Review: Heat Wave (The Extraordinaries #3) by T.J. Klune

Heat Wave is the explosive finale to the thrilling Extraordinaries trilogy by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune!

Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz are back in action bringing justice, protection, and disaster energy to the people of Nova City.

An unexpected hero returns to Nova City and crash lands into Nick's home, upturning his life, his family, and his understanding of what it means to be a hero in the explosive finale of the thrilling and hilarious Extraordinaries trilogy by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune.

A satisfying conclusion to this YA fantasy trilogy, I felt this matured with each book, as well it should as our teen hero Nick and his loyal friends all go through a lot, learning about life, love, and themselves!

When we last saw Nick and company, they were a solid incognito crime fighting team, and Nick was trying to come into his newly realized powers and potential responsibilities, all the while dealing with familial secrets and betrayals. Flash Fire left readers wondering about the future fate of all Extraordinaires as nemesis Simon Burke introduced a seemingly benevolent offer to cure their powers for the safety of the public, hiding a yet to be seen but inevitable sinister self serving plan. Toss in an off kilter ex-boyfriend who had escaped prison and an unbelievable cliffhanger reveal, and there were many questions left to be answered.

Though this plot line started out nebulous and confusing, what unfolds was a scary twist. Many might not like this crazy development, but I felt it ultimately played out nicely, forcing the gang and their wonderful parents, friends, and family to really band together to fight Simon Burke’s evil maniacal agenda.

What I truly appreciate about these 3 books is that with Klune’s deserved popularity and move into a more mainstream avenue, I’m grateful that a bigger publisher in no way impeded his unique and trademark brand of humor, style, and over the top brazenness. This doesn’t hold back on touchy topics, the uncomfortableness of growing up, the squeamish/embarrassing but relevant topics that all teens face, and Klune does it with frankness, truth, and outrageous humor and always with plenty of heart. It’s been a hot minute since I laughed so hard that I was crying, and then I soon found myself crying for real because of all the feels.

Overall, though some things in plot execution didn’t pan out as I wanted (do they 100% truly ever?), this still had a fitting conclusion that fell in line with the themes and messages of each book. Things can’t always end perfectly (tho it was pretty darn close), and that’s how life goes - sometimes it’s tough, sometimes it’s really really great, and often it isn’t fair.

Sooooo bad guys are going to do bad. Good guys are going to their darnedest to stop them. There are certainly some setbacks, but this is fantasy fiction after all so don’t be too worried. Rest assured that our titular hero Nick definitely remains true to himself and learns plenty along the way as all YA stories go, leaving me with a big fat smile at the very end!

Release Blitz + Giveaway: Jeopardy in Tights (Men of the Pantheon #1) by K. Childs

Enjoy superheroes? Join author K. Childs and IndiGo Marketing as they celebrate the release of Jeopardy in Tights (Men of the Pantheon #1) from NineStar Press! Find out more of the first in the superpowered romance and enter in the $10 NSP credit giveaway!

Title: Jeopardy in Tights

Series: Men of the Pantheon, Book One

Author: K. Childs

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: March 9, 2020

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 42600

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, sci-fi, alternate universe, super heroes, super powers, bodyguard, businessman, interracial, second chances

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Synopsis

Down on his luck ex-security meets CEO looking for special bodyguard. Fine print: hazardous working conditions.

Errol Mason got fired from his last job and put on a blacklist for a good reason. Now, scraping the bottom of the barrel and desperate for any job, he finally lands an interview with Stardust Global.

Errol’s interviewer, company CEO Nathan Parkes, has a secret, one that might get Errol killed. All Nate wants is a meatshield while he goes on a one-man crusade against a bunch of psycho cultists and tries to rescue his missing stepmother. Errol is the meatshield in this equation.

Things start pear-shaped and only get worse from there. Between military small-arms fire, freeway fisticuffs, and escaping the cult’s secret bases, the duo quickly forms a bond of trust and lust.

Excerpt

Jeopardy in Tights
K. Childs © 2020
All Rights Reserved

Errol Mason stood stark naked in front of about twenty people. His cheap suit, seams torn, had partially melted and unraveled like tissue paper around one of the exposed building support struts. The foyer of Stardust Global was a mess. Standing there nude, in the rubble and debris, he recalled a similar nightmare as a teen.

An hour ago, Errol worried that he’d look shabby for this job interview at Stardust Global. His breath smelled like chicken Cup Noodles—his only diet for weeks now—he needed a haircut, and his shaver had broken halfway down his left cheek, leaving him with a three-week shadow on one side. No water in the apartment, clothing smelling of sweat and mold. Going commando had seemed like a good idea to reduce the smell.

He needed this job.

He was broke: stealing spoons and sugar packets from fast food stores broke. Three months behind on rent broke.

“Did you see that?” Someone took a photo of Errol. Like they’d never seen a naked black man before.

