Hi guys, we have J.L. Merrow popping in today with her new release Wake Up Call, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Aerin’s review, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Wake Up Call
(Porthkennack 01)
by
J.L. Merrow
South London mechanic Devan Thompson has gone to Porthkennack to track down someone he’s been waiting all his life to know. But Dev’s distracted from his quest by Kyle, a broodingly handsome local of only a few months, who’s already got a reputation as an alcoholic because of his strange behaviour—including a habit of collapsing in the street.
Kyle Anthony fled to Porthkennack to escape from the ruins of his life. Still raging against his diagnosis of narcolepsy—a condition that’s cost him his job as a barrister, his lover, and all chance of normality—the last thing he wants is another relationship that’s doomed to fail. But Dev’s easy-going acceptance and adaptability, not to mention his good looks, have Kyle breaking all his self-imposed rules.
When disaster strikes Dev’s adored little sister, Kyle steps up to the plate, and Dev sees a side of his lover he wasn’t prepared for: competent, professional—and way out of Dev’s league. With one man determined that they don’t have a future, and the other fearing it, life after Porthkennack is starting to look bleak for both of them.
Blurb: It isn’t true love until someone gets hurt.
Sam’s a new man. Yes, he’s still too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels, but he’s wised up. His one true love is certainly still out there, but he knows now that real life is nothing like fiction. He’s cultivated the necessary fortitude to say “no” to the next Mr. Wrong, no matter how hot, exciting, or erotic-novel-worthy he may be.
Until he meets Ian.
Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now – possibly – ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships. He’s going to be cautious, though, maybe start with someone who knows the score and isn’t looking for anything too complicated. Someone with experience and simple needs that largely revolve around the bedroom.
Until he meets Sam.
Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong…can they?
Review: Too Stupid To Live is book 1 in Anne Tenino’s Romancelandia series. The title of the book lends to main character, Sam, being an avid romance fan and can identify all the main characters by their stereotype. Sam just happens to identify with the “Too Stupid To Live” or “TSTL” personality – i.e. the quiet, nice guy who just lets the world pass him by until Mr Right comes along.
Sam wants to find his one and only love, though he has grown up mentally and is not a naïve boy. He is fairly sure he has the strength to say no to the next man that comes into his life who is not willing to make the same commitment as he is. But then at a friend’s party he meets Ian. Ian is the cousin of Sam’s friend. Ian’s been in an accident but he too is ready to start over, which means it’s time to open up to the possibility of a real relationship. These guys are still learning, despite their best efforts in the past. So their romance seems to stop and start every time they see each other. There is also a large bit of “it’s not you, it’s me”.
The narration of this book by Tobias Silversmith is absolutely on point. His voice and tone conveyed Sam to perfection and did a pretty damn good job on Ian as well.
I really found this a difficult listen, even though I listen while on the train or doing my housework. The problem for me was that there were too many filler parts. The set up and execution of the plot lines is great, I love the start and I love the end. But there were just so many times where I sped up the audio so that I get to the next chapter faster. I really am loathed to skip chapters, no matter how tempting it is.
Hi peeps! We have Francis Gideon stopping by today with their new transgender romance Hopeless Romantic, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Hopeless Romantic
by
Francis Gideon
Nick Fraser is a true romantic. He wants the guy instead of the girl, but other than that, he wants everything his favorite rom-coms depict: the courtship, the passionate first kiss, the fairy-tale wedding. But after breaking up with the love of his life, Nick wonders if anything fairy-tale will ever happen for him.
Then he meets Katie, who’s just like a rom-com heroine. She’s sharp, funny, sweet, and as into music and punk culture as Nick is. What’s more, he’s incredibly attracted to her—even though she’s a woman. Nick has never considered that he might be bisexual, but his feelings for Katie are definitely real.
When Katie reveals that she’s transgender, Nick starts to see how much he doesn’t understand about the world, queer identity, and himself. He is hopelessly in love with Katie, but this isn’t a fairy tale, and Nick’s friends and family may not accept his new relationship. If he wants it all, he has to have the courage to make his fantasy a reality.
Hi guys! We have Anne Tenino & E.J. Russell popping in today with their new release For A Good Time Call, we have a fantastic deleted scene and a brilliant giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
For A Good Time Call
(Bluewater Bay)
by
Anne Tenino & E.J. Russell
Thirty-seven-year-old Nate Albano’s second relationship ever ended three years ago, and since he’s grace—gray asexual—he doesn’t anticipate beating the odds to find a third. Still, he’s got his dog, his hobbies, and his job as a special effects technician on Wolf’s Landing, so he can’t complain—much.
