Best friendships are often tested as people age. This is doubly true when one person is a confused, possibly bisexual athlete and the other is a self-involved diva who hates serious discussions. Even worse, they both liked the same guy.
In this scene, Luke tries to clear the air with his best friend while Zach tries to avoid the conversation as always. This is from One Little Lie,where a clueless athlete learns the world is more than just gay or straight in this coming of age love story about secret relationships, friendship, and bisexuality.
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Luke
I rarely understood the way his brain worked. There was only one thing I needed to be sure about.
“You and Ryan seem friendly again,” I commented casually.
“Yep.” He kept his eyes on the road. Okay, he should keep doing that as he was driving.
“Cool. Great.” They should definitely get along. As long as it was only friendship. “You’re over Ryan, right?”
“No, Luke,” he replied dryly. “Let us commence a fight to the death to win the hand of our fair spaz.”
“Okay, you were joking for most of that, but you said no, so it’s no, right?”
“If I really wanted him, you wouldn’t stand a chance—”
“Not sure that’s true since—” I already had Ryan. He picked me.
“Which must mean I don’t want him.”
“Awesome.”
-Grab this book as part of the One Crazy Love Story Box set, which features the first four books in the One More Thing Series.
Quick summary: An amateur warlock must make an impossible choice: mate or die. The former doesn’t sound so bad when tying himself to a gorgeous tough alpha… who hates his guts. Is die still on the table? Possibly, if their enemies get their way.
Overall Impression: This enemies-to-lovers paranormal romance is right up my alley, so I LOVED IT SO MUCH and highly recommend. Lots of ‘I hate you but you’re hot’ and snarking at each other even during life-threatening situations, their need to bicker is so strong.
Rating: five out five magical socks (or ten if they’re in pairs)
The enemy of my enemy
Nate has lots of potential, but his father siphoned away and controlled his magic when he was alive. The young warlock is a relatively late bloomer, still learning to use gifts. The story starts when a fun night out got him kidnapped and nearly bonded to a member of the Kimball pack. He seeks help from their neighboring rivals, the Armitages.
Except their help requires more than borrowing a cup of sugar or hiding out in their territory. The mating bond process has already been started on his end and he needs to complete it or he’ll die.
Nate already knows his potential new mate, which is part of the problem. He is incredibly sure Ian despises him and has always despised him. Ian used to glare daggers at him when they were kids, and he’s drawn to yet also on guard against the tight-lipped wolf. And if you don’t know where this is going, you will probably be able to tell when you read it. So I don’t wanna spoil, and even if it is a bit predictable, let’s just say that when they clear things up I wasn’t surprised, but I still found it very satisfying and well-done.
At least buy me dinner first
This is an enemies to lovers story on steroids as the enemies are forced not only to have sex but bind their souls together. Undoing it is technically possible but not exactly easy or pleasant. The ‘fuck or die’ trope naturally comes with implied consent issues, though I would say both people don’t want Nate to die and are as on board as they can be given the circumstances.
In fact, the sex part is simple. Or should I say totally scorching hot and delicious because it is very damn good smut, a+ steamy scenes. The other parts give them more issues, as they’re suddenly living with a stranger who maybe hates you and they’re forced to get along and work together while sinister forces conspire against them.
There’s a fair bit of angst with their feelings, which I adored, but even if you don’t enjoy angst the main character Nate is full of humor and snark. Such a witty protagonist, he builds the drama one moment then has me cracking up. This was the first novel I read where sprinting through the woods and evading pursuers turns into a piggyback ride, which is honestly a travesty since this scene is delightful as hell. And Nate is lucky he barely has to search for shoes because he can craft the perfect footwear with his powers. It pays to be a witch with magical powers. How do I make this happen?
Cursed, mated, and in for the fight of their lives…
Warlock Nate Hawthorne just wants a cup of coffee. Is that too much to ask? Apparently. Because instead of precious caffeine, all he gets is cursed by a pack of werewolves who want to use him for his magic. Now the only way to fix the damage is a mate bond to a grumpy and oh-so-sexy alpha in the rival pack, who happens to hate him. This is so not how he wanted to start his day.
Ian Armitage never intended to take Nate as his mate. The Hawthorne family can’t be trusted. Ian knows that better than anyone. The fact that he’s lusted after the way-too-gorgeous man for years? Totally irrelevant. Ian’s just doing what is necessary to protect his pack. This whole mating arrangement has nothing to do with love and never will. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.
Nate and Ian will have to work together if they have any hope of staving off the pack’s enemies and averting disaster. That’s assuming they can stop arguing (and keep their hands off each other) long enough to save the day…
The Alpha’s Warlock is an explicit M/M paranormal romance featuring a snarky warlock, a brooding alpha werewolf, knotting, enchanted socks (long story), and a guaranteed happily ever after. This series does not contain mpreg.
About: A witch in a small town runs a psychic parlor. He wants to stay under the radar, which means he shouldn’t fall for the sexy investigator who seems intent on getting his help or seducing him. Hint: it’s both. There may also be zombies.
(Fun fact: ‘psychic’ is a world I’m physically incapable of spelling right. Along with ‘physics.’ I think the two words existing in the same language is what trips me up. I always get confused about what order the ‘y’ and ‘s’ go in and all hell breaks loose when adding the ‘h’ in there somewhere.)
