Tag Archives: m/m

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Like Coffee and Doughnuts by Elle Parker [CONTEST CLOSED]

46 Comments

Congrats to Sandy Jay, who won the copy of Kim Dare’s Bi Now, Gay Later!

Many thanks to author Elle Parker, who has graciously donated an ebook copy of her wonderful romantic m/m suspense, Like Coffee and Doughnuts, for me to give away! Like Coffee and Doughnuts was recently released in print (click on the cover below for more info), and the ebook sequel, Like Beer and Pizza, will be out later this year. (Like Coffee and Doughnuts is one of my comfort rereads…)

Florida P.I., Dino Martini, is as old school as he can be in the modern age. He may do much of his work on a computer these days, but he carries a gun, he drives a convertible, and he lives on the beach. Well, close to the beach. He’s got his best friend and mechanic, Seth Donnelly, to back him up in a fight, and there’s not a lot more he could ask from life.

That is, until his world is turned upside down. In the space of a few days, Dino moves into a new apartment, gets tangled up in a dangerous case, and finds himself with a new boyfriend. The snag is, he’s never had a boyfriend before, and the one in question is Seth. Dino’s got to figure out if he can handle this new twist of fate. Just as he’s thinking maybe he can, the shit hits the fan and he stands to lose Seth in more ways than one.

About Elle:

Elle Parker likes her heroes snarky and human, and she writes with a realism that incorporates humor and everyday detail into steamy and exciting stories. Although she writes a few forms of erotica, her first love and primary focus is M/M Erotic Romance. She works hard to create characters you can’t help but fall in love with.

Most of the time, Elle can be found in her home in the north woods of Wisconsin, working on her latest novel, or spending time with her husband and teenaged kids. When not writing, she likes reading, brewing beer and swimming with the loons. Unless it’s winter. In that case she grabs a book and drinks the beer.

She’s also a great fan of country bars, and can often be found in one, plugging the jukebox and getting ready to shoot a game of pool. It’s often during these times that she gets some of her best inspiration.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Monday, April 12.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“Did someone say doughnuts?!” -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Dangerous Distractions by Mia Watts [CONTEST CLOSED]

46 Comments

Many thanks to Mia Watts for donating a copy of her freshly released m/m romance, Dangerous Distractions, for me to give away to a lucky reader!

An afterhour’s dare has Detective David Rook kissing the sexiest pair of lips he’s seen in a long time. He doesn’t expect it will shake his closeted lifestyle to the core. Now that ATF Agent Nate Giamanti is working with him on a case, Rook can’t avoid his forbidden desires.

Nate challenges Rook with every encounter, but when Rook backs off, Nate doesn’t want the drama that goes with hiding his sexuality, even if it means he could have a lot more of the detective in his bed. When their suspect trains his sights on Nate, will Rook finally get queened or lose the game to a killer?

You can read an excerpt here.

About Mia:

You know all about Mia already! 😉

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, April 6.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“Perhaps it has escaped your attention that you are not feeding us yet, Mom, and our dinnertime is only an hour away!” -Mayhem

“I feel so pale and weak… I think I’m going to fall off the ottoman at any moment…” -Chaos

Excerpts, Reading

Excerpt: Dangerous Distractions by Mia Watts

Dangerous Distraction
By Mia Watts
Excerpt

Rook knew what he had to do. The man had brought it on himself, the asshole. There were rules among alpha dogs. You pissed on the property, not the other dog. He needed to be taken down a peg, sent through the doors with his charismatic tail tucked between his legs and yelping. Strip his alpha. Make him a bitch. Besides, Rook had the undeniable urge to taste those sarcastically twisting lips.

He caught the man behind the neck with lightning speed, cradled his nape with laced fingers, and drew him in. The man looked surprised. He should be. It kind of surprised Rook with how easy it was to suck face with the enemy.

Rook’s lips made contact, claiming the other man’s mouth with firm pressure. The man’s bottom lip felt fuller than the top, soft, unexpectedly so. He grabbed Rook’s forearms and pulled, but Rook held fast, stroking his tongue in and deep when the man grimaced. Rook held him as his tongue explored. Fingers bit the insides of Rook’s wrists. He ignored the pain.

