Tuesday 26 June 2018

Spark (North Star Trilogy #1) by Posy Roberts - Release Blitz



Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 91,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Olive Us Designs

North Star Trilogy Pre-Order

Fusion (Book #2) - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Flare (Book #3) - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

A love story with a seventeen-year intermission.

Hugo Thorson fell in love when he was sixteen. He’s maybe been in love since, but probably not. He’s been too busy directing plays to devote much time to men who can’t accept all of him. No one ever made him feel like his first love did.


Kevin Magnus married a woman and has two children, but the marriage wasn’t happy. In the shadow of divorce, he’s striving to be a better father, but he’s still a work in progress.


When Hugo and Kevin bump into each other at the lake, memories of their last kiss incite a new first kiss. Visions of the life they always wanted are vivid, but so much stands in the way of their dreams. Hugo is out and proud but no one knows Kevin’s bisexual. If Kevin comes out, he risks losing custody of his kids. If he doesn’t walk hand in hand with Hugo, he risks losing the love of his life.


The curtain may never rise on their second act.


Author Bio

Posy Roberts started reading romance when she was young, sneaking peeks at adult books long before she should’ve. Textbooks eventually replaced the novels, and for years she existed without reading for fun. When she finally picked up a romance two decades later, it was like slipping on a soft hoodie . . . that didn’t quite fit like it used to. She wanted something more.

She wanted to read about men falling in love with each other. She wanted to explore beyond the happily ever after and see characters navigate the unpredictability of life. So Posy sat down at her keyboard to write the books she wanted to read.


Her stories have been USA Today’s Happily Ever After Must-Reads and Rainbow Award finalists. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her family and friends and doing anything possible to get out of grocery shopping and cooking.





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Monday 25 June 2018

Snow Falling (Haven Hart Universe #1) by Davidson King



166 pages
Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Available through KU

Blurb

After running from a past destined to kill him, Snow has been hiding on the streets. 

Tell nobody your name. 
Tell nobody your secrets. 
Trust nobody! 
These are the rules of the streets. 

His entire life changes when he saves an eight-year-old boy from a violent end. 

Christopher Manos is one of the most powerful crime bosses in the country. 

Don’t ask anyone to do something you aren’t willing to do yourself. 
Secrets can get you killed. 
Trust nobody! 
These are the rules he lives by. 

When his eight-year-old nephew disappears, he never expects the boy’s savior to end up being his own. 

A man with a dangerous past and a man with a dangerous future find love amidst murder and mayhem. But with Snow's life being threatened at every turn, will Christopher's best be enough to prevent Snow Falling?

Review

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I started reading Snow Falling but, based on the blurb, I prepared myself for a journey into the dark.

And, fair is fair, this story certainly contains its fair amount of dark, hard to read, and even heart-stopping moments. But, the feeling I was left with after finishing this book was mostly one of delight and admiration. I’m impressed with the way Davidson King managed to be true to the darker side of Christopher’s ‘business’ and the things he had to do to stay on top of his game, without ever making me doubt that he was, beneath it all, a good, honorable and even loveable man.

But, no matter how much Christopher impressed me, Snow is without a doubt both the hero and the star of this story. I dare any reader not to fall for him in the very first chapter when he abandons self-interest to do the right thing and save an eight-year-old boy. And, from that moment forward, he only dug his way deeper into my heart. For someone who’s had to look out for himself on the streets for five long years, he really doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. Of course, his selflessness leads him to make one or two less than sensible decisions, but in the context of who he was and the situation he faced, those seemingly reckless actions made perfect sense.

In fact, that’s another thing that really impressed me. I have a rather profound dislike for forced angst and tension in stories. And for a moment, midway through this book, I feared the story-line was going to be exactly what I detest. I’m very happy to say it didn’t. While Snow’s actions—which will remain undisclosed—did very much make me shake my head (and want to shake him) they were explained in such a way I understood where he was coming from.

