Review: How to Be a Movie Star (How to be #2) by T.J. Klune

Josiah Erickson wants to be a movie star. The problem with that is so does half of Los Angeles. But he’s on his way, what with memorable roles as a TV show background cadaver and a guy in a commercial for herpes medication. All he needs is his big break. And that break may come in the form of a novelist who goes by the enigmatic name of Q-Bert.

Q-Bert, who is ready to make his directorial debut in a film Josy would be perfect for. Q-Bert, who Josy may or may not have a friend-crush on, and potentially something more. Being demisexual can be confusing.

From the City of Angels to the small mountain town of Abby, Oregon, Josy will give his all to make sure his dreams come true—even the ones he never thought possible.

If you loved the exchange between Josy and Gus in How to be a Normal Person, where they ad-lib the Chicken Soup commercial and turn it into one of the darkest scenes for Chicken Soup ever, then you will love this glimpse into Josy’s life.

A continuation of the ridiculousness that was How to be a Normal Person (one of my favourite books for quirky fun) I’m so glad TJ Klune was compelled against his word of no sequels, to produce this. I know he wasn’t expecting it (going by his blog post) but I’m glad it’s out there.

Quincy is making a ridiculous movie backed by his grandfather, and Josy has been cast as the leading man. They are filming in Abby so all the favs from the first book are back in action.

Josy is a method actor and will be in character at the most inopportune times. He also has a friend-crush on his now director boss, which causes all sorts of weirdness and hilarity.

If you like stoner-hipster stereotypes with weird dialogue and not quite reality, you’ll enjoy this book. It is a piece of abstract art that is a celebration of all that could be if you just believe you’re awesome, smoke a lot of weed, and ignore the world around you.

There is a lot of sweetness in this story, and Josy is everything I imagine him to be. Quite frankly, he is adorable, and the most clueless being I have ever read. It's endearing.

I do recommend you read the first book before you read this, as the character background, especially Gus, is required to fully enjoy this story.

Recommended to everyone who enjoyed How to be a Normal Person.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion

Giveaway + Release Blitz: Match Grade - Criminal Delights: Assassins by G.B. Gordon

Celebrate the release of Match Grade with author G.B. Gordon & Signal Boost Promotions. Find out more about this dark romance, read an excerpt & enter in the giveaway for a backlist ebook from the author! Good luck!

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

Length: 156 pages

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Blurb

SOME MATCHES SPARK AN INFERNO


Eirik Haldurson is a hitman. Kidnapped at age five and cruelly trained by his captor, he is today one of the most sought-after contract killers alive. Emotional distance from his targets, brutally beaten into him until it became second nature, is now the only way he can function. Lately though, that distance has started to elude him.

And when a Colombian drug cartel contracts Eirik to take out ex-soldier-turned-vigilante, Matt Moreno, distance is suddenly as close as heat to fire. And all hell breaks loose.


This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.

Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.

Excerpt

Match Grade -- high precision firearms, ammunition, or other devices suitable for a competitive match

CHAPTER ONE

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

-Sun Tzu

Eirik had been ready to close the contract yesterday, but no one should have to die in the rain. Today the sky was a bright blue, so the last thing the target would feel would be the sun on her face. Irrelevant.


He quickly checked his wardrobe in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place. He'd picked the navy blue suit and coat. They were perfect to blend in with the hundreds of business people attending the conference. Or the thousands milling about on the plaza of the office building across the road. Ants. Point was, he would be neither well-dressed, nor shabby enough to be remembered by any one of them. Not to be remembered was the goal.


He pulled his shirt cuffs out below the hem of his jacket sleeves, then slipped his coat on and pocketed the micro syringe he'd filled earlier. The target would be walking across the plaza at 12:15. She was always on time. He liked that about her. There wasn't much else he'd learned to like in the week he'd been studying her movements. She was pissy with baristas and servers, and never had the time of day for the porter in her building.


Focus. This wasn't about likes; it was a contract, nothing personal.


Not liking her made it easier, though. Don't think about targets as people. Gunnar's cardinal rule. How was his brain always forgetting that?


He went over the plan in the elevator. Not because it was complicated or involved in any way, but simply because that was what he did. Good planning made for a smooth contract solution, and he liked smooth. Smooth kept him alive and out of prison.


As the doors opened, he assumed the slightly hunched posture that made his height less conspicuous, then melted into the crowd.


The lobby was packed with a busload of tourists hovering on small islands of luggage he maneuvered around, giving everyone as wide a berth as possible.


