Saturday 30 April 2016

If it Ain't Love by Tamara Allen

If it Ain’t Love by Tamara Allen

Pages: 33
Date: April 30, 2016
Detail: Free title
E-book

The blurb:

In the darkest days of the Great Depression, New York Times reporter Whit Stoddard has lost the heart to do his job and lives a lonely hand-to-mouth existence with little hope of recovery, until he meets Peter, a man in even greater need of new hope.

My thoughts:

If I had to characterise this book in just a few words I’d say: hidden gem. I’m so glad I came across this author and her book while scrolling on Facebook a few days ago, and I have to say I’m surprised I haven’t heard about this story before.

Flawlessly written and utterly enthralling, If it Ain’t Love captured me in the first paragraph and kept me in its thrall until the very last full stop. This is a gentle story about human kindness even when surrounded by despair and desolation, a tale about the power love and generosity have to see us through the bleakest of times; a story to restore your faith in human decency.

I don’t want to say anything about the story beyond what you can find in the blurb. You should discover for yourself, just as Whit Stoddard does, exactly who Peter is and why, when we meet him, he’s so very sad. Suffice to say that this book brings you two likeable yet far from perfect characters who’ll you be grateful to have met and sad to say goodbye to when the story ends.

What I do want to share with you is that I’m in awe that this author managed to convey the darkness of living through the depression without ever making this a depressing tale. It’s rare that a story manages to say so very much, and eloquently as well, using so few words. And I’m still wondering how Tamara Allen managed to make this a very sexy story without a single scene containing graphic descriptions.

I loved every minute I spent reading If it Ain’t Love and was left feeling hopeful and uplifted when I finished the story. All too often when I read a short story it leaves me kinda frustrated that there wasn’t more too it. That was not the case with this book. While I wouldn’t have complained about spending more time with Peter and Whit If it Ain’t Love tells a full and detailed story in an unrushed and engrossing manner.

Clearly I’m going to have to investigate Tamara Allen’s other books. If this one sets the standard, I’m in for a few wonderful treats.



At the moment of writing, If it Ain’t Love is available for free on Amazon. I can’t encourage you enough to go and get it. Trust me, you won’t regret it.


Sunday 24 April 2016

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Pages: 355
Date: April 24, 2016
Grade: 5+
Details: Library Reading Group
Paperback

The blurb:

1987. There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June's world is turned upside down. But Finn's death brings a surprise acquaintance into June's life--someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn's funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.
 

My thoughts:

Oh my, what a book; heartbreaking, uplifting, thought-provoking and totally stunning. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this wonderful debut.

I’m not quite sure how to categorize this book. It’s a coming of age story. It’s a story about first love. This book tells the tale of the aftermath of a devastating loss. Tell the Wolves I’m Home is about human imperfection and isn’t afraid to be honest about selfishness while showing there are always opportunities to redeem ourselves again.

This story deals with AIDS at a time when the disease first exploded into our consciousness. That in and of itself would be more than enough to make this a thought-provoking read. But it does more. It places the disease in the middle of other, timeless, struggles. June is only fourteen when her beloved uncle and godfather Finn dies. It is her first confrontation with the cruelty of death, and since it is the uncle she not only loves but has also fallen in love with who dies, it triggers an avalanche of feelings in her she’s just not equipped to deal with yet.

I admired the honesty of the author. June is not always a nice character to read about. Some of her feelings and actions are totally selfish—without regard for the feelings of others or potential consequences. And that’s only right. Fourteen is a tough time even when your life runs smoothly. Through June’s experiences we see the continued struggle growing up can be and while it isn’t always easy to read, it does sound true to life and was, for me at least, totally recognisable. After all, doesn’t every teenager just know that nobody has ever loved as deeply or hurt as badly as they do?

