Giveaway + Blog Tour: Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins

The Glass Tidings Tour is here today and there's a $20 Riptide credit at stake! Good luck!

About Glass Tidings

Eddie Rodrigues doesn’t stay in one place long enough to get attached. The only time he broke that rule, things went south fast. Now he’s on the road again, with barely enough cash in his pocket to hop a bus to Texas after his (sort-of-stolen) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Midwest, USA.

He’s fine. He’ll manage. Until he watches that girl get hit by a car and left to die.

Local shop owner Grayson Croft isn’t in the habit of doing people any favors. But even a recluse can’t avoid everyone in a town as small as Clear Lake. And when the cop who played Juliet to your Romeo in the high school play asks you to put up her key witness for the night, you say yes.

Now Gray’s got a grouchy glass artist stomping around his big, empty house, and it turns out that he . . . maybe . . . kind of . . . likes the company.

But Eddie Rodrigues never sticks around.

Unless a Christmas shop owner who hates the season can show an orphan what it means to have family for the holidays.

Available from Riptide Publishing. http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/glass-tidings

About Amy Jo Cousins

Amy Jo Cousins writes contemporary romance and erotica about smart people finding their own best kind of smexy. She lives in Chicago with her son, where she tweets too much, sometimes runs really far, and waits for the Cubs to win the World Series.

Connect with Amy Jo:

• Website: amyjocousins.com/
• Blog: amyjocousins.com/blog/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmyJoCousins/
• Twitter: @_AJCousins
• Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/amyjocousins/

To celebrate the release of Glass Tidings, one lucky winner will receive $20 in Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 10, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: Wish Come True Anthology

Proceeds will be donated to Lost-N-Found Youth , an Atlanta-based nonprofit corporation whose mission is to take homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths to age 26 off the street and transition them into more permanent housing.

It's a five hearts read all in all, I'll give my individual story ratings below and a general review of the anthology - let's face it, with this author line-up it was inevitably going to be a fab read! Including *squee* three of my absolute favourite authors, Suki Fleet, Kaje Harper and Anyta Sunday,

A Very English Christmas by Keira Andrews - five hearts
For anyone who read and love Isaac and David from Keira's Amish series, this is a must read. Their first English Christmas and the author nails it on the sweet romance stakes. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. A fabulous start to the anthology that gets you right in the feels!

Mr Perfect's Christmas by Joanna Chambers - four and a half hearts
Sam is trying to fit into Nick's shoes, and from where he's standing they're pretty big shoes to fill. Sometimes though, if you just look at things from a different angle they can be quite different. I really enjoyed this story of love being found where you last expect to find it.

The Christmas Ship by Amy Jo Cousins - three and three quarter hearts
Beware of the internet! A cute little story of twink meet jock. Best buddies online but when they meet in real life one of them is in for a big surprise. Or is he? Does he know more than he's letting on? I enjoyed this story, it had all the right ingredients for a cute Christmas tale.

That Thing by Megan Erickson - four and a half hearts
When your twin sister is a wedding planner who needs an assistant it's really hard to say no. So Devin doesn't, and when he meets the best man he's really pleased he didn't. The flirtation between Devin and Adrian is ho,t and although we pretty much can guess how the will they/won't they will go it plays out really nicely and left me grinning.

Just Like Heaven by Suki Fleet - five hearts
If I was forced to choose one favourite story from this anthology, it would be this one. By a whisper. Something about Suki Fleet's writing gets me every time. I love her characters and David and Jess are no exception. The gritty reality that is Jess's life collides with David and there starts a story of hope and love that is perfect for Christmas. I adored it.

Not Your Grandfather's Magic by Kaje Harper - five hearts
This is another strong contender for favourite story. Like Suki, Kaje writes wonderful characters; characters I can't help but fall in love with. And it's not just the main characters of Zeb and Matt, but the wonderfully quirky secondary characters that I want more of. I wasn't sure how this story was going to go if I'm honest - but I love the direction it took. Matt stole my heart, every accident prone inch of him, and it was a great story.

Bottle Boys by Anyta Sunday - five stars
I knew this anthology was for Christmas, and really it made my Christmas. My three favourite authors with stories in a row. Anyta Sunday is a wonderful and unique writer. I adore her characters (again!!) and the way she seamlessly pens a storyline. EAsy to read and without fail full of UST, this story was the perfect way to end this anthology.

