natkennedybooks Others Promotions

Book Blast – Awaken by Vanessa MacLellan

Awaken
Vanessa MacLellan
Publication date: July 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror

Balin stands between two great Powers.  One will shatter his mind; the other will destroy his soul.  Only one of them can save his people.

Fort Resonbirg, a Norse stronghold in the New World, is besieged by the evil sorcerer Ursulard the Dreamspinner.  Though their fields are scorched and homes destroyed, the residents and refugees do not worry, because Fort Resonbirg is Awakened with the power to provide, protect, and grow.  But not all is as it seems when a wall of impenetrable mist surrounds the fort, and within the mist hunts the dragon, Nidhogg.  Nidhogg hungers for more than flesh and bone. It instills nightmares on its prey, feeding on fear and pain, inevitably taking lives.

Balin Tremore, a commoner bound for the militia but hoping to stay by his noble love’s side, never expected to amount to grand things.  When the great power of Cradleweaving is awakened within him, Balin unknowingly becomes the one person with the power to pierce the wall of mist and banish the deadly beast within before it destroys them all—if he can master the new power in time.  But to master the power, he must sacrifice much.  The question is, will it be his position, his Lady, or his very soul?

The Mist meets Nightmare on Elm Street in this classic tale of personal sacrifice.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

REVIEW:

Awaken opens up with a BANG right in the middle of the war, but then slows down as Balin is trapped in a cell for two chapters and we have our moment to get to know him and William, the prince of the keep. It’s a torturous scene and builds a lot of the world in story that skimmers might miss some things. This is not a book you would skim. There is so much going on and I love that. It doesn’t hand feed things.

It’s a story about pacts made in desperation. First Resonbirg (the magical, sentient keep) and later Balin. It’s a story of sacrifice. How far will you go to save those around you. How much time will you waste trying to find other ‘reasonable’ solutions before the big moment on the cross is all you have left.

The characters are all strongly build as well as the world. There are some Norse myth characters I didn’t know, but in the context of the story I didn’t have to know exactly who they were. I figured out the meaning just fine.

Great moodiness. There are these special chapters told from characters in present tense and you figure out they are all their last moments before Nidhogg gets them. It’s harrowing. It’s heart-breaking. A lot of breaking hearts in this story.

Perhaps not a story for everyone, I loved it and would recommend it for people who like woven storylines, amazing worldbuilding, and characters you WILL cry for. Don’t read if you need a sunshine, happy, everyone gets what they want kind of ending.

—

EXCERPT:

He rapped his knuckles against the wooden door, leaning against the frame to take the strain from his leg.

“Who is there?”

“It is I, Balin Tremore.” He glanced up and down the hallway. Vacant. “I request an audience.”

The door swung open. “Please enter with an open heart, Balin.” Elaine beamed at him, her joy evident in the musical laughter in her words.

Balin stepped inside, and Elaine slammed the door closed.

“Is Kirsten here?” he asked, scanning the suite for Elaine’s handmaiden.

Elaine shook her head. “She’s getting fabric.” With no warning, she threw her arms around Balin’s shoulders and hugged him close. “I’m so, so, so glad you are well,” she said, her words held stiffly, as if voicing a vow. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever.” She squeezed him. His body took a moment to react, and then he melted into her hold.

He embraced her, brushing his cheek against her plum silk shirt, holding her close, praying to Baldr that she’d never be taken from his arms. He inhaled her lilac scent and closed his eyes.

She pulled back, and the intensity in her gaze captured his breath. They were of a same height, except for when she wore ball shoes and could stare down at him with haughty superiority. She’d tease him then, drape her arm over his shoulders when nobody was looking their way. He didn’t mind, he just enjoyed being close to her. Now, however, no tease twinkled in her stormy eyes. Only worry and determination resided there, and he hated to see all those emotions in turmoil over her sweet features.

“Balin, would you just give in? You don’t have to return to the field.”

Balin took in a breath and let his gaze slip from hers to stare at the side of her nose. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes. You can.” She pulled away sharply, turning her back on him as she charged into her sitting room, her strong trouser-clad legs cutting the distance to a few strides. She gleaned pieces of paper from her writing desk and tromped back towards him, shaking the papers in his face. “I’ve completed the requisition. All I need is the Hauld’s approval, and after you and William—” she waved her hands through the air in a grand gesture, the papers crackling under the abuse, “—there’s no way he wouldn’t agree to you being my steward.”

