Thursday, June 30, 2022

Spotlight & Giveaway: SELF-CARE WORKBOOK FOR NON-BINARY TEENS by Michelle Mann

Self-Care Workbook for Non-Binary Teens

Author and Publisher: Michelle Mann

Release Date:  April 1, 2022

Genre: LGBTQ non-fiction, self-help book

Themes: Non-Binary

Length: 89 pages

It is a standalone book.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Hardcover and Paperback

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Blurb 

Looking for skills to navigate sexual orientation and gender expression?

Tired of being defined by labels?


It’s no surprise the people on this journey of self-exploration need tender love, care, and a safe container to explore and express themselves.

The good news is – you can have that space to feel accepted, loved, and heard.

It’s only fair to release yourself from the restrictions of gender conformity and, instead, allow yourself to experiment with gender (or a lack thereof), as if you were an artist experimenting with a new medium.

“Self-Care Workbook for Non-Binary Teens” is an interactive workbook that has exactly what teens need to help them work through internalized negative messages, handle stress, build a community of support, and embrace their true self.

It’s time to discover more about who you are and who you might want to become now!

Inside these pages you will find:

  • Exactly what gender identity actually is;
  • Why understanding your gender identity is core to embracing your full being;
  • How to discover and begin living as your authentic self;
  • How to build unshakable confidence and resilience in a world filled with ignorance, inequality, and discrimination;
  • Practical advice with journaling prompts and space for reflection;
  • Mindfulness techniques for coming out, euphoria and dysphoria, building new friendships and navigating relationships with your friends and family;
  • And much more!


Whether you’ve been pondering big feelings and questions about your gender, or you’re just a little curious about it, the “Self Care Workbook for Non Binary Teens” will show you that there are endless ways to express yourself and that there’s no right or wrong way to identify.

You do NOT have to conform to a singular definition or narrative anymore!

You have the power to make changes and become your most authentic self – It’s your birthright!

If you’re ready to shed labels and identities that no longer serve you and your inner world and find the supportive community you're destined to have…

Then waste no more time, scroll up and grab your copy now!

Excerpt 

STORIES FROM THE CLASS

As you read through the stories below, do any of them resonate with you? Maybe it’s not the whole identity, but only parts? That’s ok - that helps you to define who you are and how you want to identify.

Clarence is a genderqueer young adult who loves knitting and reading mystery books. They use the terms “genderqueer” and “non-binary” interchangeably when describing themselves. They've also accepted that as time goes on, they may find another name to express their identity.

Thomas is transmasculine. He is an adventurous guy who likes cooking, hiking, and movies. He is comfortable using he/him pronouns, and also uses they/them. Thomas knows that he can use either pronoun based on their preference.

Brit is in their late 30s and identifies as ‘agender’. They identify as a person instead of a specific gender, or a spot on the gender binary. They have a love of fashion and excel at personal expression. 

Ellie identifies as ‘neutrois’ and describes themselves as being gender neutral. Ellie loves taking walks in the park with their dog and is especially fond of the spring when they can see flowers bloom everywhere. Ellie knows other neutrois individuals who describe themselves as genderless.

Clair is an ‘autigender' individual who thrives in their neurodiversity and linking it to their identity experience. In conversations with their friends and family, Clair sometimes refers to themselves as “neurogender” or “xenogender”. Clair loves teaching others about neurodiversity, listening to all kinds of music and reading comic books in their free time.

Clay is an ‘androgyne’ person who experiences both a masculine and feminine identity, sometimes simultaneously. Clay loves experimenting with the balance between their identities and the creativity that results from it. They are great at encouraging others to express themselves without fear or restraint.

Danny is an intersex individual who also identifies as genderfluid. They enjoy explaining the intersection of their biological sex and identity to their friends. In their free time, Danny enjoys classic video games, especially the older Mario games.

Ash is a ‘bigender’ person who has both a male and female identity. They’re an artist who loves using canvases to express their emotions and dreams. They choose to express each one as they please and enjoy combining both for unique expression.

About the Author 

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door…”

Michelle Mann is a native of New York City and holds a degree in psychology. She is a busy but happy mother of 4 and an author of self-help and parenting books that are designed to help stressed-out parents to make the most of their child’s formative years.