While all the other characters in this story managed to make an impression, the prize for best and cutest secondary character ever goes to Simon. This gorgeous eight-year-old managed to capture my heart with as much force as Snow did.

Snow Falling really gives the reader everything they could hope for in a book. The story grabs your attention from the start and never releases its grip until the very happy ending in the epilogue. The balance between suspense, darkness, light, and sexy was just about perfect, and I found myself incapable of putting the book down once I’d started it.

Colour me very impressed with this debut and don’t be surprised if you find me reviewing Hug it Out in the not too distant future.

Cheating Bastard (Bastard #1) by Devon McCormack






Short Story
Not a romance
Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Available through KU

Blurb

He can get away with anything… 

Anytime, anyplace. Blake never has problems finding tricks, and he’s learned that half the fun is in doing it behind his boyfriend Todd’s back. But when Todd suggests a threesome to reignite their relationship, the opportunity to bring in one of his regulars and dupe his boyfriend right under his nose is too tantalizing to resist. 

Todd loves Blake, but after Blake’s cancer treatments, it seems nothing Todd does can excite him. For six months, he’s waited patiently for his boyfriend’s interest to return, but it’s clear if he doesn’t do something drastic, nothing will change. In a desperate attempt to save their relationship, he suggests a threesome. He expects it to be difficult. He expects to get jealous. What he doesn’t expect is to have the hots for their new toy…and for both of them to want Blake out of the picture. 

Warning: This story contains violent, brutal, and sadistic situations that some readers might be uncomfortable with. Although Devon McCormack writes romance, this is not a romance and does not contain a happy ending. Look elsewhere for love because here there is only pain, darkness, and sadism.

Review

I’m not usually a fan of books that come with warnings. In my opinion the blurb in combination with the title and cover should tell the reader whether they should expect a romantic story or something else, something a lot darker or even something that has nothing to do with love at all. I’ll make an exception for Cheating Bastard. As the warning in the blurb states, readers need to look elsewhere for love because what happens on these pages has absolutely nothing to do with that particular feeling.

And yet, despite paying attention to the warning, I still wasn’t prepared for what I read, or rather, for how the story ended. For obvious reasons I can’t go into that in any detail, but I will say that Devon McCormack squashed any hope I harboured for a few chapters that there might be a solution to all the fucked-up ‘shittery’ Blake inflicted on Todd and Kyle.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I love stories that are different from the usual fare, and to say Cheating Bastard is different would be a gross understatement. Having said that, two days later I’m still not sure how I feel about the story or how it ended except to say that I’m fascinated by the mind who conjured all of this up.

Long story short I would say that you should only read Cheating Bastard if you are prepared to have your heart torn out of your chest, thrown to the floor and danced upon. But, if you enjoy that sort of thing, this book will be right up your street.

Broken Bastard by A.L. Simpson - Book Blast





Book Title: Broken Bastard

Author: A.L. Simpson

Publisher: Published by Susan Horsnell t/a Cocky Romance Publishing

A.B.N. 57 357 599 847

Cover Artist: Susan Horsnell

Genre/s: M/M, Contemporary

Length: 265 pages



Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited


Blurb

Present Day

My name is Tyler Maxwell Alexander.

I'm twenty-eight years old.

A few months ago, I had it all.

An executive job in a prestigious investment firm owned by my father. Ha! Yeah, right - father. I'll explain about that later.

I lived in a waterfront apartment overlooking the harbor and drove a Mercedes convertible.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

All of it.

Everything, except the f***ing clothes on my back.

I was broken.

A bastard.

Did I mention, I'm gay?

No? Oh well, I have now.

This is the story of how my fairytale life turned to s**t in the blink of an eye….


Excerpt

© A.L. Simpson 2018

I spend the rest of the afternoon working on the Murphy account. A couple in their mid-fifties, like my dad, who want to earn a little extra money to help make their retirement a comfortable one. They want a third of their funds in safe investments, forty percent in low risk and the last thirty percent in high risk.

