Release Blitz + Giveaway: The Ballerino and The Biker (The Hedonist #1) by Rebecca James

Celebrate The Ballerino and The Biker (The Hedonist #1) with author Rebecca James and Vibrant Promotions! Learn more about the opposites attract romance today! Enter in the eBook back list giveaway!

The Ballerino and The Biker

Rebecca James

M/M Romance

Release Date: 03.10.18

Cover Design: Reese Dante

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FcjM4E

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2Fl642Y

Blurb

Most of his young life, Morgan Wentworth has dreamed of becoming a principal dancer in a prestigious corps de ballet. After years studying the art in Milan, Morgan comes home to New York City to apprentice with the Manhattan Ballet Company only to be hit by the unexpected death of his older brother, Jake. The grieving dancer learns his life is threatened by a dangerous rival motorcycle gang and that pierced, tattooed, HOT biker Zeke Ivers has been assigned by Jake’s MC to guard him. Saddled with the constant presence of the infuriating man, Morgan juggles the demands of an exhausting dance schedule as well as his new responsibilities as CEO of his family’s multi-million-dollar company. He never expects to develop an attraction for the straight, obnoxious biker, but that’s exactly what happens.

Estranged from an abusive family, Zeke Ivers has lived at the Sentinel’s club house and worked on cars since he was a teen. When fellow club member Jake Wentworth and a rival club president’s girl are killed on Jake’s bike, the Sentinel’s president delegates the protection of Jake’s little brother, Morgan, to Zeke. Zeke would do anything for the club that pulled him off the streets, but Morgan’s a ballet dancer, for Christ’s sake, as well as annoying as hell. Still, Zeke finds himself inexplicably drawn to the young man. The more attracted Zeke becomes to Morgan, the more the biker is forced to examine his sexuality and decide whether two people from opposite sides of the tracks could possibly have a future together, or if Zeke should do what is fast becoming too painful to consider: let Morgan go.

Excerpt

For another week after the shooting, I continued escorting Morgan to his long-ass rehearsals where he didn’t rehearse, just watched intensely, and his classes where he danced until he was slick with sweat and breathing hard. And I continued studying him, memorizing every expression that crossed his face. His high cheekbones, full lips, and expressive eyes captivated me, and I’d quit asking myself why. Scared I was letting him distract me too much, I renewed my efforts to watch the exits. I’d learned the face of every person who was supposed to be around and kept a watch for those who weren’t.


The list of people wanting me to fix their cars was growing, but I never had any time. Several of the guys offered to take a day or two watching Morgan for me, but I didn’t trust the kid in anyone else's care, and besides, there was my cover to consider. I was supposed to be a reporter doing a story on Morgan. Why would someone else show up in my place? Anyway, I knew the layout of the building, knew the corps de ballet’s schedule, and I knew Morgan. I would take care of him.

Saturday came around, and I once again thanked God the fucking masochist ballet company let the dancers have Sunday off. I planned to spend mine sleeping, unless Morgan got other ideas. The kid looked exhausted, so I doubted it. Halfway through the day, the big guy, chief of the ballet or something, announced some chick named Katie had had to leave and called Morgan in to dance her part during rehearsal. My gut twisted. How was the kid supposed to dance a part he’d only watched a few times, and a female part, at that?

But Morgan did it. He filled in for the girl like he’d been dancing the part himself every day since he got there, and I was in awe. I could tell the chief guy was impressed, too, or at least satisfied. I got the feeling he’d been testing Morgan, otherwise why the fuck hadn’t he asked one of the female apprentices to fill in? At the end of the night, like a proud daddy, I tossed Morgan a candy bar from the machine in the hall.

Morgan looked at the Hershey bar like he didn’t know what to do with it.

“For doing so great at the spur of the moment,” I told him. A smile lit up his tired face that made the embarrassing moment worth it, and he unwrapped the candy bar. He broke it down the middle and handed half to me.

“For putting up with all this,” Morgan said. Our eyes met. The whole thing felt so goddamn cheesy, I grumbled and didn’t speak again until we were pulling out of the Arts Center.

I hated the scared look Morgan had every time we walked outside the building since the shooting. I wanted to rip Spoons’s face off for putting it there, and I would if I got a chance.

“If it makes you feel any better, he ain’t gonna try the same thing twice,” I said to Morgan as he inched closer to me on the walk to the car.

