Guest Review: Bumper to Bumper (Cruised #1) by Gretchen Evans

Gabe is bored with hookup culture. He’s in his thirties and wants something more stable. But sitting in traffic is even more boring. He expects more of the same tired, headless torsos when he swipes open Cruised, the most popular hookup app for men, during his morning commute. Instead, he meets Mark.

Mark is handsome, funny, and interested in conversation. He’s also interested in meeting Gabe in coffee shop bathrooms for quickies on the way to work. Mark doesn’t rush out of the room after sex either. He’s tender and sweet, and way more than Gabe had hoped for. The sex is hot, but the connection between Gabe and Mark is something deeper.

Gabe’s feelings grow each time he and Mark text, but seeing an attractive woman driving Mark’s car stops Gabe cold. He doesn’t want to hookup with a cheater. He doesn’t want to stop seeing Mark either. But could it all be a misunderstanding?

Gabe knows nothing about Mark’s life or how to negotiate a hookup into something more. Does Mark want something more, or is he already taken?


Reviewer: Shee Reader

This is an adorable and sexy little tale of “just one last hook-up’ before Gabe ends his search for meaningless sex on hook-up apps. It’s a quick and satisfying read, but I’d have really loved to see more from these two characters, not just a novella.

It's a really cute concept of sneakily texting a hot guy from a hookup app whilst sitting in traffic, but it quickly escalates to orgasms in coffee shop bathrooms just off the highway.

Gabe’s heart is racing as he meets SilverFoxxx for the first time, but Mark is even hotter than Gabe had dreamed, and their steamy connection is cute as hell.

Exchanging numbers changes the dynamic a bit, but the intimacy is amazing for two guys who hardly know each other.

The sex is hot, but the connection is hotter, and the cheeky little HFN is just what the romance doctor ordered!

Recommended.

I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.



Release Blitz + Giveaway: Herc's Mercs: The Collection Volume #3 by Ari McKay


Ari McKay and Signal Boost Promotions promote the release of the latest collection of popular series, Herc's Mercs (The Collection Volume #3)! Learn more and enter to win an eBook copy of The Bigger They Come (The Collection Volume #1)!




Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Cover Design: Lyrical Lines

Herc's Mercs

The Collection - Volume 1 - Amazon US | Amazon UK
The Collection - Volume 2 - Amazon US | Amazon UK 

ABOVE AND BEYOND…

No matter where in the world they have to go, the men of Hercules Security are ready to kick ass, take names, and, above all, save lives. Putting themselves in harm’s way is second nature to these men, and they’ll do whatever it takes to protect the innocent. Unfortunately the cost of such bravery is often brutally high, and sometimes the price a hero must pay isn’t always obvious…

Hunter Callahan loved his job as an explosives expert, but when a seven-year-old boy walks into camp wearing a suicide vest, the explosion that rocks Hunter’s world leaves him with wounds too deep to see with the untrained eye. Payne “Pita” Gibson is the only one who stands a chance of saving Hunter from self destruction, but doing so means Payne must share private facets of his own life. Could his unusual form of therapy not only help Hunter, but also win his heart? Pushing Hunter’s limits so hard is a test of Payne’s own strength of will -- but everyone knows that it’s No Pain, No Gain.

When Joe Morrissey returns home from a traumatic mission, he never expects to discover that his longtime partner and lover, Brian Finnegan, has fallen in love with someone else. Even though he wants Finn to be happy, Joe finds it difficult to share his lover with Drew Martin. But when fallout from Joe’s recent mission puts Finn in danger, Joe must work with Drew to save Finn’s life. With everything he holds dear at risk, Joe is pushed to the breaking point -- and Drew must step in to help put him back together. As Drew develops feelings for Joe as well, can Joe open his heart to the possibility of there being Room For One More?





Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.

Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

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Review: Don't Bring a Cannibal to Dinner (A Cox Fairytale #3) by James Cox

What are you willing to sacrifice for true love?

