Review: Timing by Ashley John

When it comes to love, is timing everything? 

Tom doesn’t have time for a relationship – not now that his fingers are practically touching the promotion he’s spent years chasing. His weekdays are consumed by desperately fighting for his editor’s attention and his weekends are wasted alone with meals for one and his cat for company. 

All Cole has ever wanted is to work on the farm he was raised on, but money is tighter than ever and he is forced to get a job in a bar to keep a roof over him and his auntie’s heads. Time is running out for the farm but he spends his days dreaming about a future he thinks he’ll never have. 

After an unexpected collision at the village train station, their lives suddenly become connected when Cole clumsily spills his coffee on Tom and it sets into motion something greater. Tom is wary of listening to his heart and Cole is distracted by the threat of losing everything. Each possesses something the other desperately needs, but can they ignore bad timing to listen to their hearts?

Before I even start this review, can we take a moment to admire the cover. Isn't it gorgeous?? That smile...

This story made me grin. It was a warm hug of a book that I really enjoyed reading. I must admit, I do have a real soft spot for rural stories. The vibe is, necessarily, different to urban tales and they often become my comfort reads. They feel familiar and comforting, and the trials and tribulations of the characters just resonate with me for some reason. Timing straddles the divide and has both an urban and rural setting, I really liked this.

Ashley John puts a lot into his characters and each individual is just that - individual. Without being wacky or out there he manages to not just create and recreate the same personas time and again. This is appreciated as I like discovering the new characters each book; I don't skim because I've met that person before.

That being said, Ashley John does have his own writing style. Of course, all authors do! I kind of know, not the storyline, but the way the story will go - and again, for a comfort read, a Sunday read, this works really well for me. Timing was no exception. It has all the elements I expected to make up an Ashley John story, but was still unique enough to interesting and enjoyable.

I mean, the romance was just yummy. How often does Timing come into play with relationships? Chance encounters and bad timing written into a love story that was sweet and lovely. Any Ashley John fan will enjoy this book, I'm sure. Those looking for a comfort read would do worse than to check this author out, too.

A copy of this book was given for an honest review.

For more information see Goodreads.

Review: Shelter by Ashley John

Fresh from his fourth stint in rehab, Elias James doesn’t have much to live for. His relationship with his family has never been so strained and with no real life of his own, he has nothing to live for. His overachieving twin sister and his ruthless mother's political success as Mayor of Havenmoore has left him empty. Getting high started as an act of rebellion but the addiction soon controlled his every waking moment.

Aspiring writer, Caden Walker, thought he had the perfect life until he discovered his boyfriend in bed with his best friend. Leaving everything behind in New York, he returns to Havenmoore to re-evaluate his life from his parent’s guest bedroom. When his mom offers him a job working for the charity she runs, helping people struggling with addiction, he’s not in a position to turn it down.

Caden never expected to find what he did, but when he is assigned to work with Elias, a reluctant attraction quickly blossoms into something deeper. Can Elias find in Caden the one thing he’s always searched for or will his addiction drag him under once again? Is Caden ready to let go of his New York dream to take a chance on something unexpected? Both men are faced with difficult times of change, but can they make it through the storm to find the shelter?

This story was pure Ashley John. This author regularly creates characters that are far from perfect, beautifully flawed one might say, puts them through the mill a little and then rescues them in the nick of time. I like characters that are far from perfect. For me characterisation is a huge part of any book. It matters not how good the storyline is, if I can't love the characters - and I really did love these two.

Elias, so unsure of his own worth, is broken. Not just broken but convinced he is beyond fixing. That he's not worthy of the effort it would take. The first step in recovering from an addiction is admiting there is a problem. The second is wanting to change that. It's the addict who needs to make the change. Who needs to want to change. Who needs to be ready to put in the hard work. Before any of that can happen the addict needs to feel they are worth the effort beating an addiction requires. It's a fucking hard thing to do. Elias really didn't feel he was worth the effort. He broke my heart a little. Bolshy and rebellious and everyone's pain in the arse, I wanted to grab the sad little boy he was inside and love him and mother him and heal him.

Of course, Ashley John had a better idea than that. He introduced Elias to Caden.

Caden was the sunshine to Elias's rain.

He wasn't having an easy time of it, but what he did have, what Elias sorely lacked, was a family who loved him. A sense of self worth, self esteem. It might have wavered for a minute but it was there, a fundamental foundation to build his life on. It shone through in his need to help others; to put others first. I think this is what I love about this book. There isn't an easy fix. It requires effort from Elias - meeting Caden made him want to be better. It didn't make him suddenly better, he still had to put in the effort.