He grabbed what was left of his pants, dusty with soot and partially melted. He didn’t have enough fabric here to cover himself. The scrap fell to pieces in his hands as he pulled out his thin wallet and phone. Wallet singed; old shitty phone, still working.

A lady bravely rushed from the crowd of spectators, holding out a floral yellow towel. Though damp and smelling like women’s body spray, it beat flashing his junk to a bunch of strangers. Errol wrapped the towel around his waist with a “Thanks.”

The obsidian dermis covering Errol’s body dried and cracked as he limped down from the wreckage of concrete and mangled van. His coal-black dermis transformed into flakes, revealing Errol’s dark-brown skin, chilled and covered in gooseflesh from adrenaline.

With the immediate danger over, people began to process, and phones came out. Plenty to see.

Errol hardly took the headline in the destruction of the foyer. That belonged to a skinny bald man in a pair of overalls, slumped over the crumpled hood of the totaled van now supported by a pillar of rubble with a very Errol-shaped hole in it.

The short, unimpressive series of events that had led to Errol’s nakedness were a confusing blur. Errol didn’t sit high on anyone’s list of friends, but he’d done nothing to deserve the lunatic who’d crashed through the glass doors and rammed right into him and the concrete pillars.

Errol had ended up crashing into and through the decorative wall behind the reception desk. The car hit Errol and the support pillar, halting its momentum, and the driver, a skinny bald man, had scrambled out, yelled something about inequality, and sprouted flames from his hands in impressive gouts.

Errol, being rather annoyed from getting hit by cars, picked himself up out of the rubble and marched right through the flame. It burned most of his clothing, but Errol’s dermis, a strange liquid metal coating his body under his clothing, was resistant to most midrange temperatures.

Errol had summarily cracked heads with the madman.

The lunatic now lay sprawled on the hood, dazed and probably concussed.

Errol did not feel the least bit sorry.

His last good shirt was nothing but ruined synthetic fabric rags.

The elevator dinged, and the lobby flooded with more of the well-to-do in their fancy unmelted clothing and uncharred shoes.

He was supposed to be interviewing for a security job. The first interview anyone had given him in eight months.

“Shit.”

Errol needed a drink.

“You must be Mr. Mason.”

The man who spoke wore a navy-blue suit and smelled faintly of new leather. He extended a hand for shaking. His nails were neat and manicured, and his palm, when Errol took it, was soft. A man who moisturized. The handshake was limp, gentle. Errol followed the arm up to a face. Smokey-green eyes and thin, pale lips schooled into a polite smile. The gentleman’s soft blond hair swept in a curly wave over one side. Clean-shaven, young; he looked like a model for a men’s fashion magazine.

“Hi.” Errol prided himself on being quick with words. He wasn’t eloquent, but then, he didn’t wear fancy suits or moisturize.

“Nice work taking out the trash.” It was a bit familiar of the gentleman, the way he said it.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve met?” Errol would definitely have remembered this guy.

“Nathan Parkes. Stardust Global General Chief Executive.” There was a lot of title in that introduction.

Errol straightened up, clutching his towel. This was the guy who’d emailed him for the job interview. “Oh, hi. I mean, hello.” He looked down. “Sorry, I’m wearing a towel.”

“I asked my assistant to find you something to wear. Least I can do,” Parkes said. “Your résumé says you spent time working for Miltech?”

Errol brushed some of the dermis from his hair, feeling about as self-conscious as one might in a situation like this. “Yeah. I mean, yes. As an armored van escort.”

“And you served in the army during the war?”

Errol nodded. He didn’t like recounting the events or his service during the two-year war and alien invasion that had devastated the planet. He’d spent six months fighting aliens in what had once been Florida. “I was on troop transport.”

“So you’ve been through a few combat experiences? How about de-escalations?”

This felt like a job interview.

Purchase

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Meet the Author

By day, Kristy works as an IT Project Coordinator. She wanted to be a fairy princess when she grew up but sadly discovered the job was no longer on the market. Instead, she embarked on a career to at least write about princesses in castles and grand adventures. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with an abundance of old comics and cute anime figurines.

By night, Kristy is a hippy and foodie, enjoying the life of a city-bred lady and trying all the latest restaurants and foodie crazes she can. She is most at home throwing money around in a handcrafts market, eating gourmet chocolate, discussing the various ramen recipes between restaurants, and browsing second-hand bookstores for undiscovered gems. She is a consummate spinster and lover of animals but has yet to receive a crazy cat lady starter kit.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: The Power of Love by Sydney Blackburn & Lina Langley

The Power of Love is officially released! Celebrate with authors Sydney Blackburn & Lina Langley and IndiGo Marketing! Learn more about the superhero romance today and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!

Title:  The Power of Love

Author: Sydney Blackburn, Lina Langley

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 26, 2018

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 88300

Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT, superheroes, action, romance, science fiction

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Synopsis

The #1 rule of superhero training camp is you don’t talk about superhero training camp.

Or your parents.

