New Release Review: The Ball Boy by Lucas Guard #Review #Giveaway

Title: The Ball Boy
Author: Lucas Guard
Publisher: NineStar Press
Publication Date: March 2, 2020
Length: 90 pages

Reviewed by Michael

Synopsis

Devastated by the death of his father, Gage, an artist with a secret life, struggles to find his way back to “normal”. When rising baseball star Caleb arrives at his door, an unlikely romance simmers between them, but a cowboy coach, with major league ambitions of his own, will stop at nothing to keep them apart. Tempers flare as their deepest secrets are unearthed and the two must choose between chasing their dreams or embracing their newfound love.

Purchase Links 

NineStar Press

Amazon

Review

This is one of those reviews that’s incredibly difficult to write.  Not because the book is poorly written.  Far from it, in fact.  For a novella that doesn’t have a lot of page space to really flesh out the characters, there’s a lot of characterization for the MC, Gage.

The survivor of a car accident that claimed the life of his father and, currently, the use of his arm, Gage spends his days in a guilt-ridden Percocet and alcohol haze.  His job at the local drag bar has been reduced to doorman due to his injuries.  Packages keep arriving at his doorstep, addressed to his father, of things the latter ordered prior to his passing.  One of those “packages” comes in the form of Caleb, a baseball player for the local Minor League team.  Before his death, Gage’s father had apparently signed them up to be the host family for one of the players.

Despite the Percocet haze, or maybe because of it, the reader truly gets a sense for the depths of Gage’s pain and guilt.  Your heart truly aches for him.

No, the issues I had were two-fold.

First, everything happens fast.  I understand that, as a novella, there isn’t always a lot of “real estate” to truly flesh out everything.  With that said, this is one of those books that could use a longer page length.  The writing is really good, but the characters and story suffer because there isn’t enough time to build them up, especially Caleb.

The second issue is the decisions made by the characters.  I understand the concept of going where the characters lead when writing.  I also get that you don’t make the most rational decisions when your high on drugs and drunk on wine.  That said, there are a couple of scenes that really had me scratching my head.  (Or crossing my knees because the museum scene was painful to read.  Not because it was poorly written, but because of content)

In the end, I think that if this book were a full-length novel as opposed to a novella, the author would have had more room to tell a really great story.  And, leave out the museum scene.

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Random Review: No Quick Fix by Mary Calmes #Review #Giveaway

Title: No Quick Fix
Author: Mary Calmes
Self-Published
Publication date: March 19, 2019
Length: 322 pages

Reviewed by Erin

Synopsis

A retired SEAL is about to face his toughest assignment yet. As a nanny…

Fixer. Bodyguard. Advocate. Brann Calder is expected to play all these roles and more as a member of Torus Intercession, a security firm guaranteed to right what’s wrong. In the military, catastrophe was his specialty. Five months out of the service, Brann is still finding his way, so a new assignment might be just what he needs. Unless it includes two things sure to make a seasoned, battle-trained veteran nervous: life in a small town, and playing caretaker to two little girls.

Emery Dodd is drowning in the responsibility of single fatherhood. He’s picked up the pieces after losing his wife and is ready to move on now, hopeful that his engagement to a local patriarch’s daughter will not only enrich his community but will grant his daughters some stability too.

The only thing standing in Emery’s way is that he can’t he seem to keep his eyes—and hands—off the former soldier he’s hired to watch his girls until the wedding.

Emery’s future is riding on his upcoming nuptials, but being with Brann makes him and his family feel whole again. Too bad there’s no way for them to be together.

Or is there?