"Mr. Kennedy! Good morning! Mr. Kennedy?"


He was almost at the door before a tiny alarm went off in his brain and he remembered that he was Paul Kennedy this weekend, a trader from Butt-fuck, Indiana. Get with the program already, brain.

He turned back toward the reception desk with an apologetic smile and a tap against his temple. "Sorry, my mind was elsewhere."


"No worries." The receptionist handed him a note. "Your office called, Sir. They're asking for a call back."


"Thank you." The office meant the client. And the client was not supposed to call the hotel unless it was an emergency. Eirik crumpled up the note and dropped it in his pocket as he got his phone out. There was a corner behind a planter, away from the tourists, that promised a little more quiet, and he made his way over as he dialled the number he'd memorized.


"Where the fuck are you?" the voice with the heavy Spanish accent said without greeting. "Is it done? What's keeping you?"


"Having to call you back is keeping me," he said quietly. "What's the emergency?"


"Mierda. Call me immediately when you're done." The line went dead.


He inhaled a long breath, counted to ten, then slowly let it out. People who couldn't stick to the plan were top of his shit-list. It doesn't matter. It doesn't change anything. Don't get riled up. You have a job to do.


He checked his watch. 12:07. Eight minutes to rendezvous. He needed to get a move on. He wanted to be in place and have ample time to identify the target. There was a sweet spot just to the left of the plaza's center where the stream of people was thickest between the planted area on the edge and the fountain in the middle. That was where he needed to be.


#


The sunshine was a welcome change from the raw, grey week that had led into October. And for once the Windy City was pleasantly calm. It meant he could choose his position without having to stay out of water spray. People would notice a man oblivious of getting soaked by a fountain. To be noticed meant to be remembered. You're walking too tall, boy. An assassin has to be like a ghost--unseen and unheard.


Well, Gunnar was a ghost now. Eirik just wished his voice had died with the man. But it was always there, still as commanding now as it had been in life. Eirik was used to it reminding him of the technicalities of his job: trajectories, method, weather... Though lately it was displaying a disturbing fixation with Eirik's frame of mind.


He kept his eyes on the entrance of the building over the rim of his phone. Standing with nothing to do would attract attention.


12:14--if she didn't show today, he would try again tomorrow. Nope, there she was, hurrying across the plaza to the little cafe where she ate her lunch. Eirik kept the phone up and started walking.


Gunnar clutching at his throat with both hands as the blood spurted through his fingers.


The memory shockingly unexpected, and vivid enough to blind him. He shook his head like a man emerging from water to get rid of it.


Five steps to target. His free hand dove into his pocket and closed around the syringe, thumb on the shortened plunger. The micro needle barely registered with most people. She wouldn't know anything was wrong until she was already sitting at her table, eating her lunch. And then it would be too late.


He walked straight into her. "Oh Jesus, I'm so sorry." Both arms out to catch her, needle into the meaty part of the arm.


The boy losing his grip on the grocery bag when the shot rang out, oranges rolling everywhere. The father dropping to his knees, a red mark like a third eye between his brows, the back of the head disintegrating in a spray of debris.


"...you're going, you dumb ox!" Her shrill insult brought him back. Shit, he couldn't deal with memory flashes now. He needed his eyes and ears in the present, not the past.


"Sorry again. That was entirely my fault."


You have to pay more attention, Rikki. Don't read and walk at the same time.


Eirik barely stopped himself from clapping his hands over his ears to keep his mother's voice out. More ghosts. But this one was more recent. And much more distracting. He didn't have to fake his confusion, or how shaken he was.


"You're darn right it was." She shrugged his hands off and took a step away. "One of these days those stupid phones are going to kill someone."


One of these days? He didn't say that, though. Stood there, contrite without commenting. Without looking back at her. Trying to will his brain into compliance.


Finally she turned away. She would remember him, but it didn't matter. She wouldn't be around to answer questions.


He watched her enter the cafe, then pocketed his phone and the tiny syringe that was perfectly invisible in his palm.


His hand was shaking.


Why the fuck was his hand shaking?


With a glance around he assured himself that no one else was watching, then strode to the other end of the plaza. And further. He couldn't remember where he'd planned to go after. All he could do was walk, walk away from the ghosts of the past, the shaking hands. Like a wounded animal, he was looking for a cave to hide out in until he was better. Because he would get better. Right?

