Sunday, June 30, 2019
June Book of the Month: Third Time's the Charm by K Evan Coles
Luke Ryan’s life is too chaotic for romance, what with running his business and being the legal guardian to his ten-year-old niece, but he’s hopeful he’ll find the right man.
Trauma surgeon Finn Thomason recently relocated from Chicago to Boston, where his focus on medicine leaves him little space for a personal life. Making a commitment to find a better work-life balance, Finn hopes he’ll also find a relationship.
Caught in an evening rainstorm, Luke shelters under a sidewalk awning…and encounters a handsome stranger. The two strike up a conversation and Finn offers to walk Luke under his oversized umbrella. Charmed, Luke accepts and asks Finn out for coffee in thanks.
Luke and Finn quickly grow close, but, as the summer draws to an end, Luke struggles to keep his connection with Finn while Finn tries to come to terms with caring for a man whose attention is pulled in many directions. Both men are scrambling to get it right, but only time will tell if they’ll learn there is more than enough room in their hearts to go around.
Third Time's the Charm is the third(coincidence if I ever heard one 😉😉) solo story by K Evan Coles that I've read. I love her co-written books with Brigham Vaughn and her solo holiday novellas have been keepers so I went in with probably higher hopes than one really should because that route often leads to disappointment. WELL! No worries there because Luke and Finn's journey is absolutely brilliant!!
My knowledge of Boston geography is strictly from what I've read in books and see on the screen but with Miss Coles' skill of scene description, I really felt that I was there, if I looked up I wouldn't see the neighborhood in my College View development here in River Falls, Wisconsin. I expected to look up and spy Finn walking to his next shift at the hospital or Luke and Simon getting coffee for the office on their lunch break. Now granted, some of that is the author's ability to connect the readers to the characters but scene settings are a huge factor in this one and K Evan Coles is a whiz at it.
Now I should mention that I don't normally rate my reads with any kind of checklist, its all about the enjoyment, the writing, the characters, and my hatred to see it end when the last page turns. Third Time's the Charm isn't really any different but to be completely 100% honest I have to admit that Luke and Ella's love of puns/dadisms got a solid bookmark as did the multiple fandom references such as Marvel and Star Wars. I enjoy Marvel and have been a lifelong devoted Star Wars nerd since I was 4 years old, so when I see them mentioned in a book I always get a little giddy and extra connected to the story so having both got a solid bookmark too.
K Evan Coles and I have been Facebook friends for years and I know some are probably saying "that's why she loves the book so much, of course she's going to have a favorable review" well just the opposite, being friends gives me the freedom to read with a brutally honest eye. If I had issues with the story, I'd tell you but the truth is Third Time's the Charm is a wonderful read with minimal but realistic drama and humor that helps lighten the tone. This is not a rom-com, there isn't that much humor but there is enough to make this a fun read that gives hope and realism to Luke and Finn's love story.
Just because I use the term "fun" doesn't mean I didn't want to shake Finn and Luke or knock their heads together a few times because I did. You need to have some tension, be it from misunderstandings or disagreements, otherwise you'd be reading a 12-page pamphlet instead of a full length novel. There were times I wished Luke was a bit more "put my foot down" with Ella but that would have caused a whole load of other dramas which I'm sure Miss Coles would have tackled excellently but this is the way the characters spoke to her and quite frankly I can't imagine Luke and Finn finding their HEA any other way(BTW: that's not a spoiler because as so often in romance its not the ending but the journey that keeps a reader hooked). Can't wait to see what else the author has in store for this Boston Seasons series.
RATING:
“Hey, Luke, I’m going to Starbucks to buy coffee for everyone. You want?”
Luke Ryan stared at the code on his computer monitors and nodded absently. “Sure.”
“Okay. Grab your stuff and come with me.”
Luke blinked. “What do you need me for?” He turned away from the monitors and faced his best friend and business partner, Simon Martin.
Simon stood and eyed Luke across their shared office. “To help me schlep back the orders.”
“Ugh.” It was nearly two p.m. and Luke’s concentration was flagging. As much as he wanted to keep working, fresh coffee sounded wonderful. The idea of going to fetch it, however, not so much. He stood and picked up his wallet and phone from his desk. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if you’d let me buy a new coffeemaker.”
“I said I’d buy it, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you said that two weeks ago. And here we are, making the trek to Starbucks once again.”
Simon sighed at Luke’s grumbling. “Oh, goodness. I’ll buy one this weekend, I promise. In the meantime, you could stand to go outside for a few minutes. Your ass has been bolted to that chair all day. You didn’t even break for lunch.”
“Yes, I did.”
“You ate a plastic squeeze tube filled with something green.”
“It was yogurt,” Luke said. “I bought a box of mixed flavor tubes but Ella doesn’t like lime, so they’re all mine.”
Simon grimaced. “That sounds appalling. Serves you right for feeding that girl junk.”