Maxine and Thomas Murphy are a nice couple and I enjoy our chats when they come to my office. They are the typical mom and dad investors our firm caters to and have one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to invest. Not much to a business like ours. It's five in the evening when I close the file, satisfied I have placed their money wisely.

My phone buzzes and I smile as the message flashes on the screen. It's Ryan. "Good for tonight? 6pm at Riccardo's?"

I text back, "yes" before pushing the chair back and standing. The files, previously scattered all over my desk, are placed back in their folders in a walnut cabinet by the wall. I check nothing is left out before turning the key in the lock to secure them for the night. That's something else that pisses me off - dad will only allow old fashioned hardcopy files. He doesn't know, that against his instructions, I also have them on my computer. I swear to fucking God, my father and brother are dinosaurs.

I leave my office and am halfway down the hallway to the elevator when dad calls from behind. I groan, wondering what he'll want now. Turning around, I wait for him to approach.

"Dad?"

"Where are you going?"

"Out for a drink with a friend." Not that it's any of your fucking business.

He raises an eyebrow. "Girlfriend?"

Yeah, nope, he doesn't know I'm gay. None of my family are privy to that tidbit of information. While mom and my brother would not take it well, dad would fucking lose it. He's by far the worst bigot I know. I can see it now, the explosion of his temper would catapult us into the fucking stratosphere. Nope, definitely not going to give him that piece of information anytime soon, if ever.

"No, friend from school. Why?"

Dad shoves his hands in the pockets of his Guccipants and lowers his eyes to the floor.

I follow his line of sight wondering what is suddenly so interesting down there. His feet shuffle about and I wonder what he is so nervous about.

"Dad?"

He lifts his eyes to mine and licks his lips. Hmmm, definitely nervous.

"Samuel didn't get the account."

"I could say, I told you so." I'm a smug sonofabitch. He's taught me some things well.

"Yeah, well there's more." Dad swallows so hard, his Adam's apple moves from the bottom of his throat to the top at the speed of an express elevator. "Pope wants to leave four hundred thousand with us, like he told you, for high risk investment. The rest he is taking from us. He will only stay if you handle his account."

"Why me? You said yourself, Samuel would do a better job." I can't resist throwing his earlier sarcastic words back in his face.

"He said he'll go high risk and pay our thirty percent only with you because you've never let him down. He only trusts you."

I lean against the wall, cross one leg over the other and fold my arms over my chest. "You said the account was no longer mine so I'm focusing on other clients now." I'm enjoying doing this to the fucker, making him sweat. As an executive of the company, I can accept or refuse any account as I see fit. Dad knows this and he also knows, he's rubbed me the wrong way.

About the Author


I write Hot Contemporary Romance, M/M, Menage, BDSM and Shapeshifter under my pen name - A.L. Simpson.

I have panty melting m/f romance and c*** hardening m/m romance where they always experience adversity but eventually find their way to each other.

The lovin' is HOT and not for the faint hearted. I have a story where the men's coming together in Greece is actually true but we threw in some gun running, murder and drugs to make things a whole lot more interesting. (Destined to Shatter)

In my menage, a m/m/f the heroine refused to stay around so she dies a gut wrenching death leaving the men to cope with a new-born babe. Life got a whole lot more interesting for them. (Diamond Rainbow.)

My shapeshifter takes the form of an Eagle and is out to save the heroine from a drug cartel deep in the forest of South America. (When Eagles Soar)

The Born Series covers social issues and what it's like to be raised in an unsavory area. I explore the mindset of never being good enough.


The Broken Series has Broken Bastard out and Broken Bitch. These books are about people who are pushed until they break. Book 1 is a m/m. Book 2 is MC.

Other books on offer have a mistreated, disfigured heroine, a strange cult, a disabled friend and so much more.

I hope you take the opportunity to check out my offerings.

Speed Dating the Boss by Sue Brown - Release Blitz




Book Title: Speed Dating the Boss

Author: Sue Brown

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Kanaxa 

Genre/s: contemporary M/M Romance, bisexual romance

Length: 62 580 words/204 pages

Release Date: June 26, 2018



Blurb

Will a mix of privilege and blue collar be a recipe for love… or disaster?