While AIDS features prominently in this story, I wouldn’t say it is a story about the disease. For me it was a story about growing up, about losing and finding again both yourself and those around you. The tale it tells was all to recognisable for me; suddenly losing the connection you’ve always had to your parents and sibling(s), the overpowering hugeness of the new feelings you experience, and the push and pull between wanting to discover the rest of your life while yearning for the simplicity of yesterday.

For me this was a poignant and brutally honest story. There are no easy answers, nor comfortable solutions. Not every issue is resolved, nor every worry erased. And while that means Tell the Wolves I’m Home wasn’t always easy to read it did make the book totally engrossing and I can say with absolute certainty that this story will play on my mind for quite some time to come.



“And then I thought something terrible. I thought that if Finn were still alive, Toby and I wouldn’t be friends at all. If Finn hadn’t caught AIDS, I would never have met Toby. (…) Then something else occurred to me. What if it was AIDS that made Finn settle down. What if even before he knew he had it, AIDS was making him slower, pulling him back to his family, making him choose to be my godfather. It was possible that without AIDS I would never have gotten to know Finn or Toby. There would be a big hole filled with nothing in place of all those hours and days I’d spent with them. If I could time-travel, could I be selfless enough to stop Finn from getting AIDS? Even if it meant I would never have him as my friend? I didn’t know. I had no idea how greedy my heart really was.” (Page 233)

Thursday 21 April 2016

The Dark Side (re-released), by Ashe Barker

The Dark Side (re-released), by Ashe Barker



  • Totally Bound, 2016
  • Contemporary erotic romance
  • BDSM
  • Three books, average 66,000 words each
  • Cliffhangers, but eventual HEA ending


Introduction

Hi, and thank you for inviting me over today to chat about the re-release of The Dark Side.  This series was my first attempt to write anything more steamy than a birthday card and I was delighted with it. I’ll always be proud of how well the books did and the fabulous reviews they received. I am eternally grateful to Totally Bound for accepting them and for taking a chance on the unpublished rookie I was back then.

So, if it ain’t broke, why mend it?

As I wrote The Dark Side I had no idea if anyone but me would ever read the books. I knew next to nothing about the world of publishing or professional writing, so although my editor did a fabulous job of making the books fit to be seen among decent folk (or should that be indecent folk?) there were always aspects of the story I felt could be improved. There were scenes I thought about writing but left out, and ways in which I believed the connection between Nathan and Eva could be deepened. The re-release was a rare opportunity to have my time again and complete the job.

There’s new content in each of the three books, but I won’t spoil it by saying exactly what. Suffice it to say we see yet another quirk in Eva’s already complex nature, and aspects of Nathan which I hope will endear him to readers even more. He’s a hard Dom, stern, demanding and insanely sexy. We lose none of that, but the additional content helps to bring out his caring nature a little more.

There’s also a whole new epilogue to conclude the story. This picks up a loose end which always bothered me so I feel the series is better rounded now.


Enter my Rafflecopter for a chance to win ALL THREE BOOKs in the series. The competition ends on 1 May.


Series Blurb

The Dark Side trilogy charts the sensual journey of academic musician Eva Byrne as she struggles to overcome painful shyness, sexual inhibition and personal tragedy. Lonely, unsophisticated, desperately seeking love and approval, Eva is easy prey for sensual and experienced Nathan Darke.

He wants her submission, and he knows how to go about getting it. Eva is quickly caught up by the whirlwind of his effortless seduction, though she has her own reasons for agreeing to join him in his world of pain and pleasure, on the dark side.

Inexplicably fascinated and at the same time totally frustrated by his new submissive, Nathan is increasingly drawn to her as she opens up in his hands and he realises there is much, much more to his latest playmate than he ever could have imagined.

The Dark Side charts the turbulent relationship between Eva and Nathan as their mutual fascination builds. They both discover what surrender truly means as together they explore the fragile bonds of desire, trust, risk and reward, and the destructive power of betrayal.