Luke chuckled as they started for the door. His niece, Ella, was ten years old and particular about what she ate. Luke had been stuck eating food she’d rejected before, but he didn’t mind—weird foods came with the territory of raising children. Or helping to raise them, anyway, as Luke had been helping his brother, Peter, do for the past several years, ever since Peter’s wife had walked out on her family and Peter had moved Ella from the Marine base in Virginia back to Boston and into Luke’s Back Bay apartment.
Once outside, Luke and Simon walked a block and a half to Winter Street, navigating around shoppers and tourists. The line at Starbucks stretched nearly out of the door, and they stepped up to its end while Luke read over the orders his coworkers had scribbled on a scrap of paper.
“I don’t know what this says.” He pointed at one messy line. “This looks like Klingon.”
Simon squinted. “You would know, I suppose. I’m fairly sure everyone ordered cold brew, by the way. That’s all those hipster punks drink anyway.”
Luke laughed. “Good point. Gillian wants an almond milk Macchiato, though.” Gillian Vasquez was the third partner in their software development business. Petite, red-haired and whip-smart, her easygoing personality provided an excellent foil for Simon’s brashness and Luke’s hyperfocus. Gillian kept Simon and Luke in line and they knew it.
“Is she still doing the dairy-free thing?” Simon asked.
“I’m not sure. I think she just likes almond milk, to be honest. Ella’s the same.”
“That doesn’t make those bowls of sugar cereal you feed her any healthier, you know.”
Luke rolled his eyes. He’d never understood why kids’ cereals got such a bad rap. Beyond the high sugar content and their dubious nutritional value, that was.
“I found a recipe for Cap’n Crunch cookies,” he said. “I was thinking Ella and I could make them over the weekend.” He snorted with laughter at Simon’s obvious disgust.
“Where on earth would you find such a thing?”
“Pinterest. It’s loaded with all kinds of questionable recipes.”
“Oh, Pickle.” Simon made a sympathetic noise. “This only underscores what I’ve been telling you for months—you need to get out more.”
Luke winced. “Please don’t call me Pickle in public.” He glanced around, hoping no one had overheard the ridiculous nickname, and met the gaze of a dark-haired guy standing behind them.
Well, hello there.
Luke flashed a grin and the guy blinked, clearly surprised. He offered Luke a shy half-smile of his own just before the line shifted.
Luke faced forward. “You know I don’t have time to go out,” he said to Simon. “Even if I did, the men I’d meet would take one look at Ella and run for the hills.”
“Surely not every man you meet is averse to the idea of family.” Simon frowned. “I like children. Or Ella, at least.”
“Yes, but you and I are not dating.”
“Not since I kicked you to the curb a decade ago, true.” He smiled at Luke’s laughter. “Still, I can’t imagine anyone you meet not being charmed by Ella. She’s loveable even when she’s being difficult.”
They stepped forward as the line moved again. Luke hazarded another glance back and felt a pang of disappointment to find the cute guy talking on his phone. He met Luke’s eyes again, however, and Luke smothered a curse when Simon nudged him with his elbow.
“Ella likes you, so of course you think she’s fun,” Luke said. “Not everyone thinks the way you do or wants to stick around while I fill in for her dad, though.”
“Are you so sure?” Simon asked.
“I’m still single, am I not?”
“Yes, though I confess I don’t know why. It’s not because you’re lacking in looks and your personality is certainly adequate.”
“Nice.” Luke shrugged off both the compliment and the tease. He knew he was easy to look at. He was tall and fit with a heart-shaped face and gray-green eyes, and his friends joked he couldn’t take a bad photo. Luke didn’t suffer for lack of attention from men. Keepinga man’s interest presented the real challenge these days, and that had a lot to do with the fact that he was taking care of a young child.
“I’m thirty-two years old,” he said. “The men I meet who want children are either already parents or in committed relationships and headed in that direction.”
“This is why you need to meet newmen,” Simon replied. “Ella isn’t your daughter, Luke. Pete’ll be back from deployment in a couple of months and that’ll take some of the pressure off you. There’s no reason for you to be celibate until then, either.”
“I’m hardly celibate,” Luke muttered, his cheeks hot. “And please keep your voice down.”
He paused as they approached the counter. Simon placed the order and Luke glanced at the guy behind them again. Thankfully, he was still on his phone instead of being forced to eavesdrop on the saga of Luke’s sad single life.
“I know I haven’t had a boyfriend since Ella moved in with me,” Luke continued while Simon paid for the order. “Taking care of her complicates my life, but it’s nothing compared to Pete’s wife taking off on them. AndI do go out on occasion, Simon. I date.”
Simon cocked a well-groomed eyebrow at him. “Okay, and when exactly? Because we both know you don’t have time to yourself anymore.”
Despite Simon’s gentle tone, Luke winced. Even with help from his parents and his babysitter, Melissa, he rarely had a minute to himself outside his own bathroom. Even then, odds were Ella would knock on the door and blithely ask questions while Luke showered or shaved.
“In all seriousness, when did you last go out with a man?” Simon asked. They moved aside so the baristas could mix up their magic, and he patted Luke’s arm. “Hell, when did you last pick someone up?”