Dan’s pretty satisfied with his job at the working-class bar Cowboys and Angels. He enjoys his simple life, his apartment, and his cat, but he could do without the fights that break out in the bar, his boss’s meddling daughter, Ariel… oh, and a brutal, unrequited crush on his straight alpha boss, Gideon.

When Dan’s friend prepares to tie the knot, everyone insists that Dan needs a date for the wedding. Before he can protest, Ariel arranges a gay speed-dating event at the bar with Gideon as a participant. The unforeseen revelation that Gideon is bisexual raises Dan’s hopes, especially when Gideon announces that he wants to accompany Dan to the wedding. Could Gideon really be interested in Dan?

When Dan needs someone most, Gideon offers his unconditional support, and with genuine commitment, he shows Dan the kind of man he really is. Teaming up to save the wedding from a hungover groom and intolerant parents, can Gideon convince Dan they’re the best match since beer and pizza?
 


Excerpt

“INCOMING!”

At the shout Daniel Collins dropped to the floor. A projectile skimmed the top of his buzz cut and narrowly missed the bottles behind him.

“Quit throwing glasses at me,” he yelled, knowing he was wasting his breath and likely to get smacked in the mouth. It was futile. Everyone was too liquored up to pay any attention to the barmen cowering behind the thick mahogany bar.

That was their usual Friday-night entertainment at their favorite bar. Cowboys and Angels was a long established blue-collar bar, not a place for Wall Street suits or hipsters. Late afternoon, students came in search of jugs of cocktails and cheap beer. They vanished by early evening in search of music and dancing and left behind the construction workers and builders who came for the extensive list of draft beers and a chance to relax. On a Friday night, they’d get paid, arrive at Cowboys and Angels in time for happy hour, and drink with their buddies until closing. A fight was added entertainment. They’d throw punches with random glee, not caring where they connected. Then they’d go home, arms slung around the guy they’d been beating up ten minutes beforehand singing at the top of their voices.

So, Friday night as usual.

“They started early tonight.” Dan’s coworker Bradley ducked as a barstool went flying over their heads to crash into the fridge.

Dan cursed as the stool rebounded and caught him on the cheek. He was convinced he was going to end the evening in the ER, with stitches and a concussion. “Ariel’s in the bar.”

“Where the hell is Gideon? He’s supposed to keep her under control.” Bradley lobbed the stool back over the bar, not caring where it landed. From the pained grunt, he could tell it made contact with someone.

“Get him down here,” Dan ordered.

Arms over his head, Bradley crawled along the bar to the phone and dialed the boss’s number. “Boss, get her out of here now, or you won’t have a bar left.” He nodded at Dan. “He’s on his way.”

That was one of the things Dan appreciated about his boss—no questions, no discussion, just action. His daughter, Ariel, was like that too, except she was normally the center of all the trouble.

Time to shut the fight down before it got out of hand—more out of hand. Dan grabbed the baseball bat tucked behind the bar, sent up a quick prayer that he wasn’t about to get glassed, and got to his feet.

“Stop!” he yelled it at the top of his lungs, honed by years of practice. For a moment the action continued. A bottle crashed by his ear. “Cut it the fuck out,” he yelled again, feeling the sting in his other cheek. “The next person who twitches a muscle gets banned for life.” The occupants of the bar froze as though Dan had hit Pause on the remote control.

“Sorry, Dan.”

He didn’t know who made the muttered apology, and he didn’t care. Nobody moved a muscle. Their attention was fixed on the baseball bat Dan was smacking into one hand. So far Dan had never had to use the bat, and he intended to keep it that way. Dan saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and swung around, bat ready for action. Then he relaxed at the sight of the tall figure. “Boss.”

“Good job,” Gideon drawled.

