In which the linkity thing gets incredibly out of hand (yes, even more so than usual)

Congrats to Nancy, who won the copy of Stephani Hecht’s Man Down (which was released today)!


Contests

Reading & Books & Lions, Oh My! (Ok, I made up the lions bit)

  • All sorts of book news, interview links, new release info, and more: Lily (m/m romance), SciFiGuy (urban fantasy, paranormal romance, etc),  Literary Escapism (urban fantasy, paranormal romance), Smexy Books (contemporary & paranormal romance), and Katiebabs (assorted romance genres).

Learn Things, Make Things, Do Things

  • Have you voted in the Webbys yet? Goodreads is nominated in Websites – Connections – Social Networking… and voting closes April 29. Thanks for the heads up, Ralph!

Things That Made Me Happy or Amused Me

  • Colin. Really. You must read it.
  • Oh, Hyberbole and a Half, how I do love thee! Favorite recent quote: “As a grammatically conscientious person who frequents internet forums and YouTube, I have found it necessary to develop a few coping mechanisms.”

Ewww

Squee!

Reading Update
The Prayer Waltz by K.Z. Snow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a writer who returns to the Wisconsin town in which his lover had been a priest (before he left the church), looking for understanding and closure, but finding so much more. A gorgeous and highly recommended read.
The Darkling Thrush by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Very good m/m fantasy romance about a finder of magickal books who’s interning in England from the American Confederation and gets drawn into something more complex than he realizes. I did spend the first quarter of the book with my usual “I am reading a fantasy” frustration of trying to remember all the specialized details, but I enjoyed the story enough that I got beyond that. Recommended.
Colliding in Free Fall by Vivien Dean. ebook. Good m/m romance about a closeted Midwestern firefighter who, in his early 40s, wants to keep doing his job, no matter what the doctor thinks.
Of the Clan O’Grady by A.M. Riley. ebook. Good m/m urban fantasy about the (male) banshee of the Clan O’Grady who befriends a naive young fae lost in New York City.
Son of a Gun by A.M. Riley. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a writer who returns to the small Texas town where he grew up. He’s there for the funeral of his best friend, but why won’t anyone give him a straight answer about what happened? Highly recommended.
The Nest by G.S. Wiley. ebook. Good m/m romance about a young man struggling to take care of his three younger siblings and keep them out of the hands of Social Services while living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Mightier (The Seven of Swords) by G.S. Wiley. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a writer who’s staying at a friend’s Irish cottage trying to get past his writer’s block.
Heart Song by Sara Bell. ebook short. Nicely done m/m romance about a guitar player who’s forcibly outed and the impact it has on the rest of the band. What I really like about Sara Bell? She can write a sweet story without making it sappy.
The Lovers by Sara Bell. Another good m/m romance from Sara Bell about a soap opera star whose drug addict mother threatens to out him unless he pays her off (again).
Making Lemonade by T.C. Blue. ebook. A sweet m/m romance about a guy whose partner just died, but whose blossoming friendship with his partner’s nephew helps ease his grief.
In Hot Pursuit by Kate McMurray. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a closeted NYPD cop, whose boyfriend was killed by a shot meant for him and who has been working too much in the years since then, is sent by his captain to a timeshare in Tampa on vacation to avoid burnout. Oh, the excitement he finds on his vacation…
Lynx by Joely Skye. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance about Trey, a werewolf who hides his nature and works for a blacks ops group in the US government. When running as a wolf in the Canadian Shield, he encounters a giant lynx shifter, and life will never be the same for either of them. While I enjoyed this book, I had trouble with how large, critical parts of it occurred offsides… and it distanced me from the story. The author’s note at the end of Lynx actually explains the offsides bit. Trey has been in Skye’s books Monster, Zombie, Minder, Marked, Feral, and The Strength of the Wolf and it was finally time for his story. Since Lynx was occurring at the same time as those books, with much of the critical stuff happening in other books, it ends up being sort of an odd read.
Bi Now, Gay Later (Perfect Timing, Book 5) by Kim Dare. ebook. Good m/m romance about a dominant who doesn’t believe that bisexuality exists, which causes a problem for his bisexual submissive.
Sandalwood and a Potato by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. Enjoyable m/m romance about two guys who work at a mall – one owns a New Age shop and the other’s a banker who’s sworn off relationships. The best part? Finding out how the potato fit into the story!
Finding Chandler (free), A Test of Love, Switching Gears, and Stardust (The Solitary Knights of Pelham Bay, Books 1-4) by Claire Thompson. ebooks. These m/m romances are decent reads and remind me quite a bit of a Carol Lynne series. The Solitary Knights of Pelham Bay are a group of extremely cynical guys who’d given up on love and get together to bitch and moan about fools who believe in love. Then the bartender issues them a challenge…
Balance by Zahra Owens. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a desk jockey whose fascination for being tied up leads him to an introductory session at a kinky club, at which he meets a very intriguing tattoo artist.
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by M. King. ebook. Interesting m/m romance about a guy working in advertising who becomes involved with a guy who works in the adult film industry. Usually this particular dynamic feels completely unrealistic to me, but in this book, it felt more plausible because it addressed the emotional complexity of the situation.
The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Aaron Michaels. ebook. Cute m/m romance about a guy whose obsessive roommate keeps sending him to the store for very specific items – good thing the assistant manager of the store is so helpful, hmm?
Finding the Words by Terry O’Reilly. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a speech therapist who finds himself increasingly drawn to one of his patients.
One Good Turn (Turner & Turner, Book 1) by Amber Green. ebook. M/m romantic suspense that’s really too complicated for me to even attempt summing up. Not sure if it was my state of mind while I was reading or what, but this felt disjointed. Plus I really disliked the abrupt ending – I think this book needed to be longer or more tightly edited or both. (Yes, very good, that is Candy Cane Guy with the smiley face!)
Never Say Goodbye (Slippery When Wet, Book 3) by Jenna Byrnes. ebook. Ok m/m romance about an ex-con who’s been hired as a live-in lover by a wealthy and unscrupulous man. Had the insta-love thing, which is never a favorite of mine.