Seth Larson, umpteenth generation Bluewater Bay, is the quintessential good-time guy, content with tending bar and being his grandmother’s handyman. The night they meet, Seth’s looking for some recreational sex to escape family drama. But for Nate, romantic attraction comes before sexual attraction, so while Seth thinks they’re hooking up, Nate just wants to talk . . . genealogy?
Dude. Seriously?
So they declare a “just friends” truce. Then Seth asks for Nate’s help investigating a sinister Larson family secret, and their feelings start edging way beyond platonic. But Nate may want more than Seth can give him, and Seth may not be able to leave his good-time image behind. Unless they can find a way to merge carefree with commitment, they could miss out on true love—the best time of all.
Hi peeps, we have Kate Sherwood visiting today with the blog tour for her new release Home Fires, we have a great excerpt, an awesome giveaway and Shorty’s review, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Home Fires
(Common Law 04)
by
Kate Sherwood
Trouble comes to Mosely, Montana, from the outside world. When the residents of Mosely are left on their own, they can make things work. Sure, there’s always been a militia operating up in the hills, but they were small-scale—just survivalists doing their thing—until organizers came in from out of state. Now Jericho Crewe and the rest of the sheriff’s department are facing down a heavily armed band of fanatics, and the feds are busy elsewhere.
The odds are hopeless, but Jericho swore an oath to serve and protect the citizens of Mosely. He won’t walk away from that, even if Wade Granger’s begging him to run away somewhere and finally be together the way they always should have been.
But this time, it’s Jericho who refuses to leave Mosely, even if staying kills him.
Hi guys, we have Erica Kudisch visiting today with her new release Don’t Feed The Trolls, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Don’t Feed The Trolls
by
Erica Kudisch
Gaming while female is enough to incur the wrath of the dude-bros, and they’ve come for me. Instead of fighting back, I’ve created an alternate account. Male name, male pronouns. And I’ve met this girl. I’ve always liked girls, and Laura’s adorable and smart and never gives up, and she likes me back. Or rather, she likes the man I’m pretending to be. But I can’t tell her I’m a woman without the mob coming after her too.
And besides: I might not be a woman, not really.
The truth is, I don’t know what I am anymore. I’ve spent my whole life being told how I’m supposed to act and what I’m supposed to be, but none of it feels right. And my lie is starting to feel truer than anything I’ve ever been.
There’s a convention coming up, but the closer it gets, the more I have to choose: lie or fight. But if I don’t stand my ground as a girl, am I letting the haters win?
Then again, those aren’t the only two ways to live.
Hi guys, we have Garrett Leigh stopping in for a quick visit with her new release Strays, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Aerin’s review, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Strays
(Urban Soul 02)
by
Garrett Leigh
Work, sleep, work, repeat. Nero’s lonely life suits him just fine until his best friend, Cass, asks him to take on a new apprentice—a beautiful young man who’s never set foot in a professional kitchen. Despite his irritation and his lifelong ability to shut the world out, Nero is mesmerised by the vibrant stray, especially when he learns what drove him to seek sanctuary on Nero’s battered old couch.
Lenny Mitchell is living under a cloud of fear. Pursued by a stalker, he has nowhere left to run until Nero offers him a port in a storm—a job at the hottest restaurant in Shepherd’s Bush. Kitchen life proves heady and addictive, and it’s not long before he finds himself falling hard and fast for the man who has taken him in.
Fast-forward a month and neither man can imagine life without the other, but one thing stands in their way: a lifetime of horrors Nero can’t bring himself to share with Lenny. Or can he? For the first time ever, happiness is there for the taking, and Nero must learn to embrace it before fate steps in and rips it away.
Hiya guys, we have Alex Beecroft and her new release Angels of Istanbul, we have a incredible guest post, a great excerpt and a brilliant giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Angels of Istanbul
(Arising 02)
by
Alex Beecroft
Wallachian nobleman Radu is recently arrived in Bucharest with his vampire parents. Welcomed as an eligible bachelor, he’s introduced to the enchantress Ecaterina, whose salon is Bucharest’s centre of magical expertise.
