Category Archives: Linkity linkity link

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Last of the Linkity until November 12!

44 Comments

Congrats to Leigh, who won Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Clare London!

And congrats to elaing8, who won The Third Floor by Stephani Hecht!

Congrats to Tam, who won Eat Me by Mia Watts! Eat Me will be released on Monday, October 25, by Total-E-Bound.

I suppose you’re curious about the title of this post, huh? Early next week, I’m heading to San Francisco with Kris, Tam, Jenre, and Tracy to see the city and attend Yaoi Con. Subsequently, blogging will be a little spotty for the next two weeks. On Monday, October 25, I’ll have a vampire-themed edition of the Misadventures for Halloween. A new Kim Dare contest will automagically post on Thursday, October 28. I’ll post contest winners in the evening on October 25, October 28, and October 29 – please consider 7 pm CDT as a rough ending time for those contests! Contests are still open until I shut off the comments on the contest posts. Also, I’m not going to be able to reply to all of the contest entries and I apologize in advance for that.

Vacationy sorts of random posts may appear without warning. 🙂

Contests

Bookity

  • Go take the Romantic Times survey – is it just me, or do others feel like having the lowest range spent on books being $0-$20 is weird? My spending $0 on hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and mass market paperbacks (buying ebooks instead) gets lost…
  • Reasoning with Vampires dissects the writing in the Twilight saga, with delightfully incoherent results. (Warning: This site is addictive!) (Thanks, Bron!)

Ebookity

  • The word on ebook piracy continues to be conflicting – is it zOMG or no big deal?

Learn, Think, Make, Do

  • Did you know that Wednesday was World Statistics Day? Take a minute to read this post at Lifehacker that will help you interpret survey statistics better.

Linkity Peeps

Halloweeny

Cool

  • Is there a Michigander in your life who would appreciate some Michigan Mittens?

Huh

  • I find these Homer Simpson slippers disturbing, too. Can’t you just hear Homer saying, “Mmmmmm…. feet”?
  • Are you supposed to mix the contents of the instant coffee straw with water, or snort them straight?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Dudleytown by L.B. Gregg. advance ebook. Very good Halloween-themed m/m romance about several college students taking a “shortcut” on their drive home for the weekend. Things go a bit more spectacularly awry than is usual for such shortcuts… Plenty of trademark L.B. humor and insight make for an entertainingly suspenseful read.
The Third Floor by Stephani Hecht. ebook short. Cute short Halloween-themed m/m romance about two guys working the admission booth of a haunted house, one of whom insists he’s not at all interested in the other. I wonder if there will be more books about these two? 🙂
Dance with a Vampire by Fabian Black. free ebook short. Very good, very short Halloween-themed m/m romance about a guy, trying to get in to a club for a Halloween party and becoming upset with the man at the door who won’t let him in.
Through the Red Door (Vampires & Mages & Weres, Oh My!, Book 2) by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a demon enforcer out house hunting who finds a house that would be perfect if it wasn’t for the warded red door and his inexplicable reaction to the owner’s scent… Alas, I felt this book was marred by an abrupt ending – spending a few more pages tying things up after the conflict was resolved would’ve helped immensely.
Trick of the Senses (Sensational #4) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a psychic and his lover, who also shifts into his service dog. This probably would’ve made more sense if I’d read the previous three stories. 🙂
Calendar Boys of October: Trick of Silver by Jamie Craig. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a werewolf hunter sent to kill an allegedly murderous werewolf… but the evidence doesn’t add up. And the werewolf is really sexy…
On the Ragged Edge of the World (Trick of Silver, Book 2) by Jamie Craig. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of the werewolf hunter trying to fit into the pack that his werewolf lover leads.
Out of Bounds by Viki Lyn. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a well-known and openly gay artist who returns to his small and bigoted hometown to get away from memories of his ex. Against his better judgment, he becomes involved with the deeply closeted football coach.
The Way You Say My Name (Reed, Book 2) by Sara Bell. ebook. Meh m/m romance about two 18-year old high school students. Besides the insta-love and chicks with dicks, there was just way too much going on in this book and it dragged on way too long.
Winston Quirk by Martin Delacroix. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance set on a small and very racist island in the Bahamas in the mid-1970s. A white professor on vacation from Florida finds himself rethinking his beliefs about race after meeting the title character.

“……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……….” -Mayhem

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/10/homemade_owl_pellets_ftw.html
Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Loungetastic Linkity!

35 Comments

Congrats to Jenre, who won her choice from LA Witt’s backlist!

Congrats to cturtlechick, who won Why Jay Ran Away (Contact, Book 3) by Jade Archer! Why Jay Ran Away will be available from Total-E-Bound on October 18.

