Review Tour: Knitting A Broken Heart Back Together by Ari McKay #Review #Giveaway

  

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner

Length: 40,603 words

Cover Design: Bree Archer

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Blurb

When a Christmas shopping expedition brings Tomy Peralta into Jason Winters’s yarn store, both men feel an immediate and intense spark of attraction, but dance instructor Tomy intends to propose to his boyfriend, Sean, at Christmas. Unfortunately for Tomy, marriage isn’t on career-minded Sean’s agenda. Heartbroken, Tomy throws himself into his work until his mother convinces him that learning to knit might help take his mind off his failed romance.

Jason falls hard for Tomy, but he knows Tomy needs time to heal and to trust in love again. As Jason teaches Tomy to knit, Tomy teaches him to dance in return. Just when it seems Tomy is ready for a new romance, Sean shows up, wanting Tomy back. Will Tomy give his heart to Sean once more, or will Tomy finally see Sean for who he truly is, and choose the man who helped him knit his heart together again?

Review

I was given the pleasure of reading this remarkable second chance love story "Knitting a Broken Heart Back Together," by Ari McKay. Through this author's writings, I was able to feel the anguish, the heartache, and the despair of the main characters. 

Tomy, a owner of a huge dance studio, feels on top of the world one minute only to have it come crashing down the next. His mother, after many attempts to finally get him out of the house, succeeds. 

Jason has had his share of loss, he thought he was on the path to success, however an injury ended all that for him. When he sees Tomy, he sees all his pain. 

Jason's character was a phenomenal one! I loved how the author made him so likeable right from the start, and also how straight forward he was with all his interactions with people.

When Jason and Tomy start spending time together working on simple projects through in with some sexy dance moves the passion is electrifying. 

Tomy and Jason's story was passionate, understanding, tearful, sexual but most of all it was all about learning to fall in love.

 

July 6 - Gay Book Reviews, Megan's Media Melange, Two Chicks Obsessed, July 9 - OMG Reads, July 11 - Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, MM Good Book Reviews, July 13 - RAM PA Group, Bonkers About Books, We Three Queens, July 16 - Diverse Reader, July 18 - Drops Of Ink, Love Unchained, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, July 20 - Bayou Book Junkie, Valerie Ullmer, Lillian Francis, Sexy Erotic Xciting, Mikku-chan

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.

Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

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Blog Tour: Blood Bathory: Like The Night by Ari McKay ~Guest Post #Giveaway

Hello! I’m Ari, half of the dynamic duo known as Ari McKay, and I’d like to thank the lovely folks at Diverse Reader for hosting us on the blog today! I’m here to talk about our latest release, or rather re-release, of Blood Bathory: Like the Night, which is the first book of the Guardians of Gaia series.

Of course it’s all been done to death, hasn’t it? Urban fantasy with vampires and shifters… how many of them are out there? Probably hundreds! For a writer, it’s a challenge to try to bring something unique to a genre where writers have thrown millions of words at the trope over the last nine or ten decades. Yet I think we managed it, because our shifters aren’t like any others in M/M urban fantasy (at least, not that we’ve found!) Instead of being born to a clan of shifters, ours are created, their inner animal form manifesting when they enter the service of Gaia, who is the sentient embodiment of all life on earth.

It’s not as heavy as it sounds, not really. One of the things we wanted to bring to the table was a way for shifters of multiple different types to interact and work together. Sure, a werewolf pack is powerful, but what if your wolf could work with an eagle keeping watch overhead, and a ferret who could get into small spaces to spy, or dogs and cats who can go among a human population and barely be noticed? It also opens the door to a wider range of possibilities without having to worry about where a group of wolverine shifters (and yes, we have a shifter who is one!) might make a life and home and be called upon for help. In fact, over the current three books of the series, we don’t have two shifters of the same species other than dogs and cats - and none of them of the same breed! We DO have an arctic wolf, a wolverine, a black panther, a tiger, a warhorse, a ferret, a cat, a golden retriever, a grizzly, a fluffy little poodle, a golden eagle, a parrot, a mountain lion, and several others that I know I’m forgetting at the moment. What that means for us as writers is that it’s a ton of fun to write! The other is that we were able to make the animal form of a shifter match very closely to their personality. Or, as Gaia directs her shifters when she accepts them into her service -- “Be what you are within”.

Our vampires are very different as well, which is the subject of the second book in the series “Blood Bathory: Absence of the Sun”. Our vampires, or, more accurately, nosferatu, aren’t really undead in the traditional sense. And not every vampire can create other vampires, it’s a closely guarded secret known to very few. Gaia calls them “blood cursed”, because they are out of the natural order of things, having found a way to separate themselves from the cycle of life and death. As such, they are the mortal enemies of the shifters, or theriomorphs, as they call themselves, who exist to help deal with threats to the world.

Of course, as is the case in life, opposites can and do attract, which can make things rather complicated for our lovers, and incredibly interesting for us as writers. Hopefully you, as readers, will find it interesting as well! If you like urban fantasy, or friends-to-lovers stories where love triumphs over adversity, you might enjoy our little tale. Thanks for giving us a few minutes of your time, and I do hope you’ll give Blood Bathory: Like the Night a chance to win you over!