Her book, Parenting Pre-schoolers 2 to 5 Years Old, provides 20 tips for parents that are aimed at helping them deal with their child’s emotions and build effective lines of communication in what can often be the most challenging of times for parents, whether they are first-timers or have already experienced it and want to avoid making the same mistakes.

She hopes that the future will provide her with enough spare time to write even more self-help and parenting books, so that she can reach even more parents who are struggling with busy careers and family lives, enabling them to find the solutions that will help them to thrive.

Author Links

Facebook  |  Instagram

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Tuesday, June 28, 2022

New Release-Excerpt & Giveaway: THE KITE by N.R. Walker

The Kite
by N.R. Walker

Publication date: June 28th 2022
Genres: Adult, LGBTQ+, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis

Ex-Australian Specialist Response Group, Tim “Harry” Harrigan, has been running covert ops for almost a decade. A lone wolf, he’s single-handedly taken down terrorists and national security threats, or so he thinks. He’s been in the game far too long, and when he sees a familiar threat, he knows his time is up.

Asher Garin is a dangerous man. A man without loyalty, a man without a nationality, without a country, or a home. He’s also a mercenary for hire to the highest bidder. His next job is a face he recognises, and after a tip-off, he learns he too is a marked man.

It’s a different game now, and Harry and Asher have a better chance at surviving if they stick together. But it’s not just the game or the rules that have changed. The stakes have too.

Because on their own, they had nothing to lose. Together, they do.

~

#EnemiesToLovers #GayAssassins #UsAgainstThem

Caution: on-page physical and gun violence. Reader discretion advised.

Goodreads / Purchase


EXCERPT

Harry crossed the street. No one crossed after him, but whoever was after him was closer now.

He could feel it.

That cold stab of dread, sixth sense, gut feeling. Like icy fingers down his skin.

And if someone was after Harry, it wasn’t good. He was the hunter, never the hunted. If he was the mark . . .

Christ. He was the mark.

Harry ducked past two women, slipping through a narrow utility alley, and he ran. He was being chased now, silent and fast. At the end of the alley, he turned left and went through an open door, up a set of stairs to the roof, his heart hammering.

He ran along the roofline, exposed but faster than on the street. He heard footsteps chasing behind him but didn’t dare turn around, and as the muted whirr of a bullet pinged past his head, he jumped.

He knew the sound of that gun. It was a SIG Pro 9mm with a suppressor.

French special forces, standard issue.

He landed on a first-floor balcony, using his momentum to leap again, this time to the ground. Pain shot through his ankle but he kept moving, down another alley, and through an open door and into a darkened hall.

Hands grabbed him, spun him and pinned his back against the wall as the door closed behind him. In half a disorienting second, Harry pulled his gun to his assailant’s head at the same time he realised he had a pistol pressed against his.

Eyes flashed in the dark, familiar and close. A man’s body pressed him hard to the wall, their chests heaving. A hand covered his mouth.

“Shh.”

Harry didn’t dare breathe, his finger on the trigger, still aimed at the man’s head. The cold press of metal against Harry’s temple told him to wait.

The sound of feet outside came running. The crackle of a radio, a French voice just outside the door. “I’ve lost him.” The footsteps faded, and only after a long moment did the man move his hand from Harry’s mouth.

Harry could see then who it was.

Asher Garin.

Asher fucking Garin.

Adrenaline exploded through Harry’s veins and he started, pushing his pistol harder into Asher’s temple. Asher gnashed his teeth. Anger and defiance flashed in his eyes. “Keep quiet or you’ll kill us both,” Asher hissed, barely a whisper.

His words didn’t make sense.

Asher had saved him?

If there was anyone on the planet sent to kill Harry, it would be Asher. He was the only other man good enough. They were the top two government assassins in the world. Yet Asher had just saved him from the French?

Keep quiet or you’ll kill us both.

Both?

After an eternity, Asher released him, though he kept his pistol aimed at Harry’s head. “We need to get out of here,” he murmured.

Harry’s heart was thundering. His finger itched to pull the trigger. Itched. “The f*ck?”

