Showing posts with label audio book tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label audio book tour. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Audio Tour-Excerpt & Giveaway: BAXTER'S RIGHT-HAND MAN by Lane Hayes (The Baxter Chronicles #2) - Narrated by Nick J. Russo

Baxter's Right-Hand Man AT Banner

Baxter's Right-Hand Man
By Lane Hayes

Baxter's Right Hand Man Audio Cover

Narrated by Nick J. Russo

The Baxter Chronicles, Book 2

The movie star meets his match…

Pierce

Welcome to Hollywood, baby! Perhaps you’ve heard of me. I play Baxter, the adventure-seeking, crime-fighting hero, adored by fans around the world. Nice gig, right? My job has its perks for sure—private jets, a chauffeur, and the best tables at the fanciest restaurants in town. It’s nuts!

Downside—it’s hard to know who you can trust.

But I trust Lorenzo. He’s funny, sweet, and very real.

Look, I’m not in the market for anything serious. Between my greedy brother and the old man who claims we’re related, I’m a little wary, but I could use a friend.

And a sexy distraction.

Lorenzo

What is happening here? Major movie star, Pierce Allen wants me.

Me!

I don’t get it. I’m too fabulous and he’s too famous.

No, wait. He wants something from me, like my help and maybe my body. This should be a no-brainer. However, closing the last chapter on a long-term relationship has left me feeling a little fragile, and the last thing I need is to risk another broken heart.

But I’m too intrigued to walk away. I can play the part of Pierce’s “right-hand man” and keep things light and friendly. No problem.

I’m way too smart to fall for a movie star.

I hope.

Baxter’s Right-Hand Man is a MM, bisexual romance featuring a sexy, slightly egotistical movie star and the adorable diva who brings him back to reality.  

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Excerpt

“So…you’re here. In my apartment.”

“I guess I am.”

“This is weird,” Lorenzo mumbled under his breath.

“Do you want me to leave?”

He shook his head as he gathered some ingredients and set them on the counter. “Don’t be silly. I invited you.”

“Actually, I invited myself when you bragged about this soup.”

Lorenzo chuckled. “That’s true.”

“Can I help?”

“Do you know how to make a salad?”

I cracked my knuckles and made a production of rolling up my sleeves. “Dude. I am hands down the world’s best salad maker. Ever.”

Lorenzo raised a brow. “Here you go…lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepitas, avocado. Do you like those ingredients? Wait, before I attempt to feed you, are there any allergies I should know about? I don’t want to accidentally poison you and end up on the news.”

“Everything sounds good, and no allergies,” I declared, picking up the cucumber and smacking it on my palm.

“No playing with the cucumber, sicko. Here’s a bowl. Knock yourself out.”

I studied the lettuce and frowned. Tear or cut? Cut…probably. I reached for the knife he’d left on the cutting board and tried to decide where to start chopping—middle or end?

“Am I supposed to wash this first?”

“I did that already. But you do need to wash your hands.”

Right. I obeyed and spent more time than necessary drying them methodically as I peeked over his shoulder to watch him stir meatballs into broth.

“Smells good,” I commented.

Lorenzo quirked his lips in amusement. “You don’t know how to make a salad, do you?”

“Uh…I just haven’t done it in a while and the last time I did, I opened a bag and called it a day.”

“You can’t fail at this. Just chop everything and throw it into the bowl.” He squeezed my elbow and winked. “I believe in you, Pierce.”

I released a beleaguered sigh. “All right. Here goes nothin’.”

“So…did you happen to see the photo of us with the hunky firefighters on social media?” he asked as if to break an impending silence.

“No. Is it good?”

“Of you? Yes. I’m not sure how I got in the shot. Or how I ended up being called your assistant,” he huffed with mock annoyance.

My grin split my face in half. “Really? You work for me now? I like the sound of that.”

Lorenzo rolled his eyes. “I bet. My friends were freaking out. Don’t worry. I assured them it was the product of a weird confluence of coincidence.”

I let out a low whistle. “Confluence of coincidence. I’m gonna have to look that up. Um…I hate to ask, but do your friends know I’m here?”

He laughed. “No f*cking way. First of all, I wasn’t sure you’d show up. Second, they wouldn’t believe me, and third…no offense, but…you’re not my type.”

I gasped and gestured behind me. “I’m gonna need help pulling that dagger from my back. What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing at all. Your straight quotient is a tad high, though.”

I snorted. “I’m not straight.”

“No, but you probably like classic rock and have a thing for fast cars.”

“Well, yeah. So?”

“That’s…nice.”

I snickered. “By nice you mean…yuck. Right?”

