Random Review: Loose Lips & Relationships by AJ Rose and Kate Aaron #Review #Giveaway

Title: Loose Lips & Relationships
Authors: AJ Rose & Kate Aaron
Self Published
Publication Date: February 25, 2019
Length: 298 pages

Reviewed by Erin


Synopsis

Flaming, Missouri is the perfect place for police officer Marc Warren to heal his battered heart after a broken marriage. The tourist town is an easy beat and he finds sanctuary in his beautiful cabin on the Lake of the Ozarks. So when Grant “Good Time” Taylor shows interest, Marc is in no hurry to let Flaming’s resident bad boy rock his boat.

Grant has no interest in dating locals. Tourists are plentiful and don’t want more than he’s willing to give. But a bar bet turns personal when Marc hands him a humiliating public rejection. If Grant wants to get under the mysterious officer’s skin, he’ll have to offer more than a temporary port.

The small town rumor mill gets a jumpstart as Marc and Grant realize what they’ve been missing all along—each other. But not everyone is happy for them. Someone will stop at nothing to sink the budding relationship. Can Marc and Grant overcome their fears to fight for each other, or is their happiness destined to drown?

Award winning authors AJ Rose and Kate Aaron have teamed up to welcome you to Flaming, MO, a cozy thriller series with feel-good themes, charismatic characters, and a small town with a big heart.

Purchase on Amazon

Review

I've never read anything by Kate Aaron but when I saw she was writing with one of my favorites, AJ Rose, I knew that was going to change. I'm all about contemporary romance and if you throw in a bit of mystery and suspense, well, I'm going to be all over that in a heartbeat ... especially when the setting is a small town in Missouri. From the blurb you can tell that their collaboration, Loose Lips & Relationships is going to be all of this and knew from reading most of AJ's other books that there were going to be some twists and turns--and some angst--along the way and I was not wrong! 

Flaming, MO seems like the perfect place for police officer Marc Warren after getting his heart broken. Quiet, peaceful, with gorgeous scenery, Marc is all about taking his time to get over his broken marriage and settling in his new town. He certainly doesn't need town playboy, Grant Taylor, throwing a major kink in his plan. Charismatic, life of the party Grant Taylor has happily earned his reputation as the town playboy and he sets his sights on quiet and reserved Marc and won't stop until he makes the man his. 

When circumstances bring the two together, Marc can’t help but be captivated by Grant. Their relationship is slow to build, and I liked that a lot. I liked getting to really know both of these characters, both the good and the bad. Grant’s mom is Marc’s boss so you know that is going to cause some problems and don’t even get me started on Marc’s mom. Just … whoa. There was a lot of family drama going on, and I will admit a few times it distracted from the romance between Marc and Grant, but it wasn’t so much that it made me want to stop reading. I know the blurb says mystery and I guess there’s some of that, but not as much as I was expecting.

As with any AJ Rose book, the writing is flawless. Kate is obviously equally talented because I could not tell who wrote which part it was that smooth and sharp. Like I said, I loved the setting and the town, I liked the secondary characters, well except one, lol, but you’ll figure out who when you read Loose Lips & Relationships. I really enjoyed spending time in Flaming, MO and can’t wait to go back and see who we meet in the next book! Be sure to check this one out, highly recommend.

Giveaway

Enter the monthly review giveaway

Contest ends April 30th

Thanks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indie Spotlight: Blowing It by Kate Aaron

Author: Kate Aaron

Title: Blowing It

Self Published

Publication Date: February 22, 2015

Length: 317 pages

Synopsis

Being famous sucks.

All Owen Barnes wanted to do was write, but with success comes more than just literary award nominations. His new relationship with gruff, gentle Magnus Cassidy is at risk, and Owen isn’t going back into the closet without a fight.

When a photo circulating online threatens his squeaky-clean image, Owen seizes his opportunity to lash out, not realising he’s hurting the man he’s doing it all for.

Can Owen find a way to reconcile his public and private lives, or has he already blown it?

Contents: passive tops and slutty bottoms, bitchy best friends, bad jokes, sexy underwear, an excess of beards, and a smattering of angst. May contain nuts. 

Links

Goodreads

Amazon US

Amazon UK

B&N 

Flashback Friday: Blowing It and Balls Up by Kate Aaron #Review #Giveaway

Author: Kate Aaron
Title: Blowing It
Series: Blowing It #1
Publication Date: February 22, 2018
Length: 317 pages

Reviewed by Meredith


Synopsis

Being famous sucks.