G.B.Gordon worked as a packer, landscaper, waiter, and coach before going back to school to major in linguistics and, at 35, switch to less backbreaking monetary pursuits like translating, editing, and writing.


Having lived in various parts of the world, Gordon is now happily ensconced in suburban Ontario with the best of all husbands.

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Website | BookBub

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

Review: The Key of Solomon: Amber Moon by Hurri Cosmo

Lucas has a low-paying, dead-end job, lives in a tiny apartment, and can count his close friends on one hand. Well, one finger actually, and for all the sympathy she has, it may as well be the middle one. No, Lucas’s life is not one any would truly strive for. However, it keeps him from thinking too much about his distant past and the one man who had gently held his heart… but then ripped it right out of his chest and crushed it under his expensive leather Gucci’s. As a teenager not even out of the closet yet, surviving the fallout became unbearable so Lucas did the only thing he could. He disappeared.

Fourteen painful years later and Lucas is ready to move on. He’s going to finally kill his unrequited love for Ryder once and for all.
That’s when the magic of Solomon and his galactic bar sweep in. Seems Lucas had the audacity to query the gods in the form of a fist to the sky. The cosmic bartender couldn’t resist taking up the challenge. Mainly because Solomon holds many keys and one of them just happens to be to Lucas’s happiness. He only needs to convince Lucas of that.

Shouldn’t be too difficult… right?

I’m a big fan of Hurri Cosmo and I’ve enjoyed every story of hers that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. There was a lot I liked in Amber Moon, but there were a few things that I had trouble with and I just couldn’t let them go.

The stuff I liked was the bulk of the stuff, so that was good. The two MC’s are basic guys that you could run into anywhere. I appreciated that, it was nice to read about two good guys getting their second chance. Poor Lucas and his unrequited love for Ryder. We’ve all felt that all-consuming crush feeling for another human at some point in our lives and while Lucas’ was much more lengthy and consumed him to bits, I had to empathize with the guy.

Ryder is a bit of a mystery at first, but once he gets fully introduced and his whole side of the story is told I rooted for him too. Turns out Lucas wasn’t the only one crushing but if they hadn’t gone through the bittersweet the way they did, and taken the time to grow up, the adulty love they fell into wouldn’t have been as strong.

I felt a disconnect when it came to Solomon and his “galactic bar” - as described in the blurb. I got very little of that from the story itself. Sure, the bar was some paranormal portal, etc. but the blurb did lead me to believe that the whole bar thing was going to be way more than it was. The blurb made it sound important (and a fun plot point) but the presence in the actual story felt like more of an afterthought that wasn’t completely formed. I was kind of bummed and it seemed like a missed opportunity.

Now the thing that I just couldn’t with. Lucas has a best friend named Molly, who is, to put it bluntly, a real bitch. She’s rude, mean and was too off putting for me. Why would Lucas even hang out with her?? The story is too short to have a character I hated this hard. Any page time with her made me cringe and that was a bummer.

I would love to have Molly be ditched completely and more time devoted to the paranormal aspect of the story. And then, once Lucas and Ryder got together, a little more time to rebuild their connection before the declarations of love. I wanted those declarations, believe me, I did, but after 14 years, I wanted them to work up to it a little.

Overall, I did enjoy the story, but needed a bit more balance with the paranormal aspect and a lot less Molly to fully be able to appreciate Ryder and Lucas in the end.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Giveaway + Release Blitz: Escaping Camp Roosevelt by Bryan T. Clark

Help celebrate the release of Escaping Camp Roosevelt with author Bryan T. Clark & Signal Boost Promotions. Find out more about this contemporary romance & where 100% of the proceeds go for the first year of publication. Also be sure to enter the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway hosted by the author.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

Length: 87,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Karrie Jax

Blurb

“He’s a bad boy—cocky and damaged. So, why can’t I stop thinking about him?"


Broken Dreams

Sociable and unselfish, eighteen-year-old Tucker Graves loves two things—his darling little sister and the thrill of playing baseball. He never dreamed that he’d be homeless, but after a series of misfortunes, his life is nothing like he could have possibly imagined. Shocked and shattered, Tucker, his mother, and his baby sister now must brave the dangers of a dilapidated homeless encampment called Camp Roosevelt.


A Wounded Heart

Homeless since the age of fourteen, Dancer has mastered the tricks of living on the streets as a sex worker. The quiet, reclusive, and calculating ways of this twenty-year-old, green-eyed Adonis help him to survive. He hides his emotional scars from the world by interacting only with his clients, whose occasional bizarre requests he reluctantly fulfills. Dancer’s past has taught him to trust no one.


