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Ebook giveaway: The O Come All Ye Kinky anthology [CONTEST CLOSED]

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Congrats to Marie* and Nin, who each won Crucible of Fate (Change of Heart #4) by Mary Calmes! Crucible of Fate is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Many thanks to Kim Dare and Ava March for each donating an ebook copy of the forthcoming kinky holiday romance anthology, Oh, Come All Ye Kinky, for two lucky commenters to win! O Come All Ye Kinky will be released by Riptide Publishing on December 3.

20% of all proceeds from O Come All Ye Kinky will be donated to the Domestic Violence Project of the National Leather Association-International.

Christmas is a time of love and joy, and the New Year is a time of renewal. But they are also times of stress and strife, family drama, pressure and heartache – a potent mix of high expectations and conflicted emotions. Add in power exchange relationships, kinky gift swaps, and unconventional love in a sometimes unforgiving world, and you have a formula for a sizzling anthology of stories that tug at your heart.

From Ava March’s forbidden Regency love among men, to Katie Porter’s scorching hot contemporary tale of two women discovering holiday happiness, everyone will find a favorite here. Pervertible toys abound: Lambda Literary Award finalist L.A. Witt’s candy cane, Jane Davitt’s wrapping paper and tape, and Alexa Snow’s Christmas candles all please and delight. Newcomer Elyan Smith and fan favorite Kim Dare both celebrate New Year’s Eve with romantic flair and kinky fireworks, while bestselling author Joey W. Hill’s poignant story of love lost and regained will lead you home.

Whatever your desires, we invite you to explore new fantasies and old with these eight kinky tales of holiday happy endings.

Ava March, “’Twas the Night”
Percival Owen yearns for the nights when he can kneel before his lover, even though no self-respecting gentleman willingly submits to another. Michael wants his first Christmas with Percy to be perfect, but is frustrated by Percy’s inability to ask for what he wants. The gift Michael offers Percy – and that Percy offers in return – is the best Percy could ever hope to receive: his will to submit.

Jane Davitt, “Tree Topper”
Martin’s new to the scene, and his sub Stan has recently stopped taking him seriously. Their tree has floggers, clamps, and cuffs underneath it, but will they ever be used? Frustrated and confused, Martin knows it will take more than a star to guide him on his way to becoming the Dom Stan needs – but their path to happiness might be shorter than he thinks.

L.A. Witt, “Candy Caning”
Nate is dreading the annual Christmas visit with his family, during which they will ignore or insult his partner and Dominant. Stephen tries hard to take Nate’s mind off the trip with the promise – and threat – of a three-foot-long candy cane. It’s a race to see if Nate’s resolve or the candy cane will shatter first.

Alexa Snow, “Ring Out the Old and In the New”
Recovering from a mugging on the London Underground, Evan has barely left the house in weeks. His partner and Dom, Russell, finally manages to drag him outside on Christmas Eve, but it’s the surprise that Russell has waiting for him back home that helps Evan get past his trauma and remember what’s important: being on his knees for the man he loves.

Elyan Smith, “Open Return”
Fifteen years ago, Zach left the small Midwestern town he grew up in, confused and scared and determined to figure out who he was. Now transformed, he’s drawn back by the memory and promise of the dominant couple he left behind. Laura and Scott are still together, and as the year draws to a close, they explore old feelings and new ones as they discover they’ve all been waiting for Zach to come home.

Kim Dare, “His Very Last Chance”
Drew screwed up. So when his master, Kingsley, summons him on New Year’s Eve, he knows he deserves the punishment in store for him. Everything changed for Kingsley when he overheard Drew running his mouth to his friends on Boxing Day. Now, there’s only one way he can possibly ring in the New Year: starting over fresh, either with an ending or a new beginning.

Katie Porter, “Fireworks”
Rachel’s job is taking her to Tokyo, which means leaving behind her lover and submissive, Emma. When she summons Emma for one last hurrah on New Year’s Eve, Emma answers, hoping desperately to be able to break through her ma’am’s emotional barriers and find the spark of love among the glittering fireworks.

Joey W. Hill, “Submissive Angel”
After Robert found Ange bleeding in an alley, he employed the man in his vintage toy store as an act of charity. However, this Christmas, the eccentric young dancer will offer his thanks – and himself – to teach a brokenhearted Master how to open his heart to love again.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CST, Friday, November 30.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

A Mayhem picture from 2010!

“Mom!!!! The big kitty’s bothering me!!!!” -Mayhem

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Linkity leeches away your time!

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Congrats to Carla A, who won her choice of A Guitarist in the Fae Queen’s Court (Fae Connections #1) by Amber Kell or the Unconventional At Best anthology!

Congrats to Andrea, who won Dead Shot by JL Merrow! Dead Shot will be released August 26 by JMS Books.

