!

vanessa-mulberry-the-first-act-banner

Hi guys, we have Vanessa Mulberry popping in today with her upcoming release The First Act, we have a short guest post from Vanessa and an exclusive excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

vanessa-mulberry-the-first-act-cover-s

The First Act

by

Vanessa Mulberry

April 1594. William Moodie thinks he’s in love with celebrated actor, Richard Brasyer. When Brasyer’s playing company, Goldfox’s Men, comes to town, William is only too willing to leave his country life for the opportunities of the theater and a life in London. Determined to become Richard’s apprentice, William seeks to impress his mentor with his acting—and please him in bed.

Meanwhile, Richard struggles to escape his past as a spy and disentangle himself from the manipulations of his former master and ex-lover, Bennett Goldfox. Swearing off a relationship with his new apprentice proves difficult for Richard, as William uses all his youthful charms to seduce him. When Bennett’s life is threatened, Richard is lured back into the game for one final mission, and he and William travel to Cambridge to hunt down a list of traitors to the Crown.

In the midst of danger and deception, Richard and William come to truly see each other, faults and all, and realize their feelings run deeper than either expected.

Continue reading “The First Act by Vanessa Mulberry Guest Post & Exclusive Excerpt!”

All for One by Nickie Bennett & Ariel Tachna Guest Post & Excerpt!

nicki-bennett-and-ariel-tachna-all-for-one-fbbanner_dsp

Hi guys, we have Nicki Bennet & Ariel Tachna popping in today with their upcoming re-release All for One, we have a brilliant guest post and a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

nicki-bennett-and-ariel-tachna-all-for-one-cover-s

All for One

(All for Love 02)
by

Nickie Bennett & Ariel Tachna

Aristide, Léandre, and Perrin pledge only three loyalties in life: their king, their captain, and their passion for each other. So when the musketeers discover a plan to accuse M. de Tréville of treason, the initial impulse to kill the messenger, Benoît, is tempered by their need to unmask the plotter. But their first two suspects, the English ambassador and Cardinal Richelieu, prove to be innocent, forcing the musketeers to delve deeper into the inner machinations of the French court.

Meanwhile, Aristide finds himself falling in love with the ill-fated messenger, a blacksmith without a home who rouses all of his protective, possessive instincts. Benoît, however, has no interest in any man. Torn between desire and duty, Aristide must find a way to protect the king and clear his captain’s name—all while heeding the demands of his heart.

Release date: 23rd September 2016

Continue reading “All for One by Nickie Bennett & Ariel Tachna Guest Post & Excerpt!”

Checkmate by Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna Guest Posts & Excerpt!

Nicki Bennett and Ariel Tachna - Checkmate Banner

Hiya peeps, we have Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna stopping by today with their upcoming re-release Checkmate, we have a brilliant guest post from both Nicki & Ariel where they chat of having one brain between them… er sharing a brain & writing together, and there’s a great excerpt. So check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Nicki Bennett and Ariel Tachna - Checkmate Cover s

Checkmate

(All for One 01)
by

Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna

When sword-for-hire Teodoro Ciéza de Vivar accepts a commission to “rescue” Lord Christian Blackwood from unsuitable influences, he has no idea he’s landed himself in the middle of a plot to assassinate King Philip IV of Spain and blame the English ambassador for the deed. Nor does he expect the spoiled child he’s sent to retrieve to be a handsome, engaging young man.

As Teodoro and Christian face down enemies at every turn, they fall more and more in love, an emotion they can’t safely indulge with the threat of the Inquisition looming over them. It will take all their combined guile and influence to outmaneuver the powerful men who would see them separated… or even killed.

Release Date: 25th July 2016

Continue reading “Checkmate by Nicki Bennett & Ariel Tachna Guest Posts & Excerpt!”