Sunday, January 5, 2020

Week at a Glance: 12/30/19 - 1/5/19




























11th Day of Christmas Author Spotlight: Lynn Michaels


Lynn Michaels
Lynn Michaels lives and writes in Tampa, Florida where the sun is hot and the Sangria is cold. Lynn is the newest addition to Rubicon Fiction, and she loves reading and writing about hot men in love. She writes paranormal and contemporary MM Romance.



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Sometimes Demons Whisper
Summary:
WCPC Paranormal Consultants #1
Kayden and Bryan find a way to deal with the demons that the consultants at WCPC can’t handle.

WCPC handles all your paranormal needs. Poltergeists, ghosts, or mystical apparitions, we can help. We employ the most talented wranglers who can control even the toughest demons around. Call the consultants of Watercrest Cannon Paranormal Consultants to help.

Broody wrangler and tactile psychic take on the mystery at Brown-Blythe Manor - Sometimes Demons Whisper.

Click to read my review and an excerpt of Sometimes Demons Whisper.

Time for Love
Summary:
Surf and sand, beach and bar-tending, and practicing Taoism are the important things in Jeremy Ringer's life. Until a death in the family sends him across the state, and he realizes that it's not enough. By trusting the wrong people, he is pushed toward sexy police specialist, Oliver Mendosa.

Ollie Mendosa is only interested in one thing, the new police app he's developing. That is until he meets a victim of crime, surfer-boy, Jeremy Ringer. When his protective nature is brought out in full force, he can't resist the temptation of a summer fling.

Is it possible for these two men, from such different worlds, to overcome their differences and fears in order to find the love they both desire?

Cupid's Christmas Arrow
Summary:
Do you believe in Christmas miracles? Love at first sight? How about getting hit with Cupid’s arrow? Can it happen to you?

Ami is a cupid, behind on his quota. Bringing love to lonely humans is a satisfying career, until he starts to recognize just how lonely he is. It is Christmas time and he can no longer bring himself to do his job.

Paul is an up and coming musician with a happy soul. He has raw talent and the support of family and friends. Success is his for the taking. It’s Christmas time and life is good. Then a stranger comes into his life, and they are a match made in heaven, until Ami just disappears...

Will love bring a Christmas miracle when Ami, the failing cupid, meets Paul, the aspiring musician?

Holeshot
Summary:
Holeshot #1
In the world of Supercross, taking the holeshot means one racer leaps ahead of the crowd and into first, leaving the rest of the pack behind. If Supercross racer Davey McAllister knows anything, it's how to take the holeshot. When the hot rising star mechanic, Tyler Whitmore, shows up in his bed, Davey does just that. But, dating a competitor's mechanic threatens to blow his ride if anyone finds out. With the fear of losing his sponsors, he has to keep his love life completely under cover, but Davey is in deep and wants to tell the world how much he loves Tyler.

Tyler Whitmore wants to be out of the closet, but dating the competition is a death sentence for his career. Overprotective of Davey's reputation and his own dreams, Tyler refuses to commit to his lover and is afraid of falling hard. Will they ever be able to find their way through the Premiere racing league pitfalls and acknowledge their love?

Demon or Angel
Summary:
Age of Exilum #1
WAR IS COMING… the angels of Osestra and the demons of Exilum are preparing for the final battle to be played out in Manna, the human realm, and one young man is caught in the middle.

Vern Swain may be the key to everything.Vern is a country boy dreaming of seeing his name up in lights. He runs away to become a star. His journey is just beginning, but it takes him in unusual directions…right in the path of his guardian demon.

Teague, son of Xaphan is a demon of Exilum charged with ruining Vern's life, but he just can't do it. He's confronted by his family, and forced to choose sides.

War is coming, but who's fighting for Manna?

Click to read my review and an excerpt of Demon or Angel.



Sometimes Demons Whisper

Time for Love
B&N  /  KOBO  /  BOOKS2READ

Cupid's Christmas Arrow

Holeshot

Demon or Angel
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N
KOBO  /  iTUNES  /  GOODREADS TBR

Sunday's Short Stack: Operation Toy Rescue by Sarah Hadley Brook


Summary:
When Jules Evergreen lands in trouble at the North Pole and gets shipped off to Snow Hope Island for ninety days, he never expects to take up the cause of the forgotten toys waiting for new homes. Falling for his new boss is not on the agenda either, but his heart has other ideas.

Felix Winterson has grown up on Snow Hope Island and now runs the place. He isn’t thrilled when party boy Jules arrives, and Felix tries hard to ignore the man’s charms. He has other problems, anyway. For years he’s tried to get Santa to look at the growing inventory of damaged toys in the warehouse, to no avail.

When Jules comes up with a plan to save the toys, the men find themselves working closely together. As Christmas Eve looms, there’s a lot at stake. Can they save Snow Hope, convince Santa to rescue the toys, and fall in love all at the same time?

Original Review December 2018:
When Santa sends Jules Evergreen to Snow Hope Island for 90 days, his hope is Jules will settle down, return to the North Pole, and find his place.  What Jules finds is an attractive boss, Felix Winterson and a never-ending inventory of broken toys.  When Jules comes up with a plan to present to the big guy, will he realize what has been missing in his life and find a place with love at Snow Hope Island?