Over the next five to six weeks, I’m going to be buried in a big work project, so I won’t be commenting on blog posts as much as I usually do. My never-very-under-control inbox is now completely out-of-control. And we’ll just see how well linkity goes… 🙂

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Reading Update
Point of No Return by NR Walker. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a closeted cop who’s attracted to the new boxing coach at the gym, who turns out to be equally closeted. How handy! 🙂 As they become closer, will they be able to survive the dangers involved in a cop’s job? I’ll definitely look for more from this author in the future.
No News Is Good News (Florida #3.5) by KA Mitchell. free ebook short. Good kinky short m/m encounter between Aaron and Joey from Collision Course that ends right as But My Boyfriend Is starts.
But My Boyfriend Is (Florida #4) by KA Mitchell. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a deeply closeted guy with a lot of guilt about his straight identical twin being gay bashed. Can he keep lying to himself about the attraction he feels to the guy who stepped into the fray and saved his twin’s life? This started out a bit rough for me, as I wasn’t feeling much sympathy for the closeted twin until about halfway through the book. Anyone want to bet that the next book’s about Tate? 😉 Later: The more I think about it, the more I feel like I got cheated out of a couple of chapters that should’ve been between the last two chapters, or the last chapter and the “I’m really an epilogue, but I’m called the final chapter” chapter… 🙁
Bad Boyfriend (Bad in Baltimore #2) by KA Mitchell. ebook. reread. I needed a reminder of how good KA Mitchell can be… Excellent kinky m/m romance about a teacher who’s dumped by his closeted boyfriend of ten years, then picks up a hot younger guy at a bar to take along to the baptism of his ex’s baby. Things just sort of spiral from there. 🙂
Drunk Text by seventhswan. free online. Very good m/m romance about a straight college student who wakes up hungover one morning covered in finger paint with a text on his phone that suggests he had sex with a guy the night before… Reread. I enjoyed this just as much as the first time I read it in February.
The Square Peg by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance (with more potential than was realized) about an accountant who inherits a share in a bar from his estranged father and gets off to a rough start with the other owner.
Finding Forever (Sutter’s Bay #4) by Shawn Lane. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about Galaxy’s younger brother Leo, who meets a closeted guy with an abusive, homophobic father. Unfortunately, this felt rushed and incomplete, or maybe not fully developed. The amount of story definitely needed more pages.
Theory of Attraction by Cleon Lee. ebook. arc. Sweet m/m romance about a hunky teaching assistant who becomes fascinated with one of the other more geeky teaching assistants. Alas, the object of his interest rebuffs him and flees at every opportunity. Unfortunately, the choppy style (not enough sentence opening variety) started to wear on me after a while, but that’s something that may improve with more writing experience.
Little Squirrels Can Climb Tall Trees by Michael Murphy. ebook. Extremely uneven but ultimately meh m/m romance set in NYC about a short and excessively exuberant guy who woos a much taller and rather naive doctor from Oklahoma. The biggest problems I had with the book were the ludicrous number of exclamation points and the tendency to go into excessive detail during scenes that didn’t seem to belong in the book, then skim quickly over things that merited more detail.
Deadly Secrets (Dark Kings of Eternity #1) by Savannah Hartley. ebook. The saddest thing about this book is that there’s the hint of an interesting story buried deep, but even though this ended on a cliffhanger, I’m not inspired to read more.

“Your training is coming along well, young Mayhem.” -Chaos

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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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Halloweenity Linkity Booity

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Congrats to Melanie M, who won More Than Anything by Shawn Lane! More Than Anything will be released by Amber Allure on October 30.

Contests

Books

Ebooks

  • If you want an Android tablet for reading, but think the Kindle Fire sounds too locked into Amazon, check out the Kobo Vox.

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  • What number human were you on the planet? I was (roughly) the 3,429,463,820th person alive on the planet when I was born, and the 77,402,259,003rd person to have lived since the beginning of human history.

Halloweenity

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So, The Kitchn’s gone a little crazy on recipe lists… which I can’t resist. Brace yourselves. 🙂

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

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LOL

  • Top 50 autocorrects from Damn You Autocorrect’s first year: Part 1.

