Akira Kazama is a man that gets what he wants. A loan shark king affiliated with the yakuza, he practically runs the money game in Tokyo.
Sora Nakano wants to save his mother’s life. When he has no choice left but to take out a hefty loan for her medical bills, he becomes indebted to Akira.
For Akira, business is always strictly business. And when someone owes him money, he always collects. Except this time, he wants more than just money from Sora.
He wants his body.
They agree on an arrangement for Sora to pay off the debt, and it’s supposed to be a win-win situation for them both. But Sora never wanted to be involved with the dark, hidden side of Akira’s life, and when Sora is threatened, he must turn to Akira for help.
Will Sora save his mother and get out of this alive? Or will he spiral down the path of dark money love?
Dark Money Love is a dark m/m romance intended for mature readers only. This book contains explicit adult content, weapon use and graphic depictions of death. Reader discretion is advised.
A criminal falls in lust...and then love?
Dark Money Love is a novella about 35 year old loner loam shark Akira. He's affiliated with the yakuza and collects debt payments for them.The book literally starts off with a bang with Akira collecting from an older, desperate person. Someone is trying to get over on him and Akira seems to be apathetic. He looks through his victims and finds young, innocent Sora. He knows Sora has no way of repayment especially with the high interest fees so he plans on coercing Sora to pay with his body.
Major dubious consent going on in here, consider yourself warned. And there are BDSM elements as well. I hesitate to call it BDSM as there is no SSC or RACK agreements. :(
Poor Sora doesn't know what's going on a majority of the time, Akira just blurts out to pick a "safeword" and poor Sora was confuzzled. Sora is an innocent in every sense of the word. He has no home, no friends and no one to help him with his ill mother.
We get glimpses of akira's world which seems interesting enough. Akira is kinda tsundere, he's cold but cares for just Sora, even from the beginning of their arrangement.
The writing is competent, but it needed another edit. It's the little things that can irk my reading soul such as one character puts on a condom and then in the next paragraph he's cumming raw in his partner. Did the condom break? Vanish? Was there a switcheroo on his didgeridoo?
I think another 10-15 pages to flesh out the main characters would have gone a long way with helping Sora and Akira's burgeoning 'romance'. I hesitate to call their softer feelings for one another a romance because they didn't talk to each other as much. If they would have opened up more, I think I'd believe it more. I wanted to like this more. I'm on the fence because I like dark plots but I also like the writing to match the style it was going for.
Would I read more from the author? Maybe, if the plot is good enough. I dunno if this is previous fanfic or if the author is also a fanfic writer, but it read like it.
Author T.A. Moore returns with a new blog tour for new criminal romantic suspense, Dirty Work (Dirty Deeds #1)! Not only does the author share new book info on today's tour stop, but also an excerpt from an exclusive short story, 'Clean Hands'! Plus, there's a giveaway! Don't miss it!
Title: Dirty Work (Book One of the Dirty Deeds series) Publisher: Rogue Firebird Press Release: March 4 Blurb:
Crime Scene Cleaner [kraɪm siːnˈkliːnə] - Cleans up crime scenes…before the cops know there is one.
People always say ‘you can’t go home again’. It turns out that doesn’t count as a guarantee…especially not during a global pandemic.
After the jobs in LA started to dry up, crime scene cleaner Grade Pulaski was forced to pack up and move home. He loves his family, but the last thing he ever wanted was to face the ghosts he’d left back in Sweeny, Kentucky.
Also, the place just sucks.
He certainly isn’t going to stay any longer than necessary. The plan is to save up enough money to move back to LA and give his business a kick-start. The problem is that, as previously mentioned, Sweeny’s a hole and the locals are anything but professional.
Now a body has gone missing, Grade’s reputation is being held hostage, and people keep asking whether his Dad really did run off with 100 grand of meth in the back of Dodge. Plus, even though you shouldn’t sleep with your employers, crime lord Clay Traynor is exactly the sort of bad idea that Grade can’t resist. Tattooed, bad news, and dangerous.
…oh, yeah. Grade’s job is to clean up the crime scene before the cops know someone’s dead. That’s why he needs to sort this out before he gets a bad review on dark net Yelp.
Tour:
4th March - mmromancereviewed
7th March - Reading Reality
9th March - Two Chicks Obsessed
10th March - Boy Meets Boy
11th March - Love Bytes Reviews
Author Visit
Thanks for letting me pop in to talk about my latest book, Dirty Work, which comes out on March 4. This is the first book in the Dirty Deeds trilogy and I had a lot of fun with it! It’s available online - https://books2read.com/Dirty-Work-Dirty-Deeds-Book-1 - and I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing it!
I also hope you enjoy ‘Clean Hands’ a short story prequel to the series.
Clean Hands - Chapter Four
Grade wished that Shannon had called him an hour earlier. When he could have stuck some of the protective gear from work into his bag on the way home. Instead he stripped down to his briefs and pulled on a cheap boiler suit.
The cold air made goosebumps prickle his arms as he turned to look at the car and the dead man. He scrubbed his palms over them and glanced at Harrison behind the wheel of Suzuki. He’d sullenly agreed to come down and help as long as he didn’t have to touch the body.
That was fine. As long as they were all implicated.
“Just roll back,” he said. “Just enough for us to get the body out.”
Harrison grimaced with the half of his face still working and hunched over to fumble with the keys.
“I’m fucking traumatized,” he complained, his voice thick as it shouldered its way out through swollen lips. “I’m injured. It’s not right to make me come down here. I don’t want to see this.”
Grade slapped his hand against the car door on his way past. “Then you shouldn’t have killed him,” he said flatly. “When I give you the signal, just edge back.”
