Release Blitz + Giveaway: Shoot the Moon (Suit of Harte's #2) by Jacqueline Grey


Shoot the Moon (Suit of Harte's, #2) by Jacqueline Grey is out now! Find out more about this kinky contemporary romance, read an excerpt & enter in the IndiGo Promotions hosted giveaway for a $10 Ninestar Press credit!


Title: Shoot the Moon
Series: Suit of Harte's, Book Two
Author: Jacqueline Grey
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: June 29, 2020
Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 27700
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, BDSM, romance, contemporary, gay, sex industry, prostitution, D/s

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

All Adam Kern was looking for when his best friend dragged him to the club Harte was some good dancing and a little flirting to distract him from his troubles. He never anticipated meeting the club owner, Jesse Harte, and having a whole new world of experiences opened up to him. On an impulse, Adam follows Jesse to the upper, kinkier floors of the club where an informative tour ends in a steamy scene that both men are looking forward to repeating. The attraction between the two is scorching and over the next few weeks their adventures into kinky sex are nothing short of daring.



Adam loves the thrill of sex with Jesse but soon a gnawing fear sows doubt into his mind about the possibility of a relationship with the other man. Though he loves every moment he spends with Jesse, he fears what these sexual explorations may mean for him. Jesse is successful, an entrepreneur, and a well-known Dominant in the BDSM community, but Adam cannot see himself as a submissive. What sort of future could they have if he is unable to give his lover what he needs?


Excerpt



Shoot the Moon
Jacqueline Grey © 2020
All Rights Reserved

“We’re going to Harte.”

Ash said this as if Adam would know what
the hell he was talking about.

“Where?”

Ash waved the question away with a flick
of his wrist and an expression that clearly said it didn’t matter. “You’ll know
when we get there. Now, come on.” He linked their arms and half dragged Adam
out the door.

On the taxi ride to wherever they were
going, Adam tried to get more details, but all Ash would tell him was that
Harte was a local nightclub.

“You didn’t let me get dressed.”

“Why do you think I lent you that shirt
to begin with? You look fantastic. Trust me.”

The crowd outside the club wrapped
around the side of the building and back again. Thankfully, it wasn’t too cold
out, or they would have frozen solid before getting inside.

“Is this place always so crowded?” Adam
asked as they took their place at the end of the line.

“Packed like sardines,” Ash confirmed.
“Best place in the city for good drinks and dancing.”

A man in skintight leather pants and
what Adam guessed was a harness walked by. “Varied crowd,” he said.

Ash spotted the man and did that
wrist-flick thing again. “He’s headed around back for the upper floors.”

“The upper floors?”

“Yeah, the nightclub is only on the
first floor. It’s got three dance floors, each with their own bar, and a
backroom, which was most likely meant to be a bathroom but is usually otherwise
occupied. Upstairs is the kinky stuff. From what I hear, Harte has the best
dungeon in the city, and he’s known to be top-notch on safety. It’s pretty
well-known despite being members only up there. The entrance to the second
floor is in the back, though, because there’s a difference between
exhibitionism and indecent exposure.”

“Huh.” Adam had never been to a kink
club. Granted, they didn’t have plans to head upstairs, but this was the
closest he’d ever been to one.

Eventually, they made it inside. With
the beat of the music and the press of sweaty bodies grinding around him, it
was easy for Adam to be distracted from thoughts of the upper floors. It wasn’t
long before he’d lost Ash to the throng as well. His friend tended to sidle
toward the nearest hot guy before passing him up for the next one on the dance
floor. It gave him more exercise than the dancing itself. When he wanted a
break, he’d pop up next to Adam as if finding someone in a crowd was the
simplest thing to do.

Tonight, Ash’s method fit Adam’s mood.
He scanned the floor for someone to dance with. It didn’t take him long to find
what he was searching for.

The man was dancing alone and,
apparently, without a care in the world. He seemed lost to the music, his body
moving with enviable grace and confidence. He was lean with boyish good looks
and the kind of face that would still look thirty when he was fifty-five. His
light-brown hair was just long enough to be spiky, and though his clothes were
casual, he dressed stylishly.

When the dancer turned his head, he
caught Adam staring. A jolt ran through Adam, but he couldn’t look away. Even
from a distance, the man’s pale eyes had him trapped, and Adam found himself
moving through the crowd as if pulled by an invisible string. When he was close
enough, he reached for a seductively swaying hip. The touch of a hand on the
back of his neck encouraged him to move even closer.