Teh Cute

Reading Update
With a Kiss by Kim Dare. ebook. Excellent kinky paranormal m/m romance loosely based on Sleeping Beauty. A young man who’s being mentally, physically, and sexually abused by his boyfriend comes to the hospital every week for three years to read to a vampire in a mysterious coma. And then the vampires is awakened… This book shines in not trivializing the process of recovering from abuse.
I Just Play One on TV by AL Turner. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about two actors in a suspenseful science fiction tv show with a lot of “subtext” between their characters. One actor is out, although it doesn’t seem to be public knowledge, while the other is deeply closeted and in denial… Let’s just say I spent the last part of the book crying.
Across the East River Bridge by Kate McMurray. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about two academic rivals with an unfortunate chemistry who work together to solve the cold case mystery of two men murdered together in late 19th century Brooklyn.
Guarding Morgan (Sanctuary #1) by RJ Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a guy being kept in an FBI safe house so he can testify about a shooting he witnessed. When the safe house is compromised, he ends up in the care of an intriguing agent for a special organization dedicated to keeping witnesses alive… Definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!
Private Eye (Liaisons #1) by SE Culpepper. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a PI who gets involved in the case of a missing teenager when he’s contacted by a cop who’s a friend of the family. Too bad the extremely hot cop is straight…
Just Desserts (Petit Morts #14) by Josh Lanyon. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy confined to a wheelchair after his drunken cousin crashed their car. Unfortunately, this story didn’t provide any additional insight into Chance and his own journey.
Loose Change (Petit Morts #15) by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Very good short m/m paranormal focused entirely on Chance, set up as a series of brief scenes.
Media Naranja (Petit Morts #16) by Clare London & Jordan Castillo Price. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a young man who accompanies his dying grandmother and her friend to a tropical resort.
Immortal Coil (Petit Morts #17) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook short. Excellent short paranormal m/m romance about a high school teacher and former coach whose life changed dramatically several years ago. When he wanders into a small street carnival, he doesn’t know that it’s about to change again. (This story is also the culmination of Chance’s story arc.) I loved this quote: “If everything were anything,” Chance said softly, “the barriers would break down, and we’d all lose ourselves to chaos. And then there would be no cotton candy.”
Independence by Clare London. free ebook short. Steamy, kinky short m/m scene between an established D/s couple.
Learning To Walk (City Hospital #3) by Drew Zachary. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a guy, seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, who develops feelings for his physical therapist. Since there’s not much conflict in this one, I think it’d be a good read to help recover from an angst-fest book.
Cycle-pathic by Stefan Seabourne. free ebook short. Steamy short m/m scene between a bike courier and the lawyer whose car he dented… with a surprise ending.
Sugar on the Mountain (Mountain #8) by PD Singer. free ebook short. Cute short m/m scene between Allan and Mark in Allan’s catering kitchen.
Blood on the Mountain by India Harper. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a security firm co-owner who goes to Rio to protect a client doing nonprofit work there. This ended with plenty of unanswered questions, although I fear the sequel might be m/f, featuring the other (female) co-owner of the security firm.
Gambling on Love by Jane Davitt. ebook. Good, slightly kinky m/m romance about two guys who fell in love with other in high school. When they were caught kissing in the locker room, one of them left town and didn’t return until 11 years later. He’s very different and he doesn’t want to stay… but the one who stayed doesn’t want to leave. While I’m a fan of Jane Davitt’s work (particularly that written with Alexa Snow), this book never fully came together for me – I couldn’t get invested in the characters or the story.

Missed out on GayRomLit, but still want part of the experience? Read on!

I came back from GayRomLit (GRL) with lots of swag – not only swag that I’d picked up for myself, but also swag I’d accumulated from people who didn’t have enough space in their luggage, or who didn’t want to deal with hassles in Customs. In fact, I came back with enough extra swag to have a GRL Swag Giveaway Contest!

Wanna see? Ok.

*sniff sniff sniff* -Mayhem

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

“Why are you giving away these great kitty beds and toys, Mom?!” -Mayhem

*sniff sniff sniff* -Chaos

Um. Well. You can’t see if very well, huh? But you get the idea!

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CST, Monday, November 7. CONTEST CLOSED.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Cats not included in prize.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winner will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • This contest is US only, due to shipping costs. Sorry. 🙁
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Limber linkity learns better

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Congrats to Jennifer, who won Packing Leather (Sun, Sea & Submission #1) by Kim Dare! (I never heard back from the original winner, so…)

Congrats to Maya, who won Ashton and Justice by Stephani Hecht! Ashton and Justice will be released by Amber Allure on August 7.

