Giveaway + Blog Tour: The Librarian's Rake by Z. Allora

Z. Allora is here today to promote her new novel, The Librarian's Rake & she's brought a Turkish Oil wrestling vid!
#winning
Be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway. Good luck!

Turkish Oil wrestling

Greetings! Thank you, Boy Meets Boy for giving me the opportunity to share The Librarian’s Rake with your readers.                 

To celebrate the release of The Librarian’s Rake I’ll be giving away 3 e-books of Secured and Free, (Book #2 of Entwined Dreams) and a $20 gift card to Dreamspinner Press. Details below.

Sometimes someone will say something or show me something and it gets stuck in my brain. I saw a video on Turkish Oil wrestling and was enthralled. I was fascinated by how such a masculine culture could add such a homoerotic component to their favorite sport.

My librarian in The Librarian’s Rake is trying to explain the ins and outs Turkish wrestling which is a centuries old tradition in Turkey. The men rub themselves down with olive oil and wear special slippery pants. One of the ways to win is to control your opponent by sticking your hand down their pants… (think on that… then ask yourself why Turkish oil wrestling isn’t a subgenre in romance?)

Just kidding! It’s a serious sport and looks incredibly difficult. Take a look at this video: 

Excerpt from The Librarian’s Rake:

“I’m telling you, Turkish oil wrestling is a real sport.” Tristan locked the library and chuckled at Phillip’s reaction.

“Right! But come on, they stick their thumbs up the other guy’s ass to win.” Phillip shook his head.

“It’s called hooking.” Tristan supplied him with an easy setup.

“Maybe I can get into sports after all.” Phillip batted his eyelashes.

Blurb:

Opposites might attract, but is acting on that attraction wise?

Librarian Tristan Cooper can’t steer clear of sexy, motorcycle-riding bad boy Phillip—the man is hot—but Phillip is bound to find quiet, bookish Tristan boring, like all Tristan’s boyfriends. Tristan yearns to explore his wild side, the part of himself he’s only allowed into his fantasies, and maybe rakish Phillip is just what he needs to feel free. 

Sexperienced hairdresser Phillip is more of a believer in happy endings than happily ever afters. Experience has taught him not to hope for more—until he meets sweet, vulnerable Tristan, who seems genuinely interested in his heart. But Phillip can’t trust enough to see himself as a man Tristan might want for more than a night.

With the help of a pair of matchmaking grandfathers, Tristan and Phillip might find the courage to step beyond their comfort zones and discover what has been missing from their lives.

Buy Link:

http://bit.ly/2eNdnSq

BIO:

Z. Allora believes in happily ever after for everyone. She met her own true love through the personals and has traveled to over thirty countries with him. She’s lived in Singapore, Israel and China. Now back home to the USA she’s an active member of PFLAG and a strong supporter of those on the rainbow in her community. She wants to promote understanding and acceptance through her actions and words. Writing rainbow romance allows her the opportunity to open hearts and change minds.

To contact Z. Allora:

E-mail: Z.AlloraHappyEndings@gmail.com

FACEBOOK:   Z Allora Allora

Website: www.zallorabooks.com

Twitter: @ZAllora

Blog: http://zallora.blogspot.com

Queer Romance Ink: www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/z-allora

Dreamspinner: www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/z-allora-637-a

To enter the TOUR-WIDE giveaway tell us if you knew about Turkish Oil wrestling before this blog. Winners will be contacted Nov 8th. Be sure to leave your contact info e.g. email, Twitter handle, Goodreads profile.

ICYMI: our review of The Librarian's Rake is here.

Review: The Librarian's Rake by Z. Allora

Opposites might attract, but is acting on that attraction wise?

Librarian Tristan Cooper can’t steer clear of sexy, motorcycle-riding bad boy Phillip—the man is hot—but Phillip is bound to find quiet, bookish Tristan boring, like all Tristan’s boyfriends. Tristan yearns to explore his wild side, the part of himself he’s only allowed into his fantasies, and maybe rakish Phillip is just what he needs to feel free.

Sexperienced hairdresser Phillip is more of a believer in happy endings than happily ever afters. Experience has taught him not to hope for more—until he meets sweet, vulnerable Tristan, who seems genuinely interested in his heart. But Phillip can’t trust enough to see himself as a man Tristan might want for more than a night.

With the help of a pair of matchmaking grandfathers, Tristan and Phillip might find the courage to step beyond their comfort zones and discover what has been missing from their lives….

This book was adorable, sexy, fun and full of UST! It was the perfect curl up with the dogs and enjoy a romance on a Sunday kind of read.

The meet cute between Phillip and Tristan is a bit two fold. We get the first almost meet as Phillip is on his motorcycle at a light admiring a Lamborghini and its driver. When he tries to compliment the driver, he gets a cold stare and a window rolled up. When Phillip arrives at his granddaddy Conrad’s house and meets Thomas Cooper his granddaddy’s friend he is introduced to Thomas’s grandson who was delivering his hot Italian car and Mr. Sexy Asshole gets a name. Tristan is nothing like the first impression Phillip got of him in the car and when he learns Tristan is the Librarian and needs a ride back to the library, Philip offers him a ride.