They moved together for a while, sliding
their bodies against each other but in no hurry to make it anything more than
dancing. They simply let the pleasure of touch build on itself. The feel of his
partner’s body against his was electric.

Adam was about to ask if they should
find the “bathroom” when the man asked, “Care to go upstairs?”

Adam hesitated. “Isn’t it members only?”
He figured that was a simple way to change the subject without having to turn
the guy down.

“I can bring a guest if I want to.”

There went his easiest excuse. His
reluctance must have shown on his face because the man asked, “Not your thing?”

“Not really,” Adam admitted.

“Ah” was the only reply, but Adam heard
the disappointment in the word.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Truthfully, Adam had never given kink
much thought. He’d heard about it, read a little online, but he’d never considered
putting what he’d read into practice.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon

Meet the Author

Jacqueline Grey currently lives on an
island on the east coast of the United States. She spends her time outside her
day job juggling her many interests which include reading, writing and drinking
tea. She loves M/M romance, usually focusing on stories that include BDSM
themes to one degree or another.

Jacqueline has always been driven by
characters. She loves a good plot, but it’s the characters that pull her into a
story. She loves romance and believes everyone has a right to be happy. She
enjoys seeing her characters find that happiness for themselves.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway






Blog Button 2

Review: Jude (Lucky #3) by Garrett Leigh

Isha has spent the last year watching his BFF get his happily-ever-after. He’s proud of Dom, but…it hurts to see him so free while Isha’s love life is still on lockdown. Only Isha’s ex-wife knows the secret that he’s kept caged for so long—that he’s queer too, and he’s lonely.

Jude’s too chained to his work to notice what he’s missing by being terminally single, but a new face in the village soon catches his attention. City boy Isha is gorgeous, and when he starts to haunt Jude’s reptile shop as well as the hook-up app on his phone, he's a welcome distraction from Jude’s business problems.

For a control freak like Isha, letting Jude under his skin is an existential meltdown, but Jude’s not in the market to be anyone’s queer crisis, not when he’s facing troubles of his own. Unlocking their lives could push both men apart forever, but it might be a risk worth taking if sharing is the key to their happy future.





I actually ended up enjoying this one more than I initially thought I would. Because snakes. Actually, snakes, bearded dragons, leopard geckos... you name it and in case you're wondering, I'm not a fan. However, I did end up learning a couple things about these creatures and I always enjoy that.

In true Garrett Leigh fashion there is much angst and pain in Jude and Isha's journey. Isha is queer and in the closet to everyone except his ex-wife/best friend. For years he's been perfectly fine with his occasional Grindr hookups then along comes Jude and throws everything off-kilter.

Jude is a struggling pet shop owner and a bit... eccentric. I actually really like Jude but he does have a hard time communicating as does Isha which makes the push/pull extra push/pull-y.

They do clearly have some sort of voodoo connection between them that defies explanation and I'm fine with that. Where things got dicey was Isha's closetedness. I honestly couldn't understand why it was such a huge deal. His entire circle of friends are queer, his kids are young enough that they're going to take it in stride and keep on loving him just as much as ever and his ex-wife already knows and accepts him so... *scratches head*?????

BUT, I will say I understand people get things in their head for whatever reason and it's difficult to shift out of that mentality; however, that obscurity doesn't translate well in the written word here especially considering the whole situation was over and done with in the blink of an eye without a backwards glance giving the whole thing an air of contrivance.

Jude ends happily with Isha making the adjustment to blissful domesticity in the epilogue and I enjoyed watching them find their way. Though I would've appreciated a little more happy than the epilogue.

Definitely doesn't compare to Lucky but still an absorbing hurt/comfort romance that stays true to Ms. Leigh's form and one I would recommend to fans of her work.




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



Release Blitz + Giveaway: Hard Earned Cash (Cold Hard Cash #2) by K.L. Hiers


Welcome the Hard Earned Cash (Cold Hard Cash #2) release blitz to the blog! Join author K.L. Hiers and Gay Book Promotions! Discover more about the new sequel and enter in the giveaway to have a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card or one of 7 ebook copies of Hard Earned Cash!