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Reading Update
His Faithful Servant (Knight Errant #2) by KD Sarge. ebook. Excellent m/m scifi romance continuing the story of Taro and Rafe as they leave Taro’s sister’s ship in order to make their own way. While Knight Errant was told from Taro’s point-of-view, this one’s told from Rafe’s… and he’s not quite as focused as Taro. 🙂
Gathering Storm by Lyn Gala. ebook. Excellent kinky m/m romance about the submissive son of a wealthy man who’s been fascinated by one of his instructors since he was in military school several years before. But in his insecurity and neediness after not getting what he wants, he makes a very poor decision… that could cost him his life.
Swept Away by Sloan Parker. free ebook short. Excellent free short m/m romance about lawyer, part of a couple who’ve celebrated their anniversary the same way for 15 years, who’s dreading this year’s anniversary celebration.
Surrender by K. Piet. ebook short. Very good kinky m/m short about a Dom who finds himself very drawn to another Dom doing a public scene at a club party… and then finds his core assumptions about himself challenged. If you’ve ever been annoyed by a smug Dom story, you’ll appreciate this chance to see a smug Dom shaken to his core. 🙂
Blind Items by Kate McMurray. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a liberal gay journalist who finds himself attracted to and then involved with the deeply closeted son of an ultra-conservative, anti-gay Senator running for President. Since he’s not willing to go back into the closet and the Senator’s son is too terrified to come out… The only thing I didn’t like about this one was the somewhat abrupt ending, although I appreciated that there wasn’t an epilogue. Perhaps a sequel? 🙂
Wanting by Piper Vaughn. free ebook short. Very good free short m/m romance about college student Laurie who’s taken by surprise when his best friend’s younger (18-year old) brother informs him that he wants Laurie to take his virginity.
Hourglass by Jane Davitt. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a Hollywood producer whose 11-year old daughter falls in love with his tv series Hourglass, which only lasted two seasons, ten years ago. Under pressure, he agrees to make a follow-up movie, then has to get the estranged stars to agree to be in it… and hope that they’ll get over hating each other and recapture some of their previous chemistry.
Prise de Fer by AR Moler. ebook short. Very good short m/m paranormal romance about a chemistry professor who’s attracted to one of his former students, with no clue that the student is a werewolf. And there’s fencing in this story, which was a fun flashback.
Hanging Loose by Lou Harper. ebook. Good m/m romance about a straight guy from the Midwest who moves to LA after college to escape winter. When he ends up stranded overnight at Venice Beach, a friendly surfer gives him a place to sleep for the night and changes his life.
Appearing Knightly by JM Cartwright. free ebook short. Fun short free m/m story about Batman rescuing a naked guy and being strangely excited by him…
Packing Leather (Sun, Sea & Submission #1) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m romance about a guy who wins a weekend away at an exclusive resort and invites his office mate to join him.
Modeling Death (Hidden Magic #2) by Amber Kell. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a centuries-old wizard who runs into a model at a club and realizes the model is his fated mate. Too bad someone’s out there, killing models…
Hitting It Big by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about Billy, whose brother drags him to a party celebrating his brother’s friend Mitch winning the lottery… Mitch, the guy to whom Billy lost his virginity to years ago in a one night stand. I had a couple of niggles about this one.
CatNap (Middlemarch Mates #8) by Shelley Munro. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about an amnesiac tiger shifter who’s rescued by two other tiger shifters (brother and sister) and becomes part of their family. But what if his bloody, fragmented dreams are actual memories?
Del Fantasma: Toasted Almond by Sharon Maria Bidwell. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who always feels cold arriving at the bar Del Fantasma and running into a guy who suddenly makes him feel warm. I found the writing frustratingly dense.

“Why do you say I have anime eyes, Mom? I have Mayhem eyes!!” -Mayhem

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A very Potterity linkity

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Congrats to SueM, who won Knight Errant by K.D. Sarge! Knight Errant is available for $0.99 through July 31 at Smashwords.

Congrats to Susmita, who won Ranger’s Folly (Lost Shifters #12) by Stephani Hecht! Ranger’s Folly is being released by eXtasy Books today.

Congrats to Renee, who won Dark Sun by M.J. O’Shea!

Congrats to Julie, who won In the Shadow of a Hero by Anna Mayle!

Congrats to Amy, who won the Tea and Crumpet anthology, donated by Clare London!

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  • *snicker* (Thanks, Lea!) (Possibly NSFW, although it is from USA Today…)

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Reading Update
Masochism 101 by Kim Dare. free ebook short, although you’ll need to be a member of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group to read it. The prompt for this excellent kinky short m/m romance was a guy photographed midway through falling in the bathtub…
Trust Me (Cover Me #2) by LA Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a cop who’s ready to break up with his boyfriend because he suspects his boyfriend has been cheating on him, but what’s really been going on is a helluva lot more complicated. You also get to see how things are going with the guys from Cover Me.
And To All a Good Night (Life Lessons #1.5) by Kaje Harper. free ebook short. Very good short free holiday-themed m/m mystery that takes place a few months after Life Lessons, right before Christmas, as the out teacher continues to recover from his injuries and learns to deal with dating the deeply closeted cop.
Dirty Kiss by Rhys Ford. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a former cop, now PI, investigating the apparent suicide of a prominent Korean businessman when he becomes fascinated by the businessman’s disgraced cousin. Hopefully there’s a sequel… and I’d love to get more of Bobby’s story.
Again by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who was devastated when the love of his life, a CIA agent, suddenly left him for someone else, without knowing that their surrogate was pregnant. It’s five years later when he runs into now-former CIA agent… I have to confess that I wanted to smack Dante more than once – he was such a steamroller! I wanted him to stop and actually listen. 🙂
Accidentally in Love by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a photographer who’s definitely a player, engaging in a non-stop string of one-night stands. When he rents part of a house from a goodhearted computer geek with crappy self-esteem, he decides to help the geek finally get a guy of his own. So why is he unhappy when his plan works? As others have mentioned, the first part of this book was excellent. The last part of it got bogged down by sex and lack of direction.
Tea and Crumpet by UK MAT. ebook collection. Very good collection of United Kingdom-themed GLBTQ short stories, from contemporary to paranormal to historical. I was delighted to discover that there was a Cambridge Fellows short from Charlie Cochrane! And I absolutely love the cover. 🙂
One Night by RJ Scott. ebook. Good m/m romance about a deeply closeted guy who’s convinced that two men can’t have a loving relationship, only a sexual one, so he’s engaged to be married to a woman so his adopted daughter will have a stable home.
Finding Forgiveness (Poconos Pack #1) by Dana Marie Bell. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shifter who suffers from debilitating migraines and has no idea why the guy destined to be his mate avoids him at all costs.
Clay’s Challenge by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy going through a crisis in confidence about how he looks after someone he met online isn’t interested in dating him because he’s “too fem.” So he decides to go on a wilderness adventure and prove to himself that’s not the case. (Main character Clay was actually a minor character in Quinn’s Hart.)
Bicycle Built for Two by Jeff Adams. ebook short. Good short, completely angst- and conflict-free m/m romance about two guys who meet during a charity cycling event to raise money for HIV/AIDS research.
From Pack to Pride (Supernatural Mates #1) by Amber Kell. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shifter whose alpha brother sends him to stay with a pride of lions in order to keep him safe from a hostile wolf who wants to kill him. (Ok, Tam, you were right – I liked it better than Hellbourne!)
A Prideful Mate (Supernatural Mates #2) by Amber Kell. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a lion shifter who sees a picture of jaguar shifter on a shifter dating website and knows the jaguar shifter is his mate. Now he just has to convince his mate to stay… and keep his mate alive.
Not in Kansas by R.G. Alexander. ebook short. Cute short m/m fantasy roughly based on the Wizard of Oz.
Salad on the Side by Karenna Colcroft. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a vegan who doesn’t realize he’s living among werewolves until he’s bitten and changed. These were probably the most long-winded werewolves ever – there needed to be a lot less talking in this book. Hopefully the obviously planned for sequel will be less chatty.
The Male Room by Carolyn Levine Topol. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two best friends, one who’s just been kicked out by his boyfriend and the other who’s just been fired, who decide to start an online GLBT dating service together. I need to remember that this author’s stories are too sugary for me…
Semi Precious Weapons by Clancy Nacht. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two models in New York City who hook up and hit it off, but then things get messed up between them. This book definitely needed a bit more editorial care – a couple spots were so tangled that I couldn’t sort out what exactly was happening.
Joy & Pain by Celia Kyle. free ebook short. Ok kinky short m/m romance about a stripper who meets and is attracted to an older big bear of a man. This book needed better proofing: “illicit” instead of “elicit”, “spurn” instead of “spur”, etc.