Asher held up his phone to show Harry the screen. “Sent to all agencies.” An assignment, just like any other. Just like any of the thousand he’d received in the last decade. Locations, dates, names, and photographs.

Two photographs.

Harry’s blood ran cold, and his eyes met Asher’s.

Asher nodded, his stare intense. “You and me; double hit. They want us dead. You’re a kite, and your government just cut you loose.”

Harry grappled with his fight or flight instinct, his heart hammering, his ankle throbbing. But given two men had just tried to kill him and the fact Asher hadn’t killed him—and the assignment on his phone screen—Harry could assume what Asher said was true.

Asher must have seen the realisation in Harry’s eyes because he slowly lowered his gun. Just an inch. “We need to trust each other,” he whispered. “The only chance we have is if we stick together. Can you do that?”

Trusting any other person went against every cell in Harry’s body, but what choice did he have? If he said no, one or both of them died right here. If the assignment was sent to all agencies, there wasn’t a country or government anywhere in the world that could protect them.

Harry had no choice.

Answering without a word, he took his finger off the trigger.


About the Author

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things: a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.

She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things… but likes it even more when they fall in love.

She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since…

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


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Monday, June 27, 2022

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: PLAYING GAMES by Riley Hart (Franklin U series #1) - Includes Pre-Order Link!

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Playing Games
By Riley Hart

Playing Games Cover

Coming August 25th

Franklin University Series, Book 1

Brax

Tyson Langley thinks the king in Franklin University Kings is in reference to him. Star lacrosse player and God’s gift to the female and male population, there’s nothing the spoiled jock can’t have.

It’s impossible for us to be in the same room without talking crap to each other. But I also have a secret… As much as I despise Ty, I want him too. I revel in our banter and in never knowing what he’ll say next.

I’ve spent too much time on the wrong side of the law for someone like Ty, though, and if I want to make it through college and escape my past, he’s a distraction I don’t need.

 

 Ty 

Braxton Walker needs to learn to lighten up. If you search brooding online, his name pops up. He’s the bad boy with a leather jacket and a scowl. We couldn’t be more different.

Finding ways to annoy him is like the longest foreplay session of my life. And when we end up working together, it gets harder to deny how hot he makes me.

What’s a little hooking up between enemies?

We weren’t supposed to become friends or share secrets. We weren’t supposed to understand each other and all the complicated stuff we’re going through.

I’m used to playing games, only the more time I spend with Brax, the less it feels like playing around and the more it becomes something real.

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About the Author:

Riley Hart has always been known as the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She won her first writing contest in elementary school, and although she primarily focuses on male/male romance, under her various pen names, she’s written a little bit of everything. Regardless of the sub-genre, there’s always one common theme and that’s…romance! No surprise seeing as she’s a hopeless romantic herself. Riley’s a lover of character-driven plots, flawed characters, and always tries to write stories and characters people can relate to. She believes everyone deserves to see themselves in the books they read. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her reading or enjoying time with her awesome family in their home in North Carolina.

Riley Hart is represented by Jane Dystel at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret Literary Management. She’s a 2019 Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Of Sunlight and Stardust. Under her pen name, her young adult novel, The History of Us is an ALA Rainbow Booklist Recommended Read and Turn the World Upside Down is a Florida Authors and Publishers President's Book Award Winner.
Join Riley’s reader group here!

Riley loves hearing from readers. You can contact her at rileyhartwrites@yahoo.com

Connect with Riley:

Website - Instagram - Facebook - Twitter - Facebook Group

Subscribe to Riley's newsletter & keep up-to-date with new releases!


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New Release-Review & Excerpt: CRAZY LITTLE THING COLD LOVE by Colette Davison (Destination Daddies Season Two) - Includes Giveaway!

Crazy Little Thing Cold Love

Author and Publisher: Colette Davison

Cover Artist: Colette Davison

Photographer: Eric McKinney

Model: Patrick H

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Daddy kink, age gap (12 years), hurt/comfort, ex-military 

Themes: Self-care

Heat Rating:  4 flames 

Length: 69 000 words

It is a standalone story, but Jude appeared in His Boy to Cherish as a side character

The book does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal link  |  Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Can two very different men turn an intense holiday romance into lasting love?