RELEASE BLITZ
Book Title: Hard Earned Cash
Author: K.L. Hiers
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, BDSM, Mafia
Trope/s: May/December, Kink, Getting Away With Murder, Fake Marriage
Themes: Revenge, Trust, Bad Guy Very Good At Being Bad
Heat Rating: 5 flames
Length: 112 000 words/ 385 pages

Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited



Blurb

When you belong to a man like Boss Cold, you take what he gives you. Jimmy Poe has known that since he first offered himself to the feared mob boss in payment of a debt, yet over the past year he has gotten to see a very different side of Cold. A side that made Jimmy fall in love.

But their love will be put to the test when Cold is arrested. Can the bond between them endure even as the dark shadows of Cold’s past come to light and Jimmy’s life is put at risk as well?

Publisher’s Note: Hard Earned Cash is a sequel to Cold Hard Cash. It includes spankings and rough, intense sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.



Excerpt

Jimmy Poe was absolutely trembling in the back of the limousine, staring anxiously out the window up at Westchester Prison. His foot was tapping, fingers twitching, and his teeth were working at his lower lip with a carnivorous ferocity.

“Jimmy,” Boss Cold said softly, a cool hand pressing against his leg and squeezing. “Calm down.”

Eyes fluttering, Jimmy nodded frantically, but he still continued to fidget.

“Breathe for me,” Cold said more firmly, his thumb slowly stroking Jimmy’s inner thigh. He squeezed his leg again. “Now.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Jimmy’s pulse began to descend. Cold’s voice was beautiful and strong, and there was a very distinct purr that it took on when he gave orders. It worked its way directly into Jimmy’s brain, and he was powerless to resist.

Boss Cold, also known as Roderick Legrand, the mob ruler of Strassen Springs, was not a man who tolerated any amount of disobedience in any aspect of his life. From his criminal empire to the bedroom, his word was law.

It was the foundation of their relationship, and it gave Jimmy purpose and confidence, and it was a love like no other.

“I know you’re excited,” Cold said soothingly, “but you’ll put yourself in a fit if you don’t calm yourself.”

“There’s a part of me that still thinks this is all a dream,” Jimmy gushed, looking back out the window to the prison where his father had been trapped for so many years.

Today was the day David Poe was finally being freed.

He had been wrongly convicted for the murder of Jimmy’s mother nineteen years ago, and Cold had recently discovered that the killer was a traitorous member of his own gang. Justice was brutally served as the result of meticulous planning that not only granted David’s freedom, but also destroyed Cold’s enemies and left him completely untouchable.

“It’s very real,” Cold promised, patting his knee.

“Thank you,” Jimmy beamed happily. “Thank you for everything.” He leaned forward, trying to steal a kiss.

Cold caught his jaw before he could, smirking faintly as he looked over Jimmy’s lips. He hummed, pretending to consider whether or not he was going to allow it.

“Please, sir?” Jimmy pleaded playfully.

Cold growled softly at the ‘sir’, pressing a heated kiss against Jimmy’s mouth. “You wicked thing,” he snarled. “Teasing me right before I’m going to meet your father.”

“You’ll have to punish me later,” Jimmy chuckled.

“Careful,” Cold warned him, his thumb gently stroking over his chin, “or it’ll be a punishment you may not enjoy.”

Heat prickled beneath Jimmy’s collar as he asked, “Mmm, your belt?”

“Keep pushing me and you’ll find out,” Cold warned.

Jimmy knew he could only tease Cold so much before he got truly aggravated with him.

Although that did come with its own unique set of pleasures, he wanted his boyfriend in a good mood to meet his father.

“I’ll behave,” Jimmy said, smiling when Cold kissed him again. He sat back in his seat, eyes focused out the window once more for any sign of his father.

“Perhaps you should have come alone,” Cold mused.

“Why? Never met anyone’s parents before?”

“No,” was the flat reply.

“Are you nervous?” Jimmy teased, delighted by the idea.

“You really want the belt tonight, don’t you?” Cold scowled. “I do not get nervous.”

Jimmy grinned and resisted the urge to giggle. He wasn’t about to argue, gasping excitedly when he saw the gates of the prison finally open and his father step outside. “He’s here! He’s really here!”

Jerry was already opening the door of the limo, Jimmy tumbling out and breaking into a dead run to greet his father.

“Hey, slugger!” David exclaimed, dropping his bag to embrace his son. He squeezed him tight and pressed tearful kisses into his hair.