“You know what would hit the spot right now? A crunchy bug. Yum!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Let linkity leech away your life!

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Congrats to Kaetrin, who won Priority One by Stephani Hecht! Priority One will be released on August 1 by eXtasy Books.

So, last Saturday evening CJ (aka urban fantasy author Carolyn Crane) and I sat down in my living room with some gluten-free beers, our laptops, and Google Docs to polish up a (hopefully) humorous post with a paranormal romance theme. Thanks to CJ’s tireless efforts, our post has been published at Tor.com. Stop by and check it out if you get a chance!

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

  • Confused about all the different varieties of epub? This primer might help.
  • If you’d like to digitize your print books and aren’t in a hurry to do so, here’s a setup you can put together yourself.

Learn, Make, Think, Do

  • Snickerdoodle cake! I don’t see why this wouldn’t work with a gluten-free cake mix…

Linkity Peeps

Huh

LOL

  • This is why the toilet paper at my condo is in the vanity and not easily accessible to people… or Chaos.
  • A little Frogger humor – make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic to get additional text!

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Bound and Determined by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Excellent kinky m/m romance about a college senior who realizes he’s submissive, which is simultaneously difficult for him to accept and something he craves.
Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London. ebook. Very good m/m mystery about a gallery owner who discovers an artist murdered in his gallery and slowly begins to realize that nothing he’d believed about the people in his life is as he thought it was.
Fair Game by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Very good m/m mystery about an FBI agent turned professor after being injured in the line of duty who’s asked to look into the disappearance of a student on campus. (I received this book via NetGalley. Fair Game will be released on August 2 by Carina Press.)
A Game of Chances (Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club, Book 1) by T.C. Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense with lots of little twists and turns. The Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club is a private grey ops organization. And I don’t want to tell you anything else because being surprised by the twists and turns was a big part of what I liked! I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.
Safe in His Arms (Wicked Hearts, Book 2) by Claire Thompson. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about the seemingly irredeemable cruel and controlling “best friend” from the previous book, who’s slowly spiraling toward rock bottom. If you’d told me after I finished reading Wicked Hearts that Claire Thompson could make me care about and like this guy, I would not have believed you.
Ports of Call by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a couple on vacation at the beach, trying to get past one of them having been mugged.
Two Steps Up by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Cute short m/m about a teen standing across the street from where a gay teens support group meeting will be held, trying to work up the nerve to go to the meeting.
Protests and Proposals by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Another cute short m/m romance about two guys protesting Proposition 8 being repealed.
Blue Skies by Diane Adams. ebook short. Decent short m/m romance about a conservative businessman who’s very attracted to a flaming younger man, but stays away because he thinks being “so gay” brings the wrong sort of attention to the gay community.
Gay Best Friend (G-A-Y, Book 10) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m romance about an allegedly straight guy who kisses his gay best friend on a dare from his obnoxious coworkers, then realizes that he might not be as straight as he’d always believed.
A Limited Engagement by Josh Lanyon. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about an actor who gambles everything when he outs his closeted lover to end his lover’s engagement to a woman.
Bargaining by Rhianne Aile & Madeleine Urban. ebook short. Steamy short m/m romance about two friends who finally get together, only to discover they’re both tops. This story will work best for those unconcerned about realism in refractory periods or condom use.
Lilacs by Megan Derr. free ebook short. Ok free short paranormal m/m romance about two guys who hate each other due to a big misunderstanding… and then discover they’re about to become stepbrothers.
News at Eleven by Jack Greene. ebook short. Cute’n’steamy short m/m romance about a tv station manager who’s been admiring the very out star news anchor from a distance.
Cold Steel by Morgan Lee. ebook short. So-so kinky short m/m interlude about an undercover cop who’s “arrested” by his partner at the end of his assignment. This teetered on the edge of purple prose… and I’m pretty sure those handcuffs would’ve messed up the finish on the cop car…

