Aiden burst out laughing and moved one hand to ruffle Olly’s hair.
“Hey!” Olly exclaimed as he pulled back in order to glare at Aiden, who just smiled bigger and pulled him back into his arms.
“I couldn’t resist,” Aiden said, the laughter evident in his voice.
“Yeah, whatever. Anyway, back to what I was saying, but hopefully without interruptions this time.” Olly looked pointedly at Ryan when he said that. Ryan seemed to be studying him intently, but didn’t utter a word.
Olly looked away and started talking again. “I know where the pack is, or at least, I know where a bunch of canine shifters are being held.”
“How do you know that they’re part of our pack?” Lex asked, sounding like he was trying to restrain his eagerness.
Olly turned to him. “Because I heard a few of the guards talk about how they captured a bunch of them together.”
“And why didn’t you get caught?” Ryan asked, anger in his voice.
“Because,” Olly paused, then sighed. “The house they’re being held in belongs to Walter.”
Aiden gasped and when Olly looked at him, he saw the horror that was on his face.
“How long has Walter had shifters imprisoned on his property?” Aiden asked, outrage in his voice.
“I don’t know for sure, but it would be a number of years.” Olly couldn’t face any of them as he said that.
“Who is this Walter?” Ryan growled.
Olly looked up at him, then looked away as he replied, “My father.”
Beany lives in Western Australia. She first started reading romance novels in 2008, but it wasn’t until January 2010 when her Kindle got delivered that the world of erotic romance opened its doors to her, and she hasn’t looked back.
With suggestions and support from friends, her muse—“affectionately” known as PITA—was finally able to break free, and in January 2014 her first story was written. Since she can’t put PITA back in his box, Beany has decided to give in and team up with him. Together they’ve made plans to write both MF and MM stories.
Author Contact:
She can be reached at [email protected]
Or visit her at http://www.beanysparks.com
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Cover Artist: Latrisha Waters
Beany Answers:
Q: When you start a book, do you already have the whole story in your head or is it built progressively?
A: Not at all, I have no idea how the story is going to end up when I start writing it. Sometimes I don’t even know what the conflict is going to be until it happens.
Q: What is the book you would bring with you on a desert island?
A: Can I cheat and say my iPad or Kindle? Then I could have a continuous supply of stories!
Q:When and why did you begin writing?
A: I began in January 2014 and wrote the whole book in a month. I have always been coming up with stories in my mind, mainly after I finish reading a story or blog instalment, then I’d let my mind come up with scenarios about what happened next. Then, with a lot of encouragement, I finally sat down and started writing. Now I couldn’t get PITA back in his cage for anything in the world…not sure if that’s a good thing…
Officer Shawn Everly patrols the Strip and one night, fireman Trent Marshall saves him when danger strikes. But it’s still uncertain whether Trent can save himself from getting his heart broken by Shawn.
The party never ends on the Las Vegas strip but neither does the danger. Officer Everly is new to the beat, having recently relocated to Vegas from Los Angeles. Foot patrol on the Strip is a demanding assignment because he’s up close and personal with the public. But what he’d really like to do is get up close and personal with Station 32’s hunky fireman, Trent Marshall.
Trent has been a fireman for over ten years and is dedicated to his job. He’s built tough and is a no-nonsense man of few words. At a local blood drive, Trent meets the handsome new officer on foot patrol but won’t let himself get too close. He’s lost love before when his policeman lover was killed in the line of fire.
During an emergency, Trent’s over-protective instincts kick in when he believes Shawn is in harm’s way. He ends up embarrassing and angering Shawn in front of their fellow officers, which seems as though it will end any hope of Trent having a chance with the young man he can’t push from his mind. Shawn can’t decide whether he wants to punch or kiss Trent. Kissing wins. Once they spend some time together away from the stresses of their jobs, they find that they’re not just compatible—they’re combustible.
But Trent can’t seem to accept that there are hazards that come with working in law enforcement. Right as they’re discovering how much they mean to one another, the danger escalates on the Strip. The underground vigilante group, The Citizens Against Immorality, have raised the stakes. Will Shawn and Trent be their next targets?
My Review
Trent’s lover of several years died 2 years ago, the victim of a murderer while on duty. He hasn’t felt desire in all this time and when he meets Shawn at a blood-drive, he ignores the policeman, knowing he can’t handle another relationship with a cop.