Free fucking beer for a month. He’s gonna give in soon. Any minute.

Hoots sounded around them. There was a cheer, some chanting. Rook heard Fucktardpissant above the bunch shouting something lame. The digging fingers hurt a little less, the grimace relaxed, and in another second the tables turned.

Aggressive dominance was stolen from Rook as the man responded, tangling his tongue with his instead of pulling away. Rook’s stomach spiraled downwards, made the floor unsteady again. It changed everything, softened, ripened, stretched until the only thing holding his wayward stomach up, was Rook’s stiff cock playing kick-stand to his shivering insides.

His pulse raced, his head swam, and Rook almost lost touch with reality as he barely strangled off the groan rising in his chest. He pulled away first, stumbling backwards. He stared at the other man, dragged the back of his hand across his mouth.

Gedry yelled, “The ninth ain’t got their own beer and pretzels?” Peripheral sound came rushing back, reminding Rook what he’d been doing and why he had thought kissing the man had been a good idea. Why had that been, again?

“What the fuck was that?” one of the ninth asked, his voice high pitched and nervous.

Rook shored himself up with arrogance he didn’t feel. He turned to the other four with a wide, knowing grin. “Who’s next?”

“The fucking seventh wants to have your baby cops, Nate,” another said, sneering. Nate’s friends laughed tightly.

He didn’t look at Nate, certain he’d notice how shaken the kiss had left Rook. Nonetheless, he listened for Nate’s response as he opened his arms in a “bring it on” gesture.

The bar continued to chant. The bar tender yelled to take it outside.

“Let’s go,” Nate said. His voice was barely loud enough to carry.

The bar cheered. Rook turned a slow circle like the champion in a fight, a cocky grin on his face as he bounced his wide-spread arms to the time of their chants. “Rook! Rook! Rook! Rook!”

The ninth began to file out and Rook kept his back to them, a deliberate show of disrespect and lack of concern.

A sharp, stinging slap zinged his ass. A warm body pressed up close to Rook’s back preventing him from turning. Nate, the fallen dog, whispered close to Rook’s ear from behind.

“It took one kiss to get you hard enough to pound nails. Another one, and your ass is mine for the taking. Next time we meet, I’m going to Queen your Rook, bitch.”

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Bi Now, Gay Later by Kim Dare [CONTEST CLOSED]

47 Comments

Congrats to Jase, who won the copy of Immortal Curse (Witch Way, Book 1) by Bronwyn Green!

Many thanks to Kim Dare for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming kinky m/m romance, Bi Now, Gay Later, for one lucky reader to win!

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Can a bi submissive really find happiness with a master who doesn’t believe bisexuality exists?

Jerry would be Denton’s ideal submissive – if only he would just get his last foot out of the closet and admit he’s properly gay. Denton loves Jerry, but he knows it’s a master’s responsibility to make sure his submissive doesn’t lie to himself or the rest of the world. He can’t let Jerry hide behind the bi-sexual label forever.

Jerry has no doubt that he’s one-hundred percent bi-sexual. He’s also well aware how much his master hates that fact. Jerry loves his master and he wants to please him, but he can’t lie and say he’s gay when he knows he’s not. Denton would be Jerry’s ideal master, if he could just accept the fact he’s bi.

Eventually, somebody’s going to have to give in and admit he’s wrong. The only question is who?

About Kim:

I’m 26 years old, from Wales, UK. I started writing Male/Male BDSM erotic romances in 2006 – back when I didn’t even know e-books existed, let alone kinky gay ones! Since then, I’ve broadened my horizons to include Male/Female stories, menages, shifters and a few other things, but I’ve never managed an entirely vanilla story, lol.

Since December 2008 I’ve published 22 novellas with Total-e-bound and Resplendence Publishing and I now write full time about kink, love and happy endings.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Monday, April 5.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“Not now, Mom. Busy. If I blink, that ghost spider is going to get away!!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Pink fluff of linkity (I have no idea what that means, either)

32 Comments

Thanks to Ralph at The Dancing Dove, where I won a copy of Journey To Compromise by Mira Ismine, and to Kim Dare, at whose blog I won a copy of one of her books for only being a sort of bad guesser.

