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Linkity at your service

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Congrats to Vicki T, Tina, and Lauren L, who won the Three Fates anthology by Mary Calmes, Andrew Grey, and Amy Lane. Three Fates is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Pat N, who won Accounting for Luke (Dangerous Lovers #2) by Amber Kell!

Congrats to Sally, who won Summer School by Tam Ames! Summer School will be released by Silver Publishing on July 28.

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Reading Update
Wacky Wednesday by JA Rock. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a dom and his younger sub who haven’t been connecting very well recently… and then they wake up to find they’ve switched bodies, which definitely gives them the chance to understand each other better!
Daddio (Horizons #3) by Mickie B. Ashling. ebook. Very good m/m romance that picks up six months after the second book as Lil and Grier settle into their relationship – Lil learning to parent, Grier working to control his anger, and both of them learning to communicate and compromise. Jody and Clark are back, too! Plus there’s plenty of smutty goodness to go around. 🙂
Marlowe’s Ghost by Sarah Black. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a former Marine turned history scholar who goes to England at the request of a professor to check up on the professor’s sickly, scholarly nephew and perhaps shepherd him back to the US. The lyrical writing was vaguely scholarly and packed with info about Christopher Marlowe, yet didn’t have the brain dump quality that some of Black’s other works have had.
A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1) by RJ Scott & Jaime Reese. Very good m/m romance about a contractor who’s been unable to find work and is about to be homeless, so he answers an ad for a handyman job that turns out to be much, much more. And what’s up with his secretive, prickly, and attractive new boss? I’m glad there’s a sequel planned, because I want to see what the next chapter of their lives looks like!
The Auspicious Troubles of Chance (The Auspicious Troubles of Love #1) by Charlie Cochet. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about a guy who lost everything that mattered to him and has been living on the edge ever since. He knows he can’t keep going on as he has been, so… he joins the French Foreign Legion.
Roses in the Devil’s Garden (Fallen Rose #1) by Charlie Cochet. free ebook short. Very good short historical m/m romance about two NYC Prohibition agents who constantly have to be on the lookout for agents on the take. Definitely looking forward to reading the next book!
Lost in My Waking Dream by Charlie Cochet. ebook short. Good short sort of historical romance, sort of not (can’t say more without being spoilery) about a guy who feels as if he’s surely been going crazy since the Great War.

Latin Boyz by PA Brown. ebook. Good but unevenly paced m/m suspense with a tiny bit of almost romance thrown in. Actually, this reminded me of an Oprah book – the depressing stuff tended to overwhelm the happy moments and… it did not end so well.

People periodically ask how I get such good pictures of Chaos and Mayhem. (Aw, thank you!) The secret is to take lots and lots of pictures, crop, and don’t be afraid to tweak the pictures to make them more interesting (plus tweaking can hide a multitude of problems). I’m all about simplicity when I work on pictures – I use a simple photo editor to crop and then tweak in Picasa. Here’s a crappy original:

Here’s the crappy original cropped to focus on the cats:

And here’s the cropped and tweaked final version (still crappy, but more interesting):

“Quit taking my picture! I’m outta here.” -Chaos

“Yeah! What the big kitty said! You are trying to steal our souls!!” -Mayhem

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That week when linkity got so crazily out of hand, I don’t even know what to say

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Congrats to Zanara, who won The Wish (2nd ed) by Eden Winters! The Wish is being released today by Dreamspinner Press. And don’t forget that a new edition of Valentine Wish (Wish #3) is available as a free read today!

Congrats to Majken, who won A Better Man by RJ Scott and Jaime Reese! A Better Man will be released by Silver Publishing on July 21.

Congrats to Erica, who won Daddio (Horizons #3) by Mickie B. Ashling! Daddio will be released by Dreamspinner Press on July 23.