Harris and Grant are both raised in an orphanage. They’ve known the cruelty of beatings, starvation and falling in love. When they run away into the dark woods, they come across a cottage made completely of sweet treats. What could one taste hurt? It stirs the handsome witch that lives inside. Fearing his wrath, they run straight into the brutal orphanage owner. Their unlikely hero is none other than the witch but does the handsome magician want to save them or devour them? As it turns out, a bit of both.

When the cottage the witch is bound to is set on fire, the guys must a make a terrible decision. For the only way the witch can be free is by eating one of their hearts.


The COX took me on quite a ride in less than 75 pages here. Plus I’m a huge sucker for a fairytale and Don’t Bring a Cannibal to Dinner is reminiscent of the classic originals that have a much darker side and that entertain me to no end.

Harris and Grant have been living a brutal existence in an orphanage that had no business taking care of children. The two have been one anothers only hope since they met as kids. The two are complete opposites and the dynamic between the two of them made for a sweet budding romance amidst all the misery.

Grant is big and strong, he’s survived by his wits and brawn and he lives to protect his best friend Harris. Harris is gentle and kind and he’s survived by flying under the radar. The two have grown up together and now that they are both on the cusp of adulthood, their relationship is evolving and while it’s obvious to the reader, the two of them are just figuring out as they go, that the love they feel towards one another is actually reciprocated.

Grant is close to aging out of the orphanage, but Harris is a month behind and there’s no way Grant is going to leave him there alone. So, the two of them make a break for it and their escape into the woods was very fairytale worthy. Spooky woods, hungry wolves, the specter of witches out there in the dark, it was all a great setup to the next chapter of their adventure.

Enter the witch!

So, Dec was not what I expected. I liked the guy. He was cursed and his story, once he told it, was quite sad. I really didn’t know where the story was going to go once he was introduced because he was a sympathetic character and I was getting kind of attached to him.

 In the meantime, Grant and Harris are taking the full plunge into love and learning what that means emotionally and physically. It was a different set of circumstances than any COX characters that I have met in the past in that, these guys know virtually nothing going into this. It was really sweet and pretty damn steamy, reading them fumble their way through all the firsts that come with truly loving another person.

And then things went dark and sideways, just like I like. So, as I said, where is Dec going to go in this story? It would have been way too easy to make him a pure baddy from the get-go, so I appreciated the twist and the truly heartbreaking direction the story took. While I didn’t love it emotionally, I was thankful for the story taking me down that dark road, That’s the bit that gave me the old school fairytale feel I love. I had that great love/hate feeling when I was reading. I may not have been happy, but me being happy was not the point, a good story is the point and this made the story great.

But, the more modern fairytale is there too and a hard earned HEA was had by Grant and Harris. The ending was a welcome conclusion and showed how much the two had grown after everything they had been through. The wrap up was a truly fairytale level HEA and the bittersweet contrast between Dec’s story and Harris and Grant’s is balanced and makes for a perfect “The End”.


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

Blog Tour + Giveaway: Out of the Office by Louisa Masters


Author Louisa Masters and Other Worlds Ink promote Out of the Office, a contemporary romance! Learn more today and enter in the giveaway where you could with $20 gift certificate (your choice of Amazon, iBooks, B&N or Kobo)! 
Out of the Office

Louisa Masters has a new contemporary MM romance book out: Out of the Office.

Whoever thought achieving career goals could be boring? Not Duncan Witten, but here he is at forty-one, in his dream job… and hating it. Throw it all away for a challenge? Yes, please!
If only Dunc had known his challenging new job came with Paul Hanks, a man who redefines “stubborn.” They need to work together to meet targets, but thanks to Dunc’s idiot predecessor, Paul won’t take his calls or reply to emails.

There’s only one solution: travel across the country and confront Paul face-to-face. It’s time to take things out of the office.


Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads




Giveaway

Louisa is giving away a $20 gift certificate (your choice of Amazon, iBooks, B&N or Kobo). Enter via Rafflecopter:

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Excerpt

Out of the Office

I deliberately loiter in a coffee shop across the street from the Perth office. I don’t want to arrive early and give Paul time to come up with an escape plan, but there was no way I was risking being late. I take the time to go over my plan again, checking it for any flaw that might have sneaked past my and Krista’s eagle eyes.