I cannot recommend this anthology enough, a line up of excellent authors, Christmas stories and the proceeds go to Lost N Found. It's win, win, win.

Question – What's your favorite holiday-themed movie?

Keira Andrews - So hard to choose just one! There are certain movies I watch every Christmas, including While You Were Sleeping, Bridget Jones's Diary, Elf, and Die Hard.

Joanna Chambers - No contest: It's a Wonderful Life. A huge treat last year was watching it all the way through with my older son for the first time. He loved it and got it 100%. My younger one was a bit bored and kept wandering off, but he was really upset when the old pharmacist gets mocked in the bar in the alternate future.

Amy Jo Cousins - Ahhh! I have a dozen! We watch It's a Wonderful Life and The Muppets Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve at my mom's place. Then I go home and wrap presents until the wee hours of the morning because I am a terrible procrastinator. Midnight present-wrapping requires both wine and Love, Actually on the DVD player (yes, I know, it's a terrible movie with terrible plots and characters, but I can't help it! I love it). In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I also make sure to fit in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Boris Karloff narrating the animated version, not Jim Carrey, please), Miracle on 34th Street, and Christmas in Connecticut. That last one, with Barbara Stanwyck, is one of my favorite movies ever. She's so glamorous and everything about the movie is so funny. *sighs* I love it.

Megan Erickson - Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer

Suki Fleet - Die Hard or Gremlins.

Kaje Harper - I'm not a movie person although It's a Wonderful Life is a classic. I love books, though. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and Gift of the Magi and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and many more.

Anyta Sunday - Romantic, touching, and funny, my favorite holiday-themed movie is Love Actually. I love the cue card To Me You Are Perfect scene. Melts my heart every time.

Kanaxa (cover artist) – Love, Actually. I rage at Alan Rickman for the gift scene with Emma Thompson. Every. Single. Time.

Lenore DiTrani (editor) - I might not care for Christmas music but I love Christmas-themed films! Let's see, some of my favourites. Bad Santa by Terry Zwigoff (I love Billy Bob Thornton!), Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, Millions by Danny Boyle, Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg, Love, Actually by Richard Curtis, Trading Places by John Landis….But I think my all-time favourite is Monty Python's Life of Brian. What do you mean it's not a holiday-themed film. Of course it is!

BLURB:

First love. Young love. Holiday love...

Wish Come True is a collection of contemporary, new adult, holiday short stories by some of our favorite authors!

A Very English Christmas by Keira Andrews
Isaac and David have created a new life together outside the Amish world. Living “English,” they’ve left behind the rigid, isolated community where they discovered their forbidden love. Staying with Isaac’s older brother in San Francisco, they yearn for a home—and bed—of their very own. As they experience the bright lights and merry carols of modern Christmas for the first time, can they make their holiday wishes come true?

Mr Perfect's Christmas by Joanna Chambers
Sam Warren’s new job hasn’t been going so well so the last thing he’s in the mood for is the obligatory office Christmas party, particularly since Nick Foster’s going to be there. Nick–the guy whose shoes Sam has been trying to fill–seems to take very opportunity to point out where Sam’s going wrong. But when Sam receives an unexpected Secret Santa gift at the party, he’s forced to question his assumptions about his rival. Could it be that he’s been misinterpreting Nick’s actions all along? And is it possible that his reluctant attraction to Nick is reciprocated?

The Christmas Ship by Amy Jo Cousins
When a twink who's finally ready to grow up accidentally catfishes a college football player headed to the NFL, it's going to take a lot of honesty and all the faith they can muster in their own One True Pairing to set this Christmas ship sailing.

That Thing by Megan Erickson
Helping his wedding planner sister work an event is not Devin Master’s idea of what he wants to do on his winter break from college. But saying no to his sister isn’t in his wheelhouse, which is why he finds himself embedded in a drama-filled wedding. His first task? Babysit the “troublesome” best man.

Adrian Alvarez wants to do just about anything on New Year’s Eve except attending his best friend’s wedding. Ever since Adrian came out, he’s been shunned in his hometown. By everyone but his best friend, Tony. Which is why he finds himself trudging through the airport to fulfill his best man duties. He doesn’t expect to find out his ride to the hotel is a hot blond with a cocky grin.