They’d had this argument before, and Balin found it harder and harder to refuse her.

But he wanted to be so much more to her than just her steward.

“I don’t even need your approval, you know.” Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth turned into a frown.

He dropped his shoulders back, attention wandering over the copper molding encircling her ceiling. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Don’t you tempt me, Balin Tremore. If it means keeping you out of the war, I will do what I have to do.”

The command in her voice drew his attention back to her face. He scooped up her hands, papers and all, and pressed his forehead to hers. They stood that way for a moment, Elaine’s breathing fast, Balin’s heart thumping in his ears. Those weeks in the cage, cold, starving, he’d wanted her. Wanted her soft touch. Her amused smile. He’d kept her stored in his mind in the hidden places Zebbens couldn’t beat out of him.

“We have to fight him, Elaine. Every one of us, we all have to do what we can.”

“Then, Balin,” she argued, her voice a terse whisper, “that means I need to be out there, too.”

Through his bangs, he saw her looking at him. He rolled his forehead against hers until their noses touched. “You can’t go out there, Elaine,” he whispered, the words hovering between their nearly touching lips.

“I’m a better fencer than you.”

“Fencer, not swordsman, they aren’t the same.”

Behind him, the door opened.

“Oh, Miss, I’m so sorry to intrude,” Kirsten said.

The air crackled with anticipation, but Kirsten, so-sorry-to-intrude, didn’t leave.

Balin bowed his head and slowly pulled away. Then he turned to the handmaiden.  “Hello, Kirsten.”


Author Bio:

Vanessa MacLellan was born and raised in the farmlands of eastern Washington, works as an environmental engineer, and is an avid birder, naturalist and hiker living in Portland, Oregon.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted by:
XBTBanner1

natkennedybooks Uncategorized

Book Blast and Review – AUDIO Life Lessons by Kaje Harper

AUDIOBOOK and EBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Breaking Cover (Life Lessons Book 2)

Author and Publisher: Kaje Harper

Narrator: JF Harding

Release Date: June 29, 2022

Genre: Contemporary/Mystery M/M romance

Tropes: Modest age-gap, in the closet

Themes: Coming out, gay parenting

Heat Rating:  4 flames

Length: 9 hours and 46 minutes

It is best read after book 1.

The book does not end on a cliffhanger. It has a solid HFN ending, not yet a HEA. Audiobooks 3 and 4 scheduled for later this summer.

Goodreads

Issue Heavy but a Good Addition to the Series

I am a huge fan of Kaje Harper. Not only is she an amazing writer, but she is also a wonderful person. I’ve read several of her books, including the first book of this series. First, let me say, the audio version of this book is astounding. JF Harding has a wonderful voice and he adds so much emotion and dimension to the characters. Quite superb.

The best thing about the book: the kids. I love the ‘found child’ or ‘thrust upon child’ tropes (that’s what I call them.) and I thought the kids were great and the parental figures almost too perfect to be real. Quite a delight and Harding brought them to life just as well as the adults.

I loved Life Lessons, but this second book, Breaking Cover hits personal pet peeves/things I don’t enjoy. It was just too close to real life. There is a lot of gay bashing/troubled LGBT teens/bigotry in the work place/talk of therapy. This takes up quite a bit of the novel, so much so the detective plot got lost. And yes, this happens and is a real thing, but it stresses me out. Much of this book stressed me out and I like to read to relax. One reason I read fantasy more, it isn’t so much overly political.

Another thing I didn’t care for was Tony’s demand for Mac to be open about his sexuality when Mac obviously wasn’t ready. And how the book played it, he was right to keep himself safe however he felt he should. But Tony pushed and pushed and I think I would have enjoyed the story if Mac’s coming out was caused more by the plot and Tony was supportive of him from the get go, versus having Tony put pressure on him and then have the plot play its part. Tony’s focus on his own wants, going back on what he previously promised Mac, were my least favorite parts.

But, they are both out and living with it now. The novel had a good strong conclusion. The mystery/detective plot did fade for awhile, but by the end it was going full force and had a descent conclusion I didn’t quite see coming but was totally laid out! Fans of contemporary gay romance will love it. Great job!