Contests

  • Authors Bronwyn Green and Paige Tyler gracefully dealt with both having released books called Just Right based on Little Red Riding Hood by having a joint contest! Visit both blogs by March 29 for your chance to win copies of both books.

Books & Reading

  • Really excellent post about DRM over at An American Editor. My favorite quote from the post: “Right now Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and publishers are able to ignore the consumer in the nascent ebook market. But the backlash is coming.” (As an aside, I’ve chosen to reward publishers and bookstores that make and sell DRM-free books and avoid those that don’t have DRM-free offerings.)
  • Nice post over at Dear Author reacting to the complaint that ebooks and “the loss of the public nature of the physical artifact will result in the loss of culture.”
  • Gizmodo had a blurb about “online music industry giants” making a plea to stop music piracy. I couldn’t help but read the following sentence while thinking about the publishing industry and authors: “…it’s tough to take an earnest plea for buying music seriously when it comes from business middlemen rather than, you know, musicians.” So, authors, keep spreading the ebook anti-piracy message, because you are the people most likely to be heard.
  • Emily candidly discusses that topic we all avoid – book addiction (and there’s a great comic included!).

Learn Stuff

Moment of Silence

Knitting

Things That Amused Me

Cute Burns

Reading Update
Reading Update Update: I’m slowly working on adding my wee reviewettes to my LibraryThing. (Would that I had thought of this quite some time ago…) Depending on the tone and formality of said reviewettes, they’ll either be in the Reviews or the Comments field. When you view my LibraryThing, click on the various available styles until you find one that shows the comments. (Which letter that will be varies by browser, weirdly.)
The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny (Nightside, Book 10) by Simon R. Green. PI John Taylor’s back in another dark noirish urban fantasy; what else is there to say?
Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger. Excellent m/m romance told in epistolary style about two boys (a nerd and a jock) who fall in love in high school and then lose touch with each other after going to college. I’d heard nothing but good about this book, yet I still wasn’t prepared for how it sucked me in. Highly recommended.
Hideout by Katie Allen. ebook. 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? 🙂 Highly recommended. Hopefully, now that Katie’s writing full-time, she’ll give us some more of her excellent m/m romance soon. (Oh, and you really need to read Private Dicks first to get the most out of this book! I promise, it won’t be a hardship.) As if you hadn’t guessed, highly recommended.
Sex and Sexuality by Willa Okati. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a professor who went through “homosexual deprogramming” when he was younger and is now trying to follow the straight life, complete with evil bitch fiancee (more caricature than anything else). Published in 2007, this is definitely not one of Okati’s stronger books.
From Afar by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical paranormal m/m romance about a vampire obsessed by a young lord who has to change the lord into a vampire to save his life. The ending was a bit abrupt – perhaps there’s to be a sequel? (I know, I know, another historical!)
The Hit List by Anne Brooke. ebook. This m/m romance was a mixed read for me. I found the first third very frustrating, not really knowing what the heck was going on. In fact, I put the book aside and read the previous two books. When I returned to The Hit List, the middle third wasn’t quite so frustrating, and the final third was quite good. In fact, I started to suspect that the first third was meant to put the reader into the very confused headspace of the narrator.
Paul’s D’Marco by Leiland Dale. ebook short. Ok short m/m romantic suspense about a police detective and the psychic that’s called in to help the police find a serial child killer. A titch more editing and fleshing out the story would’ve moved this from ok to good.
Persistence Pays by Mara Ismine. ebook short. Very cute m/m romance about a martial artist who’s been trying for years to avoid spending too much time with his irresistible but slutty best friend.
Emergency (A City Hospital Novel) by Drew Zachary. ebook. Typical sweet’n’steamy m/m romance from Drew Zachary about an EMT who’s good friends with a doctor going through a divorce and questioning his sexuality. Very low angst.
Caught Running by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux. ebook reread. Good m/m romance about two guys who went to high school together who are now teaching and coaching at that same school. (I noticed headhopping this time, but don’t remember noticing it the first time I read the book.)