Devin can’t get involved with a member of the wedding party, or his sister will kill him, and Adrian just wants to lay low and not draw attention to himself. But neither can resist the chemistry between them and they have to decide if they are willing to ignite or let their attraction fizzle out.

Just Like Heaven by Suki Fleet
One rainy night in December, David helps a busker with pretty eyes get his stolen money back. He doesn’t imagine the strong attraction he feels is mutual. But after overcoming his shyness, David discovers Jess is definitely interested.

Jess just isn’t interested in anything but a one night stand. Or maybe two. Falling for David is definitely not part of his plan. But when David gets trapped in a snowstorm the night before Christmas Eve, Jess realises a night or two is never going to be enough.

Not Your Grandfather's Magic by Kaje Harper
A month away from Zeb Crowe’s twenty-first birthday — just a month before the ceremony that will awaken his psychic heritage — Zeb’s grandfather predicts cryptically, “Hold your mind and heart ready, and something good will come to you.” Shortly afterward, Zeb meets Matt, a smart, gawky, unexpectedly appealing guy who might warm the lonely corners of his heart. But is Matt really the “something good” his grandfather predicted? And is it fair to get close to him, when very soon Zeb’s whole life will change? If Zeb’s dad wasn’t missing, or his grandfather wasn’t such an enigmatic old bastard, his path to love, or power, would be so much clearer.

Bottle Boys by Anyta Sunday
Benjamin Otto is a bottle of liquid luck. Good looks. Good brain. Whatever the challenge: good odds. Except, what happens when those odds change?

Dad’s had enough bankrolling Ben and requests him to get a job. The challenge: make enough money to finance Christmas or face telling his little brother the holidays are dead.

Then there’s Sebastian. The guy from his politics class who is always coming in second after him. The guy who steals Ben’s idea to collect bottles for quick cash. The guy who makes Ben wonder if any amount of luck will be enough to win him what he really wants…


Edited by Lenore DiTrani
Cover by KaNaXa

Proceeds will be donated to Lost-N-Found Youth , an Atlanta-based nonprofit corporation whose mission is to take homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths to age 26 off the street and transition them into more permanent housing.

BOOK INFO:
Title: Wish Come True
Authors: Keira Andrews, Joanna Chambers, Amy Jo Cousins, Megan Erickson, Suki Fleet, Kaje Harper, Anyta Sunday
Genre: Holiday, New Adult, Contemporary
Length: approx. 100k words
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Buy Links: Here are the buy links:
Amazon
Amazon UK
Smashwords

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Ebook copies from each of the participating authors’ backslists (7 in total) AND a $50 All Romance Ebooks gift certificate!

Unicorn Favourites: Love is an Open Road: Week Nine.

The M/M Romance Group on Goodreads hosts a Don't Read in the Closet event each year where they invite members to submit a photo with a story prompt. Interested authors then volunteer to write the requested stories, which are published for free for everyone to read. It's a fun/exciting/stressful process, and a great opportunity to read stories from favourite authors. And chances are, you'll also discover some new authors, who hopefully have a back-list of goodies to check out :)

This year's event was named Love is an Open Road and they started releasing the completed stories on June first. Here at BMBR, we've been following along on comment threads, anticipating the stories from our favourite prompts, and now greedily reading the stories as they become available.

Lorix: Death Chasing Metal Dreams by Kaje Harper

The stories that have come from the DRitC event this year have been amazing. I have read many stories I wouldn't normally have and loved them. I have found new authors and revisited authors I know I love and basically been blown away by the fiction produced. Of course not everything is to my taste - but to get to try all this stuff, for free, is such a wonderful opportunity. 

It is quite often said these days you don't get something for nothing, but in this event that is absolutely not true. Sometimes what you get is more than you dreamed. I know this is the case for me, and this week it was Kaje Harper's 90k novel, Chasing Death Metal Dreams, that blew me away. I totally and utterly loved it.

Let's not beat around the bush; I am a huge Kaje Harper fan, for many, many reasons, and they all held true in this story.

