Giveaway + Blog Tour: When Death Frees The Devil (Death and the Devil, #3) by L.J. Hayward

Welcome author L.J. Hayward who is here today to promote the final installment in her wildly popular Death and the Devil series, When Death Frees the Devil. Find out more about her journey with Jack and Ethan below and leave a comment to be entered (with your contact info - email, etc.) in the giveaway for a $15 Amazon gift card! Good luck!

See our 4 <3 review HERE

Hello! I’m L.J. Hayward and I’ll be your author for this blog tour. Thank you for being here with me as I introduce the third, and last for this story arc, Death and the Devil book. Jack and Ethan have faced off against a rogue assassin, hidden enemies and each other. This time they’re going up against the shadowy, global organisation behind every danger to threaten them and their life together.

For a chance to win a US$15 Amazon gift card, please leave a comment (with a means to contact you i.e. email, Twitter, etc) and a winner will be randomly chosen at the end of the blog tour.

Thank you to Boy Meets Boy Reviews for hosting me today. The third Death and the Devil book, WHEN DEATH FREES THE DEVIL, is out in the world!! Hopefully you’re all reading it right now, but if you’re here reading this instead, that’s very cool too. 😉

It’s a sad thing to come to an end of a series, both for the writer and readers who love the characters. But it is a bit of a relief too, for me at least, because there are so many other things I want to do, including reading books I’ve had to set aside for reasons.

Just as Where Death Meets the Devil was released, the LGBTQ+ reading community exploded with intense love for Cordelia Kingsbridge’s Seven of Spades books. Everywhere I looked, there was so much praise for Kill Game I wanted desperately to read the book and join. However I was in the midst of editing my own book about a serial killer and I’m very wary of subconsciously appropriating elements from similar stories into my own. So I put Kill Game aside until Why the Devil Stalks Death was complete.

Needless to say, the moment I had a second free after releasing WTDSD, I was all over Kill Game like sprinkles on a cupcake! The best thing about waiting that long to read it was that the moment I finished book one, I could immediately buy the rest of the series without waiting. Best binge read ever!

Similarly, it wasn’t until I’d released Where Death Meets the Devil that I learned of another series with main characters named Jack and Ethan, Tal Bauer’s Executive Office. I immediately bought book one, Enemies of the State, with the full intention of reading it then and there. But I couldn’t.

My head was already filled with my own Jack and Ethan, who had a lot more to tell me about their lives and adventures together. Trying to fit in another Jack and Ethan felt very daunting. So I put the book aside until I’d finished the Death and the Devil series. Once When Death Frees the Devil was finalised and waiting patiently for release, I could open Tal’s book and start reading. Honestly, it still took me a moment to reconcile this Jack and Ethan with my immediate perceptions of the names. It’s like reading your own name in a book or hearing it in a TV show or movie.

Anyway, this new Jack and Ethan caught my attention and held it until I’d finished the book. And loved it. As late as I am coming to the party, I’m definitely on the Jack Spiers and Ethan Reichenbach train now!

My Jack Reardon and Ethan Blade have been living in my head for a very long time. Writing their stories has been amazingly fun and challenging and, let’s face it, they’ll always be just that bit special. However, finally finishing this particular arc of their lives is a bit of a relief. I love these characters, but it’s time I got some space from Jack and Ethan. I’m not saying they will never be back, because never say never, right? But I have other stories I want to tell as well, including Andrew and Brian, and Sean and Lucas, possibly a Noah and Foster, and perhaps a Seven and Isla (with appropriate cameos 😉).

I hope this HEA for my Jack and Ethan makes you happy and perhaps a bit excited for what’s coming next. You can find me and information about my books at www.ljhayward.com

Blurb

Ethan is finally free. He’s left the Cabal behind and embraced a civilian life with Jack, the man he loves. The only problem is that the Cabal isn’t willing to let him go. A call in the middle of the night and a threat to Jack’s family, and Ethan is back in the game. The only way out is to take on the organization that spent years warping his life.
 
Jack’s boyfriend has a way of vanishing on him, but this time Ethan’s disappearance is more frightening than ever. A trail of mysterious clues, a hit against his family, and the handprint of the Cabal on everything means the greatest test of love and determination Jack has ever endured.
 
Torn apart by forces greater than they are, Jack and Ethan must fight harrowing battles to get back to each other. The Cabal is the greatest foe either of them has had to face. Ethan is willing to throw away everything to bring an end to the Cabal’s evil. And Jack is willing to do the same to make sure Ethan comes out the other side alive.

Bio

L.J. Hayward has been telling stories for most of her life, a good deal of them of the tall variety. She loves reading but doesn’t seem to have enough time between wanting to be a more disciplined writer, being the actual erratic writer she is, and working for dollars in a dungeon laboratory. She also lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland, but rarely sees a beach and can’t surf, though she thinks living on a houseboat might be fun. At least then she’d have an excuse to get a cat.

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

What are you willing to sacrifice for true love?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enter the witch!

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

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

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

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

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

Review: Oskar Blows A Gasket by Claire Davis and Al Stewart

Armed with designer backpack full of make-up and retro music galore, Oskar sets off for college. And, with attitude even spikier than his heels, nothing is going to hold him back. Except maybe one thing…his past is shouting louder than the 80s songs he adores and it won't be ignored. Behind the effervescence are secrets, lies and sadness. Try as he might, not even Oskar can hide forever, and one day it isn't only pop icon Simon Le Bon who's going to catch up.