A Second Chance

When Tucker and Dancer come face to face on a stormy night, having been thrown together under the same roof, Tucker brings out a feeling in Dancer that he didn’t know still existed in him—desire. Neither man can deny the attraction he feels for the other. But some scars run deep, causing both Tucker and Dancer to question whether falling in love is even possible, especially when survival is on the line.


Bryan T. Clark is a multi-published, Rainbow Award-winning author and LAMBDA finalist.


*** One hundred percent of the royalties from the first year of this novel’s publication is being donated to the Larkin Street Youth Services/Castro Youth Housing Initiative. The CYHI provides transitional housing in the city of San Francisco, California, for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. Fear of being raped, abused, or murdered should not be a part of anyone’s youth.

Bryan T. Clark is a Lambda Literary finalist and Rainbow Award winning author of gay romance, and contemporary books. He is also a funny, loving, family-oriented, and proud member of the LGBT community. Behind his computer, working on his next novel, Bryan writes romance with an emphasis on moral dilemma. His multicultural characters and riveting plots embody real life, filled with challenges, personal growth, and, of course, what we all desire—love.


In his work, he is known to push the boundaries with brilliantly crafted stories of friendship, love, complicated relationships, and challenges all woven into a hard-earned happily-ever-after.


When Bryan is not writing, he enjoys reading a great book, traveling, lying by a body of water soaking up the sun, and watching a good movie while snuggled up with his husband on the couch with their loyal companion Nettie, the Sheepadoodle.


Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Bryan has made his home and life in the Central Valley of California.


Author’s website: www.btclark.com

Twitter: @BryanTClarkx2

Facebook: BryanTclarkauthor@facebook.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/romanceauthor/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7875459.Bryan_T_Clark.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

Blog Tour: Made for You (Love & Family #2) by Anyta Sunday

Anyta Sunday and A Novel Take PR visit with an exclusive for new release, Made for You (Love &Family #2)! Learn more about the contemporary romance today!

Made For You by Anyta Sunday

Series: Love & Family #2

Publisher: Anyta Sunday (self-published)

Release Date (Print & Ebook):
May 1st 2019

Subgenre: Contemporary gay romance, friends-to-lovers, age gap (May-December)

Links: https://www.anytasunday.com/projects/made-for-you/
https://amzn.to/2XIAB0a

Book synopsis:

Ben wants to find a new home.
Twenty-four-year-old Ben McCormick is the primary caregiver for his brother Milo after their parent’s death. A year into the job, he’s totally got the hang of it. Mostly. Sort of. Not at all?
Defeated and thoroughly chastised for his lack in parenting skills at teacher-parent night, Ben slumps away with the resolve to finally get his life sorted: be a better role model, and sell their parents’ house for a fresh start.
But first, he needs to spruce up his house to hit the market. He’s no DIY king, but Milo’s hot-as-hell woodwork teacher is…

Jack wants an old home to fix.
Thirty-nine-year-old Jack Pecker is waiting for the home of his dreams to come on the market in the summer. What better way to wait the interim months than working on a small renovation gig?
Only trouble is, the gig is for the McCormick brothers. And working in close quarters to red-haired Ben McCormick won’t be easy. Not with the attraction that simmers between them. Attraction Ben makes no effort to hide.
But Jack’s professional. Dating a parent is highly discouraged at Kresley Intermediate, and he’d never cross the lines…

Ben and Jack. Two guys searching for a home – a home that might just be where their hearts lead them.
~ - ~ - ~
Set in New Zealand, Made For You (Love & Family #2) is an MM gay romance featuring two guys at very different places in their lives – but both finding out they are looking for the same thing.
Can be read as a standalone.

Tropes: friends-to-lovers, slow burn, age gap, found family
Genre: New Adult, light-hearted contemporary gay romance

Exclusive Excerpt for BMBR:

Jack’s eyes track the road. He stops at stop signs. Slows for orange. Carefully steps on the brake. Never stalls.
It’s lulling.
Like it could help me finally sleep.
“Milo saw you looking into real estate agents.”
I rake a hand through my hair and laugh. “I’m such a fucking idiot. That’s what he saw?”
Jack’s hands shift on the wheel, veins prominent. “I don’t dare ask what you thought he saw.”
“I don’t dare tell you!”
Jack’s laughter is full-hearted, deep, and infectious. “He asked if I could somehow stop you from selling.”
“Why would he think you could stop me?”
Those green eyes snuck to mine. “It’s known around school that I’m into renovation and remodeling. I just sold my last place to our gym teacher.”
“Was that what you meant by having no home?”
Jack tenses, and quickly inclines his head. “Sure.”
There’s more to it. I’m a questionable influence, not emotionally clueless.
I know better than to pry. Usually. “Where are you living?”
“Newtown. Sharing a wall with my ex and his partner, and on the hunt for a new project.” He winks, and I’m not immune to its power. Especially on the heels of that insight.
Milo’s teacher. Milo’s gay teacher.
Milo’s ruggedly hot, gay teacher.