Darkening, Book 1 in The Dark Side Serial

Who knows where pain ends and pleasure begins?
The chance of a new life out in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors sounds too good to be true to shy musician Eva Byrne. Stifled and smothered within the cocoon of her brilliant academic career, Eva yearns for something different. Something real and exciting. Something she can feel.
Excitement. Passion. Pleasure. She finds that sexy, enigmatic Nathan Darke can provide all these and more when she moves into his home as violin tutor to his young daughter. But Eva’s sensual encounters with her demanding, domineering new employer quickly evoke her deepest fears, as he introduces her to the trauma of submission and marks her with his particularly dark brand of love.
But will Eva’s natural curiosity and thirst for new experiences be enough to withstand the sting of Nathan Darke’s exquisite touch? Will simple surrender be enough as he challenges her every inhibition, taking her on an erotic journey of self-discovery and liberation?
Darker, Book 2 in The Dark Side Serial

Can Eva outrun the secrets of her past, or is surrender her only choice?
Eva Byrne’s first encounter with the darker side of Nathan Darke’s sensuality ends in disaster. Frightened, hurt, betrayed, she struggles to regather her shattered confidence—in him, and in herself.
Desperate to continue her journey of exploration and self-discovery, Eva has to convince a skeptical Nathan that she’s worth the trouble. And that she can learn to submit to him. When she is forced to reveal elements of her past she has preferred to keep hidden, both her brilliance and her vulnerability are laid bare. Will Nathan accept Eva as she is, and help her to become the woman she longs to be, or will she face yet another rejection?
Terrified and intrigued in equal measure, Nathan has no idea how to deal with the exquisitely enigmatic Eva Byrne. Should he cut his losses and run, or allow their relationship to continue, and watch as Eva’s delicate beauty unfurls in his hands?
Fascinated and ensnared by Nathan, Eva longs to taste what he offers and her erotic journey continues. But how much will she have to surrender to him in order to liberate her own desires?
Darkest, Book 3 in The Dark Side serial

When his past destroys Eva’s trust in her Master, can he win her back?
As their turbulent, complex relationship deepens, Nathan Darke is increasingly aware that Eva Byrne has become much more to him than his submissive. She’s in his home, in his family. And in his heart.
Eva hasn’t found it easy to trust, to believe in herself and in a relationship that might last. But happiness, once so elusive, is within her grasp. Nathan is her Master, her lover and her soulmate.
However, no sooner do they manage to find a fragile balance between them—a way of entwining both their worlds—and start to build a future than their past comes crashing back to destroy their emerging love. Jealousy and hate brutally shatter Eva’s and Nathan’s delicate trust in each other, and their life together crumbles.
Can they overcome the crushing pain of betrayal and deceit to regain some sort of future together, or are some wounds just too deep to heal? Are some risks too great? Some rewards just not enough? 

Excerpt from Darkening (Book 1)

