Monthly Archives: July 2016

Something Old, Something New by Darcie Boleyn (Book Review)

A heartwarming, giggle-inducing romance from Darcie Boleyn, just in time for the wedding season!

Will you marry me…again?

When Annie Thomas agrees to give her ex away at his wedding to his boyfriend, she thinks she’ll be fine. With her three children at her side, she can handle anything. Then she finds out her gorgeous first ex-husband Evan Llewellyn is flying in from his glamorous life in New York to attend as well!

An unexpected pregnancy ended their relationship and as she stumbles through the ups and downs of life as a working single mum – helping everyone else find a happy ending along the way – Annie refuses to believe their old and incredibly hot spark can still exist.

It’s only when she and Evan are forced to face up to the past together that they’ll discover if they can have their own happily-ever-after too!

 
 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
Are you a divorcee? Divorcee with kids? How about, do you know anyone who is divorced with or without a child? If you answered yes to any of these questions (which I’m sure you did), then you can identify with Annie’s life. She is a divorcee, twice removed, and raising three children while working. She’s constantly asking herself, “Am I failing?” 
 
Any caregiver can relate to this thought. We always wonder if we are doing enough, providing enough, giving enough of ourselves via time/attention. The scene where Annie was soaking in the tub and her son came in needing to poo, the very thing has happened to me — more than once. I’m sure it’s happened to you as well. 
 
The next part might not touch home for most people. Her second ex-husband, Dex, is a gay man. Their marriage didn’t work, for obvious reasons, but they’ll always be best friends. Basically, they had the perfect divorce. She even walked him down the aisle when he remarried — this time to a man. 🙂
 
The gay wedding was spectacular. The cake was a work of art: fairytale castle upon two tiers of jelly beans, flowers, ivy, and likenesses of the three children plus Annie. This sugary concoction was almost too pretty to eat. 
 
FYI: The speeches at the wedding will explain the jelly beans in case you’re puzzled about the cake decorations.
 
Moving on…..
 
The love between Dex and Trevor, their wedding, didn’t take the cake (no pun intended) as the most romantic moment of Something Old, Something New. The prize definitely goes out to Annie. What she does to show Evan the depth and the trueness of her feelings for him was one helluva grand, romantic gesture. If they didn’t live happily ever after — AGAIN — then these two are hopeless. 
 
Well, these two are definitely hopeless……. HOPELESSLY IN LOVE. 
 
Oh BTW, Darcie, you’ll be please to know you had the Bob the Builder tune stuck in my head all night long. Thanks for that. 🙂
 
 
Heart Rating System 
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
 Score: ❤❤❤❤
 
 
 

Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether the ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night. Her childhood dream was to become a Jedi but she hasn’t yet found suitable transport to take her to a galaxy far, far away. She also has reservations about how she’d look in a gold bikini, as she rather enjoys red wine, cheese and loves anything with ginger or cherries in it – especially chocolate. Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.


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Between the Two of You by Melissa Lynn (Book Review)

As a trained accountant in Quebec, Amy Lefevre will be the first to admit that her life is not quite adding up. After all, how can anyone in her twenties already be in such a serious rut? When she decides to shake things up and create a new life in Winnipeg, Amy’s world suddenly takes a turn for the fabulous. His name is Jason, and he happens to be a card-carrying movie star.

Between The Two of You is the romantic comedy that follows Amy as she cultivates a serious crush on the dashing Jason Lane, only to soon find out that she has some fierce competition. Can Amy win Jason’s affection? And, above all, is it really what she wants?

Along the way, Amy finds plenty of support from old friends and new; a little side romance; and even a star-studded job prospect with Jason’s agent, David. Can they help her meet her bottom line—a brand new exciting life? Find out in this hilarious, endearing story of one woman’s quest of taking chances, which serves up plenty of heart-racing moments and as many hearty laughs.

 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 
 
It’s not often I enjoy the supporting characters instead of the main stars; however, that was what happened for me in Between the Two of You
 
Jason Lane (actor) was extremely shallow and self-absorbed for over 90% of the story. 
 
