Showing posts with label Excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Excerpt. Show all posts

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Release Blitz: People Like Us by Ruby Moone #Review #Excerpt #Giveaway

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Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:

People Like Us by Ruby Moone

 

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Winsford Green Stories, Book 2

 

Arthur Fitch clawed his way out of the violence and poverty of the slums of London to become a valet to the aristocracy. His ambition to secure a higher position led him to a disastrous appointment with a cold, brutal man, and when things come to a head, Arthur is forced to flee into a snowstorm to find safety.

Joseph Wilkinson is the Winsford Green blacksmith. He has a good life, good friends, owns a thriving business, but at the end of the day when he goes home, loneliness consumes him. When he stumbles upon a small man determinedly trudging through the snowstorm, he invites him into his home to shelter.

Arthur Fitch is older, smart-mouthed, and as prickly as hell. But, as Joe peels back the layers, he discovers a warm, funny, vulnerable man whose tastes in the bedchamber leave Joe gasping and desperate for more. Trouble is, having found the real Arthur Fitch, how can he convince him that life in a small town can be infinitely better than working for an Earl? That love really is possible for people like them? Particularly when Arthur’s past catches up with him in horrifying fashion.

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Review


Praise to this story. I love me some good written historical narrative! And omg it was so incredibly good!

Joseph saved Arthur from the snow, fed him, and gave him a warm bed to sleep in.
Arthur isn’t the nicest guy the next morning, haughty even. Joseph is disappointed.
But behind that haughtiness, there is a quirky man with humor, also a man with particular needs.
Without thinking, Joseph fulfills all his needs and thereby his own.
Joseph is the blacksmith of this village, appreciated by all the residents. He’s lonely and somewhat withdrawn.

The little town and the warm, positive people who live there, aren’t things Arthur could ever imagine to experience.

Arthur’s goal is London, being a valet to an earl, living amongst the aristocracy. What this town has to offer, frightens him. Fear is what makes him make terrible decisions. Like not choose to be loved and cared for. So, London will be it.

What a precious story, 
Joseph’s words and posture gave me goosebumps more than once. He was kind-hearted, compassionate, considerate, honest, and passionate. Never questioning Arthur’s needs.
Dear, dear Arthur can’t believe this man in front of him, full of warmth. He himself is full of shame, sarcasm, reserved and skeptical. 

The whole story felt amazingly authentic, the language, the clothes, the food, the jobs, the houses, all the surroundings everything felt so real. The way of writing made it easy to picture it all. I’m also talking about picturing emotions, shining eyes, hearts full of hope, opportunities, the smell of fresh-baked bread, the best diners, and of course tea.

Wonderfully written narrative, so precious to experience. Both Joseph and Arthur were beautifully flawed, they were, just like the secondary characters, extremely lovable.
I  couldn’t get enough of them.
The title, oh my goodness, I’m crying again 😭
Look at the cover and you’ll recognize them in this story just like that!


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Excerpt:


Arthur Fitch drifted into awareness slowly. He was warm. Deliciously warm. He rubbed his face against the pillow, sighed, and the warm body behind him shifted with him. He smiled and hummed happily as he eased his way up through the layers of sleep. When he moved, he groaned. Every part of him seemed to ache. Including his head. He stretched out his legs and the body behind him moved again.
Arthur froze. Body? Body behind him? Body in bed with him...?
His eyes shot open, blinking rapidly. Where in God’s name was he? It was a completely unfamiliar room, unfamiliar bed, and … and … he swallowed and turned his head to the side. A completely unfamiliar man. Who, at that moment, opened outrageously blue eyes and looked at him.
Arthur let out a wild yell and leaped from the bed.
“Who the hell are you?” he demanded as he stumbled to his feet. His legs were like water. He grabbed his swimming head with one hand and clutched at the bed post with another as he almost overbalanced.
His blue-eyed bed companion sat up. Dear… sweet …. God. He was magnificent. Huge, muscled shoulders. Pronounced collar bones peeping through the open neck of his night shirt. Shaggy hair the colour of autumn, and an untamed beard.
And he was young.
The man threw back the covers and stood on the opposite side of the bed. “Don’t you remember?” His voice was deep, husky rumble.
“Remember what?” His own voice had become a shriek. “What did you do to me?”
The man took a step back, wariness edging into his blue gaze. Christ, they were so blue.
“I didn’t do anything. I rescued you from the snow.”
Arthur looked around with his mouth open. He was used to being surrounded by the finest things money could buy. Working with the most respected and envied men of the upper ten thousand. Why the hell was he in some poky, rustic, shabby … Did that man have an erection? He stared at the man’s groin. There was definitely some stirring visible. He looked at him and raised a quelling brow. The man flushed, put a hand over himself, and glared at him. Dark brows pulling down.
“You walked from the Abbey in the snow. I brought you in and warmed you up. That’s all. Don’t flatter yourself.”
“My good man, I …” Arthur began, at his most haughty, then hesitated. Memories crowded in. Snow. Cold. More snow and so cold he thought he might die. He held onto his head as it all came flooding back. The giant had indeed saved him from the snow and probably saved his life.
He cleared his throat.