Dressed in a tight black T-shirt with the blue Cowboy and Angels logo and jeans that molded his ass, he stood like a giant in the middle of the destruction. Originally from Texas, at six foot five, Gideon was two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. Despite being ten years older, he could bench-press Dan—and had—without breaking a sweat. There were men there who made Gideon look small, but they all listened to him. Not for the first time, Dan wished he had Gideon’s physical presence.

Gideon picked his way over the broken glass and tipped-over furniture to arrive at his daughter’s side. He held out his free hand and hauled her off the floor in one smooth move. “Ariel, darlin’, what happened this time?”

Ariel tossed her head and grinned at him. She had no shame. “No idea, Daddy. I was just here for a quiet drink with my friends.” She pointed to the two young men either side of her who stared at Gideon. Both of them wore terrified expressions.

“Darlin’, that’s the biggest pile of horse puckey you told me since the last time you destroyed my bar.” Gideon sounded more resigned than annoyed.


Review

Speed Dating the Boss is a most wonderful feel good story. It’s sweet, uplifting, at times laugh-out-loud funny and occasionally very touching.

Dan made me smile. That’s not to say I didn’t want to hit him upside the head once or twice, but overall, he was just adorable, be it somewhat oblivious to what was obvious to those around him. I loved his dedication to his not always easy job, and adored his loyalty to his friends. Even his kindness towards those who didn’t necessarily deserved it only went to show he’s a good man with his heart in the right place. If he had a fault it was that he wasn’t able to see that goodness in himself; all Dan could see were all the ways in which he wasn’t enough. Not educated enough, not smooth enough and, most importantly, nowhere near good enough for someone as awesome as his Gideon, his boss.

Gideon was no less wonderful. He’s a great employer and a fabulous, if over-indulgent, father to his spoilt but otherwise charming daughter.

When the story starts Dan has had a crush on Gideon for five years and is convinced he doesn’t stand a chance because he’s sure Gideon is straight. Even when he discovers, during the speed-dating night organized by Ariel, that Gideon is actually bi-sexual, he still isn’t able to see or believe that Gideon might be offering to be his date for the upcoming wedding for any other reason than to help him out.

Truth be told, Dan was VERY slow on the uptake. Then again, Gideon wasn’t trying very hard to spell it out for him either. What follows is a very slow-burn but rather touching period of getting to know each other outside their work environment and it isn’t until the actual day of the wedding that….

You didn’t honestly expect me to go on, did you? If you want to know more, you’ll have to read the book. And trust me, you do want to read Speed Dating the Boss if you enjoy a charming, very satisfying, and beautifully written romance. The two main characters are great, the secondary players provide a lot of excitement, some tension, and one or two laugh-out-loud moments, and the story as a whole is romantic enough to make your heart swell. Speed Dating the Boss is yet another winner from Sue Brown.

About the Author 


Cranky middle-aged author with an addiction for coffee, and a passion for romancing two guys. I love my dogs, I love my kids, and I love coffee; in which order very much depends on the time of day. 
 
Social Media Links: Blog/Website | Facebook Page 




Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win either a $15 Amazon or Dreamspinner gift card.




Saturday 23 June 2018

Daniel - The Third Legacy by RJ Scott - Review Tour




Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK - Now available in Kindle Unlimited

Length: 51,000 words approx

Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Legacy Series

Kyle - The First Legacy - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Gabriel - The Second Legacy - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Daniel worked hard at college, using coping strategies to shut himself off from any situation that might hurt. But, persistent nightmares and fears for his future drive him to revisit the past. Now Legacy might be the only place to give him a chance at peace.

After the tragic loss of his parents, Corey is head of the family now, and the welfare of his three younger sisters are what matters the most. Corey is desperate to find Daniel, tell him the truth and somehow convince him to keep secrets. Even if this leads to heartbreak.


When the world crumbles around Corey, and Daniel is running scared, Legacy ranch is their only hope.


A new story set in the world of Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes and the Double D Ranch, Texas.