Blurb

Jude

I shoot my mouth off and hide behind my smile as I try—and fail—to fill the void inside. Nothing has felt right since I was medically discharged from the army. Can there be more to life than a dead-end job and meaningless hook-ups?

Kasper

I didn’t expect to win a Cuffd Destinations holiday, let alone meet a sexy guy who’s fun to be around. Jude doesn’t think he’s a Daddy, but I’m going to prove him wrong. Who knows what we might discover along the way?

Crazy Little Thing Cold Love is part of the Destination Daddies Season Two multi-author series. It features an emotionally scarred army veteran, a bubbly boy who sees the world in a unique way, summer snow, lots of steam, and a happy ending. Each book can be read as a standalone, but there are so many destinations and Daddies to discover, why not grab them all?

Trigger warning for mentions of PTSD, flashbacks, and nightmares.

Excerpt 

I found a spare stool at the bar and ordered a drink. It took me about thirty seconds to notice I was sitting next to a muscly guy with blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had his back to the wall while nursing a tumbler of scotch on the rocks as he surveyed the room. He was Hollywood’s definition of gorgeous. Not that it would matter if he didn’t have a personality to match his roguish good looks and body builder-scale muscles. I hadn’t talked to him yet, which meant another twizzle stick was about to be mine.

“Hi,” I said, gesturing towards his lanyard. “I’m mint leaves, and you are…?”

“Light rum.”

Flashes of hot pink ignited at the edges of my vision, dominating the other colours already dancing there. The colour of his voice was beautiful, which was a good start.

“Really? That means that together, we’re a mojito.”

The man laughed. “I think we’re missing a few ingredients.” Vibrant pink swirled and undulated with the rhythm of his words.

“Maybe a mojito in potential?”

He laughed louder while I motioned to the barman.

“Light rum and mint leaves,” I told him.

He nodded, checked off our combination on a list, and gave us a twizzle stick. Twenty-four. I had more than hot-pink guy.

“How come you’re not mixing?” I asked.

“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

It was my turn to laugh. “Now you are, but you were alone when I came over.”

“I needed a breather.”

“Yeah, me too.” I turned around to face away from the bar and leant against it. I’m Kasper, by the way.” I held my hand out.

“Jude.”

Carra's Review

This story was equal parts sweet, hot, and heartwarming.  You might think that with trigger warnings of PTSD, flashbacks, and nightmares this would be a hard read, but I didn’t find that to be the case for me.  Kasper is responsible, caring, thoughtful, and so perfectly matched with Jude, and Jude makes a wonderful Daddy for him…even while being unsure that he is a Daddy at all.  But Jude’s protective, nurturing personality makes it so obvious, even if he doesn’t see it at first.


The chemistry between them is evident from the start, and they are so comfortable with each other without even trying.  Even within just the week of the vacation, they easily become close without it feeling like insta-love.  They just click, and when those trigger reasons rear their ugly heads, Kasper is the ideal person to be there for Jude to help him.


This book gives a real-life look at how PTSD can affect someone, not hiding any of the ways it can obstruct one’s quality of life.  But it also shows how with understanding and love, people can cope and find someone to care for.


Crazy Little Thing Cold Love was a solid 4-star read for me, and an excellent addition to the Destination Daddies series.  Jude and Kasper are magnificent together, and if you’re a Daddy/boy fan this book should be an automatic addition to your library.  This story is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.


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.

Social Media Links

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

BookBub   |   Twitter  |   Goodreads  |  Instagram: @colettedavison

Mailing List  |   Newsletter Sign-Up


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Tuesday, June 21, 2022

New Release: DIRTY DADDIES PRIDE 2022 - Multi-Author Anthology

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The Daddies are back and dirtier than ever! 

Dirty Daddies PRIDE 2022
Out Now!

DDPRA PRIDE 2022 5-6-22

With Stories By Pepper North, Daryl Banner, Delia Grace, Siobhan Smile, Aster Rae, Jacki James, Nora Phoenix, M.A. Innes, P. D. Carter, KM Neuhold, Della Cain, Emma Alcott, Chloe Lynn Ellis, Dakota Trace, Mika Lane, Jamie Merrick, Chara Croft, Gianni Holmes, Morticia Knight, Ava Sinclair, Lesley Clark, Kelly Fox, Mia Monroe, Reese Morrison, Sammi Cee, Lorelei M. Hart, and Maren Smith.

