Tuesday, August 24, 2021

New Release-Review & Excerpt: HEAD OVER TENTACLES by K.L. Hiers (Sucker for Love Mysteries #3)

 

Head Over Tentacles

by K.L. Hiers

Publisher: Dreamspinner

Cover Artist: Tiferet Design

Release Date: August 24, 2021

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Mystery

Tropes: Tentacles! Wedding Drama, Meeting the In-Laws, The Cat Did It

Themes: Love Conquers All

Heat Rating:  4 flames

Length: 60 000 words

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

Goodreads


Buy Links

Dreamspinner Press  |  Amazon US  |   Amazon UK



Blurb

Private investigator Sloane Beaumont should be enjoying his recent engagement to eldritch god Azaethoth the Lesser, AKA Loch. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time for a pre-honeymoon period.

The trouble starts with a deceptively simple missing persons case. That leads to the discovery of mass kidnappings, nefarious secret experiments, and the revelation that another ancient god is trying to bring about the end of the world by twisting humans into an evil army.

Just another day at the office.

Sloane does his best to juggle wedding planning, stopping his fiancĂ© from turning the mailman inside out, and meeting his future godly in-laws while working the case, but they're also being hunted by a strange young man with incredible abilities. With the wedding date looming closer, Sloane and Loch must combine their powers to discover the truth—because it’s not just their own happy-ever-after at stake, but the fate of the world….



Excerpt

“Hi!” the young man said. “It’s okay! You can just call me Jay.” He smiled down at the carrier. “This is Mr. Twigs!”

“Please, come in,” Sloane said, trying to fix his hair as he opened the office door. He ushered Jay in, saying politely, “So, your roommate is missing?”

“Yes,” Jay said, setting the carrier on Sloane’s desk and opening it up. “Everyone at the department thinks I’m going nuts, and Milo said you would be able to help me.”

“I’ll definitely do my best!”

“My roommate has been missing for almost two days now, and this is not like him at all. He hasn’t been to work, he hasn’t been home, but his car is still in the parking lot. The detectives wanted me to wait before filing a missing persons report, and nobody is listening to me.”

“And you think that Mr. Twigs here might be responsible?”

“I’m Silenced, so you know, no magic for me, but I know the sound portals make. I’ve heard it on a ton of documentaries. I know I heard one right before he vanished, and no one else was home except Mr. Twigs.”

The cat slinked out of the carrier and perched right on the corner of Sloane’s desk, its tail swishing. It was fluffy, black, and it was wearing small round sunglasses.

Loch kneeled down, eyeing the cat suspiciously. They were nearly nose to nose, locked in an intense stare.

“Huh,” Sloane said, blinking slowly. “The cat… wears sunglasses?”

“Oh!” Jay blushed. “I know it sounds crazy, but his eyes are really sensitive to light. So yeah. I tried to take them off and he got really upset.”

“Wait, you didn’t buy them?”

“Oh no!” Jay laughed. “He had them on when I found him. He’s a rescue, and he’s, like, literally the sweetest—”

“He is a foul and wretched creature!” Loch suddenly shouted, spinning wildly and promptly smacking the cat across the room. “Go back to the depths of Xenon, you disgusting fiend!”

“Mr. Twigs!” Jay screamed in horror.

“Azaethoth!” Sloane roared, shocked and furious. “How could you? It’s just a cat!”

“That is not a cat!” Loch argued, his tentacles beginning to unfurl. “It’s a monstrous fiend that just looks like a cat!”

“Owww,” a new voice complained, the fluffy black cat picking himself up from the floor and yowling in complaint. He hopped back up on the desk, his tail lashing as he hissed, “That was super rude!”

“Mr. Twigs…?” Jay stared in awe. He started to reach for the cat but drew back. “You’re… you’re talking?”

“Duh,” the cat replied sweetly. “Now, Jay, why don’t you forget all about this and go to sleep?”

Jay’s eyes rolled back, and he immediately dropped on  the carpet face-first.