Shawn has just moved to Las Vegas from Los Angeles and he doesn’t have many friends. He sees Trent across a crowded hall and falls immediately in lust with the hunky fireman. But it isn’t until Trent rescues him from a near drowning that he realizes Trent is just as attracted to Shawn as Shawn is to Trent.
When Shawn gets injured chasing down a bad guy, Trent is there to rescue him and set him up in his house to recuperate. By this time Trent is ready to admit that he’s gone for Shawn and can’t fight the attraction any more.
The relationship starts off hot and steamy and only gets more molten from there. But… Trent does several really dumb, cave-man things that humiliates Shawn and forces him to realize that Trent isn’t exactly over his past lover’s death.
Shawn and Trent are also caught up in solving a string of murders/arsons that place Shawn in harms way and forces Trent to make some tough decisions.
Fortunately, Trent asks for and receives some help that allows him to give Shawn the space he needs so that they can have their HEA.
**
This was such a surprise! When I read the blurb and some of the reviews, I was expecting a book full of hot sex and not much else. But, while it is FULL of hot sex, it is also really tender and loving. There’s a little mystery/excitement thrown in and a pretty astute look at grief and grieving.
I found myself very, very pleasantly surprised and definitely recommend this book to lovers of the men in uniform, hot sex, and sweet love stories.
Simon has a good job and a nice house, and according to his best friend Chris, he’s turning into a boring old fart. So it’s totally out of character when Simon bares his bum to the local constabulary on a night out with his brother’s student mates. He hopes he’s put the incident behind him, when Simon bumps into one of the officers. Simon fears he’s in trouble, then thinks he’s in luck when PC Mark Timmis buys him a drink – but life in a rural English town is never as simple as it seems.
Excerpt:
On a count of three from Tim, the most vocal of the group, six students and one financial expert lowered their trousers to reveal a remarkably varied set of backsides. Glancing sideways, Simon spied a pert pair of buttocks which could have graced a swimwear ad, a scrawny little bum which could barely have held up its owner’s jeans, and an unusually hairy arse adorned with a love-heart tattoo.
Then Simon looked round at the uniformed recipients of their cheeky display. Their jaw-dropping looks of surprise were priceless, and Simon genuinely hoped a passer-by had snapped them on a mobile phone. Simon soon realized, however, that it was he and his mooning chums who were far more likely to end up on YouTube.
Only one of the policemen wasn’t gaping like a truncheon had been shoved somewhere unexpected. A smile crept onto the face of the tall, blond and undeniably handsome officer. Simon instinctively smiled back, until he noticed the copper’s colleagues had recovered their professional poise and were readying themselves for action. Tim gave his orders once more.
“Leg it!”
Pages: 22 pages
H. Lewis-Foster lives in the North of England, and has always worked with books in one form or another. As a keen reader of gay fiction, she decided to try writing herself, and is now the proud author of several short stories and her debut novel ‘Burning Ashes’. She was also delighted to see her first play performed earlier in 2014.
H. likes to create characters who are talented, funny and quite often gorgeous, but who all have their faults and vulnerable sides, and she hopes that you’ll enjoy reading their stories as much as she loves writing them.
Author Contact: https://twitter.com/HLewisFoster
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
Cover Artist: Lily Velden in collaboration with Design Bug
Music. Topher Manning rarely thinks about anything else, but his day job as a mechanic doesn’t exactly mesh with his rock star ambitions. Unless he can find a way to unlock all the songs in his head, his band will soon be on the fast track to obscurity.
Then the South by Southwest music festival and a broken-down car drop New York critic Stanton Porter into his life. Stanton offers Topher a ticket to the Bruce Springsteen concert, where a hesitant kiss and phantom vibrations from Topher’s cell phone kick off a love story that promises to transcend ordinary possibility.
My Review
This is two stories which intertwine into one.
First, Topher Manning is a mechanic by day and musician by night. He works at the same garage as Travis (from The Nothingness of Ben). One day he’s at work when a guy with car problems strolls in with a spare ticket to the Bruce Springsteen concert – one of Topher’s all time favorite bands. The guy, Stanton Porter, offers Topher the chance of a lifetime (floor seats at the concert in exchange for a ride) and they go together to enjoy the show.