Jimmy’s own eyes were stinging with tears as he hugged his father as hard as he could. He was absolutely thrilled to be holding his father as a free man.

“My boy,” David said, his voice cracking from so much emotion. “Thank you. Thank you for never giving up on me. I love you so much, kiddo.”

“I love you, too!” Jimmy exclaimed with a big grin. “Oh, my God. You’re here. You’re really free, and, and, and my God. No more inch of glass, no more phone calls, you’re really here!”

“Damn right,” David chuckled warmly, kissing his son’s forehead and giving him one last big hug. He nodded towards the limo, teasing, “I think your boyfriend is waiting for us.”




About the Author
K.L. Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.
Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their six children, three of whom have paws and one who sometimes thinks he does.

Social Media Links

Giveaway
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win
a $15 Amazon Gift Card or one of 7 ebook copies of Hard Earned Cash





Release Blitz + Giveaway: Torn by Rick R. Reed


Join author Rick R. Reed & IndiGo Promotions in celebrating the release of Torn. Find out more about this hurt/comfort romance, read an excerpt & enter in the giveaway for a $10 Ninestar Press credit too!



Title: Torn
Author: Rick R. Reed
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: June 29, 2020
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 63300
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, roommates, friends to lovers, road trip, United Kingdom, flamboyant characters, hurt/comfort, humorous

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Ever been torn between two lovers? That’s Ricky Comparetto’s problem.

It’s 1995, and Ricky is making his very first trip across the pond with his best friend. Ricky, hungry for love and looking for it in all the wrong places, finds it in the beach city of Brighton. His new love has the curious name of Walt Whitman and is also an American, which only serves to make him sexier and more intriguing. By the time Walt and Ricky part, promises are made for a reunion in Boston.

But the course of true love never runs smoothly. In Chicago Ricky almost immediately falls in love again. Tom Green is a sexy blue-collar beast with the kindest heart Ricky has ever run across.

What’s he to do? With a visit to the East Coast on the horizon and a new love blossoming in Ricky’s home of Chicago, Ricky truly is torn.

Excerpt

Torn
Rick R. Reed © 2020
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One

It was the cheapest flight we could find. Air India, round trip, O’Hare to Heathrow, around seven hundred bucks. We snatched up the fare because my best friend, Boutros BinBin, was homesick and wanted to show me his homeland, “the place that made me who I am.” If you know Boutros, you know this is a scary thought. And yet I still wanted to go.

We snatched up our tickets because we were both sick of Chicago, dreading the humid summer we knew was in store, and because I had done about every guy on the North Side.

Joke. Now Boutros, hush. And stop rolling your eyes!

We’d do London (and EuroPride). We’d do Brighton (Boutros called the seaside town the San Francisco of England because it was so gay—in a good way). We’d do Boutros’s ancient hometown, Bath. Honestly, one of us would do just about any attractive male within the age range of eighteen to, oh, sixty-five—but the latter part was always negotiable. In the dark, a hard dick is a hard dick.

Or maybe I’d find Mr. Right. “You’ll find a hundred Mr. Right Nows if I know you,” Boutros said. Boutros could always see through me like I was made from glass. It was this attribute that I both loved and hated about my best friend—and probably what drew us together when we’d met a couple of years before at a gay writers’ group called the Newtown Writers, in Chicago. I was drawn to his sense of humor, and he was appalled by the Daisy Dukes I wore to the first meeting.

Just a few short years later, we were both summarily thrown out of the writers’ group. Boutros said it was because we were the only two who’d been published, and I argued that it was because we appeared at a meeting at his house wearing nothing but a smile. Gay men! They’re always trying to get you naked, and then, when they succeed, they get offended!

We agreed to lick our wounds over coffee. Compounding the pain of being ousted from the writers’ group, I had recently ended a relationship. Boutros lent a sympathetic ear to my man troubles, which were then all about my indolent, smart, perpetually stoned, and job-challenged boyfriend, Henry, whose life revolved around marijuana—growing it and smoking it morning, noon, and night. I wondered what it was he needed to escape. When I asked Boutros, he told me, “Probably because he can’t stand waking up sober next to that face. And I can’t blame him.” Only Boutros could say such things to me, knowing I would somehow interpret them as demonstrations of love and caring. When we finally broke up after Henry had quit yet another job that was way beneath him, I cut ties.