So Tristan is a librarian who loves his job and is the best at it. Just the movie nights and the way he reads to kids is enough to melt this reader’s heart. Phillip is a stylist who also loves what he does and even helps Tristan update his look and offers his services in other ways. Platonically, of course, but only on the surface.

Oh but these two were so adorable. I love that we get both POV’s so we know of the first impressions the men have of one another and we know exactly how their lives are lead. We need to know this because while Tristan leads what he imagines to be a boring life and was recently left by his boyfriend of two years because he wasn’t adventurous enough in bed, he wants to spice up his life. And while Phillip is the king of Grindr hookups and thinks he’s nothing better than being on his knees being a “catch and release” sort of guy, we also know he’s had his wedding tuxedo picked out since High School. But both men are stuck in what they think should be their life until the find the spark, warmth and connection that begins immediately and is fueled by small touches while watching Benny and Joon in the library.

Once Tristan confesses he wants Phillip to show him how to be more wild and free and Phillip sets out to help him any way he can. I love stories like this. Where the one helps the other “better” themselves to attract other lovers only to want him exactly how he is but does it out of friendship. While these two become fast friends, they also have unbelievable chemistry. OMG! The UST is yummy in this book. Phillip and Tristan are totally into one another but when Tristan has trouble exerting what he wants lets his low self-esteem run his actions.

Phillip is determined to show Tristan how worthy he is and that his exes were morons so after one hell of a sexy shopping trip and moments in the dressing room, Phillip finally gets Tristan out to a club for dancing. Of course, Tristan only wants to be with Phillip and finally gives in and lets his feelings be known which leads to a sensual dry humping session and first kiss. Wow. Yeah, that was something and it only gets better from here.

I really loved this story. It was lovely to watch both men want so much and know they are in the perfect place to have it all but afraid to go for it. Tristan is worried about voicing what he wants and what he feels and Phillip is convinced he’s only good for hookups that use him so when real emotions show up, when fucking turns to making love and when the realization true love may be lost; the men figure it out and the good stuff happens.

Though this is short, we do get a full story with Phillip and Tristan and my first thought about getting a librarian and a bad boy came true… in the library. Yup. There is library sex in this and it is hot.
The grandfathers were a blast to have as match makers and I would actually love a snippet into their relationship to see what it really is. Monique and Chris were great friends to Philip and I hope they figure their mess out. But really, I feel for Phillip and Tristan and liked that we got them months after they decided to be together and that last moment was so them.

Review: Lock and Key by Z. Allora

Rejected. Heartbroken. Devastated.

Zack Davis wanted to serve only one man, Andrew Nikeman. He was denied because Andrew thought he was too young and because their brothers were together. So Zack crushed his submissive tendencies and focused on being the perfect Dom, giving every sub he played with something he couldn’t have. 

After years of denying his submissive side, Entwined’s charity auction “Are you Dom Enough to be a sub?” gives Zack an excuse to get a little of what he’s always craved. 

Andrew doesn’t know when his infatuation turned into more, but it kills him to see Zack with a constant parade of submissives. He’d refused to jeopardize his brother’s relationship or become Zack’s regret; however, Zack isn’t a kid anymore, and his brother’s relationship is unbreakable. Now Zack’s popularity and success as a Dom might ruin Andrew’s dreams of collaring him, but he can’t wait any longer to confess his feelings or he risks losing the man he loves forever.

DNF @ 22%

I know a lot people start these DNF reviews with something along the lines of 'it's me not the book' which is basically a veiled attempt at cushioning the this book sucks blow. I admit I've done it, but in this case it really is me.

Firstly, this was my first experience with this author and based on the cover and blurb I thought I was in for an intense BDSM book. It is not. This falls under the heading BDSM 101 which is completely and totally fine. It's just... I've been there so many times I've got a closet full of t-shirts and it just does not interest me anymore. I'm not saying that I'll never ever read it, but it's got to be extraordinary to sustain my interest. Secondly, most of the events can be categorized as glitterkink which is my least favorite type of kink. This makes me a bit of an anomaly since I know many, many people enjoy the fancy club settings with the various rooms, implements, people all dressed up in their outfits, etc. Again, it's just not my jam.

I tried a couple of different times and took a big break, but the above coupled with these characters and the writing style... we're just not a match. Many people enjoy theatrics and overly dramatic MCs. I am not one of those people. I'm of the opinion that life is plenty dramatic enough without making mountains out of mole hills. As for the writing style, I prefer emotion be conveyed through the narrative, the events that transpire and how the characters process and respond to those events rather than it being spoon fed to me repeatedly via italicized text. For these reasons I chose to call it a day rather than delay the inevitable.

I would encourage anyone interested in this book to read other reviews, most of which are good before taking the opinion of a seasoned kinky perv like myself.

Recommend to fans of glitterkink BDSM 101 books with emotional characters.

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads & Dreamspinner Press.