“I met someone while I was grocery shopping last week, believe it or not,” Luke replied. “We emailed a couple of times, but he dropped off the map. I picked someone up a couple of months ago, the last time Pete came home on leave.” He grinned at Simon. “You and I went out for dinner and drinks, then over to that bar in Back Bay named after Oscar Wilde. Remember?”
“That’s the bar with the boozy milkshakes?”
“Yes! I met Jeremy that night.”
Realization flashed in Simon’s eyes. “I’d forgotten that’s where you met. Where was I?”
“Sucking face with some bartender, I think.” Luke smirked at Simon’s raucous laughter.
“Oh, God, that’s right. Those milkshakes are lethal!”
“Believe me, I remember.” Luke reached up and ruffled Simon’s hair. “Anyway, I didn’t take Jeremy home that night, but we exchanged numbers and spent time together for a couple of weeks.”
“What happened between you two, anyway? I don’t think you ever said.”
“There was nothing to tell. Pete’s leave ended and I canceled a couple of dates because Melissa was busy and I couldn’t find a sitter. Jeremy just faded out.” Despite his careless tone, Luke’s heart twinged a little. He’d enjoyed spending time with Jeremy and watching him withdraw had stung.
Simon clasped Luke’s shoulder with one strong hand. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t have to be that way all the time, you know. I can watch Ella for you if Melissa is busy—I just need some notice. Gillian will, too. Hell, ask around the office if you need someone for a couple of hours. I’m sure at least one of the kids on staff is the babysitting type.”
“I know, and thanks. It doesn’t matter, though. The reality is I’m with Ella a lot because I want to be and guys usually bolt after they figure that out.”
Simon’s gentle scowl warmed Luke’s heart. He loved that his friend cared enough to listen. Then Luke saw the cute guy with the dark hair pay for his single coffee and leave. Damn. Once upon a time, Luke would have struck up a conversation with him instead of watching the opportunity slip away. Maybe Simon had a point.
“It’s fine,” he said. “And you’re right. I should make an effort to get out there and meet new men. Especially since things will go back to normal after Pete gets home. For a while, anyway.”
“That ‘for a while’ is kind of a problem.” Simon’s expression sobered. “Your brother will still be at Quantico more rather than less. I don’t even mean that in a bad way because I know you love having her here.”
Luke nodded. He’d never thought twice about welcoming his niece into his home. “I do. All the more reason to find someone who’s okay with Ella being in my life.”
Is that such a bad thing to want?Luke didn’t think so.
The barista called their order and Luke handed Simon the bags he’d been holding. “At any rate, it’ll be great having Pete back, even if he’s not in Boston. Ella hasn’t been the same since her dad was deployed.” Carefully, he collected the trays of cups.
Simon led the way out, talking over his shoulder as he held the door for Luke. “You think so?”
“Oh, yeah.” Luke sighed. “She really misses him, and it’s not like we can visit. She worries about his safety, just like my parents worry, and I do, too. Life will be a hundred times easier for all of us with Pete on US soil, whether he’s at the Marine base or not.”
“I understand,” Simon replied. “I’m just sorry I can’t do more than listen.”
Luke smiled. “Don’t be. I’d have gone bananas a long time ago without you and Gillian around to listen and keep me sane.”
“Girl, you’ve always been bananas,” Simon said, his tone airy. “But we’re used to it and don’t love you any less.” He shot Luke a wink and they headed for the office.
Luke Ryan stared at the code on his computer monitors and nodded absently. “Sure.”
“Okay. Grab your stuff and come with me.”
Luke blinked. “What do you need me for?” He turned away from the monitors and faced his best friend and business partner, Simon Martin.
Simon stood and eyed Luke across their shared office. “To help me schlep back the orders.”
“Ugh.” It was nearly two p.m. and Luke’s concentration was flagging. As much as he wanted to keep working, fresh coffee sounded wonderful. The idea of going to fetch it, however, not so much. He stood and picked up his wallet and phone from his desk. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if you’d let me buy a new coffeemaker.”
“I said I’d buy it, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you said that two weeks ago. And here we are, making the trek to Starbucks once again.”
Simon sighed at Luke’s grumbling. “Oh, goodness. I’ll buy one this weekend, I promise. In the meantime, you could stand to go outside for a few minutes. Your ass has been bolted to that chair all day. You didn’t even break for lunch.”
“Yes, I did.”
“You ate a plastic squeeze tube filled with something green.”
“It was yogurt,” Luke said. “I bought a box of mixed flavor tubes but Ella doesn’t like lime, so they’re all mine.”
Simon grimaced. “That sounds appalling. Serves you right for feeding that girl junk.”
Luke chuckled as they started for the door. His niece, Ella, was ten years old and particular about what she ate. Luke had been stuck eating food she’d rejected before, but he didn’t mind—weird foods came with the territory of raising children. Or helping to raise them, anyway, as Luke had been helping his brother, Peter, do for the past several years, ever since Peter’s wife had walked out on her family and Peter had moved Ella from the Marine base in Virginia back to Boston and into Luke’s Back Bay apartment.