Sure, at times, I wanted it a tad more real. Elias's mum was a tad cartoonishly nasty and Caden's mum a little bit too wonderful. The focus of the main characters was much wider. They were shades of grey and not so black and white. it worked. I rooted so hard for both of these guys. If you're a fan of Ashley John, I promise this book will not disappoint.

A copy of this book was given on exchange for an honest review.
Find out more at Goodreads.

Review: Boss by Ashley John

After years of travelling the world using his trust fund, college-dropout Joshua Silverton returns to London to discover two shocking truths: his estranged and wealthy father has been dead for over a year and he left his fortune to a total stranger. Joshua soon meets the man who stole his inheritance and even though he expects to hate Ezra Steele, he can’t ignore the strange attraction he suddenly feels towards him.

Bill Silverton saved Ezra Steele from his troubled past when he signed Silverton Tower over to him on his deathbed. Ezra now has the house, the business, the cars, the money and a different man in his bed every night. It’s a life he wants to cling to, so when Bill’s gorgeous son unexpectedly turns up and demands he hand everything back, his life is turned upside down in more ways than one.

A need to finally prove himself to his dead father forces Joshua to challenge Ezra but will he be able to ignore the attraction in order to be ruthless? Ezra tries to keep his enemies close by getting Joshua into his bed but as history catches up with him, he is forced to face himself. They are both running from their past, so in a battle between head and heart, Joshua and Ezra must choose what is more important – money or each other.

" "Fuck me," Joshua moaned, "do it." It was a demand, a raw and primal demand. A demand unbothered by sexuality or conflict. A demand from a man who was ready to give in to his desires. A demand from a man who knew what he really wanted. "

Ashley John has a talent. Not just his writing talent, but a talent to make me enjoy books I would not normally. He can take a story and make me want to read it, even if I don't want to read it! I'm kinda talking in riddles, huh.

Okay. When I first read the blurb of Boss, I wanted to read it. It sounded different to what Ashley usually writes - and I have to admit, I liked the fact it was set in England. When I started reading I didn't really like Joshua at all. He sounded like a stuck up, self-entitled, rich brat. He was a stuck up, self-entitled, rich brat. Starting a book with an MC I could barely tolerate is not usually a good sign. But here is where the magic of Ashley's writing comes in, because he makes me care about the rich brat, even while my brain is telling me not to. 

Not only did he make me care about the rich brat, he made me care about the antagonist, Ezra, too. Even when Ezra was being a dickhead. Ezra, who came from nowhere and took everything. Ezra with  pain in his past and a burning need to succeed. (Ezra, who in my head looked exactly like Idris Elba, even though the description of him was nothing like him!  I think it was the name, Ezra/Elba, because before I'd even started I'd got that image in my head - and let's face it, it's a pretty good image to have stuck in your noggin!).

The story of these two - slightly reminicscent of a Prince and a Pauper, set in the business world of today's London - was so readable. Rich boy left with nothing, poor boy given everything. The fight they have, one to regain and one to keep, all while experiencing emotions they've neither been party too before. Love. Neither had truly been loved, not for a long time. Both were toughened, hardened to the world at large, more interested in the tangible than the emotional.To love your enemy though? It takes a whole lot of trust - and trust is a difficult commodity for them both to come by.

As I read this book, I could switch off my emotion and clinically point out things that would normally make me roll my eyes - but this lad is talented, and I am so engrossed in the story and the tale of the characters that I don't care. I really don't. Nit-picky me can take a hike because, as far as I'm concerned, reading is about enjoyment and I damn well enjoyed this story. I really did. I'm super pleased to see there is going to be a second book in this series and would recommend people check out this author, he just gets better and better.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more at Goodreads.

Review and teaser: Sink or Swim by Ashley John

*This is 5th book in the Surf Bay series. It is an origin story for Finley and not a HEA romance novel (although it does have romance elements). It is recommended that you have read the other books in the Surf Bay series first, although this CAN be read as a standalone (no cliffhanger) or as a prequel to the rest of the series*

----

Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, British teenager, Finley, is given a fake passport and forced to forget the life he’s always known. When he arrives in Surf Bay, he meets his uncle, Monroe, and he learns his time in America isn’t going to be a vacation. From the second his plane hits the ground, he is dragged into a world of organized crime, working under his uncle’s wing.

He is forced to share a tiny apartment with another of Monroe’s employees, Jay, and they soon become puppets, acting out Monroe's terrible crimes, side by side. When their work starts to become increasingly more dangerous, Finley is torn between his need to obey his uncle and his need to protect Jay.