There aren’t any. But it’s a great opportunity to implant every detail in my brain while sucking back a coffee.

The shop is only moderately busy—we’re well past the I-just-arrived-at-work-and-desperately-need-a-coffee rush, and not quite at the midmorning coffee break rush. There are a few small groups efficiently combining coffee with a meeting at the tables, and a couple of other loners like me sitting in armchairs, hunched over laptops, but voices are low and there’s not a lot of ambient noise.

So the strident ring of the shop phone gets my attention, and I’m still only half-focused a minute later when one of the staff calls to another, “Paul’s on his way—make his usual, will you?”

There are a lot of Pauls in the world. In fact, there are probably a lot of Pauls currently within a one-block radius. But a guy who phones in his coffee order when he’s on his way is either superefficient or an asshole, and Paul Hanks has been described as both. Plus, this place is the closest to our Perth office, so it makes sense that he’d use it. And the timing is about right for a break before his meeting with me.

I slouch down a little in my seat. There’s no reason to think he knows what I look like, but it feels like the done thing. I mean, if you’re potentially spying on someone, you’re supposed to be all sneaky, right?

Never mind.

I’m just wondering if maybe I’ve been watching too many police procedural TV shows when the door to the street opens and a man walks in.

Remember, I’ve never actually met Paul Hanks before. I’ve seen a picture of him, though—it was from a company party a couple of years ago, in profile, and not terribly clear. But it’s enough for me to recognise him and to marvel at what the picture didn’t show.

He’s fucking huge.

Tall, yes—about six-three, although it’s hard to judge with me sitting down. But it’s more thathe’s built like a brick shithouse. Broad across the shoulders, with a tank for a torso. He’s just solid. I can’t tell with how he’s dressed—chinos and a long-sleeved shirt—if that solid is muscle or fat, but whatever it is, it’s imposing. His face is average—attractive enough, although he’d never win any awards for his looks—and he has a ruddy complexion. His hair is dark blond, in an all-over messy style that makes me think he usually has it quite short and it’s just overgrown.

But the most important detail is his presence. Seriously. He walks in, and it’s like the room is full to bursting. I can’t stop staring. He has serious charisma, but not of the charming variety. It’s more like a force of nature, blasting through all that stands in its way.

In just a few strides, he’s at the counter and accepting the paper cup offered to him.

“Hey, Paul,” the young man behind the register says as he rings up the sale. “How’s the morning?”

“Not as bad as it could be,” he replies, handing over some cash. His voice is deep enough to stir something carnal in me—I’ve always been a sucker for a deep voice. I shift slightly, reminding myself that I’m not here for that, that I cannot jeopardisemy one chance to get him on sideby letting my sexual urges get in the way.

He’s not even that good-looking. It’s a stupid, petty attempt to convince myself, even if it is true. I’ve met better-looking guys—hell, one of my exes was so fucking hot that people on the street would turn to watch him walk past. Just because Paul is built, has an amazing voice, and can’t stand me (we’ve talked about how I love a challenge, right?) doesn’t mean I should think of him that way.

And yes, he’s gay. I’m not engaging in pointless fantasy here. Well, I am, but not for that reason. Paul being gayis one of the worst-kept secrets in our incestuous, gossipy industry. He managed to keep it under wraps when he was a site engineer, but once he transitioned to mostly working in the office, it came out—no pun intended. He doesn’t advertise, but enough people know that it’s not a secret. He’s been in the industry long enough, and earned the respect of enough people, that it’s not an issue. From what I’ve heard, there’s occasionally some fuckwit on a site who tries to make something of it, but they get shouted down pretty quick.

Paul finishes his transaction and leaves, and I take my first real breath since he walked in.

Okay. It’s gotime.