He straddled the sticky pool of blood that had oozed out from under the car. The dead man smelt of BO and just the first hint of decomposition up close. Grade grabbed his arm--clammy and flaccid, but still warmer than the woman in the funeral home--and glanced over the crumpled hood at Shannon. They had on their own boiler suit, but so far they’d not come close enough to take the weight on their half of the corpse.
“Ready?” he asked.
Shannon screwed their face up in distress, took a deep breath, and took a very reluctant few steps forward. When they touched the dead man’s arm they audibly retched, mouth puckered up tight and cheeks distended.
“Don’t puke on him,” Grade warned them. “OK--”
Harrison started the engine and the jeep jolted forward against the fleshy buffer of the dead man. Blood splattered from the impact.
“Fuck!” Grade yelped as he jumped back, his heart in his throat and gore over the crisp fabric on his chest.
Shannon just stood where they were, clots of red squirted up over their face and into their hair. For a second it looked like they were going to handle it unexpectedly well. Then they blanched a greasy white and their throat worked.
“Not on the body!” Grade said urgently.
Shannon’s chest hitched and they lurched backward into the corner of the garage. They gripped the shelves with one hand and retched noisily onto the boxes stacked there. Booze and fried rice leftovers splattered over the odds and ends that the flat-mate who’d preceded Grade had left behind. Those were some old porn DVDs and plates that weren’t going to be the same anytime soon.
“Fuck. Holy shit,” Shannon spluttered as they gagged and spat. “It went in my mouth. What the fuck? What the fuck?!”
Harrison opened the door of the car and half-fell out, one arm clutching his chest. “It’s a stick!” he said. “I left it in gear. Fuck, I can’t breathe.”
He sagged down onto the floor, sweaty and pallid as he wheezed. Grade rubbed his forehead with the back of his wrist and resisted the urge to take a deep breath. Maybe this whole bloody mess really had been an accident.
“Just get out of my way,” he said grimly. “It’ll be quicker if I do it myself.”
Harrison gave him a sour look out of his one good eye. “I told you that.”
“I never liked you,” Grade said.
“Like I care?” Harrison said. He grabbed a shelf and pulled himself up to his feet. “I killed someone and they are looking at me. I don’t give a fuck what you think.”
He limped back up the steps into the house, his weight braced heavily against the railing. The door slammed behind him, and Shannon cleared their throat.
“He’s just scared,” they said. “Freaked out. Fuck, so am I. How are you not?”
“I don’t know,” Grade said. He looked at the dead body and shrugged. “It’s not like I killed him, is it?”
That had been the wrong thing to say. Shannon stared at him for a second with a flat, unhappy look on their face, then they wiped their hand over their mouth.
“I’m going to go and gargle some whiskey,” they said. “Get changed. Then I’ll come back and help, I guess.”
Grade doubted it. He nodded anyhow and waited for Shannon to follow Harrison out of the garage. Then he wiped his exposed skin down fastidiously with baby wipes to get rid of any blood, before he climbed into the car. The fake leather seat was still sweaty warm from Harrison’s body.
It was still in first gear. Grade bumped it into neutral, started the engine, and backed it up a couple of inches. The dead body slid slowly down the wall as the pressure was taken off it. For a second the head lolled back and Grade got a good look at the guy’s face.
That made his throat tighten uncomfortably and he had to resist the urge to avoid the blind stare of still brown eyes. Guilt was hardly useful under the circumstances, but Grade couldn’t deny it was a bit reassuring. He’d always been a bit odd, even if he’d learned to hide it well, but it was comforting to know that he still had a soul.
Funny, really.
Grade turned the engine off and got out of the car.
One more body for the client list. That was all.
Author Bio:
TA MOORE
TA Moore is a Northern Irish writer of romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance novels. A childhood in a rural, seaside town fostered in her a suspicious nature, a love of mystery, and a streak of black humour a mile wide. As her grandmother always said, ‘she’d laugh at a bad thing that one’, mind you, that was the pot calling the kettle black. TA Moore studied History, Irish mythology, English at University, mostly because she has always loved a good story. She has worked as a journalist, a finance manager, and in the arts sectors before she finally gave in to a lifelong desire to write.
Coffee, Doc Marten boots, and good friends are the essential things in life. Spiders, mayo, and heels are to be avoided.
Amy Tasukada and Gay Book Promotions return with a new release blitz for yakuza fiction, Addicted to Lust (A Yakuza Path Romance)! Find out more and enter in the giveaway for a chance to win an eBook copy of Addicted to Lust!
RELEASE BLITZ
Book Title: Addicted to Lust (A Yakuza Path Romance)
Author: Amy Tasukada
Publisher: Macarons & Tea Publishing
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Release Date: September 1, 2021
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, age difference, workplace relationship, one-night stand
Themes: Criminals & outlaws, grief, monophobia
Heat Rating: 5 flames
Length: 51 000 words/206 pages
It is a standalone story.
This story is in the same universe as my Yakuza Path books, but they are separate series.
Can a night of passion lead to a happily ever after?
Blurb
Can a night of passion lead to a happily ever after?
Yakuza captain Hayato’s life is a mess. His boyfriend broke up with him, changed the locks, and kept all his stuff. He can’t crash at his brother’s because his girlfriend is moving in. And just when Hayato thinks things can’t get worse, he accidentally gets blackout drunk and wakes up in the arms of a clingy underling.
Masuo believes he and his boss made a deep connection, but when he’s blown off the next morning, he feels lied to. Assigned to run a failing pachinko parlor, Masuo is determined to turn it around to prove himself to everyone…especially his sexy superior.