“Pink fluff, I devour you!” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Freeze Frame (Faerily Imperfect, Book 3) by Mia Watts [CONTEST CLOSED]

50 Comments

Many thanks to Twin Cities author Mia Watts for donating a copy of her freshly released paranormal m/m romance, Freeze Frame (Faerily Imperfect, Book 3) for me to give away to a lucky reader! Read the rules carefully, because saying you want in on the contest isn’t going to be quite enough this time. It’s ok. It won’t be too difficult. I promise. Trust me. 🙂

Dill Harper can freeze time. It’s a faery gift which only works at the most inopportune times. Now he’s on a case for Harper Security, watching the very delectable ass of Mason Haliday, a man worth having, who doesn’t want to be had. When an unknown enemy puts a hit on Mason, the client and Dill are worried about the outcome. But how can Mason trust his heart to the man who’s been spying on him, despite the way Dill makes him feel under and over the covers?

You can read an excerpt here. (Don’t blame me if you’re unable to eat cheese after reading the excerpt! That’s all Mia…)

About Mia:

Mia makes her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she divides her time between a job and spying on people. Mia enjoys long walks in Como Park (except for the damn geese), daisies, dancing in the snow…(Delete prior sentence, meant for personal ad)…

Mr. Perfect may apply in person for a thorough evaluation and trial. All others will be towed.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, because Mia’s having a rough few weeks, please comment about something that makes you happy. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Wednesday, March 31.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“Someday the window will be open again. I believe!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Absolinkity

31 Comments

Contests

  • Jane of Quiddity is celebrating her sixth blogiversary with a contest – guess how many pairs of socks she’s made since she started knitting and you could win yarn, a project bag made by Jane, and a calendar of her gorgeous flower photos. Contest closes at midnight EDT, March 21.

Books & Reading & Beyond

  • I’m quite intrigued by the Spring Designs Alex eReader, but I’ll be waiting a while so I can read some reports from users after it ships mid-April.

Learn Stuff

Geekery

Huh

  • When you’re desperate for that caffeine fix, you might want to try the Coffee Inhaler.
  • Arachnophobes might want to avoid this gadget stand (and completely skip the spider story in the post about the stand).

Moment of Silence

LOL

  • Wren posted a great list of random thoughts. Here’s one of my favorites from the list: “MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.”
  • Love xkcd’s take on romance novels… (as always, hover your mouse over the cartoon for additional amusing text)

Teh Cute

  • Chaos does the same thing, only he manages to splatter a much larger area.