Congrats to Mary F, who won Blood and Alchemy (Drone Vampires, Book 11) and a bonus copy of The Third Floor by Stephani Hecht. How did Mary get so lucky? Well, after I kicked off the contest for Blood and Alchemy, the publication date got changed from October 15 to October 31; The Third Floor is being released today instead. Stephani’s giving Mary a copy of The Third Floor to help tide her over until the 31st – and you can still enter to win a copy of The Third Floor. 🙂

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Linkity Peeps

Halloweeny

Cool

Huh

  • I think the Portable Armrest makes people look like escaped asylum patients…

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Like Pizza and Beer (Dino & Seth, Book 2) by Elle Parker. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense that you should not even pick up until you’ve read the first book, Like Coffee and Doughnuts. That won’t be a hardship. 🙂 Dino takes on two new cases: one for Seth, trying to find dirt on Seth’s sister’s scumbag boyfriend, the other for his own ex-girlfriend, which makes Seth very jealous. Add to that Dino’s own discomfort with anyone knowing that he’s dating Seth…
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Clare London. ebook. Very good short m/m romance about a guy waiting at the airport for a very good friend who’s been overseas for a final job interview. Since his friend’s flight turns out to be delayed 12 hours, he has plenty of time to think about how much he’ll miss his friend and how much he screwed up the last time they saw each other. Some very unusual people sit near him and help distract him from his thoughts… or do they?
Picture Postcards by J.M. Snyder. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy, in love with his best friend, who drifts out of touch after his friend marries a woman… and then a postcard arrives in the mail.
Bittersweet Seasons by Fabian Black. ebook. Very good collection of short, poignant m/m romances, most of which touch on seasons or time passing.
Maxxed Out by Treva Harte. ebook. Good m/m romance about Max, a college student who hasn’t come out to his parents, who shows up at the door of his (deceased) brother’s best friend with an agenda… The one detractor was the alternating first person, which, while done pretty well, was confusing at times.
Sub for Hire by Claire Thompson. ebook. So-so kinky m/m romance about an author who works as a sub-for-hire at a professional dungeon until he can support himself with his writing. He can handle the job, as long as he’s able to keep his emotions detached, because he actually longs for a loving D/s relationship. Again, I just can’t engage with Claire Thompson’s older books the way I can with her newer books. This was particularly challenging, because I wasn’t overly fond of the dominant characters.
Burning Up by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a fire dancer, entertaining on the street, who gets heckled by a drunken idiot with a quieter, nicer friend.
Lockdown by Augusta Li & Eon De Beaumont. ebook short. Ok short m/m story about a superhero and a supervillain who are locked in a nuclear power plant after their fight damages the core…
In Knots by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Meh kinky short paranormal m/m romance about a human sub who goes to a werewolf bdsm club. At least there were some amusing editing fails.
Call Me Sir, Too (Sir, Book 2) by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Meh kinky m/m romance about a Dom and sub who met in the first book. Since then the Dom’s been gone on mysterious business and the sub’s been seriously traumatized and injured by an evil Dom. Will the good Dom be able to get the sub to trust again? My favorite line in the whole book (and I’m reproducing it exactly!): “That strange twinkled shinned in Dante’s eyes again.”
The Magic in Your Touch (Reed, Book 1) by Sara Bell. ebook. Meh m/m romance from an author whose more recent work I really love. Chicks with dicks, insta-love, stalker(s)… *sigh*
You Don’t Need a Doctor by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good short paranormal m/m romance about an ER doctor who notices that the shooting victim he’s treating is awfully hairy and has very pointy teeth and is healing very fast… This would’ve been better as a longer story, because so much was crammed in.
El Cedral by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a doctor from NYC, taking a sabbatical from his cushy hospital job, who agrees to help out an old friend at his clinic on an impoverished Mexican island.

“None of you better be thinking of trying to steal my stripey socks! I’m keeping an eye on you!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Lasso up some linkity!

31 Comments

Congrats to Eden Winters, who won Counterpoint (Song of the Fallen, Book 1) by Rachel Haimowitz. Also, Guiltless Pleasure Publishing is offering 10% off on Counterpoint through October 16 to Stumbling Over Chaos readers who use coupon code CHAOSCOUNTER. Thanks, GPP!

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Learn, Make, Do, Think

  • If you use your laptop on your lap, please use a laptop stand/desk! Not only will it help keep your laptop from overheating (a major cause of laptop death), it will also keep you from developing Toasted Skin Syndrome. Ewww… (Although my current laptop has a built-in stand, I used to use one of these.)

Knitting

Cool

  • We had inadvertent land carpet growing up – my mom didn’t feel like really carpeting our bedrooms, so she bought all sorts of carpet samples.
  • Surely there’s someone on your holiday shopping list who would love an FU t-shirt?

Huh

LOL

  • Knitters with cats: I really wouldn’t recommend trying this.

