Review: Bully for Sale (Heat for Sale #2) by Leta Blake

Bullied and outcast, Ezer has seen firsthand the cruelties of the world. He knows what’s expected from his kind—timid compliance and submission to his “betters.” But Ezer isn’t one to roll over and conform to the role society has forced upon him.

Despite his defiant nature, Ezer is coerced into partnering with a man of his father’s choosing. One his father promises will love and care for him for the rest of his life.

A night of nameless and faceless passion later, Ezer is horrified to find himself bound to Ned, a bully who has done so much to make his life hell. Ezer’s determined to hate Ned but he can’t help the way his body craves his touch.

Ned is young, privileged, and hopelessly in love with Ezer. Too bad his pack of so-called “friends” have targeted Ezer for torment. Ned has a lot of regrets, but none greater than his role in Ezer’s misery. When Ned’s offered the contract of a lifetime, he sees it as the only way forward with the man he loves.

The dual biological drives of heat and its aftermath might be all that’s keeping them close now, but Ned is determined to prove he’s worthy of Ezer’s love.

While Ezer is just as determined not to fall for his bully.

 

Bully for Sale is the second addition to the Heat for Sale series. If you haven't read book #1- Heat for Sale (I suggest you do- the audiobook is fantastic!) The books can be read as standalone.

Leta Blake is definitely one of the few published authors' A/B/O that I can read and tolerate. If you're not familiar with the omegaverse the author set up, women do not exist, men can be carriers (omegas), while betas are relatively human and alphas are the top of the chain, with their knots and life saving semen. Omegas have less rights and are treated as breeding machines mostly. Let's get the triggers out the way: attempted rape, dubious consent, eating disorder.

In this newest addition, the main characters are still in high school. (Don't worry, they're all legal.) Omega Ezer Fersee is nineteen, dyslexic and the bane of his wealthy alpha parent. His omega parent has been kicked out of their home, his older omega brothers seem to care only for themselves and he has know one. And to top it off, he's bullied mercilessly and labeled as the 'weird kid'. After an attempted rape by three rich alpha bullies, Ezer's life couldn't get any worse right? Wrong. Wealthy omegas usually have their heats and bodies sold to the higher bidder or Ezer's family's case, an arranged 'heat cycle'. But the person who is chosen for him... one his alpha bullies, Ned Clearwater. 

Ned is a coward and a follower, two bad combinations to have in life in my opinion. He's idealistic and romantic. And fell for Ezer the moment he saw him. Ned is trying to redeem himself and that's the crux of his arc for the majority of the book. He was loathsome and he's trying to better himself. He's a gentle giant that isn't too set in his ways that he can't be changed as he enters adulthood. I'm not a fan of cowards and Ned most certainly is one. But, he's likeable too. 

Ezer is prickly and remains true to his self for the book too. He's had a crap hand dealt to him and he learns more about himself, you can't help but feel sorry for him too. 

Essentially, this is new adult, but the adults in their lives are their puppet masters and they get thrown into too many adult things that they're not ready for. There is smut but since most of it due to their biology, I wouldn't say it was gratuitous. They need it at a molecular level. ;)

Why not rate it higher? While the story is paced pretty quick despite being 404 pages, the romance is mainly one sided for the majority of the book. (Which for me, works for the characters especially with the way Ezer is portrayed.) Thankfully, there's an epilogue! But we don't get to read the changes Ned needs to go through on page.I don't mind bully romances but something about Ned's cowardly ways got under my skin a bit.

Overall, it's a solid new adult story. I was happy Heat for Sale's main characters (Heath and Adrien) showed up a for a few. I did like the pair.

P.S. I do hope there's a story for each of the adult Fersee brothers, especially Shan. I'm so anxious at all the possibilities that could happen with Ezer's family. 

A copy provided for an honest review.

Release Blitz + Giveaway: Criminal by Proxy by S.E. Smyth

 

Title:  Criminal by Proxy

Author: S.E. Smyth

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 10/25/2022

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 75700

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Coming out, college, criminals, dark, doctors, enemies/rivals to lovers, established couple, friends to lovers, gender-bending, hurt/comfort, illness/disease, in the closet, law enforcement, lawyers, medical personnel, mental illness, over 40, prison, private detective, reunited, revenge, road trip, security guards, soulmates, tear-jerker, therapist, UST

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Description

Christine is on the hunt to find out more about her great aunt, Rose, hoping to decipher their severed relationship and the murder Rose committed, for which June is in prison. With a stroke leaving Rose incapacitated, it’s a rush against time to find the truth.

Things are doubly complicated when Christine’s girlfriend Terrie is accused of assaulting someone. Nervous about what she might do next, Christine and her friends avoid Terrie. With everything at stake, Christine must stick to the cold hard facts, reminding herself not to let her emotions get in the way.

Christine must evaluate everything happening in her life. The weight of the events buried by her aunt so many years before and the shame of the actions of the love of her life rest squarely on her. If the eyes of the law are always 20/20, how do love, emotion, and insecurities distort fact?

Excerpt

Criminal by Proxy
SE Smyth © 2022
All Rights Reserved

Dear Rose

“I loved her… That’s what I tell myself at least,” June uttered. Her exertion, her plea, resonated. “I told her that…yelled across the courtroom…in 1968, the day I went to prison, and I’ve said it a thousand times since.”

June had been a psychiatrist years ago, but Christine was the one listening now, decades later.