When Hayato realizes he’s falling for the young parlor manager, he is more than ready for fun. But as Hayato’s tragic past comes back to haunt him, Masuo wonders if he’s ready to carry all Hayato’s baggage.
Can the unlikely pair learn to accept each other and find their way to happiness even while new challenges arise, or is their love destined to fall like balls through a pachinko machine?
Buy Addicted to Lust to find love in crime today!
Excerpt
January sucked. Hayato always started it with a New Year’s hangover. Then came the anniversary of the worst day of his life. And that wasn’t including the cold. At least the snow was pretty sometimes, but January storms usually skipped the happily-ever-after fluffy snow and went straight to freezing rain of doom. No matter how many layers Hayato wore, he always froze his balls off. The whole month should be tossed out like a used condom in a love hotel’s trash.
If he stayed in bed, he could pretend the calendar had never turned. He could go back to sweet December when nothing bad ever happened and the world was a blur of sales and romantic dinners. Or maybe he could stick with his current plan to spend the whole month of January drunk until the thirty-one days of hell passed and February dawned, if not warmer, at least a little brighter.
He hugged his pillow closer, then gagged, his sinuses assaulted by the stench of sweat and cum. Like the hangover wasn’t bad enough. Only January 1 and already the month had lived up to its reputation as the one of suffering and hatred.
Hayato threw the pillow off the bed and rolled onto his back. Furry pink walls shocked any remaining sleep out of his system. The matching sheets and heart-shaped tufted headboard confirmed it. He’d spent the night at a love hotel. No big deal. No one wanted to spend New Year’s alone. The sound of rushing water in the bathroom signaled Hayato needed to leave before things got complicated.
About the Author
International best-selling author Amy Tasukada writes thrilling times of crime, love, and gore. Readers who crave diverse characters, unique settings, and edge-of-your-seat action will devour her Yakuza Path series. Readers who seek less blood and more love will swoon over the Yakuza Path Romance and Would it Be Okay to Love You? Series. Amy is an atheist, queer author who enjoys drinking tea, Japanese street fashion and visual kei music. Her calico cat, O’Hara, is never far from her side. Amy lives in North Texas, but is always planning her next trip to Japan.
Robin Loxleigh and his sister Marianne are the hit of the Season, so attractive and delightful that nobody looks behind their pretty faces.
Until Robin sets his sights on Sir John Hartlebury’s heiress niece. The notoriously graceless baronet isn’t impressed by good looks, or fooled by false charm. He’s sure Robin is a liar—a fortune hunter, a card sharp, and a heartless, greedy fraud—and he’ll protect his niece, whatever it takes.
Then, just when Hart thinks he has Robin at his mercy, things take a sharp left turn. And as the grumpy baronet and the glib fortune hunter start to understand each other, they also find themselves starting to care—more than either of them thought possible.
But Robin's cheated and lied and let people down for money. Can a professional rogue earn an honest happy ever after?
When Robin and Marriane Loxleigh take London society by storm, it’s no secret that they are of humble origins. It’s also no secret that the siblings are angling for advantageous matches.
But Robin sets his sights on the wrong heiress, coming face-to-face with her curmudgeonly and overprotective uncle, Sir John Hartlebury.
Few tropes titillate me as much as a good enemies-to-lovers tale. Throw in Regency high society, a cast of interesting characters, and some damn good UST, and you can consider me thoroughly titillated.
I was rooting for Robin and Marianne from the beginning. Two upstarts able to turn le bon ton’s game on its head; more power to them! Plus, I adored how devoted they were to each other.
From the outset, Robin’s ambitions and Hart’s suspicions mean that the two are bound to clash. Hart is immune to Robin’s social charms, unlike the rest of London society.
But despite their frosty interactions, there’s an underlying tension between them that goes beyond the Marriage Mart.
I thought their mutual dismay at how attractive they found the other was hilarious. Even better was how Hart and Robin unsettled one another.
When the situation finally implodes - it was only a matter of time - the outcome was delicious. Hart and Robin really don’t hold back on working through that bottled-up tension!
Where this book really shines is that the physical relationship solves absolutely nothing. I really liked how the two men were still ideologically opposites for the majority of the book, which made their growing feelings for each other all the more complicated.
Hart needed quite a few teaching moments on hypocrisy, class, and gender (though the last could have been explored a bit more), and Robin didn’t hold back. It was great!
However, I did feel like there were some missing bits at the end. It seems like a lot changed, but was only summarized, in the epilogue. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I ended the book feeling distracted.
That being said, Hart and Robin’s HEA was very well-deserved and was perfect for them. Recommended read if you’re looking for an MM Regency romance!
A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Author CC Bridges and IndiGo Marketing return with new release promotion for Stealing Jennifer! Read more about the thieves menage story and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!
Jennifer, Sean, and Maria are jewel thieves—and lovers. When a job gone wrong sees Jennifer in the hands of the FBI, Sean and Maria have to figure out how to break her out. It’s no easy feat, since Jennifer is both their hacker and master planner. But these two thieves will do anything to steal their heart back.
Jennifer had only seconds to act. The pounding of footsteps up the stairwell echoed against the walls. This old building had zero insulation. They probably thought they were being quiet, but Jen had good ears and fast hands. Years of experience had her moving before thinking.
One glance at her laptop showed the dual security camera feeds she’d hacked into. Sean hovered above the case of jewels and Maria waited patiently in the getaway car. Jennifer had a second to tab through the rest of the feeds to make sure no police had gotten close to either of them. She entered the kill code to erase the recordings while she still could.
At least they would be safe.
