Review: Three Months to Forever (World of Love) by Hudson Lin

Ben is looking for an adventure when he accepts a temporary assignment in Hong Kong, but he never anticipates how his life might change when he meets a sophisticated, intriguing man named Sai. Their initial attraction is sizzling and soon grows into more as Sai takes Ben on a tour of the city’s famous landmarks and introduces him to the local cuisine. Sai stimulates Ben’s intellect and curiosity, and for jaded corporate lawyer Sai, Ben’s innocent eagerness is a breath of fresh air. It would be so easy to fall in love….

But nothing is that simple. Sai’s job forces him to do things that violate his morals, and the difficult dynamics with his family is a major obstacle to any lasting relationship with Ben. Back in Toronto, Ben’s father is ill, and can he really leave behind his home for a man he’s only known a short time? With the clock ticking, they must decide whether to risk it all and turn three months into forever.

I love a nice simple read. No fuss, no complicated roadblocks, just an easy flow romance that shows relationship growth and warmth.

I am definitely on an easy romance kick at the moment. Life is so complicated right now and I just need the satisfaction of knowing that it isn’t always hard for people to be together. This delivered on low angst, which is exactly what I needed.

Getting to know Sai was a little slower than Ben but most of the story is told from Ben’s POV and Sai was a little guarded at first, because of the issues he had with his job and family. Ben was lovely and open. He didn’t hide how he felt, and was willing to be there for Sai when external job drama got in the way of their short time together. He made his feelings about what Sai was putting himself through known, but respected him enough to accept Sai as he was and just be with him any time they could steal away.

The light kink was a really nice surprise. By light, I do mean light, sweet and enjoyable. This would be great for people who haven’t read any kink and want a small taste. Or those who like a little bossiness in the bedroom.

Overall this was nice. It wasn’t quite fluff but a really gentle read. I would read more from this new to me author. I really enjoy her point of view.

Recommended for all romance readers.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion

Blog Tour: Three Months to Forever by Hudson Lin

Help Hudson Lin celebrate the release of her new book in the World of Love series by Dreamspinner Press. Find out more about about this contemporary romance below!

Five Behind the Scenes Facts about Three Months to Forever

Hi! I’m Hudson Lin and this is the blog tour for Three Months to Forever. There’s always so much involved with writing a story that doesn’t necessarily make it into the book itself. Here are five behind the scenes facts about my new book!

1.       The premise of Three Months to Forever is that Ben is sent on a three-month work assignment from Toronto to Hong Kong. This is based on my own experience of going on a three-month work assignment to Hong Kong! Many of the places Ben visits and foods he tries are taken directly from my own time in the city.

2.      Sai’s full Chinese name is Kwok Sai-hei (郭世屭). Translated into English, his name means generation of gigantic strength. It’s a prescriptive name, given the extraordinary expectations his father has for his life.

3.      Sai and Ben meet at an event hosted by InterNations. This is a real organization with chapters around the world that seek to connect ex-patriots who are living far from their homes. It’s a great resource and I’ve been a member of few different chapters over the years.

4.      Sai and his friends frequent a gay bar called LINQ in the Sheung Wan neighborhood. When I lived in Hong Kong, I walked past the bar almost every day and had no idea it was a gay bar! I only realized years later while I was researching for this story.

5.      Ben and Sai’s sexual relationship has some elements of BDSM, which was completely unintentional! It was only after I’d finished writing the book did I recognize the dom/sub dynamic between them. Now, can you guess who is the dom and who is the sub?

Excited to read Three Months to Forever yet? I hope you are! Three Months to Forever is available now!

Three Months to Forever Blurb

Ben is looking for an adventure when he accepts a temporary assignment in Hong Kong, but he never anticipated how his life might change when he meets a sophisticated older man named Sai. Their initial attraction is sizzling and soon grows into more as Sai takes Ben on a tour of the city’s famous landmarks and introduces him to the local cuisine. Sai stimulates Ben’s intellect and curiosity, and for jaded corporate lawyer Sai, Ben’s innocent eagerness is a breath of fresh air. It would be so easy to fall in love….

