Congrats to Laura/Adara, who won Cup Check (Blue Line Hockey #3) by Stephani Hecht! Cup Check will be released by eXtasy Books on May 1.
Contests
- Juni and Jase are giving away an ebook copy of KZ Snow’s Visible Friend. Answer Juni’s question in the comments by 6 pm EDT today (April 29) for your chance to win.
- Tracy’s giving away two copies of Semi-Sweet by Roisin Meaney. Comment by 7 pm PDT, April 29 (today), for your chance to win.
- Patti’s giving away two Georgette Heyer titles. Comment by April 30 for your chance to win. US & Canada only.
- LA Witt is giving ebook copies of her two-book m/m romance series, Getting Off the Ground and Infinity Pools. If there are at least 15 entries in the contest, she’ll also give away a signed paperback! Contest closes May 5.
- Patti’s giving away a Chloe Neill Cadogan House prize pack. Comment by May 6 for your chance to win.
- Fiction Vixen is giving away two sets of three recent romance/UF/PNR paperbacks. Comment by May 6 to enter.
Bookity
- New releases: Tor.com (YA paranormal, UF/PNR, fantasy, science fiction), Book Lovers Inc (romance/UF/PNR), KB (romance/UF/PNR), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR news, etc).
- A Pennsylvania tv station was apparently trying to stir the crazy sauce by revealing the pen name under which a local English teacher writes erotic novels. *sigh* Great video from one of her former students. (Thanks, Bron!)
- Interesting post at Dear Author on the lawsuit between Ellora’s Cave and Samhain’s Chris Brashear. What I found most startling was the possibility that EC would pay part of the settlement in authors. Who knew authors could be used as a form of payment?!
Ebookity
- An American Editor has two posts on what books are worth.
- VacuousMinx on how she transitioned away from reading Agency-published books without really noticing. (I was a little more conscious of the process, but ditto.)
- How ebook readers can be a good choice for thrifty readers (and it doesn’t even mention getting ebooks from the library).
Make, Do, Think, Learn
- It’s worth thinking about the bully-victim cycle and how it plays out around us. (Thanks, CursingMama!)
- Fascinating infographic about checking account fee schedules, which “are generally twice as long as Romeo and Juliet“!
- Have you heard of Netflix Streaming Syndrome? (The comments are funny as sufferers enable each other.)
Cookity
- Red velvet cakeballs inside of chocolate chip cookies… via a post at The Kitchn about making frosted yellow cupcakes with chocolate chip cookies inside.
- Cupcake fondue?! (via The Kitchn)
- Penguin icebox cookies – so very cute. 🙂 (via The Kitchn)
Crafty
Cool
Cool or Wha…?
Wha…?
- Soda tab prom dress. Or would you prefer an anatomy dress instead? Or… whatever this is? Or a dress made from Peeps? Or you could wear a castle on your shoulder!
- Windows 8 is going to change the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) to a Black Screen of Death. Um, at least they get to keep the same acronym…
LOL
- Unintentionally sexual church signs. (Thanks, Bron!)
- Do you deserve a cookie? (Thanks, Juni!)
- Search term bingo. (NSFW!!!) (Thanks, Bron!)
- *sigh* I’ve been here before, particularly with Chaos, who specializes at getting underfoot. (rest of site is NSFW)
Teh Cute
- Kitten! Otter and baby! Kitten! Zebra and baby! Kitten tongue! Polar bear cubs! Existential kitten! Alvin! More Alvin! Ferret! Kitten! Penguins! Kitten! Penguins! Kitten! Japanese dwarf flying squirrel! Kitten! Tiger cub! Kittens!
Reading Update
Carbon and Ash by Chris Owen. ebook short. reread. This was a short but sweet m/m romance about slowing sliding into something other than friendship without being fully aware. And it’s one of my comfort rereads.
The Morning Star (Shadow of the Templar #1) by M. Chandler. ebook. reread. Ok, yeah, so I just read this the first time last month and I already reread it. I’m ok with that.
Lovers Destined by HM Broussard. free ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance fanfic that finally brings together Qhuinn and Blaylock from the Black Dagger Brotherhood!
Hell Cop by Astrid Amara, Ginn Hale, & Nicole Kimberling. ebook collection. Very good m/m urban fantasy/romance collection featuring three related stories revolving around the hell cops – the bad ass sorcerers who try to keep order in demon-infested Parmas City.
Hell Cop 2 by Astrid Amara, Ginn Hale, & Nicole Kimberling. ebook collection. Very good m/m urban fantasy/romance collection about the hell cops (and their guys) introduced in the first book.
Flesh & Blood (In the Flesh #2) by Ethan Stone. ebook. Ok m/m continuing the story of Reno police detective Cristian Flesh as he works on a case that shakes free all of the demons from his past. While I really loved In the Flesh, this sequel felt flat and lacking in both mystery and romance.
Hellbourne 2: Bound & Determined by Amber Kell. ebook short. So-so short paranormal m/m romance, during which I realized I didn’t particularly care about any of the rather shallow characters.
Hellbourne 3: Heart & Soul by Amber Kell. ebook short. Meh short paranormal m/m romance, during which I couldn’t figure out why I kept reading.
Craven by Eden Cole. ebook. So-so m/m romance based on multiple big misunderstandings… not my favorite plot device. This is my favorite sentence from the book: “His cock, which had gone down, hardened immediately, and rushed over to his side of the car.”
Catch/Caught by Vivien Dean. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a corrupt cop and a musician who witnesses something he shouldn’t have seen.
“Maybe you should cut back on the nip, hmm?” -Mayhem