About Anyta Sunday:

A bit about me: I'm a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.
Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.
I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy.
My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Thai.

Connect with Anyta:
Author website: http://www.anytasunday.com/
Author newsletter signup: http://www.anytasunday.com/newsletter-free-e-book/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anytasundaybooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anytasunday
Instagram: https://instagram.com/anytasunday
BookBub: https://bookbub.com/authors/anyta-sunday

Giveaway + Blog Tour: Running On Empty (Havoc #3) by S.E. Jakes

Welcome author SE Jakes & Riptide Publishing who are celebrating the release of Running on Empty (Havoc #3)! Find out more about the latest installment & the series below. Be sure to leave a comment to be enter to win an ecopy of Running Wild (Havoc #1) below! Good luck!

About Running on Empty

After years of running wild, Linc might’ve finally run out of road.

After a brutal capture at the hands of the Heathens Motorcycle Club, Linc is just trying to heal, mentally and physically. But he’s got men in his life who are complicating everything. There’s Mercy—a Havoc MC biker and the man he is falling fast for—plus an undercover ATF agent and a rogue Havoc member.

But Mercy's keeping him at arm’s length, and Linc is spinning. In an attempt to regain his equilibrium, he heads to the bar where he first met Mercy. Night after night, he escapes Havoc bonds and continues down his merry path of mayhem . . . mainly in the hopes that Mercy will give chase.

Since Linc’s capture by his old MC, Mercy's been dealing with the fallout of his guilt. He’s trying to give Linc space and still watch over him—all without Linc’s knowledge. But with Linc’s old job calling and a threat to Havoc MC heating up, can they make their way back together?

Now available from Riptide Publishing.

About the Havoc Series

Welcome to Shades Run, where the notorious Havoc Motorcycle Club runs wild and free. Havoc’s got a long reach and strong community ties, and is always on the lookout for infiltrators like ATF agents, car thieves, and others who might harm their enterprises. Havoc’s community is tough to penetrate, but once these hard-living motorcycle men have taken you in, saved your life (maybe after threatening it a few times), or even fallen in love with you, you’re Havoc MC forever. Unless you’re one of their enemies, in which case you’re completely out of luck.

Check out Havoc today.

About SE Jakes

SE Jakes writes m/m romance. She believes in happy endings and fighting for what you want in both fiction and real life. She lives in New York with her family, and most days, she can be found happily writing (in bed). No really...

SE Jakes is the alter ego of New York Times bestselling paranormal and romantic suspense author Stephanie Tyler.

Connect with SE:

●      Website: sejakes.com

●      Tumblr: sejakes.tumblr.com

●      Twitter: @authorsejakes

●      Facebook: Facebook.com/SEJakes

●      Email: authorsejakes@gmail.com

●      Goodreads author page: goodreads.com/S_E_Jakes

●      Goodreads author group: Ask SE Jakes

To celebrate this release, one lucky person will win an ecopy of Running Wild, the first book in the Havoc series! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 4, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info.

Release Blitz + Giveaway: Gotta Catch Her by Kelly Haworth

Celebrate the release of Gotta Catch Her with author Kelly Haworth and Indigo Marketing! Learn more about the contemporary romance and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!

Title: Gotta Catch Her

Author: Kelly Haworth

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: April 29, 2019

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 34800

Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, contemporary, lesbian, bisexual, social/augmented reality gaming, kids, pets, sexting, workplace issues

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Who says phone games are only for kids? Sometimes they give just the respite you need from a hectic life. At least, that’s the way Ann feels about Ani-min Move, an AR mobile game full of cartoon animals caught with nets. Legendary raids have just launched, and Ann arrives at a nearby park to find it full of people of all ages playing the game, including Rachael, a kind, attractive single mom. And sweet! Rachael is more than willing to teach Ann the proper way to spin her nets to snag the raid boss.