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Reading Update
Red-Eye Dawn (Turbulence #3) by Jordan Castillo Price. free ebook short. Very good installment of the serial in which Paul starts to freak out about their situation, but gains calm from an unexpected source.
Temporal Driftwood by Stephen Osborne. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about a guy who’s shown two possible futures for himself… Can he believe he deserves the good one?
An Oral Fixation by Piper Vaughn. free ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about a college student who’s had a crush on his bisexual roommate for years, but the timing hasn’t worked out to say anything about it.
Naked Truth (Sun, Sea & Submission #3) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about a nudist who seems determined to disrupt the (closeted at work) life of the Pendragon Hotel’s manager.
Final Atonement (Doug Orlando #1) by Steve Neil Johnson. Good gay mystery set in NYC in the early 90s about a cop, ostracized by his peers for trying to do the right thing, who’s trying to figure out who murdered a universally disliked rabbi.
Player and the Prude (Men of Holsum College #4) by Daisy Harris. ebook. Good m/m romance about a wealthy and slutty business major who takes a bet from a friend to seduce a gawky, repressed film student.
Skin Deep (Gray Zone #3) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who returns home one day to discover that his boyfriend is very, very sick… and is then plunged into a nightmarish world he can barely comprehend. This was a very mixed read for me – it’s a Bittersweet Dreams title, so it doesn’t exactly end happily. And I couldn’t quite relate to the main character – many of his actions seemed TSTL to me.
Come Cuddle Me by Missy Welsh. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a naive young man who posts his address along with an invitation to “come cuddle me” and is rescued from his foolishness by the bearish neighbor he’s been crushing on.

“I can’t believe you called me a thug, Mom. Look at how sophisticated and refined I am!” -Chaos

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Linkity and a larch walk into a bar…

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Congrats to Melinda, who won Owner of My Heart (Mending the Rift #2) by Valentina Heart! Owner of My Heart (Mending the Rift #2) will be released by Silver Publishing on July 14.

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Reading Update
Simple Justice (Benjamin Justice #1) by John Morgan Wilson. Very good gay mystery set in the mid-90s about a former newspaper reporter who’s been working the occasional freelance job to make ends meet since it came out he’d fabricated the story for which he won a Pulitzer. When his former editor tracks him down about working on a story, he doesn’t want to… but he slowly gets sucked in.
Revision of Justice (Benjamin Justice #2) by John Morgan Wilson. Very good gay mystery in which Ben gets pulled into researching a Hollywood story that turns out to be very convoluted, but gives him the chance to face some of his own demons… or flee again.
Justice at Risk (Benjamin Justice #3) by John Morgan Wilson. Very good, but very dark, gay mystery in which Ben meets two very different but compelling men, gets some work putting together a documentary on risky sex, and is drawn into investigating yet another convoluted and dangerous situation. This was dark enough that I need to take a bit of a break from the series…
Every Minute (Max & Skyler #3) by Acer Adamson. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance that manages to cover both Max and Skyler meeting, plus meeting each other’s parents.
One Day at a Time by Dawn Douglas. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a DEA agent on assignment to a small town police force who decides to help a cop depressed about having had to kill a teen gang member.
Making Camp by Clare London. free ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about two guys who work together and are attracted to each other, but don’t do anything about it until the Country Mouse asks the City Mouse to go camping with him.
Healer (The Institute #1) by Cassandra Gold. ebook. reread. Very good m/m paranormal romance about a doctor who can heal people with his mind. Bad guys who want to capture him and use his power for their own ends are closing in on him when a purportedly good guy offers him a way out.
Touch (The Institute #2) by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a member of the Delphic Institute who gets captured by a rival organization. When escaping, he takes a hostage and everything starts to change.
Phoenix Rising by Theo Fenraven. ebook. arc. Good m/m paranormal romance about an NYC cop and his partner who are investigating a series of mysterious deaths. When the evidence leads them toward a charismatic singer, things start to get really weird…
Au Bon Pain by Lee Patton. ebook short. Poignant short story about a guy who has the chance to reconnect with his first love – the first love who dumped him and vanished.
The Good Life by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Cute m/m romance about a guy who suddenly finds himself a single parent with a baby daughter when he’d just planned to be the sperm donor. When his best friend offers them a place to live and help with the baby, things get a bit complicated. This had some very oddly phrased bits that seemed to need more editorial attention.
Roadside Assistance by Heidi Champa. ebook short. Pretty good short m/m romance about a week in the life of two friends who carpool together…
Laurel Heights by Lisa Worrall. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense two closeted cops who have to go undercover as a gay couple in a small, exclusive gay community in order catch a killer. The plot was implausible, the writing was over-the-top at times, and the epilogue changed it from neatly tied up into a cliffhanger.