He looked at me. “You mean he’ll devise another way to kill me?”


“Well, yeah.” We climbed in, and I headed for the Midtown Tunnel. I’d been changing up our route, even if it took longer to get home going a different way.

Morgan sank down in the seat and fiddled with the edge of his sweatshirt. “I can’t go on like this. I’m so fucking stressed out.”

“The way I see it, you ain’t got much choice,” I said. “You wanna be a dancer, so you gotta go to school. You wanna stay alive, so you gotta have me with you. Thing is, you gotta trust I’ll take care of you and relax.”

Morgan brought up his knees to his chin. He was like a fucking bendable toy. I bet he could put both feet behind his head. His face was broody.

“It’s gonna be okay, kid,” I said. “I got you. Concentrate on spinning around and looking pretty.”

Morgan groaned. “Shut up.”

I laughed, feeling suddenly light.

I've always loved to write and have written since I was a child, usually to entertain my family. I enjoy writing m/m romance because there's nothing hotter than two men in a loving relationship. I write contemporary romance but am not limited to that. I enjoy writing alpha/omega and vampire stories, and I wouldn't rule other things out. I'm very prolific, so look for a lot of things to come!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/rebeccajamesgayromance/about/?ref=page_internal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjamesromance1

Website: https://rebeccajamesgayromance.wordpress.com/

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Review: 2016 Top Ten Gay Romance by Various Authors, Edited by J.M. Snyder

2016 Top Ten Gay Romance brings together the best-selling short stories published by JMS Books that year.

From first love to true love, from submission to sensual, from heat to sweet and everything in between, the couples in these stories are sure to keep you turning the pages as you fall in love with them.

With stories by Becky Black, T.A. Creech, Rebecca James, Shawn Lane, J.L. Merrow, A.R. Moler, Terry O'Reilly, Michael P. Thomas, Tinnean, and J.D. Walker, this head-over-heels collection goes beyond bedtime reading. Whether happily ever after or happy for now, there’s an ending for everyone in here!

Contains the stories: Me and My Big Mouth by Becky Black, Captive by T.A. Creech, Love Lost, Love Found by Rebecca James, Accidentally His by Shawn Lane, A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips, and Thou by J.L. Merrow, For the Last Time by A.R. Moler, First and Goal by Terry O'Reilly, It's Not Yule, It's Me by Michael P. Thomas, In His Line of Work by Tinnean, and And This is Ed by J.D. Walker.

Whoa. The broken hearted rating has been brought out.
I promise I didn't just use it because I felt it needed dusting off instead I've used it because I don't know how to rate this anthology. I has myself a dilemma.

The risk with reading anthologies is in the likelihood of every story being a 4 or 5 heart read. Sometimes a reader can get really lucky and find anthology gold, I know for the most part I expect there is going to be a couple of stories that don't work for me. The problem with this anthology is there was only one story that really did work for me, and that is the JL Merrow one, A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips and Thou. It was a five heart read as far as I was concerned, and that alone made me glad that I'd had the chance to read this anthology. Unfortunately all the other stories rated between a 1 and 3 heart rating for me. Do you see my dilemma? If I average out the ratings it would come up at about 2 hearts.

But...
But... A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips and Thou is not to be tarred with that rating brush. It was a read most excellent, written with the subtle humour and wit that JL Merrow always brings to her writing.

For me the other stories have blurred into one. No characters stood out, no storyline captured my attention. Is it worth buying an anthology just for one story? I don't know - that is your choice to make. For me though, I'm glad I read it. It's also worth noting that, whilst I am a JL Merrow fan, I'm not always the biggest lover of her shorter stories, they don't always click with me. This one, though, really did.

A copy of this anthology was given in exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Goodreads.

Release Blitz + Giveaway: 2016 Top Ten Gay Romance - Various Authors from JMS Books

JMS Books releases the 2016 Top Ten Gay Romance Anthology today! Read below for more information and enter the giveaway to win an eBook copy of JMS Books' 2015 Top Ten Gay Romance Anthology!