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Enter the Giveaway:

 

To celebrate the release of People Like Us, Ruby is giving away a £15/$15

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
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Check out Book 1 in the Winsford Green Stories:

Dances Long Forgotten

 

Dances Cover

On Christmas Eve, Dylan, the man of James Pell-Charnley’s dreams, is on the point of walking out. Then they hear the faint strains of a waltz in the library of the empty abbey. The music is said to be heard only by those truly in love, and it gives James the courage to tell Dylan the story. 

In December 1841, Lord Hugo Pell-Charnley is in a terrible mess. The youngest son of the late Marquis, youngest brother of the incumbent, never felt to fit. When his life comes crashing down, and his life and his family are threatened, he is forced to face his elder brother and confess his deepest secret. When he arrives at Winsford Abbey he finds he must also confront the shame from his past in the form of Lyndon Cross. The boy he’d loved but betrayed in school. 

As they clear the ghosts from the past, they dance in each other’s arms in the library to the soft strains of the waltz, but long buried secrets threaten to destroy their happiness. 

Two hundred years later, can those dances long forgotten give James and Dylan the courage to hold on to love?

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About the Author:

My name is Ruby Moone and I love books. All kinds of books. My weakness is for romance, and that can be any kind, but I am particularly fond of historical and paranormal. I decided to write gay romance after reading some fantastic books and falling in love with the genre, so am really thrilled to have my work published here. The day job takes up a lot of my time, but every other spare moment finds me writing or reading. I live in the north west of England with my husband who thinks that I live in two worlds. The real world and in the world in my head...he probably has a point!


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Saturday, July 4, 2020

Release Tour: His Horizon by Con Riley #Review #Giveaway #Excerpt

His Horizon

 

Release Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway:

His Horizon by Con Riley

 

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Temperatures rise when there are two cooks in Jude’s kitchen...

Jude’s drowning in guilt when he can’t save his family business single-handed. The last person he expects to throw a lifeline is Rob, a rival chef who once beat him to first place in a cooking contest.
Two chefs working together won’t be easy. Not when Rob is everything Jude isn’t—popular, extroverted, and a one-time hook-up. What’s worse is that Rob wears his heart on his sleeve while Jude’s still in the closet.

Jude’s dilemma doesn’t end there. Rob’s rescue package comes with conditions that mean sharing everything from the profits to Jude’s sleeping quarters. 

Sleeping with the enemy will either be a disaster or signal a much brighter future, but only if Jude can meet Rob’s final condition and love him in the open.

Featuring opposites who attract, rivals to lovers, and an out-for-you storyline dripping with hurt-comfort feelings, His Horizon is the first in a shared-world series of standalone MM romance novels from Con Riley.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Grief-related angst, Off-page peril & British-English spelling/grammar.

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Review

After months at sea, Jude is coming home to help his sister with the pub during the summer. His life onboard the luxury yacht as galley cook has meant time to search for his missing parents but also left Louise, his sister, with the burden of running the family pub alone. When Jude hits shore, the idyllic seaside town is different—ravaged by a storm that has decimated the beach and closed the family campground--scaring off the tourists that were the life blood of the pub’s busy season. Now Louise has called in help—they guy who beat out Jude in the cooking contest he had to abruptly leave after hearing about his parent’s wreck at sea. Rob is a good chef but Jude had him beat and when he left, Rob went on to claim victory. Using the money he’d won, Rob comes to help Louise transform the family restaurant into a posh place complete with fine dining and rooms to let for overnight stays. Jude is shocked and a bit angry at Rob’s  intrusion until he remembers how taken he was with Rob and the one passionate kiss they shared before he left.