Author Bio

Louisa Masters started reading romance much earlier than her mother thought she should. While other teenagers were sneaking out of the house, Louisa was sneaking romance novels in and working out how to read them without being discovered. She’s spent most of her life feeling sorry for people who don’t read, convinced that books are the solution to every problem.

As an adult, she feeds her addiction in every spare second, only occasionally tearing herself away to do things like answer the phone and pay bills. She spent years trying to build a “sensible” career, working in bookstores, recruitment, resource management, administration, and as a travel agent, before finally conceding defeat and devoting herself to the world of romance novels.

Louisa has a long list of places first discovered in books that she wants to visit, and every so often she overcomes her loathing of jet lag and takes a trip that charges her imagination. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she whines about the weather for most of the year while secretly admitting she’ll probably never move.

Author Website: https://www.louisamasters.com
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/louisa.masters.31
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/LouisaMastersAuthor
Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/authorLouisaM
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorLouisaM
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5755521.Louisa_Masters
Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/louisa-masters/
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Louisa-Masters/e/B008YBZT0S


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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Trusting The Elements (Never Too Late #1) by Elle Keaton


Author Elle Keaton and Signal Boost Promotions celebrate the release of Trusting The Elements (Never Too Late #1)! Learn more today and enter in the backlist eBook giveaway!






Length: 50,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Cate Ashwood

Cover Photo: Paul Henry Serres

Blurb


There’s nothing like a near death car accident to open your eyes. Otto Proulx decides surviving was a sign; he’s being given a second chance to claim the life he wants to live. For the past few years he’s been hiding in the shadows, vague texts from a troubled ex-partner keep him at home along with his general lack of luck in the romance department. This is his last chance, he’s certain, this time he’ll meet the man for him, the one he’s sure is out there somewhere.


Greg Trainor runs a specialty kite shop and helps his friends out when they ask. That’s the kind of guy he is, if somebody needs something, they call on Greg. He’s a big guy and no genius, but he’s dependable. So…yeah, when he sees a car precariously perched on the side of the road, he stops to help out; it’s what he does.


One night of passion leads to…several more and suddenly both men are searching around to define what they have together. Neither wants to scare the other off and neither wants to ask for more. Will the two men be able to set aside their fears and create a family together, trusting the elements are in their favor?




Thanks for stopping by, I’m Elle Keaton and I hail from the northwest corner of the US where we are known for rain, rain and more rain. I write the Accidental Roots series, set here in the Pacific Northwest featuring hot mm romance and the guarantee of a happy ending for my men. They start out broken, and maybe they end up that way too, but they always find the other half of their hearts.


I started writing way back when but only began publishing about two and a half years ago and now have nine books out. Each features a couple in my little universe, sometimes there is added mystery and suspense.


Thank you for supporting this Indie Author,


Elle


Find me, follow me, friend me:


Website: https://www.ellekeaton.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ElleKeatonWrites

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HighwayToElle/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/elle-keaton

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Blog Tour: Anhaga by Lisa Henry


Friend of the blog Lisa Henry is here today promoting her new fantasy novel from Dreamspinner Press, Anhaga! Find out more and read an excerpt below!

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve had a new release out, and I’ve missed it! It’s a great feeling to finally be able to share Anhaga with you, and I hope that people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Today I’d like to share an excerpt with you. The excerpt takes place just after Min has been strong-armed into leaving the city of Amberwich to travel to the cursed village of Anhaga in order to kidnap a recalcitrant hedgewitch. Min would love to refuse the job, but his nephew Harry has had a curse placed on him that will only be lifted if Min succeeds. I hope you enjoy it! 


