Tag Archives: Julia Talbot

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Alas, poor linkity, we knew it well

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Since I never heard back from the first winner, Jaime Samms is the new winner of Ambush (True Colors #2) by Clare London!

Congrats to Dorome, who won The Rare Event by PD Singer! The Rare Event is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Cole, who won For the Living by L.A. Witt! For the Living will be released on April 1 by Amber Allure.

Congrats to Erica Pike, who won Queen’s Man by K.D. Sarge! Queen’s Man will be released by Turtleduck Press on April 1.

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Reading Update
A Ring and a Promise by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys in the military who start a friends with benefits relationship as cadets… but what will happen after they’re commissioned and sent in different directions? I got a little sniffly on this one.
Cold Turkey by Zebbie. free online. Very good m/m romance about two guys who dance around their attraction to each other, but are too stubborn and proud to admit to any such weaknesses. Be aware that this just barely has an HFN ending.
No Other Life Than This by podga. free online. Very good m/m romance about a fifty-ish guy who’s resistant when his best friend wants to set him up with a date for said best friend’s third wedding. This could’ve used a bit of groveling and explaining near the end, but it managed to work without that.
A Year Full of Days by seventhswan. free online. Very good m/m romance that follows up with Nate from The Side Effects of Forgetting, who isn’t doing very well at all watching Kellan date Will.
I Know What I’m Doing by AzanianHeat. free online. Very good m/m romance about a guy on holiday who unexpectedly runs into the straight guy he once made out with in university five years prior… the straight guy who fled, but hasn’t been able to forget their encounter. Set in South Africa, which was a refreshing change of pace.
Gambling on Maybe (The GlitterBomb #1) by Fae Sutherland. ebook short. reread. Very good short m/m romance about a delightfully flamboyant guy who decides he needs to add some sparkle to a closeted cop’s life. My only complaint was that I wanted more!
Games Boys Play (The GlitterBomb #2) by Fae Sutherland. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance following up on “the gayest of the gay boys” Zach and “Officer Hotness”. As others have mentioned, it was just too short – these two could’ve filled a novel. 🙂
Coming Out With the Truth by zolia_lily. free online. Good m/m romance about a writer who moves to a small town after he’s dumped by his boyfriend for a woman, then gets involved with someone deeply closeted.
The Good Old Boy by Carson Shepherd. free online. Good m/m romance about a guy who returns to the small town he grew up in (and fled years ago) after he loses his job, gets dumped by his boyfriend, and breaks his arm.
I Read a Lot by lill_street_writer. free online. Sweet m/m romance about an intense guy who mostly reads during his free time, not really needing to be around others until he meets an intriguing bookstore clerk. This story had some missing words and letters that were an ongoing, lowgrade annoyance.
Life Between Day and Night by podga. free online. Good, but very short, m/m romance about dancing around the edges of attraction, not wanting to ruin a friendship.
All That Matters by podga. free online. Good short m/m romance about two closeted colleagues, one of whom is married, who work for an international corporation and travel a lot.
Chicks Just Get in the Way by Carson Shepherd. free online. Steamy short m/m/m scene that takes place when things don’t go at all as the scheming friend planned. Be aware that there’s dubious consent in this one.
Happy World by Kiernan Kelly & Tory Temple. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who works at Happy World (basically Disney World) and rigidly follows the rules until a free-spirited trainee disrupts his routine and gets under his skin.
Dharma Cafe by Jessica Freely. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about sorcerers and demons and food magic and dreams that you should possibly not read if french fries are your favorite food. The writing was very simplistic, but I got sucked into the story anyway.
Po’ Boys by Lydia Nix, Kiernan Kelly, TC Blue, Julia Talbot, & BA Tortuga. ebook. Ok collection of m/m romance stories (one paranormal) set mostly in New Orleans. I mostly kept reading because I was feeling too lazy to not keep reading…
Fire by DWSimon. free online. Meh short m/m romance about a closeted firefighter who never sleeps with the same guy twice. There was plenty of poorly written sex, instalove, and the arson subplot wasn’t resolved.

