Blog Tour + Giveaway: Absinthe of Malice (Sinners, #5) by Rhys Ford

Rhys Ford has dropped by the clubhouse today! And she didn't come empty handed! To celebrate her upcoming release,  Absinthe of Malice, the fifth book from her popular Sinners series, Rhys is giving away TWO prizes: $20 gift certificate of the winner's choice and an Audible audiobook for one book (winner's choice)!

Check out our review of Absinthe of Malice here! Spoiler Free!

Thank you all for following the Absinthe of Malice blog tour! This is the fifth novel in the series and well, is a different kind of book. This is a beginning of sorts, a resurrection for most of the band members and the first step in a journey they will take together. Miki, Damie, Forest and Rafe in a van. Together. Cross-country and playing their hearts and souls out.

With a bit of trouble and love along the way.

I hope you enjoy it and like Applejack Shots and Beer, the story I’ll be telling across the blog tour.

OH! And the giveaway! Because we always need a giveaway. And there will be ONE winner for EVERY blog tour stop!

Enter by June 27th 11:59pm EST and win:

A $20 gift certificate to the online store of your choice
AND an audiobook code from Audible
(which you can use on any audiobook or save for Tristan’s voicing of Absinthe)

See you on the Other Side.

§

Applejack Shots and Beer Part 8

Devil by my side, a devil I know

Riding the Crossroads, heading to the next show

Hearing my name on the crowd, never thought I’d be back

House lights going down, time to dance in the black

— Breathing Again

Miki tilted his head back, burrowing deeper into the cushions. Staring out into the rain-thickened fog, he took a deep breath, drawing on the crispness in the early evening air then grunted, “Huh.”

Dude sighed, his body going lax. Tucked between two of his favourite humans, he slagged down into the cushions and Miki braced himself in case the dog gassed them but nothing whispered from the canine’s body except for a fluttering snore.

“Sorry.” Miki shrugged when Donal shot him a perplexed look. “He got into Chang’s garbage when I went to grab lunch. Chomped down half a head of rotten cabbage before I could stop him.” Nudging the dog’s ass with his toe was a life lesson in letting sleeping dogs lie because Dude retaliated with a slithering curl of acrid aroma. “Shit. Fuck. Sorry.”

“Ah’ve got six boys, Mick.” Donal coughed through his smile. “That’s practically perfume after having three brawny teenage boys sharing the attic rooms.”

“Yeah, kind of like a tour van,” he grimaced. “Shit, that’s something I don’t miss. You know how hard it is to find time to wash clothes when you’re on tour? It’s fucking impossible. At least if we stay in good hotels, you can toss it into that plastic bag and they’ll wash your shit. Instead, now we’ve got to hoard quarters and hunt up Laundromats everywhere we go.”

“So yer not wanting to go then?” Donal’s prodding was subtle but Miki could feel the older man poking around the tender scabs in his soul. “On tour with the boys.”

“Yeah, I want to go,” Miki whispered. “More than fucking anything else in the world. I just… fuck, Dad, suppose something happens when I’m halfway across the damned country? I’ve never had to worry about leaving someone behind, you know? And then there’s… Johnny and Dave. I know what they’d say. Dave—mostly because Johnny’d be drunk and grabbing any angel’s ass who got too close to him—but Dave’d tell me I was being stupid. That I should go because it’s in me, right? Like an itch I couldn’t reach for fucking ever and now, I can dig in deep and scratch as hard as I want.”

Donal nodded, a solemn, still granite of a man who unnervingly wore an older version of Kane’s face. Connor’s mannerisms were more like his father but it was Kane who reminded him the most of Donal. They both had an unwavering, entrenched feel to them, spiritual mountains set into the raging rivers of life. Not to mention the irritating knack to punch through a situation with a few words and Miki was forced to roll over and show belly when he least expected it.

And this time, as much as Miki was ready for Donal to turn him inside out, he wasn’t prepared for the stab of Donal’s Irish-slathered words.

“Maybe, Miki boy, it’s time for ye to admit that when they died, ye crawled into their coffin with them and waited for someone to toss dirt on yer aching soul.” Donal shifted, sliding his arm around Miki’s shoulder, pulling him in until they lay side by side with hardly any room for Dude between them. “AhI won’t let ye bury yerself with yer mates, son. Aye, it may seem harsh but when it’s all said and done, yer too dear to me and mine to put into the earth just yet.”

It felt…odd lying next to Donal. A gasping remnant of loathing and fear scrabbled up from the back of his mind, its mewling, scratchy whine screaming about another time—another man—another lifetime and Miki shoved the brittle, sharp terror back into the shadows where it’d been born. He no longer smelled of blood and sweat. His belly didn’t twist with hunger. His body wasn’t bruised and the only wounds he bore on his skin were minor pecks left from snapped guitar strings and a few welts on his chest where Kane’d bit him that morning during sex.