Once outside, Luke and Simon walked a block and a half to Winter Street, navigating around shoppers and tourists. The line at Starbucks stretched nearly out of the door, and they stepped up to its end while Luke read over the orders his coworkers had scribbled on a scrap of paper.
“I don’t know what this says.” He pointed at one messy line. “This looks like Klingon.”
Simon squinted. “You would know, I suppose. I’m fairly sure everyone ordered cold brew, by the way. That’s all those hipster punks drink anyway.”
Luke laughed. “Good point. Gillian wants an almond milk Macchiato, though.” Gillian Vasquez was the third partner in their software development business. Petite, red-haired and whip-smart, her easygoing personality provided an excellent foil for Simon’s brashness and Luke’s hyperfocus. Gillian kept Simon and Luke in line and they knew it.
“Is she still doing the dairy-free thing?” Simon asked.
“I’m not sure. I think she just likes almond milk, to be honest. Ella’s the same.”
“That doesn’t make those bowls of sugar cereal you feed her any healthier, you know.”
Luke rolled his eyes. He’d never understood why kids’ cereals got such a bad rap. Beyond the high sugar content and their dubious nutritional value, that was.
“Where on earth would you find such a thing?”
“Pinterest. It’s loaded with all kinds of questionable recipes.”
“Oh, Pickle.” Simon made a sympathetic noise. “This only underscores what I’ve been telling you for months—you need to get out more.”
Luke winced. “Please don’t call me Pickle in public.” He glanced around, hoping no one had overheard the ridiculous nickname, and met the gaze of a dark-haired guy standing behind them.
Well, hello there.
Luke flashed a grin and the guy blinked, clearly surprised. He offered Luke a shy half-smile of his own just before the line shifted.
Luke faced forward. “You know I don’t have time to go out,” he said to Simon. “Even if I did, the men I’d meet would take one look at Ella and run for the hills.”
“Surely not every man you meet is averse to the idea of family.” Simon frowned. “I like children. Or Ella, at least.”
“Yes, but you and I are not dating.”
“Not since I kicked you to the curb a decade ago, true.” He smiled at Luke’s laughter. “Still, I can’t imagine anyone you meet not being charmed by Ella. She’s loveable even when she’s being difficult.”
They stepped forward as the line moved again. Luke hazarded another glance back and felt a pang of disappointment to find the cute guy talking on his phone. He met Luke’s eyes again, however, and Luke smothered a curse when Simon nudged him with his elbow.
“Ella likes you, so of course you think she’s fun,” Luke said. “Not everyone thinks the way you do or wants to stick around while I fill in for her dad, though.”
“Are you so sure?” Simon asked.
“I’m still single, am I not?”
“Yes, though I confess I don’t know why. It’s not because you’re lacking in looks and your personality is certainly adequate.”
“Nice.” Luke shrugged off both the compliment and the tease. He knew he was easy to look at. He was tall and fit with a heart-shaped face and gray-green eyes, and his friends joked he couldn’t take a bad photo. Luke didn’t suffer for lack of attention from men. Keepinga man’s interest presented the real challenge these days, and that had a lot to do with the fact that he was taking care of a young child.
“I’m thirty-two years old,” he said. “The men I meet who want children are either already parents or in committed relationships and headed in that direction.”
“This is why you need to meet newmen,” Simon replied. “Ella isn’t your daughter, Luke. Pete’ll be back from deployment in a couple of months and that’ll take some of the pressure off you. There’s no reason for you to be celibate until then, either.”
“I’m hardly celibate,” Luke muttered, his cheeks hot. “And please keep your voice down.”
He paused as they approached the counter. Simon placed the order and Luke glanced at the guy behind them again. Thankfully, he was still on his phone instead of being forced to eavesdrop on the saga of Luke’s sad single life.
“I know I haven’t had a boyfriend since Ella moved in with me,” Luke continued while Simon paid for the order. “Taking care of her complicates my life, but it’s nothing compared to Pete’s wife taking off on them. AndI do go out on occasion, Simon. I date.”
Simon cocked a well-groomed eyebrow at him. “Okay, and when exactly? Because we both know you don’t have time to yourself anymore.”
Despite Simon’s gentle tone, Luke winced. Even with help from his parents and his babysitter, Melissa, he rarely had a minute to himself outside his own bathroom. Even then, odds were Ella would knock on the door and blithely ask questions while Luke showered or shaved.
“In all seriousness, when did you last go out with a man?” Simon asked. They moved aside so the baristas could mix up their magic, and he patted Luke’s arm. “Hell, when did you last pick someone up?”
“I met someone while I was grocery shopping last week, believe it or not,” Luke replied. “We emailed a couple of times, but he dropped off the map. I picked someone up a couple of months ago, the last time Pete came home on leave.” He grinned at Simon. “You and I went out for dinner and drinks, then over to that bar in Back Bay named after Oscar Wilde. Remember?”
“That’s the bar with the boozy milkshakes?”
“Yes! I met Jeremy that night.”
