Jim's Reading Room

Thursday, April 14, 2016

New release from Nic Starr: Rustic Moment

Title: Rustic Moment

Series: Rustic #3

Author: Nic Starr

Genre: M/M Romance

Release Date: April 15, 2016

Betrayal, heartbreak, and financial ruin are only the beginning. The last few months have been tough on Grant Parnell. He discovered his boyfriend was having an affair and it’s taken its toll, both emotionally and financially. With his business facing ruin, Grant could lose everything.
Dave Monroe is excited to start a new phase of his life. He’s following his dream and pursuing an exciting career opportunity. When Grant visits his friends in the country and finds out Dave might be moving to Melbourne, he offers him a place to stay. For Dave, life’s looking good.
Dave had only met Grant a couple of times before moving in with him, but the simmering sexual attraction is undeniable. As he settles into Grant’s home, deeper feelings develop. It’s hard not to fall for Grant’s gorgeous exterior, but it’s the strong man underneath who captures Dave’s heart.
Grant always craved success. His business and his home are testament to just how far he’s come, proving his family wrong and making something of himself—or he had. Now everything is falling apart. As Grant’s world spirals out of control, Dave is the one sure thing in his life.
But if they are to have any chance at happiness, Dave will need to teach Grant what’s really important.

“I said no.”

Grant’s voice was loud enough to travel down the hall. Dave immediately tensed at the tone. He couldn’t tell if Grant was angry or just being firm, but his words were clear. “This is the last time I want to have this conversation. You aren’t welcome here anymore.”

“I just want to know what you said to Douglas.” The answering voice was menacing, and Dave’s hackles rose.

Who on earth is that?

Dave placed the milk bottle on the benchtop and edged closer to the doorway. Grant could no doubt take care of himself, but Dave wanted to be close at hand. Just in case.

In case of what?

It didn’t matter what, it only mattered that Dave make sure Grant was okay, and the stranger’s voice didn’t sound anywhere near okay.

“What are you talking about? I haven’t spoken to Doug in weeks. In fact, if you know how to contact him, maybe you can tell him to call, and that I need to speak to him and sort out some crap.”

“I know you’ve said something. He told me you were trying to shaft him and get rid of him from the business. Then he went overseas, and now he’s come back and doesn’t want to see me.”

“So he’s back, then?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t already know.”

“I’m not pretending anything. How many times do I have to tell you I haven’t seen or spoken to Doug? We haven’t exchanged so much as an email. Okay, well, maybe that’s not quite true. I’ve sent him emails and letters, but he hasn’t replied. If he doesn’t want to see you, John, that’s between you and him. It has nothing to do with me. I’ve told you before—you’re welcome to each other.”

“Don’t you dare—”

“Get your hands off me.”

Dave didn’t wait to hear any more. Before he was even conscious of moving, he was striding down the hallway, and was bloody glad he’d done it. Grant was shoved up against the wall. A guy—John, the ex-boyfriend?—gripped him by the upper arms and yelled in his face.

“Hold it right there. Get your fucking hands off him,” Dave growled.

Shocked eyes met his as John looked his way and instinctively dropped his hands. “I… ah….”

“Step away. Now.”

John hesitated for a moment, looking between Grant and Dave.

Dave didn’t take his eyes off John, watching the man’s every move. “I said now.”

Nic Starr lives in Australia where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn't give it up for the world.

Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before eventually realising she had some stories of her own that needed to be told!

When not writing or reading, she loves to spend time with her family-an understanding husband and two beautiful daughters, and is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country.

You can find Nic on Facebook, Twitter and her blog. She'd love it if you stopped by to say hi.

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In this third installment of the Rustic series, we are once again given the pleasure of reading about another friends-become-lovers story.

Having read all three Rustic novels, I was pleased with the consistency of the high quality of writing, well developed story arcs and complex characters.

Being an author myself I can attest that keeping everything constant between novels can be difficult sometimes, especially when characters do flashbacks to events that have happened in previous novels.

Well done, Ms. Starr, well done.

On a scale of 1 to 5 I give Rustic Moment a 5 and encourage everyone to read not just Rustic Moment, but the entire series.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

My review of Awakenings by Megs Pritchard

Title: Awakening

Series: Crossing Desires #1

Author: Megs Pritchard

Genre: M/M Novella

Published: March 6, 2016

Contains homosexual relations.

Tony likes women. Always has. Always will. So when he wakes up in a strange bed after a drunken night out, he isn’t too concerned.

Thinking he’d scored with a woman from the club he’d been in the night before, he was shocked and horrified when he realized he was in a man’s bed. Naked.

What the hell happened last night?

With that question in mind, Tony quickly leaves before seeing the man he spent the night with, but in his haste leaves something important behind.

When the man he spent the night with calls him, Tony realizes that he has to meet him in order to get back what he left and that maybe he might not be as straight as he once thought.

With his brother’s help, Tony begins to question what he thought he knew about his sexuality and where the answer to that question might lead him.

Did he want him to stop?

Tony opened his mouth to tell him yes, but nothing came out. His brow furrowed as he tried to think. Will leaned back into him and sucked Tony’s bottom lip, before running his tongue along it. Letting it slide from his mouth, Will moved to take Tony’s ear in his mouth and bit the lobe gently before whispering, “We’ll only go as far as you want.”

Tony closed his eyes as he groaned, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I shouldn’t be here.”

“Shouldn’t you? I think here is exactly where you should be.” He bit Tony’s ear again causing Tony to shudder and gasp. Goose bumps were popping up on his skin, and his skin flushed with heat.

“You don’t play fair,” he murmured.

“We’ll do what you want. Stop when you want.”

Will reached down and grabbed the hem of Tony’s shirt. “Arms up.”

