Tag Archives: CB Conwy

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Languid linkity lounges lazily

26 Comments

Congrats to Jen B and Beth, who each won a copy of Bulletproof (A Matter of Time #3 or #5, depending) by Mary Calmes! Bulletproof will be released September 26 by Dreamspinner Press.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Think, Do, Make, Learn

Cookity

Crafty

Cool

  • Have you watched Husbands, the Series yet? It’s a cute web TV series about two guys who wake up married after a drunken night out in Las Vegas. So far there are four episodes, from 1.5 minutes to 2.5 minutes long.

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Full Circle by Kaje Harper. ebook short. Excellent, poignant short m/m story about a drunk who rescues a very sick and homeless young man from the street. While the story covers a lot more ground, you really need to just let this tale of redemption unfold for you. I did spend the last third of the book crying… and be aware that the ending, while not a conventional HEA, is hopeful.
Come Unto These Yellow Sands by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a professor and rehabilitated addict whose relationship with the town’s police chief is jeopardized by his helping one of his students leave town for a few days, then not coming clean about it when he learns the student is wanted for questioning.
Abercrombie Zombie by KZ Snow. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a pair of psychic mediums who are approached by a man claiming to be a zombie and to need their help finding the man responsible for his condition. Two important points: There is no zombie sex (whew!), but there is a cameo appearance by Wisconsin’s favorite wizard… 🙂
Aloes by Chris Quinton. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an architect who wakes from a coma with synesthesia – he can taste truth and lies. As he begins to work on a major restoration for an intriguing new client, he starts to get threatening anonymous phone calls and mail. I enjoyed this, even though the suspense plot was easily figured out. However, the book ends quite abruptly, as if a sequel was planned – but there’s not a sequel at this point. 🙁
Fuzzy and Last Chance (First Impressions #2-3) by Josephine Myles. ebook shorts. Very good short m/m romances continuing the story of publishing assistant Steve and artist Jez that started in First Impressions. More crazy socks! And… knitting! 🙂
Clear Water by Amy Lane. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy with ADHD whose low self-esteem leads him to make some really bad choices. When the result of one of those choices leads to his near death and timely rescue by a field biologist, neither of them has any idea how much their lives are about to change.
Mixed Signals by Cooper West. ebook. Cute m/m romance about a handsome rescue copter pilot from money who meets (and is attracted to) a nerdy computer geek hanging out in a hair salon’s waiting area.
Training Cats by PD Singer. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a pharmacist who’s slowly realizing that his boyfriend is a jerk. (This is related to the On Call books.)
My Boyfriend Has a Scar by M. Raiya. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a guy who returns to his home town ten years after he left because his father caught he and his boyfriend together and did not react well.
The Book of Wisdom (Change #2.5) by JM Cartwright. ebook short. Good short m/m romance set five years after A Change of Scenery, as Stephen’s protege is coming to stay with them after graduating from college and Con’s not pleased about it.
Of Russian Myth and Lore (Russian Bear #3.5) by CB Conwy. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about Mischa and Tom going to Canada to visit Mischa’s relatives.
Burning Bright by Rachel Wilder & A. Catherine Noon. ebook. Good kinky paranormal menage romance about an animal empath and veterinary surgeon who moves to Chicago to look for a job. When he’s rescued from Russian mobsters outside of a bdsm club by the club’s owner and bouncers, he finds himself strangely attracted to them… I would’ve rated this higher, but there was an extended bdsm scene in which the vet was flogged and had sex while lying on his stomach after his ribs had been broken only a few days before, but his ribs didn’t bother him at all…
Out of the Closet (Out of the Closet #1) by KevaD. ebook. Good short humorous m/m romance about a writer who decides to come out to the roommate he has a crush on, but things do not go at all as hoped.
Back in the Closet (Out of the Closet #2) by KevaD. ebook. Good short humorous m/m romance about a writer who has to go to Iowa and stay at his dead uncle’s farm in order to fulfill the terms of his uncle’s will. This read like the author was trying a little too hard to be clever.
Quick to the Hunt (Hawkins Ranch #7) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about a soldier returned from Afghanistan with severe PTSD and survivor’s guilt who deals with things by self-harming. My major problem with this one was the overblown, often lurid prose, which made nearly everything seem completely over the top and just… too much, all the time.
Sex on the Hoof (Protect and Serve #1) by Silvia Violet. ebook short. Ok paranormal short m/m romance about a deer shifter who works nights in the police crime lab and finally can’t resist the sexy vampire detective he’s been lusting after. The sex-to-story ratio is a bit skewed in this one…
A Small, Still Voice by DW Marchwell. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a teacher who left his job after being falsely accused of raping a student. Now, six years later, that time comes back to haunt him. The beginning of the book was hampered by awkwardly integrated flashback infodumping, while the end suddenly tried to morph into a mystery without much success.
When Love Is Not Enough by Wade Kelly. ebook. Uneven m/m romance that starts with the funeral of a twenty-two year old who committed suicide, then switches between flashbacks of his life, the nearly present, and the present, trying to explain how he reached the point of suicide. Oddly, this book contained what felt like a commercial – a section in which specific m/m books and authors were mentioned and one of the characters read an excerpt to another. After that, I was no longer on board with the story.
In the Wings by Michael St. Anthony. ebook. DNF. I set this aside for a month to see if I’d pick it up again, but all I felt was relief at not continuing to read it. I didn’t like the main character at all.