“What the f*ck are you?” Sloane demanded, his hands moving to summon a shield of bright starlight. Loch stood in front of him protectively, his thick tentacles writhing around him and poised to strike at any second.

The cat laughed, transforming into a very thin and very naked young man. He tilted his sunglasses down, grinning slyly to reveal a mouthful of pointed teeth as he teased, “Meow, motherf*ckers. Name’s Asta. I’m here to save the world.”



Carra’s Review

Loch is back and is just as naughty as ever…and it was awesome!  Poor Sloane, he’s going to have his hands (and other parts) full for a very, very…VERY long time.  I think he’s okay with that.


Sloane has a case to figure out, but of course it winds up being nothing like what he was expecting.  There are still those out there who are trying to bring chaos to Earth, and Loch and Sloane wind up smack dab in the middle of things again.  Between that, planning a wedding with Loch’s family, and Loch’s insatiable horniness, it makes for another wild ride that had me sneak-reading at work since I didn’t want to put the book down.


A lot of the supporting characters from Acsquidentally in Love are back for this story, plus we get introduced to some great new ones with Alexander and Rota (I REALLY hope these two are getting their own story!).  The newcomers are not quite what they seem, and their arrival brings a lot of action and excitement—not to mention a whole other round of feelings for their situation.


This was a great follow-up to the first book, and this story provides resolution for some issues while creating pathways to even more stories for the series.  My attention was fully engaged on every page, and I was thoroughly entertained by Loch’s antics and words and Sloane’s attempts at keeping him under some sort of control (an obviously losing battle).


Head Over Tentacles was a 5-star read for me, and I can’t wait to see what else the author has in store in this world.  Not just for Alexander and Rota—because we HAVE to know how things turn out for them—but also possibly for a wayward Asra kitty and poor sleepy Jay.  One can hope ;-). Note that this story is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.



About the Author

K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she worked in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.


Author Links

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Newsletter Sign-up  |  Patreon




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Monday, August 23, 2021

New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: GOT ME HOPING by Casey Cox (Vet Shop Boys #1)

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Got Me Hoping
by Casey Cox

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Vet Shop Boys, Book 1

It's just a one-night stand, they said. It'll be simple, no-strings fun, they said. They. Lied.

I'm done with love and being broken-hearted. The only dogs I want to deal with are the ones I treat in the veterinary clinic I work at.

But at thirty-four, having my first one-night stand can't hurt. Right? The rules are pretty simple.

1. Don't spend the night.
2. Don't see him again.
3. Don't share anything personal.
4. Don't fall in love with him.

But when Haze, the guy I spent a blazing hot night with and haven't been able to forget about, shows up as our new receptionist, the rules fly out the window.

There's no way one night could lead to anything more. So why has Haze got me hoping this might just last?

Got Me Hoping is book 1 in the Vet Shop Boys series and can be read as a stand-alone. Expect plenty of humor, found family, an adorable golden retriever, a foul-mouthed parrot, a whole new way of getting clean (as well as very, very dirty) and a heartwarming happily ever after!

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Excerpt

All my bravado from the bar last night is gone. All that's left are memories of an incredible night colliding with the bleary morning light of the day after. His eyes soften, and he leans in toward me right as I glance over at the table. Oh, sh*t. Noah was going to kiss me. I turn, inching my lips closer to his face just as he starts to move toward the kitchen. He backs up, but trips over his feet.

Not. Awkward. At. All.

"Plates," I say, slapping my hands against my thighs way too hard. "Let me help you get some plates." Yeah, because carrying two plates a few feet is definitely a two-man operation.

A few moments later, we start eating. I ended up carrying both plates and bringing the cutlery, too...so, that's a good thing? Man, I really suck at this. There's a reason why I never spend the night.

I haven't had many hookups since Daniel broke up with me. With other guys, it's always been sex followed by a quick goodbye. I never hung around afterward. One time I showered and watched half an episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but that's about it.