He breaks the kiss to start nibbling his way down my neck. As if not finding the angle to his liking, he suddenly, effortlessly lifts me from the chair, turns and lays me down with my bare back flat on the table top. He holds both of my wrists in one hand, pinning them to the table above my head and, standing between my legs, leans over to look down at me, stroking his other hand the length of my body from neck to waist.
“Beautiful… Holy fuck, so lovely,” he murmurs before he leans down to take my right nipple between his lips.
I squeal, the shock jolting through me even though I had sensed what he was about to do. His body weight and his hand around my wrists hold me in place as he continues his work. The sensation is everywhere, starting at my nipple, which is now painfully engorged. The tingling pulses radiate out through my whole body, connecting as if by some sort of internal electric current to that spot between my legs, which is now drenched. It feels exquisite, acute, intense, forbidden and overwhelming. I arch my back, pushing my breasts toward his mouth, his tongue, his teeth, this source of ecstatic pleasure.
One or two ill-fated fumblings from other students when I was a teenager at university did nothing to prepare me for this. I have never, ever felt anything remotely like this before. I might have read about it, known the theoretical possibility was out there, somewhere. Happening to other women—women who were attractive and had lush, sexy bodies and soft, wavy hair. But this is here, now, happening to me. 
I feel the hard table beneath my shoulder blades as I writhe under his skilled lips, his expert tongue and teeth, desperate for more. And he knows what he is about—he knows what I need and he has more for me. Opening his mouth wider, he takes more of my breast in and sucks hard, first one side then the other. He slides his free hand, palm up, between my shoulders and the table to raise me up, giving him easier access with his mouth, his tongue, his teeth. Gently grazing my now helplessly sensitized nipples with his teeth, he suckles me relentlessly, nipping slightly harder, just enough to hurt, maybe—I’m not sure where pain ends and pleasure begins now. What does it matter, anyway? He can do whatever he wants to me as long as he doesn’t stop.
He is no longer holding my wrists—he has no need to because I’m lying boneless under him, spread across his kitchen table, pleading wordlessly for…for what? More? Less? The ecstatic pleasure tinged with a hint of pain is so intense now that I can only moan, ride the waves of sensation pulsing from my breasts out through my fingers and toes, each wave bigger, heavier, more compelling than the one before until I am writhing with need.
“I can’t. Please, it’s too much…” Is that me? Or someone else whimpering nearby?
“Yes, you can, you are. Don’t fight it, sweetheart, come for me. Now. Come now.” His words—insistent, soft and low, seductive—are breathed into my ear before he returns to my breasts, nibbling and sucking mercilessly, building the tension, increasing the sensations coursing through every part of me, winding me tighter and tighter until I burst, screaming out loud as fireworks explode in my head, my groin, everywhere as the earth shifts beneath me. My inner core clenches violently, the wetness surely flooding across the table. I feel I am falling, floating as the tension is released and I hear myself moan in delighted satisfaction, drifting back down toward reality.
Me, the girl who can’t bear to be touched. Somehow—God only knows how it happened—I have just spent the last ten minutes spread out half naked on Nathan Darke’s kitchen table, his hands and mouth all over me until I totally lost control, and he watched me thrashing about in the throes of my very first orgasm, right in front of him. Christ! How wonderful, how intimate. How unlike me. And he’s achieved all this without so much as a button of his coming undone.


About Ashe Barker
I’ve been an avid reader of fiction for many years, erotic and other genres. I still love reading, the hotter the better. But now I have a good excuse for my guilty pleasure – research.

I tend to draw on my own experience to lend colour, detail and realism to my plots and characters. An incident here, a chance remark there, a bizarre event or quirky character, any of these can spark a story idea.

I live in the North of England, on the edge of the Brontë moors. When not writing – which is not very often these days - my time is divided between my role as resident taxi driver for my teenage daughter, and caring for a menagerie of dogs, tortoises.  And a very grumpy cockatiel. 

I have over thirty titles on general release with publishers on both sides of the Atlantic, and I have several more in the pipeline. I write M/f, M/M, and occasionally ring the changes with a little M/M/f. All my books feature BDSM. I write explicit stories, always hot, but they offer far more than just sizzling sex. I like to read about complex characters, and compelling plots, so that’s what I write too.

I have a pile of story ideas still to work through, and keep thinking of new ones at the most unlikely moments, so you can expect to see a lot more from me.

Review Quotes

·         Holy crow! I knew Eva was intelligent but WHOA! (OK no spoiler reveals).

·         The sex … is bow-chica-wow-wow hot! Note to Eva - if you get tired I'll tag in for you! Yes this is an erotic story but there is so much more than just sex. The soul baring and secret revealings have me alternating between laughing, gasping and tears.

·         Author Ashe Barker has definitely mastered the art of cliffhangers because just when I think her books are going to end on a high note, BAM! there it is. I know I will just be crushed to see this story end … an absolute must read and I do highly recommend reading the Dark Side Trilogy.