“I’ll get you for this, Mom. Don’t think I won’t…” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes, Tunes

Listening to linkity

23 Comments

Congrats to Inka, who won Riley’s Regret (Lost Shifters #11) by Stephani Hecht! Riley’s Regret will be released by eXtasy Books on May 15.

Blogger seems to be spectacularly messed up at the moment. Links to posts on Blogger may not work or, if they do work, you may not be able to comment on the posts. Check Blogger Status for updates.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Think, Do, Make, Learn

Listening

Eyre linked to a song I shared with her a while ago (“We All Need More Kindness in This World” by Guy Davis), and it reminded me of some other songs that have good messages:

Cookity

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Private Dicks by Katie Allen. ebook. reread. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a former cop, now working as a PI, who finally comes out to his straight investigative partner. There’s just something about Rhodes and Wash – this is the third time I’ve read the book. 🙂
Hide Out (Private Dicks #2) by Katie Allen. ebook. reread. This excellent m/m romantic suspense is about a cop who’s guarding one of the characters from Private Dicks for seven months until he can testify in a trial. Really, why aren’t there more witness protection books that include remodeling the safe house? 🙂
Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo. ebook. reread. Very good kinky m/m romance about a resident and the doctor supervising him at the hospital. They just can’t seem to keep their hands off each other…
Infinity Pools (Postcards from Paradise #2) by LA Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romance finishing up the story started in Getting Off the Ground about a jilted groom who meets another guy when bad weather delays his flight… the flight that was supposed to be taking him on his honeymoon, instead of on a now solo vacation.
Saturday Night, Live (Alphabet Soup #1.5) by CB Conwy. free ebook short. Steamy short m/m encounter between the owner of the construction company and a guy who shows up on his doorstep demanding to be spanked.
I Like You (Alphabet Soup #2) by CB Conwy. ebook short. Steamy short kinky m/m romance continuing the story of Andy and CK from Alphabet Soup.
Ermine & Bougainvillea (Ermine #1) by ID Locke. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a gay stoat shifter being chased by homophobic coyote shifters who escapes into a thorny thicket and meets a sexy dryad… There is vine sex…
Claiming Rights (Ermine #2) by ID Locke. ebook short. Very good short kinky paranormal m/m romance following up on the stoat shifter and the dryad after they’ve been together for a while.
Sharing Paul (Portals #3) by Jade Archer. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a jaguar shifter with a secret – two men live inside his body – who rescues a human being beaten to death by thugs in the park.
Ink Illusions by Val Kovalin. ebook. Good m/m romance about a gay man helping a female friend raise her daughter. Then the daughter’s father gets out of prison and things get complicated.
Chocolate Bites (Of Cocoa and Men #2) by Vic Winter. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance following up on the baker and the werewolf from the first book. Alas, this story just didn’t have the magic of the original.
Wolf Moon by Ethan Stone. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about an orphaned college student who doesn’t know that he’s a werewolf until he’s drawn into a world he didn’t realize existed. While the storyline had a great deal of promise, the writing was simplistic and repetitive – basically, the writing got in the way of the story.

“I feel weird… all blurry or something.” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Please stay properly hydrated and nourished as you peruse linkity

31 Comments

Congrats to Helena, who won Fanning the Flames (The Match Before Christmas #2) by Eden Winters! Fanning the Flames will be released by Torquere Press on May 7.