June 23 - Xtreme Delusions, The Way She Reads, OMG Reads, Reading In Sarah's Corner, Abbey's Fully Booked, June 25 - Love My Reads, June 29 - The Novel Approach, Making It Happen, MM Good Book Reviews, The Geekery Book Review, Cupcakes & Bookshelves, RAM PA Group, July 2 - Mirrigold, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Gay Media Reviews, July 4 - Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Lelyana's Reviews, July 6 - Jim's Reading Room, July 11 - Padme's Library, Wicked Reads, July 13 - Lillian Francis, Virginia Lee


Excerpt


Chapter 1

Eight years ago

I want to go home.


Daniel Chandler trudged miserably down the long black ribbon of road, tears burning his eyes, and hopelessness tightening his chest. The heat of an August Texas day had subsided to a slightly cooler evening, and the sky was a brilliant mass of stars, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up at them anymore.

How had everything gone this badly wrong? Brett had promised that he would take Daniel somewhere far away from his foster family, but one weird question from an inquisitive cashier at a gas station and Brett had panicked. He’d refused to go any further, and said he was going home.

Daniel didn’t want to go back to San Antonio. He wanted freedom, and the ability to decide for himself where his life was going. He’d overheard his foster parents talking about how he was a liability; that he costed them more than they made, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they got rid of him anyway.

So he refused to leave with Brett and got out of the car.

Brett didn’t care, and he drove away, leaving Daniel stranded.

Daniel kicked a stone, stumbling a little when he misjudged the curve of the road. He’d eaten the cereal bars that Brett had tossed him and used up all the water. Which left him in the heat, without food or drink, and carrying a backpack with limited clothes. He also had books—his favorites, and a wallet which contained nothing more than a couple of hundred dollars he’d saved from his gardening job. The only official thing he had in the bag was his ID.

He’d left his most recent home at six-thirty a.m., with no real idea of where he was going or what he was doing, only knowing he wasn’t going to spend another minute in a house where he wasn’t wanted.

Hunching his shoulders against the weight of his backpack, he carried on. Sometimes he hummed to a song in his head. Other times he counted the steps he took, but most of the time he stared ahead, not counting or humming at all.

A car pulled up alongside him. No, a truck, and at first his heart leaped. Brett was back. He’d changed his mind and returned to help Daniel.

A female voice called out. “Can we give you a lift somewhere?” she asked through the open window.

Daniel saw she wasn’t much older than he was, long blonde hair swept up into a ponytail, her smile wide, her expression kind. A man sat in the driver’s seat, but he was in the shadows, and at first, Daniel couldn’t make out his face until he leaned forward. The first thing Daniel noticed was the dog collar, then the same kindly smile as the girl. They were clearly related, both fair, with light eyes and an angular balance to their features.

“Hello, young man. My daughter and I are heading to Laredo. Would you like us to take you?”

He smiled at Daniel, this man in black with the white collar. This was an average family. They probably thought he was a hitchhiker and were offering genuine help. If Daniel couldn’t trust a man of the cloth traveling with his daughter, then who could he trust? He scanned the road behind him, waiting for Brett to suddenly appear and pick him up, but he was tired, hungry, and verging on desperate.

“Thank you.” Daniel opened the back door. He’d never hitchhiked before, didn’t know what the etiquette was, but he felt like he should offer to pay. “I can cover gas,” he said.

“No need for that,” the dad said and extended a hand awkwardly over the seat, which Daniel shook. “Father Frank Martins and this is my daughter Andrea.”

Andrea glanced back at him and grinned again. “Hey.”

“Daniel,” Daniel replied, as mute as usual around a girl as he was with boys. She turned back to the front, and Frank put the truck in drive.

“Buckle up,” he said.

Daniel did as he was told. Then settled back for the ride.

“Where are you from?” Frank asked after a few moments of silence, filled only with the soft sound of tires on blacktop.

“San Antonio,” Daniel answered.

“Really? What brings you this far south?”

Andrea shushed her dad, “Stop asking him questions, Daddy.”

Her dad huffed a gentle laugh. “Sorry.” He used the mirror to see Daniel. “You like music?”