David Cole (agent) acted like a jealous idiot for the same percentage of time. He was jealous of his friend for multiple reasons. What a sad, sad man and I don’t mean it in the way where I feel any compassion for him. 
 
Amy (leading lady) came across just as shallow as Jason. She liked Jason and Clive because they had a pretty face. 
 
Her whole attitude towards Clive and Jason confused me. Let me explain one thing I didn’t comprehend. Maybe you will. 
 
Amy perceived Clive too young for her, a ‘baby’, because he was 22 to her 27. However, Jason and David were both 39. Shouldn’t they have a problem with the 12 year gap? When David turned 40, still no mention of the 10 plus years separating them. So basically, she can’t date a younger man but a man can date a younger woman? 
 
Why? I don’t get it. 
 
Since the story kept fluctuating between the three men (in one way or another) and her, a center of their attention, I kept focusing on her weird ass logic with what was ok and what was not. 
 
For that reason, I scored this book a two. 
 
Again I must say, without the supporting cast of Olivia, Karen, Nathan and even Matt, Between the Two of You would’ve score a 1. 
 
 
Heart Rating System 
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤
 
 

 
MELISSA LYNN is a first-time novelist, with her book Between The Two of You. She holds a degree in Business Administration, as well as a diploma in French literature. Born and raised in Canada, the author now lives in Mexico City, where she is currently working on her next novel.

 

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High Contrast: Evolution Ink by Tess Bowery (Book Review)

 The deepest scars aren’t the ones that show.

Jacob Shain is your average member of Generation Screwed. He has a boring internship, no cash flow, and a tiny NYC apartment he has to share with Ethan, his much-cooler, tattoo-artist twin brother. Not to mention his love life is DOA. At least, until his brother’s shop hires on a new piercer, and Jacob’s humdrum life takes a turn for the weird.

Cody Turner is gorgeous, funny and kind—everything Jacob wants in a boyfriend. Except for the way he refuses to talk about his past, or where he lives, or anything about his personal life.

When Ethan is arrested while on a mission of mercy, the reason Cody is so tight lipped comes to light. And while Jacob and Cody fight to understand the depth of their feelings for one another, the police dogs catch their scent. So does the local mob.

Now Jacob has to make the hardest choice of his life: stay safe like a good boy, or dive headfirst into a world he barely understands…and hope Cody is there to break his fall.

Warning: Contains a good boy who wants to be bad, a bad boy who longs to be good, bodies that are canvases for living art and high-speed chases with police dogs.

 

 

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

Are you a fan of gay romantic comedies? If you answered yes, then you MUST buy High Contrast. This book was jam-packed full of humor — some instances happening at the oddest of times. 
 
Case in point: Cody deciding to give Jacob a grammar lesson during foreplay. When a man is asking to “lick” anything, don’t point out his grammar error. Can I? May I? Seriously, I laughed at the hilarity of the teaching moment. 
 
Example 2: I’ve heard of getting cock-blocked, but to have an actual “cock”roach ruin what was turning into a “moment” had me grinning. Oh, I should mention these two fellas actually achieved said “almost moment” while dumpster diving. Gross but true. 
 
Now you might be wondering why these two fellas were in the disgusting wasteland. Well, it all centers around marijuana (for sick patients), cops, Russian mob, and the past meeting your present. 
 
What, you thought this was going to be a book with nothing but two guys getting their horizontal groove on? Nope, the steamy shagfest didn’t start until chapter 7. Let me tell you, folks, when these two finally succumbed to their desires……. Holy smokes!!!
 
Trust me, you won’t want to miss a single minute of the lovin. 
 
You also won’t want to skip over the no holds barred action when worlds collide. It’s almost as good when Drew Sullivan (workplace bully) gets put in his place. 
 
Man, I could go on and on about this story but I’ll stop. Well, I must say one more thing……. 
 
I think marijuana should be readily available to the sick! 
 