All Owen Barnes wanted to do was write, but with success comes more than just literary award nominations. His new relationship with gruff, gentle Magnus Cassidy is at risk, and Owen isn’t going back into the closet without a fight.

When a photo circulating online threatens his squeaky-clean image, Owen seizes his opportunity to lash out, not realising he’s hurting the man he’s doing it all for.

Can Owen find a way to reconcile his public and private lives, or has he already blown it? 

Contents: passive tops and slutty bottoms, bitchy best friends, bad jokes, sexy underwear, an excess of beards, and a smattering of angst. May contain nuts. 

Purchase Link

Review

I am going to do something a little different this Flashback Friday. While, Blowing It is the spotlighted book I am also going to encourage book 2 of this series in this review as well. It follows Owen and Magnus AFTER Blowing It in an explosive and emotional journey that left me with so many feels. I see these more as one whole book split in two. For Blowing It here's that review:

I am a huge fan of Kate Aaron and of course when I heard about this book I HAD to get in on it! I had the great honor of pre-reading this story and was blown away. It's hugely entertaining, wildly fun, and wickedly hot! What more can you ask for in a book? Kate's versatility as a writer makes all her books feel like a reward for the reader. Owen and Magnus are such fabulous characters on their own, when Kate brings them together it's just perfection. This is, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable books I've read so far in 2015! You want to grab it!

Balls Up Book 2 in this series

Book Info and Review:

Owen Barnes’s life is finally going the way he wants. He’s making a living as an author, and his relationship with building surveyor Magnus Cassidy is going from strength to strength.

When Owen finds a lump, he buries his head in the sand. He’s too busy for doctor appointments and besides, it’s probably nothing. He pushes concern away and is soon swept up in a whirlwind of distractions. His best friend’s husband is falling apart and Owen needs to be strong for them, not burdening them with his fears.

He says he’ll deal with it when the new book is released, when Ryan and Sameer are more stable, when he’s done writing. Owen has a hundred excuses to hide one simple fact: he’s scared.

Eventually Magnus drags him to the doctor, and the news isn’t good. Can Owen cope with the unexpected turn events have taken, or is his perfect life about to go balls up?


CONTENT WARNING: Cancer, hospitals, chemotherapy, backless gowns, hideous scrotal supports, and the complete loss of human dignity from being shaved by a nurse named Alan.

REVIEW

It's not that often I finish a book, sit back and try to relive the experience all over again. I don't even know where to begin with this book to be honest. I'm good with expressing my feelings but this book left me speechless, breathless. It left me grateful. It woke me up. We are not invincible. We are not unstoppable. We are human and we are guilty of thinking, "This can never happen to me." In Blowing It (book 1) Kate Aaron introduced us to these very same characters. Relationships were born, bonds formed, and the readers fell in love with this amazing ensemble. Balls Up, brings us back to them and things aren't okay. It's the realism that Kate captures so well in this story. No doubt she did stellar research and that is so very important for this subject matter. It's the emotion of each moment, each trial, each flicker of change that Kate has mastered. We read books often to escape the every day. Sometimes we need to be reminded why our lives are so valuable to begin with. Balls Up takes those characters you love, the ones you swear would be your family if they were real and tears them from the pages of fiction. They could be your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, friends, lovers. As quick as a kiss, life can change. Start with Blowing It, if you haven't already, then grab this book because it's books like this we need more of!

END NOTE: Purchase these together and read back to back. The impact is outstanding. We often want to know what happens to couples after the book closes. In Blowing It they meet and in Balls Up they live.

Purchase Balls Up Here

Giveaway

Enter the Flashback Friday Giveaway!

Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Masterful Menage #Giveaway

As you are all aware, today is Saturday and that usually means it's Author Saturday Spotlight! Well, the author set to be here today had a family emergency so I had to come up with something clever to fill this slot. A reader of the blog, Em, (I don't want to use their full name as I haven't asked if I could) Came up with the idea that I should talk about top favorites in tropes. I thought and thought and realized that was a great idea. Now, what trope? Since menage is one of my top three (LOL) favorite tropes that's what I chose to deal with today.

I have read many menage stories and there are so many lovely ones I picked some that I remembered off the top of my head because they checked off all the boxes. I'm ridiculously picky about my menage. I believe on top of the physical element there must be a psychological one. It must make complete sense in all areas. I love seeing how the mind works so to understand three people in a serious relationship I HAVE to believe it.