Back in reality, Ann has a lot on her plate: a full workload as a project manager, finding the energy to walk her dog, Franny, and now trying to figure out if Rachael is queer. And how does Ann converse with Rachael about her six-year-old son when she doesn’t know a thing about parenting?

Ann is lost as to how to proceed until Rachael takes the guesswork out of the equation by proclaiming she’s bi—right when Ann gets a massive work assignment that consumes way too much of her time. Life/work balance was never Ann’s forte, but between caring for her sweetheart dog and figuring out how to navigate a relationship with a single parent, Ann’s determined to make it work, especially before Rachael gets cold feet and leaves Ann playing by herself.

So, collect those ultra-nets, Ann. Can you catch her?

Excerpt

Gotta Catch Her
Kelly Haworth © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Why did Ani-min Move have to launch new features on a weekday? The last thing I wanted to do when I got home from the office was immediately drag my ass back outdoors.

“I’m tired, Franny,” I said, putting my feet onto the coffee table, relieved to have them out of the little heels that were the curse of business casual. Frances cocked her head at me, her fluffy ears going askew. “But it looks like they’re launching legendary raids, and I am not missing that.”

After starting the update to my Ani-min Move app, I put down my phone while the update installed. Franny lowered her head to her paws and whined.

“I know, I know. A walk would be better than the apartment’s dog yard.”

Who knew eight hours at a desk would be so exhausting? But doing the same thing every day really grated on a person. Make sure this client has their order placed correctly. Keep that project running on time. Figure out why supplies are delayed. So much communication, so much organization, so much waiting.

I ran my fingers through my brunette hair, scratching my scalp and enjoying the ten seconds of silence.

At least, until Franny barked.

“Okay, honey. Let me get out of these slacks.”

I pushed myself to my feet and strode across the living room, wincing at the tumbleweeds of golden retriever fur under the kitchen table. This is why I’m single, I berated myself. Not that there’d be anyone datable over to see it, especially with my reluctance to use dating apps. And Sacramento was a big city, but dating was intimidating enough for me to hesitate in visiting downtown’s gay clubs. Besides, what would I wear?

I stripped out of my slacks and blouse, tossing them into the pile slowly accumulating on one side of my bedroom, and pulled on my comfy stretch pants and a bright pink tank top.

Oh, it was so tempting to collapse onto my side of the bed—avoiding the piles of fur where Franny slept on her side—and browse the internet or read until I fell asleep.

But that was one of the many reasons why I had Frances. Personal accountability. She got me out of the house every day, kept me walking and breathing fresh air.

“Okay girl, where’s your leash?”

The scramble of nails on the fake hardwood floors echoed down the hall as Franny dashed into the kitchen where she likely took position expectantly beneath the row of hooks for her leashes. I pushed feet into worn tennis shoes and picked up my phone. The update was complete, and I reopened my app, tapping past the screen welcoming me and advertising the new raids. The legendary cat Felesana would show up at local parks for me to battle with my friends! Yes, I got it. Show me where the closest one is. I brought up the augmented reality map, my character standing in the middle of the block my apartment complex resided on, and I tabbed over to the nearby raid window.

Franny let out a whine to remind me I hadn’t put on her leash yet, so I obliged her and giggled as her excitement ramped up from an eight to a twenty, all wagging tail and lolling tongue and shivering with eagerness.

“Honey, I’m so glad it’s this easy to make you happy.”

Heaven knew how hard it was to make people happy. “Where’s the product I ordered”—“Annabel, your surveys have come back less than perfect”—”I’m sorry, I can’t date a lesbian who used to date men”—

Yeah. I loved Franny. Dogs were woman’s best friend too. Not just man’s.

I grabbed my phone and my keys and gave Frances a pat.

“Looks like one of these big kitties is at the park three blocks away. Let’s go do our first legendary raid, girl.”

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Kelly Haworth grew up in San Francisco and has been reading science fiction and fantasy classics since she was a kid. She has way too active an imagination, thus she channels it into writing. Kelly is nonbinary and pansexual and loves to write LGBTQIA characters into her work. In fact, she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to write a non-queer couple again. Kelly has degrees in both genetics and psychology and works as a project manager at a genetics lab. When not working or writing, she can be found wrangling her two kids, painting, or curled up on the couch with a good TV show or book.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tag Team Review: The Doctor's Secret (Copper Point Medical #1) by Heidi Cullinan

The brilliant but brooding new doctor encounters Copper Point's sunny nurse-next-door... and nothing can stand in the way of this romance.