“This is my new kitty bed, not a shopping bag! Silly Mom.” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Amanda, who won Cherrypicker (Blue Line Hockey #7) by Stephani Hecht!

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Reading Update
The Isle of… Where? by Sue Brown. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a technical writer from Michigan who’s on the Isle of Wight to scatter his best friend’s ashes, but he’s having a hard time doing so. A very sweet, cute, and somewhat overwhelming guy steps in to offer support… I was surprised at how much I liked this, and at how much it pulled me in.
One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn & MJ O’Shea. ebook. reread. Very good m/m romance about a guy, working as a bartender while he goes to cosmetology school to be a stylist, who finds out that his singular “girl-speriment” has left him a father. If only his shut-in writer neighbor would take care of his infant daughter while he’s at school, he just might make things work…
A Fresh Set of Eyes (David Lloyd Investigations #2) by Liz Strange. ebook. Very good m/m mystery in which David agrees to look into a case that’s been closed for a decade, as the evidence that sent three young men to jail for killing two boys was flimsy and circumstantial. In a shocking development, I figured out who the real killer was the first time said killer appeared in the story!
Good Company by JL Merrow. ebook short. Very good short m/m story about a young man hitchhiking to Glasgow who’s picked up by a guy driving a Mercedes. HFN.
Stronger Where It Counts by JL Merrow. ebook short. Very good short m/m story about an IT guy working in a small Southern town for a week who gets dragged to a (straight) strip joint by his clueless client. The evening doesn’t seem so bad after he sees the hunky (and vaguely familiar) bartender… This has an HFN ending – I’d actually like to read a followup story about these two!
Graceland by Ally Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a nursing assistant and a slightly overweight Elvis impersonator who isn’t managing his diabetes very well. Definite bonus points for breaking out of the perfect white male mold of so many m/m romances – not only is the Elvis impersonator a bit overweight, he’s Cherokee and the nursing assistant is black.
Equilibrium (Superpowered Love #1) by Katey Hawthorne. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about two friends and roommates, one straight, who have some extraordinary abilities that they need to keep hidden from regular people… whoops.
Jealousy: A Love Story (Superpowered Love #1.1) by Katey Hawthorne. free ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance in which Sam gets jealous because another guy is blatantly pursuing the oblivious Hansen.
Best Gift Ever (Superpowered Love #1.2) by Katey Hawthorne. free ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance in which Sam and Hansen celebrate Christmas together while working through some rough spots in their relationship.
Riot Boy (Superpowered Love #2) by Katey Hawthorne. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a bookstore clerk who becomes fascinated by a mysterious and flighty punk rock bass player. This one just never really pulled me in.
Nobody’s Hero (Superpowered Love #3) by Katey Hawthorne. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a charming salesman who’s very attracted to the quirky new computer programmer at work. He never expects to be at all tempted to share the secret of his extraordinary power…
At Least in the City, Someone Would Hear Me Scream: Misadventures in Search of the Simple Life by Wade Rouse. Wade and his boyfriend Gary bought a cabin in rural Michigan and left behind their lives in the city. This is a humorous look at their attempts to reconnect with nature, themselves, and each other. While I did enjoy this overall, I also found Wade to be pretty annoying at times.
Running Wild (Northern Shifters #4) by Joely Skye. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a college student who’s rescued from some bad guys by a strange black horse, then left at an old man’s farm, with his rescue seeming more like a dream… Besides a major plot hole (what, wolf shifters can’t read, only sniff?), this seemed to drag a bit.
Incongruent Angel (Liquid Sin #1) by Cherie Noel. ebook short. So-so short m/m romance about two members of a popular band who have a messed up personal history. A photo shoot and a car accident combine to bring things to critical mass.  This just felt like it was all over the place and then it ended abruptly.

*streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch* -Mayhem

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Linkity: Now available in new bite-sized portions! (I have no idea what that means, either)

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Congrats to Monica and Alex W, who won copies of Sidecar by Amy Lane! Sidecar is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Reading Update
Into the Bermuda Triangle (Turbulence #1) by Jordan Castillo Price. free ebook short. serial. 5/13/2012: Very good short m/m paranormal setting the stage for future episodes of this serial about pilots who fly into the Bermuda Triangle. You are definitely left wanting more! 🙂
6/23/2012: I reread this before reading the second installment and am glad I did – not only did I get more out of it than I did the first time, it helped make things in the second installment clearer.
Autopilot Engaged (Turbulence #2) by Jordan Castillo Price. free ebook short. serial. The second installment of this paranormal m/m serial gives us more background on Dallas, how he ended up on this Bermuda Triangle flight, and what he thinks might be going on.
Boystown 4: A Time for Secrets by Marshall Thornton. ebook. Very good gay mystery in which Nick obtains information about a 25-year old murder that has dangerous current implications.
Fire on the Mountain (2nd ed) (The Mountains #1) by PD Singer. ebook. reread. Smokin’ hot m/m romance about two guys fighting forest fires together in the Rockies. I enjoyed the added flashback short story in this edition.
Fourth and Long by Chris Scully. ebook short. Sweet short timetravel romance about a guy whose life started going terribly wrong on the night of his high school prom. He doesn’t expect that to change on the night of his 20th high school reunion.
A Bar Tender’s Tale by Melanie Tushmore. ebook. Good m/m romance about a couple days in the life of a punk bartender as he progresses from a jerk boyfriend to a better boyfriend, even if said better boyfriend moves at a glacial pace.
Second Time Lucky (Middleton #2) by Ethan Day. ebook. Good m/m romance about two guys who run into each other years after things didn’t work out for them for no good reason in college. Can they keep that from happening again?
Bennie’s Wish by Xara X. Xanakas. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a wealthy but wishy washy guy whose friends take shameless advantage of him and constantly put him down, so when a cute guy hits on him, he can’t believe it’s for real.
Half-Baked Promises (Castor Springs #1) by Erica Pike. free ebook short. Pretty good short m/m story about an auditor who has to spend a few days working in the small Texas town where he grew up, although he might never manage to finish the job if that hunky construction worker doesn’t stop making so much noise. This didn’t feel like a complete story – more like the first few chapters of a longer work.
Losing and Gaining by Heidi Champa. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a guy who’s always been obese until finally, at age 25 (two years before the story starts), he decides to reinvent himself by eating better, working out, getting a new job, and changing his name. Too bad you can’t escape the past quite that easily… I thought this had a lot of potential, but I got frustrated with the main character’s doormat nature. People using each other’s names too much in conversation was an additional frustration.

“Why, yes, I am as mysterious as I appear to be.” -Mayhem

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Linkity languishes in the dark

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Congrats to bheds, who won Fire on the Mountain (The Mountains #1) (2nd ed) by PD Singer! Fire on the Mountain is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Seanna Lea, who won Lucius’ Bite (Family of Misfits #1) by K-Lee Klein! Lucius’ Bite is being released by MLR Press today.

Congrats to Ria M, who won Saviours of Oestend (Oestend #2), by Marie Sexton! Saviours of Oestend will be released by Total-E-Bound on June 25.

Congrats to garnetyuna, who won Full Circle (Sanctuary #5) by RJ Scott! Full Circle will be released by Silver Publishing on June 23.