A cool breeze shuddered through the leaves of the trees lining the path as they left the shrine complex. Acolytes darted here and there like frantic squirrels, gathering up the leaves as they were shaken free. They laughed and chattered as they worked.
Behind them, a line of hedgewitches made their way from their quarters to the temple building where they would perform the daily Blessing of the Waters. The priest who had tutored Min had dragged him along once as a child. The ritual had involved a lot of chanting, singing, and an unexpectedly exciting finale when saltpeter had been tossed onto the braziers inside the temple, and flames had fizzed and sparked and burned. At eight, Min had been very impressed and even a little scared. These days it took more than flash-and-bang tricks to frighten him.
Some things still did, though.
Like Anhaga.
Min pushed his thoughts away from that and wondered instead how his name had come to the attention of a man like Edward Sabadine. He had taken jobs from representatives of noble Houses before, but they were the sort of jobs Min had assumed his employers would wish to keep secret. Min’s crowning glory had been two years ago now. He’d returned to a nobleman a family heirloom—the ugliest necklace Min had ever seen, for the record—that had made its way to another noble family courtesy of a cheating husband enamored with a daughter of the second House. Messy all around, but the sort of mess that, if exposed, would have led to mutual mockery of both Houses.
The necklace had been kept under no special guard but the existing magic wards of the household. Min’s client had been unwilling to send his own Gifted against those of another household and risk escalating a private affair into what amounted to a declaration of hostilities, and Min had a reputation for being able to bypass all kinds of security, even magical. His services weren’t cheap.
A routine job, all in all, but maybe audacious enough that someone must have talked, and word had gotten to Edward Sabadine. At the time Min had been too drunk on his own success to consider that perhaps he might one day become a victim of it.
Or that Harry would.
He tightened his arm around the boy’s shoulders as they walked.
At the crest of the hill, he looked back. The Shrine of the Sacred Spring was an inviting swathe of green in the shallow valley. Behind it, in the distance, rose the Iron Tower. If the Shrine of the Sacred Spring was the heart of Amberwich, the Iron Tower was… well, it was the dick, wasn’t it? It jutted proudly from the top of the King’s Hill in the western quarter of the city, arrogant and bellicose and demanding attention. The tower was surrounded by the king’s private parklands, which contained the barracks and the stables of the Royal Guard, the fortified Treasury, the Sorcerers’ Guildhall, and the old palace. The king lived in the Iron Tower, and who could blame him with a bunch of sorcerers as neighbors? In the Iron Tower, the king could command his sorcerers without fear of one of them putting him in thrall. The purpose of the Iron Tower had always been twofold: it protected the king from his own Gifted as much as it protected the city from the fae.
The Iron Tower dominated the King’s Hill. It was six storeys high and topped by a sharply pitched red roof that gleamed in the sunlight. The walls of the tower were white, the paintwork weathered by the years. Barred windows overlooked the parklands. Under the roof, a parapet extended out from the tower wall. The tower was hundreds of years old. There were grander buildings now in Amberwich, but none as fortified as this. None as solidly imposing.
Min turned his back on it.
The streets grew narrower and more crowded as they passed farther into the eastern quarter. Clouds were moving in, the sort that promised just enough gentle rain to make the way slick and to sharpen the stench of the streets. Skinny dogs nosed in the gutter, accompanied by skinny kids. People went about their business in the stores and workshops that lined the way. Min’s fingers itched out of habit as they passed a vendor’s cart loaded with apples, and his stomach growled, but he kept moving. They passed a painted booth set up on a corner where the pedestrian traffic was forced to slow and watch the show: a puppet, its smirking face painted green and a silver crown on its head, pulled tufts of knotted red wool out of another puppet’s belly. The older children laughed and jeered at the spectacle. The younger ones wailed. 
Min’s stomach clenched as he and Harry passed. 
Anhaga.
The word was as sharp as a curse in his mind. Anhaga was a fishing village. It lay several days north of Amberwich. Min had never been there. And nobody in their right mind wished to go there. It was said the Hidden Lord walked in Anhaga. There had been a time when the village had been full and prosperous. A time when Min could remember his mother proclaiming proudly that she served her guests nothing but the finest snipe eels fresh from Anhaga. And then the Hidden Lord, king of the fae, had come. Anhaga sat on the edge of his shadow kingdom now. The Hidden Lord walked its streets at night. Those who had fled Anhaga had come to Amberwich with nightmares clinging to them like wraiths. Those who had stayed… well, Min didn’t know why anyone had stayed. He wondered if they were in the thrall of the Hidden Lord now, and if he summoned them to dance with him until they died and then feasted on their entrails like his puppet counterpart did. 