But when Ecaterina’s brother dies of a mysterious new plague, it’s clear to Radu that his parents have not been idle. Soon Bucharest is in the grip of an undead epidemic—a less than ideal time for Ottoman Sultan Mahmud, Wallachia’s overlord, to call Bucharest’s nobility to assemble their armies in Istanbul for a holy war against Britain.
The Wallachians have long resented their Ottoman overlords, so Radu seizes the chance to eliminate them while also ridding Bucharest of the undead: he leads an army of vampires to Istanbul and sets them to feed on the Turks.
As Radu’s demons gut the city of Istanbul, their plans become horribly clear. This is only the start. With the Ottoman armies under their control, the undead are poised to suck the life out of the whole world. Radu, his lover Frank, and Ecaterina are appalled at what they’ve unleashed. But they may be too late to stop it.
Hi guys, we have Cass Lennox popping in today with her new release Growing Pains, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Growing Pains
(Toronto Connections 03)
by
Cass Lennox
Gigi Rosenberg is living his best life: performances in the big city, side gigs at a dance company, a successful drag act, and the boy of his childhood dreams who now adores him. Even if the boyfriend part isn’t the sparkly ride of passion he expected it to be, life is sweet. So when his sister’s wedding calls him back to his hometown, he sees an opportunity to show the hicks from his past how wrong they were about him. Only, his boyfriend isn’t quite on board.
Brock Stubbs left their hometown and his parents behind for a reason, and the prospect of facing them again is terrifying. He swore he’d never go back, but Gigi has made it clear refusal isn’t an option, and Brock will do nearly anything for him. There’s just one deal-breaker of a problem: Brock promised Gigi he was out to everyone, including his parents. He lied.
It’s magical to run into the sunset together, but staying the course takes work. For Gigi and Brock, going home feels like the finale of a long, disappointing year. Sometimes love isn’t all you need.
Hiya peeps, we have Alex Beecroft stopping by today with her new release Sons of Devils, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Sons of Devils
(Arising 01)
by
Alex Beecroft
British scholar Frank Carew is in Wallachia to study the magic generator on nobleman Radu Vacarescu’s land. There, his party is attacked by bandits and his friends are killed. Pursued by a vampiric figure, he flees to Radu’s castle for help.
Unfortunately, this is precisely where the vampires came from. If allowed, they would feed unchecked and spread their undeath across the whole Earth, but Radu maintains a shaky control over them and keeps them penned in his tiny corner of the country.
As Frank recovers from his assault, Radu finds himself falling for the young man. But loving Frank and not wanting to lose him leaves Radu vulnerable to his demons’ demands. Can he bear to let them feed on the man he loves? Or must he give in to their blackmail and set them free to feast on his entire country?
Hi peeps, we have Santino Hassell stopping by today with his new release Insight, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Aerin’s review, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Insight
(The Community 01)
by
Santino Hassell
Growing up the outcast in an infamous family of psychics, Nate Black never learned how to control his empath abilities. Then after five years without contact, his estranged twin turns up dead in New York City. The claim of suicide doesn’t ring true, especially when a mysterious vision tells Nate it was murder. Now his long-hated gift is his only tool to investigate.
Hitching from his tiny Texas town, Nate is picked up by Trent, a gorgeous engineer who thrives on sarcasm and skepticism. The heat that sparks between them is instant and intense, and Nate ends up trusting Trent with his secrets—something he’s never done before. But once they arrive in the city, the secrets multiply when Nate discovers an underground supernatural community, more missing psychics, and frightening information about his own talent.
Nate is left questioning his connection with Trent. Are their feelings real, or are they being propelled by abilities Nate didn’t realize he had? His fear of his power grows, but Nate must overcome it to find his brother’s killer and trust himself with Trent’s heart.
Hi peeps, we have Garrett Leigh stopping by with the retro review tour for Misfits, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Tams’ review, so check out the post and click that giveaway link! <3 ~Pixie~
Misfits
(Urban Love 01)
by
Garrett Leigh
Restaurant owner Tom Fearnes has loved his partner Cass for as long as he can remember, but their work often keeps them apart. When he meets a striking young man named Jake on the vibrant streets of Camden Town, their heady first encounter takes an unexpected turn.
Jake Thompson can hardly believe his luck when he wakes up in Tom’s bed. Tom is gorgeous, kind, and . . . taken. Tom’s explanation of his open relationship leaves Jake cold, but Tom is too tempting, and when hard times force Jake to accept Tom’s helping hand, he finds himself between two men who’ve lost their way.