As his life spirals out of control, he falls deeper and deeper into a world filled with money, crime and power and his only form of escapism is in his growing love for Jay.

Can Finley resist the lure of a life-changing proposition from his uncle, while still protecting the one he loves, or will he make sacrifices, which could change the course of his life, forever?

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I'm throwing all the hearts at this one - which is super generous of me, as I don't actually have a heart that is intact after reading this. As far as I'm concerned, Ashley John blew this one out of the water. After reading the last book, it is hard to believe that I would have any sympathy for Finley. Even though, in Saving Michael, he took a character I didn't have much sympathy for and made me like him, I was convinced that he would not be able to do it again. Boy oh boy was I wrong. I think Finley has become my favourite Surf Bay character (it's not just cos he's a Brit, honest!!), my heart aches for him, I want him to get his HEA. I want the world to see the man that Jay did. I need more for Finely - more of Finley. I really, really do.

Over the course of these books Ashley John has grown and grown as an author. the plot of this is so tight and the characters brilliantly rounded. I said in my last review that we know what we're getting with the Surf Bay series, that was before this book though. I'm not spoiling anything to tell you there is no HEA - it's right there in the blurb. Ashley still manages to give us a love story though. it's a love story that will make you bawl like a baby by the end of the book, but it's a beautiful love story nonetheless. Maybe it's precisely because we know how things go (to a certain extent, we've seen the man Finley becomes in later books) that the love is so much more poignant and heartbreaking. Whatever the magic that Ashley John worked, it has me still longing for Finley to have another story, to get an HEA, to mend is broken, patched, hard-boiled heart.

Please Ashley. Pretty please with a cherry on top???

If you've yet to discover Surf Bay I would urge you too - if for no other reason than to read this book. Just, when you get to this one, make sire you have tissues handy.

I'm going to leave the review there because Ashley John has kindly given us an excerpt from this book, so you can have a taster of it. This was one of the best scenes, really beautiful. Enjoy.

Sink or Swim Teaser
Taken from Chapter 14
In the late morning sun, Finley kicked off his flip-flops, dipping his toes into the cool ocean foam. Awkwardly, he looked over his shoulder as Jay played with the settings on his camera. People were already settling onto the beach and surfers were running into the waves, boards over their heads.
“I can’t do this,” Finley mumbled, “it’s embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing, it’s art,” Jay didn’t look up from his camera, “nobody will be staring at you.”
He wasn’t too sure about that. Porter was still standing on his deck across the beach, watching them with intrigue.
“No, really, I can’t,” Finley stepped back, holding out his hands, “this is too much. This isn’t me.”
The old version of him, the one he’d left behind in England, would have laughed at him for even entertaining the idea. Before he’d touched the gun, he was pretending to be the macho, tough guy. He was denying the feelings he had inside, to fit in with the rest of his family. Somehow, he’d lost all of those fears as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean. He still had Monroe to worry about, but not in the same way. He didn’t need to worry about ‘disappointing’ a family, who had raised him to be a stereotype since birth.
He’d been raised to be the clone of his father, a criminal, a con-man. He thought the good thing about leaving and starting a new life in the States, would mean he’d get away from that life but somehow, he was slowly becoming that man anyway.
Was it his destiny? Did they pick Surf Bay because it was far away, or because Monroe would keep him on the track they’d trained him for?
Despite all of that, there he was, standing on the edge of a never ending ocean, with a man in front of him, who did things to his insides he’d never experienced.
He didn’t want to do the photo-shoot but he also didn’t want to do most of the things he’d been made to do since he’d arrived in town. At least this way, he’d be doing something against his will to make somebody he cared about, happy, rather than to carry out somebody else’s dirty work.
“I’ll do this under one condition,” Finley planted his hands firmly on his hips.
“What? You’re already doing it! No conditions!”
“Hear me out.”
Jay sighed, dropping the camera to his side for a moment, copying Finley’s stance, “What do you want? Blow jobs? Because let me tell you, that thing you have is far too -,”
“No!” Finley waved his hands, “I want you to show your pictures to somebody.”
“I already have,” he shrugged, “I showed you.”
“Somebody else. You mentioned a gallery in the town hall. I want you to try and get your pictures in that gallery.”
“Finley –,”
“Jay,” Finley cut in, “Just promise me you’ll try. You’re too good to be under a bed for the rest of your life.”
He could see Jay arguing with himself in his head. He was struggling between his desire to photograph Finley and his fear of having his work judged. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, each time, sighing and huffing out his chest, as if a tantrum was brewing.
“Fine!” he cried, “Will you let me take your Goddamn picture now?”
“Just tell me what to do,” he scratched the back of his head, “don’t leave me hanging.”
“Don’t worry,” Jay held the camera up to his eye, and clicked, the flash almost blinding Finley, “I can tell you’re going to be a natural.”
“I wasn’t ready that time!”
He clicked again, and again, leaving Finley standing there, more and more terrified each time the bright light burned his eyes.
“You’re not going to pose,” another picture, another flash, “just be you. Be Finley. Be the person I see, not the person you want people to see.”
For a second, that statement puzzled him but after a second of thinking, he understood it perfectly.
Jay saw through every act, every wall, to see the person he was deep down. He saw the person behind the fake passport, without even knowing the full story. He didn’t seem to care that Finley was hiding things from him, but that didn’t matter to Jay.
That’s why he cared about him.