Or their powers, which is the only thing saving Vince’s life—he’s the son of a notorious supervillain. But the secret could become a deadly deception when he falls into a super-powered entanglement with gorgeously heroic cabinmate Locke.

When their instructor disappears, Vince’s father may be to blame. Torn between loyalties, Vince’s greatest fear is that his father’s taint will corrupt him and poison his heart against Locke.

Vince might be doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he hopes love can beat genetics.

Excerpt

The Power of Love
Lina Langley and Sydney Blackburn © 2018
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
Vincent Silva breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his grade posted on the bulletin board. He’d already passed the entrance exams to be at Camp Hologram, but the on-site test was vital.

He didn’t recognize the names of the three other guys in Cabin One, but he never expected he would. Kids with power-gifted parents were raised to protect their identities, for everyone’s safety. He didn’t want anyone to know who his father and stepmother were. Especially his stepmother, though he hated to use that word. It went the other way as well—he used his mother’s maiden name on his application so his father and alleged stepmother wouldn’t know he was at the camp.

A sharp lack of noise brought his attention to a classroom that reminded him too much of high school—being lectured by Mister Mister, who used to be somebody. His power was mimicry—for a few hours he could have the power of any gifted person he touched. Five years ago, he’d run afoul of the villain Chameleon. Vince wasn’t sure exactly what had happened—the media reported only that somehow his stepmother had managed to defeat Mister Mister, after which he’d retired from active duty.

The resemblance to high school ended with Mister Mister, who didn’t look anything like a teacher. For a start, his gray hair, still thick and wavy, was shoulder length, and he wore an olive drab T-shirt the same color as his canvas pants. He had tattoos down his arms and over the backs of his hands. He was also more physically fit than any of Vince’s high school teachers had ever been.

“Welcome to Camp Hologram, gentlemen. You wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t mastered a general control over your powers, so the focus of your training will be learning independence and teamwork. How to maximize your strengths, minimize your weaknesses. How to survive without any powers at all.

“It takes strength of will, and discipline….”

Vince tuned out the boring “why you’re all here” speech. He knew why he was there. He was born with powers and a determination to never be the kind of person his father was. Being the son of a villain didn’t mean that was his only choice.

“Weekend leave is in the city of Guilford, but don’t get too excited. There’s a volunteer element to your grades. I believe most of you have ignored the pamphlet of rules you received before arriving so let me reiterate: booze, drugs, and gambling are not permitted here at Camp Hologram. Lights out is at 10:00 p.m. Reveille is at 5:00 a.m. sharp. You are expected to make up your bunks and keep your gear in your lockers. This afternoon you’re to stow your gear and get to know your cabin mates. When you hear the klaxon, get to the mess hall or go hungry. Now grab your packs and go to your assigned cabin.”

Finally! Vince leaned down to grab his duffle, a heavy canvas bag almost as long as he was tall and stuffed with everything he owned. Whatever he did at Camp Hologram, fail or graduate qualified to be an official hero, he wasn’t going back home. Guilt made him flinch as he thought of his mother. She deserved a chance to make a life without his father screwing it up, and that meant a place with immaculate security. The kind only money could buy. Money popular heroes earned through sponsorships and licensing fees.

The first step was to ace his training.

He listened to the other guys grumble as they shuffled out, most of them with much less luggage.

“This is so lame,” someone said.

“Piece of cake,” someone else said.

Vince didn’t say anything. He followed the others out of the administration building. It was a large complex, holding the showers, the shitters, the kitchen, and the dining hall, along with the lecture room and who knew what else. Stuff the trainees didn’t need to know. Might be in the paperwork Mister Mister rightly guessed he hadn’t read.

Purchase

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Meet the Author

Lina
L. M. Langley has a postgraduate degree from Newcastle University in Creative Writing and a B.A (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing from Northumbria University.

She grew up in Colombia and currently lives in Gainesville, FL with her husband.

Sydney
Sydney Blackburn is a binary star system. Always a voracious reader, she began to write when she couldn’t find the stories she wanted to read. She likes candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach… Oh wait, wrong profile. She’s a snarky introvert and admits to having a past full of casual sex and dubious hookups, which she uses for her stories.

She likes word play and puns and science-y things. And green curry.

Her dislikes include talking on the phone, people trying to talk to her before she’s had coffee, and filling out the “about me” fields in social media.

Besides writing, she also designs book covers for poor people.

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Review: Ghost Wolf by Hurri Cosmo

Hi, my name is Trevor. I’m a wolf shifter.

I say that like I know what I’m talking about. I don’t. I was simply running off a ton of steam one day when I was around eleven and bam! Okay, not quite that easy or fast but it happened when I was young and stupid. I’m also gay. I say that like I know what I’m talking about with that too. I simply don’t.