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Reading Update
Tatterdemalion (Foundations of Magic #1) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a young mage who’s been imprisoned and experimented on until he manages to break free, then is rescued by a man who isn’t exactly human… I wish there’d been a bit more backstory and am very glad that I have the sequel queued up to read.
Trammel (Foundations of Magic #2) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance in which Lindsay is given an emotionally damaged fire mage to train as all of Cyrus’ people focus on trying to keep a newly aware mage out of enemy hands. While this is definitely not a cliffhanger, there are still open storylines I’d like to see tied up. A third book, Ternion, is listed on Anah Crow’s website without details or dates.
Full Circle (Sanctuary #5) by RJ Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense in which Manny finds himself attracted to the son of a murderer, but can’t let himself get distracted as the Bullen case hits critical.
Timeslip by Clare London. ebook short. Very good short timetravel m/m story about a guy whose hardass boss keeps appearing in his bedroom at night, then vanishing.
Townie & the Twink (Men of Holsum College #3) by Daisy Harris. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a college student who can tell that the cute townie from class is closeted, even from himself, although his blatant lusting after his lifelong best friend gives him away.
Jamie (Dominion #2.5) by Lissa Kasey. free ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m that just provides a slice of life from the perspective of Seiran’s older brother Jamie.
Conviction (Dominion #3) by Lissa Kasey. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about Seiran’s friend, water witch Kelly, and Seiran’s older brother, earth witch Jamie, who head to a northern Minnesota lodge with Seiran and Gabe for what turns out to be anything but a relaxing getaway. Unfortunately, I never really felt the supposed connection between Kelly and Jamie. 🙁 I’d like to point out that the cover is kind of funny, in that Minnesota lacks mountains – the highest point is 2301 feet/701m. 🙂

“Oh, is that a tasty spider I spy on the ceiling?! Hello, tasty spider!!” -Mayhem

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It was a dark and stormy linkity…

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Congrats to Gigi, who won Worth the Wait by Lori Toland!

Congrats to SueM, who won Countdown to Daddies by K-Lee Klein! Countdown to Daddies is being released by MLR Press today.

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Reading Update
Blood Howl (Sanguis Noctis #1) by Robin Saxon & Alex Kidwell. ebook. reread. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a guy, formerly Special Forces, who now offers those skills for hire. When a job goes in an unexpected direction, he has no idea how much his world is about to change…
Blood in the Sand (Sanguis Noctis #2) by Robin Saxon & Alex Kidwell. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romantic suspense in which Jed and Redford are hired by Jed’s friend David to travel with he and Victor to Cairo to rescue some people that David believes have been kidnapped by an old associate of his. More, please. 🙂
Pain (Darwin’s Theory #1) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about two college roommates, one serious and brilliant, the other smart but wild. They’ve been friends since they were 12, and in love with each other for almost that long, but Peter (serious and brilliant) wanted to wait to become lovers…
Secrets (Darwin’s Theory #2) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Peter reveals a shocking secret. (Hey, cut me a break – these are going to be almost impossible not to spoiler, even in a single sentence reviewette.)
Promises (Darwin’s Theory #3) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Peter is becoming dangerous to Darwin, but other dangers abound as well.
Lost (Darwin’s Theory #4) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Darwin hopes they’ll be safe in the Gray Zone…
Found (Darwin’s Theory #5) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance that twists and turns and twists and turns and…
To Adam With Love (The Gray Zone #1) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about Adam, whose mother brings him to live in the Gray Zone when he’s just a boy, and Ean, who becomes his closest friend. As the story alternates between present, when they’re both adults, and past, eventually the two points converge. I got sniffly at the end!
Worth (The Gray Zone #2) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who puts himself between his stepfather and his younger brothers to keep them safe. Then he meets a Lesser-Bred and, for the first time, wants something for himself.
Pale as a Ghost (Duncan Andrews #1) by Stephen Osborne. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense about a private investigator who has a zombie dog and a jealous ghostly boyfriend to deal with as he works cases involving a possession and a supernatural serial killer.
Animal Instinct (Duncan Andrews #2) by Stephen Osborne. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense in which Duncan has to figure out who’s using the power from a dead wizard’s skull to control animals and kill people.
The Way Back by Carter Quinn. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy hung up on the one who dumped him and got married to a woman. Years later, he’s finally letting another guy in emotionally when guess who shows up, all repentant?
Carny’s Magic by KZ Snow. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a young man who presents himself to Jackson Spey, wanting to be the wizard’s apprentice. And then he meets a gorgeous and mercurial guy living a few houses down and discovers just how messed up magic can be.
Chuffed (Finnshifters #1) by Tia Fielding. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a half shifter who owns a farm in Finland that’s a sort of shifter refuge, sort of an oddly assorted family.
Loving Eden by Lee Brazil. ebook short. So so short m/m romance about a college student trying to discourage a younger guy’s attraction to him, then ending up involved with the guy’s dad instead. This had too much story crammed into too few words, making the story choppy and superficial and instalovey. You should probably read the blurb, since it contains Eden’s backstory, which isn’t in the book. And be warned that the epilogue basically sets up for another book and cuts off midscene.
Book Cover Lover by Eve Tesoro. ebook. Meh m/m romance about an editor of erotic romance attending his first conference when a gorgeous cover model catches his eye. The story was implausible and the writing poor; this was painful to read.