But for some reason with Noah, there's a part of me that doesn't want to leave. It makes no sense. We glance up at each other every so often while we eat, sharing a silent exchange that I can't explain.

The only sound in the kitchen is us chewing and Buddy breathing loudly at Noah's feet. I liked it a whole lot more when other sounds were filling the space around us. But I guess that's all in the past. Once we get through the nominee for Most Awkward Breakfast at the One-Night Stand Awards, that's all this will ever be.

A memory.

My heart sinks at the thought.

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About the Author

casey-cox

I've been wanting to do this 'authoring' thing since forever. But this thing called 'life' kept getting in the way. And then this thing called 'turning 40' happened. Eep!

So I did what any responsible newcomer to middle-age-hood would do: I quit my day job, started drinking copious amounts of coffee, and reconnected with my life long passion--donuts, er, I mean writing.

So here I am. And there you are... Hello!

I live on the east coast of Australia, I'm the proud paw-rent of two of the most utterly adorable French Bulldogs, Ralphie and Lilly, and when I'm not writing, you'll most likely catch me down at the beach (I'm the one drinking Rosé and eating donuts while other people are doing healthy things like 'walking' and 'swimming').

Website - Facebook - Goodreads - BookBub - FB Reader Group - Instagram - Email


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Sunday, August 22, 2021

New Release-Review & Excerpt: GREEKING OUT by Colette Davison (A Destination Daddies Story) - Includes Giveaway!

Greeking Out

by Colette Davison

Publisher: Independently Published

Cover Artist: Colette Davison

Release Date:  August 19, 2021

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Daddy kink, age play, long-distance friends to lovers, age gap

Themes: Believing in yourself. Build others up, don’t tear them down.

 Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 45 000 words

It is a standalone story and is part of the Destination Daddies multi-author series. 

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link  |  Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Can a singles’ holiday in Crete give two men who’ve never met, and only spoken via a hook-up app, what they both crave—love?

Blurb

Apollo

A year of messaging on the Cuffd app has led me to understand one thing: Troy is the one meaningful relationship I’ve ever had. Two things are stopping it from being more, I’m an adult film star and there’s also an ocean between us. To claim my geek boy, I’m going to have to pull out all the stops and lay my heart on the line as I’ve never done before.

Troy

Apollo, my online friend gives me the confidence to take a trip to a place I dream of. Myths and legends are worth a little fear of flying, right? With the incentive of finding a Daddy who’s as caring as Apollo, what do I have to lose?

Greeking Out is a long-distance-friends-to-lovers story with a geeky boy who hasn’t been little in too long, a confident, caring Daddy who wants to give his boy the holiday of a lifetime, and a well-loved teddy bear. It’s part of the Destination Daddies multi-author series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but there are so many destinations and Daddies to discover, why not grab them all?

Excerpt

GeekBoy: What if I’ve forgotten something?

HungLikeAGreekGod: I’m sure you haven’t, but if it helps, you can tell me everything you’ve got packed.

GeekBoy: Really?

HungLikeAGreekGod: Of course. I wouldn’t have offered if I hadn’t meant it.

GeekBoy: Everything?

HungLikeAGreekGod: Everything, geek boy. Before you do, take a deep breath and a moment to calm down.

GeekBoy: Okay.

The urge to reply with “yes, Daddy” was overwhelming. Apollo wasn’t my Daddy and never would be, but it made me smile whenever he acted that way. Taking care of other people was probably as natural for him as breathing. Speaking of which… I took a couple of deep breaths. Once my mind was less of a whirlwind of panic, I opened my suitcase and carefully took everything out. I repacked everything meticulously, pausing between items to tell Apollo what I was putting into the case.

GeekBoy: Flip-flops and slip-on shoes.

HungLikeAGreekGod: They’ll come in handy. Do you have something more rugged for visiting Knossos and walking up to Zeus’s birthplace?

GeekBoy: My boots, but I’ll be wearing those on the flight.

HungLikeAGreekGod: I think that’s all the footwear you’ll need. What’s next?