Congrats to Lynn, who won Sharing Paul (Portals #3) by Jade Archer! Sharing Paul will be released May 9 by Total-E-Bound.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Do, Learn, Make, Think

Cookity

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Shifting Sands by Jet Mykles, Ally Blue, Willa Okati, JL Langley, Kimberly Gardner, & Brenda Bryce. ebook collection. Very good paranormal m/m collection about the cowboys of the Shifting Sands Ranch, who have been cursed to shift into animals from the Chinese zodiac each full moon. The stories were smoothly integrated, with the exception of one author who got carried away with the puns. Thanks to to Tam’s review for reminding me I had this one!
Some Kind of Magic by R. Cooper. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romantic suspense about a werewolf detective who’s known for two years that the half-fairy consultant is his mate, yet hasn’t done anything about it because everyone knows that fairies don’t do anything for the long haul.
The Red Thread of Forever Love by Nicole Kimberling. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a Canadian folklorist traveling in Japan who has somehow attracted a very amorous spirit…
A Rose is a Rose by Jet Mykles. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a beautiful young man, just dumped by his sugar daddy, who becomes friends with the very sweet straight owner of his apartment complex. I got a little sniffly while I was reading this one.
Alphabet Soup by CB Conwy. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a carpenter who keeps going to a BDSM club and hooking up with different Doms as he tries to get what he needs. He hasn’t been at all successful… and then he meets CK, who doesn’t behave like any of the other Doms. This story starts immediately after A Russian Bear and the free short Malaria, Cholera and Bubonic Plague takes place during this story.
Hotwired Heart (Tales from Rainbow Alley #1) by Jaime Samms. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about a guy, trying to escape from his life as a gang member, who ends up in the Rainbow Alley part of town.
Finders, Keepers (Tales from Rainbow Alley, #2) by Jaime Samms. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a guy who’s inexperienced about bdsm and trusts the wrong Dom, who basically abuses him. This book would’ve worked better for me if it hadn’t been told in first-person, alternating between three different people. Also, stalker alert! 🙂
Fix This, Sir (Tales from Rainbow Alley, #3) by Jaime Samms. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a guy who’s not doing so well recovering from a crippling injury on top of numerous other issues. I am so glad that this book was alternating third-person instead of the alternating first-person of the previous book! Made a huge difference for me. I was a little worried that this book suffered from Omniscient Dom Syndrome, but it turned out ok in the end.
A Helping Hand (Tennessee Cops #2) by Shayla Kersten. ebook. reread. This story of a closeted cop with a crush on his straight best friend was one of the earliest m/m romances I ever read, and I like to reread it periodically.
Mr. Plum by Sue Brown. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about two guys who always see each other at the same coffee shop and then in the train station before their morning commute. I love this cover.
Cup Check (Blue Line Hockey, #3) by Stephani Hecht. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a deeply closet hockey player who’s terrified that coming out will ruin his chance of ever making it to the NHL.
Anything For You by Ethan Day. ebook. Good m/m romance about a deeply closeted ad exec who gets involved with a coming-out advocate. This generates some tension… Maybe it’s because they’re mostly (all?) written in first person, but Ethan Day’s books are starting to all feel the same to me.
Going the Distance (Driven to Distraction #2) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Good short m/m romance following up with the professor and the mechanic who got together in Driven to Distraction as they sort out what they are to each other.
Sonoran Heat by Katrina Strauss. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy in his 40s, recently single for the first time in nearly 20 years, who starts to date a much younger artist and student.
Wishing Star by Jambrea Jo Jones. ebook short. Cute short holiday m/m romance about a guy, sitting outside his stalled car in the middle of nowhere on Christmas Eve, who wishes on a star for true love and wakes to find himself miles away. This felt a bit rough due to some missing words and pronoun confusion.
Broken Rules (Broken #1) by Jade Buchanan. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who hasn’t been to his home town for ten years (ever since his parents kicked him out of the house when they discovered he was gay), but returns for his mom’s funeral and runs into his former best friend. I was frustrated by the sheer number of names introduced during the first third of the book. I’m not sure if that frustration was the reason I never fully connected with the characters or the story. Maybe.
Second Chance by Derek Adams. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a jogger and a cop who meet after the jogger chases down a burglar, then slowly get to know each other better.
Full Release by Marshall Thornton. ebook. Ok m/m mystery about an accountant who slowly realizes he’s being framed for a murder and tries to figure out who’s the actual killer. Unfortunately, he spent most of the book doing the most stupid thing he could in any given situation – TSTL characters frustrate me. A lot.