Christine was pretending to be a law student to get information, clarity on historical facts about the actions of her great-aunt Rose from the time she was in a mental hospital in the late 1950s. Her aunt, who was in her seventies, was not in Christine’s direct blood line but rather the child of her grandmother’s sister. She’d lived with Christine’s aunts and uncles and family from a young age, nonetheless. Christine had gathered scattered details in bits and pieces all her life. Every other family holiday or so, some new bit of information would surface. But she never asked. It was something everyone quietly avoided to begin with.

June had been Rose’s psychiatrist at one point while she was in a mental hospital. Sometime after she was released, she’d moved in with June, and they had developed a relationship. Rose had ended up shooting and killing a man, but Christine was confused about the chain of events and who was to blame. June was in prison, and Rose had been free since 1972.

Several letters followed the initial blunt hello letter to June. In those, they discussed basic things Christine got wrong and developed a loose friendship. After about four letters, Christine suggested a meeting. June recommended an interview room since she was a student, and Christine went about finding out if it was possible.

In an act of indiscretion, she set up an appointment to see the infamous June, someone she had recently found out to be Aunt Rose’s ex-lover. This interview, her time in the room with a prisoner who held a life sentence, was dedicated to asking questions to elucidate events from decades ago, that her aunt Rose never discussed.

Christine attempted to gauge if June was telling the truth. She needed to know if the legal decision was warranted. She was sure if she listened very carefully, she could figure out if June actually did love Aunt Rose and if the correct decision had been made in the courtroom in 1968. All this, Christine attempted to assess with a conversation. She would have an answer by the end of the conversation. It was her only objective.

June wasn’t the same person she had been years ago—when June had loved Aunt Rose and Aunt Rose had presumably loved her. That fact stuck out. Christine’s initial assessment was any flame June still held for Aunt Rose was one-sided.

June only half faced her, sitting sideways on the chair, the corner of which stuck out between her legs. June glanced over her shoulder. She held a waning seventy years in her limbs, but she still glowed with energy. Christine didn’t mind she threw a sneer down across her nose. Christine pried and chipped at information at first, but the conversation soon flowed more smoothly.

Christine had first heard about June from her great-aunt, who kicked up old memories and dropped them right away. Christine let her get away with her excuses—she didn’t remember. June was her aunt’s ex-lover. She mentioned she was in prison. That was everything her aunt would tell her. Christine had found out June was labeled a criminal by the media. She was a prisoner with a life sentence. Aunt Rose had fired the gun, but they’d given the slot in prison to June. Christine imagined her day, filled with bitter resentment for her free ex-lover. The lover who didn’t contact her. There had to be bad blood. Christine eyed her goal at this point—information. She needed to know what had happened. Christine was interrogating her, asking her to relive it for a law school report, what she thought about the case so many years later. Unfairly picking at issues June wasn’t ready to answer, she continued the questions.

June went on, describing everything in bits and pieces. She would pause and continue, restart with irrelevant comments, diverting the conversation. “It was different all that time ago. All the hoopla over something agreed to be truth. If someone thought you were a lesbian and if they caught you, arms were up in the air—sirens roared. It was a travesty, and something was done about it.” June continued on about the past, how people thought of her and talked about her.

She spoke about the past as if events weren’t real, as if life were a story she was reading to children, the grim side of a fairy tale. Off and on, June would shift, indicating her tongue had taken her too far. She shouldn’t have let the full story go. Her knowledge was an out-of-body reflection, too real. The trauma showed through.

Christine’s life of rumors, her life, seemed trivial. Three close friends gossiped about Christine and the woman she’d slept with last summer, Amy. Her friends told her to move on, but she wouldn’t let the friendship go. They said, “She’ll mess you up.” It was still the same shameful behavior: whispered gossip, stern talks, and scandalous goings-on. Her reality was different from June’s in that Christine didn’t have the same amount to lose. Nothing was a malicious, life-ruining assault.

“We were taking risks. Real risks. Higher stakes than today. I didn’t want to change the world or loosen people’s opinions. I wanted love. She gave me that. So, what else was I supposed to do?” June said. She grabbed at short tufts of hair at the base of her head.

“What people were doing was so important. I don’t want to say it wasn’t. We had love, and we wanted to keep it. We fought that battle every day from our apartment, from our place of work. In a way, very quietly, but we fought. We certainly didn’t change the minds of the world when the murder happened. We acknowledged how strong our love was before the murder. It was so well bonded that I still love her now, after all these years.” Her words softened and rounded as she spoke again about her love. She dipped her head as if the frown that extended cheek to cheek were pulling it down.

Wrinkles emerged in the corners of June’s eyes as Christine tapped her pencil. Christine stopped to cease any errant irritation. When Christine tried to bring June back and force her to be present, talk about the case, June’s vocal qualities changed.

The soft voice June spoke with when talking about the past and love disappeared into one of an aged woman when she spoke about what was going on in her life now. “You see. They all believe me in here now. I love her. My friends in prison. It’s okay to be gay, even though it definitely wasn’t when they locked me up.”

Christine sat stiffly as a board in the chair listening to June, catching every word. As she performed the gesture, she committed to brushing off immature and unserious actions, those not indicative of a law student. She was already in a precarious balance with June, a relaxed new friend facing a studious law student—both skeptical of masked lies, strangers in an unfamiliar room. Christine’s great-aunt Rose was dying. Who was this woman she kept speaking of?

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Meet the Author

S.E. Smyth is a versatile author putting words into the world. The stories she tells are never exactly how they happened. Elusive as she proclaims she is, you can usually find her nose buried in primary sources plotting a story. Despite persisting historical references, she wholeheartedly believes she lives in the present.