:Anhaga_postcard_front_DSP.jpg


Anhaga Blurb: 


Aramin Decourcey—Min to his few friends—might be the best thief in Amberwich, and he might have a secret that helps him survive the cutthroat world of aristocratic families and their powerful magic users, but he does have one weakness: his affection for his adopted nephew, Harry.


When the formidable Sabadine family curses Harry, Min must accept a suicide mission to save his life: retrieve Kazimir Stone, a low-level Sabadine hedgewitch who refuses to come home after completing his apprenticeship… and who is in Anhaga, a seaside village under the control of the terrifying Hidden Lord of the fae. If that wasn’t enough, Kaz is far from the simple hedgewitch he seems.


With the Sabadines on one side and the fae on the other, Min doesn’t have time to deal with a crisis of conscience—or the growing attraction between him and Kaz. He needs to get Kaz back to Amberwich and get Harry’s curse lifted before it kills him. Saving Harry means handing Kaz over to his ruthless family. Saving Kaz means letting Harry die. Min might pride himself on his cleverness, but he can’t see his way out of this one.


The Hidden Lord might see that he never gets the choice.


Buy links: 








Bio and social media links: 


Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn't know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she's too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly. 

She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up. 


Lisa has been published since 2012, and was a LAMBDA finalist for her quirky, awkward coming-of-age romance Adulting 101. 


You can connect with Lisa here: 


Giveaway + Release Blitz: The Midspring Rebellion by Doreen Heron


Celebrate the release of The Midspring Rebellion with author Doreen Heron and Indigo Promotions. Find out more about this fantasy romance, read an excerpt and enter in the giveaway for a $10 Ninestar Press credit! Good luck!


Title: The Midspring Rebellion
Author: Doreen Heron
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: July 22, 2019
Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 25100
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, fairies, royalty, magic, mythical creatures

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Synopsis

Things are amiss in the fairy court, made worse one spring morning when King Oberon’s wife decides to leave him. His decision to gather his thoughts in the human realm lead him into the path, and arms, of workaholic human Nick Chandler. But when Oberon’s throne is threatened, will he be able to retain his kingship and his newfound love?

Excerpt

The Midspring Rebellion
Doreen Heron © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
As it always did, the Wheel of the Year continued to turn.

Midsummer turned to Midfall.

Midfall to Midwinter.

Midwinter to Midspring.

The seasons changed. The years changed. But life in the Fairy Court remained the same.

And this left Titania dissatisfied.

“It is time for a change,” she announced one evening over dinner. Oberon had known something was wrong the moment she dismissed the waiting staff. It had been over three hundred years since they had eaten alone, and even that was because Titania had wanted to discuss the idea of adopting another Changeling. Not that the idea had gone anywhere, of course. Oberon had learned his lesson about taking human children long before that, and he had not been keen to repeat the experiment. It was natural, then, that he held his breath when Titania spoke, and he waited for whatever she was about to decide. “We have become stale.”

Oberon found it impossible to disagree. Being married for a millennium was certainly an accomplishment by anyone’s count—especially when fairy marriages were annulled and then voluntarily renewed on an annual basis. But one thousand years of an arranged marriage was going above and beyond in his royal duties, of this, he was sure.

“What do you propose?” he asked, not entirely sure he wanted an answer. A separation from Titania might allow them both to pursue other interests, but there was no denying that a split in the Royal Court could rip the whole of his already unstable kingdom in half.

“A separation.”

He nodded. He’d known where this was going, and he couldn’t say he was particularly unhappy about it. But he had questions.

“Why now? We’ve been living this same way these last three hundred years. Why propose this now?”

“It is the best possible time. The kingdom is at risk of civil war…”

“…Which is exactly why we should be united.”

“Or is it why this is the ideal time for a split? We would not want to needlessly disrupt harmony in the kingdom. Ergo, if we split while there are already fractures…”

“…we guarantee a split in the kingdom.”