Cass Pearson is a troubled soul. He loves Tom with all he has, but some days it feels like he hasn’t much to give. Jake seems like the perfect solution. Cass risks everything to push Jake and Tom together, but Jake resists, wary, until the darkness of Cass’s past comes to call. Then Jake finds himself the last man standing, and it’s time to dig deep and shine a light for the men he’s grown to love.
Hi peeps, we have Kate Sherwood popping in today with her new release Darkness, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Shorty’s review, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Darkness
(Common Law 03)
by
Kate Sherwood
A murdered prostitute. An obvious suspect. Clear evidence. For once, Jericho Crewe has a straightforward crime to investigate, and Wade Granger isn’t involved.
It all seems so simple, but Jericho’s instincts won’t let him rest. As he investigates, he finds troubling suggestions that the murder is a part of something larger and more sinister. But working within the boundaries of the law may keep him from finding the truth. If Jericho doesn’t break the rules, an innocent man may rot in jail while a killer remains free to strike again.
Inevitably, it all comes back to Wade. Because who else knows as much about breaking rules? And who else knows Jericho the way Wade does—not wisely, but far, far too well?
Hiya peeps, we have Kris Ripper stopping by today with zir new release As La Vista Turns, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
As La Vista Turns
(Queers of La Vista 05)
by
Kris Ripper
Zane Jaffe has almost lost track of what conception cycle she’s in. (That’s a lie: this is cycle thirteen.) She’s fake-dating her pal Mildred to get her best friend off her back, but judging by how hot it was when they accidentally kissed, her feelings might be somewhat less platonic than she’d thought.
And she’s decided that healing the fractured local queer community can only be accomplished through a party. Or maybe it’s actually a wake. Whatever it is, it’ll take place at Club Fred’s, and there will be alcohol.
Trying to conceive is an unholy rollercoaster of emotions, and Mildred won’t let them kiss again until Zane figures out how she feels. Between the wake (exhausting as hell, and that’s just the fun stuff), the constant up-down cycle of trying to get pregnant, and saving the world in the meantime, Zane has no idea. Fall in love with Mildred isn’t on her list, but maybe it’s time to let go of that rigid future she’s been working toward, and instead embrace the accidents that can lead to something better.
Hiya peeps, we have J.E. Birk popping in today with her new release Dating Ryan Alback, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Dating Ryan Alback
by
J.E. Birk
Ryan Alback has almost everything he’s ever wanted: a successful acting career, a dog who adores him, great family and friends, and a life outside the closet. The only thing missing is a boyfriend—but Ryan’s been burned by Hollywood relationships before, and he’s not eager to try one again.
Jason Santos has almost everything he’s ever wanted: a fulfilling career teaching middle school, a house in a city he loves, and parents who support him in every way. Too bad he can’t seem to forget the ex-boyfriend who rejected his marriage proposal.
When a talk show host launches a dating contest to find Ryan a boyfriend and Jason accidentally wins, neither of them expect anything to come from it. Yet somewhere between a disastrous massage and a mud sinkhole, they both start to wonder if this date could be more than just a public relations stunt. But before they can move into the future, they’ll both have to learn to let go of the past.
Hiya peeps, we have Eli Lang stopping by today with the tour for her new release Half, we have a brilliant guest post, a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Half
by
Eli Lang
Living between worlds has never been comfortable, but it’s where I’ve always fit: between human and fey, illness and health, magic and reality.
I’ve spent the last six years looking for a cure for the nameless sickness eating me up. If I believed there was one out there, I would keep searching. But there isn’t, so I’ve come back home, where my past and present tangle. Come home to live . . . and to die.
But my father insists I meet Kin. He’s a healer, and determined to help, even though I’m not so hopeful anymore. But Kin isn’t what I expected, in any way. He sees me, not my illness. He reminds me of what it’s like to be alive. And I can’t help falling for him, even though I know it isn’t fair to either of us.
Kin thinks he has the cure I’ve been looking for, but it’s a cure that will change everything: me, my life, my heart. If I refuse, I could lose Kin. But if I take it, I might lose myself.
Blurb: Charles Hunter’s team is on a mission to extract an unidentified ATF agent from an undercover job gone wrong. All they’ve got to go on is the rendezvous location—until Charles recognizes the ex he hasn’t seen in years. Their “simple rescue mission” is about to get a lot more complicated.