Who is writing letters? And why is a spy secretly following? 

Enter Bear, with dancing eyes and secrets of his own. Bear's kindness sparkles brighter than Lycra leggings, and everyone knows Oskar loves shiny things. Like every prophecy, their fates seem inevitably linked. As the walls of Oskar's defence crumble, Bear shows his hidden strength, but will it be enough to save them?

Find out in this far-out, zany tale of fame, first love and retro DJs.

Flawed characters are the best. Oskar is flawed.

Flawed characters aren’t always likable but they have a charisma that draws other characters (and the reader) into their world and we all want to be there, even if we may not always like said character. Oskar is that guy and man he has charisma in spades and an attitude to match. I liked how the authors introduce him though. I was expecting the bitchy snark based on the blurb, but the beginning balanced him out and softened him up enough so that I couldn’t wait to know more about what made Oskar tick.

Bear is Oskar’s complete antithesis and absolute complement. It takes a long time to get there, but it’s obvious from the beginning that Bear (the name that Oskar bestowed upon him) is completely powerless when he’s up against Oskar’s charms. I’m jumping the gun a bit and this is very cliche to say, but these two were made for one another.

The style in which the tale is told works perfectly for both their stories. They both get (and need to be) front and center in the present time and they both get to tell their histories through series of letters to family. While Oskar and Bear are complete opposites in just about every way, they both have a commonality in tales of heartbreaking childhoods. Very different, but the damage is still similar and like recognizes like, so I think the trust that eventually came to them made sense and was believable from the beginning.

Oskar is a sassy bitch in the beginning and Bear is more than happy to do his every bidding. Oskar wears his attitude like armor and Gareth just wants to be liked. It’s both amusing and slightly sad to read about them finding their feet in college. The first half of the story is told from Oskar’s perspective with a letter from Gareth to his father at the beginning of each. My heart broke in progressively smaller bits as I read Gareth’s letters until I was left completely shattered for him.
The method the authors used was just so good though and gave each of the characters extra depth in turn. I know I mentioned the style already, but it really was the perfect vehicle for this story so I ended up coming back to it.

The two come together, push each other away and let their quirks fly. It’s always the little things that bring a character to life, giving the whole story a level of depth and relatability that many others miss. Oskar is held together by his quirks and Gareth turns out to be a bit of an Oskar whisperer and their banter was a treat to read. Gareth is by nature a caretaker and Oskar needs caretaking, but the relationship still grew and balanced out because while Gareth did take care of Oskar, Oskar was fiercely protective of Gareth and Gareth needed someone to come to his defense with the passion only Oskar could bring to the party.

I was thankful that the two of them became an official couple well before the book was over. I needed to see them together and read how their dynamics evolved as their lives changed. Without that I don’t think I could have believed in their HEA as strongly as I did by the time the story was over. The book is more than just a coming of age novel, there is much more to it than that and the authors did an excellent job of balancing the story of a couple of broken boys with a heartwarming and humorous romance.

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

Review: Counting on You (Counting #3) by Kelly Jensen

Henry and Marc can’t seem to catch a break. They’ve had two disastrous dates—the first trapped in a car during a blizzard and the second locked in a basement—followed by nearly two months apart. Even though they work for the same firm, their relationship is held together by flying visits, phone calls, and text messages. A joint assignment in Washington DC might be more togetherness than they can handle, however.

Henry is still battling insecurity, and this assignment is too important to his career to mess up. Marc is committed. He’s falling for Henry and looks forward to having him permanently on his team and at his side. But the real test isn’t the assignment. When Marc finally lays his heart on the line, can he count on Henry to be there for him, in every way that matters? And can he do the same for Henry when Henry needs it the most?

I fell for this series when I read the first story, Counting Fence Posts. The characters are memorable and unique and I’ve loved reading the evolution of Marcus and Henry’s relationship. The author has been able to cover a host of issues for these guys without losing focus on their growth and individuality. She got me invested in them, both separately and together.

The relationship with Henry is the first Marcus has had with another man, and he’s working his way through his coming out. He wants to do it for Henry but knows he needs to do it for himself. Henry is a shy sweetheart who’s been hurt in the past and is still a little surprised that his long time crush is as into him as he is. The two books leading up to Counting on You have had a mosh pit of obstacles for them that were overcomable, but the situations afforded them plenty of time to communicate so they were able to move forward with the “getting to know you” stuff more quickly than if they went on traditional dates.

Counting on You has no real external shenanigans, this one is all about Henry and Marcus. This one also felt more angsty to me than the previous two, but it made sense since there were no distractions and the two of them were finally going to be able to spend some time together after traveling so much for work.

Marcus has a complicated non-relationship with his parents and Henry promised to stand by his side, no matter what. At what turned out to be the “ugliest lunch ever” shit got incredibly real and ugly things were said in the heat of the moment and promises were broken. Everyone was heartbroken, no one was intentionally wrong and no one was completely correct. It read realistically and while it was frustrating, it did make me love the MC’s all the more, faults and all.

Both guys were terribly hurt but neither were ready to give up. I really appreciated that they communicated like adults, working through their hurts and listening to one another. They understood more about each other after that lunch nightmare and the aftermath than they may have ever learned otherwise. The resolution was ideal for them and Henry’s family is the absolute best. When one partner’s family is such a terror, it’s heartwarming to read the other being so amazing.

I hope the author will revisit these two again. I totally bought into their HEA, but I so enjoy reading about Marcus and Henry and would love to be able to check in on them now and again.

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