I’m grown up now and living in the big city which has me too busy to much care about either one of those things. I get out and run my wolf when I can, trying like hell to stay out of the local pack’s territories. Belonging to a “family” just sounds like too much work, and honestly I don’t have time for such things. Besides, I was told when I was young the color of my wolf was all wrong. Too silver...or something. Metallic. I kinda thought it looked cool in the full moon. “Pack Alpha would kill ya soon as look at ya.” My grandpa used to say. Course he wasn't my real grandpa. Just an old man who lived down the street, but he was a shifter too and I thought he knew it all. He probably knew diddly either, but a guy can’t be too careful. And romance? Way off the radar.

Only now someone has started killing wolves. Started leaving broken bodies lined up in a nice little row next to the high school in my home town and it's got me to thinking. If a shifter is killed in his or her wolf state, do they stay that way? Were these dead wolves like me? The hell of it all is this: being a shifter isn't common knowledge. It bothers me enough that now I want to find out more. See if there's anything I can do. Kind of like a super hero.

Oh yeah. Probably forgot to tell you this too. I can turn invisible.

Yep, Ghost Wolf to the rescue.

Once upon a time, there was a ginger who thought shifter books were odd and icky. Then one day, the ginger picked up a shifter book and fell in love with the dynamics and fell head over feet for the fated mate trope. This book, it has fated mates and a whole lot more that made the ginger ridiculously happy.

Okay, now that I am done talking about myself in creepy third person, I LOVED THIS BOOK!

The blurb is amazing and had me wanting to read it immediately. A dude who is a shifter but doesn’t know much about his shifting but shifted at 11 and there are people killing wolves… say what? I had to know it all and opening the book and getting Trevor’s POV has me sucked in immediately.

I liked that we get to know a young 11 year old Trevor Taland and how he handled his first shift, not knowing that he was a shifter and all the questions he had with no one to ask them to. Then he meets the wolf/old man who becomes his “Grandpa” and the stories and warnings he gives Trevor are ominous. But when he loses his Grandpa and gets the gift the old man leaves for him, Trevor gets something almost as amazing as shifting into a wolf, Trevor learns he can become invisible.

We don’t dally in Trevor’s youth but take what we learned and are now with him as an adult, enrolled in college and working as much as he can to pay the bills. He still shifts and gets his run on when he can and a night out with friends to unwind is ordered so Trevor can relax for a few. Too bad there is one hell of a sexy man who catches Trevor’s eye and scent at the club who is also an Alpha of a local pack and needs to have a few words with Trevor about the way he leaves his presence in open spaces.

I adored Ryan so, so, so much. Seeing him simply as a hot dude at the club then getting him confronting Trevor for quite literally peeing all over what’s his was fun but when Ryan realizes that Trevor is his fated mate, I was a goner. I have to say there are certain books and certain shifters that hold the bar for me when it comes to Alphas and how they act. One who is quite frankly at the top is Logan Church from Mary Calmes’ Change of Heart series and let me just say, Ryan Jarfang echoes Logan in many ways. The way he treats his pack, the way he treats his family, the way he even treats the woman he will leave for his fated mate, he is respectful and just in his actions. But the way he treats Trevor from the second he scents and feels that Trevor is his fated mate is what did me in. You see, Ryan isn’t gay nor is his bisexual but labels don’t matter when it comes to mates. The fates have chosen Trevor for Ryan and that’s all he needs to know. Because fated mates want what they want and oh my goodness do they want it badly.

Now while this is fated mates and we get all the goodies that come with that, I loved that Trevor knows basically nothing about being a shifter or shifter politics so he is pretty damn stubborn about what he is going to do with his love life and life in general. He knows that his wolf feels the pull toward Ryan as his mate and that he wants Ryan in every way but Trevor has a few secrets he hasn’t told anyone and Trevor is packless. Yeah, the first shifter book I have read where the wolf doesn’t have a pack and that puts a wrinkle in a few starched places.

The legend of the Ghost Wolves and the Ghost Moon was new to me and I enjoyed how it was told. The author does a wonderful job of giving you the needed information without weighing you down or making it feel like a shifter manual. Each aspect of the story is given in a way that makes you feel part of the story as you are woven into this world where men can change into wolves and live in a society all their own while being ride outside every human’s peripheral vision. Part of a world with mating rituals that involve a chase, submission and public mating. *ahem* Phew, it just got hot in here.

Oh boy. I feel the rambling tingling through my fingers so I am going to attempt to not let it run wild. I loved that this book has a lot going on, it gives you a lot packed in with the romance and yet it wasn’t too much. I will admit that while the blurb does talk about the killing of the wolves etc. the mystery is not the focus of this book, Ryan and Trevor are and that makes a huge difference to me. We still get the mystery of it all and it wasn’t what I expected. We still get secrets, truths and a bit more at the end that had me literally howling with laughter and surprise because they came out of nowhere but were perfect. We have mating and biting - No knotting *pouts* - declaration of MINE and the all-encompassing lust that only fated mates can bring so this book is a winner any way you look at it.