She resides in a smaller sort of town in Pennsylvania, carries heavy things for her wife, rubs cat bellies, and can often be seen taking brisk walks. The household is certain there is something odd going on. She and her wife travel when the air is right looking for antique stores, bike trails, and the perfect beach. S.E. rises unnecessarily early and usually falls asleep by 9 p.m.

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Blog Tour + Giveaway: Prince of Flowers (Wild Hearts #1) by Nazri Noor

 

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Book Title: Prince of Flowers (Wild Hearts Book 1) 

Author and Publisher: Nazri Noor

Cover Artist: Christian Bentulan

Release Date: September 30, 2022

Genres: Contemporary MM, Fantasy M/M Romance 

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, shared bed, found family

Themes: Trust, truth (Both MCs spend a good amount of the book deceiving each other, and have to learn that maybe they shouldn’t!)

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length:  approx 62 000 words

This is book 1 in a series and does not end on a cliffhanger. HFN.

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Also available on audio - narrated by Greg Boudreaux

Audible US  |  Audible UK 

He captured a fae prince, but can he capture his heart?

Blurb 

Lochlann Wilde walks in the shadow of his father, a legendary summoner who commanded mythical beasts in battle. But Locke isn't legendary. He’s barely a summoner, never passing his academy’s trial of the elements.

And then he accidentally summons a fae prince with a beautiful body and a bad attitude.

Sylvain is fiery and ferocious, stronger than anything Locke has ever encountered. And hotter, too. But time is running out. Locke must tame the prince’s wild heart. If he fails his trial, he’ll lose his inheritance and ruin his family's name.

Without Sylvain, Locke could lose his chance to become a true summoner… along with his shot at true love.

Excerpt 

The invisible entity’s breath rushed on the breeze, seductive and strong. The faint beat of its heart sounded like the playing of a distant drum. Above all things else I could taste the overwhelming power on the tip of my tongue, a palpable flavor of strange, alien magic.

I had to have it. I needed to earn my Summoner’s Crest. It was finally my time. I had to make my father proud, wherever he could be. I thrust my hand out, the grimoire levitating at eye level, pages fluttering in an eldritch wind as it turned to the correct section. The binding, the forging of a powerful contract.

“With iron will and stalwart heart I beseech you, great force of the ether. Make yourself known. Manifest. In the name of the summoners that have come before me, hear my words. Heed my call.”

A new wind swirled at my feet, sending leaves tumbling upward, whipping at the branches. Gooseflesh rose all over my skin, my body’s response to the tingle and thrum of gathering power. Something was here. Something was responding.

Time to finish the incantation, the barest minimum for me to qualify for the Summoner’s Crest. Time to complete the Pact of the Unknown.

“I invoke you, thing of the ether, unseen and unnamed. Grant me time and space enough to bargain and barter, to forge a bond that may yet be fruitful for us both.”

The wind howled, ripping at my cloak, shearing through my hair, screaming into my ears. It was coming.

It was here.

Time to bring it all home.

“Nameless of the ether, dweller in the unknown, I call you. I summon you. Come forth. Reveal yourself!”

Grass, leaves, and petals exploded in a burst from the center of the clearing, filling the air with a swirl of green and gold. I shielded my eyes, watching through the gaps in my fingers. Had it worked? It must have. I said all the words correctly, channeled the torrent of great magic through my soul, my flesh. Nothing short of a god could have resisted my summons.

And there he knelt in the center of the glade, his head low, his neck loose, a powerfully built man wearing leather trousers and little else. He propped himself up by one hand, groaning, rubbing at his forehead with the other, like someone recovering from a hangover. A side effect of the invocation, possibly.

Black hair fell in soft wisps over his brow, across his pale gold eyes. They took their time to focus, then filled with defiance, with wild devilry. He glanced up at me, eyes widening, mouth turning up in anger. But even in fury the man was devastating. That face, those lips, that — oh, gods, that body. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.

And then he opened his mouth.

About the Author

Nazri Noor is a California-based author of Filipino and Malaysian descent. While capable of fluently cursing in three languages, he only writes in English, and has been doing so in a professional capacity for over 20 years. His urban fantasy novels feature wise-cracking heroes who save the world with wits, style, and magic: think sass and class, while kicking ass.

Author Links

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and 2 exclusive postcards featuring the Wild Hearts MCs (with greetings from author, not blank).

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Bobby Ray Breaks the Universe by Rob Rosen

 

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Book Title: Bobby Ray Breaks the Universe

Author: Rob Rosen

Publisher: JMS Books

Release Date: September 10, 2022

Genre:  Paranormal M/M Romance, Comedy Romance, Mystery/Suspense

Tropes:  Enemies to lovers

Themes:  Emotional growth

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 59 000 words/171 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

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Good vs. evil, angels vs. demons, and rednecks running wild across the Middle East. What could go wrong?

Blurb

What happens when a hunky demon visits you and commands you to break all ten commandments? Or when a handsome angel orders you to do the opposite? And what if you’re Bobby Ray, and you’ve already broken nine of the ten, and thou shalt not kill is a close brick away, and the demon has tacked on a cushy afterlife in hell as a reward? Decisions, decisions. And poor Bobby Ray has never been good at one decision, let alone multiple ones. Broke, divorced, and pretty darn miserable, does he do what’s right or what’s easy? 

In this darkly comical romantic adventure, Bobby Ray, with the help of numerous friends and just as many enemies, one being his ex-husband, travels from Georgia to Israel and ultimately across Egypt and the Gaza Strip in search of the one clue that will hopefully save them all, and possibly the entire world. Will good win out over evil, love over hate? Or will Bobby Ray ultimately break the universe? 