Jennifer touched her fingers to her lips and then the screen, brushing over both Sean and Maria’s faces, imagining the soft feel of the stubble on Sean’s cheeks and the flutter of Maria’s long black eyelashes. She regretted not being able to touch them one more time. Even this warning would have to be abbreviated in case she was overheard.
“I’m about to get busted.” Jennifer never thought she would be the one saying these words. “Get out, now. I’m burning the laptop.” She ripped the headset out of her right ear without waiting for a response. After five years together, she trusted them to listen, still a surprise to her even now to know that she could rely on anyone other than herself. Jennifer slammed the laptop closed and pressed her thumb against the failsafe fingerprint reader she’d installed on the bottom.
She ran out of time. The door behind her cracked under the weight of some asshole cop’s foot as she dropped the laptop onto the floor. At least she hadn’t rented this apartment—she’d never get the deposit back. No, she’d chosen an empty location with good sight lines to the jewelry store and picked the lock on the door.
If this had been a long con, they would have rented an apartment and tried to look like good neighbors. Jennifer had fond memories of jobs where they entrenched themselves, living for months or more in one place until that location felt like home. This job in particular should have been quick, in and out.
Yeah, that turned out well.
The cracked door gave way with a crash, and her once private sanctuary filled with large men in uniform. Jennifer forced down the panic as they surrounded her, black barrels of guns pointed at her. This had happened before, only she hadn’t been the target. “Put your hands in the air!”
Jennifer stood with deliberate caution, keeping her hands in view. Cops would take any excuse to get a shot off, and if she wanted to survive this night, Jen knew she had to play the game. However, the sarcastic little shit inside of her couldn’t resist saying, “Congratulations, you got me.”
Because really? Dozens of armed men for little ole her? Come on.
They didn’t seem impressed, at least no one responded other than to grab her by the shoulders and turn her around to cuff her wrists behind her back. The metal felt familiar on her skin from so much time practicing slipping out of handcuffs. Maybe that skill would come in handy tonight.
More important than slipping her cuffs would be figuring out the man in charge. If she kept her wits about her, Jennifer could think over the pounding of her heart, over the fear that this time she wouldn’t make it out. No, she had to focus. Think. None of these keystone cops were distinguishable from the others. They all wore the same damn blue uniforms with black body armor and helmets. Foot soldiers. She needed a mastermind.
That’s when he walked in. No nondescript body armor for him. He wore a suit, not an expensive one with a label, no, something utilitarian you’d pick up in the mall. Still, she noticed the bulge in the line of his jacket, a clear indication of a weapon. He carried himself like he expected to be obeyed, shoulders back and his jaw clenched. She met his eyes as he stared her down like he cataloged her for evidence, startled by the pale blue of those eyes and the contrast of that with his dark hair.
Funny. In another circumstance she’d consider him hot. Jennifer had always loved the combo of dark hair and light eyes, although his eyes were nowhere near as striking as Maria’s. She swallowed down thoughts of Maria or Sean. If she didn’t keep control of herself, if they guessed that she had partners out there, then the game was as good as lost. This stranger in a suit couldn’t know anything real about her.
When they forced her to walk past him she made sure to throw him a cocky grin.
He didn’t seem affected by it. She didn’t register to him any more than an object. Good to know. He nodded at one of the uniformed men. “Take her in.”
CC Bridges is a mild-mannered librarian by day, but by night she writes about worlds of adventure and romance. When she’s not busy solving puzzles in an escape room, she can be found diving into comics or binge-watching superhero movies. She writes surrounded by books, spare computing equipment, and a fluffy dog. In 2011, she won a Rainbow Award for best gay sci-fi/futuristic novel.
Like enemies to lovers? Check out today's book blast for JMS Books' Public Enemy, Undercover Lover from author Amanda Meuwissen and Gay Book Promotions! Discover more and enter in the Interpretive Hearts eBook giveaway!
Second chances come in many forms – career changes, criminal reformation, fatherhood, even sex with a former enemy.
Blurb
Isaac Ford seeks help from the detective who put him in prison -- now security consultant, Andrew Wen -- after an unexpected prison break weeks before his release. Despite an almost twenty-year age difference and being on opposite ends of the law, the attraction between them culminates in a one-night stand that teeters Isaac between turning himself in and returning to a life of crime. His decision is made for him when he discovers a young man waiting for him at his safe house -- the son he never knew existed.
Months later, Isaac has been reconnecting with his son, Dalton, and started a security consultancy of his own, looking for a fresh start. His past catches up to him, however, when he runs into Andrew at the police station, both seeking information on a new thief. Andrew isn’t happy Isaac left that night or that he’s been encroaching on his business, but the passion between them rekindles as trying to one-up each other turns sexual. Neither plan to let anything more come of their tryst until Andrew finds out about Dalton, who he knew in college, and a theft at Dalton’s job forces Isaac and Andrew to work together.
Dalton playing matchmaker complicates things. What’s worse is how easily Isaac and Andrew keep giving in.
Excerpt
The warmth that spread through Isaac’s chest surprised him, but he didn’t have much time before Dalton would be back, and Andrew discovering he had a son was just as bad as any enemies.
Then a bitter thought crossed his mind. “Did you track me again?”
“No. I just come here.”
That might be true. This was closer to the persona Isaac remembered from when Andrew was a detective. Sympathetic, earnest, almost sweet. It was just as well that he’d found his way off the force.
He looked like he had half a mind to take the empty seat in front of Isaac but hesitated with a bite at his lip. “I know we’re still at odds professionally, and I’m sure you’ll infuriate me to no end trying to steal more jobs from me in the future, but ... I never actually apologized for Christmas.”