GeekBoy: Five pairs of socks. To wear with the boots, not the flip-flops or slip-on shoes.

HungLikeAGreekGod: I’m glad that fashion crisis has been averted.

GeekBoy: Please. As if I would wear socks and sandals. Seven pairs of underwear.

HungLikeAGreekGod: That’s plenty.

I was almost disappointed that he hadn’t asked for more details. Why would he? We were friends, nothing more. Friends didn’t ask each other about their underwear.

GeekBoy: Seven T-shirts, four pairs of shorts, two pairs of jeans, plus the pair I’ll be wearing on the plane. Some little clothing in case I get the chance to be little. Two pairs of swimming trunks. A hat, sun cream, my toiletries bag, which has toothpaste, a toothbrush, and stuff to shave with. Lube and condoms just in case.

HungLikeAGreekGod: I told you. You have everything you need.

GeekBoy: Deodorant will be in my carry-on.

HungLikeAGreekGod: Good plan. What else do you have in your carry-on?

I added my favourite dildo to my suitcase and zipped it back up. Then I unpacked the small rucksack I was taking as hand luggage.

GeekBoy: Sunglasses, the aforementioned deodorant, currency, my wallet, a spare change of clothes just in case my luggage goes missing, my passport, and last but not least, batteries for my B.O.B.

HungLikeAGreekGod: What’s a B.O.B?

I snort-laughed at the thought that a porn star didn’t know what B.O.B stands for.

GeekBoy: Battery-operated boyfriend.

HungLikeAGreekGod: Why didn’t you just say dildo?

GeekBoy: B.O.B is more discreet.

HungLikeAGreekGod: You don’t need to be discreet with me.











About the Author 

Colette’s personal love story began at university, where she met her future husband. An evening of flirting, in the shadow of Lancaster castle, eventually led to a fairytale wedding. She’s enjoying her own ‘happy ever after’ in the north of England with her husband, two beautiful children and her writing.

Blog/Website  |   Facebook Page   |  Facebook Group: Colette’s Cosy Corner

BookBub   |   Twitter    |   Goodreads  |  Instagram: @colettedavison

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Thursday, August 19, 2021

New Release-Review & Excerpt: FERAL HEARTS (Book One) by Melissa E Costa - Includes Giveaway!

Feral Hearts: Book 1

by Melissa E Costa

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Vanesa Gorkova

Release Date: August 19, 2021 

Genres: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy M/M Romance. 

Tropes: Friends to Lovers. Childhood friends. Gay for you. Omegaverse. Hurt/Comfort. Fated Mates. 

Themes: Soul Mates, classism

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Length:  68 683 words/176 pages

This is book one in the Feral Hearts series. 

The book does not a cliffhanger, per se, but the story’s conclusion won’t be reached until the end of book 3.

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Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

To save the one he loves, he must face the beast within.

Blurb 

Alex isn’t a traditional alpha—he’s gentle, awkward, and caring. He also has no desire to assume leadership of the Black Moon Pack once his father steps down.

Talen is an omega stray, taken in by Alex’s parents and raised as his brother. He’s also straight, emotionally damaged, and the love of Alex’s life.

Now of age, Talen is forced into the role of an omega—those treated little better than slaves. Worse yet, the monster inside of Alex has awoken and set its sights on Talen. The beast will stop at nothing to get what it wants, even if it takes the whole world down to do it.

Alex must face his worst nightmares if he ever has a chance at protecting Talen. Is he strong enough to bring them together, or will he lose Talen along with the pack?

This three-book series tells a continuous story with a resolution at the end of book three.

Excerpt

Alex couldn’t believe they were going to flog Talen. Eben stood to the side of the pillar with his back to Alex. He had been able to get Alex out of doing the whipping.

Etched into the pillar were symbols from the old language. A loop made of rope was attached to a minor ledge higher up in the stone. Its purpose was for this very thing. The shaman placed a large wooden block at Talen’s feet and had him step up onto it. Even elevated, he still wasn’t tall enough to fit his wrists through the loop, so they told him to hang onto it instead.