Buy Links – Audible, KU and Paperback

Audible US  |  Audible UK

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Sometimes one moment defines a man

Blurb

For homicide detective Mac, it’s been a good year. Having Tony to go home to makes him a better cop and a better person. For Tony, it’s been hard being in love with a man he can’t touch in public. Evasions and outright lying to friends and family take a little of the shine off his relationship with Mac, but Tony is determined to make it work.

As the Minneapolis Police Department moves into a hot, humid summer, Mac is faced with a different challenge. A killer has murdered two blond women, and the police have no real clues. Mac hates to think that another murder may be the only way they’ll make progress with the case. But when that murder happens, it hits close to home for Tony. And suddenly Mac faces an ultimatum: come out into the sunlight and stand beside Tony as his lover, or walk away and live without a piece of his heart.

About the Author  

I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), although mostly for my own entertainment. I write M/M romance, often with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi, paranormal… I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)  

After decades of writing just for fun, my husband convinced me I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact. A complete list with links can be found on my website “Books” page at https://kajeharper.com/books/. 

Social Media Links

Audible Profile  |  Blog/Website  |  Newsletter Sign-up

Facebook | Facebook Group: Kaje’s Conversation Corner  

Goodreads Author page  | BookBub

Meet the Narrator

JF Harding Facebook Page  |  Facebook Group

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

natkennedybooks Others Promotions, Review

Review: The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out

The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out by Gayleen Froese

Rating: 5 stars
Buy Link: Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: Novel (~212 pages)

I really liked this book. Ben is a private detective, who was once a cop. He was blackmailed into quitting the force because of reasons (I won’t spoil you, but I do think he was dumb to have put himself in that situation). But generally, he’s a good guy. Jesse is his ex who is now a super star musician. And he’s pretty good too. I like it when my characters aren’t jerks.

Ben is asked to find a missing girl and Jesse joins in, (who is sick, so can’t perform) helping where he can. Both of their past angst and issues come out through the story, a way to show the characters are slightly broken so they can heal each other. I wasn’t as into that, but I loved the teamwork, Jesse’s fun confident manner, and Ben’s surety. The mystery plot and the romance plot both continued steadily throughout the book. Also, social media is evil.

They mystery is followed through naturally. I felt the steps made sense based on the clues he was given. There were a few red herrings and great secondary characters. I was worried for Kim and had my heart squeezed by the end of the story.

The title connection with the girl’s reason for being missing I thought was great. Tricksy and lovely.

The attraction between the two exes was great and expected in this kind of story. I like that they had a past so it wasn’t an instalove.

I was pushed out of the story on two occasions. Both, when the author’s opinions/politics came to the forefront. I skimmed both politics discussion and anti-depressant discussion. Didn’t even read those sections and found when the discussion ended and started again, because I was enjoying the story. But other readers might not even notice.

Definitely recommended for those who like to follow mysteries, enjoy engaging characters, and second chance romances.

I asked Gaylene to let us know more about her, and she agreed to be interviewed! So let’s get to know this great author of a fun detective series.

 


I’m a mystery writer who lives in Edmonton, Canada with a house full of pets, including three dogs and a three-foot tegu lizard named Marlowe. My housemate, Laird Ryan States, is also an author. Marlowe hasn’t written anything yet. They say everyone has a book in them but it’s possible this doesn’t apply to lizards.

I have two previously published books, Touch and Grayling Cross. The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out is my first book with DSP Publications and the first in a series. If you’re looking for me online, my website is gayleenfroese.com and I’m on Twitter @gayleenfroese

Are you promoting a book now? Tell us about it.

I’m promoting my new detective novel, The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out. I met the main characters, Ben and Jesse, in a dream, which is how I usually meet the characters I end up writing about. The book is set it, in part, in a real place called Dead Man’s Flats. It used to be called Pigeon Mountain and it got its new name in 1985 because someone thought it would encourage tourism. I think, if a town is going to have a name like that, it should earn it.

The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out is the story of a P.I. named Ben Ames, who’s looking for a missing university student. It’s also the story of Ben’s musician ex-boyfriend Jesse, who gets pneumonia on tour and crashes at Ben’s house, then winds up coming along for the ride while Ben works the case. There’s nothing better than a long highway drive for aggressively not discussing your failed relationship. There’s also nothing better than getting everything you think you want for making you question the whole idea of luck.

The trade paperback and e-book are available June 14, 2022, and you can find pre-order links and an except at https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-girl-whose-luck-ran-out-by-gayleen-froese-12145-b

What was your ‘ah ha’ moment when you realized you wanted to be a writer?