Realization flashed in Simon’s eyes. “I’d forgotten that’s where you met. Where was I?”
“Sucking face with some bartender, I think.” Luke smirked at Simon’s raucous laughter.
“Oh, God, that’s right. Those milkshakes are lethal!”
“Believe me, I remember.” Luke reached up and ruffled Simon’s hair. “Anyway, I didn’t take Jeremy home that night, but we exchanged numbers and spent time together for a couple of weeks.”
“What happened between you two, anyway? I don’t think you ever said.”
“There was nothing to tell. Pete’s leave ended and I canceled a couple of dates because Melissa was busy and I couldn’t find a sitter. Jeremy just faded out.” Despite his careless tone, Luke’s heart twinged a little. He’d enjoyed spending time with Jeremy and watching him withdraw had stung.
Simon clasped Luke’s shoulder with one strong hand. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t have to be that way all the time, you know. I can watch Ella for you if Melissa is busy—I just need some notice. Gillian will, too. Hell, ask around the office if you need someone for a couple of hours. I’m sure at least one of the kids on staff is the babysitting type.”
“I know, and thanks. It doesn’t matter, though. The reality is I’m with Ella a lot because I want to be and guys usually bolt after they figure that out.”
Simon’s gentle scowl warmed Luke’s heart. He loved that his friend cared enough to listen. Then Luke saw the cute guy with the dark hair pay for his single coffee and leave. Damn. Once upon a time, Luke would have struck up a conversation with him instead of watching the opportunity slip away. Maybe Simon had a point.
“It’s fine,” he said. “And you’re right. I should make an effort to get out there and meet new men. Especially since things will go back to normal after Pete gets home. For a while, anyway.”
“That ‘for a while’ is kind of a problem.” Simon’s expression sobered. “Your brother will still be at Quantico more rather than less. I don’t even mean that in a bad way because I know you love having her here.”
Luke nodded. He’d never thought twice about welcoming his niece into his home. “I do. All the more reason to find someone who’s okay with Ella being in my life.”
Is that such a bad thing to want?Luke didn’t think so.
The barista called their order and Luke handed Simon the bags he’d been holding. “At any rate, it’ll be great having Pete back, even if he’s not in Boston. Ella hasn’t been the same since her dad was deployed.” Carefully, he collected the trays of cups.
Simon led the way out, talking over his shoulder as he held the door for Luke. “You think so?”
“Oh, yeah.” Luke sighed. “She really misses him, and it’s not like we can visit. She worries about his safety, just like my parents worry, and I do, too. Life will be a hundred times easier for all of us with Pete on US soil, whether he’s at the Marine base or not.”
“I understand,” Simon replied. “I’m just sorry I can’t do more than listen.”
Luke smiled. “Don’t be. I’d have gone bananas a long time ago without you and Gillian around to listen and keep me sane.”
“Girl, you’ve always been bananas,” Simon said, his tone airy. “But we’re used to it and don’t love you any less.” He shot Luke a wink and they headed for the office.
K. Evan Coles is a mother and tech pirate by day and a writer by night. She is a dreamer who, with a little hard work and a lot of good coffee, coaxes words out of her head and onto paper.
K. lives in the northeast United States, where she complains bitterly about the winters, but truly loves the region and its diverse, tenacious and deceptively compassionate people. You’ll usually find K. nerding out over books, movies and television with friends and family. She’s especially proud to be raising her son as part of a new generation of unabashed geeks.
K.’s books explore LGBTQ+ romance in contemporary settings.
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EMAIL: coles.k.evan@gmail.com
Sunday's Short Stack: Everything and Lace by Ruby Moone
Title: Everything and Lace
Author: Ruby Moone
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: June 29, 2019
Publisher: JMS Books
The day Ryan Fulton realises he’s in love with Jamie Holt is the day he knows he’s losing him. With blue-tinted white blond hair, eyeliner, and a personality to match, Ryan knows he’s a bit much. But can he change? Can he tone it down and, if he does, can he live like that? He’d never suspect Jamie of cheating, but maybe his closeted boyfriend decided flamboyant Ryan wasn’t worth the effort.
But Ryan isn’t going to take it lying down. Determined to win Jamie back, Ryan even decides to get rid of the black and blue lace undies he just bought.
Then Jamie comes home and says they need to talk.
Eyeliner and Lace is so super short almost more of a snippet but that's okay because it works. I'm not really going to say too much about this one because it is so short and I don't want to give anything away. Just know that despite its shortness, this is an amazing look at love, fear, friendship, romance, and assumptions. That's right, I said assumptions and we all know what happens when we assume😉😉. I don't want to say Jamie and Ryan need to communicate more because there are times when secrets are necessary but when we let fear reign over the possibilities behind secrets, well that's when trouble can happen. Eyeliner and Lace is a lovely little gem that is worth the read and will leave a smile on your face.
RATING:
An hour or so later, the door slammed, and there was Jamie. He looked tired. His tie was loosened, and the top button of his white shirt undone. Rain curled the ends of his dark hair. They’d been living together for two months now, and it still made Ryan’s chest feel all achy when Jamie came home from work and smiled as though he was happy just to see him.