For Ángel Medina, adjusting to life after his cartel nightmare is hard enough without confronting memories of a failed relationship. All he wants is a fresh start. But when a violent stalker lashes out from the shadows, Ángel realizes his nightmare is far from over.
As the stalker’s obsession escalates and bodies start dropping, Charles and Ángel are thrown together in a desperate search for the culprit. Tempers flare and old passions reignite, drawing them back into the same turbulent relationship that once ended in disaster.
But the stalker isn’t letting go—and the next strike might hit straight through the heart.
Review: Oh wow I loved this book. Action packed, drama driven and two hot as hell ATF Agents with a past history makes this story a hit. Angel has been undercover with a crime boss. His life was hell. When he is extracted by none other than his ex Charles and his team he thinks the worst is over. But Charles can’t forget the past and what Angel did.
In the meantime between hot scenes and all out fighting there is someone trying to get Angel. This person is tormenting Angel to no end…. even resorting to murdering several people. When the person finally gets their hands on Angel the reasoning why is chilling to say the least. This individual is insane in my opinion.
I really enjoyed reading how the team worked together and progressed through the cases they had. It was an enormous undertaking trying to keep Angel safe in the midst of not knowing who to trust and where was safe.
Blurb: Eddie Rodrigues doesn’t stay in one place long enough to get attached. The only time he broke that rule, things went south fast. Now he’s on the road again, with barely enough cash in his pocket to hop a bus south after his (sort-of-stolen) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Midwest, USA.
He’s fine. He’ll manage. Until he watches that girl get hit by a car and left to die.
Local shop owner Grayson Croft isn’t in the habit of doing people any favors. But even a recluse can’t avoid everyone in a town as small as Clear Lake. And when the cop who played Juliet to your Romeo in the high school play asks you to put up her key witness for the night, you say yes.
Now Gray’s got a grouchy glass artist stomping around his big, empty house, and it turns out that he . . . maybe . . . kind of . . . likes the company.
But Eddie Rodrigues never sticks around.
Unless a Christmas shop owner who hates the season can show an orphan what it means to have family for the holidays.
Review: Ohhh, this story was so beautiful, with just the perfect amount of angst and holiday spirit! Without any doubt, I consider this Amy’s best writing to date.
Eddie Rodriquez had been through many foster homes in his life, so many in fact, that he’s learned not to get attached and to always rely on nobody else but himself. He doesn’t own anything he can’t carry with him anywhere he goes, and drifts from state to state, working Renaissance Fairs to sell his beautiful glass creations. After witnessing a hit and run one night on his way to Texas, Eddie is stuck for a while since he’s the only witness and police want to question him.
Grayson Croft has lived in his small town all his life. After being abandoned by his lover years ago, Gray became a recluse who hates socializing with people, and he spends all his time keeping his Shoppe open and restoring his house. After volunteering to host Eddie for the time he needs to stay in town, Gray starts to realize how lonely he is. Listening to someone else’s footsteps in his house makes it seem more like a home again, and as much as he finds himself attracted to Eddie physically, he craves his company even more.
What was supposed to be a couple of days at the most turned into an open ended invitation for Eddie to stay and work with Gray for as long as he wants. The initial awkwardness between them turns into a reluctant friendship, and both Gray and Eddie realize how much they love each other’s company and how well matched they are. Gray doesn’t get his hopes up that young and beautiful Eddie would want to settle down with him, while Eddie has a foot out the door the entire time, preparing himself for the moment Gray gets tired of him.
I loved seeing how both Gray and Eddie became emotionally vulnerable to each other, despite the big age difference between them, which turned out to not be a problem at all. Eddie’s past experiences that taught him to never rely on anyone and that he’s not good enough to make people stay; those are the real issues. Despite how frustrating Eddie was at times, I thought he was very realistic and easy to relate to. Gray on the other hand made it real hard to warm up to; I never understood why it took him so long to get over his ex leaving him to move to a big city. It’s been YEARS since the breakup, and I didn’t like the idea that he needed someone to move in with him in order to move on with his life, because that screams pathetic to me. Gray is not a child; he’s a mature man in his 40’s, although at times he didn’t read as such.
This is a beautiful about finding love and trusting that for some people you mean everything. It’s about learning to rely on others and believing that despite a horrible past, you can be happy and deserve to be so. It’s about realizing that there are good people in this world, who want to help without expecting anything in return. Lovely ending!