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t plan to be a writer but I didn’t think I would write novels. I thought I’d write for television and I went to university with that in mind. The more I talked to working TV writers, though, the more I realized TV writing wouldn’t be for me. I’m more suited to connecting with my characters on my own and working through the story myself than I would be to having to advocate and negotiate for them in a writers’ room. That’s definitely not disrespect for TV writers or writers’ rooms—it’s just my temperament and how I prefer to work.

What are you working on right now?

I’ve sold the sequel to The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out to DSP Publications. The working title is The Man Who Lost His Pen, which may not sound dramatic, but you’d be surprised how bad losing a pen can be.

Now I’m working on a book about a teenager who gets mysterious superpowers, and accidentally comes out to his family and friends, on the same night. He takes one of these things much more seriously than the other.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I often put together music playlists to write to. I might have an overall playlist that covers the main themes and settings of the book and then scene-specific playlists that are more geared to generating a specific mood. If I can’t find exactly the song I need, sometimes I have to write one, but I’m a painfully slow songwriter and this approach soon begins to look like avoidance of the book I meant to be writing in the first place.

Avoidance. Yes, I think we all recognize that. Thank you Gayleen for the interview. And good luck with the launch of The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out! I know your other readers will love it.

natkennedybooks Others Promotions, Review

Review: Hathonatum by Taylin Clavelli

Hathonatum by Taylin Clavelli

Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Publisher: MLR Press | Smashwords
Length: Novel (~300 pages)

An interesting take on star-crossed lovers. A soulmate story that crosses dimensions. This review is littered with spoilers, so beware. Long story short, a very sweet romance with some great characters and fantastic world building.

I was drawn to this novel for two reasons. I love Egypt and the mythology and history of that country. The other was the promise of interspecies romance. Taylin delivered beautifully on both. Her research and knowledge of Egypt shone in this novel and in her interview, she talks about her own love for Egypt. And while Hathonatum isn’t all that different from humans, there are definite differences between biology, culture, and world.

Ben is an archaeologist and one of the reasons he’s drawn to Egypt is that in his past life he was the king’s consort of a sort. And Hathonatum (in a very interesting way I won’t go into to avoid too many spoilers) was that king.

The worldbuilding really shines in this story with the layers of past lives, soul mates, and alien cultures. It seems like a huge mash up, but it works.

Ben, the human, knows what he wants. And when he meets Hathonatum, he knows this is the man he’s been waiting for. They are drawn together. Hathonatum was there specifically for Ben, because he knows Ben is his soulmate. Hathonatum is the capable, older, confident man of the relationship, but doesn’t bully Ben. There is support and love.

Though the story has one (unnecessary in my opinion) relationship set back, for the most part there isn’t much relationship angst. (Ugh relationship angst… not my fave.). The conflict is with the world out there, with other characters, with other aliens with agendas, it isn’t between the two main relationship characters. So, cheers for that.

Ben’s brother is a pretty significant character in this book. Jared is awesome and supportive and makes me wish I had a sibling like him. Their closeness is a gem and how they will do anything for each other. I’m happy to see strong family support.

My biggest gripe has nothing to do with the relationship, but one aspect of the worldbuilding. I had issues with the time slip between dimensions. I’m wondering if I missed some vital clue in my reading. So an hour in Hathonatum’s dimension is a week or so on Earth. But we have a couple where one half is on this side and the other half is on that side, but there is no problem with the time slip with them. I didn’t understand why. There was another issue with DNA sequencing to make earthlings and Hathonatum’s people age at the same rate (apparently Hathonatum’s people are very long lived)… but I wasn’t sure if this was attached to the time slip, and if so, why would it matter if the human was in the other dimension. It seems he would age at the speed of whatever time he was in (see author’s comment explaining where I got it wrong!). So, those two things kinda nagged at me, but if you’re not picky about details like these, they shouldn’t bother you to enjoying this romantic story as a whole.

I wanted more closure on Jared getting the King’s DNA (for the aging issue mentioned above) and what exactly that meant. Lots of hubbaloo and hinting with no actual follow through. Then I found out this was book one of a series, and I’m betting this is going to continue in the next book, which has me excited and eager to find out what is up with the DNA sharing!

All in all, a satisfying story and a fairly smooth read. The characters are likable, you want to root for the romance, and the world is interesting. Interesting teasers for what might be unveiled in the next book. Definitely worth a read to anyone interested in star-crossed/soulmate type stories.