The two have both nothing and everything in common. Stanton is 50 something, from New York, a music critic with an Ivy League education and an amazing affinity for all things music, especially pop-music. Topher is a country boy, 26, no college whatsoever, plays music in a rock-n-roll band, and an affinity for all things music, especially pop-music.
They essentially click, and though Topher has never had a “gay” thought in the world, he finds himself compelled to kiss Stanton in the middle of “Thunder Road”. This spurs the beginning of a strange and sometimes bewildering romance between the two that seems to cross state lines, age lines and time lines.
The second story is also about Stanton, but a 24 year-old Stanton, who falls in love with Hutch. Hutch is a trust-fund child who has been mostly “disowned” for being gay and a musician by his upper-crust family. He and Stanton fall almost instantly in love and they too share a love of music, though both have the education and a group of close knit friends in common.
Every other chapter switches between the older and the younger Stanton’s love stories. Needless to say there are some major tie-ins and co-incidences that are mind-boggling, and in a way it is both an epic tragedy and an amazing love-story rolled into one.
**
I can’t really explain much more about this story without giving too much away – and that would spoil the surprises. However, know this: there are some “paranormal” or “otherworldly” elements to this story like there was in The Nothingness of Ben which will have you riveted to your seat. Though the flash-backs (Hutch’s story) are amazingly difficult to read, they are also so touching and heart-warming that you won’t want to skip or even skim them.
Because the current story includes so many characters we’ve seen before, I recommend reading all three books to truly appreciate this story. I’d recommend either this order: TNOB, Return, Slugger, TNOB OR Return, Slugger, Ben.
Both Hutch’s and Topher’s stories are stories about living your dream and fighting for what you want. Stanton remains the constant. Though he, too, has to face demons and confront homophobic parents and in-laws, he serves as the anchor for both men.
Hutch’s story takes place in the early 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic was just beginning to take victim after victim, so it’s also a lesson in history. A glimpse at what it might have been like to live through the early days of AIDS. It’s so very hard to read, but also so important to understanding just how far we’ve come since then.
The secondary characters are so vivid and important in this book that at times they seem to take over the story. However, this does in no way detract from the main story line and only adds to the main story.
Origninally, when I had read The Nothingness of Ben, I was underwhelmed. I liked it (see my review on this site) but didn’t love it. Then when I got the chance to review The Eskimo Slugger I noted that it was a part three of the series, so I bought The Return to “catch up”. WOW! Was I ever glad for that. The Return is easily the best of the three books. It is also the longest (twice as long as the other two) and it’s hard for me to say, but I almost think it would be best read first, even though some things may show up out of sequence.
Now, after having read all three, I had to go back to re-read Ben and boy what a difference that makes. It’s still the weakest of the three but I have a new appreciation for it and love it a whole lot more.
When I got to the point in Return where I kind of figured things out, I got mad and had to set the book aside. After all, I wanted Topher for Stanton and was not pleased at all to hear about Hutch. However, the story line itself is so intriguing, the writing is so amazing, that I persisted. When I saw that it had an audiobook version out as well, I started listening as a way to help me get more involved in the story. That (explained here in a bit) sealed the deal and I absolutely fell in love.
For anyone with a fondness of music, you will find this book amazing, Brad has filled it with music trivia.
I highly recommend this book and give it 6 of 5 hearts.
Audiobook:
First let me say that I am a Charlie David fan. I have always enjoyed his narrations, I like his voice, find his performances engaging and appealing and always a dependable choice for a narrator.
This narration is hands down his best work (as far as I have observed). He does absolutely AMAZING things with the many, many characters. He has subtle accents, moments of intense emotion, moments of giddiness and drunkenness, AND he can sing! He sings two songs in this narration and they are fabulous!
It is obvious to me that when you combine an author with the talent that Brad Boney has with the right narrator, magic ensues. This is one of the cases where I can’t emphasize enough that this book should absolutely be listened to. It was an experience far, far above the normal and I was completely entranced.
I give the audiobook a 6 of 5 hearts.
Overall 6 of 5 hearts – this book was both heartbreaking and heart-warming that I couldn’t stop and listened to all 11 plus hours over one very long, long night and the book hangover I got was totally, absolutely worth it.