As I said, I put together some and yes I'm aware I'm missing many but a blog post can only be so long. Of course, I'm happy to talk about it with all of you so ask me here or as you know I'm on FB and everywhere.

At the end, there is a giveaway where I will gift one person one of these books. It will be through Amazon. Sit back and relax....

More (Whole Series) by Sloan Parker

For fifteen years Luke Moore has lived by three rules: stay off his father's radar, never spend more than a single night with any man, and never fall in love again. But one night of explosive sex and two men he can't get out of his head have Luke breaking every one of his rules. Richard and Matthew push him past all his boundaries—both sexually and personally—and now he's no longer hiding from his senator father. He's taking him on. And he isn't just falling for one man. He's falling for two. If you're going to break the rules, might as well break them big.

But Luke's father has his reasons for hating how his son lives, and he'll do whatever he can and use all his power to keep Luke away from Richard and Matthew.

Can this threesome find a way to make their unconventional relationship last with the world around them trying to pull them apart? And will Luke be able to keep breaking his rules for Richard and Matthew, or will he head back to his old way of life just when his new lovers want to pull him closer?

This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and an all-male menage relationship.

Links to buy

Website

Amazon

The Protector (Sizzling Miami 3) by Jessie G

The whole series is great but I’m talking ménage here LOL…

There was a time when Master Saul Alvarez filled his days fighting and his nights teaching willing subs the pleasure of his whip. His compassionate understanding of the masochist mind makes him the most sought after professional sadist in the Miami BDSM community. Neither role invites long term relationships, but he’s comfortable with his solitary existence until he is charged with guarding Durango's prized whore. One look into those terror filled eyes has him vowing to risk it all to save the beautiful man.

Javier Escardo had been praying for death, but never expected the stone cold killer he got in response. One glimpse into those sinful eyes reveals not only the promise of retribution, but a reason to live. Seven years later, free and mostly sane, Javier is determined to take what belongs to him. Saul’s heart. Through hell and back, through layers of pain and shifting realities, that one truth has remained firm. His protector needs saving and he can’t do it alone.

Hidden beneath the public persona, Kyle Jansen is a man who craves to be invisible without being insignificant. He longs to find a Master who will see his need to be taken over without abusing him and a lover who will care about him beyond the sexual games. It isn't until he encounters the smoldering combination of Saul and Javier that he realizes it was never supposed to be just one partner at all.

Can two battered hearts be mended by the love of a third? Kyle becomes the light to their darkness, and he’s willing to risk his heart for theirs, but when the past threatens Saul, will Javier’s sacrifice destroy them all?

Buy on Amazon

Free Men Series (Trilogy) by Kate Aaron.

 

They have to be read together. Book One The Slave is FREE on all platforms.  

Freedom is only an illusion.

At twenty-seven, Tamelik has been a slave more than half his life. Submissive by nature, he can’t help but fall in love with the master who treats him kindly.

When the mistress walks out, Tam dares to hope his love will be enough.

Then he’s ordered to purchase another slave.

He wants to hate Kai for being unruly and ungrateful. For being of the same race as the men who murdered his family. For being his eventual replacement in their master’s bed. But it’s hard to hate a man who cries himself to sleep, flinches at the slightest touch, and blushes beautifully when he’s kissed.

64,000 words.

THE FREE MEN SERIES:
THE SLAVE
THE SOLDIER
THE MASTER

Links:

The Slave: Amazon

The Soldier: Amazon

The Master: Amazon

The Foster Family by Jaime Samms

Growing up in foster care has left Kerry Grey with little self-esteem or hope for his future. A college dropout, Kerry scrapes by on a part-time job at a garden nursery. His friendship with his boss and working with the plants are the only high points in Kerry’s life. He’s been dating the man who bullied him at school, but when his boyfriend abandons him at a party, Kerry wanders down the beach to drown his sorrows in a bottle of scotch.

Malcolm Holmes and Charlie Stone have been together for fifteen years. Despite Charlie's willingness to accept Malcolm's unspoken domination in bed,something is missing from their relationship. Early one morning, they rescue a passed out Kerry from being washed away by the tide and Charlie immediately senses a kindred spirit in the lost younger man. When Kerry’s roommate kicks him out, Malcolm and Charlie invite him into their home. As Charlie and Kerry bond over Charlie’s garden, Malcolm sees Kerry may be just who they have been looking for to complete their lives. All they have to do is show Kerry, and each other, that Kerry's submissive tendencies will fit their dynamic.