·         What a fantastic third book. The ending was everything you could hope for. Ms Barker knows what it takes to satisfy her readers, and she doesn't disappoint. My only complaint is that there are no more books to read in this trilogy.

·         Wow, I have enjoyed these three books so much that I would like his version of this love story, please it would be nice.

Buy Links

NB. Darkening is FREE at Totally Bound and All Romance until 30 April 2016



Social Media Links and Newsletter sign-up


Tuesday 19 April 2016

Cookies by Teodora Kostova

Cookies by Teodora Kostova



Blurb


I went to war, running away from myself. I came back in pieces to find out who I really was...

It took me nearly ten years, two tours in Afghanistan and losing a leg to come to terms with who I really am.

Two years after coming back from war, I can say that I’m finally content. I’m as fit as ever, my prosthetic leg allowing me the freedom to move and exercise as if nothing has changed. I own a small bakery in the centre of Cambridge, and I have a loyal circle of friends that I can always count on.

And yet...

Yet, there’s something missing. A part of me craves the intimacy, the deep connection to another human being. But another – bigger – part of me is terrified of letting anyone in.

My internal conflict didn't stand a chance when I met Jay. He stormed through my defence walls like a hurricane, wrapping around me with gentle force until I had no choice but to surrender.

Surrendering has never felt so good.

Will Jay want to stay when he sees the real me? When he sees the nightmares and insecurities clawing at my soul? When he realises the burden I come with may be heavier than we both can carry?

My name is Amir Gopal and this is my story.

Buy Links:


Amazon       Amazon UK


My thoughts:



Cookies is a wonderful and sweet story. Amir and Jay were adorable together. Clearly attracted to each other from the moment they first set eyes on each other their story is never about whether or not they love each other, or outside forces trying to split them up. What angst there was in this story (and there wasn’t a lot of it) was all related to Amir past and the scars, both physical and mental, he carries around with him. And this resonated with me. I completely get why anybody would believe that they weren’t (good) enough for the person they’ve fallen for and I know from personal experience how hard it can be to learn to trust that the other really does love you exactly as you are.



While I thoroughly enjoyed this story, there were a few things in this book I really loved. First and foremost it was Amir’s slow but steady progress from firmly believing he wasn’t what Jay wanted or needed to the point where he trusted both Jay’s and his own feelings. The insight into the lack of support for military personal after they’ve given their all and return damaged, was shocking, enlightening and frustrating. And then there was the food, or should I say cookies. I feel this book should have come with a warning. You really do not want to read this book while you’re hungry, because those cookies and the way they’re enjoyed give a whole new meaning to the word food-porn J



This was, for me, a gentle, relaxed and rewarding reading experience. And before I forget to mention it, it was also rather sexy. Amir and Jay are good together both in and outside of the bedroom and I thoroughly enjoyed spending a few hours with them.

Author bio and contacts

Hi, my name is Teodora and I live in London with my husband and my son. I've been writing ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job a few years ago when I decided that everything else I've tried bores me to death and I have to do what I've always wanted to do, but never had the guts to fully embrace. I've been a journalist, an editor, a personal assistant and an interior designer among other things, but as soon as the novelty of the new, exciting job wears off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud and hasty are not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably still, and write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It's the only time that I'm truly at peace and the only thing I can do for more than ten minutes at a time - my son has a bigger attention span than me.

When I'm procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at every Nintendo Wii game by a very inventive kid.

Don't be shy and get in touch - I love connecting with my readers.

Twitter: @Teodora_Kostova https://twitter.com/Teodora_Kostova
Instagram: teodorika1




Monday 18 April 2016

As You Wish by Isobel Starling

As You Wish by Isobel Starling



Pages: 113
Date: April 17, 2016
Details: Shatterproof Bond # 0.5
            Copy received from the author
E-book

The blurb:

1 wedding, 2 best men, one hell of a love story!