Review: Love's Medicine by Ashley John

Justin White didn't expect to fall in love with his best friend, Sammie Cooper, but he couldn't stop himself. Since their teen years, they've been inseparable, but as each year passes, it becomes harder and harder for shy Justin to confess his true feelings to his charismatic and promiscuous best friend. Keeping secrets has become second nature to Justin, as his love for Sammie isn't the only thing he's concealing from the world. In the shadows of his home, his mother is slowly dying, and despite stealing painkillers from the hospital, there's nothing he can do to save her.

Sammie Cooper never thought his casual and sexual relationship with his boss at the nightclub would ever turn into anything serious, but when Finley offers him a briefcase stuffed with money to follow him to England, he doesn't know if he can resist the lure of the cold, hard cash. Sammie is faced with a decision that he never thought he'd have to make, and things only get more complicated when he makes a shocking discovery about Justin's life.

Can Justin start telling the truth to keep hold of the only man he'll ever love? Can Sammie turn down life changing money to risk it all on the unknown?

One is scared of love and the other is scared of commitment. Justin and Sammie thought they could make it through anything together, but their crumbling lives threaten to rip them apart. Both are faced with difficult decisions, but will they make the right ones? 

Ashley John is an author I look forward to reading now. The Surf Bay books are a series of, easy to read, devour in a sitting, stories. Each of the characters are unique, as is each love story. When I open up one of these books I know to a certain extent what I am going to get - but that is part of the charm. I know there will be one lovable MC with stuff going wrong in his life. I know there will be a 'bad boy' MC who we get to uncover and grow to love. I know there will be angst but ultimately an HEA/HFN. I like that I know this. I read different books for different reasons and depending on my mood at the time, and sometimes I just know I need to read this kind of book. Hard, but not brutal. I know I'll fall for the MC's along the way and wish them their happily ever after. 

So what is unique about each book? Well, though they follow a certain format they do all bring different characters to the table...or the town of Surf Bay and I really appreciate this. In this book Justin is the good guy making some super tough decisions. Hiding a secret from everyone, including his best friend Sammie, he is coping the best he can in a crappy situation. He's trying to keep himself together but is barely succeeding. On top of the personal issues he's dealing with the love of his life, best friend Sammie (friends to lovers - YAYAYAYAYA!!) has no idea how Justin feels about him, and Sammie's casual attitude to sex and his own self worth eat away at Justin more and more.

Sammie is getting himself in some hot water. Shagging his boss to keep him sweet and rolling in expensive gifts it seems that Sammie may suddenly be out of his depth. Caught between friendship and an uncertain future that may involve love, or a guaranteed 'high-life' rolling in riches, playboy to his boss, Sammie suddenly doesn't know which way to turn. He thought he knew what it was he wanted out of life but now he's questioning decisions he makes and then questioning them again.

It would be easy to write Sammie off as a bit of an arsehole - in truth he really can be, but I always got the feeling that he was more a confused little boy who really didn't know up-from-down. Yes, at times, his treatment of Justin SUCKED. He was a miserable BFF and the phrase 'who needs enemies...' sprung to mind. When I peeled beneath the surface though I think he was way more scared and unable to cope with life than Justin, however they would outwardly appear. He was screwed up and made screwed up decisions, but I think he started to learn from them and at the end of the day he made the right choices (eventually). Even if he did cut it fine.

Fans of this series will like this book and I would recommend Surf Bay for those looking for a comfort read, the population there is pretty cool!

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

For more information, check out Goodreads.