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Lime Green: Margarita Mondays by T.C. Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romance about an interior designer with trust issues who has friends over every Monday. After a noise complaint and confusion literally bring security guards crashing through his door one Monday night, he finds himself unwillingly attracted to one of the security guards. (I hope that TC’s going to write Riley’s story very soon, although so far she seems to mostly be taunting me about it on Goodreads.)
The Beach House by Shawn Lane. ebook. Sweet, good m/m romance about a model who overdosed and was sent to rehab. Post-rehab, his agent rents him a quiet house on the beach for the summer, to get him away from bad influences and help him figure out how to have a more normal life.
Get What You Need by Janey Chapel. ebook. Very good m/m story about a cop and an ex-con who connect briefly, with unexpected depth. Be aware that this doesn’t have a HEA or even necessarily a HFN ending – it’s a good read anyway.
Code Blue (EMS Heat, Book 5) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about a firefighter/EMT who’s hostile and deeply suspicious of motives when a friend’s ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly.
Temptation by Kim Dare. free ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about an initiate, about to be consecrated to the goddess Artemis, who wanders away from the group on the way to the temple.
Ellery’s Duty (Thrown to the Lions, Book 3) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a human dominant who allows himself to be “thrown to the lions” because he wants to make sure that the subs who go through the process are treated well. He certainly doesn’t expect to meet the innocent and atypical werelion Kefir…
Gayish (G-A-Y, Book 12) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Very good short kinky m/m romance about a dominant who spots a young man huddling in the rain at the bus stop across from a gay pride rally and goes over to talk to him… (I’m sad that this is the last book in this series!)
The Jitters by Fabian Black. ebook. Two cute short stories about Trevor and Luke, who have just purchased a house and moved in together. Alas, things aren’t going so smoothly…
Backwoods by Cara McKennea. ebook. Very good, gritty m/m story about a straight bar owner who auditions a musician and is completely unprepared for (and not so happy about) his attraction to the man. Be aware that this doesn’t have an HEA or even HFN ending.
After Anna (Book 1) by Theda Black. ebook. So-so m/m story about a police detective who’s not doing so well after his girlfriend dies and he learns she was a junkie. His partner and best friend is always there for him… and things get complicated. The style made this more oblique and confusing then it needed to be, but I was drawn into the story anyway. Be aware that there’s no HEA or even HFN.
Touch Like Breathing (After Anna, Book 2) by Theda Black. ebook. Ok m/m romance continuing the story of two police detectives who aren’t doing so well with their attraction to each other. While there was an awful lot of back and forth, on again, off again (to the extent that it seemed excessive), I still got drawn in and had to find out how things turned out. (Yes, you’re right, that’s Candy Cane Guy on both covers!)
Island of Temptation by Claire Thompson. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two guys, one bi, one straight, who end up stranded on a desert island after their cruise ship sinks. I definitely like Claire Thompson’s newer stuff better than the older… and yet I can’t stop myself from reading the older stuff. Make of that what you will!
His Dirty Little Secret (Sammy & Friends, Book 3) by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a black police detective who sets up a fuck buddy relationship with a white nurse in their extended group of (gay) friends, under the condition that no one can find out about it. This was more spectacularly trainwrecky than the usual SG – it seemed as if the plot holes and character inconsistencies exceeded all previous levels.
Dreggers Deep by J. Rocci. ebook short. Ok short m/m story that probably would’ve been more interesting to me if I were following the Dregs series by J. Rocci.

“I can’t believe the big kitty said that stripey socks aren’t what life’s all about. He’s just jealous that he doesn’t have any stripey socks.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity laceration!

30 Comments

Congrats to Shanna, who won Code Blue by Stephani Hecht! Code Blue is being released by eXtasy Books today.

Congrats to Susmita, who won Gayish (G-A-Y, Book 12) by Kim Dare! Gayish will be released by Total-E-Bound on October 4.

Contests

  • A number of bloggers are honoring urban fantasy author Jennifer Rardin, who died unexpectedly this week, by giving away a book from her Jaz Parks series: Renee’s Book Addiction (closes 11:59 pm PDT, October 1), Lurv a la Mode (one US winner & one international winner; closes noon EDT, October 4), and Sidhe Vicious Reviews (closes 11:59 pm, October 5).

Bookity

  • Has the Suck Fairy visited you when you reread a beloved book?

Ebookity

Learn, Make, Think, Do

  • Considering an Android smartphone, but have no clue where to start? Check out the Gizmodo guide.
  • Think the lottery’s your chance to improve your life? Play the lottery simulator to see how likely that is.

Gluten-Free

Linkity Peeps

  • Kristi’s got links to her fall-themed recipes. Wonder if I can make those pumpkin scones gluten-free?

Cool

  • Lego wedding ring! Why don’t they both have Lego rings? Then they could interlock. 🙂

Huh

  • Surely there’s a festive event to which you can bring a meat head?

LOL

  • I wouldn’t try this with one of your own SD cards…
  • Hmm. Do you think that tiger is hungry?! (Thanks, Jase!)

