Wild Magic Audiobook by Poppy Dennison Narrated by Robert G Davis

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wild magicBlurb

Triad: Book Four

Joseph Anderson was heartbroken when his childhood best friend Dominick Levent moved away. Years later, Joseph is a successful real estate broker with good friends, an easy smile, and a stunning house. When he finds a dying mountain lion who miraculously shifts into Dominick’s sister, Joseph must find Dominick and reunite him with the two young sons she left behind.

When mountain lion shifter Dominick gets a call telling him his sister is dead, he rushes home to protect his nephews and avenge his sister. Seeing Joseph brings back the feelings Dominick tried to bury and he dares to hope Joseph’s newfound knowledge of shifters means they can finally be together.

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Review

Joseph “Joey, stumbles upon his childhood friend and her two children, just as she’s morphing from a mountain lion into a dying woman. Wow! Talk about a mind melter! With her dying breath she asks Joey to take the kids and find her brother (his other childhood friend Dominick “Nicky”) because the kids are in danger.

Though he is thoroughly freaked out, he does as told with the help of his friend Vicky.

When Nicky hears about his sister’s death he’s torn up but he’s also a bit relieved because now he can share with his friend all the secrets he’d been hiding. It was those secrets that drove him away from Joey all those years ago. The secrets and his feelings for Joey.

Together, Nicky and Joey must figure out how to track the killer of Nicky’s sister, raise the “cubs” without a pack, keep the whole shifter thing a secret while both of them are at work and manage to confront the simmering feelings between the two of them.

Nicky manages to stumble on to Gray and Simon’s pack through a work related investigation and that leads him to the answers to several of his problems. He and Joey also manage to figure things out between the two of them and we are left with a very HEA.

**
I just loved the Triad series. I loved watching Gray and Simon’s slowly developing relationship, the intense world building, the climactic finish… all of it.

I’m not sure what happened here.

Joey and Nicky’s story as a couple felt like barely a footnote. It isn’t until 85% in that they even get together physically. Most of the book is about Nicky the boys and their need for a pack. That aspect was very interesting and I loved the tie-in to Gray’s pack and the involvement of Riley, but the story (for a m/m romance) felt really lopsided.

My need for Joey and Nicky to work on their relationship, to develop their relationship, to have a relationship was essentially given one chapter of 15 and could be described as anemic at best.

Watching Nicky find a place in the world again was fulfilling and I was so happy everyone found a home in the end, but I was disappointed by how little Joey impacted the ending.

Overall, I wouldn’t say this added much to the series and as a stand-alone was not very satisfying at all.

I give the book a 2.5 of 5 hearts

2.5

Audio:

I found Robert G Davis’ narration to be of equal quality as his previous work. He still does a great job with dialog but has a tendency to lilt upward on his sentences in a way that can sometimes be distracting.

The sound quality and editing were good and I enjoyed listening to the book more than reading it as he does add to the experience with his voice changes and modulations.

(I still really love his kid voices!)

I give the narration a 4 of 5 hearts

4

 

Overall, I give it a 3 of 5 hearts

3

My Mate Jack by Garrett Leigh

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mate jackBlurb

Will Barter’s been in love with his best mate Jack for as long as he can remember. They’ve shared everything: love, life, laughs, even Will’s first kiss. But Jack’s straight, and Will’s long-buried infatuation means nothing until their last summer together draws to a close.

Then one night, everything changes, but with Will bound for university in Leeds, and Jack for his dream DJ job in Ibiza, there’s no time to explore their blurred lines. Before long all that’s left are secrets, lies, and misunderstandings.

In the months that follow, anger and hurt overshadow fifteen years of friendship, and Will must dig deep to remember Jack is his mate… his best mate, and nothing matters more than that, right?

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Review

As the blurb lays it out – Will’s been gay since he can remember and Jack’s been okay with it all along. Jack has always been “straight” though, and Will has had to be content to crush on him from afar… or not so far. Turns out that Jack’s willing to “help” Will now and then in his route to sexual maturity. Surely a kiss is a kiss is a kiss – right? And – well – everyone needs some sort of sexual experience before they head off to be an “adult” – right?

Needless to say, these helpful sessions do nothing but blur the edges between friend and lover, between gay and straight, between experimentation and reality.
We follow the friends over a 6 year period of time. Some of that time is spent together as teen-agers – some is long distance via texts and emails as young adults. Will is going to university near home and Jack is living his dream as a DJ in Ibiza.

Whenever the boys meet up in person, things shift and change. Sometimes it feels like they are growing more and more apart – then at times it feels like no one will ever be as close as the two of them together.

Finally, things between them hit a rough patch. Jack’s career isn’t as stellar as he’d hoped and his life in Ibiza isn’t all he’d wanted it to be. Will’s love life has never been as satisfying as the times he’s spent “experimenting” with Jack.

Both Will and Jack have to face facts and be honest with themselves, or they might just lose the best thing that ever happened to both of them.

**

First, let me just gush over all the “British”. I love it!

Second, let me gush about the way the story is developed. Intermingled with “real time” experiences when the boys are together, we see the passage of time via emails and texts. Needless to say neither boy is a poet or prone to wordy letters and a lot of emotion and angst is transmitted in a few words – or specifically in what doesn’t get said. Very elegant way to show time passing.

Third, let me gush about the love story. Just the right amount of angst. I kept feeling like the breakthrough was just around the corner and had to keep reading. When would Jack figure it out?! When would Will call Jack on his B.S.?! How could either of them be so blind? It. Was. Delicious! I adore GFY and when it’s friends to lovers like this…. Cream of the crop! I loved that even at the end we are left to wonder… is Jack gay or bi?!?! (And the sex… super hot!)