“We hurry along a split we already know is coming.”

Oberon closed his eyes and shook his head. Titania had always been ruthlessly logical. It was one of the reasons his father had chosen her as a perfect mate, and—more importantly—a future queen.

“But…”

“I have met someone else.”

Well, that was the clincher, wasn’t it?

“I have fallen in love.”

“Love?” Oberon frowned at his queen, unsure of exactly what he was hearing. “What of love? We are a king and a queen. Love need play no part in anything.”

“Oberon, even the mortals have abandoned that way of thinking now. It is time for us to catch up.”

Oberon grunted. It pained him to hear Titania speak of love. She’d not as much as breathed the word in five hundred years, not since his trick to cause her to fall for the human Bottom.

“This love. It is not the human, is it?” he asked. “The actor.” His voice dripped with venom as he spoke, though he himself wasn’t sure if he was jealous that she had fallen with such ease or angry that his own magic had been the cause.

“Oberon, humans lead short lives. Bottom died many, many years ago.”

“Then who?”

This time, it was Titania’s turn to shake her head, causing blossoms of pink and orange to fall from her hair and hit the ground.

“Not important,” she said. She stood and pushed her chair back under the oak table, before walking delicately over and taking her husband’s left hand. “I release you.” She smiled. She turned a hand over and undid the leather strap that was tied at his palm. “I release you.” She unwound the leather from his hand, uncrossing the straps that worked up his forearm. “I release you.” She pulled the leather from his bicep, taut with the tension and stress running through his body. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Good luck to you, Oberon.”

He stood at the window of his tower, having vanished the glass to get a better look at what was going on. He watched as Titania loaded her trunks onto the glass chariot. He watched as a male fairy, face obscured by some of Titania’s trickery to stop him from being identified, helped to pile the heavier pieces of furniture. He watched as the two of them climbed into the chariot, and as the dragonflies took flight, pulling it into the woods and out of sight.

He thought he should shout. He thought he should swear. He thought he should cry. But he found himself empty. For a thousand years, he had known he could be temperamental or selfish or immature and Titania would always be by his side. Because she had had to. They had vows. But she had met someone better than him, and she was gone.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Ultimately, he chose to do what many do when they find themselves bereft, and he began to prepare himself for bed. He removed his emerald-green robes and ran a damp washcloth across his torso. His muscles contracted at the cold, tightening and becoming more defined than they usually were when hidden beneath his loose robes. Usually, he enjoyed the feeling of his tightening body, but even that was little comfort in the light of being left alone. He unwrapped the leather strap that ran across his waist—a symbol of his perpetual commitment to his kingdom—and draped it across the wooden dressing table. He dipped the washcloth in the water again before removing his loincloth and washing the rest of his body. It was only right to be clean before entering the kingdom of the DreamWeaver, and he was not about to abandon formality and politesse just because he would be alone in his bed tonight. Naked, but dry after patting the water away with a towel, he knelt by his bed.

“I give thanks to the earth, which bore me and gave me life. I give thanks to the great unknown, who guides me and shapes my fate. I give thanks to my ancestors, from whom I descend and for whom I live a life which is not mine, but which belongs to my subjects. These are my thanks.”

He stood and climbed into bed, pulling his mouse pelt blankets over him, and curled up into a ball. Scrunching his eyes together, he willed himself to sleep. It didn’t come easily, as visions of Titania and her paramour danced through his head, but eventually he found himself drifting off.

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Meet the Author

Doreen Heron is a writer who is finally living her dream in Cornwall, England. She is lucky to live in the county she loves, and to be using her writing to entertain her readers.

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Series Blitz + Giveaway: Why I... Series (Books #1-3) by Colette Davison


Colette Davison and IndiGo Marketing promote the Why I... series (Books #1-3) today! Learn more about the contemporary romance series and enter in the $10 Amazon gift card giveaway!