“If you loved me, you would feed me right now and forget this whole ‘It’s not time for dinner’ thing.” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity for an interminable winter

29 Comments

Congrats to Juni, who won Yearning (Green’s Hill Werewolves, Book 1) by Amy Lane! Yearning will be released by Torquere Books on February 12.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Make, Think, Do, Learn

  • A very good post about what gay marriage means, from L.A. Witt. (This does the same thing, but be aware that you’ll likely hit NSFW stuff if you wander from that link.)

Valentine’s

Cool

Huh

  • I’m not sure I’m ready for Monopoly Live, which is controlled by a tower in the middle of the board.
  • Nose vibrator?! (Completely SFW. I know you’re surprised. But really, it is.)

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Rinse and Repeat by Amberly Smith. ebook. Excellent paranormal m/m romance about a guy who’s a Repeater, stuck repeating the same day over and over again until he can change some key event from the day. Things are different on this Repeat, because he’s started to care way too much about a skateboarder he’s watched die far too many times. (Hi, Pouty Guy!)
These Haunted Heights by Ally Blue. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a photojournalist who’s staying alone at his aunt’s house on the Oregon coast while he shoots a story about the area. Mysterious crying from the empty tower room and a handsome brooding neighbor complicate things in interesting ways…
How the Other Half Lives by Clare London. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys, one very tidy and the other very untidy, who exchange flatsitting duties with each other, but never actually meet… until they do.
A Russian Bear by C.B. Conwy. Very good kinky m/m romance about a grad student and a Dom who meet through a case of mistaken identity that leads to the Dom helping the grad student explore his attraction to submission.
Maleria, Cholera and Bubonic Plague (A Russian Bear, Book 1.5) by C.B. Conwy. web short. Good short m/m romance about Mischa waking up with hangover. (Although I would’ve eaten toast first, not chili!)
Call Me Sir, Boy! by Kim Dare. ebook short. Cute kinky short m/m romance about a dom who loses a bet and is stuck wearing a hat that says “Call Me SIR, Boy!” at the club for an evening when he’s approached by a submissive he’s never seen before – a submissive who seems perfect for him.
Opposites Distract by Stephani Hecht. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a party boy who’s really attracted to a geeky guy he sees at their college’s GLBT student center, but the geeky guy doesn’t trust the party boy’s intentions.
Chocolate Dreams by Em Woods. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about an accountant who’s been burned by love before and lies about having a boyfriend to the chocolatier he finds attractive.
Sagittarius Blues by Katrina Strauss. ebook. Good holiday m/m romance about a college student whose inflammatory vlog personality has unexpected negative impacts on his life. For some reason, this never really came together for me and I haven’t been able to figure out why.
Into the Light (Clear Water Chronicles, Book 1) by Scarlet Blackwell. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a sheriff who’s a good man now, but was part of a bullying gang when he was in high school… and other members that gang raped a gay student while he stood by and did nothing. Now the victim of that rape has returned to town and wants the sheriff to pay for his part in the unreported crime. This was a really mixed read for me – I felt that it started out strongly, but by the end had turned into a melodramatic soap opera. 🙁
One True Thing by Amanda Grayson. ebook short. What an unsatisfying read! This m/m romance about an agent who has to go into deep cover by having his cover story planted in his brain was frustrating, particularly since it had so much potential. There was way too much story for a short, so the story had no depth and often seemed to jump around. And then the story just stopped, so you have no idea if they successfully completed the mission (i.e., the purported reason for the story).

“Go away. Being noble and dignified was exhausting.” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Bountiful linkity abounds

38 Comments

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes on Wednesday! 🙂

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

  • It’s now possible to autograph ebooks! As someone who would prefer to only procure ebooks, I’ve had to continue buying paper books when it’s something I’d like signed – so I hope the technology is adopted.

Learn, Make, Think, Do

Linkity Peeps

Thanksgiving

Pottermania

Gift Ideas

Cool

Huh

LOL

  • Kitties in sweaters… but no photos of the injuries the owners sustained because of said sweaters.