Legalize it in all states!! 
 
Heart Rating System
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤❤❤
 

 

 

Tess Bowery lives near the ocean, which sounds lovely, except when it snows. An historian by training and a theater person by passion, she’s parleyed her Masters degree in English history into something that would give her former professors something of a surprise.

Her love for the Regency era began as they always do, with Jane Austen, and took a sharp left turn into LBGT biographies and microhistory. Now she indulges in both of her passions, telling the stories of her community in the time periods that fire the human imagination. Her first foray into contemporary M/M fiction, High Contrast, releases in 2016.

Along with writing, Tess splits her time between teaching, backstage work, LBGT activism and her family. She spends far too much money on comic books, loves superheroes and ghost stories, and still can’t figure out how to use Twitter properly.

Get updates and book information at http://www.tessbowery.com, or hang out with Tess at http://tessbowery.tumblr.com, or @tessbowery on Twitter.

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Bringer of Chaos: The Origin of Pietas by Kayelle Allen (Book Review)

  • Print Length: 189 pages
 
Two enemy warriors: one human, one immortal. 
Different in belief, alike in spirit, marooned together on an alien world.
 
  • Imprisoned and in isolation over a year without food or water, the immortal Pietas survives. Though broken in body, his intellect and will are intact, thanks to Six, the special ops warrior who captured him, but kept him sane. The warrior had no hand in his deprivation and, like Pietas, was betrayed by his own kind. When Pietas is abandoned on an alien world with nothing but his honor–and Six–he must find and rejoin other immortal exiles. After centuries of war, Pietas detests humans and kills them on sight, but he is too damaged to continue on his own. Though he despises needing help, he allows Six to nurture and restore him to full strength, and then accompany him. As they cross the planet together on foot, the immortal begins to wonder if he has found his first human friend, or if Six is loyal only because Pietas could keep the others from tearing him to shreds. This human will either be his closest living friend, or the one whose betrayal will trigger all-out vengeance by the most powerful immortal ever born.
  •  
  • Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
 
 
 
 
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

As a fan of science fiction and fantasy, I was eager to dive into Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. Based off the book summary, my expectations were set high. Certain aspects of the story caught my interest, but then, several sections dragged on and didn’t reach their full potential. 
 
High points: Kayelle invented the Ultras. Whose abilities would astound anyone. They heal quickly, diseases don’t affect them, can survive any wound, and can be “reborn”. Only two ways ensured their death was permanent. 1) Immolate, freeze and then shatter the Ultra. 2) Put the Ultra through a bone shredder. 
 
During Pietas captivity, he never met his true death. Actually, he was reborn 1000 times over and, according to him, that’s almost worse than dying. Imagine your body wasting away, perishing, coming alive again, & repeat. I can see why Pietas had no love for humans — Until he met Six (not his real name). 
 
Six started off his adversary but things changed in the year it took them to reach Sempervia. Once they landed, Six became the hunter, caregiver, protector, comrade and, most importantly, a friend to Pietas (or as Six dubbed him, Pi). 
 
There on Sempervia, I felt Kayelle could’ve done so much more for the readers. She could’ve added more scifi elements to this science fiction tale. I expected more trouble with the elements. Heck, give me a battle with unknown creatures on the island. Something. Anything. 
 
We did see a storm, numerous birds, and cats but that’s it. But basically, there was nothing really holding my interest. 
 
I, once again, had such high hope things would pick up when Pi finally reconnected with the other Ultras in chapter 24 but nope, nothing. In chapter 26, they discussed creating a plan to secure food, shelter, and a way home. 
 
That’s where the story ended. 
 
No closure but a set-up for book 2,  Bringer of Chaos: Harvest of Blood. 
 
Heart Rating System 
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)
Score: ❤❤
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr.
 

www.twitter.com/kayelleallen  

www.facebook.com/kayelleallen.author

Marketing for Romance Writers www.bit.ly/mfrwgroup  

The Author’s Secret www.theauthorssecret.com

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