“Andrew --”
“I get why you left,” he pushed on. “I wasn’t exactly hospitable, and you still kept your end of the bargain. You’ve been a model citizen ever since. You know, besides shameless shenanigans in uniform and invasion of privacy,” he whispered. “But I won’t talk if you don’t.”
The smile that alighted Isaac’s face in response surprised him too. He tried to think of a comeback, only for Andrew’s eyes to fall to the empty seat again and notice the second drinking glass.
“Are you on a date?”
“No,” Isaac said too hastily. “It’s not a date.”
“If it was one of your associates, you wouldn’t care, but you’re anxious. Stealing more clients from me already? Or maybe you are planning a job, and you just use security as a front.”
He was teasing again, Isaac could tell, but that's what all the naysayers said: that Isaac was faking it. Once word of the new thief finally spread, they’d all say it was him. A few skirts of the law were one thing, but he couldn't risk going back to jail, not when he had Dalton.
Dalton -- who was out of the bathroom and headed for their table!
“Listen, now isn’t the best --”
“Andrew?”
Andrew spun around when Dalton called his name.
When Dalton called his name.
“Dalton? Oh my God, how are you?”
They hugged, completely unabashed in their open display of affection.
“Why are you never on Facebook?” Dalton squeezed Andrew tightly. “I can hardly keep up. Did I hear you quit the force?”
“Almost a year ago now. I started a security firm.”
“That’s awesome! And kind of funny. My dad does security too. Dad? What’s with the face?”
Dalton’s eyes landed on Isaac, and when Andrew turned to see that no, there was no other man in line of sight to be the bearer of that endearment, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
“Dad?”
“Do you and Andrew know each other?”
“How do you know each other?” Isaac threw back, because if they’d slept together, he would have an aneurism right there in the café.
“Andrew tutored me in Art History in college. How do you know him?”
The actual answers flitted through Isaac’s mind.
He was my nemesis.
He’s the detective who put me in jail.
We fucked on his living room sofa half an hour before I met you, and I helped him through two orgasms yesterday.
“We ... dated,” Isaac sputtered -- and what the hell was he thinking?! “Briefly.”
‘WHAT?’ Andrew mouthed in disbelief, but he must not have been able to think of a better answer either, because he screwed his face into embarrassed shock for Dalton’s sake and said, “Yeah! Very briefly. Boy, that must sound super weird since he’s your dad.”
“Not ... weird,” Dalton said, glancing stoically between them. He had Isaac’s knack for hiding his emotions unless he wanted others to know them. “I mean, we’re all adults. You’re a good guy, Andrew, and Dad’s --”
“A criminal,” Andrew blurted, unable to keep his floundering word-vomit under control any better than Isaac had. “That’s why we broke up! Detective, thief ... you know ...”
“Conflict of interest,” Isaac saved him.
“Exactly!”
“Sure.” Dalton nodded as if that made perfect sense, which it did, but that didn’t alleviate any of the awkwardness.
About the Author
Amanda Meuwissen is a bisexual and happily married 35-year-old geek. Primarily an M/M romance author with a focus on urban fantasy, she has a Bachelor of Arts in a personally designed Creative Writing major from St. Olaf College and is an avid consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their cat, Helga.
No indiscriminate killing. No collateral damage. No unvetted targets.
These are the rules Hawes Madigan lives by. Rules that make being Fog City’s Prince of Killers bearable. Soon, he’ll be king—of an organization of assassins—and the crown has never felt heavier. Until the mysterious Dante Perry swaggers into his life.
Dante looks like a rock god and carries himself like one too, all loose-limbed and casually confident. He also carries a concealed weapon, a private investigator’s license, and a message for the prince. Someone inside Hawes’s organization is out to kill the future king.
In the chaos that follows the timely warning, Hawes comes to depend on Dante. On his skills as an investigator, on the steadiness he offers, and on their moments alone when Hawes lets Dante take control. As alliances are tested and traitors exposed, Hawes needs Dante at his back and in his bed. But if the PI ever learns Hawes’s darkest secret, Hawes is sure to get a knife to the heart—and a bullet to the brain—instead.
There’s no shortage of twists and turns in this new romantic suspense trilogy from Layla Reyne. Prince of Killers is book one of three. Fair warning: buckle up, cliffhangers ahead!
Annnnnnndddddd we're off!
Hopefully we don't crash and burn at the end of this deal because Cuppers is IN-ves-ted. Fair warning though, it looks to be a marathon not a sprint for both the romance and the action storylines.
To be perfectly honest, I was more locked into the action storyline than this burgeoning romance-like thing between Hawes and Dante. Surprising, but Reyne developed the details of the tech elements and the legal ones and that worked for me more than I would've thought, though it didn't hurt that the narrative is briskly paced and kept me engaged intellectually.
Nor did it hurt that it's told from Hawes' perspective and I really connected with him. He was foisted into the role of leader of his family at a tender age, a family that dabbles in a whole host of illegal activities to boot. I like characters that are morally grey and Hawes fits that bill. Though he's loyal and has put a premium on protecting his family in private he often feels overwhelmed with and saddled by his obligations to them. He's also burdened and haunted by a past mistake which he's endeavoring to rectify and in so doing brings with it the added bonus of safeguarding his family in the long term. To that end he's begun extricating them from certain aspects of the business his grandfather put into place which seems to have everyone and their cousin in a tizzy. However, that does not mean he's above a bit of vigilante justice every once in awhile for the truly worthy.
Only his "good" deeds keep getting preempted by shenanigans and ballyhoo due to the aforementioned "tizzying"!