Teh Cute

Reading Update
72 Hours by Clare London. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an agent for a shadowy government organization (think 24 here) who’s been suspended and is hiding out, sulking, when the last man/agent he wants to see (his former lover) is deposited with him for safekeeping. You know how you read some books and get annoyed because the conflict could’ve been solved with some conversation? In 72 Hours, you might be tempted to think that at first, but you slowly come to understand that the critical conversations aren’t always easy. Kinda like in real life. 🙂
Handcuffs and Headlocks (Rawlings Men, Book 3) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about an undercover police officer who’s played so many different parts that he’s always playing a part, even when he meets an extremely centered martial arts instructor to whom he’d like to submit.
The Subtle Build of Perfection by L.M. Turner. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a video store clerk and the video store customer who keeps coming in and renting movies to see him. This story definitely managed to capture the awkwardness of meeting someone, trying to figure out if that person is attracted to you, and so forth.
Devlin and Garrick (Seeking Redemption, Book 2) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Good m/m romance about Devlin, visiting San Francisco for a few days, who picks up a rough, tattooed guy for some quick fun that turns into a weekend in bed, followed by six months of emails and phone calls before the guy brutally dumps Devlin in email. Five years later, Devlin’s still struggling to deal with that when he bumps into a mysteriously familiar (but tattoo-free) guy new in town…
Hunter’s Light (Kindred Spirits, Book 2) by Jude Mason & Jenna Byrnes. Ok paranormal m/m romance about an overly enthusiastic guy who comes to the inn to see and write about its ghostly inhabitants. When he finds out there’s a ghost at the nearby lighthouse, he’s soon butting heads with the solitary lighthouse keeper.
Alex’s Appeal (Kindred Spirits, Book 3) by Jude Mason & Jenna Byrnes. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a lawyer who comes to the inn to think about whether he wants to accept a judgeship and move away from the home that he and his partner, who died eight months ago, shared. While at the inn, he becomes intrigued by the handsome young cook…
Juicy, Melty, Fun to Share (Book 1) by Augusta Li. ebook short. Good short holiday m/m story about a caterer who discovers that the event he’s catering is a holiday kink party, hosted by a gorgeous Dom. (Also, that cover has nothing whatsoever to do with the book.)
Twelfth Night (Juicy, Melty, Fun to Share, Book 2) by Augusta Li. ebook short. Ok short kinky m/m story in which the caterer runs into the gorgeous Dom for the first time since the holiday party.
Hearts Afire: September by Philippa Grey-Garou & Michael Barnette. ebook collection. Very mixed two-story m/m romance collection. Grey-Garou’s contemporary tale about a chef and a firefighter who meet as the chef’s restaurant goes up in flames was good. Barnette’s scifi story about a firefighter who saves a telepathic executive from a mine fire was so-so: a good plot marred by sappy language.
On Call: Afternoon and On Call: Dancing by P.D. Singer. ebook shorts. Enjoyable short m/m romances about a doctor and a veterinarian who meet on the job and then again on the job. I’m looking forward to reading the third installment, which is buried in the Torquere Press Charity Sips Blitz.
Borders by Kathryn Scannell. ebook short. Good short m/m story about a doctor with Doctors Without Borders stationed in Gaza City, where he has to hide his sexual orientation because it could mean his life, who’s on a weekend leave in Tel Aviv at a gay bar.
Another Border by K.I.L. Kenny. ebook short. Sweet m/m romance short about a guy tending his lover after he gets home from a long shift in the Alzheimer’s ward.
Breathe into Me by Jenna Jones. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a salesman whose doctor’s given him ten years to live if he doesn’t get his blood pressure and stress under control. At his sister’s urging, he takes a yoga class and runs into his first love from high school, who teaches the class.

“I am not amused, Mom. Not. Amused. At. All.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

A flood of linkity!

35 Comments

Congrats to Jane, who won Not Anymore by Em Woods! Not Anymore will be released by Total-E-Bound on September 27.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Learn, Make, Do, Think

  • I must confess to finding human-powered gadgets very cool – if all tvs and video games were powered by exercise bikes, would America have an obesity epidemic?

Linkity Peeps

Cool

  • Cute game, although it may cause cubicle workers to weep uncontrollably… (Thanks, Jase!)

Huh

LOL

  • The bad ex service… make sure you hover your cursor over the comic for additional text!
  • My kitties did not enjoy this black cat meow mix video. At all. Chaos was so sure that I was hiding another kitty in my laptop that he got mad and started to act out. (Thanks? Lisa!)

Teh Cute

  • Fetching kitty! (Both Chaos and Mayhem are fetching kitties – in both senses of the words.)

Reading Update
Seriously, was this my week to read about mysterious guys or what?! You’ll see. 🙂
Ruthless Pursuit (Lost Shifters, Book 6) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of the search to find the Lost (Feline) Shifters, who were abducted when they were young and raised by humans. This installment is about trying to capture the criminally inclined Andrew.
Man and Wolf by Kate Roman. ebook. Decent paranormal m/m romance about a vet who meets and immediately connects with a mysterious guy who brings in his poisoned dog. I enjoyed this one, although an entire storyline of menace never really played out to be anything. Plus the sex-to-story ratio was a bit skewed.
Touch of a Wolf by Jez Morrow. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a grad student who just caught his boyfriend cheating and moved out. He has an uncharacteristic sexual encounter in an alley with a mysterious guy he runs into on the street – who later shows up on his fire escape – and his life is changed, possibly forever.
Wicked Cool by Val Kovalin. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy with a junk removal business who becomes very intrigued by a mysterious property manager he meets while on a job. Can he deal with the unknown, or will all the secrets drive them apart?
His Gift by Clare London. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who wakes up injured in a rainy ditch, with no memory of how he got there. He manages to make it to an old house, where he meets a handsome, mysterious man and his life takes on a dream-like quality.
Bound by Blood (Soul Mates, Book 1) by Jourdan Lane. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a bartender with a vampire phobia who slowly realizes that not only is the hot guy he’s been ogling a vampire, he’s the Master vampire of the city… (I can definitely tell that Lane was influenced by Anne Rice’s early Vampire Chronicles and LKH’s early Anita Blake books. It works.)
Ethan’s Choice (Kindred Spirits, Book 1) by Jude Mason & Jenna Byrnes. ebook. Decent paranormal m/m romance about an analytical guy who’s considering buying the seaside inn he’s vacationing at. But why are the current owners selling it after only six months? And could the hunky handyman possibly be gay?
Almost Home by Nicole Gordon. ebook short. Intriguing short m/m story about two guys who’ve been friends for years, while one has been going through some rough things that just ended with his father’s death. Sadly, this book simply stops, with no resolution of any sort. However, I did leave a question for Nicole Gordon on her blog and she’s working on a sequel.
What They Say About Love by Alexi Silversmith. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who breaks up with his girlfriend instead of proposing to her as he’d intended. He decides to go out and pick up a guy to explore a side of himself he’s kept under wraps since college…
The First Real Thing by Cat Grant. ebook. Good m/m romance about a male escort who picks up the wrong guy in a bar and finds himself in an actual relationship… with a guy who doesn’t know what he does for a living.
Not Anymore by Em Woods. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a guy who’s on vacation in Hawaii with his sister and her boyfriend when his attraction to a guy who approaches him on the beach outs him to his family. Things get really complicated when his nasty ex shows up and then the identity of the guy from the beach is revealed. Despite a few niggles, this was an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely look for future books from Em Woods.
Vince by J.M. Snyder. ebook. Pretty good young adult m/m story about two guys who’ve been best friends since they were little… until, when they’re 14, one confesses he’s in love with the other and gets laughter in return.
Just the Right Notes by Sean Michael. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about an architect and a composer who periodically escape to their cabin for a weekend of D/s play. Will that be enough to keep them grounded when their lives go into crisis?
Prisoner of the State by Alex Morgan. ebook short. So-so short kinky m/m about a police chief who abducts a guy he pulled over for speeding and keeps the guy in his basement as a sex slave. This would’ve been better if it had been fleshed out more – it read more like a story outline at points.