Check out Taylin’s guest post on why she chose Egypt as her settling! Guest Post Taylin Clavelli

natkennedybooks Others Promotions, Review

Review: Behind the Stick


Behind the Stick by K. Evan Coles and Brigham Vaughn

Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | Apple | Kobo
Length: Novel (370 pages)

Luka is a hot, bulky, sweet guy who saves people’s lives for a living. He’s a bit of a mamma’s boy, but his respect for his mother his part of his charm. He doesn’t want to disappoint her, but feels horribly disappointed in the fact that his mother has issues with her son dating a white man.

Kyle is a bartender who has an on again off again booty call with his business partner/ex and his boyfriend. He’s got a bother he’s really close to, is very proud of his business, and is well put together.

Both of these guys are confident, and they know what they want. They are equals. I loved that about them. (Equal partners are very important to me.)

This is a character driven romance about these two guys coming together, finding ways to include each other in their busy lives, dealing with frustratingly prejudiced family members, and dealing with being attacked by gay bashers. If you’re looking for a story with a lot of external plot, this is probably not your story.

But if you’re looking for heart, this story has mountains of it.

First, I did not read the previous books to this series, and I think that was a detriment. There are a lot of characters, so many, in fact, that I lost track of who was who. I’m sure if I’d read the previous novels, I would have been more grounded. So, I focused on Kyle and Luka and their families.

Second, when I agreed to read and review this book, though the blurb did say MMMM menage, I did not think ‘oh this meant open relationships’. Smack myself in the head—that’s exactly what it meant. So… that was a sideswipe for me, because, I don’t like open relationship romances, and I would not have picked up this book if I had put two and two together. (so, I am surgically removing this part from my rating, but I wanted other readers to be aware of it in case that wasn’t their cup of tea.)

I like my love between romantic partners to be about the romance, not just the sex. So, one of the sex scenes felt very impersonal (the mmmm hook up) and didn’t really work for me. I found myself skimming them. Others, however, were spot on spicy!

The book really dove into the life of the characters, settling into the every day elements that define them. The emotional attachment the two men developed for each other and how they banded together against the adversarial world was the strength of this book.

I felt the book really gripped me once the characters were attacked (is that horrible, I want to say that’s kinda horrible). It was a faster paced read as they dealt with their own reactions and how such violence effected them personally and their relationship. My heart went out to these guys, because I just wanted them to be happy.

So, if you’re keen on character driven almost slice of life stories, with some emotional hurt/comfort and recovery, this is your book. If you dig open relationships and want to sink your teeth into an mmmm sex scene, this is most definitely your book.

Check out my interview with the authors on why they chose to write interracial romance! Author Interview with K. Evan Coles and Brigham Vaughn

natkennedybooks Wielder World

Great Review for Afflicted to the Core

Crucify my Love had great things to say about Afflicted to the Core (she read the previous novella’s too, what a fast reader!)

Review: Afflicted to the Core – Nat Kennedy ||+Release Blitz||

6 out of 6 stars!

“Afflicted to the Core” is the first full novel set in the universe of “Wielder World” series and its third installment. As you can easily guess, a larger number of pages translates into content, gives the author much more possibilities, and we really see it in this book. Let’s start with the fact that in “Afflicted to the Core” we can find many things that were more or less missing in the novellas, and so we have here everything that constitutes the strength of this novel and of the whole series – detailed construction of the world, characters and relationship between them, suspenseful, really interesting action, its unexpected twists, romantic theme, sex scenes, elements of the drama. In short, “Afflicted to the Core” is a novel, not just a novella, for a reason. What’s more, this time the author really shows us what she can do, as she finally has a possibility to spread her wings, which she undoubtedly does.

Check out the full review and the other reviews on her website.

natkennedybooks Review

Gay Fantasy Book Reviews


On a wild hair, I’ve opened myself up to book reviews! Of the gay fantasy kind (though, I’ll take horror, scifi and detective stories as well.)

I’m not a super fast reader so I’m going to start with one a month and see where I go from there. I totally take on the rule that if I am not engaged in the first three or so chapters, I’m skipping it. Sorry! But life is short and there are a lot of books out there.

And I have another rule, I can’t know you. Sorry about that, too, but I feel friendships are more important that reviews.

Review Policy

So, send your gay genre fiction my way and see if we’re a match.