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu has come to Copper Point, Wisconsin, after the pressures of a high-powered residency burned him out of his career before he started. Ashamed of letting his family down after all they’ve done for him, he plans to live a quiet life as a simple surgeon in this tiny northern town. His plans, however, don’t include his outgoing, kind, and attractive surgical nurse, Simon Lane.

Simon wasn’t ready for the new surgeon to be a handsome charmer who keeps asking him for help getting settled and who woos him with amazing Taiwanese dishes. There’s no question—Dr. Wu is flirting with him, and Simon is flirting back. The problem is, St. Ann’s has a strict no-dating policy between staff, which means their romance is off the table… unless they bend the rules.

But a romance that keeps them—literally—in the closet can’t lead to happy ever after. Simon doesn’t want to stay a secret, and Hong-Wei doesn’t want to keep himself removed from life, not anymore. To secure their happiness, they’ll have to change the administration’s mind. But what other secrets will they uncover along the way, about Copper Point… and about each other?

2.75 Heart average

Lost in a Book - 2.5 Hearts

Ermm… *checks author name*

Heidi Cullinan wrote this?

I was all ready to play doctor when I cracked this open but the sugary fluff was wafting off the page very early on.

My past reads with Cullinan have raked my emotions over the coals while chasing it down with tissues and a bottle of wine. This wasn’t that experience at all. I’m all about branching out but The Doctor’s Secret left me wanting more substance while trying to come down from a sugar high.

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu moves to Copper Point to live a slower paced lifestyle and just be a general surgeon. He ran away from Texas to a small town and is greeted at the airport by his new surgical nurse, Simon.

Simon is a very positive and competent surgical nurse that has lived in Copper Point all his life. He’s very involved in the community and has a thing for K-Pop, Asian TV, and apparently hot AF Taiwanese doctors. Unfortunately for both of them, the hospital policy prohibits getting together with other employees.

I didn’t get Simon and Dr. Wu together. They had insta-love with no real depth. They wen’t from we can’t date to I love you way too fast. Dr. Wu remains closed off throughout (which might be more his culture than poor character development) and the way his “secret” was hyped, I was ready for something huge. Like it has to be a BFD. *sigh*

Everything seems so fantastical and the lack of strong characters was off putting. I hate to say this but I was bored reading the story.

I did enjoy the town, the endearing secondary characters, and the antics of Simon’s surgeon friends- My favorite parts didn't involve the MCs. I’m still a big fan of Heidi’s other works but this just wan't for me. Not recommended but YMMV.

Adam - 3 Hearts

Dr. Hong-Wei Wu, or Jack, moves to a small-town Wisconsin hospital to escape the pressures of a demanding family and an exhausting city hospital residency. He questions his decision to move, but the one-man welcoming party goes a long way in making Hong-Wei feel better.

Surgical nurse Simon Lane wasn’t expecting the new doctor to be his living wet dream. Simon’s immediately smitten.

But the hospital’s policy against inter-staff relationships throws cold water on anything happening between the two.

However, it’s impossible for the two men to deny what’s building between them. They begin as friends, with Simon going out of his way to make sure Hong-Wei feels welcomed to Copper Point, Wisconsin, all the while trying to hide what he really feels for the handsome doctor.

And as Hong-Wei begins to build a life in the community, he falls head-over-heels for Simon.

While Simon toes the line, Hong-Wei refuses to let a silly rule get in the way of something that could be special. So Hong-Wei sets out to woo his slightly gun-shy nurse.

Despite the forbidden-love angle, the romance in this book is fairly low-drama. Simon and Hong-Wei’s relationship grows slowly, as the two become comfortable with each other.

Though low on the heat, Simon and Hong-Wei bring lots of soft touches and sweet words.

Slowly, Hong-Wei and Simon begin building a life around the no-dating work policy.

I have to admit - I found myself bored for most of the middle section, because nothing really happens. Plus, Simon’s damsel-in-distress routine got a bit old.

Most of the slight angst/drama comes in the latter half of the book as the two MCs fight against the no-dating policy. It’s resolved pretty quickly.

I was happy to see Simon and Hong-Wei get their perfect HEA, though I wasn’t as invested in their romance by the end as I was before the story dragged a bit around the halfway point.

Even so, this was a very sweet romance, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes next!