Review: Saving Michael (Surf Bay #3) by Ashley John

The Deputy Sheriff of Surf Bay has hit rock bottom. After pushing his boyfriend away with his drunken, violent behavior, Michael doesn’t have any reason to live anymore. Sleeping in his car and on his father’s couch, Michael is spiraling further and further into a dark pit as he drinks himself to death. 

The local vet, Caleb, is young, attractive and full of life. His passion is saving the animals that pass through his surgery, but when the very place he loves is engulfed in flames, it’s up to the local, drunk police officer to save him from the fire. After being saved, Caleb invites Michael to his mother’s annual Christmas party to make his ex, Ace, jealous, but as Michael and Caleb get closer, Caleb knows there’s more to the dark void of sadness that fills Michael, than first meets the eye. 

He makes it his mission to save Michael, but is Michael beyond saving? Michael witnessed something horrific as a child that changed the course of his life forever, but will he be able to bring justice to the memories of his past so he can have a future?

*This is a stand-alone story, but certain characters and plots have been carried over from the first book in the series, Lost & Found. This is an novel of approx. 83,000 and contains sex depicting sex between two men*

I've been dithering over how to rate this story - do I give it 3.75 stars, or 4? As you can see, I settled on 4. After reading the first two books in this series, I was really eager to find out more about Michael. After book two especially he was an easy character to hate - we saw him at his worst, and his worst was being violent towards the MC of that book, Porter. Of course I wanted Porter to have an HEA and Michael was not part of that, but I had a feeling there was more to him than what met the eye and Ashley John proved me right.

What I like about Ashley John's characters is they are not two dimensional. Michael is a perfect case in point. He had more depths than just drunken-bully. It just took a while and Caleb to show us...although, did it? Because, despite his thought process, Michael was the one who went into a burning building to save Caleb. He could have walked away - I liked this. I liked that the author showed us Michael's integrity, however deeply drowned in alcohol it was, before Caleb was in the picture. It showed that it was truly the Michael Caleb saw that we were seeing, not just a character conveniently changed to make a story fit.

Talking of Caleb - oh was he a sweetie! Boy oh boy did I like him. So nice - yet he wasn't perfect...I saw what he did to Ace! Again, even with this character that could potentially be 'perfect' Ashley John managed to round him out, make him more real.

It took a bit of thinking on how to rate this book because sometimes it did seem a tad convenient...but after I thought about it, I realised that fits the Surf Bay series just right. It is a feel good read - despite some angstier moments - because it is inherently about love and relationships. And yes sometimes it's a little bit rose-tinted glasses, but that's the kind of story it is. Enough drama to keep you interested but with characters and relationships that warm the heart. Don't read them expecting a gritty true-life scenario, heartache and angst. That's not what these books are about. And I have to say, I love how Ashley John portrays love; perfectly imperfect.

At times I felt a bit more research wouldn't have gone astray, and there were some English to American-isms that got missed (icing instead of frosting for example) but nothing that dragged me from the story. An extra edit might have caught some of these things but, like I say, none of it was detrimental my enjoyment of the book.

I have to say, this is an author I hugely admire for his hard work and attitude. He is young, but he had a dream and decided to follow it.  He doesn't expect it all to just happen, he works really hard to make it a reality. Reading back that sentence it sounds like I know him - but I don't. I reviewed a book of his and gave it ...well, it wasn't the most favourable review ever. Instead of getting upset though, he thanked me and took on board the points and asked me to review (here) his next book, knowing full well that I had not previously connected with his work.  Way to go Ashley! With that attitude you will go a long way - in my humble opinion!

A copy of this book was provided in return for an honest review.

Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit: Ashley John

Today we are welcoming to the blog, author Ashley John. Ashley is the writer of the Surf Bay series (among others) and is so incredibly busy we are delighted he managed to stop by for a visit! We welcomed him into our bar, gave him a caffeine free cocktail and set about interrogating, er, questioning him. Here is what he had to say... 

What are your favourite M/M themes?

I'd have to say relationships and love. I know the majority of M/M books revolve around these themes, but it's something I've found myself writing about a lot. I always find myself writing about love that doesn't come easy, because I don't see love as being easy. Relationships take a lot of work to get to a good place, and sometimes, the path isn't always so clear to get there. This is a theme that I've explored in all of my book so far, because that's what comes naturally to me. I often get asked why the characters don't get together half way through the book so they can be happy for 150 pages without any conflict, but would that be any fun to read? In my Surf Bay series, 'tough love' is a theme I've explored a lot. Charlie and Oliver in the first book (Lost & Found), didn't have an easy start to their relationship because Charlie was confused about his sexuality and that led to the conflict between the characters. In the second book (Full Circle), Porter and Kane have already been in love once when they were teenagers, but as 35 year old adults, their lives are very complicated and they need to work through a lot to get to a good place. In the future, I'm planning on writing some lighter stories with a comedy angle, but for now, I'll stick with the 'rocky road', but maybe that's because I like putting my readers through the mill

What books do you consider Desert Island Keepers?