“Maybe you need to get out more, Mom, if you think this is photo-worthy…” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Nette, who won her choice of Left in the Darkness (Haven Coffee House Boys #2) or Tagged and Bagged (EMS Heat #14) by Stephani Hecht!

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Reading Update
Life After Death (Infected #3) by Andrea Speed. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense following up on Roan as he moves on from the shattering event in the previous book. I had some niggles about the timeline that I tried to ignore, but they just kept poking at me.
Freefall (Infected #4) by Andrea Speed. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense in which Roan has a particularly rough time between his excessive use of painkillers and his increasingly frequent migraines. On the plus side, he finally makes some progress in his personal life.
Shift (Infected #5) by Andrea Speed. ebook. Excellent m/m paranormal romantic suspense in which Roan’s abilities continue to develop in new and inexplicable ways and he and Dylan face some hard truths about themselves and their relationship.
Worth the Wait by Lori Toland. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a scientist who inadvertently turns an old cell phone into a time machine and decides to go back to encourage his younger self to be more social. Loved the twist to this one!
The Chimera Affair by Keira Andrews. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a spy who uses a young man’s naivete in his pursuit of keeping a biochemical weapon out of the hands of terrorists, but then feels sufficiently guilty that he rescues the young man in the nick of time. And then things started to get interesting. 🙂
The Hanged Man’s Ghost (The Night Wars #1) by Missouri Dalton. ebook. reread. I started the second book, then realized I’d forgotten everything about the first book, which I read in… February. D’oh! Very good paranormal m/m romance about a Chicago police detective with a drinking problem and a crush on his straight best friend. When he realizes he can see ghosts, his life spirals quickly out of control. Sloppy proofing and a storyline that needed to be reined in just a bit kept this from being a five-star read.
Poisoned Spirits (The Night Wars #1.5) by Missouri Dalton. ebook short. Good short historical paranormal m/m romance in which a cop in Chicago’s paranormal division discovers his boyfriend’s been poisoned.
The Night Shift (The Night Wars #2) by Missouri Dalton. ebook. This m/m paranormal romantic suspense would’ve been rated higher, but it ends on a cliffhanger, basically midscene. I can’t recommend that anyone read this until the next book is available. Very sloppy proofing in this one, too.
Fiends in Low Places (The Night Wars, maybe #2.5?) by Missouri Dalton. ebook short. reread. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who works for the MC from The Hanged Man’s Ghost and The Night Shift. This takes place a couple of years after The Night Shift.
Taxes and TARDIS by NR Walker. ebook. Cute m/m romance about an electrician who has to take his shoebox full of receipts and tax stuff to a new accountant after his previous accountant retires. He’s not usually attracted to slim, geeky men, but there’s jut something about that new accountant…
Cost of Repairs by AM Arthur. ebook. Good m/m romance about a beat cop who moves to a small town to escape tragedy in his past and becomes intrigued by the prickly, prideful cook at the local diner.
Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1) by LA Witt. ebook. Good m/m romance about a bar owner who’s having a really rough time – his bar is losing money, he’s having trouble paying his mortgage, and he has chronic pain from an injured shoulder. Having his straight acupuncturist rent part of his house should help his budget crisis, but he doesn’t anticipate how sexually frustrated he’ll be seeing the guy wandering around half-dressed all the time… While I enjoyed this, I had a couple niggles. First, the relationship just didn’t make complete sense to me – I think there just wasn’t enough time spent on it. Second, the financial problems didn’t make sense to me, either – they were amorphous and started to feel unrealistic. If things were that dire and nothing really changed other than business slowing down for the summer, it doesn’t seem as if he’d be able to stay out of foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Holed Up (Holed Up #1) by Hank Edwards. ebook. reread. Pretty good m/m romantic suspense about an FBI agent protecting a man who overheard information about a terrorist attack.
Shacked Up (Holed Up #2) by Hank Edwards. ebook. Pretty good m/m romantic suspense continuing the story of the FBI agent and the guy he was protecting, who are now living together but not communicating very well.
Beach Balls (Balls to the Wall #3) by Tara Lain. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a closeted lawyer who heads to a friend’s beach house on weekends to hook up with anonymous guys… and then while diving, he meets someone he doesn’t want to be anonymous with.