Good vs. evil, angels vs. demons, and rednecks running wild across the Middle East. What could go wrong?

 Excerpt 

As I stood over the sleeping man, brick in hand, heart beating a rhythmic drum solo in my chest, a brilliant flash of white light punched me straight in the face. “What the f --” 

“Bobby Ray!” boomed the voice, seemingly from all directions. “Though shalt not kill!” 

“Well, not yet, anyway,” I replied. “Wait just another minute.” I tried swatting the blinding light away, but, well, it was light, so swatting didn’t seem to do the trick. “That thing got a switch?” I didn’t know who I was talking to. I guessed this was all my subconscious, some sort of guilt trip I was laying on myself for killing my neighbor Tom. Or trying to. But with my eyes watering something awful, I was having a bit of a hard time of it. Maybe I shouldn’t have had the bourbon beforehand. Or finished the bottle. And smoked a joint to calm my nerves. But see, I liked Tom. Right on up until I found out that he was sleeping with my husband, I liked him. Or, okay, to be fair, my ex-husband, but still. 

“Bobby Ray!” again boomed the voice, the floor beneath me suddenly rolling like a wave. “Though shalt not kill!” 

Funnily enough, the voice didn’t sound like mine. I’d have thought my subconscious would’ve sounded something like me, but nope, not even close. Also, Tom wasn’t moving. And the voice was fucking loud, and the waving floor was still waving, and the bed was waving right along with it, but Tom was still lying there snoring. Ambien, I figured. Had to be. In any case, I set the brick down next to him and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. Soon as I did that, the lights went out in Georgia -- Georgia being where we were at the time and not simply the lyrics to a catchy old song. 

“What the f --” I repeated as my eyes focused on the apparent source of the booming voice. “Shouldn’t have mixed the bourbon and the pot.” I wiped at my peepers again. And again. Only, the angel floating in front of me with his massive wings spread out and a sort of pale glow all around him wasn’t blinking away as I had hoped. “I bet that pot was laced with something. Shouldn’t have bought it off that stranger at the bar. That was my first mistake.” 

The angel grinned. As grins went, this was one was quite, well, angelic. Duh, I suppose. “It doesn’t even break the top one hundred mistakes you’ve made, Bobby Ray.” 

I shrugged. “Yeah, it hasn’t been a good year for me.” Understatement. Of the gross variety. 

The angel folded his wings and stepped a foot closer to me as just his toes touched the ground. He was tall, almost seven feet, if I had to take a guess. Handsome as all get out, too. Smooth as alabaster and naked as the day he was born. Though I was guessing he hadn’t ever really been born, what with him being an angel and all. Either that or I was hallucinating. Or I was dreaming. I was betting on one of those last two. 

“It hasn’t been a good life, either, Bobby Ray.” 

And still, I shrugged. Or maybe I hadn’t stopped from the previous time. “I blame my parents for that.” 

The angel shook his head. “Honor thy father and thy mother, Bobby Ray.” 

I snickered. “Have you met the Beauregards? Flies keep their distance. Too shitty, even for them.” I glanced at the brick. I figured I could take this guy if need be. He didn’t look like the fighting type. Flying, sure, but not fighting. 

“The Lord said to honor thy father and thy mother, Bobby Ray, and so honor you must.” 

I sighed. Tom was still fast asleep. Probably dreaming of Matty, my ex. 

“Seems kind of a waste of time to honor the likes of them,” I told the angel. “They wouldn’t even appreciate it. Don’t much like that I’m gay, but honoring sounds sorts of pansy-ass. Their words, not mine.” And those were nice words in comparison to their usual words. 

The angel moved a step closer, a step closer still, tippy toes dragging the floor. He was now standing directly in front of me -- or maybe it was closer to hovering, really -- leaning down, in. I stared into eyes blue as the heavens. Go figure. It was, in fact, a bit like looking into eternity itself. “Your parents sound delightful, but be that as it may --” 

I held up my hand. “I get it, I get it. Honor. Don’t kill. Blah, blah, blah.” I squinted up at him. “You visit everyone who’s about to break a commandment? Because I’d have thought we would’ve met a hell of a lot sooner than now.” 

The angel straightened his back and moved an inch in reserve. Up until that moment, he looked, I don’t know, sort of at peace. All angelic looking. Like he didn’t have a care in the world. But just for a second, I could’ve sworn I saw a flinch of pain. Maybe it was my choice of words. Or word. Hell, I mean. 

“I --” he said, but suddenly got cut off. 

No, there wasn’t a bright light again. I was glad for that. My eyes were still watering from the first one. This time, there was a puff of foul-smelling smoke, very fire and brimstone stinking. I mean, I guess. Not like I’d smelled brimstone before. Not that I even knew what brimstone was. In any case, I coughed, rubbed at my nose as the black cloud disappeared to reveal what I assumed was a demon. I mean, the guy was red all over and had horns protruding a good foot from his temples, so demon was probably a good guess, as guesses went. Plus, I already had an angel, so a demon seemed logical. As much as anything did right about then, I mean.

About the Author 

Rob Rosen is the author of the award-winning novels Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, Divas Las Vegas, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, Midlife Crisis, Fierce, And God Belched, Mary, Queen of Scotch, Ted of the d’Urbervilles, Sort of Dead, and Genie in a Vodka Bottle, and editor of the anthologies Lust in Time, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015, and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Famine (The Four Horsemen Book #3) by Sienna Moreau

 

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Famine (The Four Horsemen Book #3) 

Author and Publisher: Sienna Moreau

Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Release Date: August 25, 2022

Genre: Dark M/M Paranormal Romance

Tropes: Second chance, forbidden love, lovers to enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort

Length:  80,000 – 90,000 words 

Heat Rating: 3 - 4 flames  

It is not a standalone story. It is the third book in the series and must be read in order. 