But nothing is that simple. Sai’s job forces him to do things that violate his morals, and his relationship with his family is a major obstacle to any lasting relationship with Ben. Back in Toronto, Ben’s father is ill, and can he really leave behind his home for a man he’s only known for a short time? With the clock ticking, they must decide whether to risk it all and turn three months into forever.

Buy Link: 

Dreamspinner Press

About Hudson Lin

Hudson Lin was raised by conservative immigrant parents and grew up straddling two cultures with ofttimes conflicting perspectives on life. Instead of conforming to either, she has sought to find a third way that brings together the positive elements of both.

Having spent much of her life on the outside looking in, Hudson likes to write stories about outsiders who fight to carve out their place in society, and overcome everyday challenges to find love and happily ever afters.

When not engrossed in a story, Hudson knits, drinks tea, and works the 9 to 5 in the beautiful city of Toronto, Canada.

Social Media Links

Website: hudsonlin.com

Twitter: @hudsonlinwrites

Facebook: facebook.com/hudsonlinwrites

Goodreads: goodreads.com/hudsonlinwrites

Giveaway + Blog Tour: Inside Darkness by Hudson Lin

Celebrate the release of Inside Darkness with author Hudson Lin and Riptide Publishing! Find out more about this hurt/comfort romance and be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway of a $10 Amazon gift card! Good luck!

See our 4.25 ❤ Review of it here.

Welcome to the blog tour for Inside Darkness! I’m Hudson Lin and I’m here to share some behind the scenes sneak peaks about my debut novel, available June 11th. Leave a comment on the tour posts for a chance to win a $10 gift card from Amazon!

About Inside Darkness

He’s come in from the field, but the darkness has followed him home.

After a decade as an aid worker, Cameron Donnelly returns home jaded, tired, and with more than just a minor case of PTSD. Plagued by recurring nightmares but refusing to admit he has a problem, Cam quickly spirals into an alcohol-infused depression, and everyone around him is at a loss for how to help.

Journalist Tyler Ang met Cam on a reporting assignment in Kenya, and their first encounters were rife with hostility and sexual tension. Back in New York, their paths continually cross, and each time, Cam’s brokenness reminds Ty more and more of his own difficult childhood. Letting Cam in goes against Ty’s instinct to live life autonomously, but the damaged aid worker manages to sneak past his guard.

Their relationship is all sharp corners and rough edges, and just as they’re figuring out how to fit together, a life-threatening accident puts it all in jeopardy. If they want a future together, both will have to set aside their egos and learn to carry each other’s burdens.

About Hudson Lin

Hudson Lin was raised by conservative immigrant parents and grew up straddling two cultures with often-times conflicting perspectives on life. Instead of conforming to either, she has sought to find a third way that brings together the positive elements of both.

Having spent much of her life on the outside looking in, Hudson likes to write about outsiders who fight to carve out their place in society, and overcome everyday challenges to find love and happily ever afters.

When not engrossed in a story, Hudson knits, drinks tea, and works the nine-to-five in the beautiful city of Toronto, Canada.

Connect with Hudson:

●      Website: www.hudsonlin.com

●      Twitter: @hudsonlinwrites

●      Facebook: www.facebook.com/hudsonlinwrites

To celebrate the release of Inside Darkness, Hudson is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 16, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review: Inside Darkness by Hudson Lin

He’s come in from the field, but the darkness has followed him home.

After a decade as an aid worker, Cameron Donnelly returns home jaded, tired, and with more than just a minor case of PTSD. Plagued by recurring nightmares but refusing to admit he has a problem, Cam quickly spirals into an alcohol-infused depression, and everyone around him is at a loss for how to help.

Journalist Tyler Ang met Cam on a reporting assignment in Kenya, and their first encounters were rife with hostility and sexual tension. Back in New York, their paths continually cross, and each time, Cam’s brokenness reminds Ty more and more of his own difficult childhood. Letting Cam in goes against Ty’s instinct to live life autonomously, but the damaged aid worker manages to sneak past his guard.

Their relationship is all sharp corners and rough edges, and just as they’re figuring out how to fit together, a life-threatening accident puts it all in jeopardy. If they want a future together, both will have to set aside their egos and learn to carry each other’s burdens.

