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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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Work ate my brain; linkity might be lame

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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.)

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Linkity welcomes melted kitty season

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Congrats to Mary F, who won her choice of Ervin’s Dilemma (Wayne County Wolves #1) by Stephani Hecht or The Helpful Swan (The Cob Brothers #3) by Amber Kell and Stephani Hecht!

Congrats to Michelle, CursingMama, and Tracey D, who won King Perry by Edmond Manning!

Congrats to Peggy C, who won Still Waters (Sanctuary #4) by RJ Scott! Still Waters will be released by Silver Publishing on May 19.

Congrats to Paula S, who won her choice of More Than Pride (Supernatural Mates #6) or Switching Payne by Amber Kell! Switching Payne will be released by Silver Publishing on May 19 and More Than Pride will be released by Total-E-Bound on May 28.

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Reading Update
Last Stop by Lou Harper. ebook. arc. Very good kinky m/m romantic suspense about a guy who’s hitchhiking to Seattle, paying his way with sex or a friendly ear. When his latest ride dumps him at a truck stop in Montana, he sees a help wanted sign and decides to stick around for a bit after he meets the sexy, mysterious, older owner of the cafe. And then things start to get more and more complicated…
Where You Hurt the Most by Anne Brooke. ebook short. arc. Very good short m/m romance about an escort who’s asked to spend some time with a young man and perhaps help draw him out of the shell he’s been in since an accident left him terribly scarred. Written in a lovely, literary style, this story was a pleasure to read. My only complaint was that, while the story of the escort and the young man was evocatively told, I wanted to know at least a few more details about the merely implied back story in order to better understand a scene near the end.
Pricks and Pragmatism by JL Merrow. ebook short. Very good m/m romance about a guy who’s almost done with his university degree. He has no money, so he’s been staying with various guys, basically exchanging sex for food and lodging. But what’s up with the nerdy engineer he’s just moved in with, who doesn’t seem interested in him in that way?
Into the Bermuda Triangle (Turbulence #1) by Jordan Castillo Price. free ebook short. 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! 🙂
The Amethyst Cat Caper by Charlie Cochet. ebook. Very good mystery and romance set in Manhattan in the 1930s, in which the owner of a teahouse purchases a cat statue that he assumes is a forgery until a Pinkerton’s man comes knocking on his door…
Still Waters (Sanctuary #4) by RJ Scott. ebook. arc. Good m/m romantic suspense in which a Sanctuary operative, former FBI, is thrown together with his ex (still in the FBI) who believes he was on the take.
She’s Come Undone by Eric Arvin. ebook short. Sad short story about being trapped, be it by your body or by your fears or by the actions of others.
Home Sweet Home by Kim Dare. ebook short. Sweet short kinky m/m romance about a submissive who returns home to discover that his master’s contribution to their home’s decor is not at all what he suspected. (I took the picture that inspired said contribution. Hee hee.)
Glitter (Beach Duo #0.5) by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Good m/m romance about a college student who slowly realizes, over four years, that he’s not actually homophobic but rather the opposite.
The Charlie Factor (Beach Duo #1) by Diana DeRicci. ebook. reread. Very good m/m romance about a former firefighter slowly recovering after nearly dying in a murderous fire. He’s befriended by a straight guy who finds himself developing very confusing feelings for his new friend.
Popping the Question (Beach Duo #1.5) by Diana DeRicci. free ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a couple celebrating the second anniversary of their meeting. Really, this should be #2.5, as it contains spoilers for the second book.
Doing Love Right (Beach Duo #2) by Diana DeRicci. ebook. reread. Pretty good m/m romance about a wedding planner, recently dumped, who wakes up after a party to discover a strange man in bed with him… a strange man who knows an awful lot about him. This would’ve been better without the near-purple prose during the sex scenes.
Sparks Fly by Clare London. ebook. reread. Pretty good m/m romance about a successful entrepreneur who gets around, but finds himself thinking about the prickly programmer who helped launch his first venture, an online dating service. This suffers from an excess of exclamation points and… I know Clare’s a much more polished writer now than she was when this was written. 🙂
Mark’s Opening Gambit by Lee Brazil. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a high school dropout who’s helping his mom support his younger brothers by working nights. When he meets the snooty owner of a chess shop where one of his brothers is in a tournament, he’s unprepared for the attraction between them.
My First But Not My Last by Leigh Jarrett. ebook short. Ok, but very short, m/m encounter between a guy who’s just been dumped by his girlfriend and a guy he meets at the beach.
The Stars on My Arm by Leigh Jarrett. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a high school senior who’s at first repulsed and then fascinated by the heavily pierced and tattooed guy who moves in next door, much to his girlfriend’s dismay. This book was hampered by a number of things: too much telling and not enough showing, being several times longer than it should have been for the amount of actual story, and a lack of editing (giving someone the finger is rather different than fingering said person).

