Giveaway + Blog Tour; Back to You by Chris Scully

Chris Scully is here today to promote her new romantic suspense novel, Back to You.

Be sure to enter for your chance to win a $20 Riptide credit below! Good luck!

Hello! I’m Chris Scully. I’m thrilled to welcome you to my blog tour for Back to You, my new romantic suspense novel. Join me at various tour stops, where I’ll be sharing some background on the novel and the characters, my thoughts on writing, and more. Comment on each stop to be entered in a drawing for a $20 Riptide gift certificate. Thanks for joining me on the tour!

About Back to You

Journalist Alex Buchanan has come home to the remote British Columbia town he grew up in, but only because his estranged father is dying. For Alex, the homecoming holds a mix of memories, mostly bad. The only bright spot is reconnecting with Benji Morning, the childhood friend he never truly forgot. As boys, the strength of their bond had frightened Alex. But now that he’s confident in his bisexuality, he’s drawn back to quiet, soft-spoken Ben.

Ben isn’t the same boy Alex left behind, though. His life has been overshadowed by the disappearance of his sister two decades earlier, and now a new break in the case threatens to undo the peace he’s worked so hard to attain.

As Alex struggles to repair the relationship with his father before it’s too late, he finds himself caught up in a twenty-year-old mystery, a story he never expected, and a shocking truth that could affect his and Ben’s future together.

Available now from Riptide Publishing. http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/back-to-you

About Chris Scully

Chris Scully lives in Toronto, Canada. She grew up spinning romantic stories in her head and always dreamed of one day being a writer even though life had other plans. Her characters have accompanied her through career turns as a librarian and an IT professional, until finally, to escape the tedium of a corporate day job, she took a chance and began putting her daydreams down on paper.

Tired of the same old boy-meets-girl stories, she found a home in M/M romance and strives to give her characters the happy endings they deserve. She divides her time between a mundane 9-5 cubicle job and a much more interesting fantasy life. When she’s not working or writing (which isn’t often these days) she loves puttering in the garden and traveling. She is an avid reader and tries to bring pieces of other genres and styles to her stories. While her head is crammed full of all the things she’d like to try writing, her focus is always on the characters first. She describes her characters as authentic, ordinary people—the kind of guy you might meet on the street, or the one who might be your best friend.

Although keeping up with social media is still a struggle given her schedule, she does love to hear from readers.

Connect with Chris:

●     Website: chrisscullyblog.wordpress.com

●     Facebook: facebook.com/chris.scully.author

●     Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/6152322.Chris_Scully

To celebrate the release of Back to You, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 17, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Audiobook Review: Everything Changes (Resilient Love #1) by Melanie Hansen

What happens when friendship catches fire?

Former Marine and lower-leg amputee Carey Everett keeps a grueling schedule of counseling fellow war veterans and their families. The injury he received in Afghanistan forces him to rely on a reserve of strength he didn’t even know he had. A much deserved vacation will let him reconnect with his best friend, who saved his life and has been there for him through devastating injury and painful recovery.

Part-time EMT and aspiring singer Jase DeSantis has been in love with Carey for years, but he’s come to accept that his straight friend will never be able to offer more. Jase fills his days with band rehearsals, ambulance shifts, and willing groupies, all while trying to cope with debilitating PTSD.

A week of sun, fun, and music in San Diego changes Jase and Carey’s lives forever when their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Jase has been longing for that change, but it leaves Carey reeling with confusion. As Jase fights to hold things together, Carey deals with doubts, fears, and his own preconceived notions about labels and the true nature of love.

Listening Length: 7 hours and 12 minutes
Narrator: Robert Nieman

If you are a hurt/comfort junky (as I am) than this is the book you need to listen to. It’s hurt/comfort x 2 because both MC’s are hurting in their own way and the way the author built their backstory and connection was perfection. Carey and Jase have also been close for years so you also get a healthy dose of friends to lovers. It’s a tropapalooza of awesome.