“This sock, it has a flavor! It tastes… woolly.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Drip drip drop, little linkity showers…

35 Comments

Congrats to Lucy Beugeling-Ramos, who won 72 Hours by Clare London! 72 Hours is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Leni and Sarah M, who each won copies of Wicked Cool by Val Kovalin! Wicked Cool will be available from Amber Quill Press on September 19.

Contests

  • Katiebabs is celebrating her blogiversary with a contest. For your chance to win some pretty cool bookity prizes, leave a comment by September 22 and let her know which blogs you’ve particularly enjoyed during the past year.
  • Author LA Witt is holding a NaNoWriMo contest – if you successfully complete NaNoWriMo this November and submit your validated word count by December 10, you’ll have the chance to win a signed paperback or ebooks.

Bookity

  • Lily rounds up this week’s m/m romance new releases.

Ebookity

Learn, Make, Think, Do

Gluten-Free

Linkity Peeps

Cool

Huh

  • As someone who gets motion sick very easily, the movie theater bus doesn’t sound like much fun.

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
In the Flesh by Ethan Stone. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an out cop who lives according to a list of rules that protect him from getting close to anyone. When he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit, his rules slowly start to fail him.
Cover Me by L. A. Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a paramedic who is consumed by guilt over a judgment call that left someone dead and put his own life in danger. Maybe. If he’s not just being paranoid.
Twice in a Lifetime (Sutter’s Bay, Book 2) by Shawn Lane. ebook. Very good m/m romance about Jude from Sweet Reunion, who hasn’t gotten past his lover being murdered five years earlier. He surrounds himself with color in his small flower shop and doesn’t get involved… until he meets the new vet in town.
The Swap by Devon Rhodes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two machinists who’ve become good friends over the several years they’ve worked together. When one is laid off at the same time the other buys a house that needs fixing up, things start to get a bit complicated.
Tommy’s Blind Date by Anne Brooke. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who’s been on a series of spectacularly unsuccessful blind dates when his actor best friend suggests that they go out on a blind date together, so he can evaluate his friend’s blind date technique… Something that was nice about this story is that the guys were very average blokes – no amazing bodies or model looks to be seen.
In the Crease by Stephani Hecht. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a guy who’s back in town for his sister’s wedding, trying to figure out how to stop her from marrying one of the two brothers who terrorized him in high school.
Resistance by L. M. Turner. ebook. Really good m/m romance about a bouncer who never hooks up with the same guy twice as part of not feeling and not getting close… until he does hook up with the same guy more than once, which scares him and sends him running. This had me sniffling more than once and I would’ve rated it higher, but… it’s (slightly inconsistently) in third person present (my least favorite tense), which kept pulling me out of the story.
Seasons of Change by Carolyn LeVine Topol. ebook. So-so Jewish inspirational m/m romance (my categorization) about a rabbinical student whose boyfriend dies in a subway accident just a few months before their planned wedding. I felt like this was a story with potential, but as written, I never connected with the characters.
Revenge Is a Dish by Stevie Woods. ebook. So-so m/m romantic suspense about two coworkers and friends who are kidnapped for an unknown reason by an unknown person. The writing was choppy, the timeline didn’t feel plausible, and I never connected with the main characters.
He Scores by D. J. Manly. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a young guy who gets together with a pro hockey player in town for the summer. I still haven’t recovered from sorting out all the unclear pronoun references.

“What?” -Mayhem

“We don’t really like each other. It’s just getting cold here.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity. Linkity. And more Linkity.

40 Comments

Congrats to Kris and Anne B, who each won a copy of The Cat and the Cradle by Jay Bell!