“This spot was a lot more pleasant when the heat was on…” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Liminal linkity

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Congrats to Melanie M, who won Shattered Glass by Dani Alexander!

Congrats to Tawnie and Chava, who won Mine by Mary Calmes! Mine will be released by Dreamspinner Press on March 5.

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  • If you’ve always wanted to be a crazy cat lady or guy and simply didn’t have enough cats, there’s hope!

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Reading Update
Taking These Chances by Karuso Tendo. free online. Very good paranormal m/m romantic suspense about a college student who helps get psychic predators off the streets… and then one’s after him.
Out of Orbit by American Schokolade. free online. Very good m/m romance about a high school senior who has a crush on his best friend, although it takes him a while (and a lot of angst) to realize it. This story had plenty of over-the-top moments (satellites and spies and baseball memorabilia, oh my!), but it pretty much worked anyway. I got sniffly more than once.
When Love Walked In by Charlie Cochet. ebook short. Very good short historical m/m romance set in 1934 about a private detective who helps out a homeless man he finds sleeping in the stairwell.
Of Sweaters and Heartache by LyingOutLoud. free online. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who unexpectedly runs into the ex who left him to take a job in France and doesn’t react well. I got a bit sniffly reading this one.
Just Friends by Natasha5. free online. Very good m/m romance about two high school seniors who have been best friends since they were small. Now love professed but not returned and a girlfriend are coming between them…
Johnny Was (Just Friends #2) by Natasha5. free online. Although the description says there’s more than one story here, there isn’t. The extremely short story is just a scene that takes place 11 years after Just Friends.
Love, Coffee, and a Giant Problem by aggybird. free online. Very good fairy tale m/m romance based on Jack and the Beanstalk… but it’s not complete and was last updated in 2009. Woe!
The Grave Watchers by Missouri Dalton. ebook. Good m/m urban fantasy with a hint of romance about a Grave Watcher, who helps protect the dead from the living, and his ancient Egyptian feline sidekick as they track down an evil they’ve not seen before.
Educating Alex by Ardveche. free online. Very sweet m/m romance about a college student who advertises for a roommate after he breaks up with his boyfriend and is surprised when a straight guy he knows from school wants to move in. Too many exclamation points!!
Creative Employment by Noel Blue. free online. Good m/m romance about a newly hired manager who knows he shouldn’t, but hooks up with the irresistible straight, confused, engaged IT guy anyway.
In Theory by Sirivinda. free online. Good m/m romance about a straight guy who keeps running into this strangely intriguing guy everywhere he goes… and then wakes up to find himself hungover in the guy’s bed. The ending really felt like it was HFN – I’d definitely like to read a bit more about these two.
One Dead Drag Queen (Tom & Scott #8) by Mark Richard Zubro. Good gay mystery in which Tom is injured when a family planning clinic he volunteers at is bombed. The beginning of the story was from Scott’s POV (a first!) and the last half was from Tom’s. I understand why it was done that way, but I would’ve preferred sticking with Scott for the whole thing.
Loose Snow by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about two guys who work together for a forestry service and were briefly together. And then one of them nearly dies in an avalanche…

“What if I go to sleep and when I wake up, all my furry mice are gone?!?!” -Mayhem

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Linkity leaves you in the lurch as SOC prepares for reduced services during vacation

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Congrats to Juliana, who won Vessel (Cutting Cords #2) by Mickie B. Ashling! Vessel is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Paula, who won Marked Yours and Together Bound (Sentries 1-2) by Elizabeth Noble! Together Bound will be released October 10 by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to SusieQ, who won RSVP (Pushing the Envelope #2) by Kim Dare! RSVP will be released by Amber Allure on October 9.

Brace yourselves. This is the last linkity post until October 28, as I’m heading out on vacation in a couple days.

Several contests each week will appear automagically. I’ll announce contest winners. I may or may not post some pictures from vacation. You’ll just have to stay tuned to see what happens. Or doesn’t. 🙂

Contests

Bookity

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Cookity

  • So, The Kitchn pretty much went nuts with recipe lists this week. Brace yourselves.

