Tag Archives: Bethany Brown

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Welcome to Linkity, now available on Fridays! (Warning: This post is guaranteed to exceed your daily allowable dose of exclamation points!)

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Congrats to Naomi, who won the copy of The One That Got Away (One  & One) by TC Blue!

Congrats to KC (Smokinhotbooks), who won the copy of In and Out (Men of Smithfield) by LB Gregg!

And congrats to orannia, who won the copy of Carnal Intentions (Lost Shifters, Book 4) by Stephani Hecht!

Whew…

Yes, you read correctly – Linkity is now going to be on Fridays instead of Thursdays. *waits for bereft sobbing to die down* Moving right along! 😉

Contests

Books & Reading

  • Have you checked out the Author Fan Letter Blog Crawl yet? I’m up on May 29th. No, I haven’t selected my author yet. It’ll be a surprise to all of us. 🙂

Ebooks

Learn, Make, Do

Think

Yum!

Eeep!

Huh

  • And I’m not sure that paper furniture would survive Chaos and Mayhem…

LOL

  • I don’t know about you, but I’m very pleased to not be a mother opossum.
  • Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Awww

  • Good luck at your forever home, Maura!

Reading Update
Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 8 ) by J.R. Ward. *gasp* Not an ebook (bless the library). Not (precisely) m/m! This paranormal romance isn’t one you should pick up unless you’ve read the previous seven books. Fortunately, Lover Mine, being the story of John Matthew and Xhex, was very good. (Oh, come on, aren’t you a little paranoid with each new book now, after the debacle that was Lover Enshrined? And don’t even get me started on “Doc Jane”…) I even got a bit teary once or twice. And if Qhuinn had appeared in my living room, I would’ve smacked him silly.
In and Out (Men of Smithfield) by L.B. Gregg. ebook ARC. Very good m/m romance about a disgraced and now agoraphobic writer whose sanctuary is breached by a gardener, a corpse, his ex, and more! I was late to work yesterday morning because I had to finish reading it. 🙂 LB does such a nice job balancing the tender with the madcap, while managing to infuse both with plenty of humor. (I also liked the tie-in to Gobsmacked.)
Curious? A Woman’s Introduction to Gay Romance, edited by Elizabeth North. ebook collection. Very good m/m romance collection featuring stories by Amy Lane, Sean Kennedy, S. Blaise, M. Jules Aedin, Anna J. Linden, Chrissy Munder, Ashlyn Kane, Jaymz Connelly, Catt Ford, Isabelle Rowan, Bethany Brown, G.S. Wiley, and Janey Chapel. I really can’t remember if I’ve read a collection that I liked better. I think it would indeed serve as a good introduction to the genre.
Pain Management by Cassidy Ryan & Zoe Nichols. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two guys who are business partners and best friends, until a drunken night together threatens all of it. Um, I might’ve cried a bit – this one really got to me!
Between Want and Need To by Kris Dylan. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a fashion photographer who’s lived behind sturdy emotional walls for a long time – will he be able to face his demons and get beyond those walls?
Deadly Nightshade, Deadly Wrong, Deadly Dreams, and Deadly Slumber (Deadly Mysteries, Books 1-4) by Victor J. Banis. ebooks. rereads. These excellent m/m mysteries are set in San Francisco. (I’m rereading so I’m ready for the release of the fifth book. I actually reread the first two last month, but don’t seem to have mentioned them here…) Anyway! In the first book, gay police rookie Stanley must be the perfect guy to work on solving murders committed by a drag queen, right? While the SFPD thinks so, straight cop Tom, who gets stuck with Stanley as a partner, is not at all convinced. The first book, Deadly Nightshade, is available free at the GLBT Bookshelf (go! go now!), but be warned that if you start to read it and like it, you should immediately purchase the second book. You will be most unhappy if you finish the first book without the second book on hand. Trust me on this one.
Broken Bones, Mended Hearts by William Cooper. ebook short. Good non-angsty m/m romance short about a college student whose best friend helps him out after he’s been severely beaten.
Gay Pride (G-A-Y, Book 7) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Enjoyable m/m romance about a dom, not very active in the scene lately due to his activism, who opens his door to discover a drunk young man wearing nothing but a Pride flag.
Your Forever (Eight of Wands) by Jenna Jones. ebook short. Sweet m/m romance about a guy who over thinks everything, including getting involved with his best friend’s younger half-brother.
Taste Test: Shot Through the Heart by D.C. Juris, J.L. Merrow, and Lenore Black. ebook collection. This collection contained three short’n’sweet m/m romances loosely organized around the theme of Cupid.
Il Cavaliere delle Tazze (The Knight of Cups) by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Ok m/m time travel romance about a starving actor who receives a mysterious Tarot card in the mail – and the card takes him on a very unexpected journey.
Crossroads by Keta Diablo. ebook. So-so paranormal m/m about a cop turned private investigator who communicates with the dead when he meditates. Be warned that this book contains dub con – I’m not a fan, although it’s totally an old school romance and yaoi trope. (Hi, Torso Guy!)
Blood Prince (Wolf Creek Pack, Book 4) by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Pretty much what you expect from a Stormy Glenn m/m paranormal, although I’d be surprised if anyone actually edited this one.
Walking the Straight Line by D.J. Manly. ebook short. Ok m/m romance short about a dentist who has a crush on his straight best friend from college… and then his friend visits with a guy in tow…
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Vic Winter. ebook short. Good m/m romance short about a guy who’s dragged to a gay B&B for the weekend, in the hope that it will help him get over his ex.