Congrats to Courtney S, who won In the Crease by Stephani Hecht! In the Crease will be released by Total-E-Bound on September 13.

Contests

Bookity

  • An amusing post at Deadline Dames about dating for novelists. My favorite line: “People with book-worthy personal stories are not necessarily the best people to date.”

Ebookity

Learn, Make, Do, Think

Cool

  • Behold, Cyclisk! Can’t you just hear the theme song from 2001: A Space Odyssey in the background?

Huh

  • How… lumpy. And I can just imagine what this will look like after a dog who enjoys chewing gets hold of it…

LOL

  • Just can’t come up with anything for dinner? This site might help inspire you…

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Trinity Trespass by Val Kovalin. ebook. Excellent paranormal m/m romance about two demonic agents who have been sent to keep a unique demon-angel hybrid out of the hands of an evil angel. After the world “clicked” for me, both the fast-paced storyline and the complex relationship between the two agents kept me enthralled.
Talker by Amy Lane. ebook. Powerful m/m romance about a physically and emotionally scarred college student who befriends a much quieter student on the bus to track meets. If you’ve ever been, or known, someone who needed to be saved from themselves, this book will have a strong impact. (And I would say that even if I hadn’t had an influence on the music mentioned throughout the book!)
Bewitched by Bella’s Brother by Amy Lane. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a chronic graduate student and his best friend who spend the summer staying with her divorced brother and his young son, saving money to continue their graduate studies out of state in the fall.
Gayday! Gayday! (G-A-Y, Book 11) by Kim Dare. ebook. Steamy cute m/m romance short about a bratty submissive who keeps getting himself in trouble and calling his dominant straight friend to rescue him.
Night Watch (A Story of The Telling) by Eden Winters. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance that takes place about a year after The Telling, on the Fourth of July, as Jay tries to minimize the noisy holiday’s impact on Michael, who suffers from combat-induced PTSD. (Your purchase during September helps support the the GLBT Bookshelf.)
Cross the Mountain by P.D. Singer. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about the guys from Fall Down the Mountain out cross-country skiing.
Pleasures of Somerville Park (Object of His Desire, Book 2) by Ava March. free ebook short. Very good free short historical m/m romance following up on Arsen and Henry from Object of His Desire.
Anagama Fires by Sarah Black. ebook. Very good short m/m romance about two potters, both nearly fifty, who’ve been together most of their lives… until the past five years. The more famous, who was the one who left, sends his nephew to his former lover to learn more about firing pottery. I did have a niggle about this one – the story took place over about a week. On the first day, puppies were born. A few days later, the same puppies were running around and getting underfoot! Whoops.
Indigo Knights 1: Squire by Jet Mykles. ebook. Very good m/m romance spin-off from the Heaven Sent series, about the straight singer who filled in for Brent in Heaven Sent while Brent’s wrist was broken, and who is now staying with Brent, Hell, and Brent’s intriguing cousin Izzy while he works on getting a new band together.
Just Desserts by Scarlet Blackwell. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a famous French chef and the equally famous British food critic who seems to have it in for him.
Unexpected Guest (Patient Eyes, Book 2) by Andy Eisenberg. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a recently divorced guy who’s staying in his mother’s old house and fixing it up to sell it for her when a gay couple (the guys from Patient Eyes!) move in next door. Getting to know them reawakens thoughts and feelings he’s buried for a long, long time. I enjoyed finding out how life was going for the guys from Patient Eyes and enjoyed that this book felt more cohesive than did Patient Eyes.
You Can Go Home Again by Drew Zachary. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a guy who’s back in the small town of his childhood after being away for college and vet school.
Raven by Dakota Rebel. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about two vampires who own a gay nightclub (Raven) together, but have never gotten together themselves… (I wish I’d realized this was in Naughty Nooners, which I already owned, before I picked it up! Whoops.)
Masked by Lissa Matthews. free ebook short. Short kinky m/m story that sets up an intriguing situation between a dominant and a mysterious masked submissive… From a comment the author left elsewhere, it seems she does plan to write a follow-up story.
A Lesson in Truth by Sloan Parker. free ebook short. Cute short free m/m romance about a grad student with a crush on his advisor.
Thirty Days (Book 1) and Forever (Thirty Days, Book 2) by Shayla Kersten. ebooks. Good kinky m/m romances about a Dom whose beloved partner/sub died from cancer. As he starts to get back into the scene, his friends introduce him to a sub who had been badly abused and tortured (almost to death) by his previous master. These were hard for me to read at times because they kept reminding me of a friend, although I don’t think things got quite that bad for him before he got out…
Captive by Scarlet Blackwell. ebook short. Huh. So-so m/m romance in which something seems to be happening, but that might not be what’s happening at all. I got annoyed by that.
Green Lake by Anna Marie May. ebook short. So-so short m/m romance about a guy who takes a research assistant position in Alaska to get away from his wealthy, controlling family. Way too much story for the length of the book and, as Jenre noted in her review at Jessewave, the book was all telling, no showing, which made it impossible to connect with the characters.
Golden Boy (Book 1) by Claire Thompson. ebook. So-so kinky m/m romance about a handsome young mechanic so deeply closeted he doesn’t realize he’s gay until he sees an extremely compelling guy while out clubbing with a lesbian friend. That compelling guy turns out to be a prestigious Dom who slowly helps the mechanic discover his submissive side. I had some issues with this one. I really disliked the Dom. And the book pissed me off by ending in what felt like the middle.
Golden Man (Golden Boy, Book 2) by Claire Thompson. ebook. After it felt like the first book stopped in the middle, this book picks up… six months later. Some of the characters feel more like caricatures than like people, which was a problem in the first book, too. But ultimately, I didn’t like or trust the Dom after the first book and nothing in this book managed to change my mind. (Also, I think the cover is really weird.)