First - and possibly most important to me - characterisation. I know I harp on about this in my reviews, but it is characters that make the story for me. They are the people I empathise with, sympathise with, laugh or feel angry with. They are the core of the world into which I fall in the pages of a book. They are who I fall in love with. They are the story, and Kaje writes great characters. Better than great. Her characters come from the heart (and I should imagine a heck of a lot of research, because they are all so true to themselves). She can write elderly gentlemen, tough cops, grateful partners. She can write about the world weary or optimistic, about young and old. She never writes a boring characters. She never writes characters that feel like the same old, same old. Each voice is unique and genuine, and by gum do I wish I had that skill.

Carlos' voice in this story was absolutely no exception. In fact it is one of the best examples I have read of real character. Born male in a female body, Carlos knew from a very young age that he needed his outside to match his inside. I truly cannot imagine what it is like to not feel like me. To not be the person I really am. I may not (always) like the package I come in, but it feels like me from the tips of my toes, to the top of my head. 

I imagine writing a trans character and not turning them into a caricature or political statement is especially hard. Kaje writes about Carlos though,and she makes the character more than an f to m trans person. He is more than gay, he is more than a death metal musician, he is more than the Mexican boy sent to live with his aunt and uncle in America. He is more than a dental assistant, more than a tattooed musician, more than a scared 14 year old. He ismore than all those thing yet all those things are part of him. All those things combine to make him, him.

The focus of this story is Carlos dreams to be in a successful death metal band. He writes and plays guitar and lives for his music. The death metal scene though - it's not a place where being openly gay is, at least in Carlos' opinion, viable. 

Carlos is full of attitude. He loves his music, but he takes no shit. Not from fans, band mates or the general public. I could picture him so clearly, with his swagger, his presence, his attitude. He is fun. He is dedicated. Hard working. Focused. Ambitious.

He is brilliant. I loved every single moment spent with him.

Nate is the man he falls in love with - even if all Carlos was after was a quick fuck. Nate's twin brother is also in the death metal band scene and Nate helps him out roadying from time to time. Nate is out and proud, more the kind of guy who likes long term over one night. An artist who is still dealing with lies fed to him by his exes. Together Carlos and Nate are brilliant.

Kaje Harper takes their characters and the story and makes it feel real in a way many other writers would struggle to do (IMO). Never one for an easy get out or an unnecessary amount of angst (i.e. angst for angsts sake) the troubles her characters face feel real. They are led by emotion and circumstance, and not the desire to write a thrilling storyline. (Although obviously the desire to write the thrilling storyline is there, otherwise there would be no story, but it is written so damn well you forget that). I always feel I've learnt something when I've finished one of Kaje's stories. I also know I'm going to have a terrible book hangover.

Because this review is already going on a bit, I would just say - please read this story. It really is fabulous.

Optimist King's Wench: Full Exposure by Amy Jo Cousins and The Supreme Might of Love by Christina Tomlinson

Amy Jo Cousins, welcome to my neighborhood.

*pats sofa cushions*

Come. Sit a spell. Whisper more of your delightful words in my ear.

And this story is delightful. Cousins allows Riley and Evan's relationship to bloom and grow into a palpable thing of beauty right before our eyes.

They meet on a photo shoot and ooze chemistry. It is a foregone conclusion that they will spend the weekend together. We're given glimpses of that weekend. Each window gives kernals of truths about each of these characters.

They compliment each other but neither are perfect. Riley is a bratty and moody rock star who reminded me of The Bieb. Evan is a sci-fi geek with a tendency to word vomit when nervous. Together they are extraordinary.

"What would you pay me to do to you, Riley Flood?" He whispered the words against that mouth, feels Riley's lips open to speak and Riley's breath on his face.

"Everything."


They take advantage of their weekend together, neither wants to part, but obligations call. Promises are made. And broken. Only a grand gesture can possibly rectify the situation.

This story captured my attention from the get go. True, it was the name drop of Neiman Marcus that made my eyes glassy and pupils dilate, but it was the writing that kept me invested and left me with squishy good feels.

The side of kinky power dynamics didn't hurt. I especially loved how sensual the writing was without being explicit and how tactile they are with one another. And that edging bearskin rug scene.

*stares into space*

Bearskin rug cheesy, you say?