A survival book? Is that a cop out? In all honesty, I'd probably say the Harry Potter series, because reading them stirs a lot of nostalgia for me. I read the first book when I was 8 and the final book when I was 15, so I can tell you exactly where and what I was doing in my life when I read each book. Plus, they're so damn long, it would keep me occupied as I starved to death. In all seriousness, I'd be terrible on a desert island.

What's your go-to tasty beverage?

I'd like to say coffee, but I recently quit because it was messing up my skin. I was becoming so dependent on it to write, so I decided to go cold turkey to get away from the delicious stuff (3 weeks clean, *wipes away tear*). Now, I like to drink green tea and water (how dull, right?). Of course, if I'm in a bar, I'm partial to cider or a nice dry white wine. One of the tastiest drinks I've ever encountered is a cider that tastes like Toffee Apples, made by Brothers. It's perfect for this time of year, because it's like drinking pure syrup!

Do you have any secret talents? Inquiring minds want to know!

I can get my leg behind my head (cheeky wink). I also draw and paint when I get the chance. I've been an artist since I was a young child, but I'm always switching up my medium. This time last year I was painting and drawing everyday, but now I'm pouring my creativity into writing. People who are eagle-eyed may have noticed some of my portraits and painting tucked away on my Facebook page fb.com/ashleyjohnart. I can also lick my nose (a not so cheeky wink).

If you had to choose to be one magical beast, what would it be and why? (You don't have to say unicorn...but we won't say neigh either). 

I'd probably be something with wings. Maybe Pegasus? I can be quite a lazy person and I imagine it doesn't take as much effort to flap my way to the fridge.

Who's your favourite porn star?

I don't even need to think about this one. Colby Keller! He might not be the most conventionally good looking man, but there's a rawness and passion to him that is irresistible. He sends this little gay boy weak at the knees.

Do you have author envy? Whose words do you read and think, "GAH, I wish I wrote that!"?

This is probably going to be a lame answer, but I honestly don't. Whenever I read, I put my reader head on and I get lost in the story. I've developed tunnel vision when I'm working on a book, because If I don't focus on what I'm doing and I start focusing on what everyone else is doing, I'd get very lost very quickly. There are a lot of amazing writers out there, especially in the M/M genre, so it would be so easy for me to be consumed with jealousy, but I'd never get anything done. Some authors that I've read recently have been Amy Lane (I love how funny her characters are), Ella Frank (I love the chemistry she creates) and Catherine Bybee (because her books are so sweet and light).

Any new projects you're currently working on?

Lots! I'm currently working on my first M/F romance story (Unlikely Love), which is available for pre-order now. I'm slightly nervous about it, because it's my first venture outside of M/M, so I have no idea what I'm doing there! I'm also working on the third Surf Bay book, Saving Michael, which is coming out just before Christmas and is also available for pre-order. Michael is a character that divided readers in Full Circle, so I'm looking forward for the chance to explain a few things about him and his life. So far, we've only seen the drunken rage, not the person beneath it all. 2015 is going to be a good year for me. I already have a lot planned in the first quarter, so I'm going to be insanely busy! I won't give too much away yet (because I'm very likely to change my mind), but I think I'm going to rest the Surf Bay books for a few releases to focus on some complete standalone M/M books. I've had a M/M romantic comedy planned for a while which I want to write, and I have some other ideas floating around that I'm toying with. Looking at the bigger picture, there are going to be AT LEAST 6 Surf Bay books, with a possibility for more, so that's very exciting (and terrifying). I'm going to be a very busy boy!

Harry Potter and Colby Keller (um, that's not a suggestion btw) this author gets our vote!! Thank you so much for popping by Ashley, we look forward to reading Michael's story (Lorix is VERY anxious, she's pretty sure there is a sad messed up person under the bully he'd become!!) 

To find out more about Ashley, visit his goodreads page.

Review: Full Circle by Ashley John

Can you have a second chance at a first love?

The year is 1997 and 18 year old Porter has been left devastated after his first love, Kane, chose a life in the army over a life with him in Surf Bay. With his broken heart, he had to find a way to rebuild his life.