And yet, I was devastated. Boutros led me through mourning the end of my first gay love with a firm hand, a lot of sarcasm, and a willingness to listen while I rambled on and on into the phone, wondering if I’d done the right thing. After all, Henry could be sweet, although he’d never admit it. On the day Henry moved out (while I was at work—a concept foreign to him), he left the CD player on and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” playing on infinite loop. Even though I knew Boutros was probably appalled by the sappiness of this gesture, he listened as I choked out words of devastation through sobs, and demonstrated admirable restraint when he could have cut me down to pathetic size with a couple of bon mots. Support like his, coming at a crucial time, often cements two people together.

It did us.

So when Boutros proposed we jet off across the pond together, I was beyond thrilled. Even though I knew I couldn’t afford it on my catalog copywriter salary, which barely paid my rent, going to Europe, especially England, had always been my dream. I’d grown up with a pen pal from the West Midlands and had developed a keen interest in the place from her long letters describing Cannock Chase and the little Staffordshire village in which she lived. Perhaps I could see her, too, while I was there. It would be our first meeting in person.

Boutros convinced me to clean out my bank account for the trip by saying that once we got there, we could stay with friends and family wherever we went. All we’d have to pay for was food (fish and chips!) and drinks (Guinness!). We’d get around via the tube, and for longer distances, we’d take advantage of England’s very user-friendly trains that went just about everywhere.

I desperately needed a break from my boring job and from nursing my broken heart (even if I was the one who technically broke it), so I was on board.

Well, actually, I was on board right that very moment, Boutros next to me. We were on a double-decker plane that was enormous, much bigger than anything I’d ever flown on—not that I’d flown much, just a handful of flights between Chicago and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which had the closest airport to my hometown of East Liverpool, Ohio.

The flight attendants, all women, wore saris. The plane was filled mostly with eastern Indians. Heathrow was a layover for them, not a destination, as this flight continued on to New Delhi.

“Ah, the sweet smell of curry is in the air,” Boutros whispered, leaning close to my ear.

“Hush.” I looked around, praying no one had heard him. I got his sense of humor—which involved saying a lot of things simply for their shock value—but I doubt that anyone else on the plane would.

I already felt as though I’d stepped into another world. I couldn’t wait to get to our destination and see what adventures were in store.

One of the flight attendants came around pushing a trolley. On it were small Styrofoam cups and full-size bottles of whiskey.

“Would you like?” The dark-haired woman smiled at Boutros and me, gesturing toward the bottles and cups.

Indian custom? I shrugged. What the hell? “Yes, please. One for me, and one for my friend here.” I leaned back a little so she could see Boutros in the middle seat. I doubted she could miss him, though, dressed as he was in palazzo pants with a yellow-and-purple paisley pattern, and a white muslin peasant shirt. His black hair stood up in a multitude of directions, and his mustache, waxed, stuck out so far, he could make the truthful claim that one could see the mustache from behind him. The goatee below the mustache was just beginning to gray. His earring and nose ring were connected by a dangling silver chain. He liked to say his face was “done up like a Christmas tree.”

Sometimes I wondered if people even saw me when I stood next to him.

“One?” Boutros scoffed. “Amateur. Could we have two?”

She nodded, smiling, and poured us each two shots of whiskey. She handed them over, and we both quickly downed the first and then handed the cups back to her. Boutros belched and said, “Check back on us, would you?”

The flight attendant’s smile didn’t waver. Serenely, she moved on to the next row to ply the whole plane, I presumed, with strong spirits.

Boutros reached for his leather backpack, which he’d stored under the seat in front of him. “Surprise! I’ve got a little something here that will help shorten the flight, if you know what I mean.” He grinned mischievously as he groped around in the bag’s outer compartment. He brought out a prescription bottle and shook it. A couple of pills rattled.

“Morphine, sweetie, from when I had that cyst out in hospital. Remember? I punched that nun when they started cutting before the anesthetic set in.” He leaned close, rubbing up against my shoulder. “I saved these two just for you and me, darling.”

“You’re too good to me. They say time is the most thoughtful gift, but I beg to differ. I say it’s drugs.” I returned the shoulder nudge, then held out my hand like a beggar.

We popped the morphine, washing it down with our second shot of whiskey. The unvoiced plan, of course, was that we would sleep on the overnight transatlantic flight, arriving in London the next morning refreshed and ready to begin our sightseeing after dropping our stuff off at Boutros’s friend Trevor’s place in Westminster.