Daniel nodded, thankful to Andrea for running interference.

Frank fiddled with the stereo. Country music filled the cab, and Frank hummed along. Andrea was on her phone, as evidenced by the glow of light as screens changed, and Daniel regretted leaving his phone at home. In his mad, stupid, anger, he’d wanted no way for his foster parents to keep tabs on him, but right now, he kind of wished he could phone them. He should pluck up the courage and ask Andrea to borrow hers. Maybe give his foster-parents a quick call, apologize, get them to pick him up, or at least arrange a bus.

They would help him. He didn’t doubt that. Even if he’d been an idiot and they wanted to hand him off to the next family, they would never leave a fourteen year old kid stranded miles from home.

“You thirsty?” Frank asked, and before Daniel could answer, Frank had unlocked the glove box and pulled out a bottle of water, passing it back to Daniel.

He took it with grateful thanks and downed a third of it in thirsty gulps. They reached the outskirts of a small town, and the car slowed to a stop outside a cookie-cutter house, a pretty place with manicured lawns.

Andrea turned around to look at Daniel.

“This is where I get out,” she announced. “Nice to meet you, Daniel.”

I thought they were both going on to Laredo?

Frank turned around as well. “I can take you all the way into the city. It’s only another ten minutes or so to the bus station or somewhere like that? A hostel?”

“I’m not sure—”

Frank interrupted, “Or you could stay the night here or a motel. We have one a few blocks down from here.”

Andrea shut the door and jogged up to the house, vanishing inside.

“Could I just borrow your phone?” Daniel asked.

Frank smiled, nodded, and pulled out his phone, tutting as he did so. “Oh my, the phone’s dead. You want to use my house phone? Or shall I just get you to the city? The bus station, right? They have public phones there.”

So many decisions. So many difficult choices, he thought and yawned.

“Yeah.” Daniel just wanted to get home.

“Yeah, what?” Frank prompted.

Daniel blinked at him. He was tired, and everything felt kind of hazy. “Yeah, home.” Back to his pretend parents and his pretend family, but back to a warm bed.

“Come on. Get in the front here.”

Daniel did as he was told, his limbs feeling heavy, and his coordination shit. Finally, he was belted in the front, and he closed his eyes briefly, exhaustion washing over him.

“That’s a good boy,” Frank murmured. “You sleep now.”

The country music got quieter, Frank’s humming was louder, and the journey to the city took a long time, the car swaying, and Daniel’s head thicker, full of softness and a weird kind of peace. He saw fields and signs, but none of them made any sense. Finally, he couldn’t fight the overwhelming lethargy, so he slept.

And woke up in hell.


Review


Wow! This book is fabulous. Daniel’s story is heartbreaking, at times almost impossible to read, but also filled with love and hope and impossible to put down once you start reading. What is more, Daniel is also the perfect ending to what has been a very emotional and unforgettable reading experience. Legacy Ranch and those who’ve made their home their will remain a part of me for a very, very long time.

When this story starts neither Daniel nor Corey are in a good place. Daniel has managed to move to a place where he can pretend that he’s functioning—provided he sticks to his rigid schedules, avoids almost all contact with other people, and keeps his memories pushed down as far as he possible can—but all it takes is a minor upset, a small deviation from his normal routine to throw him back into an emotional nightmare. Corey is a mess. Trying to cope with having lost both his parents, suddenly being responsible for his three younger sisters, and uncovering a horrid family scandal involving an uncle he has always loved, his emotions are out of control. When Corey connects with Daniel, he’s like a bull in a china shop, breaching all the walls Daniel has erected around himself and his feelings to protect himself. And yet…there is a spark.

This is a very slow burn love story. It could never have been anything else. Both these men have too much to deal with, to come to terms with, to dive feet first into any form of relationship. And, for me, it was that slow build of trust, the time they take to get to know each other, that made this story extra-special. Because there are no miracle cures when it comes to healing from past abuse or from having everything you held to be true suddenly being in question.

