Giveaway + Blog Tour: Shelter from the Storm by Kate Sherwood

Kate Sherwood and Riptide Publishing are here today to promote the recent release of Shelter from the Storm! Find out more about this fantasy romance and be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway for a $10 Riptide credit below. Good luck!

About Shelter from the Storm

A healer and a warrior fight to survive the winter . . . and each other.

Grif is tired of life as a mercenary—tired of life, period. So he heads off into the mountains, not much caring whether he lives or dies. But when his indifference leaves him unconscious in a snowbank, a stranger finds him and insists on dragging him back from death.

Kiernan doesn’t really have time to nurse a stranger back to health; he’s on an important mission. He doesn’t know why the message he’s carrying is significant, but he’s determined to deliver it, even if it means risking his life in the winter mountains. Still, he can’t just walk away from a fellow traveler in need.

Grif didn’t want to be saved, and he sure as hell doesn’t want to be stuck with an annoying, naïve do-gooder. But since when do the mountains give men what they want?  The snow is too deep to travel. Food is scarce. Grif and Kiernan learn to depend on each other, and eventually to care about each other. Neither of them wanted it to happen. But sometimes the mountains don’t give men what they want; sometimes, the mountains give men what they need.

About Kate Sherwood

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”--other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the sub-genres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, scifi or fantasy--the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions. How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels… sometimes it’s easier to bond with a non-human, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

After five years of writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future.

Connect with Kate:

Website: http://katesherwoodbooks.com/
Twitter: @kate_sherwood

To celebrate the release of Shelter from the Storm, Kate is giving away a $10 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on August 26, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Giveaway + Blog Tour: Embers (Common Law #2) by Kate Sherwood

Don't forget to enter to win the spectacular Grand Prize below! 

About Kate Sherwood

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”--other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the sub-genres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, scifi or fantasy--the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions. How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels… sometimes it’s easier to bond with a non-human, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

After five years of writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future.

Twitter: @kate_sherwood 

About Embers

Small town—big problems. Jericho Crewe is back in Mosely, Montana, trying to deal with police corruption, interfering feds, his newly discovered family members, and, of course, Wade Granger.

He doesn’t really need a biker war on top of it all, but as the bodies start to pile up, it becomes pretty clear that’s what he’s got. Not only that, but Wade’s involved somehow, and as soon as Wade is a part of something, things that seemed clear become cloudy.

With the feds breathing down his neck, Jericho has to find his way through Wade’s maze of half truths and manipulations. It would all be so much easier if Jericho could think straight in the other man’s presence. So much easier if their passionate past could be forgotten, and if he could be sure he’s strong enough to resist the temptation of a passionate present.

Now available from Riptide Publishing. http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/embers

To celebrate the release of all four books in the Common Law series, we’re giving away one four-tour-wide GRAND PRIZE of $100 in Riptide credit! Enter at each stop on each tour (once they go live) to maximize your chances to win! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on April 8, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the Embers tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review: Dark Horse Bundle by Kate Sherwood

Dan Wheeler thought he’d found lasting love and stability, but when it’s all taken away, can he take a chance on something new? In Dark Horse, Dan meets Evan Kaminski and Jeff Stevens while selling a horse and finds himself drawn to the pair of lovers. In Out of the Darkness, Dan is building a new life for himself in California with Evan and Jeff, but can the three of them find balance in their tumultuous relationship? In Of Dark and Bright, Dan, Evan, and Jeff have found their happily-ever-after—mostly—but when Dan’s long-lost sister shows up on their doorstep, the pressure may crack their foundations.

I was going to review each story individually and give each book an individual rating, but after the first book, Dark horse, I was torn. I would not have a enjoyed that book as a standalone and probably wouldn't have continued the series if it wasn't in a bundle. But because I went into this thinking of reading the bundle straight through as one book, I really liked ‘Dark Horse’ as an ‘introduction’ to the relationship and characters. So I'm going to review the bundle as one novel.

Argh. This series was simultaneously wonderful and fucking frustrating. I'll start with the good stuff. The characters were amazing, and the relationship building wonderfully detailed. This series really touched on some of the finer issues involved in commencing a threesome, especially with an already established couple. Each man had to work through insecurities and jealousy to make the relationship work. We also saw how each of these three men complimented each other, and how no two men would have been able to make a relationship work without the third.

The sex did take a little while to get started, but if you're looking at the bundle as one novel, it'd only be about 35% in, which isn't too bad. The sex was always always super hot, although I did have issues with some off page ‘first times’ which I'll get to in the negatives.

This series was also super high in the feels department! I actually loved reading about Dan's healing after Justin, and how Jeff especially helped him through it. That was beautifully written.

On to the negatives, *takes calming breath*. I hated the first sexual encounter that occurred between any of these characters. I won't give too much away but it was between Dan and one of the other men and it was done vindictively, to hurt the third. God it made me so angry I actually skimmed that sex scene and it was THEIR FIRST TIME! Also, there is a fourth guy who Dan is interested in at the beginning, it made sense to his character and development, but I didn't particularly like the segway.

Don't even get me started on the sooo many important relationship milestones that were missed in the gap between the second and third books. The entire middle half of the bundle was about issues Dan and Evan had with each other, and then trying to work out how to make the threesome work. The second book ends with Dan coming to an understanding that he wants to make the threesome work, then suddenly it's 2 years later and we've completely missed everything good. This includes everyone's first ‘I loves yous’ and Dan's first time bottoming, which he was completely adamant about not doing in the second book.

I think I'll remember this series as one I enjoyed, I mean the characters and relationship building are usually what makes or breaks a story and they were done very well here. But I will never forget about the massive annoyances I had with this book, therefore I doubt I'll read it again. Definitely glad I read this once though as it is one of the classic gay polyamorous stories.

A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Find out more on Goodreads & Dreamspinner Press.