Maybe I was too excited to sleep, but even after a third shot of whiskey and morphine, I was still wide-awake for the full eight-hour flight. And perhaps my excitement was contagious, because Boutros couldn’t catch a wink either. We watched our flight’s progress on a screen on the back of the seats in front of us. I thought, Hurry, hurry.

If anything, the drugs and alcohol had the curious effect of making us even more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than either of us usually were. After trying fitfully—and desperately—to sleep, fluffing the thin and starchy pillows our flight attendant had given us, we passed the night talking about what we’d see and do, following the vivid colors and subtitles of the inflight movie, Raja, which was, from what I could gather from the subtitles, a romance about a young man reuniting with the woman he was supposed to marry years earlier. We ate the meals the airline offered—chicken tikka masala and basmati rice for me and saag paneer and rice for him. Even though it was Indian food, which Boutros and I both adored, it was airline food…and thus barely edible. Fortunately, they brought out the complimentary whiskey cart again near the end of the flight.

And, at around 10:00 a.m. London time, we touched down on the runway at Heathrow International Airport.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon

Meet the Author

Real Men. True Love.

Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than fifty works of published fiction. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Entertainment Weekly has described his work as “heartrending and sensitive.” Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…” Find him at www.rickrreedreality.blogspot.com. Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA, with his husband, Bruce, and their fierce Chihuahua/Shiba Inu mix, Kodi.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Blog Button 2

Review: Hemingway's Notebook (Love Across Time #5) by Jackie North

Soulmates across time. Two souls connected by destiny.

In present day, Jake, lonely and cut off from his parents, travels to the Chamberlin Inn in Cody, Wyoming to work on extra credit for his college seminar.

In 1932, Sebby labors at the Chamberlin Inn for pennies a day, wishing with all his heart for a better life.

While taking photographs in the room where Ernest Hemingway once stayed, Jake is flung back in time to the year 1932. There he meets Sebby who is living on the edge, half starving, a victim of the Great Depression. He’s been dodging rent collectors, getting behind on doctor's bills, trying to care for his ailing Pop.

Sebby falls hard for Jake with his movie star smile, but knows something is different about him. Jake wears strange clothes, talks too fast, and doesn’t look like he’s gone hungry a day in his whole life. He’s also the handsomest boy Sebby has ever seen.

Jake is drawn to Sebby’s dark eyes, shy smile, and gentle heart. Sebby is like nobody Jake has ever met. And though the year 1932 scares him to his very core, he needs to decide. Go home? Or stay and weather the Depression with Sebby, whom he has grown to love.

A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, true confessions, a shared bed, first time romance, the angst of separation, and true love across time.


I have to preface this by saying I generally run away like I’m on fire when presented with time travel romances. Not that I don’t like them; when they are done well I like them too much and dammit, 10 year old me was not prepared for the heartbreak that was Somewhere in Time. I didn’t even really get romance at the tender age of 10 (or probably more like 12 since we watched it on TV), yet the movie still killed me to death.

The premise on this one made me want it though, I was intrigued by the Hemingway angle and while he’s a very secondary character, the author did not disappoint in tying him in seamlessly to the plot. The author also did not fail in effectively killing me almost to death with another damn time travel romance. Sweet cheezus I was stressed out every time Sebby or Jake entered the room Hemingway stayed in and with good reason! I did have good feels about where this story was going and thankfully Jake’s ending was not Richard Collier’s. I’m still irritated with my mother for making me watch that movie with her.

Anywho, childhood bitterness aside, this character driven tale was beautifully told and the depiction of Sebby and his father’s life was so vividly described that I had one of those amazing book experiences where you forget you’re even reading because you are so in the moment with the characters.

Jake is a present day everyman. He’s a really good guy, but not remarkable and that is no dig at Jake. He did have a crappy family life and was at somewhat of a crossroads as he was ending his university tenure and about to head out to the real world. And the mood from him was not about the excitement of possibilities, but more of a melancholy resignation.

When he traveled back in time after being in the room Hemingway stayed in and talking himself into a position at the hotel working with Sebby and staying with Sebby and his Pop, he eventually came into his own. While Jake make not have been remarkable in the present day, in the past he slowly found his feet and became the man he was meant to be because he became the hero that Sebby and his Pop deserved.