Release Day Review: Beneath This Mask (Enhanced #3) by Victoria Sue

Gael Peterson has spent years hiding behind the enhanced abilities he wears like a mask, even though he is an important, confident member of the FBI’s exclusive H.E.R.O. team. The hurt and betrayal of his mom’s abandonment and his father’s fists are secrets buried deep beneath the ugly scars on his face, and he doesn’t trust Jake, his new regular human partner, with any of them. In a world where those with special abilities like Gael’s are regarded as freaks and monsters, it won’t be easy for him to rely on Jake to have his back, especially when the abilities of a vulnerable, enhanced, nonspeaking child make that child a murder suspect.

Tempers rise and loyalties are challenged, and when the serial killer targeting the enhanced finally sets his sights on Gael, not only will Gael have to trust Jake with his secrets, he might have to trust him to save his life.

Once again, Victoria Sue has hit it out of the ballpark. I loved this episode of the Enhanced series! Gael and Jake were an unlikely couple who, even with all the drama and mayhem surrounding them, fit together seamlessly.

I’ve wanted to read Gael’s story since I first got to know him in Five Minutes Longer. He had an air of mystery about him and I could tell his story was going to be heartbreaking.

Jake was a bit of an unknown going into this book. We didn’t really meet him until later in the second book so, although intrigued, I had no idea what to expect from him. Jake also had the extra stigma of coming from ENu, the police’s enhanced unit and the team’s number one archrival. It wasn’t easy for him to acclimate, but he slowly won the guys over after proving himself to be a good cop and even better human being.

I loved the slow progression their relationship took. Yeah, there were some ups and downs, but not more than what you would find in any budding relationship. Gael was averse to having a partner; he didn’t really feel that he needed (or deserved) one. Jake, not one to shirk any duty, put forth a lot of effort in breaking down the wall Gael had erected around him. First, in an effort to fit in with his partner and the team and then, after getting to know Gael a bit more, because he found he liked the guy. He liked the guy a lot. Some would say he may have even developed a crush on the mysterious man with the scarred face. Some would be correct in that assumption. ;)

Their relationship felt natural. It felt easy and genuine. I liked that the author avoided the dreaded Big Misunderstanding Due to a Lack of Communication trope that is prevalent in the genre nowadays, instead offering a natural progression to their relationship that felt real and more true-to-life.

The underlying theme to this book seems to be family and all the differences in each one you may find. There are good families and bad. Families that support you and those that hold you back. Happy families and toxic families. Ones that you are born to and new ones that you form. It doesn’t matter what type of family you come from; only what you make of yourself and the one you create. It was a strong yet subtle message that really resonated within me and made me think.

I can’t leave here without mentioning the villain in this story. What a wonderfully despicable character they were. I was fully invested in their demise. I loathed them fiercely and anticipated their comeuppance with an unholy glee. Fabulous job on the villain!

Recommended for lovers of exciting, action-packed urban fantasy that is heavy on the romance. These ain’t your mama’s superheroes!

Guest Review: The Amateur: A Villainous Love Story by T.J. Land

Worst thing about being a supervillain? Getting your butt handed to you by caped do-gooders. Best thing about being a supervillain? Getting your hands on caped do-gooders' butts. Heh.

Red Velvet and his two partners in crime – super-strong beefcake Ares and proud degenerate the Electric Eel – are the League of Larceny, the most notorious gang in town. They’ve been together in every sense of the word for years, and these days everyone knows better than to mess with them. Which is why they're surprised to have their weekly heist interrupted by a rookie hero.

His costume is hideous. His banter is corny. His body is amazing. He’s Mister Valiant and he’s here to save the day. Or if not, then at least he might prove to be an amusing distraction for a few bored bad guys…

38K, poly (M/M/M/M), standalone, happy ending. Features a bigender AFAB viewpoint character.

Reviewer: Shee Reader

The premise for this book had me practically salivating! A group of super villains who work together as The League of Larceny to rob and pillage the city are greeted by a new super. Mr Valiant - he’s new, so hasn’t been inducted into the Remarkables. Mr Valiant tries to take on the serious bad guys, but he needs help…

I was so excited to start reading, but honestly it took me awhile to get into the story, which was disappointing. The League of Larceny includes Ares (the boss) who has super strength, The Eel who can utilise electricity, and Red a bi-gendered supervillain/superhero who can become invisible. Red identifies as a man and a villain, his alternative identity, Scarlet, identifies as female and a superhero. Just these things alone should be enough to have this book leaping off the page at me, but honestly it took me a few chapters to really care about the characters.

Red finds Mr Valiant and his hopeless hero skills so endearing that he offers to mentor the newbie as his alter ego Scarlet. I absolutely loved that Red/Scarlet straddled all the lines. Even though all the different personas (including their civilian identities) kept me on my toes to follow who was who, not to mention who was getting down and dirty with whom!