** “Bwa-ha-ha! All your souls are mine mine mine! Bwa-ha-ha!” -Chaos

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! I’m definitely looking forward to a little sunshine after a cold’n’cloudy week here.

Contests, Gluten Free, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes, Tunes

Today’s forecast is for sunshine and linkity

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Contest Update

  • JessaLu’s celebrating her blogiversary with a big contest – she’ll have five knitting related prizes, one for each year that she’s been blogging. The prizes are wonderful – some of her gorgeous box bags, socks knit for you on her sock knitting machine, or gorgeous sock yarn dyed by Scout. Contest closes midnight EST, February 19… and tell her I sent ya. 🙂

Reading & Beyond

  • What are your reading neuroses? A major one of mine is getting extremely anxious about what’s going to happen to characters in books, to the point that I need to put the book down and have a bit of a lie down.

Yay, Minnesota!

Get Your Geek On

Eh, Canada

  • Music blog Star Maker Machine is focusing on Canadian songs this week in honor of the Olympics.

Yum

Fun & Kitties & Goats, Oh My

  • Aww! How come my kitties have never slept in such a configuration?!

Reading Update
Thanks to jmc of Shuffling through a book-less desert, where I won a copy of the historical m/m romance, Seducing Stephen!

Love Ahead by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux. ebook collection. These two m/m romances were decent, but you can definitely tell that they were older stories from Urban and Roux. And, as Tam pointed out when she read them a week or two ago, how names are used in each story was definitely odd. In the first, both guys mostly used each others’ last names. That was ok, since they knew each other through their work at a construction site. Then, later in the story, when they started to use each others’ first names, it was obviously supposed to indicate their growing closeness and intimacy. I get that. But why the hell did they both have first and last names that could be first or last names?! It was so confusing. So very confusing. And in the next story? The name thing? Really? You never exchanged actual names after talking to each other on the phone for months? *headdesk*
Snow Plowed (Bay City Paranormal Investigations) by Ally Blue. free holiday short. This was a cute’n’steamy m/m Valentine’s short with the characters from Love, Like Ghosts. And if you haven’t read the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series, what are you waiting for?! It’s one of the series that sucked me into reading m/m romance. Hmm… Ok, maybe that’s why you haven’t. 😉
Petit Morts 1-5: Hue, Tint and Shade; Slings and Arrows; Moolah and Moonshine; Other People’s Weddings; Spanish Fly Guy (1, 3, 5 by Jordan Castillo Price; 2, 4 by Josh Lanyon). ebook shorts. These delightful little m/m romances are all loosely based around a mysterious chocolate shop and Chance, its equally mysterious proprietor. Although I enjoyed each and every one, I think that #4 (Other People’s Weddings by Josh Lanyon) was my favorite, with #1 (Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price) following closely behind. Recommended. (Val at Obsidian Bookshelf has much more detailed reviews of the Petit Morts, as does Jenre of Well Read.)
Holiday Outing by Astrid Amara. ebook. Another delightful Hannukah m/m romance from Astrid Amara! A successful author of gay fiction, still closeted to his family, gets snowed in with his family (and a high school nemesis) for Hannukah.