“Don’t be so defensive. To each his own.” Lo smiled and pointed at the mess of lettuce in front of me. “Cut that a little finer.”

“Bossy, bossy,” I grumbled without heat, loving the melodic sound of his laughter.

We worked quietly, side by side, but it wasn’t a soothing form of silence. Not for me anyway. The air crackled with unspoken questions. What was I thinking? Why do I have butterflies? That sort of thing.

Seriously, I was a little dizzy, and my stomach felt wonky. There was nothing wrong with me, other than having a bad case of the stupids. It took a beat for me to recognize the signs for what they were.

I had a f*cking crush on this guy.

That was so…weird.

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Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of Baxter's Right-Hand Man, Lane is giving away the Winner's choice of an audiobook or ebook of your choice from her published works!

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

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About the Author:

Lane Hayes loves a good romance! An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016, 2017, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards. She loves wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a newly empty nest.

Connect with Lane:
My Readers’ Group, Lane’s Lovers - My Newsletter - Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Amazon - BookBub - Instagram - Goodreads - TikTok 

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Saturday, May 6, 2023

Audiobook Review: NO SURRENDER by MORGAN BRICE (Badlands #5), narrated by Kale Williams

No Surrender 

(Badlands 5) 

An MM Psychic Detective Romance Adventure

by Morgan Brice

Publisher: Darkwind Press

Narrator: Kale Williams

Release Date: March 21, 2023

Genre: Paranormal MM romance, MM Psychic Detective Romance Adventure

Tropes: evolving established relationship, hurt/comfort, grumpy/sunshine

Themes: letting go of the past, dealing with old guilt, forgiveness, facing tough times together, trust

Heat Rating: 5 flames 

Length: 6 hours and 14 minutes

It is a standalone story, but also part of a series. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Audible US  |  Audible UK  |   Amazon US  |  Audible UK  |  Audiobooks.com

Cold cases, hot leads, a psychic psychopath, a copycat killer, cursed objects, the trial of the century—and wedding plans.

Blurb

Cold cases, hot leads, a psychic psychopath, a copycat killer, cursed objects, the trial of the century—and wedding plans.

Psychic medium Simon Kincaide and sexy homicide detective Vic D'Amato met hunting a supernatural serial killer. Since then, Simon has become a police consultant on cases involving the paranormal, and Vic has gotten over his doubts about Simon's abilities being real. Along the way, they fell in love and got engaged. But it seems like the danger never ends.

Now, the first case Simon and Vic worked together comes back to haunt them as the killer goes to court and all hell breaks loose. The killer has a crazy fan setting curses on key players in the upcoming trial. Ghosts from an old cold case suggest that someone got away with murder. And a supernatural creature attracted to fear and death is using the Grand Strand as its feeding ground. Simon and Vic feel like they're waging a war on all fronts, but with the stakes so high, there can be No Surrender!

Carra's Review

It’s always a pleasure to return to Vic and Simon for another round of paranormal intrigue.  This time around, they’re waiting on the trial from the Slitter case from the first book of the series, but there are strange things happening that seem to be tied to the case, possibly putting it in jeopardy.  Everyone involved in the case has become a target, so it’s a race to figure out what’s going on.


To complicate things, there is also a set of cold cases from the eighties brought to their attention that may be tied to what’s happening…and you know that means more ghostly contacts to keep things interesting.  We’re also treated to an appearance by Simon’s own ghost relative, Dante, to try and help with the cold cases.


As I’ve come to expect from this author and this series, there’s enough going on to keep you on your toes and guessing through much of the story.  I did feel like the resolutions to the different aspects going on felt a little rushed this time in the last quarter of the book, like things were jumping quickly from one thing to another so to me it seemed more tell than show, but I still enjoyed the reveals as they happened.


A fun bonus was the wedding planning for Vic and Simon…I kinda hope to get an invite as it sounds like it’s going to be a great time ;-)


No Surrender was a strong 4-star read/listen for me, and added a nice twist to the series by revisiting their first case.  While you probably could read this one on its own, my recommendation would be to read the series in order for a more complete background on the prior events and a better feel for the fierce connection between the two main characters.


For this audiobook version, Kale Williams delivered another solid narration, well-paced and with just enough differentiation in voices to identify characters who were speaking.  I always enjoy his smooth tone, and am giving four stars for the narration.


About the Author

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.

On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.

Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!