Love comes in all shapes, sizes, and gender pairings, and these 26 brand new, smoking hot daddies are here to prove it. No matter how you like your daddies — stern and sexy or sweet and cuddly — this anthology has a little something for everyone.

Order from any good eBook retailer:

Amazon (Universal)

Everywhere Else

DD Out Now at 1


Enter the EPIC Giveaway!

To celebrate these sexy Daddies; the Dirty Daddies Book Club and Red Hot Romance are giving you the chance to win:

  • a multicolor stone and sterling silver necklace (Open Internationally)
  • a $25 Amazon Voucher (Open Internationally)
  • a paperback copy of Dirty Daddies PRIDE 2022 (US Winner)

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The Authors:

Pepper North
Daryl Banner
Delia Grace
Siobhan Smile
Aster Rae
Jacki James
Nora Phoenix
M.A. Innes
P. D. Carter
KM Neuhold
Della Cain
Chloe Lynn Ellis
Dakota Trace
Mika Lane
Jamie Merrick
Chara Croft
Gianni Holmes
Morticia Knight
Lesley Clark
Kelly Fox
Mia Monroe
Reese Morrison
Sammi Cee
Lorelei M. Hart
Emma Alcott
Ava Sinclair
Maren Smith

In collaboration with Red Hot Romance Publishing


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Monday, June 20, 2022

New Release-Review & Excerpt: SORCERY'S KISS by Kayleigh Sky (Demon Tales and Fairy Games #1) - Includes Giveaway!

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Sorcery's Kiss
By Kayleigh Sky

Sorcerys-Kiss-Kindle

 Demon Tales and Fairy Games, Book 1

Welcome to the Fillery Hotel, home to the Bells and Balls Convention, and last stop for a runaway fairy prince and the grumpy demon hunter who loves him. 

Dick Slumber is a growly demon hunter with a three-legged cat he doesn’t want and a secret he must keep at all costs. But Dick has a problem—he’s not who he says he is, and he’s running out of ways to hide it.

Gin Lark is a feisty fairy prince whose job is to help his sister keep demons out of the human realm. But Gin has a problem—he doesn’t possess an ounce of magic, and somebody wants him dead.

When Gin goes into hiding as a hotel housekeeper, and Dick is hired to find him, they discover themselves in the center of a cursed hotel, a resurrected pinball convention with its own secrets, and a tear in the sky called the rift, which is about to let loose a horde of demons.

Falling in love should be the last thing on Dick and Gin’s to-do list—unless love is the only thing that can save them.

Sorcery’s Kiss is book one of an exciting new MM paranormal fantasy series called Demon Tales and Fairy Games, where demons, fairies, and trolls live with unsuspecting humans. Sometimes light, sometimes dark, always sweet, magical, and romantic. Happily ever after guaranteed. Each book is linked but tells a complete story. No cheating, no unkindness.

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Special Release Excerpt

Sheila circled her hand in the air above the ball and the colors swirled with the motion. Gin bit back a gasp. The expanding hues spun like a galaxy, spread along the inside rim of the sphere, and curled back into the center. The blur within the glass settled like multi-colored rain, and two images appeared. He looked at the cards on the table and back at the images. He pointed at a card in the first row and one from the second.

Sheila picked up the first card and held it in the tip of her fingers. It faced him front out. A mask, cracked and misshapen, the color of bone against red, eyes of black. But, so strange he shivered, was the trail of red tears. “You know more than you’re telling me. You are beautiful, well-dressed, and living on the streets. My eyes can see that. But you are carrying a darkness you have formed yourself and are not meant for. What are you hiding from, Cesar?”

I’m useless.

Unmagical.

“Nothing.”

“You were made from the essence of wholeness and oneness.” She set the card down. “Who are you running from?”

“No—” … body. But he stopped himself. “I don’t know.”