Mr Valiant and his hilarious fan-boy love of the League of Larceny was such a loveable character with his super-horrible father, tight little ass and fancy apartment he was bound to wiggle his way into the League’s bed, not to mention their affections!

The story includes a number of heists, bad guys, heroes and twists and it got steadily more enjoyable as I read on. Their heists and sexy times didn’t really flow at the start, but by the end I was thoroughly hooked. I’d love to see follow up stories of all the guys having more fun japes!

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Guest Review: Good as Gold: A Villainous Love Story by T.J. Land

Being the most powerful superhero in the world can get lonely.

Ask the Golden Ranger. He’s still struggling to make friends after landing on Earth two years ago, even now that he’s become a member of the Remarkables. Humans are just so complicated, with their odd aversion to public nudity, their obsession with sex, and their temperamental genitals.

Thank goodness for his villains. Sure, they’re crooks and it’s his job to thwart them, but at least they offer him a chance for social interaction. And they’re all pretty cool, as villains go. Henry X has a gun that can fire anything from exploding bullets to robot bees, and he's also got these incredible biceps and warm brown eyes – not that the Golden Ranger cares about stuff like that. Light Brigade can create holograms, plus he’s handsome and snarky and covered in tattoos – again, not that the Golden Ranger cares. The Sash can use his clothing as a weapon, which isn’t really fair seeing as how his slinky body would be an effective weapon all by itself. Which isn’t something the Golden Ranger cares about. At all.

It’s possible that the other Remarkables are right when they accuse the Golden Ranger of being a little too intrigued by his rogues gallery. But he thinks they’re just jealous. Even so, when they tell him that Henry X, Light Brigade and the Sash are working for someone who might be a threat to the whole city, the Golden Ranger knows he needs to learn the truth. And what better way to do that than by adopting a civilian disguise and getting to know his villains personally? It’s a brilliant plan. Nothing can go wrong.

65K, M/M/M/M, standalone.

Reviewer: R *A Reader Obsessed*


Well that was certainly different!

Imagine a world where superheroes on a daily basis, go against their set group of villains, trying to thwart whatever current scheme they’re hatching. It’s basically a gentlemen’s agreement - fighting crime/doing crime - a delicate balance of not too much and not too little, keeping the cycle going in order to live to fight another day.

First, you have Golden Ranger, who’s not from these parts. He’s actually an alien who left his planet in search of a purpose, and thus picked Earth to use his indestructible self to do good. This is a guy who’s a little naive, a little innocent, one who doesn’t fully grasp the nuances of human nature but is so eager to learn and acclimate. As a member of the superhero team, the Remarkables, Ranger has been tasked to keep in line three villains, who each have extraordinary, mysterious weapons to aid their escapades. In order to learn more about them, he dons a civilian disguise to covertly do recon.

Funnily enough, Ranger is not fooling anybody, let alone his three villains. These guys are simply ordinary men wanting more out of life, whether that be notoriety, a sense of purpose, or simply to belong. They too, have vulnerabilities and flaws, revealing personal facets that definitely blur the line that sharply delineates “good” from “evil”. As these four dance and interact, all of them come to know each other better, not only through their masked identities, but their true selves outside their disguises. Understandably, feelings change, loyalty develops, and their dynamic slowly evolves beyond their initial fractious beginning, as each is lonely and yearning for more.

So to make a long story even longer, there’s definitely a certain kind of interplay taking place between all the superheroes and their nemeses, creating a somewhat orchestrated environment of peace. However, there’s unseen forces and players manipulating the situation and purposefully influencing these 4 men and how they do their “jobs”. What results is a very complicated relationship that can often be antagonistic, intense, and definitely proprietary, as they ultimately band together to fight a common foe.

I’m finding it difficult to quantify or explain this story, except that it was interesting and unique, with some fun and funny, lending a comic book vibe or oddly enough, akin to the cartoon movie The Incredibles. I was consistently entertained despite no overt smexiness and the need of a good edit. In return though, there is some sweet romance and carnal, emotional scenes that involve all 4 players in various different groupings, and ultimately encompassing the full M/M/M/M aspect. It was well done and totally plausible. Well... plausible in a world of superheroes and villains. Overall, if you want something different and like this particular genre, I don’t think you could go wrong.

Thanks to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour + Giveaway: Fierce by Rob Rosen

Rob Rosen and Embrace the Rainbow Book Promotions kick off the Fierce Blog Tour today! Check out today's exclusive info on the superhero romantic comedy from JMS Books! Interested? Great! Rob Rosen is giving away an eBook copy of Fierce! Good luck!

Title: Fierce
Author: Rob Rosen
Release Date: March 25th 2017
Genre: MM Romance, Comedy

BLURB

Lucas has a typical life -- apart from being abandoned as a baby, raised by wolves, and having super powers. Still, inside, he feels like two people, both vying for control of himself. He's a superhero and a nerdy college freshman. He's both feral and tame. He wants to do good in the world and, at the same time, he wants to do nothing. And most of all, he wants to find his birth parents.