Author Links

Website  |  Audible Profile  |  Amazon profile

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Monday, June 3, 2019

Audiobook Review & Giveaway: APPLE BOY by Isobel Starling (The Quiet Work #1)

Author: Isobel Starling

Narrator: Gary Furlong

Length: 9 hours 43 minutes

Series: The Quiet Work, Book 1

Publisher: Decent Fellows Press

Released: Apr. 24, 2019

Genre: LGBT Fantasy Romance




A new LGBT fantasy series from award-winning author Isobel Starling

A lost lordling, a farm boy, and a tale of mystery, magic, and murder!

After a traumatic event, Winter Aeling finds himself destitute and penniless in the backwater town of Mallowick. He needs to travel to the city of Serein and impart grave news that will bring war to the Empire, but without a horse, money, and with not a soul willing to help him, he has no choice but to line up with the common folk seeking paid work on the harvest.

As wagons roll into the market square and farmers choose day laborers, Winter is singled out for abuse by a brute of a farmer. The only man who stands up for him is the farmer's beguiling son, Adam, and on locking eyes with the swarthy young man Winter feels the immediate spark of attraction.

Winter soon realizes there is a reason he has been drawn to Blackdown Farm. The farmer possesses a precious item that was stolen long ago from Winter’s family, and he determines to retrieve it. He also cannot take his eyes off Adam, and as the young man opens up Winter can’t help wondering if Adam is just kind or his kind!









Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year professional career making art in Ireland. She relocated to the UK and, faced with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write fantasy and found she loved writing more than making art.

Isobel writes M/M fantasy, thrillers, and comedy, and to date, has written twenty books, 11 of which are audiobooks narrated by Gary Furlong .

In 2018 Isobel Starling and Gary Furlong won what is now called The Independent Audiobook Award - Romance Category with the audiobook “As You Wish” .

Isobel and Gary are also finalists for the 2019 Independent Audiobook Awards in the LGBTQ+ Category with the audiobook “Sweet Thing”.
Website⎮Twitter⎮Goodreads⎮Amazon⎮Instagram

Narrator Bio


Originally from Ireland, Gary Furlong worked a teacher in Niigata, Japan; a puppeteer in Prague; an improv artist in Memphis, and a festival performer in Ireland.

A naturally-gifted mimic, Gary began narrating audiobooks for a living in 2015 and hasn’t looked back.

Gary specializes in accents and dialect, with fluency in Irish, British RP, and Standard American.

In four years of working full-time with audiobook production, Gary has narrated over 100 audiobooks spanning Fantasy,Thriller, Romance, YA, and non-fiction for world-class publishing houses and independent authors.

In 2018 Gary won a much coveted AudioFile Earphones Award and the Independent Audiobook Award for Romance.

He now lives in Texas with his wife and their golden retriever called "Gansey," which means "Sweater" in Irish Gaelic.
Website⎮Twitter


I’m a huge fan of Isobel Starling’s Shatterproof Bond series, so when I learned she had this fantasy romance coming out my interest was definitely piqued.  While the synopsis for the story caught my eye, there’s actually a lot more to Apple Boy than it implies.  The story is about the equivalent of around five hundred pages, and I’ll admit at times I was feeling the length.

Winter’s predicament is more than what it seems from the synopsis, and the full nature of what’s going on is slowly revealed over quite a long stretch of time.  I saw the story as three segments—the first being Winter’s introduction and experience at Adam’s family’s farm, next their journey from there to Serein, and finally the events that occur once they arrive.  Each segment had its own challenges, and in the end things are not fully resolved so yes, it’s basically a cliffhanger.  Though I knew this book was part of a new series, I didn’t realized the end would be left as open as it was…so just be prepared for that when you start.

Winter and Adam’s lives are quite the opposite of each other, with Winter coming from a privileged upbringing where he is the heir to a title while Adam lives with his family on their apple orchard farm.  Winter is used to living in an open, non-judgmental society; not so for Adam where same sex liaisons can result in death.  Winter opens up Adam’s life to so many new possibilities, and at the same time Winter’s experience in Mallowick opens his own eyes to the plights of those whose station falls well below his own.  This results in character growth for both men, spread out over the course of the entire tale.

The fantasy aspect starts to come into play towards the end of Winter and Adam’s time at the farm, and continues to build—albeit slowly—through the rest of the story.  There’s a lot of explanation to be found in terms of world building as well as the setup of Winter’s own situation, and for me that contributed to the slower pace of the story overall.

As far as the story itself goes, it gets 3.5 stars from me.  As for the narration though, Gary Furlong’s incredible voices with their range of accents was absolutely worth 5 stars.  He gave each character—no matter how minor—their own individuality, and was consistent throughout the story.  Listening to his narration made the more drawn out portions of the story easier for me to get through, and was overall a very enjoyable experience.


Apple Boy is meant for readers/listeners 18+ some adult language and sexual content.

Giveaway
Giveaway: Apple Boy Prize Pack



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I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Isobel Starling. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.



Saturday, September 30, 2017

Audiobook Review: ONE CALL AWAY by Felice Stevens-Includes Excerpt!

 One Call Away Audio Banner

ONE CALL AWAY
FELICE STEVENS
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2017
AUDIO RELEASE: August 31, 2017
NARRATOR: Seth Clayton


One Call Away Cover 

BLURB

When a brutal attack from a jealous competitor leaves Noah Strauss, darling of the modeling world, physically scarred and emotionally damaged, he quits the runway to become a psychologist. Using his contacts from his time in the spotlight, he creates One Call Away, a radio show dedicated to gay men looking for love, advice or someone to talk to. But with secrets of his own and a mother who refuses to understand the career path he's chosen, the one person Noah can't seem to help is himself.

On a drunken dare from the senior partner's grandson, Oren Leavitt calls Noah’s radio show, pretending to be gay. Only Oren isn't certain if he's pretending. He's left his strict Orthodox Jewish upbringing behind, but the guilt remains. Guilt that his actions have prevented his sister from finding a husband and guilt that he's failed his parents. Talking to "Dr. Noah" helps, and as he finds himself calling the man again and again, he knows he must be honest. But Oren is unsure if he's lying to Noah or himself.

For Noah, trust is paramount; he's been deceived in his personal and professional life and while he desperately wants to help Oren, he also finds himself falling for the sweet and tortured man. Oren is trapped: he risks losing his job and more importantly the love and security of his family but knows he can't hide if if wants to be with Noah. When unresolved heartaches from the past rise up to control the present, Noah and Oren discover that love often comes from the most unexpected places, and sometimes a call for help not only saves a life, it can be a new and beautiful beginning.




EXCERPT

"I told you already, I’m their charity case, their token Jew.” When he took the job, Oren thought he could brush it off, but lately the sense of ostracism was proving harder to handle than he’d imagined. Isolated by his religion and his sexuality, the only time lately Oren found himself able to be free was when talking to Noah.


“Every year they make a show of how diverse they are with their one black first-year hire, and their Asian and Latino associates. We’re paraded around to the legal community as DeWitt and Wynters’ ‘new generation’ of lawyers who are breaking the mold of the white, Christian elite, upper echelon when in reality they give us the grunt work or the impossible-to-win cases. The special outings are at golf courses, which have no members like us, and we don’t know how to play, so we sit around doing nothing, while the others have a great time bonding. Either that or they schedule firm parties on Jewish holidays when they know I can’t attend. They put on a good show, but we know we don’t belong, and we’re too afraid to complain or say anything because jobs are so hard to come by, and the firm’s name still opens so many doors.”

Stunned at his bitter outburst, Oren smiled faintly at Noah. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let it out on you.”

“I’m glad you did.” A twinkle lit Noah’s eyes. “Sounds like something you’ve been holding back for a while now.” He sobered up. “I’m sorry you have to go through that. Isn’t there another place you can work where you’ll feel safe?”

“Safe?”

“I’m sure if they are as bigoted as they sound against people of color and other religions, they are also intolerant of gays.”

Not in a million years would Oren ever speak of his sexuality to Harlan or Toby. Even the fact that Harlan had spoken to Noah freaked him out a bit.

“It isn’t something I plan to discuss with them. It’s none of their business.” Agitated, Oren turned away from Noah and fumbled in the drawer for a corkscrew. With quick, angry turns, he opened the wine.

“It was only a thought. I’m not saying you should.” Noah’s soothing voice steadied the rapid thump of Oren’s heart. “What was his name again, the guy I spoke to on the phone?”

“Harlan.” The sound of that name sent a sinking feeling into the pit of Oren’s stomach. “He’s not only in charge of my group; he’s the great-grandson of one of the firm’s founders and can do whatever he wants. And he does.”

“See, that’s what I thought. His voice…it sounded cunning. Like he was trying to figure something out and use it against you. I got worried and thought of how upset you might be. I’m so sorry you have to put up with someone like him. You deserve so much better.” Noah’s eyes searched his, and Oren couldn’t break away from the pull of their blue depths.

An unfamiliar ache of longing built up inside him, painful yet sweet. A need to touch and be touched with meaning. He found himself drawn to Noah, much more so than to any person he’d ever met. Was it wrong of him to want Noah? He considered him his doctor, his therapist. Most importantly, Noah was his friend. In these past few weeks something between them changed, and Oren found himself thinking of Noah as a man and not merely a risk. And staring into Noah’s eyes, Oren knew that wanting Noah might be worth the risk he was finally willing to take.


Carra's Review

A bit angsty, a bit sweet, a bit hot, and with the always superior writing and storytelling I’ve come to expect from Felice Stevens…that’s what you’ll find when you open up One Call Away.  Oh, and let’s not forget Oren and Noah, the two amazing main characters with whom I completely fell in love.

Noah is an incredibly kind and giving man, always wanting to help others but still hiding away on the personal side thanks to a horrible attack he endured years ago.  He now needs to relearn how to love and accept himself as he is now so he can truly move on with his life.  Oren grew up in a very strict Orthodox Jewish household, but just couldn’t continue that level of religiosity for his entire life.  He loves his family and is always concerned he’s going to let them down because he left home and didn’t want to continue to live such a devoted religious life.  The moment his boss eggs him on to call in to Noah’s radio show as a joke is the moment that Oren truly starts a new journey of self discovery.  

Noah and Oren’s relationship develops slowly and naturally, with both men helping each other on their individual journeys.  There’s a lot of emotion on both sides, and it intensifies everything between them…and when they finally get to the point where they give themselves to each other totally, it’s powerful and passionate—not to mention sensual and scorching hot!

The angst and drama is present on several fronts, from Oren not being out to anyone to his uncomfortable and actually downright hostile work environment to the strain of him coming out to his family, then also Noah’s pain over his scars to his resentment of his mother’s attitude toward his prior modeling career and his last lover’s betrayal.  All of this plus Noah and Oren’s blossoming relationship—which is sweet and tender yet oh-so-hot—means that emotions are running high for the majority of the story, which had me not wanting to put this book down for any reason.


One Call Away was a fantastic story and gets 5 stars from me.  I highly recommend this to any M/M romance fan, though readers should be 18+ for the adult language and explicit M/M sexual content.  

The narration: This is the first time I've listened to Seth Clayton narrating a book.  His voice is soothing and he did a good job at giving the characters individual voices.  There were some times though, his narration was a bit halting, so that it wasn't always smooth.  For me, the calmness of his voice made up for this quirk in the narration.  Overall, the narration gets 4 stars from me, and I'd get more audiobooks in the future with Seth Clayton as the narrator. 


About the Author

Felice Logo
I have always been a romantic at heart. I believe that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. I started reading traditional historical romances when I was a teenager, then life and law school got in the way. It wasn’t until I picked up a copy of Bertrice Small and became swept away to Queen Elizabeth’s court that my interest in romance novels became renewed.


But somewhere along the way, my tastes shifted. While I still enjoys a juicy Historical romance, I began experimenting with newer, more cutting edge genres and discovered the world of Male/Male romance. Once I picked up her first, I became so enamored of the authors, the character-driven stories and the overwhelming emotion of the books, I knew I wanted to write my own.

I live in New York City with my husband and two children and hopefully soon a cat of my own. My day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass or two of red wine. I practice law but daydream of a time when I can sit by a beach somewhere and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there is bound to be angst along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.







Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Audiobook Release & Giveaway: THE UNDERCOVER ROCK STAR by Jenna Galicki





The Undercover Rock Star

Series: Bulletproof #1
Author: Jenna Galicki
Genre: M/M Adult Contemporary Romance
Narrators: Nick J. Russo & John Solo
Audio Release Date: August 22, 2017


Blurb

A spur-of-the-moment vacation was supposed to jolt Cameron Douglas out of his funk, but it appears he only traded locations. It was a chance meeting with a handsome stranger that changed everything. Brandon stirs Cameron's interest and his heart, but will the mysterious man reveal his true identity before their vacation in paradise is over?

Sometimes life in the spotlight was a heavy weight to bear for Brandon Bullet. He never knew if men were interested in him as a person or just enamored with his rock star status – until he meets Cameron Douglas. It wasn't often that Brandon shared a connection with someone who wasn't aware of his notoriety. He's determined to keep his identity a secret while the two of them get to know each other and before someone blows his cover.






Purchase Links

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EBOOK

Only 99c!

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Author Bio


Jenna Galicki writes in multiple genres including m/m/f, m/f, and m/m. She is predominantly known for her Radical Rock Stars Series. The Prince of Punk Rock (Radical Rock Stars Book 1) was a finalist in the 2015 Bisexual Book Awards.

A native New Yorker, she now resides in Southern California. She's a Rottweiler enthusiast and an avid music buff. When she's not hunched over a computer, you can find her front row at a rock concert.


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