But someone is sabotaging Kerry at every turn. As he struggles to discover the culprit, he fears for the safety of his new friends. If Malcolm and Charlie cannot help, their lifelong search for their perfect third may not end with the happily ever after they imagined.

Links to buy

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

You Can See Me by A.E. Via

It takes more than perseverance to recover from tragedy...you also need love.

Following a horrific accident that leaves him blind, renowned chef Prescott Vaughan loses his fiancé and all hope for his career. Recovery and confidence in his skills come slowly, along with feelings he hasn’t experienced in a long time when he meets his new neighbor, Dr. Rickson Edwards.

Unlike Prescott, Ric is open about his attraction to men yet has issues that complicate their relationship. A brief separation threatens his hopes for an eventual reunion when Prescott befriends the handsome aspiring chef Blair McKenzie, who wants more than cooking advice.

Ric doubts Pres can let go of the charming southerner, but after an encounter with the sinfully sexy man, he can't help his attraction as well. Pres feels he must choose but realizes…does he have to?

Purchase on Amazon

Scary by JM Dabney

Welcome to Twirled World Ink where the crazies run the asylum.

Gene Sheridan earned the appropriate nickname when Legend Gib Phelps employed him at Twirled World Ink—Scary. No one made it out of his old neighborhood without scars both mental and physical. At one time, Scary thought he had a chance that is until his ex-boyfriend discovered slumming with someone like him wasn’t worth his trust fund. No-strings hookups became his go-to when he needed to relieve some tension. Co-owning a bar called Brawlers with his best friend, Tank, made it easy to find a body to use for the night. If not happy he was content with his life, but one man made content seem like such a terrible thing.

Elijah Vaughn worried about everything. His life was put on hold at eighteen when his mostly-absent parents died on one of their many adventures leaving him to raise his six-year-old brother, Brody. He’d never had anything or anyone that was just his. When Brody met a tattoo artist named Trouble, Elijah hadn’t realized how much it would change his life too. He met a huge man named Scary and how the man made him feel terrified him.

Tank Davis lost his voice the night he was attacked and had this throat slit ear-to-ear. It kept him in a world of silence. Silent and intimidating, he scared off more men than he drew to him. His best friend Scary and him made a life for themselves in small town Georgia with their bar Brawlers. Most night everyone could find him working security at the door. Scary called in a favor, and Tank met the one man he couldn’t resist, proper and upstanding Elijah Vaughn.

Can one man accept that there’s not one perfect man for him, but two damaged souls who need him to be whole?

Author's Note: Although this is the first book in a series each book is standalone and every book deals with a separate couple.

Buy on Amazon

Broken Pieces by Riley Hart

Can three broken pieces make a whole?

Josiah Evans is the orphan who lost both his parents. He’s sweet, shy, and all heart. He wants nothing more than to be loved.

Mateo Sanchez is the son of a gang leader. He’s seen it all, and never hesitates to do what needs to be done, no matter what it is.

Tristan Croft is the wealthy attorney who clawed his way up from the bottom to rule his own world. He’ll never depend on anyone but himself again.

Three men who couldn’t be more different…and yet, as their lives intersect they find an uncommon balance that calms the storms inside each of them, and ignites fires hotter than they ever thought imaginable.


Told uniquely in three parts and spanning over ten years, BROKEN PIECES is a journey of healing for three fragmented souls, finding love in the unlikeliest of places—with each other.

Purchase on Amazon

 Untouchable Beauty Meraki P. Lyhne 

(Part of an ongoing series The Cubi)

Love all the books.

Business school is not for Daniel. Not after making the cover of Teen Model. The only problem is that his parents don’t agree, and Daniel skips school to set his plans for fortune and fame in motion. Meeting the award-winning photographer Heimli will change his life, but not in the ways the nineteen-year-old young man expects.

At the age of four hundred thirty-six, Seldon has fed on more beautiful men than he can remember. Living in seclusion from the human world, humans are brought to the Incubi and Succubi as slaves to feed on. Amongst these slaves are the rare Untouchables. When Seldon is entrusted with the safekeeping of one, he has his work cut out for him—especially since this Untouchable gets on his nerves. And under his skin.