“This is an advanced technique. Don’t try this at home without the assistance of a qualified kitty.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Pick a peck of peppered linkity

36 Comments

Contests

Bookity

  • Do you read Good Show Sir? They look at scifi/fantasy book covers and try to recreate what the art director must’ve told the artist to end up with the cover in question… 🙂

Ebookity

Learn, Do, Make, Think

Linkity Peeps

Huh

LOL

  • Hmm. I think some of these kittehs are more Purgatory Kittehs than Basement Kittehs.

Teh Cute

  • You probably need Daily Bunny in your life. (Thanks, Jase!)

Reading Update
Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane. ebook. Excellent m/m version of Beauty and the Beast about a bitter, disfigured woodcarver who agrees to leave with a strange part man, part beast so that he will no longer be a barrier to his sister’s happiness.
Truthful Change by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a retired mercenary who becomes fascinated by his seemingly innocent gardener…
Jacob’s Ladder (St. Nacho’s, Book 3) by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a pastry chef who ends up in St. Nacho’s because of a cold and domestic violence. He’s planning to leave town as soon as his brother can pick him up… but you know how plans like that go in St. Nacho’s!
Start from the Beginning by Chrissy Munder. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who recently had a stress-induced heart attack and is now staying at a friend’s cabin to learn how to slow his life down. Without much to do, he becomes fascinated by the reclusive artist who lives in a nearby cabin.
Fair Winds by Chrissy Munder. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who’s supposed to be part of a sailboat’s crew during a big race, until the other crewmembers find out he’s gay. I’d really like to see a sequel to this one!
Blast from the Past by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about a teacher who was laid off and is now working at a daycare center, where he runs into the guy he had a huge crush on in high school.
A Detour Home by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about two college-age friends who’ve known each other for years, but not done anything about their attraction until they work together on summer road crew job.
Undeniable Magnetism by Bonnie Dee. ebook. Good m/m romance about two men who are very different (black/white, closeted/out, white-collar/blue-collar) who may or may not be getting involved with each other.
Runaway Love by Z.A. Maxfield. free ebook short. Good short m/m romance about an artist who’s driving to San Francisco when he stops to pick up two young hitchhikers.
Beautiful Sunset by Sarah Masters. ebook short. Lyrical short paranormal m/m romance about a man who was brutally betrayed by his boyfriend; since then, he’s been going to sit by a small lake and feed bread to a heron and think.
Life After by Jaime Samms. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy who’s taking some time off from the law firm where he works as he reevaluates his life. He’s been spending a lot of time thinking in the cemetery, until one day the caretaker walks up and starts talking to him.
Unstoppable Force by Lisa Marie Davis. ebook. Good m/m romance about a successful businessman who doesn’t believe in love, so he simply hires high-class prostitutes for a weekend or a few weeks. And then he hires a guy who starts to really get under his skin… and whose past isn’t quite ready to let him go. This would’ve been a much better read if everything hadn’t been tidied it up in half a chapter and an epilogue – it definitely felt rushed.
Martin and the Wolf by Anne Brooke. ebook. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who has a scorching hot encounter with a crude and mysterious man at a friend’s garden party – an encounter that he doesn’t realize will change his life.
Sweet Surrender by Ashleigh Walton. ebook. So-so, but very sweet, m/m romance about an architecture student who starts dating a guy with his own landscaping business. A bit too syrupy for my taste.

“But if I show you my super soft tummy, you might think that means you can rub it. And it doesn’t. At all.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Personal history, Reading, Reviewettes, Tales of the Neighborhood

My eyeball, let me show it to you (now with more linkity than you’d expect from that title!)

46 Comments

Due to the holiday weekend here in the States, the Misadventures in Stock Photography will be on Tuesday instead of Monday next week.