I honestly don't know what came over me here. Nothing about that blurb usually appeals to me. Hurt/Comfort is hit or miss. I'm averse to books that feature mental illness. Pain usually sends me into the blanket fort, but for whatever reason when I first saw this book a couple months ago I was drawn to it. Maybe it's the word 'darkness' in the title, maybe it's the cover or maybe it's some weird woowoo shit. Whatever it was I'm glad for it, because this book was seriously good.

Cam has spent 10 years as a UN aid worker. He's a lifer but that dedication has taken its toll. His PTSD is at the forefront of this story and well portrayed; there are no magic cures. It takes work and his trauma isn't something that disappears when he connects with Ty. He's plagued by nightmares, battles depression, anger outbursts and avoidance behaviors even after he's been in treatment a while. He's been through a lot but I enjoyed the authenticity of there being one standout incident that not only traumatized him but forced him to change. The struggle to downshift out of that mentality isn't an easy thing for him. The distraction of constantly being busy while on assignment kept it at bay to a certain extent, but once he returns home those distractions evaporate. He needs to fill that darkness with something to make it go away and suffice to say, he spins out.

He met Ty while he was on assignment in Kenya and there was a connection, though short-lived, but life seems to keep throwing them together-on the flight home, at a party, wandering in a random neighborhood, they keep running into each other. I'm kind of a sucker for fate and these two seem fated to me.

Ty, too, has his own demons. He is self-reliant to a fault and almost single-mindedly driven toward his goal of becoming a successful journalist. He likes to travel light and has acquired a bit of a reputation, but Cam's vulnerability burrows beneath his armor and Ty seems to be the only person Cam turns to when it gets to be too much.

It felt like too much sacrifice to be apart for anything more than a few seconds. They had navigated through a maze of wrong turns and false starts to find the real versions of each other, and they couldn't afford to lose even one moment.

Their palpable emotional connection is what impressed me most about this book and Lin's writing style. She brought these two flawed human beings together in such an incremental way that neither of them really noticed they were in love until they had already become part of each other, fitting into the other's blank spaces. I also liked that they decided they were going to be together, despite everything they were going to make it work because the alternative was unbearable.

Their romance is a quiet but compelling one. If you're looking for a romance-y romance this will likely fall flat for you. Their relationship felt honest to me in all its rockiness. They miscommunicate. They ghost each other. Other times they are staggeringly honest with each other. They argue and can be dicks to the other, but they seem to always be drawn back together. I found myself liking both of them and rooting for them. Their journey is fraught with obstacles, some internal and some external, but what resonated was how natural their relationship evolved, how organic their conversations were and how unpretentious their story was. There's something to be said for two thorny dudes finding love.

My only quibble is Cam's "darkness". There was something about the frequency of him referring to it coupled with him referring to it as almost a separate entity that was both heavy-handed at times and somewhat disconcerting. Nevertheless, I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this author in the future.

Recommend to hurt/comfort and quiet romance fans.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley.

Release Blitz + Giveaway: Teacher's Pet Anthology by Various Authors

Celebrate the release of NineStar Press' Teacher's Pet Anthology with IndiGo Promotions! The QUILTBAG anthology features stories from authors: Kashmira Majumdar, S.A. James, Asta Idonea, Hudson Lin, Aila Alvina Boyd, Valentine Wheeler, Damian Serbu, Jack Harbon, and Arden Powell! Learn more today and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!

Title:  Teacher's Pet

Author: Kashmira Majumdar, S.A. James, Asta Idonea, Hudson Lin, Aila Alvina Boyd, Valentine Wheeler, Damian Serbu, Jack Harbon, Arden Powell

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 12

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male, Female/Female

Length: 88500

Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal. Sci-Fi/Fantasy, age gap, contemporary, Fantasy, paranormal, romance, teacher/student

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Nine Stories of Lessons Outside the Classroom

By Virtue Fall by Kashmira Majumdar – The rules have changed…and so have the consequences for breaking them.

Striking Gold by S.A. James – Sometimes when we think we have no choice, life brings something brighter.

Full Marks by Asta Idonea – When Jacob seeks out his favourite lecturer at a university reunion, will he get full marks?

Lessons for a Lifetime by Hudson Lin – A second language, a first chance at love.