17 years later and Porter has it all. He has the handsome deputy Sheriff boyfriend, the adorable daughter and he runs the surf club, but Porter's life is far from perfect. His relationship is filled with abuse and his surf club is failing.

Kane can't stop thinking about the decision he made on that dark night when he was 18 and finds himself back at his mother's little pink house, ready to face his past. When Kane comes face to face with his old flame, deep and buried feelings start flooding back and Kane is faced with the same difficult decision once again. Porter, or the army?

Can Porter resist the first love who shattered his heart? Can Kane find a life of his own without ruining someone else's? Can Porter juggle his heart, his family and his business, without losing everything?

For all of you who have been waiting for today (release day for the second in the Surf Bay series), Porter's story is no let down. In fact, it is my favourite Ashley John novel (read) to date.

Porter was an interesting character in Lost and Found. He is the kind of secondary character that catches my eye - supposedly the carefree owner of the surf shack, Oliver's boss and friend. Yet even in the first book there were hints that things weren't quite as happy and settled as he made them out to be. I liked this hook, I was ready for Porter's story (as I am for Michael's the next in the series).

This book flits between two time frames, current day and 1997. In 1997 we see eighteen year old Porter have his heart broken by his one true love, Kane. In 2014, we see the sparks that fly when they re-meet for the first time in seventeen years.

Ashley John has been clever how his character's are in relation to each other, how the friends and relatives dynamics work. I like series where, even if the focus characters change, we still catch up with old favourites and learn more about them as the books unfold. Each story unfurls different layers which leads to a richer reading experience. He is also clever with how he tells his story, feeding us bits here and there, playing with our emotions. Sad, happy, loving, hating - it's all there, as is the need to find out what is happening to Porter and why he's letting it happen.

Surf Bay is a series I'm going to enjoy. It's the kind of series that makes you feel as though you're greeting old friends when you open up the pages. Occasionally, I wish he'd cut out some of the reporting clauses and stuck with 'said'. Yep, show don't tell. It's a little thing really, a simple fix. Please don't let this put you off reading these books - the story dragged me in and I found myself needing to read more.

I really can't wait for Michael's story - at the moment I want to hate him...but I feel that by the end of the next book I will understand and love him just like I do Porter and Kane, and Oliver and Charlie. I love watching this writer grow with each book he writes,  it makes anticipation of the next one to come even better.

Find out more about Ashley John on Goodreads.

An arc of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Lost and Found by Ashley John

When 18-year-old Charlie’s unreliable mother tells him they are moving across the country to live with her mysterious Aunt Evelyn in the sunny town of Surf Bay, he isn’t surprised. After spending most of his life moving around the country with his mother and younger sister, picking up his life and starting somewhere new is second nature to him. 

19-year-old Oliver is one of those guys that everybody loves. Most people would describe him as good-looking, cheeky and confident, but when Charlie meets him working as his Great-Aunt’s gardener, there’s only word that springs to his mind….arrogant.

Charlie quickly finds a job at the local surf club, but his initial joy quickly vanishes when he learns that Oliver also works there. From the first moment Oliver lays eyes on him, he knows that he wants Charlie, and when he discovers that he’s a virgin, he sees it as a new and exciting challenge which he accepts, even if Charlie tells him he isn’t interested in guys.

Oliver wants Charlie’s virginity, but he doesn’t count on finding something else along the way… Charlie feels pressure to look after his family, so he tries to ignore Oliver’s relentless advances, but he starts to feel something new…something he’s never felt before…something exciting… 

Does Charlie have the power to resist Oliver’s charms?

I have to say that I was slightly nervous about reading this book, I'd previously read The Secret by the same author and it didn't really work for me. Despite my, less than glowing, review last time, the author asked if I would be interested as he had taken on board what I had said and hoped his writing was improving - for this attitude alone I agreed. And boy am I glad I did.

I can see such huge improvements in this story, I was hooked by the characters immediately - even though I didn't particularly like Oliver for a start. He was predatory and pushed the Charlie's boundaries in a way I found uncomfortable, but that was all part of his character. He wasn't the nicest of people to start with and I liked how his character changed and grew throughout the story. 

Charlie I really liked as a character, he could easily have come across as a bit of a drip, yet he didn't. He had his beliefs and reasons and he stuck to them - he was strong when he needed to be. The secondary characters were wide and varied, maybe at times a little clichéd, but nothing awful. I'm really keen to read Porter's story, which is next in the series. He strikes me as someone with an interesting background.

At times the characters acted in what I would call an irrational manner, it was a bit insta love - then I remembered back to being eighteen and put myself in their shoes. It is easy to feel so much more then, to overlook rationale and be lead by hormones. So really, what felt at times rushed, was actually just in character. Kudos.