Teh Cute

Reading Update
His for the Holidays by L.B. Gregg, Harper Fox, Z.A. Maxfield, & Josh Lanyon. ebook advance review copy. Excellent collection of four m/m holiday romances. From LB Gregg’s trademark madcap romp to Harper Fox’s angst-filled tale of a detective inspector possibly beyond redemption, each story shines. Highly recommended and very satisfying read.
Kindling Fire with Snow by Kate McMurray. ebook. Very good short m/m romance about two guys, who’d been each others first boyfriends in high school, who run into each other at a bar during a blizzard and have the chance to reconnect.
Handcuffs and Trouble (Rawlings Men, Book 4) by Kim Dare. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a rookie constable who thinks he must be getting hazed or something when he ends up in a dangerous dive bar with no idea who he’s supposed to find. Good thing he’s found first. 🙂
A Realistic Romance by Andi Anderson. ebook. Good m/m romance about a closeted rock star who agrees under duress to be on a reality tv show to help bolster his faltering career, but is alarmed to discover that the guy he’ll be sharing a small cabin with is very cute and very out. A little bit more editing attention would really have helped this book a lot.
Friday Night Jamie by Bren Christopher. ebook. Good m/m romance (that turns into romantic suspense along the way) about an accountant from a rough background who works diligently during the week, then goes out to pick up a different guy every Friday night.
A Tempting Distraction (Lost Shifters, Book 7) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about Owen, a tiger shifter who was rescued in the previous book and is trying to adjust to life in the Coalition, where he’s not trusted because of his criminal past.
Pride and Joey by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a gay lion shifter, hiding his nature from his pride and its homophobic alpha, when he runs across a tranqed cougar shifter. Hopefully Devon will write a bit more in this world!
Once Upon a Dragon by Jambrea Jo Jones. free ebook short. Cute free short m/m fairy tale reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty, with dragon shifters thrown in to make things more interesting.
Twenty Years Until Yes by Cindy Rosenthal. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a long-term couple that takes place in three parts (1984, 1994, and 2004), following changing attitudes about gay couples.
The Hitch-Hiker (The Tomcat Line, Book 1) by Stevie Woods. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense about an archeologist who’s made a huge discovery and is now on the run from his jealous colleagues looking to claim the glory for themselves. When he hitches a ride with a handsome trucker, neither of them has any idea what’s ahead of them.
The Lost Temple (The Tomcat Line, Book 2) by Stevie Woods. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense continuing the adventures of our trucker and our archeologist/professor. Think gay Indiana Jones, plus bonus stalker. 🙂
Halfway by K.I.L. Kenny. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a college student who’s in the process of pledging the same frat his dad had been in. He falls for a crossdressing townie, but his status in the frat causes problems. Be prepared for an abrupt HFN (I guess) ending and a bit of a plot hole.
Use Your Illusion by Jade Falconer. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a college student with a crush on a straight jock who doesn’t know he exists. (Wait, what are the odds of reading two books about college students and crossdressing in the same week?)
The Rosebud by M. Raiya. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who can heal with touch… but at a personal cost that’s kept him on the road for years.
Going Home by C.B. Conwy. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who’s been staying at home in the States while his boyfriend works throughout the world, providing medical aid. But now the distance thing isn’t working so well anymore…
The Pavilion by Tracy Rowan. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good m/m romance about a British doctor who shuts down emotionally and moves to the US after his lover dies.
The Boyfriend Line by Avery Zeno. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who’s just learned that he might have cancer, but isn’t sure he should discuss it with his “friend with benefits” since it might be crossing “the boyfriend line.”
Take It Slow by Taylor Lochland. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good short m/m romance about an injured runner who finds himself very attracted to the orthopedic specialist.
Have Hope by Emily Moreton. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Decent short m/m story about a double agent whose current mission does not go at all as planned. Be aware that this has no HEA or even HFN.
Ask the Fire by Dennis Paddie. ebook. I think this was spy thriller with delusions of literary grandeur… Trying to read it hurt my brain – I made it through the Prologue and a chunk of the first chapter, but I just couldn’t wade through the byzantine language and plot any more. DNF.

“Remember, Mayhem, if we don’t make eye contact with Mom, we can’t actually be in trouble for being on the table.” -Chaos

“Lalalalalala, I can’t see you, Mom!” -Mayhem