Reading Update
A to Z by Marie Sexton. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a video store owner who hires one of his customers. They become best friends and… 🙂 I would definitely recommend that you read Sexton’s Promises first, as there’s a bit of character congruence. Definitely shouldn’t be a hardship, since both are good reads (although I think Promises is the stronger book). And after you’ve read both, there’s a free short story about the guys from Promises – it takes place shortly after A to Z.
Only in His Dreams by Shawn Lane. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a law firm billing manager who has a crush on one of the seemingly unattainable partners at the firm.
And Call Me in the Morning by Willa Okati. ebook. In this very good m/m romance, two straight doctors, whose friends always tease them about being a couple, kiss each other just to prove there isn’t anything like that between them. Whoops. (And, as many others have mentioned, neither of the characters is described as looking as old as the guys on the cover look.)
Saying I Do (Quinn Security, Book 3) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about the two guys from Finding Home (Quinn Security, Book 1) during their hotel stay in Vermont the week before their wedding.
Finding Home (Quinn Security, Book 1) by Cameron Dane. ebook. And then I had to reread this one. Still smokin’ hot.
Netting Neptune (Southern Cross Resort, Book 1) by KC Kendricks. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a resort owner who helps out a stranded and skittish traveler on the beach.
Damn Gorgeous by Jaye Valentine. ebook. Decent paranormal m/m romance about a tabloid reporter doing a story on Lizzie Borden’s house who gets involved with the mysterious owner of the inn where he’s staying.
The Wedding Planner by G.A. Hauser. ebook. An m/m romance about a stockbroker and his wedding planner that started strong, but about 2/3 of the way through deteriorated down to preteen girl gushing. *sigh*
Calling Dr. Love by G.A. Hauser. ebook. Disclaimer: This was a free m/m romance from ARe over the holidays, or I wouldn’t actually own it. So why did I read it? Um, I figured, since I already had low expectations based on how the previous book panned out… It didn’t help. Gah. And then… I kept reading out of sick fascination. I’m so ashamed. Especially after reading “Phil cuddled Phil…” and continuing.
Lifting Spirits by Alexandria Rayne. ebook. Um, should I confess that I bought this m/m romance simply to see if the continuity error in the excerpt was actually in the book? Yup, it sure was. Might’ve had potential, but with editing issues and way too much weird self-referential stuff from the author, it was a confused mess.
Nowhere Man by Jamie Craig. ebook. Good m/m romance about a grad student who tracks down a reclusive writer and works to break through the writer’s shell. (Yup,  you’re right – that is Neck Crick Guy on the cover!)
Calendar Boys March: Kiss Me by Jamie Craig. ebook. Ok sort of holiday (St. Patrick’s Day) m/m romance about a photographer who starts to date a p0rn star.
Carey’d Away by J.M. Snyder. ebook. So-so m/m romance about two guys working at a comic book convention who hook up. I could definitely have lived without the slanguage.
A Feral Christmas (Lost Shifters, Book 2) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance being the continuing story of a family of jaguar shifters searching for their lost siblings.
Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley. ebook. Reread. Very enjoyable m/m romance in which a snarky Manhattan columnist researching a runaway bride story finds himself falling for groom #4.

“I love you, pink fluff, even if you aren’t sparkly!” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Hideout by Katie Allen [CONTEST CLOSED]

53 Comments

Many thanks to Minnesota author Katie Allen, who has donated a copy of her brand-new m/m romantic suspense release, Hideout, for me to give away!

When Officer Peter Giordano is assigned to keep Trevor Haas safe until he can testify against his murderous father, he expects the hardest part of his job will be keeping his hands off the gorgeous witness. The two men hide out in the small, sleepy town of Honeysuckle, fixing up their dilapidated safe house by day…exploring each other’s bodies by night.

Their small-town neighbors have some secrets of their own, however, including one that someone is willing to kill to protect. Soon, a neighbor is dead and Pete and Trevor are thrown into the middle of a murder investigation. The two men struggle to keep Trevor’s true identity a secret, knowing his father will stop at nothing to silence the star witness against him – even if that means killing his own son.

Note: Pete and Trevor won’t have to go it alone. Wash and Rhodes, the crush-worthy heroes from Private Dicks, are along for the ride once again.

As I’ve mentioned before, I really enjoyed Private Dicks (sheesh, where are your minds?! It’s about private investigators – duh) and it’s become one of my comfort reads.

Oh, and Hideout already got a 4.75/5.00 review over at Jessewave. Congrats, Katie!

About Katie:

Katie Allen grew up in the Midwest with a horde of sisters (five) and one beleaguered brother. After an enjoyable four years working on her creative writing/art degree, and two not-so-pleasant years struggling towards her MBA, Katie somehow ended up as a mechanical engineer in Denver, Colorado. When her job disappeared during the recession, it was the kick in the rear that she needed to head back to Minnesota and jump into writing full-time.

When she’s not writing (many books are necessary to pay for her unfortunate equine addiction), Katie rides horses, reads (of course), does gymnastics and looks for new (and occasionally insane) ways to research her books (cop school, anyone?). Katie loves to hear from readers.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Monday, March 22.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“You are growing very, very sleepy… When you awake, you will remember nothing about having sent me sparkly pink feather toys. Nothing at all…” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Kitty toes and linkity

32 Comments

Congrats to Kathy K, who won the copy of LB Gregg’s Catch Me If You Can (Romano & Albright, Book 1)! (Don’t forget about LB’s review contest, which runs through March 16.)

