Diverse Reader: June 2020

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Release Blitz: Fakers by Lucy Lennox & May Archer #Excerpt #Giveaway

Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:

Fakers by Lucy Lennox & May Archer

Cover Designer: Cate Ashwood

Brooks Johnson’s Words To Live By:

When returning to Licking Thicket, TN, for the first time in ten years to reunite with your nosy neighbors, heart-broken ex-girlfriend, and matchmaking mama who never quite believed you were gay, it’s best to bring a fake boyfriend as backup...

Just don’t be surprised when your ex-girlfriend does the same.

And when her incredibly hot fake boyfriend becomes the one island of calm in a sea of bovine-based insanity, it’s best to exercise caution… especially when he pushes you up against the rough barn wall to check you very thoroughly for splinters...

Just don’t be surprised if you fall head-over-hooves in love with him.

Universal Link

Goodreads

Excerpt:

I slunk down the hall like I was a kid again, afraid of being caught, and I snuck glances at the backyard out the window to make sure my mother and Ava weren’t coming… which was how I nearly ran into a person standing in the hall by the kitchen.

“Oh my God!” I said, grabbing the person—a man, definitely a man, though much less bulky than me—by the shoulders. “I’m so sorry. I was, ah… distracted.”

And if I hadn’t been before, I certainly was once I got a look at him. Holy shit.

“No, sorry, my bad,” the guy said. He straightened his black T-shirt and brushed an unruly mop of wavy, brown-gold hair away from his magnetic blue eyes. “I was distracted too.”

He motioned toward the pictures on the hallway wall—a collection of bovine-inspired artwork my mother had begun before I was born—and shook his head wordlessly. I felt my face heat.

“Ah. Yeah, it’s quite a theme, isn’t it?” I said. “Cows in flower crowns?”

“I can’t tell if it’s horrible, or wonderful, or both.”
“Both,” I decided. “Most things are.”

He turned to give me a quick, startled smile, and I realized belatedly that while he’d been staring at the wall, I’d been staring at him.

Honestly, there was a lot to look at. Besides the sexy, untamed hair, the man had sharp, intelligent eyes that looked like they missed nothing, high, rounded cheekbones, a scruffy jaw, and plush, pink lips, like a master sculptor had perfectly softened all his other features to balance the intensity of his eyes. His body was lithe, leanly muscled, and delightfully warm. He had a little silver hoop in his left ear, a freckle in the hollow of his throat, and a stack of bracelets up one wrist. He could’ve been anywhere from fifteen to thirty years old. I felt a pulse of awareness in my gut.

Please don’t be fifteen, please don’t be fifteen.

“Are you okay?” he asked, frowning at me in concern.
Damn it all, I was still staring.

“Yeah, no, totally. Just, um.” I cleared my throat. My mother’s art display was the last place on earth I’d expected to meet someone as striking as this. Why did this have to happen while I was a giant, sweaty mess? “Making sure you are.”

“Oh.” His expression cleared, and his lips twitched. Apparently, I was still staring at his lips. “I’m fine. Except that I stepped out of the bathroom down here and this cow started staring into my soul.”

I had to force myself to look away from him and focus on the cow painting, but when I did…

I laughed out loud. “It really is. That cow knows exactly what you’re thinking right now.”

The man gasped, and the sound went straight to my balls. “You think? In that case, that cow needs to mind her fucking business before she gets corrupted.” He looked me up and down, from my messy, sweaty hair to my sneakers, and I’d swear the smile he gave me was pure flirtation.
The smile I gave him in return sure as hell was.

This kind of thing never happened to me. Ever.

“Have you ever seen a real cow?” I asked, because I was the fucking king of suave conversation.

Jesus Christ, how had I ever managed to have sex with anyone?

“A real cow? Obviously,” the guy said, folding his arms over his chest. I couldn’t help but notice the defined muscles in his chest and arms. He was shorter than I was but definitely not scrawny. Fuck he was sexy. He smirked. “Don’t I look like a country boy?”

I laughed, feeling all the stress from the day start to fall away.

Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate Lucy & May's release, we are giving away 3 eBooks copies of Fakers!

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About Lucy:

After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day.

Lucy hopes you enjoy sexy heroes as much as she does. Happy reading!

About May:

May is an M/M author who lives in Boston. She spends her days raising three incredibly sarcastic children, finding inventive ways to drive her husband crazy, planning beach vacations, avoiding the gym, reading M/M romance, and occasionally writing it. She also writes MF romance as Maisy Archer.

Monday, June 29, 2020

Audiobook Review: Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh Narrated by Dan Calley #Review #Giveaway

Title: Rented Heart

Author: Garrett Leigh

Narrator: Dan Calley

Length: 5 hours, 42 minutes

Publisher: Audible

Reviewed by Sammy

Synopsis

LAMBDA Finalist 2017

Ex-surfer-turned-businessman Liam Mallaney moved back to Holkham, Norfolk, to mourn the loss of his husband. Grief and loneliness keep him a solitary figure, and he likes it that way. There’s no room in his broken heart for anything else.
Rentboy Zac Payne left London and most of his demons behind, but he still only knows one way to make a living. When he spots Liam in a club one night, it seems he’s found his mark. But Liam proves nicer — and their connection far deeper — than he’d bargained for.
Their arrangement quickly becomes too complicated for Zac, who has other things on his mind: namely his BFF and wayward flatmate, Jamie. Zac owes Jamie the world, and even as Jamie’s drug addiction destroys all they have, Zac won’t leave him behind.
Besides, Liam knows nothing of Zac’s home life, too caught up in his own head to think much beyond the crazy heat he and Zac share. But when trouble comes to Zac’s door, putting his life in danger, Liam must set his grief and anger aside to pick up the pieces