Universal Buy Link

Cover Design: Lou Harper

Length: 123,737 words

Blurb

Evan St. John, a young fashion photographer running from the pain caused by the death of his younger sister, is thrilled when he is offered a job with House of Nadasdy, a leading fashion house in Paris. What he doesn't know is that Elizabeth Nadasdy, the elegant and powerful owner, is a centuries-old vampire with a penchant for collecting beautiful people. To Evan's horror, he is turned into one of her "children."

Unable to bear what he has become, Evan flees to New York and to his best friend, police officer Will Trask. For years, Evan has nursed an unrequited love for Will, but he also knows Will is the one person who might be able to help him. As Evan and Will try to deal with Evan's condition, they are drawn into the world of the theriomorphs: shape-shifters who are guardians of life and the sworn enemies of vampires. Caught in an ancient war between two powerful supernatural forces, Evan and Will find they must choose sides - because if they are to have any chance of a future together, they must destroy Elizabeth Nadasdy before she destroys them.

April 9 - MM Midnight Cafe

April 10 - Love Bytes

April 12 - Alpha Book Club

April 14 - MM Good Book Reviews

April 16 - Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews

April 17 - The Novel Approach

April 18 - RAM PA Group, Drops Of Ink, Mirrigold, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Bites & Silk Ties

April 19 - Diverse Reader

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.

Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

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Release Day Review: Letters From Cupid by Ari McKay #Review #Giveaway

Author: Ari McKay
Book: Letters From Cupid 2nd edition
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication date: February 14, 2017
Cover artist: Bree Archer
Length: 94 pages


Reviewed by Meredith


Synopsis

After breaking up with his partner, English professor Dr. Derek Chandler feels like a failure who will never win at romance. His aloof colleague, Dr. Macon Pinney, disagrees and pens an anonymous note of encouragement to Derek, which he signs “Cupid.” Thus begins an exchange of correspondence, a courtship through words where the two men find out they have a great deal in common. Meanwhile, Derek reaches out to Macon, not knowing Macon is his anonymous pen pal. Derek reveals through his letters that someone close by has piqued his interest. Could he mean Macon—or has Macon missed his opportunity and lost Derek to another man?

Perhaps the time has come for Cupid to put in an appearance, and when better to do so than Valentine’s Day?

Buy Links

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Review

This is an absolutely adorable Valentine’s Day story. A lot of times I’m not a fan of an overly fluffy story so I admit to being skeptical about this one when it caught my eye. Valentine’s Day is synonymous with overly sweet and ridiculously romantic. Well, this one was very sweet and the romance ALMOST tipped the scale.

I found the whole idea of a colleague genuinely caring about another so much he tries to lift him up by pretending to be cupid and writing him a “Buck up you’re a hell of a guy,” letter. It of course escalates into a lovely love story. Macon is an introvert. Derek thinks he’s lost his passion. Together they give each other what they need. Brilliant minds and huge hearts!

The epilogue was pure perfection and exactly what I hoped for, for the ending to this romantic story. If you’re looking for a very literary witty, equally romantic story this is perfect for you.

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Release Day Review: Striking Sparks by Ari McKay #Review #Giveaway

Author: Ari McKay
Book: Striking Sparks
Series: Dreamspun Desires book 24
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication date: December 15, 2016
Length: 214 pages


Reviewed by Morningstar


Synopsis

The stakes are high and the heat is on.

Beau Walker, owner of the Barbecue Shack, needs the help of Jake Parnell, his one-time rival and secret crush, in a televised barbecue competition. Beau is a proud man, but the stakes are high, and smart, sexy Jake is his only hope, even if being around Jake reawakens the attraction he’s fought for years.

Jake left his hometown, determined to build a life somewhere his sexuality wouldn’t hurt his family’s restaurant business—and far away from hunky, obstinate Beau Walker. Then his twin, Josh, is killed, and Jake returns to support his brother’s wife and children. Despite his reservations, he agrees to go head-to-head against Beau on national television. Between stress and grief, as well as pride and determination, only one thing is certain—the heat between Beau and Jake extends well beyond the kitchen.

Buy Links

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Review

Another winner in the Dreamspun Desires series! This was an enemies to lovers story with two guys who were fierce enemies from two rival high schools. Jake comes back home to support his sister in law Lexi after the death of his twin brother, her husband, dies. He never thought he’d be back there in a town where he never felt like he fit in. And Beau Walker didn’t help with that when he told him he didn’t belong.

The lesson to be learned by these two is that as different as they are they are also the same. Each took to heart the other’s words when they were young and those words carried them through to adults. Those words were the guiding hand in who they became and their feelings of self-worth.

This wasn’t overly angsty of a story. There was loss and pain for Jake trying to deal with the death of his brother and never feeling adequate to fill his shoes. The journey of these two guys finding common ground for the cook off lead them to finding they had more chemistry than they once thought. The secondary characters played a role in helping these two guys find their way to each other and to understanding they needed to open their minds and stop being so dang stubborn.

It was sexy sweet and funny to boot! The author did a great job with creating the world of Buffalo Lick with its varied characters and all the wonderful food. Now if you don’t mind I think I’ll go get me some of that Texas BBQ!

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