Day: May 31, 2015

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Meant for Me (Rock Gods 5) by Ann Lister Blog Tour with Excerpt and Giveaway

Anne Lister - Meant For Me Cover

Tony Wilcox, the quiet keyboard player for Ivory Tower, has always believed he was straight. A sexual encounter with his best friend leaves Tony questioning his heart and the unwavering attraction he has for Jared. Living and working together is no longer enough for Tony… he wants more. He wants Jared as his.
Jared Baker, the bass player for the band, has a past that is getting in the way of him fully embracing what he wants… Tony. He’s tried everything to create distance between them, but none of it eliminated the feelings he has developed for Tony.
Trying to suppress the anger and confusion from Jared withdrawing from his life, Tony does his best to get beyond the feelings he has for his friend. When Jared becomes deathly ill, it’s Tony that he calls for help and Tony has to decide if he can heal Jared without giving away too much of his heart.
Can best friends find their way to true love and discover if they were meant for each other, or will the challenges of life force them to choose separate paths?

Buy Link:
Amazon: Meant For Me

Ann Lister TeaserExcerpt:

Jared continued to gently rock his hips against Tony to ease them through the aftershocks, then leaned in to offer Tony a soft, lingering kiss. When Jared’s eyes opened, Tony was staring up at him. The intensity of that gaze took Jared’s breath away and he rose up to his elbows again.
“You okay?” Jared asked with tenderness.
“Isn’t this where you freak-out and leave?” Tony asked.
Jared’s eyebrows bunched together. “I told you, T, I’m not leaving,” Jared replied. “Being with you like this only makes me want more, so much more.”
Tony pushed his fingers through Jared’s hair and tucked a piece behind his ear. “There’s no girl here between us to act as a buffer, and no other logical way you can pretend this didn’t happen. Can you blame me for thinking you might bolt once the buzz of this wears off?”
“I know my track record with you isn’t the greatest, but things are different now—I’m different,” Jared proclaimed.
“How so?” Tony questioned.
Jared ran the back of his fingers across Tony’s cheek. “I guess you could say, I finally found the balls to admit to myself what it is I’m feeling,” Jared said. “More importantly, I found the backbone to come here and tell you.”
Tony shook his head. “I’m sorry if I’m being skeptical about this, but you’ve either run or pushed me away at very pivotal moments. At this point, I’m finding it difficult to understand where you’re coming from, and what’s really going on inside your head.”
Jared dropped down to Tony’s chest and his face rolled into the bend of Tony’s shoulder. It took a few seconds, but Tony’s arms finally wrapped around Jared’s back and Jared nuzzled in closer. God, he loved the warmth of Tony’s embrace. It offered so much more than comfort. It felt safe.
“I’m so sorry for putting you through that, and if there was a way I could take it back I would,” Jared said with his lips against Tony’s neck. “Truth is, I had trouble…accepting things.”
“Do you think it was easy for me?” Tony asked. “Jesus! How do you come to terms with wanting your best friend like this? There’s no easy way to accept something like that. You either go with what you’re feeling, or walk away, and that’s what you seemed hell bent on doing.”
“I’m here now, T, and that has to count for something,” Jared whispered.
Tony shifted beneath Jared and they both felt the come cooling on their skin. Jared eased off to Tony’s side and rolled from the bed. He walked into the bathroom and returned with a towel to clean them both. When he reached the bed, Tony was already using tissues from the nightstand to wipe the mess off his stomach. Jared climbed back onto the bed and finished cleaning Tony with the towel, then tossed the towel onto the floor and stretched out on his side facing Tony. He slid his leg over Tony’s thigh again, dropped his head to Tony’s shoulder, and ran his fingers over Tony’s chest and stomach. He loved the way Tony’s soft dusting of hair tickled the pads of his fingers.
“I don’t know how I can prove it to you, T, but I will. And, I’ll keep on proving it to you every fucking day you’ll let me,” Jared’s voice was soft, but he knew Tony was hearing every word loud and clear. “I’m not running, and I was serious about wanting more.”
Ann Lister - Author Picture

AUTHOR BIO:
Ann Lister writes erotic love stories using beautifully drawn characters; flawed and emotionally damaged, and at the height of their careers, each in search of the one thing that still eludes them: love.