In this comedic tale of romance, mystery, and adventure, our hero is joined by his hunky boyfriend, his acerbic boss, an uptight college science professor, and his ex-boyfriend/once crime-fighting partner -- not to mention a whole pack of wolves -- to help foil his nemesis and uncover the secrets of his past to save his future.

Find Fierce on Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books | iBooks

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

He sat down next to me. “I’m confused then.”

I turned and faced him. “Welcome to the club.”

He frowned. “What are you confused about, Lucas?” I lifted the gun. It gleamed in the light. It felt heavy in my hand. It felt even heavier in my heart. “This,” I said. “This is what I’m confused about.” Then I pointed at him— with my free hand, not with the gun. “And I’m confused about you.”

His face scrunched up. “Me? What did I do?”

“Really?” I said. “You don’t know?”

He shrugged. “Not a clue, Lucas. Not a clue.”

I stood up. Anger rose from my gut. Anger and sadness. “You told me to shoot, Craig. You told me to shoot someone.”

He stared up at me. “Given that he was the bad guy and eager to get the gun back from you, shoot seemed the best option. Plus, had he gotten the gun back, he was going to kill the hostages.”

“In theory.”

He shrugged. “Fine, in theory. But theories often prove to be facts.” He stood. He faced me. “He was the bad guy, Lucas. He was the bad guy and you’re the good guy. If he got shot, he had it coming to him.”

I cringed. A pain shot through my chest. “How can you say that?”

He pointed to his mouth. “With this.” He then pointed to his head. “And this.”

Me, I pointed to his heart. “What about this?”

His shrug repeated. “The head has to rule here, Lucas. It’s the only way.”

I thought to object, but realized it wouldn’t get me anywhere. “I, um, guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that then.”

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About the Author

Rob Rosen is the author of the critically acclaimed novels, Sparkle: The Queerest Book You'll Ever Love, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated Divas Las Vegas, which was the winner of the 2010 TLA Gaybies for Best Gay Fiction, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, which was the winner of the 2016 TRR Readers' Choice Award for Best Gay Romantic Comedy as well as a 2016 Rainbow Awards Finalist for Best Gay Romantic Comedy, Midlife Crisis, and Fierce. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can find 20 of them in his erotic romance anthology, Good & Hot. He is also the editor of Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015 and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1 and 2 and 3.

Links: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Review: Out for a Hero, Edited by Amanda Ching

It's not easy being a superhero. Sometimes it's even harder when you're super and queer. In Out for a Hero, LGBTQ heroes find themselves in tight spaces, moral quandaries, and sometimes heated romance.

In The Integrals, Kaveri, the daughter of two super dads, struggles to conceal her possibly criminal crush. But when Morning Glory clashes with her parents' team, she has to decide how to work with her own developing powers to save the day, and her girl.

Sparks highlights the complications of an after-hours club where both superheroes and villains go to mingle. When Ignition meets Fusion, the leader of a supervillain group, she's forced to dig deeper into the group's activities to discover just who's being wronged.

Patrick has a reluctant grasp on his own gift of fire extinguishing, and he recalls the day it took his lover, Victor, away in Firebreak. As he tells the story to Nissa, clues emerge that indicate that Victor might not be so lost after all.

In DVDRW, a hero with the ability to rewind and replay time falls in passionate love, or lust, with Michael, a normal human with bad connections. What starts as fixing horse races escalates into military exercises, until it's almost too late to back out.

The hero of Pedal to the Mettle finds that transitioning is hard enough, but doing it when you're a super-powered alien brings a whole set of troubles, until Floyd, another alien who just wants to go back home, makes him an offer he can't refuse.

Lastly, in A Memory of Wind, Yeni investigates the secret of missing passengers and empty quarters on the starship that is her home. Her search for answers leads her to Wind, a flying woman who can help her learn what she needs to know.

The Intregals by Chrysoula Tzavelas ♥♥♥½

Kaveri has been secretly talking to (and crushing on) an enemy of her two super hero dads. Both her and Danica have kept their real identities secret met online and started chatting on a regular basis. They both started having feelings for each other, but couldn't let anything move past texting at the risk of exposing themselves. But when Danica was being attacked, Kaveri and her dads had to step in.

This was a cute little story. The super hero world-building was a bit vague, but it worked well for the length of this novella. It was just enough to keep me engaged without creating too many questions. The texting and flirting between Danica and Kaveri was fun, but didn't move beyond a couple sweet kisses. They were left with a HFN at best, but it did leave me feeling a little giddy and hopeful for them. A nice introduction to this anthology.  

Sparks by Lana Drake ♥♥♥

Bri has been outed to the world as a lesbian and she's less than happy about it. Luckily, there is an LGBT super hero nightclub that is more than happy to welcome her with open arms. It's here that she finally meets her arch-nemesis, Kristy, face to face. 