Welcome to Ms Skinner’s Freshman Composition by Aila Alvina Boyd – After auditioning for a play, professor and student find themselves cast opposite each other as romantic leads.

Piece of Cake by Valentine Wheeler – All Richard wanted was a nice, quiet retirement. His kids aren’t going to let that happen.

Professor Ghost by Damian Serbu – An otherworldly mentor might be his way out.

Bare by Jack Harbon – When a passion for art turns into something more.

The Botanist’s Apprentice by Arden Powell – Don’t get too close to the flowers.

Excerpt

By Virtue Fall by Kashmira Majumdar
Jonah Shapiro is no model student, even by the lax standards of his preppy New England boarding school. His penchant for rule-breaking and leather makes him the bête noire of his teachers—except the earnest, tea-drinking, cardigan-wearing Mr. Donovan, who’s determined to not give up on Jonah. Life used to be simpler five years ago when Mr. Donovan was just Head Boy Nick and Jonah’s best friend. Easier, too, for Jonah to kiss him when it was dark and no one was watching. Now the rules of the game have changed, and so have the consequences for flouting them…

Striking Gold by S.A. James
The day Daniel met Silver shone brightly for a number of reasons. It was the last day of high school, but it was also the day he realized he could never leave home. Being the son of an alcoholic mom didn’t leave many choices for Daniel. He could only hope that life and love would treat him kindly.

Full Marks by Asta Idonea
Jacob Corby decides to attend his university reunion for one reason only: Professor Hobbs. Arthur Hobbs is surprised to see loner Jacob’s name on the attendance list, but it is enough to make him change his mind about going to the event. After all, he’s always harboured forbidden feelings for his favourite student.

Lessons for a Lifetime by Hudson Lin
When high school English teacher Patrick signs on to teach an adult ESL course on the weekends, he doesn’t know his life is about to change. Into the makeshift community center classroom walks Salim—tall, soulful, a refugee from Ethiopia with a heart for storytelling and a talent for music.

A midwinter offer to drive Salim home after class one week leads to the breakdown of the student-teacher boundary. As their relationship grows, the prospect of moving in together brings out both their insecurities about commitment and money. But working through differences makes them stronger and Patrick soon realizes that perhaps he had been the student all along.

Welcome to Ms Skinner’s Freshman Composition by Aila Alvina Boyd
After auditioning for a college production, a first year professor finds herself being cast as the romantic lead opposite her least favorite student. Just as it appears as though the production is going to be an utter failure, something clicks. From there on out, chemistry between the two of them no longer needs to be faked.

Piece of Cake by Valentine Wheeler
Richard’s daughters are worried about him, alone in his house after retirement, so they sign him up for a cooking class at the local community center. But what he ends up finding is more than just baked goods.

Professor Ghost by Damian Serbu
Antonio arrives on campus for his first day of college a little overwhelmed from the experience of moving from a rural area to the big city, not to mention that he firmly planted himself in the closet and intends to stay there. When a ghost appears before him on the first night, his terror gradually gives way to curiosity, as this hot specter promises to mentor him toward a better, and out, life at college.

Bare by Jack Harbon
Before his best friend went away for vacation, Levi Singh promised her that he would take life by the balls and live on the edge. So, when the nude model for his art class doesn’t show, Levi takes it upon himself to volunteer. To his surprise, no one seems to be staring too long at him. No one, that is, except for his professor.

When Noah Rose suggests working with him on an assignment after class, Levi suspects he might be looking for something else. Something Levi will happily give him.

The Botanist’s Apprentice by Arden Powell
Graduate student Eli Katz approaches the accomplished botanist, Robert Lord-Harding, to request access to his greenhouse of magical flora. Though Lord-Harding is reluctant to take on a new apprentice after the scandal of his last one, he is intrigued by Eli’s academic work, and agrees.

Eli is primarily interested in the violet man-eater, a carnivorous plant that preys on men by emitting a certain pheromone, luring them in close and then devouring them. Eli wants to return the man-eater to its classic status as a sexual performance enhancer, and spends his days studying the plant. But is it as safely secured in Lord-Harding’s greenhouse as they both believe, or will its pheromones wreak havoc with their new apprenticeship?

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