Tony lifted his arms above his head as Will pulled his shirt up and off. Why was he doing this? Because Will felt so fucking good. His heart hammered in his chest as sweat broke out over his flushed skin, and he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. The look on Will’s face, as he stepped back into Tony, scared and excited him at the same time. Will’s cheeks were flushed, his lips slightly parted and his eyes were hooded, but the lust was clearly evident in the way he looked at Tony’s face and down his bare chest.

“Fuck. I had to know, I wasn’t sure I remembered correctly.” Will reached out his hands and ran them up and over Tony’s abdomen and chest, thumbs brushing his nipples causing Tony to jump. Those same hands then wrapped around his neck, grabbing him tight as he hauled Tony towards him, and they slammed together causing the breath to explode out of Tony.

Before he could inhale, Will’s lips crashed against his in a bruising kiss and Tony opened his mouth and gasped. Will took advantage and swept his tongue into Tony’s mouth. Will’s tongue seemed to be everywhere. Running along his teeth, under his tongue and rubbing along the roof of his mouth. Teasing flicks against his tongue and before he realized it, he was stroking his tongue along Will’s, feeling the sleek wet muscle stroking his in return.

Fuck, this was good. Really good. So different from kissing a woman. Those lips were firmer but still so soft. The tongue more insistent. And fuck, the way he tasted. He tasted so fucking good. As Will changed the angle of his head, Tony felt Will’s stubble rub against his own and groaned. Will’s kiss was full of dominance and aggression, and Tony had never had that type of kiss from a woman before. He loved it.

Tony woke up slowly and sluggishly. He moved slightly on the bed and tensed when his stomach reminded him of just how much he had drunk the night before. He groaned and repeatedly swallowed as saliva flooded his mouth. His stomach didn’t want the contents it contained and was attempting to eject them.

He ran his hands over the bedding and stopped. He rubbed his fingers over the material noticing the softness. His breath caught. It wasn’t his bedding, and now he was aware that the mattress was completely different to his too. He swallowed again but this time it wasn’t to stop himself from being sick.

He blinked his eyes a couple of times before he could open them and stared at the white ceiling above him, seeing it through gritty and filmy eyes. Yep, didn’t recognize it. His breathing started to quicken as he became fully aware that he was in a room he didn’t recognize. Refusing to give in to the panic that was starting to rise in him, he slowly and carefully turned his head to the side so he could look at the room. He grimaced and closed his eyes as his head pounded in protest, and he took another couple of deep breaths before he was ready to open them again.

Blue walls stared back at him. He glanced around the room, noticing the dark furniture. Walnut maybe? Closing his eyes again, he tried to recall if he knew who had a bedroom like this. No, couldn’t think of a single person. The furniture looked expensive, too expensive for any of his friends to have.

On his second look around the room, he started to notice the details he hadn’t picked up the first time he’d glanced at it. Pictures on the walls, a bookcase in the corner, dark blue curtains, clothing strewn across the floor, black bedding. Frowning he looked more closely at the clothing on the floor and recognized his own among the scattered items. Was he naked? Why hadn’t he been aware that he was naked in someone else’s bed?

Then he noticed the type of clothing. Jeans, a shirt and boxer briefs that were definitely not his. His heart rate increased, and a fine film of sweat broke out over his body. He scanned the room again, looking more closely at the pictures he could see. There were men and women in them but only one man appeared in all of the pictures. Fuck, he was in a man’s room. He was in a man’s room and naked in his bed.

He closed his eyes. What the hell was he doing in a man’s bed? What had happened? His brother might like cock, but he didn’t. Absolutely not. Opening his eyes, he lifted the sheets and looked down his body. A strange keening sound left his mouth as he saw the marks that travelled down his chest and abdomen. He dropped the sheets quickly hoping to erase the image of his body from his mind and tried to think about the night before.

What had he done? How much had he drunk? He couldn’t remember much after he had gone into the club with his brother and their friends. He had a vague memory of a woman in a skin tight dress and a man wearing a black shirt. He looked at the shirt on the floor. Shit, the shirt was black. Oh God, he was in the bedroom of the man from the club.

As he lay there, he became aware of another sound entering the room: the shower. The shower was running. That meant the man from the club was still here and virtually in the room. He had to get out before he finished in the bathroom. He couldn’t face him. What if he had fucked him? Oh fuck, what did he do? Why couldn’t he remember?

He rolled cautiously to his side and had to pause, rubbing his stomach as he attempted to settle it. He swallowed convulsively as he took deep breaths. God, he felt like a woman in labor with all the deep breathing he was doing. When he felt more in control, he gingerly sat up and then slumped over as his stomach heaved. He put his head between his knees again as he was forced to stop himself from being sick.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and shivered uncontrollably. Sinking gently to his knees, he crawled on the floor over to where his clothes were. He dressed as quickly as he could, which wasn’t quick at all, and as he was attempting to stand to find his shoes, he heard the shower switch off.

Megs Pritchard lives in England and is a mother to two small boys. When she isn’t working or being mummy, she is busy writing about complex characters that know the harsh realities of life but want a HEA.

A lover of M/M and M/F romances she believes everyone deserves to be happy, healthy and loved.

Growing up in a military family, Megs has traveled Europe and has a great deal of respect and gratitude for all the men and women who have and who still serve. Her dream job was to be a Bomb Disposal Expert and even had her own ‘kit’ when she was younger.

She is currently working on her first novella series called Crossing Desires and full length series called Second Chances.

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I liked this story, but I found it a little lacking.

The writing was solid, and the plot was good, even though it left you hanging. I’m guessing that the next book in the Crossing Desires series, Struggle, will pick up where Awakenings left off.

What I found lacking was the character development. I feel that more could have been done with them. Hopefully, they’ll be fleshed out more in Struggle.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I rate Awakenings a 4.