Purchase on Amazon

Review

I don't know about y'all but to me, there is absolutely NOTHING better than a new Mary Calmes book. She is, without a doubt, one of the VERY few authors I will drop every single thing I am doing or have to do to read her new book. Be it dinner, or sleep or, shhhh ... work! ... I can't resist the temptation of falling into whatever world Mary has brought to life. Here's the thing about Mary's books that keeps me coming back for more and more. It's knowing, with absolute certainty, what I'm going to get from her books. I'm going to get a cast full of entertaining, unforgettable characters. There's going to be banter that will make me laugh out loud and scenes so touching and emotional they will bring tears to my eyes. Sure, some parts are a bit (or a lot depending on your perspective) over the top and there will most definitely be some insta-love, but you know what? I don't mind any of that in the least because Mary's books are my happy place. They're the kind of books that leave me happy and filled with sunshiney warmth, and I will smile for hours when I'm done. It's why for me, and for so many others, I re-read her books over and over again and never tire of them. Her new book, No Quick Fix is going to be at the top of that re-read pile because damn did I love me some Brann and Emery and those adorable kids! 

Ex-SEAL Brann Calder never could have imagined after spending years in life or death situations he'd wind up in a small town in Montana as a manny for two adorable little girls. Or that he'd be so freaking good at it! Brann effortlessly, it seems, falls into the role except for one tiny problem. He can't stop staring at their dad, Emery Dodd. Handsome, kind, and gentle, Emery is irresistible (almost as irresistible as his daughters!) but for one thing ... he's straight. Or so Brann thinks. So, he does what he must in regard to Emery and concentrates on Olivia and April and makes himself utterly irreplaceable to not only Emery and the girls but to the entire town. And like all of Mary’s books, everyone loves Brann. But really, how could they not? He’s charming and witty, snappy with the comebacks, is great with the girls, and is mostly clueless to the way Emery is always looking at him and touching him.

Like with all of Mary’s books, No Quick Fix is told only in Brann’s single point of view but Brann is such a wonderful character that is so much fun you don’t need anyone else. Mary’s writing is as flawless as ever. Her timing, the romance, the banter, the massive amounts of dialog that flows effortlessly, that feeling of coming home and being among friends—all of it is on display from beginning to end. I can not wait to get the next book in this series and fall in love with whoever stars in that one, but they’re going to have to work hard to top Brann and Emery!

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Blog Tour: Mended With Gold by Lee Welch ~Guest Post #Giveaway #Excerpt

Loving characters who aren’t perfect

Like lots of romance fans, I’m a sucker for characters who aren’t perfect, but who are perfect for each other.

I think there’s someone out there for everyone. No one is ‘perfect’. You have to overlook the things that don’t really matter (like a certain kind of body or a glamorous lifestyle), and focus on the things that do.

Mended with Gold has some serious themes – the main character, Alex, has post-traumatic stress disorder. He starts the book in a not-very-happy frame of mind. He’s had therapy, but PTSD doesn’t just ‘go away’ and he’s suffering from mild depression. He’s instinctively searching for a quieter, more meaningful way of life, and a place to call home. Alex doesn’t know it yet, but in a remote New Zealand beach settlement, he’s about to meet the guy who’s perfect for him – even if, on the outside, they don’t seem to have that much in common:

· Alex is forty-five. Joe, twenty-six.

· Alex is Canadian by birth, but has lived a peripatetic, international life, latterly in New York and London. Joe has never left New Zealand.

· Alex had a conventional upbringing in suburban Toronto. Joe lived in a commune in the bush until he was a teenager.

· Alex is a successful commercial photographer who’s photographed hundreds of famous people. Joe makes comics and is so shy that when he first meets Alex he slinks out without speaking to him.

· Alex is financially comfortable. Joe can only just keep body and soul together.

· Alex has no pets. Joe has an old white horse.

And yet, Alex discovers that Joe is sympatico – gentle and playful, and determined to be himself. Mended with Gold might have serious themes, but it’s an uplifting story. It’s about overcoming the odds and finding true love. It’s about how telling the truth can transform your life.

If you like imperfect heroes, I hope you’ll like Alex and Joe, who aren’t perfect, but who are perfect for each other.

Exclusive excerpt

On top of the cliffs, there was nothing but the wind, and the gulls riding the currents over a hundred-metre drop. In the distance, Alex could see the South Island, blue mountains across the sparkling sea. The anger was ebbing. The wind tore his body warmth away, and he felt cold and small. He wanted to be home, safe in the afternoon sun on the Chesterfield. But he’d left Joe there so he couldn’t go back. Not yet. A headache pulsed in his left temple.