Talen wasn’t wearing a shirt. His arms above his head stretched his torso and made visible the taut muscles of his abdomen and chest. Tiny beads of sweat gathered on his collarbone before they rolled down his back. Whether caused by anticipation or the blistering heat, Alex didn’t know. Talen’s left arm was no longer hidden by his sleeve, making the slight bow in his wrist apparent for anyone who knew where to look. A nearly unnoticeable tremble shook his shoulders. He looked so small then, fragile, even though Talen was anything but.

One of the shamans began making a speech. Her loud voice carried on the wind. “To speak out against your betters is the greatest disrespect you can show to your pack.” She was lecturing Talen, but she also looked around as if talking to the crowd, making an example out of him. A wave of nausea washed over Alex as his anger rose. “When you disrespect your pack, you’re disrespecting yourself.”

“Stupid bitch,” Alex grumbled. “Get off your high horse.” Even though he hadn’t wanted to watch the whipping, his feet moved on their own until he was close enough to see Talen’s face clearly.

“Talen, for your disobedience, you will be punished by thirty slashes to your back to be carried out by the pack leader.”

Eben held a medium-sized bullwhip.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” the shaman continued. “To say to Roman, who you have disrespected by your behavior?”

For one moment, Talen looked like he would say something, and it wouldn’t be nice. That fire burned behind his dark-hazel eyes.

Alex remembered his father’s words at dinner. If Talen doesn’t go through with this, he might have to find himself another pack.

As cowardly as it seemed, Alex prayed that Talen would keep his mouth shut. Please, don’t say anything. Please, Talen. Please don’t say anything.

Talen closed his eyes, and the tension left his body.

“Only to apologize for my insolence.” His words carried on the mild breeze that made standing outside on this humid hot day bearable. But Alex couldn’t care less about the wind or how good it felt against his skin. Instead, his attention focused only on Talen. Even though Talen bowed his head, and his words sounded a bit hollow, there was a fire to them—Talen’s voice, his spark. His energy. His will to fight. Talen amazed him. His ability to stay himself, to not give into fear, regardless of the hell he had been through. Alex envied him. Talen might have been an omega, whereas he was an alpha, but there was no doubt that Talen was the stronger of the two of them.

His father got in position and raised the whip. With a loud crack, it singed between Talen’s shoulder blades, leaving an ugly red gash. Talen’s breath hitched. He clenched the rope, baring his teeth. Every taut muscle on his body writhed with each slash that marred his back. He wasn’t crying out, though. Talen was a proud one.

Another crack.

Alex tightened his fists.

Each crack grew louder and louder. Alex’s claws dug into his fists until tiny droplets of blood trailed down his palms.

Ten slashes into the punishment, Talen’s visible ribs heaved with each breath. His lithe frame trembled. Then his wolf surged, forming a white aura. It didn’t stretch out into a shadow—mostly that was an alpha thing—rather, it surrounded him like a sphere as it had done before with Roman—a white wolf seemingly chasing its tail in an endless figure eight. Its hazy white color made Talen appear blurry. It wasn’t large enough to affect Eben, only a whip length away.

It reeked of agony, hurt, anger, but mostly pain—Talen’s.

Alex turned away. His stomach clenched in knots. Something dark grew inside of him. Blacker, thicker. As he looked back at Talen, all Alex felt was rage.

Talen let out a scream before he bit his lip and a trail of blood spilled down his chin. Finally, he lost the battle, and he started crying out with each lash.

Alex’s fangs elongated. He wanted to kill them. All of them. His dad included. How f*cking dare they lay one hand on Talen? On his Talen.














About the Author  

Melissa writes character-driven fiction, and any genre is fair game. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, anime, manga, and gaming. Living by the motto of trying all things twice, Melissa has jumped out of a perfectly good plane, swum with manatees, dived headfirst into Alice’s rabbit hole, and seduced classy ladies in 6-inch heels. A free-spirited bohemian, she currently lives in artsy St. Petersburg, Florida, with her soulmate and their two adorably needy cats.