Declan Ramsay's brother Oliver was marrying Annabelle Aiken at a fairy tale Castle on the banks of Loch Ness in Scotland. The bride and groom decided, so that he didn’t feel left out, Annabelle's gay younger brother Sam Should share the best man duties with Declan. 

Declan had never met the kid who was to be his joint best man.
Sam Aiken was abroad, working as an interpreter and finishing his studies. He wouldn’t meet Declan until a few days before the wedding, so the best men communicated and planned their speech by email for more than a year.

But on meeting Sam Aiken, Declan is surprised to realise the kid isn't a kid at all, but a tall, blond and athletic young man. Declan is sure he's straight, so he's alarmed by the ferocious attraction he feels for Sam. And as the attraction is reciprocated, the events at Dunloch Castle change everything Declan has ever believed about himself.

But is Samuel Aiken all that he appears to be?

My thoughts

There are times when all I want is a good, fast-paced, engrossing and sexy story. Today was such a day and this book was exactly what I wanted it to be. As You Wish was a delightful and thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for me. For starters, there’s the (for fans obvious) Princess Bride connection. What’s not to love about two characters who banter in and connect through quotes from a movie they both love—especially if it’s a book and movie I’m quite fond of myself.

But there was more to this story than just smiles. I loved the relatively angst free journey Declan undertakes while falling for Sam. There is hardly any of the ‘but I’m supposed to be straight’ internal dialogue. Declan fell for Sam, experienced feelings he hadn’t known he was capable of and rather than agonise about it, he embraced the experience and dove in. In fact, at one point Declan reflects that he has no idea whether he is straight, bi or gay and decides that it doesn’t matter; the important part is that he has fallen for Sam and can’t imagine not being with him—regardless of what label that comes with.

These two men are very sexy together. While this is not a BDSM story as such, there is a delightful playfulness to their coming together since Declan’s natural dominance perfectly matches the joy Sam experiences when he gets to be ordered around.

Add a touch of mystery to all of the above—exactly who is Sam and what hold does his father have over him— and you end up with, what was for me, a wonderful and light-hearted read.

****

And….There’s more to come. While If You Wish can be read as a stand-alone story and doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, I have to say I’m delighted we’ll be seeing more of these two men in the not too distant future.

The sequel to this book, Illuminate the Shadows, will be published on May 9, 2016. Here is the exciting sounding blurb:

The thrilling, funny sequel to 'As You Wish'.

“A Scotsman and an Englishman fall in love… After the most amazing week of Declan Ramsay's life at Dunloch Castle on the banks of Loch Ness, in Scotland.

The charming, mysterious Samuel Aiken has turned Declan's life upside down. Declan has experienced a remarkable change. He has come to terms with the fact he is bisexual, and he has fallen head-over-heels in love with his boss’s son Sam. However, falling for his boss’s son was never going to be an easy path to happiness, mainly because the boss in question is multi-millionaire property tycoon and former MI5 operative, Sir James Aiken.

Sir James is repulsed by his son’s homosexuality, and so discovering that his employee Declan Ramsay- the man he installed to run his luxury property rental empire- is in a relationship with Sam, does not go down well.

The lovers cannot hide from the looming presence of Sir James Aiken for long! Soon enough James makes his move, and Declan finds out what he will have to endure to stay with Sam, and what he will have to give to feel worthy of Sam's love.”

Buy links:

At the moment of writing this post, As You Wish is free on All Romance. For future reference, I’ve included the other buy links too.




Amazon       Smashwords           B&N

Author bio:

Inspiration strikes at the strangest of times.

Born in Germany, Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making Art. She relocated to the UK and, faced with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write and found she loved it more than making Art.

Isobel has just completed her sixth book. She adores the M/M genre and enjoys writing about wounded souls and the complexities of personal relationships.

Despite not having found proof yet, Isobel believes in love at first sight and endeavors to give her characters a thrilling journey and a satisfying ending.

Contact:     Website       Facebook     Twitter         Blog