Bearskin rug hot, Cupcake replies.

I will be on the lookout for more from this author in the future and my thanks to her and her team for contributing to the LOR event.

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Gladiator?
Roman soldier?
Ancient Rome?
God of War?

Frothing at the mouth?

Oh, that was me. My mistake. 

There's something about alpha power struggles that is so titillating. I also lurve me a big un bottom. 

A lot.

Titus is a gladiator who's recently earned his freedom. He's also caught the eye of Kasen, Roman Legate. Kasen antagonizes Titus at every turn.

In fact, these two are at each other so much and so often that they have garnered the attention of Mars on Olympus.

Mars decides he wants to be the creamy filling of that manwich, so he fashions an alluring disguise and goes after his men.

He becomes treasurer of Aquileia and hires newly freed Titus as his bodyguard.

Marius (Mars) has all sorts of hotness working for him. Young, nubile slaves that would look fantastic bouncing on Titus' lap, but he keeps getting cock blocked!!!!!

HE'S A GLADIATOR! HE HAS NEEDZ!!!!!

When Marius makes his move Titus is stunned and thrilled since he didn't think he stood a chance with the nobleman not to mention hornier than a colony of rabbits.

Marius has to use some pretty fancy skills (read: manipulation) to complete the triangle.

You know that saying, "there's a fine line between love and hate"?

Titus and Kasen may have drawn that line. 

I was hopeful for some hate fucking, but they realized their feels prior to the boinking. *sadz*

However, there was some rough sex and a loin cloth wrestling match!!!!!!

The writing and story arch were solid. The storytelling idea and how that worked out in the end, I really liked. Just the right amount of squishy goodness.

The author nailed the prompt and I thank her and her team for the contribution to the LOR event.

SheReadsALot: First Dance by E. Davies and Black Horse River by Robin Studwick

I saw stripper and I got excited. Anytime I see stripper tag attached to a romance I think:



I get my singles ready and everything. 

But this isn't that kinda romance.

This is Fluffy McSugarson with a bowl full of Aw! 

No sex (not necessary), full of college geek awkwardness and a stripper who likes to memorize poetry to help with his anxiety. 

I'm glad both main characters has similar anxieties and their conversations tapped into my barrel of aw! Because they were awkward kinda cute. I'm not really amazed by poetry memorization but I picture Danny (the stripper) and his Scottish accent reciting Shakespeare and I smile.

Maybe do some of this too:

Danny, you could have had a thong full of singles if you turned it into that kinda romance.

His loss. ;P

Sweet and funny at times. Not extremely memorable but there's something about this that made me root for the nerdy bookstore worker protagonist (Kyle) finally coming out of his shell and possibly meeting the other half to his nerd soul.

I'll round up

So I'm going to take my singles and hit the road. The search for that kinda romance with the essence of ratchetness continues.



My thanks to the author and the team behind the event.

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I've never watched the entire Princess Bride movie.



Do bits and pieces count? 



*holds out hands* It's on my bucket list of things to do. 

I don't know if this story is close to the movie or not, but I'm going to hazard a guess there aren't kelpies in there. 

I liked the fantasy/historical edge. I liked the legend feel to it. Based on the story written, the tone was subtle and formal. It's told a young, virgin Scottish lord Fionn's POV. It worked for me. I see what the writer was going for keeping the tone like that, some parts read a little stilted because of it. 

Sweet story though. My favorite part is the sensual undertone of Fionn and Bran's sexual tension. It wasn't overt and it fit what was written of the men. Fionn lusts for his stablehand Bran. Always probably since he could have a cockstand. And he thinks Bran doesn't notice. But he wants him to notice.

*grins* He does. 

Men being together back in that time is forbidden but they ride away from prying eyes. Together, they discover the gifts of sweet yearning.

I do wish this was longer, just to see the fantasy world really. I found the kelpie angle unique. But I get to keep in tone with the legend theme, it wouldn't be required.

I'd read something else from this author in the future. I'm curious to read contemporary or paranormal from her, see what she can do. (Just leaving this bit here for future reference ;])

My thanks to the author and the team as always behind this event. The event tends wreak sweet havoc to my reading schedule (Ha!) too many good choices to choose from.