Picking up as if they had never been apart, the attraction between Rob and Jude sparks anew but this time Rob refuses to act on it due to Jude being in the closet. Jude has always feared his family finding out he is gay because of the strange way his father has acted around gay customers. That along with the pictures of a former mate from their time in the Merchant Marines and his dad’s refusal to speak about the man has caused a wall to come up between father and son. All Jude knows is the guy was the reason his dad was discharged and his parent’s life made harder by not having the funds needed to realize their dream of owning the pub. That meant the pub was mortgaged to the hilt and having Rob buy in as a partner is the last ditch effort in keeping the place open.

His Horizon by Con Riley takes the picturesque setting of a seaside town and fills it with emotional turbulence. Reeling from his parents being lost at sea and refusing to concede their death, Jude is driven by guilt and fear to find them or the proof they are deceased. But in doing so he has left the burden of running the family business to his sister Louise and things are not looking good. At first Jude is worried about Rob being there but even he must acknowledge that between ghosting Rob after abruptly leaving the contest and staying away far too long leaving Louise in the lurch he has every reason to feel bad. But the spark that happened between Rob and Jude is still very much alive and either Jude must finally come out or lose the chance to be with Rob who refuses to have a relationship in the closet.

The story is a rich one with lots going on in the emotions department. However there are a few glitches that left me scratching my head. For instance Louise’s reaction to Jude being gay—why did she need time away from him and Rob after finding out about them when she was never presented as a homophobic person or one who is less than accepting and loving? Also the story seemed to dive right into the relationship between Rob and Jude without giving us any backstory upon which to anchor their attraction. They were hot and heavy immediately and we find out about the how and why piecemeal throughout the story—it made what could have been a fairly smooth romance feel rather forced at the beginning.

I did really enjoy Jude and Rob together—they were polar opposites with Jude being reticent and thoughtful while Rob tended toward funny and brash—a nice combination. This story marks the beginning of a new series for Con Riley and I am looking forward to reading more.

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Excerpt:

It was beyond dark in the boatyard, clouds covering the moon leaving the way deeply shadowed. Rob held out his phone, flashlight app a white beam that sliced through the darkness, his other hand in Jude’s, fingers laced as they walked in silence to the boatshed. It lit the ceiling when he placed it at the head of the bed, the portholes dark circles above them. He stayed quiet until Jude lay flat on his bunk. “One thing,” he then said, after kneeling over him. “Just to check.” Rob dipped down for a kiss, lips barely touching Jude’s before he pulled back a scant inch. “You didn’t help yourself to a finger or two of cognac from the bar before coming to find me, did you?” His knees were so close to the edge of Jude’s bunk that he slipped after straddling him. 
Jude grabbed him with one hand on each of his hips, raising his knees to keep Rob steady. Once he was, Jude slid both hands under Rob’s T-shirt, hands travelling up and around to appreciate where his back broadened. “You think I’d need to be drunk to want this? Why?”
Rob’s gaze skittered away. 
It wasn’t easy to switch position. “Jesus, you’re a lump.” Jude pushed up while twisting, rolling them over so Rob was beneath him. “Why, Rob? You really think my judgement needs to be impaired to want you?”
“No… I… well, yes.” Rob’s hands skimmed Jude’s hips, his waist, the curve of pectorals that were more pronounced after a year’s sailing. “To be fair, I have had months of Lou telling me about how you never do this.”
“This?”
“It’s nothing.” Rob’s touch was distracting, but Jude stayed on topic.
“Tell me. What did Lou say I never do?”
Even in the dim light, Rob’s mask slipping again was visible. “Let people get close.” He squirmed, awkward before adding, “Besides, have you seen you?” He pushed Jude’s shirt higher. “Some people might say I’m punching a teensy bit above my weight.” He glanced down at that last word to where Jude had one hand on his belly. Rob’s skin was soft and giving. “Too many second breakfasts.”
“You’re gorgeous,” Jude said, and he meant it. Had done from their first meeting. “Annoying, but gorgeous.”
Rob pulled him closer and Jude sank into it, lying instead of kneeling, kissing instead of thinking about what might come tomorrow. With his eyes closed, and Rob’s arms around him, Jude was back in London, after the contest semi-finals, only this time—now—he wasn’t about to stop at kissing. No, if he’d learned anything this year, it was to take as much as he could, because tomorrow could get washed away without any warning.

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Enter the Giveaway:

 

To celebrate Con's new release, we are giving a lucky winner the chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

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About the Author:

Con Riley lives on the wild and rugged Devonshire coast, with her head in the clouds, and her feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time instead. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that makes them live and breathe.

When not people watching, or wrangling her own boy band of teen sons, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don't disturb her—she's probably thinking up new plots.

Connect with Con:

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