I’m usually no good with angst, which made me fear I would have a hard time reading this book. It turned out I was worried for no good reason. Sure, there is a lot of pain in this story, but that makes this an emotional read, not necessarily an angsty book. Angsty for me is when the developing relationship falters, usually for what, in my eyes, is no good reason. David and Corey’s relationship, however, develops organically and in what I experienced as a realistic and rewarding way. So, while I have no doubt that those who love angsty reads will adore this book, I want to stress that even those who, like me, tend to avoid such reads, will find themselves hooked once they start Daniel and Corey’s story.

And finally I have to add that this book gave me the most satisfying ending to the Legacy Ranch series. I read the prologue with tears in my eyes and warmth filling my heart. As far as I’m concerned, this book is R.J. Scott at her best.

About the Author


RJ’s goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

RJ is the author of the over one hundred novels and discovered romance in books at a very young age. She realized that if there wasn’t romance on the page, she could create it in her head, and is a lifelong writer.


She lives and works out of her home in the beautiful English countryside, spends her spare time reading, watching films, and enjoying time with her family.


The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit and has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.






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Tuesday 19 June 2018

The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne




367 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Blurb

Professor Theo Cray is trained to see patterns where others see chaos. So when mutilated bodies found deep in the Montana woods leave the cops searching blindly for clues, Theo sees something they missed. Something unnatural. Something only he can stop.

As a computational biologist, Theo is more familiar with digital code and microbes than the dark arts of forensic sleuthing. But a field trip to Montana suddenly lands him in the middle of an investigation into the bloody killing of one of his former students. As more details, and bodies, come to light, the local cops determine that the killer is either a grizzly gone rogue… or Theo himself. Racing to stay one step ahead of the police, Theo must use his scientific acumen to uncover the killer. Will he be able to become as cunning as the predator he hunts—before he becomes its prey?

Review

I got this book from the library because it came recommended, and I have to admit I had high expectations when I started reading. I’m sorry to say that now that I’ve finished the story, I’m not as impressed as I’d hoped to be. While this wasn’t a bad book or story, it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the blurb appeared to suggest.

For starters, the story is very heavy on science, especially in the opening chapters. And while I understand that Theo’s background and unique perspective needed to be explained, there was so much in those early chapters that went straight over my head, that the urge to skim was strong from the start.

Like I said, I did like the blurb and by extension, the premise of the book. It’s rather chilling but probably true that there are far more serial killers out there than we’re aware of. Unless patterns are recognized and the killers caught, we may be blissfully unaware that such a monster is operating in our vicinity. But, for me, the author pushed this premise so far. Because while I’m more than happy to accept that law enforcement might miss similar murders/disappearances as long as they are happening in different jurisdiction or with very long intervals between two cases, I refuse to believe they’d stubbornly continue to accept the possible truth when presented with overwhelming evidence that something sinister might be going on.

True, this thriller is not unique in this premise. Many books put an innocent protagonist up against ignorant law-enforcers and there is no doubt that such a storyline can lead to an engrossing read. However, in this book I feel the author pushed the idea well beyond credibility.

It didn’t help that I couldn’t really connect with Theo—although he did intrigue me— or with any of the other characters in this book. I never lost myself in the story but always felt like an outsider, observing from the outside. And for me, the joy of thrillers lies in being so engrossed in the developing story that I worry about the main characters to the point where I’m torn between needing to know what happens next and being afraid to turn to the next page. Not once did I get that feeling while reading this book.

My final regret about this book is that it was written in the first person, present tense, which resulted in it ending on what can only be described as a cliffhanger. I. Do. Not. Like. Cliffhangers.

But, having said all of that, there is no denying that this stories premise is very interesting and that there were more than a few scenes I did thoroughly enjoy. So while I can’t whole-heartedly recommend this book, I wouldn’t warn people away either. In fact, I may well end up the next book in this series, just to satisfy my curiosity and see whether or not those issues persist. Because one thing is for sure, Andrew Mayne knows how to write well and has created a thoroughly intriguing character in Theo Cray.