Blurb: Once a fearless fighter pilot, Commander Travis Wilson is now confined to a desk. It’s been eight years since the near-fatal crash that grounded him, and it still rules his life thanks to relentless back pain.
Lieutenant Commander Clint Fraser almost drowned in a bottle after a highly classified catastrophe while piloting a drone. His downward spiral cost him his marriage and kids, but he’s sober now and getting his life back on track. He’s traded drones for a desk, and he’s determined to reconcile with his kids and navigate the choppy waters of PTSD.
Clint has been on Travis’s radar ever since he transferred to Anchor Point. When Clint comes out to his colleagues, it’s a disaster, but there’s a silver lining: now that Travis knows Clint is into men, the chemistry between them explodes.
It’s all fun and games until emotions get involved. Clint’s never been in love with a man before. Travis has, and a decade later, that tragic ending still haunts him. Clint needs to coax him past his fear of crashing and burning again, or their love will be grounded before takeoff.
Review: Well ….this wasn’t my favorite book, that’s for sure. There were plenty of things that didn’t work, and with the risk of sounding like a big asshole, I hated all the limitations that Travis has because of the back injury he suffered years ago.
I know it wasn’t his fault and I understand it was a serious accident and that he’s lucky to be alive, but… that back injury was mentioned so many times, I feel like half of the book dealt with Travis’s misery and pain management. It felt very repetitive. Forget sexy times and out-of-this-world-chemistry; the guys might have found it, but I’m not feeling it. While I don’t mind the lack of anal sex in my books, there needs to be a lot of intensity and slow burn to make up for it, which this book seriously lacked.
I like that Clint and Travis are both mature people with families and problems they learn how to live with, but this didn’t make up for everything else.
This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it’s not what I’m used to and what I’ve come to expect from L.A. Witt.
Blurb: Nolan Carmichael is getting a fresh start—new career, new company, new life. The only problem is, he liked his old life just fine . . . until an accident robbed him of his health, his job, his self-confidence, and his ability to go out in public without having anxiety attacks.
Zack Anderson has scared away his last four administrative assistants. So when he hires Nolan on a whim, he’s not too worried, since Nolan will be gone within the week anyway. Two weeks later, Nolan has made himself indispensable, completely reforming Zack’s schedule, life . . . and libido.
But in a company already torn by internal politics, one wrong step could ruin both their careers. And not only are they working to reopen Ringside Gym, Zack’s retreat when he was a troubled teen, but they also can’t help themselves falling for each other. If only the rest of their lives could go as smoothly as things do when they’re alone together.
Review: This book had me at the blurb because of my huge weakness for grumpy alpha males with a permanent chip on their shoulder.
Zack was pretty much exactly as I expected, a man with anger issues, lacking social behavior, someone who’s feared and hated rather than loved, but also someone with a huge heart and a marshmallow core. Zack’s job as a CTO is not something he’s ever planned on and it’s definitely not something he enjoys, but it allows him to secretly continue his plans to restore and re-open the gym that saved his life as a teen, and to keep alive the memory of the man who helped Zack learn to manage his anger. Ringside Gym is the only thing that Zack cares about, and he’ll stop at nothing to rebuild its legacy to offer LGBT teens a safe place to manage their anger issues and blow off some steam.
Nolan Carmichael has been recovering from a severe car accident for the past two years, and he’s more than ready to take charge of his life again. Getting a job he’s overqualified for is not a problem, as long as he can get past his severe anxiety and panic attacks. PTSD’s a bitch, but he’s determined to conquer it. His job interview doesn’t go exactly as planned, and he ends up becoming the PA of the most feared man in the entire company; Zack’s reputation certainly doesn’t make Nolan’s future with the company very promising.
Nolan and Zack are very different from each other, but they work very well together by complementing each other perfectly. I loved how the budding chemistry made their interactions that much more intense. Despite the odds stacked against them, Nolan and Zack become a pretty strong duo; once they decide the chemistry between them is worth exploring, there are plenty of scorching moments to enjoy. I loved how they each worked to win the other’s trust and how they never gave up on each other, not even when things got hard and the odds seemed stacked against them.
I could probably find a few flaws and things to complain about, but I’m content and happy with how this book ended. I hope this series continues with Max’s story, because he seems like a pretty important character and I’d love to learn more about him.
Title: Too Stupid To Live
Title: Can’t Hide From Me