Author Links

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Monday, August 16, 2021

New Release-Review & Excerpt: THE WINGMAN by A. Poland - Includes Giveaway!

 


The Wingman

by A. Poland

Publisher: NineStar Press LLC

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Release Date:  July 26, 2021

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance, Romantic comedy, New Adult

Tropes: Friends to lovers, love triangle, childhood best friends, slow burn, sharing a bed (tent)

Themes: humor, friendship, family, communication

Heat Rating:  3 flames

Length:  69 762  words

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

Goodreads




Buy Links

NineStar Press  |   Amazon US  |   Amazon UK


Always the wingman, never the “one”.


Blurb

Nathan, a college student with a thing for funky hats and a definite not-thing for the great outdoors, has been a wingman extraordinaire for his lifelong best friend Lorcan for as long as either can remember. With his innate ability to talk endlessly about how great Lorcan is to anyone who’ll listen, Nathan has always been the best man for the job—even if he’s secretly waiting for the day when Lorcan will realize that Nathan is the only guy for him.

But then, Lorcan sets his sights on Miles, the suave, leather-jacket-wearing musician with a love of mountaineering and a family of six overprotective sisters, and Nathan must once again put his wingman skills to work.

Trouble is, Nathan is getting tired of the old routine, and Miles is the only human being on the planet immune to Lorcan’s charm. Not to mention that Miles’s interest is immediately piqued by the outspoken and completely oblivious wingman.



Excerpt

Nathan blinked blankly at his best friend.

“My help?” he parroted, not quite getting what Lorcan was suggesting. It wasn’t as though he could go up to this Miles guy and talk his ear off about Lorcan to encourage him to make the first move. They’d already met; they’d spoken. If Miles was interested, he’d make a move.

Hope stirred in Nathan’s chest.

If Miles was interested, why hadn’t he already made a move?

“Yeah, I need you to do your thing.” Lorcan nodded, looking at Nathan expectantly, as though that would make Nathan whip out a ready-made action plan on how to get into Miles’s pants.

“Dude, I do that so you can talk to them without doing the awkward introductions yourself.” Nathan spoke slowly, as though explaining how to draw a straight line to a child. “You’ve already covered that.”

“Well, then think of this as a part two,” Lorcan allowed with a huff, probably because Nathan was making very valid points. “I don’t know if he’s even into guys.”

Nathan frowned thoughtfully. Normally, it was easy to tell if someone was into Lorcan. Or at least to Nathan. He liked to think his dad’s perceptiveness had been inherited—to a lesser extent, of course, because Nathan was good, but he wasn’t that good—enough that he made a great wingman to other people, not just Lorcan. Hell, a few of the people in their friend group had asked for his help before.

It wasn’t as easy, sure. But Nathan had a pretty high success rate. A few of them in happy, long-term relationships to boot.

Maybe he should have business cards made.

Nathan Reed—will get you laid.

Nathan shook off that thought as quickly as it had come because that made him sound like a matchmaker, and he was decidedly not experienced enough to consider that as a career path.

“So you…what? Want me to meet him and suss out if he’s interested?” Nathan tried talking slowly, one brow apprehensively raised.

“Yeah!” Lorcan grinned. “Exactly. Work your magic.”

Nathan huffed out a laugh, rolling his eyes at Lorcan’s enthusiasm about Nathan’s apparent “magic.” It wasn’t magic; it was just knowing how to talk to people. Specifically, talking to people about Lorcan. Who, in Nathan’s opinion, was the easiest thing in the world to talk about.

Sometimes, on very good nights, Nathan didn’t have to do as much. Sometimes, the woman would know exactly why he was approaching and just cut to the chase. He always appreciated those; they made his life a lot easier.

“Okay, I’ll do you this one favor.” Nathan sighed, clearly teasing. There were no favors between them. No one kept tabs over who owed the other what. “Now drive me somewhere to get food. I’m starving.”