Review: Slide (Roads #1) by Garrett Leigh

Don’t look back. Don’t you ever look back…

Shy tattoo artist Ash has a troubled past. Years of neglect, drug abuse, and life on the streets have taken their toll, and sometimes it seems the deep, unspoken bond with his lover is the only balm for wounds he doesn’t quite understand.

Chicago paramedic Pete is warmth, love, and strength—things Ash never knew he could have, and never even knew he wanted until Pete showed him. But fate is a cruel, cruel mistress, and when nightmares collide with the present, their tentatively built world comes crashing down.

Traumatic events in Pete’s work life distance him from home, and he doesn’t realize until it’s too late that Ash has slipped away. Betrayal, secrets, and lies unfold, and when a devastating coincidence takes hold, Pete must fight with all he has to save the love of his life.

I take full responsibility for this. I didn't really read the blurb. I saw a slew of my friends have loved it and pounced when the request came through.

My mistake.

I usually avoid books that center around mental illness but the catch-22 is I love damaged characters triumphing over hardship and finding happiness against all odds. Sometimes I take a chance and it works out fantastic like with Lucky or Rat Park but other times I end up here, feeling badly for not being more circumspect.

Slide started to sour early on for me mostly because I couldn't connect with either Pete or Ash. What's more, I didn't like either one of them and-the final nail in coffin-I don't think they're good for each other.

Slide covers about two years with them beginning as roommates introduced by Ash's BFF, Ellie, who I loathed from the moment she opened her fat-shaming mouth. There's not one woman portrayed in this book that I could identify with. They're all one-dimensional cliches of the catty best friend, the vapid ex-girlfriend/hookup, the hipster girl everyone loves to hate just not to her face, the pretentious WASP-y elitist and the feeble-minded but lovable mother.

This boilerplate misogyny I could maybe (big maybe) overlook in a strictly gay romance but both Pete and Ash are allegedly bisexual and have had girlfriends in the past. Though why they wasted their time on women they clearly believed were inferior nitwits is beyond me.

Not to dissect them to death but I actually don't think either one of them has a wealth of insight into themselves which made for a truly dysfunctional relationship that was difficult to read and brought me little enjoyment. I appreciate that they've both suffered in their lives, and even empathize with their trials and tribulations to an extent, but suffering doesn't give one carte blanche to treat others with such insouciance. Suffering nor mental illness excuses judgmental and obdurate behaviors either such as Pete's treatment of David, who seemingly has Ash's best interests at heart.

I was torn. David was a plastic surgeon. In my eyes, that barely made him human, but he was still a doctor, and regardless of anything else, Ash was still really sick.

The office was plush with its leather couch and expensive artwork, tucked away in the surgical wing of an exclusive, private hospital. It was how the other half of the medical profession lived-plastic surgeons hidden away from the masses. What was I doing here? What the fuck did David know about people? I knew for a fact that David wasn't reconstructing burn victims or patching up war vets. Nah, it was all about vanity. Meg's weird-looking nose was his own fucking work.

So... because he's wealthy and not the sort of physician that Pete finds honorable that makes him untrustworthy and contemptible? That's a bitter pill to swallow considering it's coming from a fractious malcontent like Pete who had earlier referred to someone on the verge of jumping to his death as a 'crazie' and was "pissed" that he had to wait for him to either decide to commit suicide or the police to talk him off the ledge.

Even sometimes the way they treat each other went all over me. Why must they call each other 'fucker' and 'asshole' and the like constantly? It seemed like some sort of halfhearted attempt at 'dark' characterizations but missed the mark and hit contrived instead. I'm not even going to touch their non-existent communication skills. But what I found particularly abhorrent was how Pete somehow made Ash's history of abuse about him.

How he couldn't handle it.
How he couldn't deal.

Which brings me to the abuse and mental illness. Trigger warnings for mentions of past sexual abuse, neglect, drug usage, homelessness and physical abuse. I'm not going to go full on psychology 101 here. Everyone presents and deals with trauma in their own way. There's no template but there are criteria that need to be met and those criteria are more than just words on a page, more than reading the DSM. That being said, there seemed to be some dramatic license taken with Ash's symptomology.

Regardless, I give kudos to authors who tackle abuse and its long-term ramifications and am glad that Ash seeking some professional help was finally broached. After two years but better late than never. Now perhaps he will begin to encourage Pete to seek some help of his own.

I'm not going to proceed further since obviously this didn't work for me. Maybe it improves and I'm depriving myself. I don't know; however, the vast majority of the reviews for this book and series are favorable, so I would encourage anyone interested to read them also.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.