She picked up the second card. Wings, he thought, diaphanous as storybook fairies in a winter twilight. Curved and feathered in the shape of lips. “This, my darling, is the power of a wish come true. The kiss of blood and pain. It has the power to kill, and the power to save. Like all futures, yours is mortal, but what you do with it will be felt eternally.”

She waved her hand over the ball again. The colors swirled and resolved. This time, only a single image appeared. He pointed at a card. Sheila picked it up, raised her eyes to his, and showed him the image. “Do you have any idea who this is?”

He shook his head.

“You need to find him,” she said. “I think he’s the key to everything that is happening to you.”

A figure in a dark cloak, head bent like the guy in the parking lot. But this one stood inside a circle of knives.

Cards and Stones_Kiss

Carra's Review

The premise of this story easily caught my attention, I’m definitely a sucker for anything with demons and fairies.  While the synopsis pulled me in, the story itself had more complications than I expected; there was a lot of people not being what they seemed, and even with the main characters of Gin and Dick it was hard to tell what was really going on with them.  This was a continuing theme throughout the book, so be prepared for a long wait until you find out everyone’s true purpose and which side they’re on.


I really liked both Dick and Gin, but I will admit that it wasn’t until near the end that I started to feel their emotional connection.  I’m attributing that to the secrets everyone was keeping, and all the unknowns while the story unfurled.  It did make it harder for me to become invested in them as a couple, but I was absolutely invested in them as their individual characters.


For me, the story didn’t feel like it flowed smoothly, likely due to the convoluted storyline and so many unknowns among the characters.  Everything gets there in the end, just that ride felt a bit bumpy and drawn out to me.  There are some secondary characters who helped keep things interesting though (in particular Gin’s boss Misha and a co-worker, Tev, along with Dick’s co-worker Zolly).  


If you’re a fan of M/M paranormal romance with a more complicated plot, and don’t mind waiting until the very end to have everything revealed, Sorcery’s Kiss is a story you’ll want on your TBR list.  This story is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content (and a very big YES to the sexual chemistry between Dick and Gin!).



Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of Sorcery's Kiss, Kayleigh is giving away a $15 Amazon Gift Card (US Winner) OR a $15 Giftcard from Pride Publishing (International Winner)!

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About the Author:

Kayleigh is a 2019 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance. They currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area with Finn and Wilhelmina (Minnie, for short), two wild and crazy fuzz balls. Kayleigh’s forever cat, Sam, was a sweet, long-haired black kitty who met every day with a smile and marched to the beat of his own drummer.

Kayleigh loves tarot, crystals, bullet journaling, yoga, flowers of all kinds, and meditation. Other interests include alchemy, intentional positivity, and kindness. Love is love, and it belongs to everyone.

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest - Newsletter - Instagram - Facebook Group - BookBub - Amazon - Facebook Page - Goodreads - Linktree


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Friday, June 17, 2022

New Release-Review & Excerpt: ROMAN by Grae Bryan (Vampire's Mate #1) - Includes Giveaway!

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Roman

Vampire's Mate Book One
By Grae Bryan

Roman Cover

Vampire's Mate, Book 1

Danny Kingman is used to fending for himself. Working nonstop as an ER nurse to pay for his mother’s care, he’s been putting his own life on hold since he can remember. But when an unbelievably hot, strangely intense man saves him from a mugging, Danny has a feeling everything is about to change. Especially when that man suddenly pops out a pair of fangs.

Roman Mourier has been wandering aimlessly for decades, waiting for the inevitable day when the last of his humanity leaves him, and the demon inside him takes permanent control. He doesn’t believe in fated mates, or the myth that there’s a soul out there that could tether his humanity to him. Until he feels a strange pull to the lovely young man at the hospital, and hope stirs in him for the first time.

But Roman has demons other than just the one inside him. Is he strong enough to keep Danny safe from the past that haunts him? He knows one thing for sure: now that he’s found his mate, he will do anything to keep him.

Roman is a heated, fated-mates MM paranormal romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains insta-obsession, a cinnamon roll of an ER nurse, and the possessive vampire determined to keep him. It also contains explicit, steamy scenes between two men, and the moderate violence (and mentions of blood) that one might expect from a vampire romance. Not suitable for readers under 18. 