“I found this book on the floor, so it’s my book now and I say you don’t get to read it, Mom.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

The Missing Link-ity found!

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Congrats to arzu, who won Twice in a Lifetime by Shawn Lane! Twice in a Lifetime will be released on September 5 by Amber Allure.

Congrats to Tara, who won What To Do With Lore by Jade Archer! What To Do With Lore will be released by Total-E-Bound on September 6.

Congrats to kasjo_peja, who won Gay Day! Gay Day! (G-A-Y, Book 11) by Kim Dare! Gay Day! Gay Day! will be released on September 6 by Total-E-Bound.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

  • The University of Chicago Press is offering the 1906 edition of the Chicago Manual of Style as a free download this month. Make sure you use the link in the “Update” section of this post to get the DRM-free version! (Thanks, KZ!)

Make, Do, Learn, Think

  • August was the weakest month of car sales since 1983. Maybe people are realizing that they don’t need to replace their cars as often as the automobile industry keeps pushing us to? *sends happy longevity thoughts out to beloved 1997 car*
  • Have an earworm? Unhearit will help you get rid of it… by possibly giving you a new one. 🙂

Linkity Peeps

Cool

Huh

LOL

  • Hyperbole & a Half on social entrapment. Love this quote: “One of the most difficult aspects of interacting with other people is figuring out how to extricate yourself from a conversation without appearing rude or mentally unstable.”

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Unconventional (Conventions, Book 3) by T.C. Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a computer game programmer, not able to work due to a lawsuit, who moves to California to live with his deeply closeted actor boyfriend.
Duet by Eden Winters. ebook. Excellent m/m romance that’s a bit challenging for me to categorize. The first half takes place in the Scottish Highlands 200 years ago and the second half takes place in the present day. This is a story about an English tutor/violinist and about the Scottish heir who despises the English. It’s the story of a love that transcends the ages. Oh, whatever – it’s just a darn good love story. 🙂
Double or Nothing by Cassandra Gold. ebook short. Decent m/m romance about a casino owner whose con artist ex shows up, asking for a chance to prove that he’s changed.
Collared Hearts and Frosted Hearts by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks. ebook shorts. Very good kinky short m/m romances about an artist with a prissy boyfriend who not only owns the gallery at which the artist shows, but also gives him money for his rent and bills and leaves him feeling like a whore.
Submission Times Two by Claire Thompson. Good kinky m/m romance about a couple, deeply in love with each other, who are both submissive. Will they manage to keep their need to submit from destroying their relationship?
Masked Submission by Claire Thompson. ebook. So-so kinky m/m romance about a submissive PhD student who goes to a club and becomes fascinated by a cruel and mysterious masked dominant. I definitely like Claire Thompson’s more recent books better, because I found this one to be melodramatic and overwrought.
Dark Submission by Shayne Carmichael. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance about a young man, hired as a live-in secretary, who discovers several unusual and intriguing things about his employer.
Call Me Sir by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Um. Stormy Glenn does D/s. What else is there to say, really?! Well, ok, fine. So-so kinky m/m romance about a club owner who decides, after one look at a young man in his club, that the young man would be his forevermore.
Topping Timothy by Erin O’Niall. ebook short. So-so steamy m/m tale about a young man who’s fascinated by a dominant older man he keeps seeing at the bar he frequents, but who’s also sickened by the thought of bdsm. (And this is one of the ugliest stock photo covers I’ve ever seen.)
Catching a Second Wind by Sean Michael. ebook. This m/m romance about a vet who visits an appealing young psychologist as part of trying to get over the unexpected death of his long-term lover was so sweet and angst free that I confess to being bored… Ok, yeah, there was a titch of near-angst – but seriously, nothing that wasn’t resolved within a page or two.

“I want to sleep now, not be entertained. Go away.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which Linkity gets even more out of control than ever before and I wonder how that can keep happening

37 Comments

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Learn, Make, Think, Do

  • If you’ve ever wondered how big something was compared to something else (such as the Moon compared to Australia), wonder no more.

Cool

  • I bet there’s someone on your holiday shopping list who would love the Keychain Multi-tool.

Huh

LOL

  • If you’ve been considering working from home, you might want to check this infographic first…
  • Just read a single page from this 1942 book on the dangers of petting… Wanna bet the author wouldn’t maintain his (dubious) sanity for more than five minutes if he’d been transplanted from then to now?