For awhile I felt a little disconnected with Jake and I think at first it was because Sebby was such a sympathetic and likable character. Sebby was my focus and I viewed Jake through his eyes, but also knew his backstory, so my view was a little at odds with Sebby’s. But, once I saw Jake’s confidence grow and watched him become the man that Sebby saw, and resolve himself to a new future, he became fully fleshed out for me and the evolution of his character worked perfectly for the story.

The supposition of Hemingway’s involvement and the very tidy ending were not the most believable, but I really didn’t care considering how much I liked all the characters. I wanted that ending for them, for all of them and I decided to just kind of swept my disbelief under one of Mrs. Johnson’s braided rugs.



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

Audiobook Blog Tour + Giveaway: Dire Warning (Blackwood Pack #1) by Mary Rundle


Join author Mary Rundle and Other Worlds Ink as they promote the Nick J. Russo narrated audio book, Dire Warning (Blackwood Pack #1)! Check out the info at today's tour stop and enter in the giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate and a Blackwood Pack mug!



Dire Warning Audio - Mary Rundle


Mary Rundle has just released the audio version of "Dire Warning," book one of the Blackwood Pack series.

The Blackwood Pack saga begins…

Follow the journey of the Blackwood Pack, seven brothers who are wolf shifters in search of their fated mates – stories about love at first sight with twists and turns, angst and humor, romance and adventure. Each book has two men who meet, fall in love, mate and achieve an HEA but the stories also chronicle the continuing saga of the Blackwood Pack.

For more than 100 years, Steel, one of the last Dire Wolves, has been looking for his mate the Fates promised him. Discouraged after meeting his latest date, he takes a short cut home, seeing in a naked hitchhiker everything he envisions the man of his dreams to be. His wolf and body tell him the man is his fated mate but why can't he pick up his scent?

Robbed of his car, clothes and money, Jackson, Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, is left with no choice but to thumb a lift, frantic to get home to his six brothers. He's been protecting them from a rival pack who massacred most of his family and wants to finish off the rest. When Steel rolls down his window, Jackson knows he's found his fated mate but it would be too dangerous to claim him with his pack under attack.

After the intervention of an Oracle and a Witch, Jackson finds the Fates gave him an unusual gift that made him unique-- and just for Steel. Navigating the mine field this revelation brings, Jackson and Steel must figure out how to make their relationship work while dealing with external forces determined to kill them and the rest of the Blackwood pack.


Amazon | Amazon UK | iBooks | QueeRomance Ink




Giveaway

Mary is giving away a $20 Amazon gift certificate and a Blackwood Pack mug with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47128/?




Excerpt


Dire Warning meme - Mary Rundle

Steel’s wolf was snarling and snapping as he drove away from Jimmy’s after leaving Jackson behind. He just couldn’t understand his wolf. What am I missing here? Jackson is not my mate. My mate has to be a wolf—he knew it because he’d been told not only by his mother who was an Oracle but by no less than three other Oracles. His mate would help save his species of wolves.

The importance of this was impressed upon him throughout his life. He stepped on the gas, eager to get home to do some research. He needed answers because he had a feeling of foreboding about what was going to happen to Jackson and that was driving his wolf crazy.

Finally arriving home, he stopped at the fifteen-foot-high gates, keyed in his passcode and then drove up the long driveway to his sprawling home, nestled among the trees on the knob of a small mountain. Although there were taller mountains to roam on his 200,000 acres of land, this spot spoke to his wolf spirit. He inhaled deeply as he got out of the truck, feeling his body reacting to the sights and smells around him.

Looking around, he wondered if Jackson would like this spot as much as he did. And that did it—his cock hardened in a second and his blood started to heat up. What the fuck? He drove the image of Jackson’s firm body from his mind and thumped his cock several times to get it to go down.

Hmmm, what to do first? Decision made, he stripped out of his clothes and stood still for a second before he called on his wolf and shifted. Birds scattered as the noise of bones cracking and stretching filled the air. When the sound faded away, Steel stood in his wolf form, shaking out his fur and scenting the air. Deer to the east, a small black bear and her cub ambling along the trail to the south and, yes there it was, a path that was free of any animal—Steel knew it wouldn’t be a good day to engage in a sparring match. His wolf was too unsettled for that.