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Roman Teaser 2


Excerpt

Danny

“You goddamn, flipping piece of crap, son of a hot potato!” Danny yelled, shaking his fist at the current bane of his existence. “You were put on this earth to torment me, weren’t you, spawn of Satan? Don’t even try to deny it.”

The copy machine did not, in fact, try to deny it.

“That’s what I thought,” mumbled Danny, a trifle smugly. Then he remembered he was talking out loud to an inanimate object in the middle of the night, and all smugness was forgotten. He took a quick look around to make sure nobody was nearby. He was generally pretty good when it came to controlling his admittedly dirty mouth while at work, but he wasn’t actually quite sure what had come out just now.

The office was abandoned. Chloe, the night-shift charge nurse and his work bestie, had left her computer to go grab coffee and snacks, and he was pretty sure the other emergency room nurses were sneaking naps on some of the gurneys in the lesser-used patient bays.

It was a dead night.

Danny supposed he should be glad about that, since it meant no one was horrifically ill or injured, but it also meant he had time to help out his charge and copy the new schedule, necessitating the use of the copy machine from hell, so his feelings were a little conflicted.

The copy machine that was currently possessed, refusing to copy and also refusing to tell Danny why.

″Agh! I give up. You win again, demon.”

″Danny Boy, please stop talking to the copier. It’s concerning.”

Danny jumped at the sound of Chloe’s voice. She had appeared in the doorway, coffees in hand, a few bags of chips peeking out of her scrub jacket pocket.

Danny immediately blushed at being caught—he f*cking hated that he blushed so easily—but still managed to defend himself. “That beast started it.”

″Be a good boy, step away from the copier, and drink your coffee. I appreciate you trying to help me out but not at the risk of your clearly fragile sanity.”

He was tempted to stick his tongue out at her, but he was a professional, damn it. He took the coffee with a quick grin of thanks.

Danny was nearing the end of his second year working nights in the emergency room, but it was too unpredictable to get used to any sort of routine. Their hospital was in a smaller city, but the mountains around Hyde Park, Colorado, attracted outdoorsy tourists, and that meant that some nights it seemed everyone and their mother needed to be seen and some nights there was not a patient to be found.

It was hard to stay awake on the slower nights, but he knew if he tried to nap like some of the other nurses, he’d just end up throwing off his sleep rhythm. He tried to help out with some of the charge nurse duties when he had time, but sometimes he ended up more hindrance than help.

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Carra's Review

For a debut novel, I must say this author did a solid job with the overall story, the writing, and the characters.  When the first book has me eagerly awaiting more in the series (or just more at all), that’s a sure sign of a successful debut.  That it is vampires and fated mates was a big bonus for me.


Danny is selfless and compassionate—these traits are obvious from the start.  He’s also sweet and understanding…even when confronted with Roman’s inner demon (who I actually really liked).  It’s a classic case of the eternal good guy complementing the tortured vampire, and I am very much here for it.  I loved seeing Roman go from being mostly apathetic towards others to doting on and protecting Danny as HIS.  Their excellent chemistry didn’t hurt either ;-)


There is a solid cast of supporting characters; I was most intrigued by Soren, as seemingly eccentric as he was.  Gabe, Danny’s brother was a touch annoying mostly due to his big brother attitude.  I’m looking forward to seeing how things go between Soren and Gabe in the next book…that seems like a fun matchup with their clashing personalities.  There was also Roman’s maker, Luc, who I was sort of on the fence about since it felt like he was blaming Roman for something outside his control for too long, but now I’m hoping that somewhere along the line he might get his own story, be redeemed, and get his own happily ever after.


I’m wavering between 4 and 4.5 stars for this one, so I’m going to go with 4.25.  I’m already watching for the next book in the series, and am so glad I have a new author to add to my M/M paranormal regulars.  This story is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.



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About the Author:

Grae Bryan has been reading romance since she was far too young to know any better. Her love for love stories spans all genres, and while her current series is of the paranormal variety, she knows she’ll be exploring other worlds further down the line.

She lives in Arizona with her husband, who graciously shares space with all the imaginary men in her head. When not writing, she can generally be found reading more than is healthy, walking her monster-dog, or cuddling her demon-cat.

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