2016 Top Ten Gay Romance - Various Authors

Release: December 31 2016

Publisher: JMS Books

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Blurb

2016 Top Ten Gay Romance brings together the best-selling short stories published by JMS Books that year.

From first love to true love, from submission to sensual, from heat to sweet and everything in between, the couples in these stories are sure to keep you turning the pages as you fall in love with them.The 10 stories in this head-over-heels collection go beyond bedtime reading. Whether happily ever after or happy for now, there’s an ending for everyone in here!

Contains the stories:

· Me and My Big Mouth by Becky Black
· Captive by T.A. Creech
· Love Lost, Love Found by Rebecca James
· Accidentally His by Shawn Lane
· A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips, and Thou by J.L. Merrow
· For the Last Time by A.R. Moler
· First and Goal by Terry O'Reilly
· It's Not Yule, It's Me by Michael P. Thomas
· In His Line of Work by Tinnean
· And This is Ed by J.D. Walker

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: The Wolves of Daos 5 by Rebecca James

Rebecca James is celebrating her latest release in the Wolves of Daos series with giveaway! Winner gets a choice from the author's backlist! Good luck!

Title: The Wolves of Daos 5

Series: Wolves of Daos 5 1

Author: Rebecca James

Publisher: Rebecca James

Cover Artist: Brandyjo Newton

Release Date: September 24, 2016

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 195

Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, mpreg, shifter, paranormal,

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Synopsis

Michael has wrestled with anxiety his entire life, and finding out he’s half-werewolf doesn’t help matters. When bond-mate, Quinn, takes Michael to the werewolf colony, Michael finds more surprises in store for him, and some may be more than he can handle.

Excerpt

Looking over his shoulder as they walked, Michael saw that the milling crowd that had been gathering at the palace gates now filed in behind them, as though they’d been waiting for Quinn and Michael’s arrival in order to be admitted. Looking ahead, a vast courtyard lay before them with pruned hedges and extensive gardens that had been cut back in preparation for the coming winter. Michael’s heart picked up when he spotted what appeared to be several huge lizards lounging in the inner courtyard near the front of the palace where he and Quinn were not, thankfully, headed.

“Komodo dragons?” Michael asked.

“What? Oh, yes. We brought them here from Indonesia. Very effective deterrents to trespassers.”

“I’ll bet.” Michael stared at the frightening creatures.

“This way,” Quinn said, setting off toward the side, passing through an archway and along an ivy-covered wall where two guards led three chained and naked men headed for a door leading away from the main part of the stone structure. Quinn propelled Michael toward a larger iron door at the far end of the narrow lane. Michael couldn’t help but stare at the men. Were they slaves? They certainly appeared to be, with their dirty appearance and hands and feet manacled and the long chain connecting them one to the other.

“Prisoners,” Quinn said, as though answering Michael’s unasked question. Sometimes he really did seem to read Michael’s mind. “Escor. Scum.”

The corridor leading to the door was narrow and crowded. Quinn wrapped his arm around Michael’s waist and maneuvered them through, while Michael continued to stare at the prisoners. He’d never seen anyone like them; completely hairless, lacking even eyebrows and lashes, with long, slim feet and oddly-shaped heads. Two large werewolves wearing red tangas and brandishing curved sticks urged the prisoners along. As Quinn and Michael passed the line of men, one looked directly at Michael, his silver eyes with dark, vertical pupils reminding Michael of a snake. Michael thought they must be contact lenses—he’d seen some that gave a similar effect. As Michael returned the gaze, quick as lightning, the man’s tongue darted out, thin and forked, touching Michael on the arm at the same time that Atlas yelled and pulled Michael backward until his shoulder hit the opposite wall. Quinn threw himself at the prisoner, his hands around the man’s thick throat.

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Rebecca James | Amazon | Smashwords

Meet the Author

Rebecca James writes m/m and m/m/m romance in the contemporary, paranormal, and sci-fi genres. Writing has been her passion since childhood, but it wasn't until recently that she got up the courage to publish. She lives in the southern United States with her husband and three children.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | eMail

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Review: Third Mate (River Wolf Pack, #3) by Rebecca James

Sequel to Second Alpha

The winds of change are blowing through the River Wolf Pack compound. River, the pack alpha, has allowed rogue wolves, a coyote shifter, and humans to join the pack. Then there’s the twin girls that Josiah, River’s mate, has given birth to. A movement to return to more traditional werewolf ways is gaining momentum.