Everyone is gunning for him and the only place he finds solace is rockstar doppelgänger, man bun having, 😍🙌 handy in the kitchen, Dante Perry who swoops in and makes himself at home. Literally. Things moved swiftly between them, not so fast that I had to completely suspend disbelief but fast enough to give me pause a time or twelve two. They certainly seem to have something happening between them. I'm not sure what yet and I'm absolutely not sold on it but I do like the kinky adjacent thing they have happening. I also like that they are equally dangerous and can hold their own, bedroom romps notwithstanding.
So, I'm in it for the long haul, cliffs and all and would recommend Prince of Killers if any of the above tweaks your fancy.
An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Celebrate the release of Empire of Light (Voyance #1) with author Alex Harrow and IndiGo Marketing! Learn more about the sci-fi romance and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!
Damian Nettoyer is the Empire’s go-to gun. He kills whoever they want him to kill. In exchange, he and his rag-tag gang of crooks get to live, and Damian’s psychokinetic partner and lover, Aris, isn’t issued a one-way ticket to an Empire-sanctioned lobotomy.
Then Damian’s latest mark, a suave revolutionary named Raeyn, kicks his ass and demands his help. The first item on the new agenda: take out Damian’s old boss—or Raeyn will take out Damian’s crew.
To protect his friends and save his own skin, Damian teams up with Raeyn to make his revolution work. As Aris slips away from Damian and his control over his powers crumbles, the Watch catches on. Damian gets way too close to Raeyn, torn between the need to shoot him one minute and kiss him the next.
With the Empire, Damian had two policies: shoot first and don’t ask questions. But to save the guy he loves, he’ll set the world on fire.
Join NineStar Press Authors Alex Harrow, L. A. Ashton, and Tash McAdam on FACEBOOK for a virtual launch party of their releases, EMPIRE OF LIGHT, ECHOES, and WE ARE THE CATALYST!
Find the party HERE. The event is February 25th from 8-10 PM CST, but feel free to drop by and stay as long as you wish!
For more info on each author and their books, visit:
One: Shootings with a Chance of Explosions
Funny how I always had to be the guy who ended up with a gun to his head.
“I thought you said this was going to be easy,” Aris said somewhere to my right. His voice was thick, the words choked out past the gun shoved underneath his jaw. The two Reds who kept us pinned were all broad shoulders and raw muscle. Huge white guys. Buzz cuts. Built like fucking tanks. In the low light of a fading sunset spilling into the empty warehouse, their leather coats gleamed like congealing blood.
The run had started out simple enough: get in, dump the cargo—a couple dozen barrels of diesel and some tech we’d snatched off a derailed train—and get the hell out. The place’d been abandoned for years, just another slouching ruin on the outskirts of Low Side. The perfect hiding spot to stash away things you didn’t want the Watch to find, while waiting for the highest bidder to jump the gun. A surefire way to some quick and easy cash and still get to my real job for the night.
Standing there with my face mashed against the crumbling brick wall, a gun barrel against my skull, it looked more like a surefire way straight to a cell in the Finger of Light.
If we were lucky.
The guy above me seemed happy to put a bullet into my brainpan and chalk both Aris and me up as “casualties, resisting arrest.” The Watch, safeguards of the Empire, the Consolidated Nations at their best. To protect and serve. Right.
I couldn’t just tell our dear upstanding Reds to go ahead and stick their guns and handcuffs up their asses because we kind of were on the same team. I might be running the Empire’s off-the-books hits for extra cash, but officially, I didn’t exist. Blurting out I was on their boss’s payroll wouldn’t get me anything but a bullet to the head and my body dumped into the East River. Talk about employment perks.
That’s what I got for double-booking myself. Fucking Murphy’s Law.
And worse, I’d dragged Aris into it.
“Guess Jay was sugarcoating it a little when she said there might be slight complications.”
Someone ratted us out. No way the Watch had just shown up here, far from their usual patrol routes, without any reason. The whole thing’d been a sting from the get-go, and once I found out who’d set us up—
My fingers twitched for my Colt. My Colt that lay cold and useless five feet away from me. Slim chance I’d be able to shoot both Reds before one of them got to either Aris or me, but I might get lucky and get the drop on one of them. Especially if I could piss him off enough he got stupid. At the very least I could distract them from Aris.
“You know, I kind of need to be somewhere. And I’d appreciate a little more leg room here,” I said and squirmed under the Red’s grip.
Honestly, by now I probably should’ve memorized some of the regulars’ names or something. To me, they all looked the same. All fists ready to punch and guns ready to fire; neatly wrapped in black uniforms and their trademark red coats. Not like this was the first time either. By now, the Watch should issue us a punch card for frequent visits, maybe something with a rewards program.
“Shut up.”
The Red jerked me around and slammed my head into the murky stained-glass window to my right. Point taken. A distant rushing filled my ears. Spots started to slow-dance in front of my vision. I went down hard, twisting away from the Red’s reach and blindly fumbling for my Colt. I’d barely moved before his boot came down on my fingers with a dry crunch. I bit back a grunt that came out more like a breathless scream.
“Next time it’ll be your head,” the Red—I mentally tagged him as Captain Crunch—said, towering above me, gun aimed at my forehead. If he shot me from that angle, there wouldn’t be enough of my head left for Aris to scrape out of the wall cracks behind me.
Here was hoping he had more fun beating the shit out of me than making shooting me look like it’d been his only option.
The Red didn’t shoot me. Instead, his knee dug into the small of my back, his free hand going for a pair of handcuffs. “In the name of the Empire of Light, I hereby place you under arrest for—”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Aris said.