Jamie shrugged wearily out of his jacket and hung it up, then, when he spotted Ryan, his face just lit. Just as it always did. “Hey, you.”
Jamie held out his arms, and Ryan walked into them. They held each other tight, and Ryan kissed Jamie’s jaw. He was shorter than Jamie, skinnier, so he fit perfectly into his arms. He gave the best hugs. Hard, but warm and safe. All the craziness melted away when Jamie held him. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought.
“I’ve planned dinner,” he said, kissing him again.
Jamie nuzzled his neck and made a soft humming sound. “What’s for dessert?”
Ryan pulled back and smiled up at him. “Wait and see.” He gave him a suggestive wink, patted his backside, and set off for the kitchen with a swish. He glanced back to see Jamie checking his phone. When he noticed Ryan watching, he slid it into his pocket.
“Who was that?” Ryan tried to keep his voice normal. He opened the fridge door and concentrated on pulling salad things out rather than look at him.
“No one.”
Ryan’s chest hurt. He paused and closed his eyes for a second before speaking again. Making sure his voice was even.
“Do you want to shower before dinner?” he organised the food on the counter.
“Yeah. Why not.” Jamie stood behind Ryan, pulled down the neck of his T-shirt, and nibbled the nape of his neck sending shivers all over him as always. “Won’t be long.” He squeezed Ryan’s arse cheek and headed for the bathroom.
Ryan tapped the cucumber against his lips for a moment, they shoved all the salad stuff back in the fridge.
He gave Ryan chance to get into the shower, then ran up to the bedroom, stripped off, and followed him. The shower had been Jamie’s idea. A walk-in affair, definitely big enough for two. He watched Ryan. He was so beautiful it was hard to breathe. He had his back to him as he rubbed soapy bubbles over his chest, under his arms, around his neck. Muscles rippled across his back, and his backside clenched when he soaped further south. Ryan’s mouth went dry.
Jamie shrugged wearily out of his jacket and hung it up, then, when he spotted Ryan, his face just lit. Just as it always did. “Hey, you.”
Jamie held out his arms, and Ryan walked into them. They held each other tight, and Ryan kissed Jamie’s jaw. He was shorter than Jamie, skinnier, so he fit perfectly into his arms. He gave the best hugs. Hard, but warm and safe. All the craziness melted away when Jamie held him. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought.
“I’ve planned dinner,” he said, kissing him again.
Jamie nuzzled his neck and made a soft humming sound. “What’s for dessert?”
Ryan pulled back and smiled up at him. “Wait and see.” He gave him a suggestive wink, patted his backside, and set off for the kitchen with a swish. He glanced back to see Jamie checking his phone. When he noticed Ryan watching, he slid it into his pocket.
“Who was that?” Ryan tried to keep his voice normal. He opened the fridge door and concentrated on pulling salad things out rather than look at him.
“No one.”
Ryan’s chest hurt. He paused and closed his eyes for a second before speaking again. Making sure his voice was even.
“Do you want to shower before dinner?” he organised the food on the counter.
“Yeah. Why not.” Jamie stood behind Ryan, pulled down the neck of his T-shirt, and nibbled the nape of his neck sending shivers all over him as always. “Won’t be long.” He squeezed Ryan’s arse cheek and headed for the bathroom.
Ryan tapped the cucumber against his lips for a moment, they shoved all the salad stuff back in the fridge.
He gave Ryan chance to get into the shower, then ran up to the bedroom, stripped off, and followed him. The shower had been Jamie’s idea. A walk-in affair, definitely big enough for two. He watched Ryan. He was so beautiful it was hard to breathe. He had his back to him as he rubbed soapy bubbles over his chest, under his arms, around his neck. Muscles rippled across his back, and his backside clenched when he soaped further south. Ryan’s mouth went dry.
Author Bio: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!
EMAIL: rubymoone@gmail.com
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Blog Tour: Waited So Long by JM Dabney
Title: Waited So Long
Author: JM Dabney
Genre: M/M Romance, Daddy Kink
Release Date: June 18, 2019
Cover Design: JM Dabney
Cover Model: Caylan Hughes
Cover Photographer: Golden Czermak/Furious Fotog
What happens when your best friend’s son comes home and he’s all grown up?
Devon Hoffman has a secret. He’s wanted a Daddy all his own, but when you’re pushing fifty, you’re completely over the hill. Newly divorced and trying to be single again after an almost thirty-year relationship, he’s lost and needs someone to ground him. Except he’s anxious and his depression intensifies until Bern returns after leaving the service and the younger man suddenly takes an interest. Can he let his guard down and risk losing his best friend or should he do whatever is needed to keep his secret safe?
I locked myself in my house and went to take care of emails and study my itinerary. I could retire, but what would I do with myself? At least work kept me busy. It distracted me from the loneliness. I worked because I had nothing left.