I must admit that the premise had me intrigued when Operation Toy Rescue crossed my path and when I read it, the story far surpassed what I expected.  Let's face it, who doesn't love the Island of Misfit Toys part of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  Don't get me wrong, Operation is not a re-telling of Rudolph but one can't help but have flashes of nostalgia when Felix shows Jules the warehouse of damaged toys.  Now I won't go into Jules' plan for the toys or what happens when the plan is put before Santa but I loved watching him finally finding his place in the world.  Not every elf is made for the 9 to 5 of toy making that is required at the North Pole😉😉.

Sarah Hadley Brook has created a lovely holiday tale that is an entertaining blend of Hallmark-ish rom-com and Spirit-of-Christmas fantasy that will make you smile, laugh, and warm your heart.  Operation Toy Rescue first and foremost entertains but it also reminds you that Christmas isn't about being perfect and sometimes the imperfections in life(and toys) can make everything fall into place.  You'll notice I didn't make much mention of the connection between Jules and Felix but the blend of heat and sweet is pretty spot on.  Definitely a gem you don't want to miss.

RATING:


He was surprised that no one else was in the building yet. Unless they were upstairs in the loft, or locked away in an office. He thought he’d seen Eve’s coat hanging from a peg up front.

Jules opened the laptop and logged in, ready to get started. He really wanted to take that trip to the warehouse with Felix and the quicker he finished logging things in, the quicker that could happen. As he carefully opened a rather large box, he heard a door open and turned to see Felix, Eve, and Zuzu hurry out of Felix’s office. All wore a look of panic and his heart jumped.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as Eve grew closer.

“The Big Guy is coming for a visit three days before Christmas! We just found out. He never does this. Never, Jules.” Her voice rose as she spilled the news.

Jules glanced at Felix and caught his eye, holding it for a moment. “Isn’t Santa coming a good thing?” he asked, confused.

“We don’t know. He never does this. Never,” Eve reiterated.

“She’s right. He doesn’t. What if he wants to make major changes? Or move us to the North Pole?” Felix asked.

Jules crinkled his brow. In his mind, moving to the North Pole would be great. Felix would be closer to Jules. “You don’t want to live at the North Pole?”

All three of them looked at him in shock, their mouths gaping open.

“What?” he asked.

“The North Pole is headquarters. It’s chaos,” Zuzu explained.

Okay, I’ll give them that. But there were good things, too.

“But you’d be closer to ...” he flicked his gaze to Felix and felt his cheeks heat up. “The main operation,” he finished lamely.

“But we like it here. Our island is beautiful and we’re like a family. What if we’re torn apart?”

“I don’t think Santa --”

“You don’t know, Jules,” Eve broke in. “Maybe he thinks we don’t do enough to help these toys.”

Felix was vigorously nodding his agreement, so Jules shut his mouth and sat down in front of his laptop, considering the possibilities. He finally glanced back up, his lips curving up into a small smile as he eyed all three. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do, guys. We need to show Santa how important the island is to children all over the globe.”

“How do we do that?” Eve asked quietly, her brow furrowed.

“By developing a kick ass plan to get these ‘inadequate toys’ into the hands of kids,” he explained, using air quotes. It was really just expanding what he and Felix had talked about last night. But calling it a plan made it feel more real. More promising.

Again, they gaped at him. Well, all but Felix. He was grinning. Happiness filled Jules’s chest and his heart raced as he grinned back, warmth spreading through him. Their gazes held and Jules felt like Felix was peering inside of him. Like he was seeing the real Jules. Not the guy that always screwed up. Not the guy that only thought of himself. But the one that finally -- finally -- wanted to do something worthy. Something that would bring others joy.

“Jules is right. We need to work together to show Santa we can handle the responsibility of taking care of the toys on this island. To prepare them for new homes. To convince him to take them with him on Christmas Eve.” Felix straightened his shoulders as determination flitted across his face and hope flashed in his eyes.

Jules couldn’t look away. The man was beautiful in every way.



Sunday Short Stack

Monday Mystical Magic



Author Bio:
Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.


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Release Blitz: Rebound by VL Locey

Title: Rebound
Author: VL Locey
Series: Overtime #1
Genre: M/M Romance, Hockey
Release Date: December 30, 2019
Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Summary:
If there’s one thing that’s a certainty in life, it’s change.

It’s taken Victor Kalinski years to settle into the kind of happiness that he thought he’d never find. The small town of Cayuga, New York, has welcomed him warmly. It’s given him a championship team to coach, a tightly-knit group of friends, a father who he has reconciled with, and a safe place to raise the son he adores. The small town has also blessed him with Dan Arou, his husband and his soulmate, and one of the most skilled forwards on the Cougars. Given Dan’s outstanding play in their recent Calder Cup win, it was inevitable that Dan’s time in the minors was about to come to an end.

When Dan is given a starting position in Boston, Victor’s serene life is thrown into complete chaos. Pride over Dan’s accomplishment fills his heart but facing a long, lonely season in Cayuga is causing no small amount of discord. Add in a wedding that will give his son a new stepfather, health issues for his dad, and Victor’s own penchant for saying things that aren’t exactly politically correct, and the impending explosion is guaranteed to blow Vic’s life to bits. Life-altering choices will have to be made. Will Victor rebound from the challenges, or will he be unable to accept the upheavals that life has dealt him?





Author Bio:
USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.


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Rebound #1
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N

Point Shot Trilogy Box Set

Cayuga Cougars Series

A Star Crossed Christmas(Cayuga Cougars #5.5)