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

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Ligamentary, my dear linkity

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Congrats to wusswoo, who won Cleave (Cutting Cords #3) by Mickie B. Ashling! Cleave is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Logan, who won the signed paperback copy of The Talker Collection by Amy Lane! The Talker Collection is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Jane O, who won Bennie’s Wish by Xara X. Xanakas (plus swag)!

Congrats to Wendy, who won Absolutely Eric (Boston Boys #2) by Erica Pike! Absolutely Eric is being released today by MLR Press.

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Reading Update
The Persistence of Memory (Mnevermind #1) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. Excellent alternate reality m/m romance about a mneomographer who’s lost his confidence after accidentally changing his dad’s reality… permanently. And then he runs into something inexplicable during an mneming session… Totally sucked into this, and impatiently waiting for the next segment. *taps fingers*
Hard Tail by JL Merrow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about an accountant, freshly laid off and from his job and newly left by his wife, who ends up running his brother’s bike shop while his brother is in the hospital. Since he’s not gay, why does he spend so much time staring at the bike mechanic’s arse?
My True Love Gave to Me (Brook Street #0.5) by Ava March. ebook. reread. Very good historical holiday m/m romance about young love, fear, and trying for a second chance, even if you’re not sure you deserve one.
Thief (Brook Street #1) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about a peer who heads to a gambling hall of a certain repute to find out whether, as he suspects, he’d be wasting his time looking for a bride. The man he meets that night proves that, but is ever so mysterious…
Fortune Hunter (Brook Street #2) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about a man who returns to England planning to marry an heiress so he won’t have to work; he’s not going to let anything, even friendship, stand in his way. This one really got to me. *blots eyes*
Rogues (Brook Street #3) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about two men who’ve been friends since childhood and occasional lovers since their teens. Both are notorious rakehells, although one prefers men and the other women. But the whole balance of their friendship is about to change… I got sniffly reading this one, too.
Acrobat by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about an English professor who spends a lot of time taking care of the teen living next door and who’s become comfortable with the teen’s uncle over the years, but never really noticed just how attractive said uncle was… until recently.
Frog by Mary Calmes. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a cowboy who’s always traveling between rodeos and short-term jobs, only visiting his not-quite-a-boyfriend in San Francisco a few times a year. Because… how could he be a cowboy if he stayed?
Smoking Is Bad for You by Sasha L. Miller. ebook short. Very good short m/m story about two guys meeting under interesting circumstances and proceeding from there. This would get a PG-13 rating, so be aware.
Tumble Turn by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Good m/m romance about a Paralympic swimmer who’s always planned to avoid romantic entanglements until after the 2012 Paralympics, but life has other plans… As others have noted, the British voice in this is very, very strong.
Dirty Little Secret (Dear Lake, Michigan #2) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook short. Ok short m/m story about a guy who reaches a gay-friendly resort town in Michigan just as his married boyfriend sort of dumps him over the phone. This was way too short to be satisfying for the amount of story. Be aware this has an HFN ending.

Finally finished my sister-in-law’s Christmas (2011) socks! 🙂

“I love me some stripey socks!!” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Pam B, who won One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea! One Small Thing is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Helena and Maggie, who won Gambling Men: The Novel by Amy Lane! Gambling Men will be released by Dreamspinner Press on May 7.

Congrats to Tracy F and Beth C, who won Acrobat by Mary Calmes! Acrobat will be released by Dreamspinner Press on May 7.

Congrats to Yvette, who won Rogues (Brook Street #3) by Ava March! Rogues will be released by Carina Press on May 7.