In exchange for Leo’s help, Stone offers him the position of second alpha should Stone succeed in usurping River as pack alpha. Leo has his own problems -- his desire to rise within the pack wars with his dislike of Stone. With the addition of Sam and Foster into the mix, Leo’s personal life is no less complex.

Jax knows he must make a difficult decision before he’s turned out of the compound. Should he remain human or accept David’s bite? He loves the alpha wolf, but he also has ties to the human world, ones he doesn’t want to sever. When David discovers Brooks is considering mating Stone, David determines to prevent it. Can Jax provide a solution to Brooks’s problem even if it means sacrificing his own happiness?

Can River remain in charge of an increasingly fractured pack? Does he even want to?

This book contains three different, but overlapping stories told from four different POV’s, and I devoured this in just a couple of hours!! I was so enthralled in all these characters lives and stories I just couldn’t put it down! So why the lower rating? There was just too much story to it fit into a normal length novel.This means we end up getting a shortened version of each story, which, while still enjoyable, isn’t what I would’ve preferred.

It'll probably be easier to highlight each story, as they all focused on different characters but everything was told along the same timeline. This means we would end a chapter on one story but not get back to those characters for a few chapters, and because the progress of the story was constantly moving forward, we miss important relationship developments. This was probably a bit of a rate remover for me.

Josiah and River’s story was probably my least favourite of this book. River is dealing with an impending uprising due to his decisions to harbour outcasts and willingness to talk with humans. Also the birth of his and Josiah twin girls (there are no females among werewolves) have left him out of favour with many of his pack. This tension was an underlying theme throughout all the stories. It was nice seeing some of Josiah’s POV again, and he and River were as hot as ever, but with the other two stories holding my interest, I was happy we saw these two less.

The next story was David and Jax. This ended up being my favourite, probably because it evoked a lot of different emotions in me. Frustration, anger, understanding, sympathy, joy….. so many. David and Jax pretty much pick up where they left off in Second Alpha. They are both secure in their love for each other, but they literally can’t live in each other's world. What makes things worse in this book is Jax has decided he doesn’t want to be a werewolf, so he’ll never be accepted by the pack, and David will never be able to have children.

This story above all others should have been it's own novel, but instead it gets the least page time. Like I said, so many emotions, and all of them conveyed really well, but a lot of really important events were told as a series of highlights which just got me frustrated.

Sam, Leo and Foster: this story started out being my favourite, but while I loved them to begin with, once the ‘consummating’ occurred, it sort of fizzled. Sam and Foster (who we met in Second Alpha) are both outsiders and have been welcomed into the pack by River. They’re like brothers to each other…. brothers who occasionally suck each other off. Then there's Leo, the alpha. He finds both Sam and Foster attractive, but hasn't ever pictured himself having anything other than a beta mate. I can’t give too much away, but I enjoyed reading about how all these individual relationships progressed, and I did not pick how it was going to end.

As before, all of the sex is insanely hot! I also really really liked how none of the story lines ended how I thought they would, but everything still ended well. I think there is room for more in the series, which I’ll definitely be interested in reading.

Each of the three stories were entertaining, and each had elements of a great story, however it would’ve been much better if they were individually written so things didn’t feel as rushed.

Find more info on Goodreads!

Review: Second Alpha (River Wolf Pack #2) by Rebecca James

Sequel to First Omega

As second in command of the River Wolf Pack, David takes his duty as ambassador to the Human/Werewolf Congress very seriously. With the threat of war, it’s more important than ever to strengthen human/werewolf relations.

But the meeting at the werewolf compound doesn’t go very well. The humans find the homosexual, polygamous nature of the werewolves, along with the fact that the men can bear children, off-putting.

On top of this, although David’s human lover Jax says he loves David, he is not willing to take the bite and become a werewolf himself. David doesn’t see how they can have a relationship, and even wonders if he would be better off mating with Brooks, an attractive beta in the pack. When David and Brooks are kidnapped by the vice president of the Congress, David has to think quickly to save his pack, even if it means throwing his own life away.

Oh this one was goood. What happens when you get one human who usually tops, and one Alpha Werewolf? A battle for dominance.

David is the second in command to the River Wolf Pack and has been appointed as a new human/werewolf ambassador. As has Jax, a human who we met in First Omega. Jax and David started their little tryst at the end of First Omega, therefore this story starts with them already being quite established.