Again, there was just enough background info to keep me interested in the story. I would have loved more between Bri and Kristy. I liked Kristy and her Robin Hood thing she had going on. Bri was a little less likable. I get she was outed by someone else, but she seemed like an angry person in general. It was hard to warm up to her in such a short story.

Firebreak by Sean M. Locke  ♥♥♥

Gah! This one left me wanting more. So much more than the tiny glimpse we got.  

Patrick thought he had been the cause of his best-friend-turned-lover's death, but with the help of another superhero, he finds that there may be more to the story and maybe Victor is alive after all. 

There's so much potential here. I liked Nissa's "power" and how she's able to help people find what they've lost through art. But there are so many unanswered questions. I've forgiven a lot in the anthology, given how short the stories are, but I think too much was left unfinished here. No HFN, not even the heroes in the same damn room...

DVDRW by Elyan Smith ♥♥♥½

Uhhhmmm, -er... I have no idea what to think about this.

So, our hero has the ability to rewind time. Unfortunately (fortunately, maybe?), he fell in love with Michael. Michael, who knew they wrong kind of guys and told of his boyfriend's special little talent. They used this talent for gambling, the stock market and eventually for mass murders. By the time he wanted to back out, things had gone too far and it was too late.

This story was very fast paced. Very. A lot happened in a small amount of pages. There were quite a few time jumps which were confusing. I don't know if it was only my copy, but there wasn't any indication that the timeline had moved. No page breaks or anything. It took some time for me to figure it all out and by the time I did... the story was over. I did go back and reread a bit to help me get my bearings.

It ended on a somber note, which I guess was fitting for this dark and twisted tale. I never liked Michael. For me, he had zero redeeming qualities and I have no idea what our "hero" saw in him. I wish the time jumps were clearer, just a bit of formatting would have helped. I definitely liked the story overall and the pacing.

Pedal to the Mettle by Gretchen Crane ♥♥

Our hero is trans, but because of his superhuman power he is unable to go through any treatment. It simply doesn't work on him. But he finds a way he just might be able to be who he wants to be.

Here's the deal: I read romance for the HEA. There was no HEA here. I suppose if you count the character fulfilling his personal needs... but I don't. I want an ending with kissing and touching with a couple together.

If not for the ending, I would have really liked this one. I loved all the characters; especially Floyd and his perspective.  But that ending... totally killed it for me.

A Memory of Wind by Susan Jane Bigelow ♥♥♥½

Yeni lives on a starship where everyone forgets important events, except for her. She meets Wind, who helps her uncover the truth and help the people she lives with remember.

This is probably my favorite in the anthology. The idea of implants and memory erasing by the powers that be is interesting... and scary. The story starts at the beginning of the end with a group of people who are able to overcome these implants. They gather and help the people have a life they're able to remember. Not much a romance with a couple chaste kisses here and there, but there is a feeling of hope for more.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more info on Goodreads.

Review: Elusive Radiance by Aidee Ladnier

A young bodyguard finds her special abilities are no match for a flirtatious delegate willing to gamble everything on the galaxy trade talks.

Assigned to guard a diplomat at the galaxy trade talks, Security Officer Anais wants to shine during her first solo mission for the Chezeray Palace Conglomerate. An Elusive with the ability to make herself invisible, Anais knows her modified genes designate her servant class, but she yearns to be more than simply a protector to the beautiful delegate.

Savea Blackmun arrives alone to the trade talks with the weight of her planet’s future resting on her slim shoulders. Flirting with her pretty bodyguard reveals Anais’ knowledge of the colony markets and Savea realizes there’s much more to her protector than meets the eye.

As their attraction grows, will the diplomat and the bodyguard reject society’s rules to give in to desire instead?

Anais is an Elusive; a genetically modified human, who has the ability to become invisible. Her duty is security, and her task is to protect the delegate of Helion, Savea. Savea is flirty, and is not shy about showing her interest in Anais. Anais is hesitant, but cannot help but feed into her own fantasy of being with the stunning delegate.

I’m disappointed that this was so short. I was really enjoying it. The world building was simple but good. The character development was thorough for a short story. There was a little bit of action, because what’s a sci-fi story without a little drama.

I enjoyed the exchanges between Anais and Savea. Their chemistry worked well. I thought their personalities were well defined, and strong. Anais is shy, because she’s pretty much a servant. Parentless and born in a lab, she dreams of freedom and love. Savea is confident and outspoken, honest, and real.

This felt more like a prologue to something longer, and the world was interesting enough for me to want this in a novel. The author did a great job of keeping the flow going and the plot tight.

The sex was steamy, and very enjoyable to read. It felt natural, and wasn’t over the top. This is the sort of lesbian romance I’ve been trying to find for a while, with passion and plot in equal measure.

This would be perfect for a lunch break, or train commute to or from work. Recommended for readers who enjoy sci-fi, with a light plot, and some nice heat.

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