So, Carey and Jase met in the military and have literally been through hell on earth and back. Carey almost didn’t make it home at all and both have PTSD to deal with. It’s been awhile since they’ve seen one another and the story begins with Carey heading to San Diego to spend some time with Jase. The author did a great job of telling the story in the present and flashbacks to their time in Afghanistan and after. The timing and pace were perfect for the way the story progressed and I got a real sense for both characters as they are and as they’d been.

Friends-to-lovers is not an easy story line to pull off believably for me. I can be a picky pain in the ass with it. I want to feel the connection through conversations and all the “little things” that make up a real relationship, I don’t want to be told that two people are BFF’s and that’s that. Everything Changes made me believe in these two from the beginning and Robert Nieman narrating their convos and thoughts was so spot on with what I imagined for both of them.

These guys have not had it easy since their return home (Ya think Ann? Downplayed statement much?) and it was honestly heartbreaking to listen to. At the same time, the story treated both men’s lives with deference to their experiences and while it was tough to listen to their pain, I had so much respect for both characters and how they helped themselves in the long run by helping each other in the short term.

There’s always been a little somethin’ somethin’ between Carey and Jase but there’s no way anything could have played out naturally given their active duty service. Priorities were elsewhere, obviously, and when they came home they had their hands full with a new kind of survival. It seemed like they came back together at just the right time and I loved hearing their relationship grow again and the story behind their stories. One of them was always aware of what they could be together and the other was clueless. That setup made for some quality angst in among the rest of what they were going through.

Not gonna lie, there was a moment or ten towards the end where I wanted to throttle the hell out of Carey. Of course, those moments did make the story more believable, but dammit Carey! Just, dammit! I kind of wanted a lit bit more when he finally came around, but what happened and the communication fit with his personality, plus Jase was happy, so at that point, that’s the only thing I cared about.

Robert Nieman does an amazing job of capturing the characters during wartime and at home. That’s a big range of emotion to cover and the balance was spot on throughout. The transition from current to the past and back again was seamless and easy to follow without ever being jarred out of the moment by the changes. This isn’t the first narration of his I’ve listened to and he’s a narrator I love to see attached to a book I want to listen to. And after listening to him read Melanie Hansen’s words I’ll be getting more from this series.

Visit Dreamspinner Press for more info on Everything Changes.

**a copy of this audiobook was provided for an honest review**

Review: The Road To Frosty Hollow by R.J. Scott & Meredith Russell

Former Marine Nick Sheridan is at a crossroads. With his entire life ahead of him he struggles to find direction and his place in the world. Car sharing to get home for his sister’s Christmas wedding seems like a good idea at first. Spending the time with the man he kissed and left years before, maybe not so much.

Cameron Bennett lost most of his teenage years to cancer and he now lives every day to the fullest. He decides to drive from Seattle to Vermont for his best friend’s wedding and capture moments of it on film. He hadn't planned on car sharing with the man who kissed him ten years ago, but somehow he ends up with a brooding Nick by his side.

Along the way, the men learn that sometimes life plans mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Love can be found in the most unexpected of ways, and facing your demons head on is sometimes the only way to live.

RJ Scott and Meredith Russell make a fine writing team and I really enjoyed this winter story in the run up to Christmas. Even the cover makes me warm and snuggly - but snow does that for me, makes me want to reach for the hot chocolate, a blanket and a book.

Nick and Cameron are basically set up by Nick's sister (Cam's BFF) but it's so perfectly done. A brief fumble years ago has affected both of these gents more than they realise. Both felt the other had read nothing more into it and both were wrong. Sounds like a naff set up really, doesn't it? But it's not - it just works making this a warm and comforting read.

The dynamics between our two MC's is great, it works really well. The journey is physical, emotional and metaphorical - all things that sound a little like roll your eyes territory, but it really isn't because these writers work together to make a fabulous read. It's a Sunday afternoon read, in my opinion. You know the kind when you're curled up with a beverage of choice listening to the rest of the family go about their Sundays as you fall into a story.

I'd recommend this read - and not just for Christmas either!

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