Fourth, Drum and Bass – say no more!

This was my first ever Garrett Leigh book but it won’t be my last. I really, really loved this book and give it a 5 of 5 hearts.

5

AE Via Spotlight Tour for Here Comes Trouble with Giveaway

HERE COMES TROUBLE MASTER COVER (1)Detectives Mark Ruxsberg and Chris Green are very good at their jobs. Being the enforcers for God and Day’s notorious Atlanta PD Narcotics Task Force causes the crazy duo to get into more trouble than they can often get out of. The pair never misses out on an opportunity to drive their Lieutenants crazy with their dangerous, reckless, and costly stunts, landing them in the hot seat in front God… often.

Ruxs and Green love their jobs and they don’t mind the very demanding schedule that leaves them little time for socializing or dating. It was fine with them, they enjoyed hanging out with each other anyway.

However, most of the men in their close circle of friends and colleagues are pairing off and settling down. God has Day, Ro has Johnson, and their Sergeant Syn has Furious.

For the past several years, Ruxs has only sought out the advice and company of one person, his partner and best friend Green, and vice versa. Both of these alpha males are presumed straight, but neither can deny the heat that’s building in their once ‘just friends’ relationship.

Excerpt:

   Ruxs yanked open the first drawer and dug his hand in to yank out the shirts he had in there. The first one he pulled out was brand new, still with the tag on it. He blinked a couple times, trying to remember buying a new shirt. He unfolded the soft cotton material and saw it was the exact same black AC/DC shirt that he’d ruined at his mom’s house when he was washing dishes. Obviously, Green had immediately ordered him another one. Fuck. Ruxs plopped down on the bed clutching the shirt in his hand. Ruxs groaned. “Why does he have to be straight?”
“Who said I was?” Green’s smooth voice wafted over him like a warm blanket. Is that supposed to be another joke? Ruxs closed his eyes, wishing things could be different.
Ruxs tensed as he heard Green’s footsteps come closer. He felt him standing in front of him, but he couldn’t look at him. Ruxs was humiliated again. He should’ve just admitted to himself that he wasn’t good enough for a man like Green, even if he was gay. He’d been halfway beat to death by his own goddamn mother. Now he had busted into his house a huge, drunken mess.         No one —.
“Shut up.” Green’s voice was dark and stern. “You’re actually gonna sit here and have a fuckin’ pity party for yourself. That’s not the man—”
Ruxs cut Green off, jumping to his feet, barking in his partner’s face. “Fine! Then I won’t st —”
“Sit your fuckin’ ass down!” Green yelled back louder, bumping his chest, making Ruxs fall back down on the bed. Ruxs grunted at the pain in his back, in his head… in his heart.
He didn’t quite know what to do when Green stepped in between his legs. Ruxs didn’t know why he was breathing so hard either… he just was. He felt a strong hand grip his face, tilting his head up. He stared into Green’s dark eyes. Beautiful eyes. Green looked at him like he was the most important thing in the world. God, Ruxs would do anything for this man to want him back as much as he wanted him. Green stroked the cheek with the bruise and Ruxs flinched lightly. Green didn’t talk, he just manipulated his head, turning him left and right, surveying his injuries. Then Green did something that had Ruxs’ last reserve cracking. He gently cupped the back of his head and brought him forward until Ruxs cheek was resting on his hard stomach. “Hold me back,” Green whispered.
Ruxs’ arms felt like they weighed a ton. He managed to put both arms around the man in front of him, and when he did his whole world crashed down around him. Everything that had been weighing him down the last few weeks. All the pain of wanting something permanent in his life. The hurt of losing his mom forever. He squeezed Green to him, held on to him for dear life. Held him like he’d die if he let go. And Green held him right back, whispering quietly, “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay now. I’ve got you. I never meant to hurt you. I swear. I didn’t know. I promise you I didn’t. I never would’ve gone out with her. Why didn’t you just tell me? Damn you.”
Ruxs finally calmed after several minutes and looked up at him. “What are you saying, Chris?”
Green went down on his knees so he was eye level with him. “I’m saying: Why didn’t you talk to me, Mark? How long have you been feeling like this?”
“Long enough to drive me crazy.” Ruxs laughed humorlessly.
Green stared at him. He put his hands on Ruxs cheeks. “Com’ere,” he whispered.
Ruxs’ eyes widened slightly, his voice a hushed murmur, “Are you gay?”
Green smirked. “Are you? Just shut up and come here.”

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AUTHOR BIO:

A.E. Via is still a fairly new author in the beautiful gay erotic genre. Her writing embodies everything from spicy to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
When she’s not clicking away at her laptop, she devotes herself to her family—a husband and four children, her two pets, a Maltese dog and her white Siamese cat, ELynn, named after the late, great gay romance author E. Lynn Harris.
While this is only her sixth novel, she has plenty more to come. So stalk her – she loves that – because the male on male action is just heating up!
Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on upcoming work, free reads, and where she’ll appear next.

Links

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Trouble-Nothing-Special-ebook/dp/B00Q3UI6VG/ref=zg_bs_7588788011_12

AllRomance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html

Barnes&Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/a.-e.-via

Author Official Website: http://authoraevia.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7354860.A_E_Via

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/aeviaauthor

Facebook (Friend me): https://www.facebook.com/authoraevia

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAEVia

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/A.-E.-Via/e/B00GMNMS4U/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

#01 Here Comes Trouble (Teaser 2)

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