Contests

Bookity

Learn, Make, Do, Think

Listen

Knit

Huh

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Fall Down the Mountain by P.D. Singer. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who works as a ski patrol at a fancy resort and who’s having a hard time getting over both his crush on an unavailable man and not having been able to save someone from dying in an avalanche. Will the sexy chef who lives down the hall from him be able to help him move on? I must confess to getting a titch frustrated with the main character’s clinginess during part of the book, even though I completely understood why he was acting that way.
The Best Man by L.A. Witt. ebook. Good m/m romance about two guys who become involved in a casual affair as they’re both getting over being dumped. This was one that I thought could’ve been very good to excellent with a bit more editing to tighten up the story. (And, hey, stalker alert!)
His One and Only (Only Forever, Book 4) by Shawn Lane. ebook. His One and Only was a sweet finish to this m/m romance series centered around the partners at a California law firm.
Poisoned Ivy by Scott Ryersson. ebook. This so-so historical paranormal m/m romance about students at Yale in the early part of the 20th century just never really came together for me. Between the language (aping Jane Austen? or trying for a more literary feel?) and the WTF ending, I never warmed to the story.
Straight as an Arrow by Sean Michael. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a guy who travels a lot for his job. He’s in a long-term relationship, but starts to surf D/s chat sites while he’s away from home. Typical Sean Michael fare, although one of the major aspects of this book was so implausible that it definitely detracted. (All that eye rolling I had to do, you know.)
Bound Together by Jane Davitt. ebook short. Very good m/m romance about a book collector who discovers his dominant tendencies after a younger man shows up on his doorstep selling a rare book. (Yes, that is Candy Cane Guy in the back. Good show, you!)
Aftermath by Angel Martinez. ebook. Good m/m romance about a long-term couple who struggle to recover after one of them is betrayed by a friend and assaulted. I did have a bit of a niggle about the couple not using condoms after such an assault…
Mastering Toby by Jan Irving. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a straight actor on a gay soap opera who has some confusing feelings for his gay costar (and best friend). This book never really came together, for all sorts of reasons: pacing issues, an odd tangent from the main storyline 2/3 through, and a mixture of Eastern mysticism and D/s that just didn’t work.
Strange Carnivorous Flowers from Outer Space by Matthew Vandrew. free ebook short. Cute short scifi m/m romance about a guy who’s taking his alien boyfriend home to meet the family.

From the Dreamspinner Midsummer’s Nightmare Daily Dose…
One Wild Wish by Devon Rhodes. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a band hired to play several shows at a mysterious lodge, with a contract that has some very unusual clauses that they sort of fudge.
Romanus by Mary Calmes. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about an exhausted firefighter who gets lost driving home after his shift and whose life will never be the same.
Beneath Lake Redemption by Libby Drew. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who rents a houseboat to check out a mysterious area of Lake Redemption because he suspects it hides a secret government operation.
Give the Devil His Due by Zoe Devlin. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who tries to avoid emotional entanglements because the Devil takes away those he loves.
Reverie by Dawn Kimberly Johnson. ebook short. Cute paranormal m/m romance about a guy who saves someone’s life in a dream one night, then starts to wonder if it was actually a dream.
Halfway House by Lisa Worrall. ebook short. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance about two college students who don’t really know each other and are just sharing a ride home for Spring Break… and then the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
The Man in the Woods by Ashleigh Brannigan. ebook short. So-so paranormal m/m romance about a guy who gets a flat tire while driving on a desolate road through the woods and is rescued by a very bossy and slightly creepy guy. And what the heck – this is at least the third story I’ve read from the Midsummer’s Nightmare Daily Dose that’s based on a car breaking down on a deserted road!! Hmph.
The Min Min Lights by Barry Lowe. ebook short. Ok m/m historical romance about a relatively innocent young British man who interviews with a more worldly Australian who’s looking for a tutor for his children. The ending was a bit abrupt and left me “huh?”
The Gray Ghost by J.J. Levesque. ebook short. So-so m/m romance about a couple who have just purchased a house that no one’s stayed in for longer than a week.

Last week, I woke up to discover my eyeball looked like this:

I was, understandably, somewhat freaked, but it turned out to be very minor – a subconjunctival hemorrhage, which can happen when you’re sleeping, sneezing, coughing, or simply stressed. It’s quite a bit less dramatic now (because the red bits are mostly above and below my pupil), but probably won’t fade completely for another week.

Due to a new store in my neighborhood, things have been a bit noisy as July 4th draws near. Make sure you embiggen the photo to read the signs. Truth in advertising indeed!

Speaking of fireworks…

“I really, really hate all the loud noises outside, Mom. It’s probably your fault, so knock it off!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

These are a few of my linkity things (well, ok, more than a few)

33 Comments

Congrats to Deanna, who won the copy of A.M. Riley’s recent m/m romantic suspense, Son of a Gun!

Contests

Reading & Beyond

  • For info on new and upcoming releases, contests, interviews, and more: Lily (m/m romance), Literary Escapism (paranormal romance, urban fantasy), Katiebabs (all sorts of romance), and SciFi Guy (urban fantasy, paranormal romance, etc).
  • Both KMont and Katiebabs found examples of cover art reuse last week!
  • Jenre did a really interesting series of posts at Desert Island Keepers on category romance themes in m/m romance: historicals, westerns, and others.

Learn-Do-Make

Sad

LOL

WTF

Squee!