He struck out at a full run for the trail leading north to one of the tallest mountains on his land. His large paws made no sound on the thickly carpeted forest floor. Steel had gotten so many mixed signals from his wolf today he needed this time to figure out what was happening. He knew his wolf needed it also. While he was running, Steel examined his wolf’s feelings regarding Jackson because it was much easier to understand his wolf when they were one, especially now, since he hadn’t understood his wolf’s reaction to a man who had no scent.

Taking in the smells and sounds of his forest, his mind searched and filtered through his wolf’s feelings. Steel found possessiveness, yeah, he already knew his wolf wanted to claim Jackson. The next feeling was protectiveness; he saw this when his wolf wanted to find and kill the men who attacked Jackson.

Searching to see what else his wolf felt—oh my gods—what the fuck, love? His wolf loved Jackson because he knew Jackson was his mate. He nearly stumbled when that fact hit him. No! No! No! Jackson was human and couldn’t be my mate—or could he? His wolf had never been wrong before. He turned around and raced back home. He had to do the research immediately because if Jackson was indeed meant for him by the Fates, then Steel needed to claim him fast.

Approaching his house, he fought his wolf to force a shift because his wolf was hell bent on finding his mate. Entering his home and ignoring his nakedness, Steel headed straight for his library. He impatiently yanked the door open and his wolf vision saw specks of dust dancing on the air currents of the huge, two-story, open room, lined with bookcases on both floors. His large desk sat in the middle of the room under a ceiling painted with stars and moons. He crossed over to his computer and entered the search terms he was looking for.

Waiting, he drummed his fingers on the desk, as Jackson’s beautiful face flooded his mind. The quickness with which his cock hardened and the swiftness of the heating of his blood left him breathless. Shit, my reactions are happening quicker and growing in strength. His cock was now harder than he ever experienced in his long life and he stroked it vigorously, trying to relieve some of the pain.

The computer finished its search, displaying a list of documents and books to review. Quickly glancing at the screen, Steel printed it out and started his research. As the hours dragged on, he was no closer to finding the answers than he’d been in the beginning. So far, he’d found no evidence to support his wolf’s claim the human was his mate.

Still, it could be true, since he still had over three-quarters of the list to review. Sitting among a pile of books, he rubbed his eyes to remove some of their tiredness. He’d been up more than 24 hours and needed sleep before starting fresh again in the morning. Before he did, though, he sent the picture of the tattoo on Jackson’s chest to his mother asking her if she’d ever seen it before. He just had a gut feeling it was important and, hopefully, she would know what it meant. That knowledge would help narrow his search among the remaining documents and books.

Steel entered his bedroom, wanting to collapse on the bed but forced himself to the bathroom where he turned on the water, climbing into the shower. As the hot water streamed over his tired and dirty body, his mind again returned to Jackson. Crap, I never got his last name. Well, at least I have an idea of where he lives. I wonder if anyone at the gas station…




Author Bio


Mary Rundle logo

The first book I ever wrote was Dire Warning in 2017 and, much to my delight, it became an Amazon Best-Seller. Readers loved it and I was on my way to chronicling the Blackwood Pack, seven brothers who are gay wolf shifters in search of their fated mates—stories about love at first sight with twists and turns, angst and humor, romance and adventure and, of course, happy endings.

As my books began to be translated into other languages, I also became an Amazon International Best-Selling author and then achieved the honor of becoming an Amazon All Star writer due to their popularity. My ninth book, Mystic Guardian, has just been published and audible versions of the entire series are in progress.

I love the M/M paranormal genre because it gives my imagination a lot of territory in which to roam. My mind can really run wild and come up with some amazing stuff when it doesn’t have to stay inside the box.

My readers tell me they feel like they’re members of the pack as the stories unfold…as if they’re right there in the middle of the action. Others tell me it’s like watching a fast-paced movie. My writing style pulls no punches…readers love it and are always clamoring for the next book.

Stories come to me as if channeled by my characters, all of whom I love (except for a few villains). They are eager to recount their lives, loves and adventures and are not inhibited when it comes to revealing steamy, sexy details.

I currently live in the Northeast and love the beautiful change of seasons, my husband, and our quirky calico cat, though not necessarily in that order. I’m always happy to hear from my readers and can be reached through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MeWe, email, or my website.

Author Website: http://www.maryrundle.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/maryrundle69

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/maryrundleauthor

Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryRundle69

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryrundle69

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14246427.Mary_Rundle

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/mary-rundle/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Rundle/e/B0763CDQQ6/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1


LOGO - Other Worlds Ink