Title: Why I Left You, Why I Need You, Why I Trust You
Series: Why I... books 1-3
Author: Colette Davison
Publisher: Independently published
Release Date: Already released; promoting new covers
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 296 pages, 320 pages, 300 pages
Genre: Romance

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Synopsis





Guilt has torn them apart…
…but can they have a second chance?

Jamie is struggling with university,
money and depression.
The last thing he needs is Brett, the
guy who walked out on him four years ago. Yet, he could be just what Jamie
needs.

Brett has his own way of dealing with
heartache.
Ever since Jamie left him, he's been
running away from commitment. But when he Jamie comes back into his life, he’s
forced to re-examine everything.

Brett and Jamie are drawn back into each
other’s arms by an undeniable spark.
But unless they can come to terms with
the past, their relationship won’t survive the present.

Why I Left You is a MM hurt/comfort,
friends to lovers romance with explicit language and steamy scenes between gay
men. It’s the first in a series of standalone romances with a happy ever after.

Why I Need You

The truth can break them…
...but so can the lies.

Fin has put his life on hold to raise
his little sister.
Following the death of their parents,
he’s convinced her well-being is all that matters, even if it’s at his expense.

Noah has been living a lie for years.
After being publicly outed and kicked
out from home, he’s ready to let go of his anger and finally be free.

A chance meeting between Fin and Noah
opens endless possibilities. Can they be together despite all their baggage? Or
will the truth crush them beyond repair?

Why I Need You is a MM hurt/comfort, insta-dad
romance with explicit language and steamy scenes between gay men. It’s the
second in a series of standalone romances with a happy ever after.

Why I Trust You

Their past can bring them together…
...or it can haunt them.

Martin is a funny, larger than life guy.
Quick to help others with their pain,
but hiding his own, his life consists of a string of break-ups.

Ryan needs a way to leave his abusive
boyfriend.
Working with Martin is supposed to help
him raise enough funds to escape. It’s just business. With an ocean between
them, it couldn’t be anything more. Could it?

One is close enough to giving up on
love. The other wounded by it.
Can they trust each other? Or will the
distance, hurt, and abuse get in the way of their happy ever after?

Why I Trust You is a MM hurt/comfort
romance with explicit language and steamy scenes between gay men. It’s the
third in a series of standalone romances with a happy ever after.

***Trigger warnings: Domestic violence
and abuse***


Excerpt





(From Why I Left You)

Holy shit. Jamie was kissing him.
Brett's head told him to back off and walk away, but his body remembered those
lips and how much he'd once enjoyed having them pressed against his own. His
body wanted to lean into the kiss and respond with four years' worth of regret.
For a few precious moments, he let himself give in to desire. His heart
hammered against his ribs, desperate to escape his body and reclaim what it had
lost. His fingers tingled as he wrapped an arm around Jamie's shoulders and
held him tightly, his thumb making small circles on Jamie's shirt.

Then his brain kicked into gear again.
What the fuck was he doing? This was the guy who had ripped his heart out in
the worst possible way. Besides, Jamie was clearly at least half-gone. What
they were doing was a mistake at best.

He pulled away, breathing heavily as he
stared at Jamie, whose pupils were blown wide.

"You're drunk," Brett said in
the most matter-of-fact tone he could manage.

Jamie curled his upper lip and turned
away, shaking his head. It was dumb for Brett to follow him, but he did it
anyway. They'd been best friends long before they'd realised they were
attracted to each other. Brett had always looked out for Jamie, back when
they'd lived next door to each other. Those instincts kicked in.

"Let me walk you home."

Jamie stopped and rounded on him, fists
clenched, teeth gritted. "Don't pretend you give a shit."

Brett blinked. "You're drunk. You
need someone to make sure you get home okay. What about one of the guys you
came here with? The one you were dancing with?"

"You gave up the right to worry
about what happens to me when you left."


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Meet the Author

 


Colette’s personal love story began at university, where she met her future husband. An evening of flirting, in the shadow of Lancaster castle, eventually led to a fairytale wedding. She’s enjoying her own ‘happy ever after’ in the north of England with her husband, two beautiful children and her writing.


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