Lorcan laughed, his mood clearly elevated from earlier. Even that was enough to settle Nathan a bit more. Sure, his brain might still be working overtime on limited sleep, but Lorcan’s coming-out experience had been painless for him, and that was something at least.

“Your wish is my command,” he quipped back, starting up the car and taking them to their usual haunt.

There was nothing better than getting food with Lorcan.

Lorcan was a picky eater, while Nathan happily consumed anything deemed edible. Which meant Nathan tended to get extra of whatever Lorcan didn’t like, and no food was wasted.

Win-win all around.

But this time, the experience was different.

Nathan hadn’t been worried about any uncomfortable silences or lapses in conversation after being away for so long, and he’d been right not to.

But he never thought to be worried about Lorcan never shutting up.

Which, under normal circumstances, would have been fine. But these weren’t normal circumstances.

Lorcan wouldn’t stop talking about Miles.

In the last half an hour, Nathan learned more about the guy than he ever wished to. His gut twisted with each and every new fun fact presented to him, his shoulders drawn tighter and smile more strained.

So far, Nathan learned the following:

Miles was a musician.

A lot of people were musicians, especially in LA; it wasn’t a big deal. In fact, Nathan had taken piano lessons for an entire week and could still successfully play “Twinkle Twinkle.”

Miles was a graduate from Juilliard.

Nathan might have asked Lorcan to repeat himself because there was no way he’d said Juilliard.

But he had. And that was fine. Juilliard was a college just like any other. Saint Andrews was nothing to scoff at either.

Miles was adopted.

It made sense. Probably adopted into a wealthy family with plenty of connections, considering the Juilliard thing (f*cking Juilliard).

Miles’s eyes were this unusual gray color.

Lorcan spent a great deal of time talking about the color of Miles’s eyes. (There were only so many ways to describe stormy gray with flecks of brown, Nathan groused, please move on.) Anyway, Nathan had been told that he had unique eyes. Granted, they’d been compared to a swamp before. But still. Swamps had a bad rap—they had frogs.

But no, Lorcan clearly had a thing for smoke-colored eyes now, not gunky-green.

Miles was hugely involved in environmental activism.

Nathan recycled.


Carra's Review

The Wingman is a low-to-medium angst light romance with a touch of humor.  It’s told strictly from Nathan’s point of view, so we don’t really get any insight into Miles’ or Lorcan’s thoughts which for me made it a bit harder to really get into the story.  Contributing to that is Nathan’s tunnel vision when it comes to Lorcan, which means it takes a while before he realizes Lorcan is not the one Miles is interested in.


While clueless at times and also somewhat of a klutz (I can relate), Nathan is still a loyal friend…but that doesn’t quite extend to him truly playing the wingman role for Lorcan with Miles—or at least trying to make sure Lorcan doesn’t realize Nathan’s purposefully tanking his role.  Lorcan did come across as kind of selfish to me, and while he was an okay character I didn’t find myself on his side at all.


Of the three, Miles definitely stood out as a wonderful guy.  Kind, sincere, friendly, talented, thoughtful, and with an amazing family, all of whom are incredibly supportive and protective of him.  The poor guy winds up stuck in the middle when things get sticky with Nathan and Lorcan, but rides it out with grace.  When it came to the relationship that developed between him and Nathan, it took a very long time for me to feel like they truly had mutual feelings for each other while the chemistry eventually developed (though honestly it never really felt strong to me).


Overall, The Wingman was a good read and I’m giving it 3.5 stars.



About the Author


Fuelled by a worrying tea addiction (with a tattoo to prove it), A. Poland is a rom-com writer from Ireland who delights in telling stories that make you fall in love with the characters and give you that squee feeling in your chest.

Three words A. would use to describe her writing are funky, silly, and spicy. Which, coincidentally, is also their dancing style.

When they’re not daydreaming of the next meet-cute, A. works as a video producer and a full-time dog mom to her pride and joy, Gizmo.


Email (public address)  disasterbiwrites@gmail.com

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