This book does not end on a cliffhanger. It is a HFN as there is an overarching plotline that will conclude in book 4. 

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A fallen angel with a broken heart. The third horseman who rejected him. A love that can destroy them both.

Blurb

Punished for choosing love over faith, the Archangel of Kindness emerged from a century of confinement enshrined in darkness, a shell of his former self. Rejected by the very Being for whom he sold his soul, the last threads of his sanity were stripped away. He is now Lucifer, the King of Hell.

Famine’s choices have only ever caused suffering for those he loves. He struggles with guilt, blaming himself for what Lucifer has become. He’s certain keeping his distance is the only way he can ensure Lucifer falls no further.

But together or apart, on the same side or not, it doesn’t matter. They are forever bound, forced to endure a never-ending loop of anguish. Betrayed and surrounded by new threats, they find themselves relying on each other while battling their own demons. But soon a choice must be made: allow their love to destroy them both or embrace it before the world ends.

Famine is the third book in the Four Horsemen series. This book is not a standalone and must be read in order.

Content Warnings: Religious themes, extreme violence, gore, and others.

Arachnophobia warning: There is also a dog-sized pet spider named Paul who just wants to be loved.

This is a paranormal, second chance, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers, MM romance filled with snark and morally questionable characters. It ends with a HFN and a mild plot cliffhanger.

Excerpt

Famine moved closer to Lucifer as though being drawn into his orbit. Lucifer wondered if it was a conscious movement or if it was instinct. It was instinct for him. Every fiber of him always wanted to be closer to Famine. He hoped—even knowing how moronic it was to hope after every hand he’d been dealt—that Famine felt the same. Lucifer needed him to. Needed him to want Lucifer with the same raw need that Lucifer wanted him. It had to be mutual. This much longing and anguish and palpable loss was too much for him to shoulder alone.

He savored any chance just to be in Famine’s presence—had summoned the Horsemen for no other purpose than just to see him again. The carnage of it was delectable, of course, but it was a pleasant bonus, not the aim. The mere minutes Lucifer spent with Famine between years apart was agony, but every waking moment was spent only in anticipation of them. Being this close to Famine and not touching was the worst torture he had ever endured.

He couldn’t be alone in this. He couldn’t. 

“These are only the start of the creatures that God has under his command,” Famine continued. “If he’s choosing to let these loose, there’s no telling what’s next.”

“No,” Lucifer said. They all turned to look at him, and he gave them a secretive closed-mouth smile. He did enjoy being the center of attention. And making them wait.

He closed the remaining distance between himself and Famine, pressing the tips of his fingers against Famine’s cheek. Famine’s light-blue eyes darkened, and the sight of them heated Lucifer’s blood and made lust curl in the depths of his stomach. He had never touched another after Famine, even after all this time. And he was starved for the kind of touch that only Famine could gift him. That Famine had been keeping from him.

“Sometimes,” he murmured, for Famine’s ears only, “I want to peel the skin from your bones, make you hurt and bleed the way you make me.”

The heat in Famine’s eyes didn’t diminish from the words. If anything, they darkened further, the pulse in his throat visible and tempting Lucifer to bite down, to taste. 

“It is never my intention to make you hurt.”

“You think intent matters?” Lucifer gripped Famine’s upper arm and tugged him closer until their breath mingled. “When I lie broken and bruised and aching for you, do you think I care about intent?” They would continue to hurt each other for eternity regardless of intent.

“Get your fucking hands off him,” War snarled.

Lucifer didn’t move, his eyes flicking to where War was pointing his sword at them. As though Lucifer was afraid of him. Lucifer feared no one. No one but Famine, who had the power to destroy him. Who already had, too many times to count.

Famine lifted a hand to placate his brother. “It’s fine.”

Uriel rolled his eyes and turned from them, surveying the area. “Tell us what you meant, Lucifer, or be on your way to do whatever it is you do when you have no purpose.”

Lucifer stroked Famine’s cheek and then moved up to lightly grasp the curls of his brown hair. He urged Famine forward and Famine followed, bending to him and resting his forehead on Lucifer’s shoulder. Lucifer’s insides wobbled, pleasure and joy singing in his veins at the instant, easy acceptance of his touch.

Lucifer breathed in deeply, his nose pressed against Famine’s hair. It smelled like blueberries, freshly mowed grass, and a hint of lemon.

About the Author

Sienna Moreau is a dark MM romance author who likes to let the darker side of life come out to play. If you’re looking for morally grey characters, snark, mayhem and steamy situations then you’re in the right place.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Like Real People Do (Breakaway #1) by E.L. Massey

 

Title:  Like Real People Do

Series: Breakaway, Book One

Author: E.L. Massey

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 08/23/2022

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 88800

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, gay, interracial, new adult, sports, ice hockey, uni student, ice skating, professional athlete, slow burn, rivals/enemies to lovers, physical disability, anxiety disorder, in the closet, coming out, service dog, cooking/foodies, Louboutin devotion, stanning, friends to lovers, social media, vlogging, hashtags

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Description

Nineteen-year-old hockey phenom Alexander Price is the youngest-ever captain in the NHL. With a polarizing social media presence and a predilection for dirty play, he typifies the stereotype of young, out-of-control athlete. But away from the cameras, Alex is a kid with an anxiety disorder and the expectations of an expansion franchise on his shoulders. And maybe he tries too hard to fit the part of asshole playboy, but it’s better than the alternative; in his line of work, gay is the punchline of an insult, not something he can be.