*bathing in the sunshine sounds* -Chaos

39 thoughts on “In which the linkity thing gets incredibly out of hand (yes, even more so than usual)”

  1. I’ve read a few of those. I thought Turner and Turner was kind of overly complex and the ending was a bit sudden. I was left with more questions than answers.

    I’m kind of curious about the M. King one though. Sounds interesting.

    Oh and that cat covered in packing peanuts made me laugh out loud.

  2. After reading your thoughts and Tracy’s I must read “The Prayer Waltz”, it sounds so ‘gorgeous’.

    I also like the sound of the Josh Lanyon book, but I must read the others I have of his first. *hangs head in shame*

    “As a grammatically conscientious person who frequents internet forums and YouTube, I have found it necessary to develop a few coping mechanisms.” I LOVE this.. lol

    o_O Re the anectodal evidence about the iPad.

    “Touching money reduces pain”?? I’m going to suggest this to someone I know that is suffering right now.. 🙁

    Happy National Library week to you Chris!

    And, finally thank you for the double nod on the posts – you are so very kind.

    Your linkety post rocks as always!

    “Cleanliness is next to Godliness Chaos.”

  3. *blink blink*

    So glad I’m not on call for Google. Holee.Molee.

    (Your insane weather of the other night is heading our way, minus the lightning storm. Saw pictures on the news last night.)
    .-= Brigitte´s last blog ..A Handsome Model =-.

  4. The lion reference isn’t really out of place since it’s with mention of a library. Think New York Public Library. (NYPL–my husband, who spent his pre-college years in the NYC area, grew up calling it “the Nipple.” Heh.)

  5. Those book covers are hilarious. Did you see the special Library Week story about the St. Paul Librarian who stole materials and then wiped out her overdue fines as well? Happy Library Workers Day!
    .-= Mary Lou´s last blog ..Bobble Nightmare =-.

  6. I’m going to start referring to you as the “link lady”, LOL!

    I added a few of your books to my “go check these out” list – must. hide. wallet!!!

  7. Wow. Super linkety.

    I saw the LoC tweet archiving in one of my newsletters this morning. Kind of cool and kind of freaky at the same time, though I have read histories based on the written accounts of the secondary citizens (aka, not elite, white males) and it definitely gives a fuller grasp on what life was like during those periods.
    .-= Seanna Lea´s last blog ..watering the lawn =-.

  8. I think the baby’s first cubicle toy may be the most miserable toy ever marketed. Ugh!

    The knit princess cartoons are hilarious. My cats seek out my poncho no matter where I put it. 🙂

  9. I’ve come to the conclusion that you are equivalent to a drug dealer for me. My own personal candyman (woman). I came to this conclusion after I spent 15 minutes watching cats unravel toilet paper, flush toilets and take showers.
    .-= wren´s last blog ..How Much Is Too Much? =-.

  10. I am amazed at all these links! You must have subscriptions to something like 200 things in your RSS feed reader, ha, ha!

    And reviewettes! Too cool. I just don’t have “the touch” to get them this short and yet meaningful. I’m going to run over to Smashwords to look into this one by A.M. Riley. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
    .-= Val Kovalin´s last blog ..Review An Uncommon Whore by Belinda McBride =-.

  11. Aw, thanks, Val! So, I realized I had no idea how many feeds I had in Google Reader and just checked… 420. *gasp*

    *thud*

  12. The LC thing really annoys me. (Well, I don’t think about it too much.) But LC is supposed to not be our “national library” but the library FOR Congress, and so what good would tweets be, by say, me, be for Congress? I think it’s a colossal waste of time to catalog them.

    I wonder why ebooks surpassed audiobooks. I personally prefer listening to books so I can knit at the same time!
    .-= elspeth´s last blog ..Bite Me =-.

  13. P.S. Fun fact about me: I used to work for the Library of Congress. It was an amazing job, and I often regret leaving to go to library school. Oh well.
    .-= elspeth´s last blog ..Bite Me =-.

  14. I think it’s hysterical that the Library of Congress is archiving everyone’s tweets. Can you imagine some person in the future going through them to look for something useful?

    What is it with cats and flushing toilets? I keep hoping Katie never learns how to flush.
    .-= Sydney´s last blog ..Easter =-.

  15. I’ve been taking “sips” from today’s linkity post all day, reading and clicking whenever I had a few minutes! So much to look at.

    Thanks for including my giveaways in the linkity madness! 🙂

    I felt the same way about Lynx. I enjoyed it a lot, except the leaps forward threw me. It made so much more sense after reading her author’s note. However, IDK if I’d have read it if I had known it was part of a long series. Tho’ I’ll probably pick up the rest of the series at some point.

  16. If I have the chance to come back, I think I’ll come back as one of your cats Chris. What a life 🙂

    So many pretty books and links. Oh, and The Book Depository is opening an eBook store? OH!
    .-= orannia´s last blog ..The Fine Print =-.

  17. Wow, you have about a gazillion good links, here. It’s going to take forever to follow them all … looks like it will be worth it, though!

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