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Reading Update
King Perry by Edmond Manning. ebook. Excellent gay fiction about taking chances, forgiving, and finding the self you lost along the way. I started reading feeling a bit resistant, because, well, it sounded kinda hokey to me from the blurb. Oh, how very wrong I was – and how very glad that I read this story. While it has romantic moments and is filled with love, it is not a romance per se, so you need to let go of your expectations about how the story will end. But rest assured that this is not like some of the other stories I’ve read in Dreamspinner’s BitterSweet line, which left me heartsick or upset about even having read the book. Highly recommended.
Out in the Field by Kate McMurray. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about a closeted baseball player nearing the end of his career who’s uncomfortably attracted to the new rookie star on the team… an attraction that turns out to be mutual.
Good Bones by Kim Fielding. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about an architect who hides his unwilling werewolfism from everyone except his brother and sister-in-law. Eventually he moves to the woods, figuring it will be safer than hoping he’s able to lock himself up in time every month… but he didn’t factor in his sexy next door neighbor.
Thank My Lucky Scars by Tia Fielding. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about an injured bike messenger who starts to follow his favorite porn star on Twitter… and then they actually get to meet.
Manhandled by SA Reid & Rosemary O’Malley. ebook. Steamy short m/m romance about a cop who meets a young doctor in a most unusual way, giving a whole new meaning to “closeted”. Be aware that there’s dubious consent in this one.
Mind Magic by Poppy Dennison. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a mage who violates the rules of his people to save some werewolf cubs being imprisoned and slowly killed by a demon. Doing so changes his life more than he could ever have imagined… I suspect there’s a sequel planned, so I won’t complain about the things left open at the end of the story. However, I did have some niggles as I read, as there were several points where things were just too convenient or inconsistent with previously provided information.
Don’t Judge a Book… by Scarlet Blackwell. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a library assistant who’s quite put out over having to deal with an unfortunately attractive guy doing community service work at the library.
Amuse Bouche (Russell Quant #1) by Anthony Bidulka. Ok gay mystery about a PI who’s hired by a jilted groom to find his missing boyfriend. Pretty sure this is the only book I’ve read that was set in Saskatoon.
Chasing Shadows by Jez Morrow. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance that could’ve been a five-star read if it hadn’t jumped all over the place – to the point that I’m not convinced there’s not part of a chapter missing.
Loving Arms by Marie Medina. ebook short. Meh short m/m romance about two guys who are after the same evil woman, but turn to each other instead. Choppy, repetitive writing and all tell, no show made this a painful read.

“Hmph. That bird wouldn’t be so sassy if it was on this side of the window!” -Mayhem

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Reading Update
Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino. ebook. Very good, very steamy, and very sweet m/m romance about a college jock and frat boy who’s been in denial for years that he’s gay, but finally can’t deny it any longer when he realizes he has a crush on his history TA.
False Start by Janey Chapel. ebook short. Very good m/m romance about two guys who were secretly together for one year during college. One graduated and ran away from even the thought of being gay and the other… didn’t.
One Man’s Treasure (Bellingham Mysteries #4) by Nicole Kimberling. ebook. Very good m/m mystery/romance in which Peter tries to figure out why the guy who collapsed in front of him at the farmer’s market died.
First You Fall (Kevin Connor #1) by Scott Sherman. ebook. Very good gay mystery about a rent boy who does some investigating of his own when his friend dies under suspicious circumstances and the police rule it a suicide.
Second You Sin (Kevin Connor #2) by Scott Sherman. ebook. Very good gay mystery in which Kevin tries to figure out why some other rent boys have been killed or injured. This one ends on a heckuva relationship cliffhanger – I hope the next book is out soon!
Mine by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who works as a mob runner and who’s the only thing keeping his highstrung boyfriend grounded, until everything in their world changes overnight.
Payback (True Colors #3) by Clare London. ebook short. Steamy short m/m scene in which Zeke arrives at Miles’ office for a meeting but gets a bit of a surprise instead.
Changing Pitches by Steve Kluger. Very good novel about a major league baseball pitcher who, at 36, is heading the last place team in the league as he slowly realizes he needs to make some changes in his personal and professional lives.
Assumption of Desire by Elizabeth Brooks. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about an auditor who hooks up with a totally-not-his-style twink while he’s in town for two weeks. A few years later, he finds himself back in the same town…
Obedient Slave (Sun, Sea & Submission #2) by Kim Dare. ebook. Steamy kinky m/m romance about a guy who works at a gay resort. He doesn’t realize that someone is supposed to serve as his “slave” for a week when he gets promoted…
Office Hours by Rena Butler. ebook. Good m/m romance about an adjunct composition instructor who’s suspicious when the cute senior who sleeps through class turns in an excellent paper…
Sink or Swim by Lissa Kasey & Xara X. Xanakas. free ebook. Good short m/m romance about two guys moving to Australia to work as a dive instructor and a masseuse at a private resort. As they travel, one of them worries about their relationship and how things will be after they arrive.
China House by Vincent Lardo. ebook. Ok gay gothic mystery about a small group of people staying for a week in China House, which has been empty for 20 years… except for a ghost? I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters and could’ve definitely lived without the incestuous overtones in the story.
Cuffs and More by Dakota Dawn. ebook short. So-so short kinky m/m scene between a shy bdsm store owner and the dom he has a crush on. Unfortunately, neither of the guys felt believable to me.
Five Star Review by Lara Brukz. ebook. Meh m/m romance about an m/m author and a reviewer who become friends online and then have the chance to meet. Unfortunately, this was stilted, cliched, awkward, and just painful to read at times.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