Eighteen-year-old vlogger Elijah Rodriguez is a freshman in college recovering from an injury that derailed his Olympic figure-skating dreams. Mixed-race, disabled, and out of the closet since he was fourteen, Eli is unapologetically himself. He has no qualms about voicing his disapproval of celebrity jocks who make homophobic jokes on Twitter and park their flashy cars in the handicapped spaces outside of ice rinks.

After an antagonistic introduction, Alex and Eli’s inexplicable friendship both baffles and charms the internet. But navigating relationships is hard enough for normal teenagers. It’s a lot harder when the world—much of it disapproving—is watching you fall in love with your best friend.

Excerpt

Like Real People Do
E.L. Massey © 2022
All Rights Reserved

There are admittedly worse things in the world than having to walk two blocks on a Wednesday morning in July.

Eli knows from experience there are worse things in the world.

Like being diagnosed with epilepsy at sixteen.

Like having heat-induced seizures and living in Texas.

Objectively, he knows there are worse things, but right at this moment, he can’t think of many because it’s 6:00 a.m., and he isn’t allowed to have caffeine because they’ve changed his medication again, and he’s had to park in the visitor’s garage because the only two handicap spaces at the north entrance of the Houston Hell Hounds official practice facility had been occupied by one parallel-parked Land Rover decidedly lacking handicap tags.

“Motherfucking hockey players,” Eli says to the empty sidewalk.

So now he’s running late because it’d taken him an extra ten minutes to find the visitors’ lot, and he’d still needed to stop and let his dog pee before they entered the complex. Because being the disabled kid whose service dog pees in the rink on the first day of practice will guarantee he never has a collegiate social life to speak of. Not that he holds out particularly high hopes for that anyway.

The security guard at the door barely glances at his newly printed student ID before waving him to the left with a tired, “Rink Three, end of the hallway on your right.”

She looks like she could use some coffee too.

“Right. Thanks.” Eli shifts his backpack, sparing a last hateful glance at the Land Rover outside.

“Hey, do you happen to know whose car that is out front? License plate AP23?”

She lifts one eyebrow. “You mean Alexander Price?”

Because of course. Of course it was Alexander Price. Eli tries to avoid too much familiarity with the hockey world, but there are some things you just know if you spend enough time around ice, and one of those things is the name of the youngest current captain in the NHL, who is apparently just as much of a douche off the ice as tabloids would suggest.

Eli takes a steadying breath. “You know where I could find him?”

The security guard considers Eli’s expression, then the dog at his feet, then the ill-parked vehicle outside.

“I take it you don’t want an autograph?”

“No.”

She gives him an apologetic smile. “I don’t think I can have his car towed, but I can file a complaint if you’d like.”

“That would be great, thanks.”

He starts to move forward again before pausing. “Do you know if Jeff Cooper is back from IR?” he asks. He doesn’t make a habit of following hockey, but when he’s potentially in the same building as a gold-medal-winning, world-junior-figure-skater-turned-NHL-player, he’d like to know.

“Yeah. As of this week, he’s cleared to skate no-contact in practices.” She grins. “He also parks in the players’ lot like he’s supposed to.”

Eli would expect nothing less.

“They’re in practice for another hour and a half,” she adds. “But sometimes Cooper does the meet and greet afterward.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Rink Two.” She nods to the right hallway. “Price will be there, too, but he almost never comes out afterward.”

“Shocking.”

The doors open behind him and an entirely too-awake girl wearing a hijab that matches her leggings waves at them both and hands over her student ID.

“Morning,” she says, careful not to run over Hawk’s tail with her rolling skate bag. “Your dog is beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Eli says. “Are you a freshman too?”

Which is a stupid question because he knows the rest of the figure skating team isn’t supposed to start practice for another week. Obviously, she’s there for freshman orientation just like he is.

“Yeah!” she says, apparently immune to his idiocy. “I’m Morgan. Just moved in last night. Thank god for coffee, right? I’m so nervous I didn’t sleep at all.”

“Right,” he agrees wryly. “I’m Eli.”

She gets her ID back from the security guard, and they start down the left hallway together.

“It’s so cool the Hell Hounds share their facilities with the university,” she says. “Did you know their practices are open to the public? I think I might go try to get an autograph or two later if we have time.”

“Yeah,” he says. “I might join you.”

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NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

E. L. Massey is a human. Probably. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her partner, the best dog in the world (an unbiased assessment), and a frankly excessive collection of books. She spends her holidays climbing mountains and writing fan fiction, occasionally at the same time.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Crossing the Line (Jake's Bar #2) by AG Meiers

 

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Crossing the Line (Jake's Bar Book 2)

Author: AG Meiers

Publisher: Painted Hearts Publishing

Release Date: August 25, 2022

Genre: Romantic suspense, Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Lovers to enemies to lovers, second chance romance, race to uncover dangerous secrets

Themes: Fast-paced suspense, ex-cop with little left to lose, protective lawyer who loves too hard, hurt/comfort, broken trust, forgiveness (or not), family found, new start, Two men falling in love while dodging bullets and chasing bad guys

Heat Rating:  4 flames      

Length:  81 000 words

Crossing the Line is Book 2 in the Jake’s Bar series. It is a standalone romance with a satisfying end for the mystery. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

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Buy Links

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Broken Trust doesn’t give Second Chances…

Blurb 

Holden Wright had it all—and lost it. Five months ago, he was on top: a decorated detective with a bright future. Then his father’s gambling destroyed everything. Left with nothing, Holden works nights at Jake’s Bar with no idea how to get his broken life back on track.