I took a seat at my drafting table as I worked on the new design for my client. His steel monstrosity would clash with everything around the building. It was a showpiece that had no more value than broadcasting his wealth. Once again, my brain went back to wondering if it was time to retire, maybe working for myself, but I felt I was too old to start over. All I felt was doubt and insecurity.
When I was younger, I’d felt confident and fearless. Every day was ripe with possibility, and now I weighed everything by what was expected of me. I felt as if my life was over with; I wasn’t even fifty and hopelessness weighted me down. When I looked in the mirror, I could only see what I was and not what I could be. That, out of all the recent events, was the hardest reality to accept. I viewed myself through a skewed lens Lawrence had shaped.
My fantasies were still a cause of shame just as they were for the past thirty years. I’d forbidden myself from demanding what I wanted because what would people think when they knew the real me. The person who existed beneath the façade. The respectable architect in a small suburb who was just a shadow of his former self.
I was a middle-aged man with silver-streaked hair and a belly, who dreamed of the impossible. I tossed my pencil aside and got up. My mind wasn’t in it, so a shower and early to bed. Tomorrow was a new day.
I took a seat at my drafting table as I worked on the new design for my client. His steel monstrosity would clash with everything around the building. It was a showpiece that had no more value than broadcasting his wealth. Once again, my brain went back to wondering if it was time to retire, maybe working for myself, but I felt I was too old to start over. All I felt was doubt and insecurity.
When I was younger, I’d felt confident and fearless. Every day was ripe with possibility, and now I weighed everything by what was expected of me. I felt as if my life was over with; I wasn’t even fifty and hopelessness weighted me down. When I looked in the mirror, I could only see what I was and not what I could be. That, out of all the recent events, was the hardest reality to accept. I viewed myself through a skewed lens Lawrence had shaped.My fantasies were still a cause of shame just as they were for the past thirty years. I’d forbidden myself from demanding what I wanted because what would people think when they knew the real me. The person who existed beneath the façade. The respectable architect in a small suburb who was just a shadow of his former self.
I was a middle-aged man with silver-streaked hair and a belly, who dreamed of the impossible. I tossed my pencil aside and got up. My mind wasn’t in it, so a shower and early to bed. Tomorrow was a new day.
Most authors have a favorite character they've written, which of your's is one that never seems to quite leave your thoughts or heart?
I get asked this question a lot and the answer hasn’t changed even though I’ve written a dozen or more stories since, but Harper from Ghost (Executioners 1). The partial I wrote for her story was several years old before I found the perfect partner for her. Her HEA needed to be just right. The hell Harper survived made the worthiness of who I paired her with extremely important to me. Ghost built her up, showed her she could stand on her own, and that her pain had only strengthened her. In Japan there’s a process called Kintsugi, where pottery is fixed with powdered gold. It’s made more beautiful and unique by the seams of gold. Every character I write is special, because I write them with the same philosophy, Even the Broken are Beautiful.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
This is a tough one, but short answer would be that I could write whatever I wanted. That I’d find my happiness by writing outside the norm and readers would need stories about characters that looked like them. Who had the same troubles and that they could be any shape, size or shade. Needed to see that no one should settle for love that’s less than a hundred percent.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
I would say a Sphinx Cat. They are evil cute, and always look cranky. I always say it’s like me in cat form. At least once a month I talk myself out of finding one just so I could be an evil villain as I torture my characters. But I haven’t really put much thought into it.
In films/television many scenes end up on the cutting room floor for dozens of reasons, once you/publisher hit "print/upload" do you find many scenes "left behind"? If yes, do you keep them as website/blog extras or do you forget and/or delete them?
I always see authors who have deleted scenes and I never have them, I’m the opposite. During rewrites I usually add chapters. When I write, I work my stories by breaking them down into chapters. By the end of the first draft it’s the bare minimum and when I go into rewrites I add several scenes or chapters, I continue to add until I send it off to my editor and even beyond that. I’m very much have a less is more belief system during the first draft process. After I’ve written the rough I feel that I know my characters enough to add the details in the following rounds. To me I find it odd when scenes are deleted, I always feel that if it was there I wrote it for a reason.
Is there a book from your childhood/teen years that influenced you as both a reader and a writer? Perhaps not influenced so much but no matter how old you get you'll always have a copy in your bookcase?
I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was eight and I wrote the worst poem in literary history. It wasn’t until my early teens that I figured out what kind of writer I wanted to be. The story that stuck with me was Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. He was one of the members of the Beat Generation along with Ginsberg, Kesey, Kerouac, and Cassidy just to mention a few. There was a grittiness and insanity to it. It was the first time I recognized Queer characters in a book. It was fearless and a fuck you to the establishment.
Something in me wanted to be that fearless to write what I wanted. To not care that I wouldn’t conform to some standard or formula. I wanted to make people feel and find acceptance. After Naked Lunch I read everything from him and the rest of the Beat Generation. Today none of those books would fly, the frenetic pace and lack of modern editing. The coarse language and the subject matter, but it made me realize that I wanted to be a storyteller that made people think and view themselves differently. That you didn’t have to be conform to the status quo to be acceptable - that being different wasn’t a sin.