Purchase Link

Review

Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh follows the story of one recovering addict/hooker’s journey from the pit of poverty and struggle to the arms of a man who has lost the love of his life and the joy of living. Zac has been on the streets for way too long and yet he knows little else or feels he deserves anything more. But if he is going to make it and keep the roof over his head come winter then he has to find some more regular johns to make money. When he spots the gorgeous blond outside the club he decides to give him a go and from that moment on Zac will finally find the one thing that has always eluded him—the desire to be something more than the hooker he knows he is.

Liam spots the pretty man across the street and is intrigued. Even the booze he has already ingested isn’t enough to keep the dull pain of his loss in check but still he can’t believe he agrees to go home with a prostitute. But there’s something about Zac that will stay with Liam well beyond that one night and regardless of his mind screaming at him not to see the guy again, Liam does just that. Not only is the sex additive but everything about Zac appeals to Liam—now if only he could be sure that Zac wants to be with him for something other than the money he makes.

Rented Heart is a beautiful hurt/comfort trope—a second chance love story between two men who both have already lost too much in their lives. With beautiful moments of intimacy and even better sections where Liam and Zac learn about each other, this novel steals my breath away. It is raw, unfiltered and emotional and I loved every moment.

Dan Calley’s rich variety of English dialects only added to an already luscious story by Garrett Leigh. With a nice pace for the non-dialogue passages, Mr. Calley’s real talent shined through as he voiced the various characters of the story. I do think the timbre of both Zac and Liam is a bit too similar—particularly in the beginning narration. Because they were both low and similar, it made it difficult to determine who was speaking when because the voices sometimes sounded the same. I was also surprised at the lack of differentiation in their accents—I had imagined Liam might have sounded more posh than Zac but still the intensity in Liam’s tone set his voice apart just enough.

I do believe the strength of Mr. Calley’s ability to infuse emotions into the various scenes of intimacy between Liam and Zac really stood out. This narrator can make you feel the hesitancy and then the almost nonchalant capitulation in both Liam and Zac as they question their actions. It all has to do with the masterful way Calley uses pausing and pacing to create tension and highlight important moments in the story. I think author Garrett Leigh really found an excellent narrator to bring their novel to life.

Giveaway

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Friday, June 26, 2020

New Release Review: Pretty Sweet by Riley Hart & Christina Lee #Review #Giveaway

Title: Pretty Sweet
Series: Boys in Makeup #2
Authors: Riley Hart & Christina Lee
Self Published
Publication Date: June 17, 2020
Length: 295 pages

Reviewed by Nikki

Synopsis

Seth
Portland was supposed to be my fresh start, my chance to live for myself. Unfortunately, it’s not working out that way. I stay in the apartment Mom chose and major in finance like she wants. I let bad memories keep me from hooking up. I wouldn’t know the first thing about finding a guy who gets me, who’s okay with my need to be held and feel safe.

When I befriend a worker at the assisted living facility where I volunteer, I don’t expect to get invited to dinner, only to realize her son is Jake, a guy I met through friends last fall. Jake’s not only hot, he’s also sweet, a caretaker, and attracted to me too. Since he’s never been with a guy, and I’m a virgin, we’re setting the pace together, learning what we like, one bone-melting touch at a time.

Jake
My childhood was rocky, with an abusive father and a mother I needed to protect. The first thing I did after high school graduation was get us out of there so we could finally breathe. And start living. For me that means managing the garage I own with my best friend and enjoying the modest house I call my own.

Then Seth enters my life. Our connection is palpable. He’s shy, innocent, and sets my blood on fire. He makes it impossible to ignore my attraction to men. The trust he puts in me is more potent than any desire. I get as much from talking to or holding him as when we let our inhibitions go.

Seth and I fulfill each other’s needs—in and out of the bedroom. But our struggles aren’t easy to shake. With my urge to protect and Seth’s desire to fly, we’ll have to strike the right balance, but when we do, the results will be pretty sweet.

Purchase Link

Review

If you’ve never read a Riley Hart or Christina Lee book, you’re really missing out. And the two of them together? Pure. Magic.

This is the second book in the Boys in Makeup series, but you absolutely can read it as a standalone. Seth was the roommate of one of the MCs in book one, but this one stands completely on its own.

The sweetness and innocence of Seth really sucked me in immediately. I loved how he just wanted someone to cuddle with and to make other people feel good. I just wanted to protect and love him!

Then there was Jake. He’s this big, muscular mechanic who’s only ever been with women—so you’d think he’d be a typical alpha male character. He’s the furthest from it and it was awesome. It was so sweet how he was always worried about his mom and how he was protective of those he cared about.

The way the two of them tentatively feel each other out and then slowly begin to build a relationship of trust and love was so nice to watch. They learned from and took care of each other in a way only they could.

Plus, I adored Seth’s relationship with Jake’s mom! Heart-meltingly sweet! I one hundred percent recommend Pretty Sweet. You’ll love it.