Brent Northwood has it all—except the man he loves. Brent made a deal with the devil to become a well-respected lawyer, but success doesn’t turn out to be all he ever wanted. His love for Holden started with a wild, crazy hookup in the rain, but it all came to an abrupt end when Brent lied—with best intention—but a lie is a lie and Holden can’t forgive.

Holden needs the successful lawyer back in his life about as badly as he needs the bullet hole his father put in his shoulder. But with secrets from Holden’s past threatening his future, Brent is the only one who can protect him. The two men forge a volatile truce to stay one step ahead of danger, but is it enough to mend the broken trust between them? Can they risk a second chance for love knowing what’s at stake?

But none of that matters if they can’t find out who is trying to take Holden down…

Series: Crossing the Line, Book 2 in the award-winning Jake’s Bar series, is a steamy, M/M romantic suspense featuring a rainbow-colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle. So, download today, and get ready to fall in love with Jake’s Bar.

Excerpt 

Holden topped off the beer and slammed it on the counter in front of Grey. The grungy mechanic tore his eyes away from a green-haired twink across the room. “What crawled up your ass tonight?”

JD’s was a gay bar and prime hookup spot, so there were a few dozen suitable answers, but Holden wasn’t feeling any of them. His mind was fucking with him—flashing lust-filled images from a past he’d buried deep in a box labeled “mistake.” For the past hour, while he was serving drinks and cashing out people as it got late, he had tried hard to ignore the man in a dark suit sitting at one of the high tables away from the crowds. It had been a good night until Brent Northwood showed up.

Grey took a sip and licked the foam off his lips with an exaggerated swirl of his tongue. On the other side of the bar green-hair rolled his eyes and turned away to follow his friends back to a booth. Grey had tried to get the guy’s attention a few times now and had consistently been shot down.

“You’re not Kyle’s type,” Holden said helpfully as he wiped down the beer taps. 

Grey pulled a face. “It’s a shit night. The place was hopping for a while, but lately it’s been slow. I think Jake is in trouble. He hit gold when that blogger made a big deal out of JD’s, but there was just no way that was gonna last. JD’s doesn’t offer enough. In the end, it’s just a dingy corner bar.”

Then what the fuck are you doing here every night? Holden swallowed his acrid reply. Grey was a bit of an ass, however Holden was pretty sure that nothing but an empty apartment waited for the guy at the end of the day. Five months ago, he would have been quick to judge and discard JD's regular, but these days, they had too much in common.

Before he could stop himself, Holden threw a glance across the room to the lanky man sitting motionless in the dim light. As always, Brent looked like he’d just stepped out of a courtroom. Impeccably dressed in an Armani suit. A face with square angles and full lips with a cupid’s bow. The dark five o’clock shadow was the only imperfection, but it enhanced his classic charms. Holden had always known he was bi. He’d experimented with both men and women, but Brent Northwood, almost ten years older, serious to the point of severe, wasn’t even his usual type. Still, nobody had ever been as irresistible. 

Elbows resting on the table, the lawyer nursed a whiskey in his hands. He seemed lost in his thoughts. Luckily, Grey picked up their conversation again before Holden was caught staring. “Somebody must have bought the rundown movie theater next door. They’re renovating. The dumpster takes up half the parking spots on this side.”

“Yeah, Jake’s been talking about them hammering all day long. He’s pissed about the noise,” he replied. 

“If that’s turned into a bar, Jake can bag it,” Grey said with gloomy delight. “I’m telling you, this is only the beginning.” He waved around the mostly empty place.

“Bullshit. It’s Tuesday. Tuesdays are slow.”

“And you’re stuck with Tuesdays.” Grey wasn’t done stirring shit up. “Maybe you should talk to Jake. You must be hurting for money after losing your cushy detective job—”

A hand came down on Holden’s back. “Grey, shut your mouth,” Jake growled at the mechanic. “Nobody needs your poison. Told you that before. If you can’t be civil, get the fuck out of my bar.”

It wasn’t an empty threat. Jake had zero tolerance for hate or stupidity, and he was fiercely protective of his staff. Jake grabbed a few empty bottles and tossed them into a crate under the bar. “Where is Jazz?”

“It was slow, so I sent them home a few minutes ago. They’ve got an exam tomorrow. Talked about it all night. I’ve got it covered and thought they could use a few extra hours of sleep,” Holden replied.

“Makes sense to take advantage of a nice, peaceful night,” Jake said with a happy sigh. He was the only bar owner Holden knew who got into a pissy mood when his place was packed with people. Jake loved peace and quiet, and most nights, JD’s Bar was anything but.

Jake stopped abruptly and squinted into the dimly lit taproom. “What’s the damn fixer doing here?”

“Northwood?” It was petty, but Holden took some perverse pleasure in the fact that Jake didn’t like Brent.

“Yeah, Brent fucking Northwood.”

About the Author

Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the US for adventure and stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids—balancing work, friends and family, and writing.

When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people and amazing locations.

Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer she loves to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict and heartbreak, before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.