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Congrats to Philina, who won The Art of Words by RJ Scott and Meredith Russell!

Congrats to Irene J, who won Mind Magic by Poppy Dennison! Mind Magic will be released by Dreamspinner Press on April 23.

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  • VacuousMinx on authors behaving badly. This is my favorite quote from the post: “Why read a book that might lead to a confrontation when you want to discuss it, especially since there are plenty of books by authors who don’t behave like that?” Yes. This.

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Reading Update
Written in the Stars by Alix Bekins. ebook. Very good humorous m/m romance about a prickly physicist working as a fact checker for a science magazine after a professional disgrace. When his editor and best friend bribes him to write an anonymous astrology column for the magazine, he doesn’t think things can get any worse… until his editor comes up with a plan for him to go on blind dates with guys from each astrological sign…
Different Spheres by Cari Z. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a professor who has MS and needs to ask his next-door neighbor for a ride to the hospital when he has a relapse.
The Ghost on My Couch by LA Gilbert. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a nurse who becomes friends with the ghost who appears in his apartment one day and changes the way he looks at his own life. I got sniffly more than once whilst reading this!
Witness by LA Gilbert. ebook. reread. Sweet m/m romance about a cop who meets a bike messenger while on a routine call, then runs into him again when he backs over the guy’s bike. This book would’ve benefited from a bit more conflict (0r perhaps conflicts not effortlessly resolved) and fewer point-of-view shifts, particularly near the beginning of the book.
No Remedy for Love by podga. free online. Very good m/m romance about a couple who were together for 25 years and then split up, painfully. Be warned that at least half the story is told via flashback.
It’s Like This by Oribiting Jupiter. free online. Very good kinky m/m romance about two guys who’ve been together for three years, since high school, but they’ve never talked about whether they’re actually in a relationship. I could definitely relate to Niles’ communication issues…
College Boys (Men of Holsum College #1) by Daisy Harris. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a college student who changes dorms partway through the semester, after his mom dies, so he can have some time alone, away from the soccer teammates he’d been rooming with. Strangely, he finds he’s ok with talking through the wall with the gay guy who lives next door…
Hot Hands (College Fun & Gays #1) by Erica Pike. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a college student who keeps getting groped in the halls, but can’t figure out who’s the culprit.
Grade-A-Sex Deal (College Fun & Gays #2) by Erica Pike. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a professor who realizes he’s developing feelings for a student he has a “sex for grades” agreement with.
The Walls Have Ears (College Fun & Gays #3) by Erica Pike. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a college student who develops a crush on the guy in the next apartment, whose bedroom is adjacent to his…
First Impressions by Christopher Koehler. ebook. Good m/m romance about a former porn star (now a mostly respectable businessman) who makes a terrible first impression on the store clerk he finds attractive. Of course, the store clerk is simultaneously making a terrible first impression on him, too… and things don’t really improve between them from there.
Music in the Midst of Desolation by Charlie Cochrane. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who dies in the trenches during WWI, then is sent to our modern time as a sort of guardian angel.
Relationships 201 by Alix Bekins. ebook. Good m/m romance about a first-year history grad student who’s crushing on the straight professor he TA’s for, at the same time he’s struggling to reconnect with his boyfriend after a summer apart. I think this would’ve been a stronger story if it had been shorter, with less time spent on introspection.
I’m Not Sexy and I Know It by Vic Winter. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about a guy who knows he’s not a sexy stud, but who starts to feel a bit less awkward when dancing with an unseen man at a club.
Bartender, PI by Ethan Stone. ebook. Pretty good m/m romantic suspense about a rather dim hockey player whose career ends unexpectedly, so he tends bar and tries to get his PI license. This had some funny moments, but the thing with him never using the right word got old fast.
Spell Cat (The Aloysisu Chronicles #1) by Tara Lain. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a gay pure-blooded wizard who’s betrothed to a female pure-blooded wizard and planning to go through with the marriage for the good of wizardkind, until he and his fiancee discover a very big secret indeed. Aloysius the familiar was probably the best part of the book.
Seizing It by Chris T. Kat. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a prickly veterinary assistant who can’t decide if he likes the overbearing guy who rescued him from a stalker. Everyone in this book was annoying. And I don’t believe that Kit would be all better psychologically from just the love of a strong man.