 Purchase on Amazon

Giveaway

Enter the giveaway to win one book featured.
Contest will end on May 12th.
Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Promotional Post: What He Wants by Kate Aaron #Excerpt #Giveaway

Author: Kate Aaron
Book: What He Wants 2nd edition
Publisher: Croft House
1st edition published: April 28, 2012
2nd edition published: April 1, 2017
Word count:69,500


Synopsis

Christo's life fell apart when his partner of eight years walked out on him. There wasn't even a reason for it. Sometimes love just fades, as quickly and mysteriously as it appears in the first place. 

Enter Damien. Damien's the guy with a different man on his arm for every event. He's smooth and arrogant and always impeccably turned out. Christo hates him. But God, he's gorgeous. Damien could be exactly what Christo needs to get him over John. 

It's only going to be a fling. Nothing serious, nothing that will affect their working relationship or the rest of their lives. So why are they fighting through the night rather than letting go and walking away? Why does Damien's secretive nature bug Christo so much? And why does he even care that Damien might not be as tough as he pretends to be?

Book Introduction

What He Wants was my first breakout title. Published in April 2012, it spent its first six months on the LGBT bestseller lists of five of the (then) six Kindle stores. It was the #1 LGBT book on Amazon domains in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as topping the LGBT chart on iTunes in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany. During a promotion in February 2014 it made it as high as #253 in the entire Amazon.com Kindle store—not too shabby for a two-year-old book!

Its success was completely unprecedented, and giddy still does not begin to describe how I feel about this title. While it wasn't my first published work, it was the one that showed me I could make a living from writing.

Five years on, I've given it a complete clean-up, deleted some 8,000 words and rewritten about an additional 10,000. It's been a labour of love, and I hope readers old and new enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed working on it.

Purchasing This Book

Available on:

Amazon

Smashwords

It's rolling out to B&N and iTunes this week. People who've already purchased it will be able to download the second edition from that retailer. If anyone bought a copy from ARe or any other defunct site, if they send the author proof of purchase she'll send them the second edition. They need to email author@kateaaron.com 

Excerpt

“Shall we call it a day?” Damien asked in the middle of the last morning.

Christo glanced around the room at the thin crowds. The expo was all but finished, he knew. “Let’s give it another hour,” he suggested. “Instead of coming back after lunch we’ll pack up.”

“Sounds good to me.”

When they were done, Christo followed Damien, who drove to a small pub. While Christo leafed through paperwork, tallying up their take for the week, Damien took care of ordering their meals at the bar.

“Do you know how much we made?” Christo asked, astonished, when Damien returned with their drinks.

“Maybe the recession is over?”

“I’ll drink to that.”

They clinked their glasses.

“Put that away,” Damien said as Christo picked up the documents again. “We’ve worked hard enough this week.”

“Maybe you’re right.” He tucked the papers back into his briefcase.

Their eyes met over the table. Christo shifted in his seat. This was the first time they’d been alone together without a pile of work to do since the morning after the night before. He cleared his throat.

“Are we ever going to talk?”

Christo looked up sharply. “What’s there to talk about?”

“You ran out on me.” Damien’s eyes flashed.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Look if you’re not interested that’s fine. You’ve just come out of a big relationship. I get it. If it was a one-off thing then tell me.”

“I, I don’t know,” Christo stammered. How was he supposed to tell Damien he was frightened of getting hurt again? What was it Guy said: He’s only going to fuck you and ditch you. Was that true?

“What do you want, Christo?”

God, just the way Damien said his name made his loins shiver. What did he want? He wanted Damien. He wanted mad, hot, passionate sex. But he wanted other things as well. Loyalty, security, stability. Love.

“Stop analysing it,” Damien drawled. “I’m doing all the work here. Just tell me what you want.”

Still Christo dithered.

“Shall I guess what you want?” Damien didn’t wait for an answer. “You want me to take you back to the hotel, book us a room, take you to bed, and fuck you. You want us to shower together and eat food off each other’s bodies and you want me to suck your cock until you come in my mouth.”

Christo made an embarrassed, outraged noise.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Damien scolded. “Afterwards, you want to fall asleep in my arms, and in the morning you want me to still be there. Am I right?”

Oh god, yes. Christo nodded quickly, unable to speak. If his cock got any harder it’d jump into Damien’s arms of its own accord.

Damien smiled. “Good. I want that too.”

 

Giveaway

enter the giveaway to win a copy of What He Wants!

Contest will end on April 9th!

Thank you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway