Book Review & Giveaway: POINT BLANK by Morgan Brice (Badlands #6)

Point Blank

A MM Psychic Detective Romance Adventure

by Morgan Brice

Publisher: Darkwind Press

Cover Artist: Natania Barron

Release Date: June 8, 2023

Genres: Paranormal M/M Romance and urban fantasy

Tropes: established relationship, opposites attract, wedding planning, ghost hunting, psychic and cop, haunted houses

Themes: loyalty, found family, having each other’s back, true love

Heat Rating: 4 flames   

Length: 247 pages

It can be read as standalone but is book 6 of the Badlands series. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

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Sexy psychic Simon Kincaide and skeptical homicide detective Vic D’Amato are getting married--if the ghost of a murderous magician doesn’t get them first!

Blurb

Simon and Vic’s wedding is just a few weeks away, and they’re hoping for a little peace and quiet to wrap up work before their honeymoon, but nothing ever goes that smoothly.

Strange circumstances around the death of a retired stage magician suggest supernatural involvement, bringing Simon in on the case. The dark secrets of a long-ago resort hotel lead to a trail of unsolved cold cases that have a chilling similarity. Old scandals, malicious magic, and vengeful spirits expose a web of lies, deceit, and death that is headed for a reckoning.

Can Simon and Vic solve the murders, stop the ghosts, keep Simon’s mother from crashing the party, dodge last-minute wedding disasters, and still make it to the altar on time? Or will the shadows of Myrtle Beach’s haunted past ruin everything?

Point Blank is a fast-paced thrill ride MM paranormal romance packed with supernatural suspense, sinister sleight-of-hand, mysterious monsters, psychic visions, hot men, hurt/comfort, loyal friends, wedding planning, found family, ghosts galore, dark magic, and an evolving, established romantic relationship with all the feels.

Carra's Review

I love this series—Simon and Vic are one of my favorite couples, so I love revisiting them with each new book.  This time around with their wedding in the works is something I’ve been looking forward to!

Just when Simon and Vic were hoping they’d be in the clear for their wedding with no supernatural woo-woo stuff the deal with…but you already knew that would be too good to be true, right?  The guys have the expected stresses of wedding planning, but now on top of that there are more ghostly things going on in Myrtle Beach for them to contend with.  This time the supernatural happenings are tied to an old hotel that’s not around anymore, but those who had ties to it have unfinished business, and they’re not going to make things easy.

This story seemed to concentrate half on the mystery and half on the wedding preparations, bachelor parties, and the wedding itself.  Solving the murder and contending with multiple ghosts took up about two-thirds of the book, but there were still plenty of wedding planning issues sprinkled liberally along the way (which is why overall it felt like half/half).  It did feel like much of the mystery solving was more tell than show, with the exception of the visits to the victim’s home where they had to contend with the ghosts.  I was expecting more of a struggle to deal with them, but the conflict seemed to have a pretty straightforward wrap-up.

The last third of the book was focused on the pre-wedding festivities and the wedding itself, and there is a lot of exhaustive detail.  For me, I could have done with much of that detail as I felt like it made that portion of the story drag on.  I love Simon and Vic, but I really didn’t need such an in-depth blow-by-blow recounting of the events.

Overall, Point Blank is hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars for me.  It still gave me a nice dose of some of my favorite characters, and I liked that there were multiple ghosts to grapple with.  If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll enjoy Simon and Vic finally ringing those wedding bells.  If you haven’t read the other books in the series yet, you could probably read and enjoy this one just fine, but reading the stories in order will be much more satisfying.

About the Author  

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic and urban fantasy, with less romance, more explosions.

All of the modern-day Morgan Brice and Gail Z. Martin series crossover, so characters from one series appear in cameos and on page in important secondary roles in books from other series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but the more you read the more the expanded universe of friendships and connections becomes clear. 

Morgan and Gail believe that paranormal elements make any story even better, and her worlds are full of ghosts, psychics, shifters, creatures, vampires, monster hunters, and magic. 

She's also a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural. (Chibi art by Kamidiox)

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Audiobook Spotlight: AGAIN by Morgan Brice (Fox Hollow Zodiac #2)

Again

Fox Hollow Zodiac Book 2

by Morgan Brice

Publisher: Tantor

Narrator: John Solo

Release Date: May 23, 2023

Genre: MM paranormal shifter romance, urban fantasy

Tropes: one true pairing, fated mates, reincarnation

Themes: found family, loyalty, friendship, love across lifetimes

Heat Rating: 4 Flames    

Length:  7 hours and  7 minutes

It can be read as a standalone but it is also book 2 in the Fox Hollow Zodiac series.

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

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The fast, furry, and furious!

Blurb

Lynx shifter Noah Wilson narrowly escaped being captured by the Huntsman. While recuperating in Fox Hollow, he meets his fated mate, wolf shifter Drew Lowe.

Noah has to return to Canada to finish filming his TV projects, so he and Drew visit when they can and come up with creative solutions to their long-distance relationship. Noah and Drew are sure they're meant for each other and start making plans.

Drew's dreams make him wonder if he and Noah are more than fated mates—could they be a true pairing, destined to find each other lifetime after lifetime?

Then Noah accidentally records a murder, and the killer is on his trail. Can he elude a master tracker and reach the safety of Fox Hollow, or will he and Drew have to wait to find happiness in another life?

Again is a thrill-packed MM shifter romance adventure full of sexy shifters, hurt/comfort, one true pairing, reincarnation, sincere psychics, hunky mechanics, first responders, a sexy wildlife photographer, found family, and fated mates.

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!

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New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: BEAR IN BOOTS by Sue Brown (Bearytales in the Wood #7)

 

Bear in Boots

by Sue Brown

Series: Bearytales

Release Date: 31^st July 2023

Buylink: https://readerlinks.com/l/3314295

Series Buylink: https://readerlinks.com/l/3545175

Price: $3.99

Blurb

An explosive found family romance in the Bearytales in the Wood world.

Brad feels out of place in his tight-knit family. His six gay Daddy brothers are all coupled up, leaving Brad as the lone Daddy without a boy to love. The drama of the past two years has eased and now, he’s lonely. 

Brad has always found solace in his barn, where he spends his days blowing things up and writing poetry about the explosive chaos. He’s even gotten a publishing contract although he isn’t sure what he’s meant to do with it.

Then a shy young man turns up at Christmas Tree farm from his publisher. He’s meant to be there to illustrate Brad’s book, but what he can’t remember is he and Brad have met before. The rest of the family can though, from the smirks.

No matter what he wants, Eric knows he’s there just until the book is complete. Brad wants him to stay forever in his arms. It’s an impossible choice for Eric. Then danger knocks at the cabin door… 

Teaser Excerpt

Being confronted with three men scowling at him was disconcerting, especially the two huge guys blocking the doorway. Then another ten men stared at him from a table piled high with food.

Eric’s stomach growled at the delicious aroma. Was that meatloaf? He tried to sniff without being obvious. His mouth watered. It was meatloaf, one of Eric’s all-time favorite meals.

But he was here to do a job, not fill his belly. He was cold and hungry. It had been a long ride here. And now his client, who was another man mountain, had no idea he was coming. Eric just prayed they didn’t throw him out. He wasn’t sure he could face that road so soon. He swore he’d driven up with his eyes shut.

The biggest one squinted at him. “Isn’t he that guy you stuck your…ow!”

The other bear had just elbowed him in the ribs. “What did you do that for?”

“Just bring him over here,” a young guy, maybe Eric’s age, said. “He looks frozen. Join us for lunch, Eric. There’s a space next to Brad.”

Eric turned to Brad, who still stared at him, looking just as confused as he was. “Is that okay?” he asked hesitantly.

Brad seemed to shake himself. “Sure. Come meet my family.”

Eric was sure he mumbled “…again,” but he must have misheard. 

This was how Eric found himself between Brad and a much smaller blond-haired boy…man, Eric corrected himself hastily. 

“Eric, it’s good to see you again,” the small man said.

Eric frowned. “Do I know you?”

There was a silence around the table and Eric caught them looking at each other.

“You don’t remember me…us?” Brad asked.

Eric bit his lip. “I have amnesia. I was in a car accident last year. I don’t remember anything before then.”

They all looked horrified. Eric was used to that expression. What he wasn’t used to was people who said they knew him.

“The food is getting cold,” one of the big men grumbled. He wasn’t big, he was massive, and all muscle. No wonder he liked his food.

“Quick introductions,” the little guy said, “then you can eat. I’m Vinny. This is Damien. He’s mine.” He pointed to one of the men with a graying beard who had greeted him at the door. “And so is Rexy.”

Eric blinked. The little man had two boyfriends?

“Rexy’s my dog,” Vinny said, pointing to a small black mutt of indeterminate breed, sacked out in front of the stove.

“Oh.” Eric nodded to show Vinny he understood. 

What had he just walked into?

“Down, boy,” the man said, with a fond smile. “He’s Brad’s.”

Eric’s jaw dropped and then he heard a choking sound on the other side of him.  He turned to see Brad staring across him.

“What the hell, Damien?” Brad’s voice cracked.

“I’m sorry, Eric,” the man who’d invited him to sit said. “You’ll get used to us. It’s always like this. I’m Lyle. This is my…boyfriend. This is Gruff.” 

He pointed to a huge man on one side of him. Gruff looked younger than Brad or Vinny’s guy. He also looked unhappy at something Lyle had said.

“Not again.”

Eric turned to see who had spoken. Massive guy smiled at him but there was a cautious edge Eric didn’t understand. 

“Eric, I’m PJ. This is my boy, Jack.”

Jack waved at him. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. His smile was friendly enough.

“Look, kid, we’re all gay,” PJ said. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“No,” Eric squeaked.

“Good. We’re all brothers. The big dudes are my brothers by blood. The little dudes are my brothers by love. No, Damien, you can’t start sniffling now.” PJ turned to fix his gaze on Eric. “And we’re all in Daddy/boy relationships. Do you have a problem with that, too?”

About the Author

Sue Brown is a Londoner with a dream to live on a small island. Coffee fuels her addiction for writing romance with hot guys loving each other, and her Adorkadog snores in harmony as she creates.

Follow Sue on BookBub to receive notifications for sales and new releases. 

Join her newsletter at https://suebrownstories.com/ to follow Sue's news, plans and stories.

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New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: RELUCTANT ROCKSTAR by Frances Fox

Reluctant Rockstar

Author and Publisher: Frances Fox

Cover Artist: Frances Fox

Release Date: August 1, 2023

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance, M/M Rockstar Romance

Tropes: hurt-comfort, found family, oblivious MC

Themes: gardening-as-therapy, finding yourself, rock band, mild D/s

Heat Rating:  4 flames      

Length: 24 000 words/ 95 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

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A tired rock star and a judgemental gardener…what could possibly go wrong?

Blurb

The Purple Lizards are a rock world phenomenon, but lead singer Martin’s tired of his rock-and-roll persona. He’d rather be at home with his garden. When he gets home from tour he finds his gardener has had a heart attack and Simon, his grandson, is helping him out. Simon’s different to Fred. He talks, for a start. Martin and Fred have a perfectly functional friendship based on long silences and discussions about heritage vegetables. Simon talks about personal things as well. It makes Martin prickly.
Simon’s at a bit of a loss. He stepped up to help his grandfather whilst he was in hospital despite his misgivings about the absent Martin. But Fred clearly likes him, which is unusual for a start. Fred prefers plants to people. That he actively likes a rock star who used to smash up hotel rooms is really strange. Simon’s reserving judgement. Apparently the band have a break in their tour coming up. He’ll see whether he can work for the man once he’s spent some time with him.
A tired rock star and a judgemental gardener…what could possibly go wrong?

Excerpt

Chapter Three

It was a huge relief to finally be home, Martin thought, as he made his way back up to the house. He’d dumped his bags in the hall and gone straight out to find Fred for a dose of reality and to get some dirt on his fingers. Instead he’d found Simon and scared himself stupid for a moment, thinking something had happened to his old friend. He understood the impulse not to bother him whilst he was on tour…but it wasn’t as if a heart attack was a minor issue.

He stepped over his bags and went to put the kettle on and peer into the fridge. Simon had told him that Moira had furnished him with a shopping list and instructions in her absence. He seemed a really nice kid. Although…he wasn’t a kid, he must be as old as or older than Pete Heggarty, in his late twenties. Only ten or twelve years younger than Martin. And just as knowledgeable about plants and vegetables as Fred.

Kind, as well. He’d seen he’d given Martin a shock and done his best to cushion it after the fact. He’d been calm and competent and given Martin the space he’d needed to get himself together again. Martin appreciated that. He seemed to spend all his time this tour being the person who sorted things out and looked after other people. It had been nice to have someone else do that for him, however briefly.

Part of the shock had been finding out about Fred. But part of it had been a weird sort of paralysis as he took in the man standing before him. A bit taller than Martin with mousy-blonde hair, Simon had the most piercing, indigo-coloured eyes Martin had ever seen.

He wasn’t a believer in being struck dumb by desire…it was a ridiculous concept. But for a moment there…he’d almost believed it could happen. Simon’s eyes… And he was fit in the way someone who did manual work was fit. No gym-rat body, just all over tone from what Martin had seen through his T-shirt and jeans.

Martin didn’t bother fancying people. When he wanted sex, he went out to one of a few discreet clubs he was a member of and got what he needed from someone he trusted to give it to him with no strings attached. Outside of that…he switched it off. His wiring wasn’t exactly straightforward, he knew. Outside the bedroom, he was a perfectly normal bloke. But inside, once the door closed, the temptation to give up control to his partner was always there. Given his choice of career…casual encounters were risky. It wasn’t that he never had them. But increasingly it felt like there was a disconnect between his sex life and who he was the rest of the time.

The last time he’d dated seriously had been more than a decade ago and although it hadn’t been a disaster, it had petered out into nothing with them both wanting different things in and out of bed. A couple of casual encounters where he’d felt too vulnerable and as if he was giving too much of himself away and he’d started seriously compartmentalising.

And so there he was in the greenhouse, startled into silence by his new employee’s indigo eyes and a conversation about heritage aubergines. He laughed at himself as he got out the makings of a ham sandwich. He should go and see Fred after he had something to eat. Simon had said he was champing at the bit with frustration, wanting to come back to work. Far too soon, the doctors—and Moira, who was the one who really counted—had said. But perhaps one of them could drive him up and he could sit down and supervise—code for boss about—Simon and Martin as they got to grips with whatever needed to be done.

Martin didn’t think Simon needed much supervision, to be honest. He didn’t either these days. He liked working with Fred. They’d fallen into a kind of silent harmony over the years. Martin told him a bit about the weird sh*t that happened on tour—he’d been looking forward to sharing the saga of Ken’s attempted blackmail and how it had backfired on him so badly. And telling him about how he’d found out Pete Heggarty slept with his violin.

He didn’t know whether he’d want to chat with Simon like that…but having another person around who was interested in the garden and the project itself was intriguing.

He hadn’t felt intrigued with anything for quite a while.

About the Author 

I’m a writer of MM Romance! The Rockstar Series is coming this summer. If you like to read spicy MM stories about vulnerable guys looking for love, I’ll have you covered.

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