This story was a mix of David and Jax trying to reveal conspiracies within the human congress to eradicate all living werewolves, and then trying to navigate a relationship between two completely different species.

I really didn't care about the whole humans trying to kill werewolves drama. It was good to see the plot broadening out from the first book, and that will obviously carry over to the third. The drama created a little bit of tension towards the end, but mostly I read this for Jax and David.

I loved Jax and David’s story, despite not liking Jax too much. There are so many complications for these two, being of different species. They split their time between living in the city and living at the pack compound. David hates living in the city, away from nature and surrounded by people who look at him as though he's a monster. Jax isn’t accepted by the pack because he is human and misses his family and friends while he’s away. They struggle to reconcile the differences between them so much, that things turn a little ugly when one of Jax’s friends is bitten by a werewolf and turns into one. This was doesn’t without his friends consent, but not fully with it either.

Honestly, Jax annoyed me quite a bit. He seemed unable to understand David’s POV, and I didn't feel like he loved David as much and David loved him. Of course, I could feel that way because we only got David's POV. That made it harder to sympathise with Jax (although, I’ll give you a little spoiler… we get Jax’s POV in the next novel, Third Mate, and it did help me understand him better).

Just like last book, the sex is incredibly hot!!! Like so hot!!! Most of the time Jax is super keen to get that knot all up and in him, but at one point Jax decides he’s sick of always bottoming. This really confuses David as he has to process what being an alpha really means, and how that plays into not always being the top during sex. Needless to say, he loves a good fucking. But of course, that creates more issues because no one in the pack can know that David bottoms, otherwise his place will be undermined.

Phew, so yes, lots of issues between these two that they have to work through, but they do get there and the journey was written well. I’d say a solid HFN, but their story also continues in the next installment.
 

Find more info on Goodreads!

Review: First Omega (River Wolf Pack, #1) by Rebecca James

Nothing can prepare Josiah Kimbrel for what he finds when he enters the compound of the River Wolf Pack. As an ambassador of the human-werewolf congress, Josiah is keen to build bridges between the two species. Josiah is surprised to see how ‘normal’ things look in the compound; the wolves, all of whom are gay, live in family units, complete with children, in houses built from local materials.

Then there’s River, the pack alpha. Josiah can't deny his attraction to the handsome, dominant wolf man. Josiah’s world is further turned upside down when he unexpectedly goes into heat. He doesn’t understand -- how can he be half-werewolf and an omega? River wants Josiah for his mate, but is Josiah prepared to leave everything he knows in the city and become first omega of a werewolf pack?

I have a thing for omegas (or maybe it's just sluts?). Not to insult my lovely omegas, but when I read about that desperate horniness and all that rough fucking…. *shivers*, it does good things to me. Josiah is one desperate omega. It was hot. Like insanely hot!

The story was very intriguing. Josiah goes into the River Wolf Pack werewolf compound as a human ambassador. However, while he's there something strange happens, and he finds himself going into heat and being mated by River, the pack alpha. Josiah had no idea he was half-human half-werewolf so he has a lot to come to terms with, not just his identity but his newly found position as the pack alpha’s omega or ‘First Omega’.

This is all told from Josiah’s POV, and I really liked him and River. River is a fairly stereotypical alpha, all strong and stoic with a possessive and protective nature, but I liked it. I liked Josiah’s hesitations towards River after he found himself essentially mated without his consent (as he was dazed with his first heat). However not long after there seemed to be a switch that was flipped, and suddenly he was fully devoted to River and the pack. That development was a bit rushed, but not enough to deter from my enjoyment of the story.

The world created was quite interesting, definitely different to anything I’ve read in other shifter novels. The werewolves are a purely male homosexual society, and have a ongoing fear/hatred of humans due to the ongoing killings of so many of their species. Humans and werewolves know very little of each other as they tend to like to keep to themselves. However this just means the individuals they do come across are usually there to kill members of the opposing species.

I only have a couple of complaints about the story. Things tied up way too quickly and neatly with Josiah’s acceptance of the pack and a side story of an attempted murder. Also, there were just sooo many characters. Like SO many, which did get a bit overwhelming at times, especially when remembering who was mating with who. Unfortunately, I think this problem will only get worse as the series continues.

So the story was a little bit silly, but mostly a lot hot and a lot sweet and pretty damn entertaining.

Find more info on Goodreads!