I get asked this question a lot and the answer hasn’t changed even though I’ve written a dozen or more stories since, but Harper from Ghost (Executioners 1). The partial I wrote for her story was several years old before I found the perfect partner for her. Her HEA needed to be just right. The hell Harper survived made the worthiness of who I paired her with extremely important to me. Ghost built her up, showed her she could stand on her own, and that her pain had only strengthened her. In Japan there’s a process called Kintsugi, where pottery is fixed with powdered gold. It’s made more beautiful and unique by the seams of gold. Every character I write is special, because I write them with the same philosophy, Even the Broken are Beautiful.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
This is a tough one, but short answer would be that I could write whatever I wanted. That I’d find my happiness by writing outside the norm and readers would need stories about characters that looked like them. Who had the same troubles and that they could be any shape, size or shade. Needed to see that no one should settle for love that’s less than a hundred percent.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
I would say a Sphinx Cat. They are evil cute, and always look cranky. I always say it’s like me in cat form. At least once a month I talk myself out of finding one just so I could be an evil villain as I torture my characters. But I haven’t really put much thought into it.
In films/television many scenes end up on the cutting room floor for dozens of reasons, once you/publisher hit "print/upload" do you find many scenes "left behind"? If yes, do you keep them as website/blog extras or do you forget and/or delete them?
I always see authors who have deleted scenes and I never have them, I’m the opposite. During rewrites I usually add chapters. When I write, I work my stories by breaking them down into chapters. By the end of the first draft it’s the bare minimum and when I go into rewrites I add several scenes or chapters, I continue to add until I send it off to my editor and even beyond that. I’m very much have a less is more belief system during the first draft process. After I’ve written the rough I feel that I know my characters enough to add the details in the following rounds. To me I find it odd when scenes are deleted, I always feel that if it was there I wrote it for a reason.
Is there a book from your childhood/teen years that influenced you as both a reader and a writer? Perhaps not influenced so much but no matter how old you get you'll always have a copy in your bookcase?
I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was eight and I wrote the worst poem in literary history. It wasn’t until my early teens that I figured out what kind of writer I wanted to be. The story that stuck with me was Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. He was one of the members of the Beat Generation along with Ginsberg, Kesey, Kerouac, and Cassidy just to mention a few. There was a grittiness and insanity to it. It was the first time I recognized Queer characters in a book. It was fearless and a fuck you to the establishment.
Something in me wanted to be that fearless to write what I wanted. To not care that I wouldn’t conform to some standard or formula. I wanted to make people feel and find acceptance. After Naked Lunch I read everything from him and the rest of the Beat Generation. Today none of those books would fly, the frenetic pace and lack of modern editing. The coarse language and the subject matter, but it made me realize that I wanted to be a storyteller that made people think and view themselves differently. That you didn’t have to be conform to the status quo to be acceptable - that being different wasn’t a sin.
J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes mainly LGBT romance and fiction. They live with a constant diverse cast of characters in their head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. J.M. lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure they do them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and they makes sure their characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more they want from telling their stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.
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CRIMINAL DELIGHTS WEBSITE
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CRIMINAL DELIGHTS WEBSITE
PINTEREST / HOSTILE WHISPERS FB
B&N / HOSTILE WHISPERS TWITTER
Release Blitz: Love, Trust, and Secrets by LA Bryce
Title: Love, Trust, and Secrets
Author: LA Bryce
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: June 29, 2019
Publisher: JMS Books
For a man on the run, is finding love a good enough reason to stay? And for a man who doesn’t want to leave, is a secret enough reason to walk away?
Even though a bad situation brings Tyler and Jarod together, they quickly find the good in their relationship. But when Tyler falls in love and finds the feelings returned, he’s forced to question if his and Jarod’s relationship is worth risking his freedom, his life, and their hearts.
Jarod knows Tyler is hiding something, but his fear of scaring Tyler away has him accepting Tyler’s silence. But instead of keeping Tyler close, Jarod’s avoidance ultimately leads to Tyler being taken away, leaving Jarod clueless and unable to help the man he loves.
Love, Trust, and Secrets is a story whose main focus is the love between two men and all the trial and tribulations that come with that love.
I've been telling stories for as long as I can remember; my parents tell me it's been going on even further back than that and not always at the appropriate times. Now I choose to use my gift for good.
I enjoy meeting new people, even if they're only in my head.
I believe love comes in all different packages and each should be wrapped in a ribbon and cherished.
I'm currently working on a contemporary romance with a splash of suspense. I get a thrill coming up with unexpected and usually dangerous situations for my characters to be in and then thinking of extraordinary ways for them to escape with outcomes that deviate from the expected.
I live with my family in the Northeast where we enjoy white winters, balmy summers, a spring flurried with fragrant flowers, and a fall filled with piles of leaves to dive in to. Our small town offers the old world charm of knowing your neighbor and its location enables us to take off for dinner in a city known for its beautiful skyline or to an afternoon playing in the sand of some of the best beaches found in the United States.
For me, writing is relaxation for the soul and reading is its nourishment.
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