Contests

Books & Reading & Readers, Oh My!

Learn Things

Things That Didn’t Fit Elsewhere

LOL

Reading Update
The Larton Chronicles by James Anson. I heard about this delightful m/m romance when Josh Lanyon mentioned on his blog that it was one of his comfort reads. The book is about Robert, ex-policeman and mystery author who moves to the obscure village of Larton, and Michael, the horse-mad and out of control village “squire”. Written in a fabulously understated style that seems quite British indeed to me (Jenre and EH will have to confirm or deny this for me), the book chronicles the ups and downs of building a life together. (Also, all sex occurs entirely offsides and is only referred to in the most discrete terms.) I’d definitely recommend picking this up directly from the publisher and not from Amazon – the price difference is quite significant. Recommended.
The Dark Farewell by Josh Lanyon. ebook. As previously mentioned, I won this historical m/m romance over at Jessewave’s. This was an extremely well-done story about a reporter from NYC in central Illinois to follow up on a union-related massacre when he becomes intrigued by a medium who is staying at the same boarding house. From Josh’s comments on Jenre’s review of this ebook, I was sort of prepared for the abrupt ending to the story, which is modeled on ghost stories from the period (early 1920s), but I found myself really wanting to know more about these characters! Recommended.
No Souvenirs (Florida Series, Book 3) by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good, steamy, and intense m/m romance about that mysterious ER doctor we met in previous books. Hard to go wrong with K.A. Mitchell! Recommended.
Custom Ride by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who has an anonymous encounter with a mysterious stranger at Pride (in Minneapolis!), then keeps encountering the guy again back home in St. Cloud.
Scared Stiff by Laura Baumbach, William Maltese, Josh Lanyon, & Sarah Black. ebook collection. This was a good m/m paranormal romance collection overall, although each story had its foibles. Baumbach’s was unfortunately plagued by egregious editing errors such as misused words, missing words, and randomly introduced names. (Wait, I thought that Eli and Mason were in bed together. Where did this “Josh” come from?!???) Black’s story suffered somewhat from the main characters overusing each other’s names in conversation, so their conversations seemed stilted. (Handily, author Patti O’Shea just posted about this very problem.) Lanyon’s story was very good, with just a condom use issue. I skipped Maltese’s story because I’m not a big fan of his style, plus it was fantasy.
Primal Passions (Lost Shifters, Book 1) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Enjoyable paranormal m/m romance about a paramedic who suddenly discovers that the world is much weirder than he knew when he’s imprisoned by thugs and rescued by a feline shapeshifter.
Fire and Ice by A.J. Llewellyn & Stephani Hecht. ebook. I definitely like Stephani Hecht’s work on her own better. This m/m romance about a former boxer and a hockey goalie was all over the place, with instalove and bits of story that didn’t fit very well.
Garron’s Gift and Rawley’s Redemption (Good-Time Boys, Books 2-3) by Carol Lynne. ebooks. Ok m/m romances being the continuing story of the Good brothers, their guys, and dangerous homophobes in their small Nebraska town. It appears that this series, like Campus Cravings, also intersects with the Cattle Valley series. Apparently Cattle Valley is like the Borg…
Now and Forever by Addison Albright. ebook short. Sweet m/m romance short about a couple planning their wedding reception, during the all-too-brief time gay marriage was legal in California.
Moving On and Moving Along by Addison Albright. ebook shorts. These are sweet m/m romance shorts about a guy trying to move on after his lover was killed in a car accident a year ago.
Aidan and Ethan (Seeking Redemption, Book 1) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Angsty m/m romance about a guy who vanishes without a word after planning a life together with his best friend, then reappears over a decade later. I started out feeling as if the entire premise of the story was extremely flimsy, but that was actually addressed a bit later. (Also, not so good with the condom thing in this book.)
Private Dicks by Katie Allen. ebook. This m/m romantic suspense was a reread – it’s one of my comfort reads. Obviously I think it’s a good book! 🙂 And you’ll have a chance to win a copy of the sequel in the not-too-distant future…

“Mom, do I really want to know why you’re taking a picture of my back toes?” -Chaos

If you commented on this post before 7:30 am CST, March 11, your comment has vanished. Sorry! My fault entirely.