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Shining in the Sun by Alex Beecroft. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a wealthy British businessman (so deeply closeted he’s never considered that he might be gay) who escapes on his yacht for a month every summer so he can get away from his mother, his fiance, and his other obligations. When he sees a gorgeous surfer on the beach, everything starts to change for him.
Life, Over Easy (Fragments, Book 1) by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about an Olympic diver whose career ended in a near-death accident. Now he’s attending college and trying to deal with the odd aftereffects of his severe head injury.
Chasing Smoke by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a Homeland Security Agent who’s back in town helping get his mom’s house ready to sell when he runs into his high school crush. Will a mystery from their pasts bring them closer together or drive them further apart?
Slow Bloom by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Very good, very steamy m/m romance about a college student who’s taking care of the neighbor’s lawn while he’s home from college for the summer. He’s had a crush on the much older author neighbor for years and finally decides to act on his feelings.
Switch by Claire Thompson. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a confident banker who’s a well-known and respected dominant. When he meets a scruffy artist, he has no idea that his whole world is about to be turned upside down.
Moving On by Fabian Black. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a young man who’s been escaping from his past via alcohol and staying on the move until a dominant older man gives him a ride.
Mist Gray: Falling Apart, Falling Together by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a romance novelist staying at a lakeside cabin for the summer who becomes fascinated by his next-door neighbor. When he discovers that said next-door neighbor is a sub still grieving for the dom who died a year ago, the novelist is sure he can’t be what his neighbor needs.
Retribution in Blood (Drone Vampires #9) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about Drone Vampire Micah, a secret he’s keeping from everyone including his mate, and his human family, who are living with the Drones.
Enslaved by Blood (Drone Vampires #10) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a Drone vampire who’s been imprisoned and tortured by the VRF for six months. Will the Drones be able to rescue him before it’s too late?
Wild Thing by Mia Watts. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a Minnesota DNR agent who suspects that the guy he’s had a crush on for years is hiding information about the massive wolf sighted in the area.
The Quality of Mercy (Bonded) by Jay Lygon. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance short about a reclusive vampire romance novelist whose life is turned upside down when he finds a cute, freshly turned vampire at his front door.
Twice Blest (Bonded) by Jay Lygon. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance short about that reclusive vampire romance novelist and his attempt to hook up with a cute student.
Bonded by Jay Lygon. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a surfer who inadvertently ingests some vampire (romance novelist) blood and then realizes he can feel what the vampire’s feeling… and vice versa.
A Vintage Affair by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a sommelier, hired to evaluate the extensive wine collection of a formerly moneyed Southern family, who discovers a corpse in the wine cellar. While this was well-written and engaging, the m/f/m scene took me by surprise and the ending seemed hasty and excessively tidy.
Soren’s Surrender (Incognito, Book 10) by Anna Leigh Keaton. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a guy who’s only recently realized he’s gay and has become fascinated by a dominant that he’s been watching at the club he frequents. (Yes, I randomly read this one book in the series because it’s the only m/m book.)
Dark Submission by A.J. Hardcourt. ebook short. Steamy, kinky short m/m scene about a guy who’s been participating in an online bdsm group because he’s sure his boyfriend wouldn’t understand his desire to submit. One night he wakes up to find two strangers with bondage gear in his bedroom… and they know his online identity.

“Why did you call me goofy, Mom? That’s not very nice.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Leapin’ linkity lizards!

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Congrats to Nikyta, who won Wild Thing by Mia Watts! Wild Thing will be released on August 23 by Total-E-Bound.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Gluten-Free

Knitting & Crochet

Linkity Peeps

Huh

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Fugly by K.Z. Snow. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about three extremely superficial friends who hit on the wrong man’s husband in a bar. Afterward, they discover that the men they find attractive and hit on now shun them due to a mysterious rash that has appeared on their faces.
A Red-Tainted Silence by Carolyn Gray. ebook. Very good, emotionally draining m/m romantic suspense about two successful musicians, who’ve loved each other since their teens, and the outside forces and people that have torn them apart and nearly destroyed them. Constantly switching between the present and the past, half the story is told from one’s perspective; the rest from the other’s.
Chaos Magic, Love Runes, and Personal Demons (The Gods & Chaos Series) by Jay Lygon. ebooks. Very good kinky m/m urban fantasy series about a willful submissive who’s also a powerful witch and who worships an unusual set of gods: the God of Traffic, The God of Negotiation, etc. As he tries to stay out of the way of his abusive ex, he meets a powerful and compelling dominant and his whole life changes.
The Harem Boy by Jay Lygon. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about Ophir and Chris, two of the characters from the Gods & Chaos series.
Chain-Male by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks. ebook. Good, quirky m/m romance about a librarian who meets a guy in the history class he’s auditing and gets a history lesson he won’t soon forget.
His Hearth by Mary Calmes. ebook. Good m/m paranormal romance about a guy who’s wildly successful in his advertising career, but much less so when he dates.
Stirring Up Trouble by Z.A. Maxfield. Good m/m romance about a chef who only lasts a few months at any job before getting fired. He ends up working at a failing neighborhood restaurant owned by an anti-social guy who looks pretty tasty when he’s cooking in his Utilikilt…
A Big Hunk O’ Love by Hunter Raines. ebook. So-so short m/m romance about a recently divorced, deeply in the closet mechanic who takes a trip to Alaska with his (gay) best friend, who’s an Elvis impersonator.
Blind Faith by Claire Thompson. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy, blinded in a car accident, who sees himself as damaged goods that no one could find attractive anymore.
Continuum of Longing by Claire Thompson. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two guys who work together in a bank, neither of whom realizes that their attraction is mutual.

“What?!!” -Chaos