Mayhem, napping on a nip toy…

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Congrats to Matthias, who won The Chimera Affair by Keira Andrews!

Congrats to Melissa E, who won Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1) by L.A. Witt! Where Nerves End will be released on June 3 by Amber Allure.

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Reading Update
Brushback (Evan Austin #1) by Jamie Scofield. ebook. reread. Excellent m/m mystery about a Seattle private investigator hired to find an about-to-be heir by the mother who abandoned the boy and his father years ago. However, things aren’t quite as straightforward as that… This ends on an HFN and was published three years ago, so hard to say if there will be more books…
Prey (Infected #1) by Andrea Speed. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense containing two novellas about a private investigator who was born with the werecat virus. His partner (personally and professionally) was infected with a particularly virulent strain of the virus when he was in college. Either the first story had fewer unclear pronoun references than the second or I noticed them less. 🙂
Bloodlines (Infected #2) by Andrea Speed. ebook. Excellent m/m paranormal romantic suspense that I can’t say much about other than make sure you have tissues and the next book at hand. *sniffles*
Absolutely Eric (Boston Boys #2) by Erica Pike. ebook. Good m/m romance about an unrepentantly slutty college senior who decides it’s time for him to have a boyfriend; unfortunately he makes a very poor choice. At times this was difficult to read, but it was due to things that happened as a result of that poor choice and not because of the writing!
Floods and Drought (The Wranglers #3) by Zahra Owens. ebook. Pretty good western m/m romance about a guy freshly paroled from prison who’s given a job as a ranch hand at the same ranch he went to prison for stealing from. But the handsome wrangler supervisor he once shared a kiss with is vouching for him, so he’s stuck.
Rock and a Hard Place by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Good m/m romance about two business rivals who are at each other’s throats to such a degree that their boss sends them on a vacation together so they can work through their animosity… and then their plane goes down into the ocean. I wish I’d skipped the last chapter (18, if you’re so inclined).
Island of Temptation by Claire Thompson. ebook. reread. Ok m/m romance about two guys, one bi, one straight, who end up stranded on a desert island after their cruise ship sinks. I had a strange compulsion to reread this after finishing Rock and a Hard Place.
Belly of the Beast (ES Peters Investigations #2) by AM Burns. ebook short. Meh short m/m paranormal story about an investigative mage and his werewolf partner who are trying to find a teenage werepuma missing under suspicious circumstances. The verb tense wandered and the story was completely uninvolving. I only finished reading because it was so very short.

NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa, Bat Cat!

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Due to the US holiday, there won’t be a Misadventure on Monday!

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Reading Update
The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. Very good epistolary historical fiction about a 12-year old Jewish boy living in Brooklyn in 1940 who starts corresponding with the New York Giants third baseman, beginning a life-changing friendship for both of them. This was touching and funny and had me in tears at the end.
Gambling Men: The Novel by Amy Lane. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two guys who’ve been best friends and business partners since college, but suddenly up the ante to maybe being much more. I really enjoyed this… other than the pervasive sense of dread that things were going to become an angstfest at any minute. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Divide & Conquer (Cut & Run #4) by Abigail Roux & Madeleine Urban. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense in which Ty and Zane are kept continually off balance, by each other and by a series of bombings and bank robberies. I am very, very glad that I’d heard this was something of a cliffhanger and waited to read it until the next book was available.
Armed & Dangerous (Cut & Run #5) by Abigail Roux. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense in which Ty and Zane are sent to bring in Julian Cross (from Warrior’s Cross) for an old home week sort of read that ties things up well enough to end the series… but doesn’t.
Switch (True Colors #4) by Clare London. ebook short. arc. Very good steamy short m/m romance in which Zeke and Miles reconnect after Miles being out of town, returning just in time for Zeke’s gallery show.
Bomber’s Moon (Under the Hill #1) by Alex Beecroft. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who contacts a paranormal investigator after an unsettling encounter with the Fae. This ends on a cliffhanger, so make sure you have the second book handy!
Dogfighters (Under the Hill #2) by Alex Beecroft. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance that pulls together the threads from the first book for a dramatic, bittersweet finale. (There are three MCs, but only two end up together.) I think this book should’ve been part of the first book – and maybe it was at one point. There were also a few parts that felt as if they muddled rather than advanced the plot.
Learning the Ropes (Sex Sells #3) by Kim Dare. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about an ad agency employee who’s assigned to put together an advertising campaign for a leather club owned by one of the agency’s partners. Although the employee isn’t into bdsm, he offers to do a scene so he has a better idea what the club is about.
Queen’s Man by KD Sarge. ebook. Good m/m scifi romance about Joss, a bodyguard who sees his one-night stand gunned down, then saves the guy’s daughter and spends the rest of the book protecting her, his boss, and his “stalker”. While it was a fun read, I couldn’t relate to Joss’ over-the-top perfection.
Event Horizon (Theo Bourne #2) by Evelyn Shepherd. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance in which Detective Theo Bourne and his partner (in every sense of the word) Carlos Ramirez have to face both a mysterious mystical monster and Theo’s attraction to someone else.
Diva and the Frat Boy (Men of Holsum College #2) by Daisy Harris. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about the rather serious president of a gay fraternity who finds himself unexpectedly attracted to a very flamboyant junior. While this story touched on issues like prejudice within the gay community, there wasn’t any real follow through. I also never got a sense of emotional connection between the main characters.
The City of Counts by Keira Andrews. ebook short. Short m/m paranormal about a tax accountant who meets a sexy guy while waiting at the DMV, then goes out with him. This felt more like a tease for a longer story than a complete story. 🙁
After the Fall (The Right Choice #1) by Talia Carmichael. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a bookstore owner who just wants to have sex with the contractor renovating his store, not start a relationship. But the contractor has other plans…
The Wolfing Way (Lifting the Veil #1) by Susan Laine. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a guy about to graduate from college who discovers he’s the fated mate of a werewolf and is afraid that all his choices are about to being taken away. As others have noted, this started promisingly, but deteriorated into near-purple prose and cliches.

Stylized May is stylized! 🙂 (Embiggen for best effect.)