Author Links

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Captured (Cold Love #1) by Scarlet Blackwell

 

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Captured (Cold Love, Book 1)

Author: Scarlet Blackwell

Publisher: Scarlet Books

Cover Artist: B4Jay

Release Date: August 8, 2022

Genre: Contemporary small-town m/m romance, crime/thriller

Tropes: Enemies to lovers

Themes: Forced proximity, hurt/comfort, angst

Heat Rating: 4 flames   

Length: 46 000 words

It is book 1 in the Cold Love series, but does not end on a cliffhanger. (HEA)

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Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited 

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

“I’m not going anywhere until I’ve slept in your nice warm bed. If you haven’t got an electric blanket, I’ll expect you to warm me up personally.”

Blurb 

Who is the man with the gun? Friend or foe? Enemy or lover?

Ethan

I saw my way out and took it. I never dreamed it would be complicated by someone as distracting as Gabriel.

Gabriel

I thought my cabin was safe in a snowstorm until he arrived. Shivering, blue with cold and armed with a gun. The hottest thing to ever happen to me.

Horror writer Gabriel’s worst nightmare is about to come true…

Alaska is home to Gabriel Black two months of the year when he retreats to his isolated cabin to write. But with his relationship on the rocks, life is treating him badly. He doesn’t think things can get any worse when a storm strikes, keeping him snowed in, but he’s wrong. 

His solitude is invaded by armed intruder Ethan, his origin a mystery. Ethan is an enigma, a man surely on the run, maybe a dangerous criminal, but Gabriel is drawn to Ethan’s broken spirit and damaged soul. Ethan is so much more than he first appears and Gabriel wants to know what he hides.

Heat ignites between Gabriel and Ethan and the lines between captive and captor soon start to blur. What secrets is Ethan keeping and will Gabriel be prepared to risk all for him?

Trigger warnings: Scenes of violence and murder. Mentions of rape. Homophobic language. Strong language and sexual scenes. 

Excerpt 

 Dense, fat snowflakes fell from the dark sky. Caught by a raging wind, they were whipped up into a vicious storm. Gabriel Black glanced out the kitchen window into the night. He wasn’t too concerned about being snowed in. He had plenty of food and the cabin was snug. It was par for the course here and conducive to his work. He had a sentence whirling around and around inside his head like the snowflakes outside. He tested it aloud, changing the words, listening to the sound on his tongue.

Gabriel cursed, startled out of his reverie as the toaster coughed up two slices of blackened bread and the smoke alarm kicked in with an ear-piercing shriek. He grabbed the key to the French window and fumbled a moment before he yanked it open. A blast of freezing night air chilled him instantly to the bone. Shivering, he waved a dish towel under the smoke alarm. 

A flash of movement registered at the periphery of his vision, black against the snow lying thick on the porch outside. Startled, he turned just as a tall figure sidled through the window and levelled a gun at him.

Gabriel froze. Icy fingers crept down his back as he stared at the man in his home. The intruder was in his late thirties, a couple of inches taller than Gabriel and broader across the shoulders and chest. He wore a thin shirt, jeans and flimsy canvas shoes, despite the weather outside being at least ten below. His untidy black hair was wet with snow. His pale, attractive face was dominated by large green eyes. A few days’ worth of dark stubble lined his jaw. His lips and nose were blue and he trembled violently, his teeth chattering together.

“Knock that off.” He raised his voice over the annoying shrill of the smoke alarm.

Gabriel glared at him. He wafted the towel again and again until the alarm shut off, leaving sudden silence broken only by the sound of the intruder slamming the window shut and pocketing the key.

The two men faced each other across the kitchen. Gabriel’s heart surged with terror. All the heat had deserted the kitchen after being open to the elements of the frozen north for only a few seconds. He wasn’t sure if it was fear or cold that made him shake. He looked down the barrel of the gun and wondered if tonight would be his last. It was almost funny. He’d expected south central Alaska in the middle of a howling snowstorm to be the safest haven you could find. Who could have predicted a half-dressed man to suddenly hijack Gabriel’s perfect solitude? Who in their right mind was out in this?

He found his voice and spoke far more bravely than he felt. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” 

The man stepped closer, right into Gabriel’s personal space. His face was like stone, but still he couldn’t stop his shivering. “You don’t get to ask questions. I want some dry clothes.” He prodded Gabriel hard with the gun in his chest. “Move.”

Gabriel turned around. He led the intruder through the living room. The crackling fire warmed him again. He reached the stairs and climbed on wooden legs, wondering if he could turn suddenly and surprise the man, kicking the gun from his hand. But his uninvited guest followed so closely behind him, their bodies were almost touching and when he reached the top, Gabriel felt the gun digging into the small of his back.

When they entered the bedroom, his guest gestured at the wardrobe.  “Come on. I want the thickest sweater you got.”

Gabriel chose some lounge pants and a hooded fleece-lined sweater that he wore to chop logs for the fire.

“Underwear and two pairs of socks,” the man with the gun said. 

Gabriel plucked the items from a chest of drawers. He threw the lot into a heap on the bed and glared once more at the intruder. The guy didn’t look remotely intimidated. If anything, he appeared amused.

“Stand over by the window while I change. Don’t even think of trying anything because I swear I will shoot you in the head before you can move.”

Gabriel positioned himself as directed so the man stood between him and the door. He watched as the guy placed the gun on the nightstand. The key to the kitchen window joined it. Then he pulled something from the back pocket of his pants and laid them down too. A pair of handcuffs.

What the fuck?

About the Author 

Scarlet writes mainly contemporary m/m love stories that usually deal with dark themes. Her trope is enemies-to-lovers and there’s often a hot cop thrown into the equation. She likes unusual settings and atypical, flawed heroes. Her work is X-rated and her themes are not for the faint-hearted, but a HEA is always assured.

Author Links

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Amazon Central  |  BookBub  |  BookSirens

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