Retired LAPD detective Quiddity Flight yearns for action, adventure, and good old-fashioned romance. He’s about to get it all…and it might just be the death of him. Just as Quiddity accepts an insurance-fraud case, looking into the lifestyle and allegedly fake injury of multi-millionaire soccer player João del Sol, he finds that del Sol is deeply attracted to him.
But Quiddity has bigger problems on his hands. Del Sol is the best thing that’s come his way in a very long time, yet somebody apparently has it in for the sexy-but-slightly-grizzled, silver-fox cop. Missing posters start popping up around town offering a reward for information on his disappearance. Except he hasn’t disappeared. Then, new posters begin offering higher rewards for information about his murder. Except Quiddity Flight is still very much alive, and he’s not gonna sit around waiting to read his own obituary…
I really like reading this author’s work. Her quirky titles and characters never fail to capture my attention. What I particularly like about this book and this character was the fact that he was a more mature man, a silver fox, if you will. It’s refreshing to read about a sexy, mature man in his 50s. Many would look at this age and dismiss them as being old men, but that is further from the truth. Men in their 50s and beyond are rather sexy. The characters in this book were really fleshed out and well written, the pace just right. I truly enjoy her writing style. She didn’t drag out the mystery or tease you with the romance and sex. This book is short, but Llewellyn manages to pack quite a bit of substance in this book. I would absolutely love to stop in and see how João and Quid are doing, maybe see them featured in another one of Llewellyn’s wonderful stories.
Grif believes he’ll live his life as a virgin. After all, who would want him? How could anyone find him, a guy who came with less than man-sized equipment, worthy of their love?
What he hadn’t counted on were the two amazing men who would change his life. After entering college, he meets Tate, his fun-loving, wealthy roommate. While years later, with Tate now just a memory, Wes, a handsome, rugged ex-marine who runs his own security firm enters his life.
Both men force him to see his value, despite his size and insecurities.
My review:
From the moment that the story opened with Grif and his boyfriend Wes meeting for a dinner at a swank restaurant, I knew this was not going to be a run of the mill love story. It snared me from the start and while Grif is into humiliation which isn’t my thing, I simply had to pick the book up again and again after pausing long enough to grab a cup of fortifying tea.
Make no mistake about it, Wes has a bit of a sadist in him while Grif loves to be humiliated during mutually agreed upon scenes. It’s a dynamic that works for them both and actually cements their bond deeper as they both feel urges to depart from their more typical love life.
Tonlet starts us off by throwing the reader into the deep end and then giving us a set of flashbacks as to how the two men came to meet and enter into their current relationship dynamic. We also get to meet a much younger Grif who discovers that the dream life he’d envisioned for high school was not going to be as he and his family discover Wes has a physical anomaly.
His relationship with best friend and college roommate Tate is as gay for you as it gets behind closed doors, and it is also heartbreaking in all the ways it could not be. Despite their rigidly set personal parameters, it was liberating for both young men though and extremely sensual, allowing both men to explore sides of themselves they’d never expected to discover, and not just sexually.
His relationship with Wes is also revealed to be not quite what one at first thinks, as their first meeting and early relationship shows. Wes is a deeply passionate man who greatly respects Grif and truly adores all of him, but deep inside he has the urge to indulge in a dark kink. Luckily, it coincides with Grif’s desire, and the two have a system worked out. If neither consents, it’s business as usual. Indeed, most of the discomfort I initially felt was not due to the expression of their particular kink, but the very intimate way the two men are depicted as well as my personal surprise at just how H.O.T. their “chocolate” scenes were..
Never before have I encountered a character who breathed from the page so vividly with his inner psyche so exposed, so that I wasn’t merely observing the scene with him, but it almost felt like I was participating. Yeah, I had a lot of fortifying tea. I did have to be careful to not spit it out though as quite often I’d sit down and sip my beverage only to be read some banter between the two men that made me want to giggle.
It’s as real as relationships get. With mutual respect, deep affection, heavy on mutual trust, and a genuine sense of joy. None of the characters are reduced to archetypes, the dominant Wes can be submissive as well in his own way, while Grif definitely has his dominant side. When the sexual roles are reversed, it made for a smoking read that nearly overheated my Kindle battery.
If this is book one, I can’t wait to see how Tonlet challenges me with book 2. Bring it on.
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