The Rock Gods series gave her Bestselling Author status on Amazon. Each book in this series brings her two favorite elements together: musicians and the love between two men. These stories focus on what it truly means to love; love unconditionally, love without restrictions or labels, love without fear or judgment – to just simply love.
Author Links:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Lister/95422803480?fref=photo
Website: http://www.annlisterpublications.com
Twitter: @AnnListerAuthor

Ann Lister Series Banner

Giveaway :

Rafflecopter Prize:
*** US ONLY
5 signed copies of one Rock Gods title (5 winners)
5 swag bundles (5 winners)
1 signed set (4 titles) of The Rock Gods series
*** WORLDWIDE
1 digital set of The complete Rock Gods Series (1 winner)
5 e copies of a Rock God book of choice (5 winners)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Nothing Ventured Audiobook by Jay Northcote Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6496

NothingVenturedAUDMEDBlurb

When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.

Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.

Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.

Book Review (Previously on this site.)

Aiden is an out and proud, but sorta lazy, gay man. He ends up getting suckered into competing in an obstacle course race (via too much tequila) by one of his friends who pairs him with her cousin Matt for training.

Matt is “straight” and OCD about fitness ever since his father died suddenly from a heart attack. He and Aiden spark off one another right away, but since Matt is straight and all, Aiden keeps his flirting to a minimum. Until one day… they end up covered in mud and Matt needs a shower… Aiden realizes Matt isn’t all that straight.

They begin a “friends-with-benefits” affair. Matt is bi-sexual but deep in the closet. Aiden is out but not interested in a relationship since the last one he was in left him scarred.

At first this seems to work out great for both men. They are good together in bed and as training partners and they might even be good as friends. But as time goes on they begin to have feelings for each other that makes things awkward.

Finally, after an amazingly touching night of lovemaking and talking, they decide they are too close to one another so they have to split.

What?

Yes, they like each other too much to continue seeing each other.

So now they are both frustrated,sad, and lonely.

Fortunately, not for long… after the race, when Aiden nearly drowns, they come around and realize they can’t let the past dictate their future.

Hooray!

**

Jay Northcote is one of my auto-buy authors. She never disappoints. Her characters are fun, funny, three-dimensional and really enjoyable. In most of her stories we get to see some growth and we always see some hot sex and sweet love.

This book did not disappoint in most of those areas. I really loved the slow burn, the tension as we “hated” Matt for how poorly he treated Aiden and the relief when they finally gave in and admitted their feelings.

But… I thought the last bit there at the end, where Matt and Aiden both admitted (essentially) that they loved one another then broke up felt a little contrived. (I think that if Matt had denied his feelings and broke up with Aiden because Aiden was too clingy or something, it would have felt more authentic and given us the same result. IMHO)

However, that is really a small, nit-picky thing. The only other thing I would have appreciated was seeing the boys together longer as a couple.

So, overall I really enjoyed this book and recommend it with a 4 of 5 hearts.

Audio

Matthew Lloyd Davies has done several Jay Northcote books and he always does a nice job. He has a lovely British accent and he is easy to listen to. In general I like the way he handles emotion and he does a nice job trying to keep all the characters separate by giving them different voices. In this case, however, I just didn’t like the voice he chose for Matt. It was a little too stuffy and pretentious – though I know that somewhat fits the character – it was overdone for my taste.
I liked how he did the women’s voices, more or less and overall enjoyed the narration, though I didn’t love it.

Overall both book and narration: 4 of 5 hearts

4

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Where You’ll Find Him by Mel Bossa

WhereYoullFindHim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6410

Blurb

During Pride week in Montreal, Wolfe learns the board is threatening to shut down the YBR queer community center. He can’t let this happen, not while he’s the director and responsible for everyone there. They tell him he’s just a kid, too young to handle these responsibilities, but Wolfe is determined to prove to everyone, including the rich family he left behind, that he’s strong enough to do the job, even if it leaves him with little time for love.

But then devastatingly handsome Gaspard walks up to the YBR stand on Pride community day. Freshly divorced and father to two grown children, Gaspard is finally out of the closet as bisexual, and single for the first time in thirty years. Gaspard falls for Wolfe in a way he’s not prepared for. But as relationships unravel, Gaspard resists his passion for a man young enough to be his son.

Wolfe has spent his life fighting for what he wants. And what he wants is Gaspard.

Review

This is a unique book in that there is very little sex, the main characters are almost overwhelmed by the secondary characters and though the romance is a central theme the book is really about growth and personal realtionships (not just romantic).

To me this book felt like a YA book about Wolfe and his growth in his family and getting over his past. I think it could have been labeled YA instead of contemporary … not sure if that’s appropriate either… it’s a unique book and hard to pigeon hole.

I didn’t understand the epilogue and the rest of the book was not really to my taste. I like a more centrally focused, erotic, romantic “romance” and this was MORE than that, but not what I was looking for.

2.75 of 5 hearts

3

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