4 sweet potato-centric meals

5 Asian-style pumpkin recipes

5 savory fall apple recipes

5 non-cabbage slaw recipes (plus runner bean coleslaw)

8 recipes for cabbage

8 recipes for beet and radish greens

40 recipes for fall vegetables

15 recipes for fall vegetables

4 more recipes for fall vegetables

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  • Both Chaos and May love to play fetch. Sadly, May’s special gift is always dropping the fetch toy just out of reach…

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Song of Oestend by Marie Sexton. ebook. Excellent kinky scifi m/m romance with cowboys. Weirdly, I’m not a big fan of scifi and even less of a fan of cowboy books, but this just completely worked for me. It’s about an artist who takes a job as a bookkeeper for a ranch on the other side of the world so he can get away from his past at the university. He finds himself unprepared for his new life, but he slowly finds his way and makes his place at the ranch as he befriends the reclusive foreman.
Once a Marine by Cat Grant. ebook ARC. Very good m/m romance about a waiter who’s always been really attracted to Marines, although it’s never turned out well for him. But when an extremely handsome guy (obviously a Marine) sits in his section, he’s drawn to the guy despite himself. There’s more to both of them than what meets the eye – will either of them be able to overcome their previous bad experiences to find love this time?
Mummy Dearest (The XOXO Files #1) by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a professor of archeology who visits a dime museum in Wyoming to study its mummy, only to find that there’s a reality/documentary show there filming the same mummy. I was a bit disappointed that the main characters felt awfully familiar from other Lanyon books I’ve read.
Whitetail Rock by Anne Tenino. free ebook short. Very good short kinky m/m romance about a defensively snarky grad student who meets a hunky motorcycle cop when he’s home from school for the summer. It features this laugh-out-loud funny quote:

“Sam. I’ve got news for you. Not every childhood trauma can be healed by finding the right penis.”

Sam looked devastated. He opened and closed his mouth, eyes wide, then suddenly slumped back against the railing, unable to support himself anymore. “You mean,” his voice was barely a whisper. “All those romance novels lied?”

On This Day… (Stand Alone Short Stories #2) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Sweet and steamy short m/m romance about a dom who arrives home from work to discover his sub has things set up for an anniversary celebration… but he’s not sure what anniversary it is they’re to be celebrating.
Coming Out Wolf by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a werewolf who’s decided that he wants his roommate (also a werewolf) as his mate… but his roommate doesn’t seem to be aware of him sexually.
Sucks & Blows by Storm Grant. ebook short, ARC. Punny short m/m paranormal story about a perpetually horny dentist who, in order to convey his sense of humor, mentions on his business cards that he does vampires, too. He doesn’t expect an actual vampire to show up in his office…
The Little Death by Andrea Speed. ebook. Good noir-styled m/m romantic suspense about a hard-boiled PI who’s hired by a “homme fatale” to find his missing twin brother… but nothing’s really adding up in the case, except the bodies. I suspect the references to classic noir detective stories will be obvious to those more familiar with the genre – I thought I was doing well to catch a Maltese Falcon reference!
Fixed by Tristram La Roche. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a guy who’d been living in the south of France with his boyfriend until the economy went bad and he lost everything – home, business, money, and boyfriend. He moves back to Yorkshire in reduced circumstances and isn’t particularly pleased to run into a guy he recognizes from his school days…

“Must. Not. Fall. Asleep…” -Mayhem

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Loungetastic Linkity!

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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. 🙂

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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

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In which Mayhem taunts all of you and I include a few links

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Contests

  • Karen’s trying whip her knitting WIPs into shape. Answer the questions (how many WIPs will she have left at the end of April and will she be able to resist starting any new projects during the month) in her comments by midnight (Danish time), April 20, for your chance to win two skeins of Malabrigo worsted.

Books & Reading

  • Nicole found some great links – make sure you follow the one to Librarysarie’s post about her new favorite Dewey number.

Learn & Do

Things I Found Amusing

Cute!

Reading Update
Admit One by Jenna Hilary Sinclair. ebook. Wow. This m/m romance gutted me, because it was such a powerful read. And yet… I can’t tell you much about it, because part of its power and impact is in how the story develops and in how things are revealed. At the most simple level, it’s the story of a deeply closeted high school teacher in conservative rural Texas, who very occasionally drives to Houston to hook up with someone – but never the same someone twice. It’s a story of being afraid, of having extremely valid reasons to be afraid, and of living a life so constrained by those fears as to barely be alive. Definitely recommended.
Give and Take by Anne Brooke. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a guy who, two years after his partner of 13 years died, is out at a bar trying to connect with another guy for the first time in a very long time – and he so doesn’t want to have to make all the decisions…
Journey to Compromise by Mara Ismine. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance about a guy following an itch to travel. He’s had a bad year (lost love, lost job), but maybe things are starting to look up…
Healthy Obsession by Carolyn LeVine Topol. ebook short. Meh m/m romance about a player who’s finally decided he needs more out of life than one-night stands. While he’s at the gym, he meets a guy in the process of getting divorced and coming out and it’s twue wuv. (Hmm. Kinda snarky there. Possibly because I wanted to slap characters while I was reading.)
A Promise Given by Stormy Glenn. ebook. The usual m/m romance fare from Stormy Glenn in this follow-up to A Promise Kept. Can Alec possibly have a good reason for vanishing from Cooper’s life ten years ago? And if they have that pesky serial killer behind bars, who’s killing guys that fit the same profile now?
Blue Skye and Ryan’s Harbor by Viki Lyn. ebooks. After reading and enjoying Viki Lyn’s paranormal m/m romance, Last Chance, I decided to try this pair of m/m contemporary romances. Meh. Blue Skye was about an out artist and a closeted architect who meet again as adults. They were friends in high school, until they acted on their attraction and the architect fearfully rushed back into his closet. Ryan’s Harbor was about the architect’s gay assistant and the architect’s straight brother – this was a better read than Blue Skye, but be warned that the HFN ending suggests there could be more books in the future… *sigh*
Rescue by Sean Michael. ebook short. A quick little m/m about a guy who lost everything in a fire going home with one of the firefighters.
Purple Pen Diaries by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Fun m/m short about a mystery writer on a cruise who hooks up with a security guy trying to solve a mystery.
Landing with Both Feet (Thatcher Brothers, Book 2) by Julia Talbot. ebook. So-so m/m romance that had way too many flashbacks, between the Jed/Eli and Ross/Kevin stories. Too confusing. And I spent a fair amount of time being upset at people. Hmph. This felt like “Hey, that other Thatcher Brothers book did well – how about another one? Let’s mess up their lives to justify this sequel!”
Taking the Leap (Thatcher Brothers, Book 3) by Julia Talbot. ebook. Ok m/m romance tying up the last bit of the mess from the second book. After that angstfest, this book has no angst whatsoever.
Turguoise: Something’s Gotta Give by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Ack! Another stalker! Other than that, this was an ok romance about a guy who gets involved with a cop that he met when giving a statement about his ex stealing all of his stuff.
Texas Hold ‘Em, Slow Play, Pocket Pair, and Different Suits (Poker Night, Books 1-4) by Carol Lynne. ebooks. Decent m/m romance series about a group of guys who play poker together every other Saturday night. Each book focuses on one of the poker players as he finds love. As EH has commented, while you always know what you’re going to get with a Carol Lynne book, sometimes that works just fine.
Wild Raspberries by Jane Davitt. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a young man who runs away from home, then heads into the woods after some bad experiences on the road, where he runs into a cranky landowner.
Artistically Yours by Z.A. Maxfield, Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde, and C.T. Piatt. ebook collection. I enjoyed each of the three short stories in this collection of m/m romances about artists getting much, much closer to their models.
Rock Bottom by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Lyrically written m/m romance short about a guy whose partner died in a car crash and who’s been drinking to forget, until he hits rock bottom.
Night at the Office by Drew Zachary. ebook short. Nicely done, steamy short m/m encounter between a night watchman and a guy working late.
Playing the Market by Drew Zachary. ebook. Good m/m romance about a workaholic stockbroker and a footloose construction worker who find unexpected common ground.

“You know you want to rub my very soft and fluffy tummy! But you can’t! *neener neener neener*” -Mayhem

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Linkity from the land of ice and snow

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Contests: Reading

  • Have you heard about the League of Reluctant Adults’ Reading Challenge and Contest? Why not?!

Contests: Knitting

  • JessaLu will give away some of her handspun yarn to one lucky person who completes a short form to help her husband’s car club get some additional funding. The form must be completed by January 31.

Reading News & Bits

Knitting

Fun & Games

  • Many thanks to Marta Acosta, who put together an Amazon playlist of my Vampire Mix in her sidebar! Please note that the playlist is of Amazon’s song samples, which are about 30 seconds each.

Black Kitties Running Amok

Reading Update
Faith and Fidelity by Tere Michaels. ebook. Good grief. You’d think, since I was rereading this excellent m/m romance, that I wouldn’t cry. You would be so, so wrong.
Love and Loyalty by Tere Michaels. ebook. Another reread. Tere Michaels can write a darn good m/m romance, even if this one didn’t have as much impact on me as Faith and Fidelity (i.e., I didn’t cry).
Catnip Crazy (Cat House, Book 2) by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Not Talbot’s best, but sort of a cute (if a bit silly) m/m paranormal.
Jumping into Things (Thatcher Brothers, Book 1) by Julia Talbot. ebook. This book actually contains two pretty good m/m romances. The first is about pilot Jed Thatcher who falls for a prickly fire jumper. The second is about Army Airborne instructor Ross Thatcher, who hasn’t ever been attracted to another guy before.
Open Sesame (A Not Quite Wicked Tale) by Mia Watts. ebook short. Fun and very steamy m/m romance based on Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, updated with insider trading and many fewer thieves.
A Wolf in Men’s Clothing (A Not Quite Wicked Tale) by Dakota Rebel. ebook short. Very enjoyable m/m paranormal romance based on Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, with Red now being a guy in a red hoodie and the Wolf now being a werewolf.
One of Those Days by Zathyn Priest. free ebook short. Nicely done short m/m romance about a chiropractor who discovers the jock who bullied him in high school is his next patient.
Entanglements by Fae Sutherland and Marguerite Labbe. ebook. Decent m/m romance about whether it’s worth risking everything to maybe have it all.
With This Ring (Tabloid Star, Book 1.5) by T. A. Chase. ebook short. Ok m/m romance about the guys from Tabloid Star tying the knot. I fear it exceeded my syrupy sugary quotient…
Leftovers by Treva Harte. ebook. Good m/m romance about two guys who only see each other once a year, at Thanksgiving. After eight years, that isn’t enough for either of them anymore.
Loving the Rain by Drew Zachary. ebook short. Decent m/m romance (set in Ottawa) about an environmentalist and an artist who uses recycled materials who meet while they’re waiting out a cloudburst in a coffee shop.
The Painted House by Drew Zachary. ebook. Nice, non-angsty m/m romance about a location scout who meets an artist while looking for a location in Nova Scotia.
Once Upon a Veterinarian by Drew Zachary. ebook. A cop and a veterinarian meet when the cop starts investigating a string of pet poisonings in this m/m romance.
Summer Fever by Catt Ford. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about a guy staying at a lake cabin and the cop he asked for directions on the way there.
Feeding Dragons by Misa Izanaki. ebook short. Ok m/m paranormal romance about a dragon shapeshifter who takes a liking to a young Japanese cook. (For those of you who really enjoy descriptions of food in your reading, this might be of particular interest.)
In the Heat of the Moment by Kim Dare. ebook. Steamy and kinky m/m tale in which a dominant works to convince a submissive that there’s nothing shameful in being submissive.
All’s Fair in Love and Advertising by Lenore Black. ebook. I really enjoyed this m/m romance about a hyper advertising exec who knows better than to get involved with a prospective client… usually.
Broomsticks and Stones by Jane Davitt. ebook short. Cute paranormal m/m romance short about two wizards.
Change of Heart by Kiernan Kelly. So-so paranormal m/m romance about a vet (who’s a werewolf) who hasn’t been doing a very good job getting over his evil ex.
Feeling Safe by Sonja Spencer. ebook. A cop rescues a guy from an in-progress burglary, then takes the guy home. My biggest complaint was the sometimes dizzying point-of-view changes – every paragraph for a while… including the cat.

“I think that more books should include the cat’s point of view. That’s what everyone’s interested in anyway.” -Chaos

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La-la-la-la-la-linkity!

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Congrats to Jody, who won the Not Quite Wicked ebooks! Rumor has it there may be another contest starting tomorrow… 😉

Contests

Book and Reading News

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Stuff That Didn’t Fit Anywhere Else

Well, I Was Amused

Reading Update
Fatal Shadows, A Dangerous Thing, The Hell You Say, Death of a Pirate King, and The Dark Tide (The Adrien English Mysteries, Books 1-5) by Josh Lanyon. ebooks. I read books one through four last August and was amazed at how much emotional impact this m/m mystery series had on me. As I reread the first four books last week, preparing to read the fifth (and final) book, I was amazed again, because the books affected me just as much this time. When I wasn’t reading, I’d find myself thinking about Adrien, about Jake, about their complicated history. I was both looking forward to reading The Dark Tide and afraid to read it, knowing that it would most likely take me through the emotional wringer yet again. It did. I cried a few times. But at the end of the fifth book? I smiled.
Love Dot Come by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Absolutely adorable short about two geeky, klutzy guys who meet via an online personals site.
Aquamarine by Sara Bell. ebook. After a college football player is seriously injured during a game and learns that his publicity loving boyfriend won’t stick around, his life changes in unexpected ways in this sweet m/m romance.
The Manny by Sara Bell. ebook. Another sweet m/m romance from Sara Bell. This one’s about a male nanny/custom motorcycle designer and his evil landlord.
Crimson Regret, A Taste of Darkness, A Glimpse Inside, and Windows and Walls (Inches of Trust, Books 1-4) by A.R. Moler. ebook shorts. These m/m shorts are about an architect and a cop who meet as a devil and Zorro at a Halloween costume party. I enjoyed these, but found them frustrating at the same time – they read as sort of serial novel. I’d rather read the novel or collection.
Knowing Caleb (Hawkins Ranch, Book 4) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Pretty good m/m that I guess I’d categorize as a very steamy paranormal Western romance. (Hot demon cowboys!) I haven’t read the others in this series, but I’m sure I’ll read at least a few others.
You Were Always On My Mind by Deirdre O’Dare. ebook. Um. Yeah. I think I damaged my eyeballs from rolling them so much while reading this m/m romance. *shakes head at self for finishing this book*
A Promise Kept by Stormy Glenn. ebook. What is it about Stormy Glenn’s m/m romances? This one was about miscommunication and misunderstanding (with a stalker thrown in for good measure) – I was alternately sniffling, then rolling my eyes at the hokey bits. (My eyeball muscles are strong! Strong! after reading this story.) But I kept reading (er, skimming)… even though this book should have been about 1/3 the length it was, based on the amount of actual story.
Beautiful Viking by Steve Sampson. ebook. Well, the cover’s nice… Unfortunately, the writing in this m/m romance was clumsy and choppy and the characters unrealistic and gushing.
In the Rough (By Degrees, Book 2) by J. B. McDonald. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about two guys, longtime friends who are both survivors of childhood abuse and who slowly realize that even 20 years later, they’ve been allowing their pasts to control them.
Bastards and Pretty Boys by K. Z. Snow. ebook. Well done m/m romantic suspense about a guy who buys a cabin on a quiet Wisconsin lake, hoping to work through his hydrophobia. Alas, I’ve never stayed at a cabin that had such a scenic next door neighbor!
The Night Sky Man by Mallory Path. ebook. Nicely done dreamlike m/m romance about a model and a modeling agent.
As Serious as the Grave by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Well. Yes, I read an m/m zombie romance and liked it. (Anyone who knows how I feel about zombie stories probably just spit the beverage of their choice on their screens.) Both Jenre and Tam have said far more eloquent things about this short than I will ever manage, but don’t let the zombie aspect squick you out. As Tam kept reiterating, “He’s not a zombie, he’s reanimated.”

“If you really loved me, Mom, you’d buy me a super-fancy kitty house instead of making me live in this plastic tub.” -Mayhem