He’d been standing perfectly still, his head slightly bowed, a model of the “hands above your head and don’t make a move” arrestee. The unthreatening kind. The kind who came quietly and wouldn’t even think to make any trouble for our dear upstanding officers of the Watch who only did their job.
When he straightened, brushing away a few errant blond curls that’d slipped out of his loose ponytail, a slow smile curved his lips. A dangerous smile, turning positively radiant until it teetered on the edge of manic as he glanced from the guy above me to the one holding him.
“In fact, I’d suggest you two start running. This is going to get messy.”
His eyes flicked to me. “Damian, stay down. And get out.”
And like that, all color drained out of his eyes until they were a stark, milky white.
Oh shit.
“Aris, no!”
Too late.
The Red pinning me tensed. He slapped his hand on his right ear to call out for reinforcements. His headset shorted out with a buzz and the burned-copper smell of fried electronics. The guy holding Aris cursed and flinched away, as if he’d been zapped by a high-voltage fence.
Aris didn’t move. His expression wiped completely blank, like someone’d snuffed out the lights behind his eyes, now fixed on some point far above me.
Then he blinked.
I felt the zing of the Voyance crack through the air like a power surge. The window wall at my back blew up in a shower of broken glass and toppling bricks.
Sacred, bleeding fuck!
I managed to duck and roll away before half the wall collapsed on top of me. I flattened myself onto the ground and then scrambled to my feet, cursing and coughing through a cloud of red-brick dust settling on the crumbling remains scattered all over the cement floor and the cracked pavement outside.
The explosion hit the Red above me completely by surprise. I only spared him a quick glance to make sure his hunched form wasn’t moving, and he wasn’t faking being unconscious. Or dead. A slow trickle of blood ran down his temple where one of the flying bricks must’ve hit him. People died from less. I didn’t push my luck.
I grabbed my Colt, its weight solid and familiar against my stiff, throbbing fingers.
“Aris?”
“Over here.” His voice was a thin thread, fraying at the edges. “Told you to get out.”
I ignored that last bit. Aris stood only a few feet away from me, his back pressed against the remnants of the wall. His face was gray, and he was trembling badly; he probably would’ve fallen over if not for the second Red who kept him pinned.
“Fucking Voyant,” the Red snarled, gun shoved against Aris’s temple, ready to put him down. As if Aris was nothing but a rabid animal.
Aris stood perfectly still, blood running out his nose—a steady drip down the collar of his shirt. Looking at him, knowing how easily I could lose him, hurt worse than all the bruises and broken bones any Red could ever give me.
“Damian—”
The Red’s finger tightened around the trigger. I shot him in the head. His body sagged sideways and hit the ground with a meaty thud, his gun slipping uselessly from his fingers.
“Just to be clear,” I said to the body at my feet. “He’s my fucking Voyant, so back the fuck off.”
Alex Harrow is a genderqueer, pansexual, and demisexual author of queer science fiction and fantasy. Alex’ pronouns are they/them.
When not writing diversity with a chance of explosions, Alex is a high school English teacher, waging epic battles against comma splices, misused apostrophes, and anyone under the delusion that the singular ‘they’ is grammatically incorrect.
A German immigrant, Alex has always been drawn to language and stories. They began to write when they realized that the best guarantee to see more books with queer characters was to create them. Alex cares deeply about social justice and wants to see diverse characters, including LGBTQ+ protagonists, in more than the stereotypical coming out story.
Alex currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with their equally geeky wife, outnumbered by three adorable feline overlords, and what could not possibly be too many books.
Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes is the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, with a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary—so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it.
The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Soldier-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the answer: he'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alec's new best friend.
But Jerry is a dangerous man: controlling, remote, and devastating. He effortlessly teases out the lonely young nobleman’s most secret desires, and soon he’s got Alec in his bed—and the palm of his hand.
Or maybe not. Because as the plot thickens, betrayals, secrets, new loves, and old evils come to light. Now the jewel thief and the aristocrat must keep up the pretence, find their way through a maze of privilege and deceit, and confront the truth of what's between them...all without getting caught.
3.875 Heart average
Adam - 3.75 hearts
The blurb had me practically salivating. Family drama, crime, Victorian aristocracy, contempt for said aristocracy, two very mismatched characters, and a hint of kink.
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this!
The book introduces readers to someone who should be one of Victorian Britain’s most privileged individuals - Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes, i.e. Alec, the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar.
But Alec, living in a rundown apartment as a struggling illustrator, is far from a young noble living the high life. And there’s little love lost between himself and his ducal father.
I was rooting for Alec from the start. He’s shy and bookish, but had a strong sense of purpose and the grit to back it up. And his grudge against his father isn’t based on greed.
That grudge brings him to Jerry Crozier - one of the infamous Lillywhite Boys. Jerry has spent his life relieving the rich of their sparkly possessions, and the chance to get the Ilvar jewels is an opportunity he can’t pass up.
He’s also not opposed to possessing young Alec along the way.
What I liked most about Jerry is that he makes no apologies. He’s a thief and without compunction, and makes sure Alec knows what the deal is.
The two men are pulled together from the start. Alec’s attracted to the dangerous callous man, and Jerry wants to take ruin that naive innocence.
And Alec was all on board for being ruined. These two were hot. Alec submits so sweetly, and Jerry’s just the right amount of cruel yet giving. And Alec loves every second of it.
Their affair plays out against the backdrop of an elaborate crime. I really enjoyed the entire plot. I don’t want to reveal anything, but the way the crime plays out definitely threw me for a loop.
It was a fun ride, with the family drama making it more so.
My only complaint - I’d have liked Jerry and Alec to talk about what they wanted earlier on. Granted, the situation wasn’t conducive to them talking about their feelings, but the big talk didn’t happen until right at the end.