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Ya wanna know the funny part? I didn’t think I’d have enough links to do linkity….

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Contests

Books & Reading

Learn Stuff

  • ModernCat has some great pictures of a cat table (sort of an outdoor garden/platform for your cats to enjoy on your deck or patio), plus a link to how to make one.
  • Ugh. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to eat bagged salad again…

LOL

Teh Cute! It Burns!

Reading Update
My Fair Captain (Sci-Regency, Book 1) by J.L. Langley. ebook. Another book for Kris’ m/m rut challenge. This was a scifi m/m romance, with a Regency flair to it… and I totally loved it. (I’m really glad I totally loved it, because if I hadn’t? I’d be afraid, as this is a very popular book.) I was a little frustrated during the prologue and first few chapters, as I tried to pull the bits and pieces together (that world-building stuff), but after I hit the breakthrough point (where you absorb the background and it doesn’t interfere with the story anymore), I was transfixed. Very steamy, yet very romantic and highly recommended read. (Kris is gloating. I can hear her.)
The Englor Affair (Sci-Regency, Book 2) by J.L. Langley. ebook. Not quite as good as My Fair Captain, but still a very good m/m scifi romance.
Friction by J.P. Bowie, Jenna Byrnes, Jude Mason, Kim Dare, Ashley Ladd, S.L. Majors, & Cassandra Gold. ebook collection. This was an enjoyable m/m romance collection. I thought of all the stories were, at the very least, decent, with one exception. And there were definitely a couple that were excellent.
Running Hot by Stephani Hecht. ebook short. Nicely done short m/m romance about a paramedic and an ER doctor.
GPS by Leigh Ellwood. ebook short. Cute m/m romance about a guy who gets a GPS for his birthday, but what the heck is up with the darn thing?! (Yes, you’re right – that is Candy Cane Guy in the background.)
Sea of Sin (Creatures of Sin, Book 3? Book 2.5?) by India Harper. ebook short. Ok m/m romance short about a police commander who lives a celibate, closeted life except for the one week during which he goes on a gay cruise vacation. Based on the sort of non-ending to this story, I suspect it’s part of the setup for the next book in the series.
629 Miles To Love by Fae Sutherland & Marguerite Labbe. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two former lovers on a drive, talking about what went wrong. (Lost points for lack of condoms and lack of discussion of same.)
Skin Deep by S. W. Vaughn. ebook. Quite good urban fantasy m/m romance that was a bit hard for me to read at points, due to graphic violence in a domestic abuse situation. I am glad I persevered. (No condoms here, either…)
Falling (Hawkins Ranch, Book 2) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about two ranchers, one of whom happens to be a demon, which I would’ve enjoyed more if it had had a bit less torture. Those parts were hard for me to read and I definitely skimmed the more graphic violence.
ReneCade (Hawkins Ranch, Book 3) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Another good m/m romance (no paranormal this time) about a deeply closeted sheriff’s deputy who’s attracted to the sheriff’s son, but very afraid of the potential consequences of that attraction. I’m glad that this was less brutal than Falling, but the angst was flowing more freely and there was cheating, so maybe it was a draw.
Do You Believe in Magic by Drew Zachary. ebook short. Very steamy short m/m romance that was a good antidote to the brutality of Skin Deep and Falling.
Slap and Tickle by Drew Zachary. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a possessive cop and the stripper he’s in love with. I found the nicknames (“Big Daddy” and “Candy Pants”) annoying and the sex-to-story ratio was so skewed I skimmed a lot to find the tiny bits of plot scattered amongst the nudity. Plus a plot point that was played up throughout the book wasn’t resolved so much as dropped, which was odd and rather unsatisfying.

“Fine, Mayhem. Be that way. I was only trying to help. Now you will be shunned because your ears are dirty!” -Chaos

“Whatever, big kitty. I think you have OCD issues.” -Mayhem