Ah, God, why did it have to be the young handsome guy I freaked out in front of? Why couldn’t it have been some crusty old codger with a beard like steel wool?

Well, because that was life. The divine comedy. And sometimes it was so funny, the tears ran down his face and he gasped for breath.

After a while, he remembered the kind, plump face of his therapist in London, her rather posh English accent, her voice always calm, always quiet. After nearly a year, he’d grown sick of listening to her, and sicker still of listening to himself. Now, he often thought of her at times like this. He tried to relax in the way she’d suggested. Tried telling himself those sensible things you were supposed to tell yourself: everybody can have a bad day, it doesn’t mean you’re back at square one, it’s a long road, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, you’re doing fine.

Wouldn’t it be nice if they felt true?

Probably the story would get around that the Canadian guy who’d bought Addison’s and seemed so nice, was actually pretty fucking weird. And Matire wouldn’t want her kids showing him how to eat kina, and there would be no more invitations to art groups or people coming to check the water tank out of a sense of neighbourliness. It was pathetic to mind, because what did it matter what these people thought? And yet it did. Because he liked it here, with these people who thought quilting was an art-form and yet had original Warhols in their living rooms, and who cared about herons and not what kind of sweater you wore. He wanted to stay and feel safe here at the edge of the world, and have ordinary good things in his life.

He had no idea of the time because he’d left his phone at home, but eventually the sun began to set, and he grew so cold that nothing else mattered. He stumbled down the stony hill track, up the grassy valley one. The concrete step was empty. Joe had gone. And Alex had said ‘I’ll be back’ like the Terminator. And of course, had not come back. So that was another mark against him, another unreliable act. He opened the unlocked front door, resigning himself to a night of hell, and trod on a piece of white paper. Wearily, he turned on the light and picked up the paper, ready for questions, apologies, or recriminations, but it wasn’t a note at all. 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Publisher: MLR Press

Length: 27,000 words approx.

Blurb

A photographer with post-traumatic stress disorder falls for a comics artist on a wild New Zealand beach, but can he find true love when he feels so wounded by life?

Everything changed when the bomb exploded. Forty-five-year old, Alex Cox worked as an international photographer until a deadly explosion left him with post-traumatic stress disorder. Emotionally wounded, and desperate for a sense of safety, he's run all the way to wild and remote Kahawai Bay, New Zealand.

Under the worst possible circumstances, Alex meets Joe, a shy young comics artist. Joe lets Alex into his playful, gentle world of comics, and soon Alex is falling for him, hard. Alex longs for more. Joe is reticent. But is it shyness? Or does Joe not want a much older lover with 'issues'? Or is something else keeping them apart?

This is a tender and uplifting story about creativity, adversity, true love, and comics.

November 17 - BooksLaidBareBoys, Slashsessed, Valerie Ullmer, Gay Media Reviews, The Geekery Book Review, MM Good Book Reviews
November 18 - Love Bytes
November 20 - BFD Book Blog, Zipper Rippers
November 21 - Gay Book Reviews
November 22 - Dog-Eared Daydreams, Making It Happen
November 23 - Diverse Reader
November 24 - A Book Lover's Dream, Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books, OptimuMM, Jim's Reading Room
November 25 - The Novel Approach
November 27 - Mirrigold: Musings & Mutterings, Hoards Jumble, Hearts On Fire Reviews, Diverse Reader, Au Boidoir Ecarlate
November 28 - Alpha Book Club

Author Bio

Lee Welch wrote her first book aged seven (a pastiche of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and first had an idea for an m/m romance aged twelve. She loves books and comics, and when she’s not writing, she’ll probably be reading. Her favourite authors include Ursula Le Guin, Graham Greene, Linda Medley, Dylan Horrocks and KJ Charles. By day, Lee works as an editor and business communications adviser, mainly persuading people not to say ‘utilise’ when they mean ‘use’. Her job has led her to work in areas as diverse as mental health, nursing, accident prevention and the criminal justice sector.

Lee loves to hear from readers. You can find her at:
www.leewelchwriter.com
Twitter: @leewelchwriter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/leewelchwriter

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