Reading Update
Jude in Chains by K. Z. Snow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a gay journalist who attends a “reparative therapy” camp pretending to be a straight journalist.
Out of the Blue by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Very good m/m historical romance about a British and an American pilot in France during World War I.
The One That Stayed by T.C. Blue. ebook. Poignantly sweet m/m romance with characters who will be familiar to those who’ve read TC Blue’s The One That Was Lost and The One That Got Away. The story is told in a mixture of present day and flashbacks, with perhaps a bit too much headhopping.
Cinnamon Dreams by Vic Winter. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance a guy who ditches his hated office job to work in a bakery, where he spends a lot of time drooling over the hunky baker…
Officers in Need and Uniform Hardness by John Simpson. ebook shorts. These short m/m stories had some of the most stilted, least natural sounding dialogue I’ve ever read. They weren’t meant to be humorous, but I laughed out loud more than once. Ouch.
Man Down by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Enjoyable m/m romance about a paramedic student with a secret past and a paramedic who doesn’t really want to find him intriguing. While the characters from Running Hot do make brief appearances in this book, I think either book could be read first.
Still the One (The Best Gift, Book 2) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. This sweet m/m romance takes place five years after The Best Gift. Malcolm and Dusty are deeply committed to each other, but what will happen when they end up on opposite coasts for their careers?
Until the End of Time (At Long Last, Book 2) by Shawn Lane. ebook. Good m/m romance follow-up to At Long Last. Prescott and Scott have been together for seven months, but is Prescott ever going to admit to his parents and friends that Scott’s not simply his roommate?
Finding the Divine by J.L. Jensen. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a nurse who becomes friends and roommates with the sexy new doctor at the hospital. They’re attracted to each other, but neither knows the other is gay. This was part of Torquere’s “Arcana” series and was the first one I’d read in which the Tarot played a major part in the story instead of just being added as an afterthought. Also, it was set in the Twin Cities, which is always fun for me to read.
If I Must by Amy Lane. ebook short. reread. After reading the great review of this sweet m/m romance short at Reviews by Jessewave, I had the urge to reread it myself. Just as good the second time as it was the first!
The New Client by J.M. Snyder. ebook short. Meh short m/m mystery about a PI who’s hired by woman to find her missing twin brother. Not much of a mystery, plus a pretty glaring condom gaffe.
Savage Awakenings (Lost Shifters, Book 3) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. I have to confess I’ve put off reading this m/m paranormal because it’s Rat’s story; since I’ve always had this urge to punch Rat in the previous two books, I wasn’t sure I could make it through his book. Instead, I got totally sucked into the story. 🙂
Bound by Nature (Force of Nature, Book 1) by Cooper Davis. ebook. I really liked Boys of Summer by Cooper Davis. Alas, this m/m werewolf romance does not measure up well. While I don’t mind books in which flashbacks are used well (such as in Amor en Retrogrado and Son of a Gun), the alternating chapters of present and past in this book drove me nuts. As did a glaring continuity error in which one character puts on his glasses… and then picks up and puts on his glasses a paragraph later. How many simultaneous pairs of glasses can one person wear?! *ahem* Anyway.
To Hate and To Hold by Dakota Rebel. ebook. Good m/m paranormal romance about two vampires who hate each other and get bonded together as part of a mysterious curse. Their cursed bond forces them to get very, very familiar with each other… (Yes, that’s Slouching Open Black Jacket Guy on the left!)
A Pint Light by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Enjoyable paranormal m/m romance about a vampire who’s expected to mate with a mage and is somewhat surprised to discover the mage is male.
Love Me Dead by A.M. Riley, Lex Valentine, & William Maltese. ebook collection. Good m/m paranormal romance collection about ghosts. (That cover scares me more than any ghost would…) I particularly enjoyed the two stories by A.M. Riley. Lex Valentine’s story was pretty good, but maybe a bit too sweet for me at the end. And, as is par for the course, I skipped the story by William Maltese.
Fire Season (Tales of the Darkworld, Book 3) by Lex Valentine. ebook. Ok m/m paranormal romance about a straight dragon shapeshifter whose fated mate turns out to be male. I thought the strongest part of this story was the time it spent showing how Holden dealt with (and didn’t deal with) his sudden attraction to a guy, which gets glossed over in a lot of fated mate stories. I didn’t like that Garrett made a lot of pronouncements, but never followed through on them. I also really wish I hadn’t read the epilogue, which suggests that their story isn’t finished… and I definitely won’t be reading the rest of it, based on that.
Caging the Tiger (Animal Attraction, Book 4) by Michelle Houston. ebook short. Ok m/m paranormal romance about a tiger shifter who’s finally going to meet the magician with whom he’s been corresponding for years. I think I’m done with this “series” of unrelated shorts, though – I just don’t care enough.
Guardian by Kalita Kasar. ebook short. Ok m/m romance about a guy who has no memory of his life before he was hit by a car when he was ten. And why does he have a recurring dream, from which he wakes yelling for Ben? He doesn’t know anyone named Ben… (Oh, good eye, you! That is BBG on the cover!)
Laying a Ghost by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance set on a Scottish island, about a fisherman who’s lived there all his life and a guy who comes to the island to live in the house his uncle left to him. Even with the insta-love aspect of the story, I really enjoyed this book. I know there are two additional books (and I have them already), but I’m not not sure I’ll be reading them soon because this really felt like a complete story unto itself.

“But I don’t want to use the other portable kitty cave, big kitty. I want to use this one.” -Mayhem

“Tough luck, May. I got it first and I’m prepared to defend it with my laser eyes!” -Chaos