*lurking* -Chaos

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Congrats to SusieQ, who won Battle of Hearts by Valentina Heart! Battle of Hearts will be released on April 14 by Silver Publishing.

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Reading Update
Magic Mansion by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about two magicians who briefly connect during auditions for a reality television show about magicians in which they both end up as participants (along with ten others). Who will take home the glory… and the $250,000 prize? Wonderfully written and with bonus points for a completely unique story concept!
The Art of Words by RJ Scott & Meredith Russell. ebook arc. Very good m/m romance about an artist with severe dyslexia that he keeps hidden. When his work attracts a wealthy, handsome sponsor, it seems too good to be true…
If Only by sadtomato. free online. Very good *braces self* Edward/Jacob slash. I can’t believe I typed that! LOL. But really, it’s just a story about a gay guy and his straight roommate/best friend… with a crazy number of “outtake” chapters at the end, including an alternate ending that made me sniffle a bit.
Little Boy Dead (Boystown #0) by Marshall Thornton. free ebook. Very good gay mystery prequel to the Nick Nowak Boystown series in which we get to meet a younger, less cynical Nick working as security for a film festival and just starting his new life as a private investigator. (Also, that is a scary belly button.)
The Long Con by Lori Toland. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a British agent who tracks a stolen Faberge egg to New York City, where he’s mistaken for a prostitute and uses that to his investigative advantage. This book had a somewhat over-the-top old-school romance feel to it; while that’s not usually my forte, it mostly worked here and I got sucked into the story.
Ice Blues (Donald Strachey #3) by Richard Stevenson. Good gay mystery that starts with Don going to pick up his car (towed in a snow emergency, the bane of all northern folk) and finding a dead, frozen body in it…
Third Man Out (Donald Strachey #4) by Richard Stevenson. ebook. Good gay mystery in which Don is asked to protect a guy who forcibly outs prominent gay people and who fears his life is in danger as a result. (In the ebook edition I read, none of the acronyms were capitalized. Argh.)
Shock to the System (Donald Strachey #5) by Richard Stevenson. ebook. Good gay mystery in which Don tries to figure why a guy who’d dropped out of an ex-gay program ended up dead. (Had the same acronym issue as the previous book. And… aren’t these covers heinous?)
Chain of Fools (Donald Strachey #6) by Richard Stevenson. ebook. Good gay mystery in which Done investigates what may be one part of a family turning against another over selling the family’s award-winning newspaper to pay off debts. (No acronym issues! Yay!)
Learning from Isaac by Dev Bentham. ebook. Good m/m romance about a college professor who’s mutually attracted to one of his students (a senior), but they agree not to act on that attraction until after graduation. And then the professor runs into the student in a most unexpected place…
Reluctant Mate 2 by Eden Cole. ebook short. Meh short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who, aided by a drug that makes it seem as if he’s a shifter, vows to hunt down the wolf shifters who killed his brother.

Every time I see this sign in my neighborhood, it gives me the giggles, so I had to get a (somewhat enhanced) photo of it:

“You’re too close, Mom!” -Mayhem