Even so, there’s no denying that these two just get each other and belong together. Jerry sees Alec’s inner strength, and Alec sees past Jerry’s rough edges.
‘Any Old Diamonds’ is a classic KJ Charles read, and hits all a lot of high notes. Recommended if you’re looking for an MM historical romance!
Lost in a Book - 4 Hearts
There’s something so comforting about a K.J. Charles historical romance. Well, as comforting as intrigue, murder, jewel thieves, and filial retribution can be...which for me is as effective as a cozy blanket and a mug of hot chocolate. #content
Lord Alexander has harbored rage for years after his family was turned away by his father, Duke Ilvar. The Duke and Duchess remain quite wealthy while their children live in poverty. With their anniversary coming soon, the Duke has commissioned a diamond parure for his wife and Lord Alexander (Alec) hires renowned jewel thieves to steal it.
Jewel thief, Jerry Crozier is unapologetic about his profession and instructs Alec that he must get in the good graces of the Duke and his wife. This is a really tough pill to swallow for Alec who has to alienate important people in his life to see the mission through. Part of the mission requires Jerry and Lord Alexander to become the very best of friends. The benefits they discover and partake in are strictly a bonus.
Jerry is harsh and doesn’t sugarcoat his past nor what he expects out of the present/future. Alec is independent but craves someone to take control in the bedroom (Jerry was good at doing control type things and let’s just say I was here for it). I do wish Jerry and Alec had more getting to know you moments instead of always hopping on the orgasm train... which isn’t totally a complaint but I wanted more. I could *see* some subtle moments during those intimate times, moving them closer together. Yet, I would have definitely welcomed more relational development.
The plot has a lot of moving pieces and I really like all the ground work that has to be laid in order to pull off the heist. There are lots of twists and turns along the way.
Holy plot twist Batman. I also enjoyed the mentions of the Vanes and Cirencester from the Society series. Any Old Diamonds is not a touchy feely romance. It’s sexy, entertaining, gruesome, and suspenseful, with plot twists around every bend. Recommended.
It’s 1806 and aristocratic, bastard born jewel thief, David Lambert has few rules in his life. Never bed the staff, never bed a man more than once, and never kiss. In the space of one weekend, all his rules are shattered by a stunning, violet eyed footman with a secret.
Jeremy Naylor thought he had found the man of his dreams. Thought he had found the one person that might, just might, understand him. But in one shocking moment his dreams are destroyed, and he is forced to run for his life.
When Jeremy is flung into Newgate for a crime David committed, it’s a race against time to get him free and David is forced to face up to his past, his family, and accept that he might have a future if he has the courage to fight for it.
Excerpt
David hammered on the door of Charnley’s Grosvenor Street mansion and, finding the door unlocked, let himself in. He strode through the hallway, boot heels ringing on the marble floor, and was met by a flurry of agitated staff.
“Get me Charnley. Now.”
The butler emerged and addressed him in condescending tones, but David brushed him aside. “Where is he? Study?” he stalked across the hallway and headed for the study door with the staff flapping behind him. He threw open the door, but there was no-one inside.
“Charnley!” he bellowed. “Get out here now.”
The flurry of footmen was swiftly replaced by burly, determined looking grooms, so David pulled out a brace of pistols from the back of his breeches and aimed them.
“Hold it right there,” he said, and the men stopped. “I have no quarrel with you, but I will see Charnley. Anyone who tries to stop me will be shot. Those of you who know me know I will do it.” He raised the pistols and waited. No-one moved.
“So, where is he?”
“What in God’s name is going on?” Charnley appeared, leaning over the gallery balcony, then running lightly down the stairs wearing only his shirt sleeves and waistcoat. “Lambert, why are you causing ructions in my home? For God’s sake, man, put the pistols down.”
“First, call off your lap dogs.”
With a flick of a hand, the staff were dismissed, but David held onto the pistols. “Shall we?” he asked, nodding towards the study. He slammed the door shut behind them with his boot.
“Get him out. Whatever you want from me is yours, just get him out.”
Charnley frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
David stalked across the room, gun in hand and put the muzzle against Charnley’s chest. “You have until the count of three to tell me you will get him out. If you do not, I will shoot you and get him out myself.”
Charnley staggered back and held up both hands. “What … who are you talking about? Get who out of where?”
“One.”
“Lambert, I do not know what…”
“Two.”
“God… man will you … Oh Christ. Not Naylor?” A look of genuine shock on Charnley’s face surprised David.
“Three. Yes.” He pushed against Charnley’s chest.
“Yes, yes… of course I will help. Just put the fucking gun down.”
David lowered the pistol slowly, and Charnley backed away, one hand going to his throat. Sweat stood out on his brow.
“Get your coat, get down to Newgate, and undo whatever lies you told to put him in there. Now.”
Charnley lifted both hands. He was a little taller than David, and heavier having a few years on him, but he was treating him with a healthy respect. “Now, listen to me.”
“I’m listening. Get your coat.”
“David, I will do everything in my power to get Naylor out, but we have a serious problem here.”
“Which is?”
“He is not there because of anything that I did. I did not order his arrest.”
My name is Ruby Moone and I love books. All kinds of books. My weakness is for romance, and that can be any kind, but I am particularly fond of historical and paranormal. I decided to write gay romance after reading some fantastic books and falling in love with the genre, so am really thrilled to have my work published here. The day job takes up a lot of my time, but every other spare moment finds me writing or reading. I live in the north west of England with my husband who thinks that I live in two worlds. The real world and in the world in my head...he probably has a point!