He could face down a crazy man with a gun or launch himself into a broken-bottle pub brawl without a second thought but laying next to a man he’d come to think of as his father left Miki shaking and weak. Blinking back the tears swelling in his eyes, he swallowed and bit his lip, focusing on the frayed shoelaces on Donal’s left boot. The panic passed and only an odd disquiet remained, assuring him of Donal’s faith in him and how hard he’d fought to get himself to a place where he could simply be held.

Sometimes, Miki’d learned, it was the peace and quiet he feared more than anything else. Not because he believed Damien, Kane or Donal would hurt him but because he expected the violence—shaming the affection they held for him.

“Talk to me, Miki boy,” Donal murmured, keeping still when Miki wiggled his shoulder blades to angle himself better against Donal’s thickly muscled arm. “Are ye alright? Is this too much—”

“I’m good. It’s just…me and hugs are kind of like other guys having to learn how to take a punch. You know it’s going to happen but you’ve got no fucking clue how much it’s going to hurt. Or not hurt.” Pursing his lips, Miki mulled over Donal’s words, finding more than a few grains of truth in them. “Yeah, you’re right. I mean, I know you’re right…about Dave and Johnny…and it’s stupid because I know they’re not coming back and shit, I know Forest and Rafe aren’t here to replace them. Maybe ‘cause it’s all new and different and I’m just not fucking ready for that.”

“So what are ye going to do then, kiddo?” His…father… hugged him, squeezing his shoulders in one-armed clenched strong enough to rattle Miki’s bones. “If ye think ye’re not ready, then tell them. But if ye are, then go.”

“I’m not going to know until I get out there,” he admitted softly. “It’s kind learning how to take a hug. It’s a good thing, something I want really fucking badly, but I’m scared it’ll hurt.”

“Then if it hurts and ye stumble, Mick, ye know we’ll all be there for ye,” Donal promised softly, ruffling Miki’s hair with a brief kiss on the side of his head. “No matter what, all of us….Morgans and yer boys…we’re here to catch ye if ye fall.”

§

Absinthe of Malice
by Rhys Ford

We’re getting the band back together.

Those five words send a chill down Miki St. John’s spine, especially when they’re spoken with a nearly religious fervor by his brother-in-all-but-blood, Damien Mitchell. However, those words were nothing compared to what Damien says next.

And we’re going on tour.

When Crossroads Gin hits the road, Damien hopes it will draw them closer together. There’s something magical about being on tour, especially when traveling in a van with no roadies, managers, or lovers to act as a buffer. The band is already close, but Damien knows they can be more—brothers of sorts, bound not only by familial ties but by their intense love for music.

As they travel from gig to gig, the band is haunted by past mistakes and personal demons, but they forge on. For Miki, Damie, Forest, and Rafe, the stage is where they all truly come alive, and the music they play is as important to them as the air they breathe.

But those demons and troubles won’t leave them alone, and with every mile under their belts, the band faces its greatest challenge—overcoming their deepest flaws and not killing one another along the way.

Purchase Absinthe of Malice at these and other fine booksellers:

Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/absinthe-of-malice-by-rhys-ford-7175-b

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Absinthe-Malice-Sinners-Book-5-ebook/dp/B01GJ3KPG0/

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-absintheofmalice-2049994-145.html

Follow the Absinthe of Malice Tour and Enter to Win on Each Blog!

13 June: Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews (http://sinfullymmbookreviews.blogspot.com/)

14 June: MM Good Book Reviews (https://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/

15 June: Prism Alliance (http://www.prismbookalliance.com/)

16 June: It’s About the Book (http://itsaboutthebook.com/)

17 June: Under the Covers Book Blog (http://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/ )

18 June: The Blogger Girls (http://thebloggergirls.com/)

19 June: Rainbow Gold Reviews (https://rainbowgoldreviews.wordpress.com/)

20 June: Boy Meets Boy (www.boymeetsboyreviews.com)

21 June: Joyfully Jay (http://joyfullyjay.com/)

22 June: The Novel Approach (http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/)

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Rhys Ford was born and raised in Hawai’i then wandered off to see the world. After chewing through a pile of books, a lot of odd food, and a stray boyfriend or two, Rhys eventually landed in San Diego, which is a very nice place but seriously needs more rain.

Rhys admits to sharing the house with three cats of varying degrees of black fur and a ginger cairn terrorist. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, a Toshiba laptop, and an overworked red coffee maker.

To enter to win, leave a comment below with a valid way to contact you (ex. email address, Twitter handle [not private], Goodreads profile link) 

Giveaway is open to TWO winners - 1st prize: $20 gift certificate of winner's choice; 2nd prize: an Audible book code. 

Please respond with 48 hours of contact (should you win) or we'll have to select another winner. Contest ends 6/27/16 11:59pm EST

Good luck!