Fantasies: Thanksgiving by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Enjoyable m/m romance about two guys, one gay, one straight, who have been friends for many years… and then something changes in their friendship. (We’ll be revisiting this cover image at some point in the future, too.)
True North (Lost Boys & Love Letters, Book 1) by Bethany Brown & Ashlyn Kane. ebook. Darn good m/m romance about a deeply closeted petroleum engineer and the new doctor in town, and about how limiting it can be to let your fears control you.
Picture Perfect (Lost Boys & Love Letters, Book 2) by Bethany Brown & Ashlyn Kane. ebook. Ok m/m romance that started out feeling like a freestanding story, but seemed as if, partway through, it suddenly needed to become part of a series (the few paragraphs that were apparently supposed to tie it to True North didn’t seem, to me, to fit)… probably right about the time it detoured into m/m/m for a bit. Very ambivalent about reading the third book.
Hero by Heidi Cullinan. ebook. This was another read for Kris’ m/m rut challenge. This was a fantasy (I guess sort of an urban fantasy, actually) based on the Japanese myth of the kitsune. Intellectually, I could tell it was a pretty good story, but I was fighting against the fantastical elements of the story the entire time. So, basically, I don’t think I can fairly rate this one.
Heart and Soul (The Assignment, Book 2) by Evangeline Anderson. ebook. Ah, this poor m/m romantic suspense got a bit caught in my expectations for it (sequel to The Assignment!) and my discomfort with parts of the story itself. Don’t get me wrong – it was a decent read and definitely worth reading if you enjoyed the previous book (and subsequent shorts) – but I had trouble reading around all the plot holes. *sigh*
Coach, In Bear’s Bed, Office Advances, and A Biker’s Vow (Campus Cravings, Books 1, 7, 8, & 9) by Carol Lynne. ebooks. Reading Carol Lynne is like eating potato chips – not very filling and you know they’re probably not good for you, but you just can’t stop. O_o As you might guess from the name of this series, it’s set on a college campus. (And yes, that is Candy Cane Guy In Bear’s Bed! That naughty boy…) Oddly, at the end of A Biker’s Vow, this series appears to be intersecting with Lynne’s Cattle Valley series.
Sonny’s Salvation (Good-Time Boys, Book 1) by Carol Lynne. ebook. See my comment on reading Carol Lynne books above. 🙂 Sonny quit the FBI to run the family ranch in Nebraska after his dad died. Too bad there aren’t many gay men in rural Nebraska… (And I already know I won’t be reading past the third book in this series, based on the subject matter of the fourth book.)
Rules Were Made To Be Broken by Lenore Black. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about a guy who recently took over running the family sporting goods store and his (straight) best friend who’s feeling a bit jealous of the store and all the time it takes up. Very nice review of this and Lenore Black’s other works over at Dear Author.
Dead Men Get No Tail by Misty Malone. ebook short. Ok m/m romance about two college roommates, one of whom decides to have a fake funeral for himself. This one left me sort of “Huh?”
Fool for Love by Cassandra Gold. ebook. I’m not a big fan of May-December romances, but Cassandra Gold does a nice job with this m/m romance between a professor and his college student neighbor.

“Sheesh, May, you totally missed this spot by your elbow when you were bathing. What a slob.” -Chaos

*strikes kitty yoga pose #742* -Mayhem