It wasn't perfect - some spelling and grammar errors, nothing that pulled me from the story. Maybe I'm contradicting myself a bit here, but I would have been happier if it was set over a slightly longer time period - possibly that's just because I'm old! Occasionally the story felt a little convenient. These are all easy to fix and things that come with practise.  I know this author has a big fan base and I can't believe the difference between this and the last book of his I read. There is definitely talent there, it is, like anything, just in need of honing a little. I really look forward to reading more from Ashley John and I would advise others to keep their eyes out for his future works.

Find out more about Ashley John at Goodreads.

A copy of this book was given to us in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Secret by Ashley John

When 32 year old married author George Lewis sees 19 year old Harvey Jasper reading one of his books in the local bookstore, he can't help but be drawn to him. After giving Harvey his cellphone number, he soon receives a call from Harvey asking if he can intern under George. Reluctantly, George says yes, and agrees to let Harvey into his home for a whole month.

As they spend more and more time together, Harvey shares his heart-breaking story with George and his eyes are opened up to a whole new world with whole new emotions. George soon discovers something he never thought he'd find in another man...love.

The Secret is the first in the George & Harvey series.

A copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review.

This review contains spoilers.

It is obvious from my rating that this book did not really work for me. Others have rated 5 stars, so for some it is doing the trick. I will try and explain in this review why this wasn't the case for me.

The pros:

Number one - that cover, I like it! I also like how the series is uniform in look.

The second positive note, I did enjoy the opening scene. As George is in the book shop and first meets Harvey, hapless author meets downtrodden super-fan, it showed potential. We saw George's feelings as he roamed the aisles, we saw the distance that was there between him and his wife - both actual and metaphorical. His internal musings were insightful, I thought it was a promising start. Sadly, for me, it went downhill from there.

The cons:

The first thing I found that made this hard to read was the constant head hopping. And I mean constant. In every scene with George and Harvey it flits between the twos' thoughts continuously. Even in third person writing each part can only be told from the perspective of one of the characters. Okay, we can observe what the other character is doing, but we can't know what he's thinking otherwise the poor reader gets really dizzy trying to keep up. If an editor, or 'book doctor', had taken a look at this MS, it would have stopped some of these rookie mistakes being made.

The next of which is the telling. Too much telling and the reader won't care about the characters at all, I want to feel what they're feeling, not be told it. Show don't tell is writing 101. Show me Harvey falling in love - his heart beating faster when he catches a glimpse of George, the electricity shooting up his arm when they accidentally touch etc, etc. Just telling me he is falling in love is not going to make me believe it. Show me George's confusion - he's a married 31 year old who ends up having an affair with his 19 year old intern, and yet I don't see one bit of confusion or guilt in him.

I suppose this was the third thing I found hard to reconcile as a reader, I just didn't believe the story, it was all so...convenient. Downtrodden super-fan meets his fave author in the local bookshop (yet didn't know who he was) then rings him and becomes his intern. Married author's wife goes away to care for her dying mom (why didn't George go with her, he can write from anywhere?) and that night author realises intern is living in poverty with a drunk brother so moves him into his house. This boy is still in high school, he's supposed to be learning the ins and outs of being a writer but ends up gardening, watching DVD's and bathing at the authors house. And I cringed when George watched him in the bath, however briefly it was.

We hear very little about his wife for the remainder of the story, certainly no contact between her and George while he starts his affair. It is only at the end of the book, when Harvey's drunk brother comes round and threatens them at knife point, do we find out George has no plans to leave her yet, but poor old Harvey thought he did. This book was crammed full of convenient plot twists.

There were also some grammatical errors and - my own personal pet peeve, that probably bothers nobody else anywhere, ever - spellings/words that do not fit in with the area the book is set. The author is English and we do have flats and the colour grey here , but in the US, where the book is set, they have apartments and gray. (There were other differences, I'm not listing them all!) A small thing, but a personal annoyance of mine that drags me from the story without fail.

I told myself I wouldn't write a bitchy review - I don't like bitchy reviews and I appreciate the time and effort the author has put into writing this. I appreciate the guts it takes to self publish and then contact people to ask for an honest review (trust me, I really, really do) - but I really feel that this author needs some good writing advice from an expert. There are plenty out there to choose from and their advice is really invaluable.

Despite this review I actually believe this author has potential, he just needs to seek professional writing advice. Of course this is only my personal opinion and I truly wish him all the best luck with future endeavours.