Witchin’ Warlockis a fun, fast read with a little heat. The trouble with shorts like this is if it’s halfway decent, people want more. And I thought it was really cute and interesting. So I would have loved spending more time in this world, and it feels very fast paced because it’s over before you know it.
If you like M/M paranormal romance and novellas, there’s no reason you won’t love this one. Otherwise I’d call it worth checking out for anyone who has Kindle Unlimited. Though it is only .99 cents if you want to buy.
Caspian comes from a long line of witches. Brock is third generation F.B.I. They shouldn’t fit but they do.
A year ago, Caspian moved to a small town in Ohio. He hoped the lack of competition in the area would be good for his psychic business, Futures Untold. The last thing he expected was a sexy F.B.I. agent to show up and treat him like a missing person’s bloodhound. Even though Caspian keeps doing favors for Special Agent Brock Wray, his distrust of authority runs deep. After all, they used to drown witches in this area back in the day, and Caspian has no desire to end up on Brock’s missing persons’ list.
Officially, no one knows how Brock keeps solving so many huge cases. Caspian is Brock’s secret weapon. The man knows things no one should. That’s not why Brock keeps showing up and making excuses to see Caspian. Caspian fascinates Brock. Not only does Brock’s inner detective need to know how Caspian knows so much, but Caspian is also smoking hot. He is the single most gorgeous man to step foot in their tiny town in ages. Brock isn’t dumb. He has to take Caspian off the market as quickly as possible and he’ll use any excuse to get close enough to do it.
When Brock takes Caspian along for the ride on a case, things will get weird. Let’s hope Caspian isn’t forced to show why he’s the most witchin warlock around or Brock might run for the hills.
Ryan Miller may be a science genius, but his relationship skills are put to the test when his boyfriend struggles to ditch his beard and come out of the closet in the coming of age love story One Little Lie. In this scene, Ryan uses his questionable expertise to figure out whether he’s about to go on his first double date. He is contractually obligated to freak out for all big moments like this. The contract is his life.
~
Ryan
“Why aren’t you more worked up? This is our first double date.”
The words first and date so close together made my heart speed up in anxiety. Ryan’s didn’t do well under pressure. Hey, wait. I pointed a finger at Luke. “I see what you’re doing.”
Instead of giving me his clueless, earnest gaze, he smirked. My boyfriend was secretly evil! I’d be upset about it, but it was a little hot.
“Is it working?” he asked hopefully.
“Why do you want me to be a nervous wreck like you?” I asked with a pout.
His smirk only intensified. “You’re fun when you’re a nervous wreck.”
“It’s not going to work,” I said haughtily. I did the teasing to Luke. It didn’t work the other way around!
Evil boyfriend continued to smirk. Had we ever been on a double date before? Oh, mother fu-
Wait! “No, we went to dinner with the girls earlier,” I realized triumphantly. I already defeated my first double date. Or a word less combative.
He frowned for a moment, then shook his head. “No, that doesn’t count.”
“You can’t decide that,” I decided. “Who made you the decider of all things?”
Relationships weren’t dictatorships! They were about give and take. God, I was one of those people who acted like an expert anytime I was in a serious relationship. I hated those people. Except when those people were me. Maybe I really was an expert.
Wait, I totally wouldn’t mind if we had a dick-tatorship…
-This is from One Little Lie, the second sweet and snarky M/M romance in the One More Thing series of contemporary YA novels. Grab the book here as part of the One Crazy Love Story box set, which features the first four books in the One More Thing Series.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An angel and a regular human walk into an antique and curiosities store that the human owns and bicker over the ownership of a possibly possessed box. Oh, you haven’t heard this before?
Yeah, the premise of Galen feels fresh and intriguing, a unique spin for those looking for new takes on familiar paranormal romance stories.
Rating: 5 out of 5 possibly cursed rings (yikes!)
More than Demon but less than Angel
Angelic beauties who have heavenly origins fight against the forces of hell even though some think they should be damned too. When one of the fiercest warriors meets a hard to forget human, his strength and willpower are put to the ultimate test. Can an immortal angel love a human without it ending in tragedy?
Galen and his brothers are cursed because their fathers were Lucifer’s generals. They were taken early and trained to fight for heaven, though aren’t allowed in heaven. (Which is some BS if you ask me, but celestial leaders do not care what I think.) The brothers are the embodiment of deadly sins. Galen is wrath. Sometimes rage overcomes him and he loses self completely, he almost had to be put down because of it.
After learning the hard way, Galen has sworn to never love a human again. They all grow old and die while he doesn’t, so it’s too painful. Though there may be a way to ensure a bond with the right human doesn’t end in despair, though it involves a big sacrifice…
Fluffier than angel wings
Okay, there’s some angst over the nature of relationships between immortal beings/humans with short lifespans. And Galen has some anger issues. Plus, all the danger, secrets, and intrigue you might expect from matters of heaven and hell.
Yet somehow this novel is incredibly sweet, gooey and adorable. Sweeter than it has any right to be considering one part of the main couple is the embodiment of wrath and fighting his feelings every step of the way. Not that I’m complaining about any of this. Does it sound like I’m complaining? A little maybe. Let the record show: not complaining. It’s not the love story I was expecting, but the sweet human and his unshakeable connection with Galen balanced out the darker parts and it was very easy to get absorbed in this world.
While the romance at the core of the story is very sweet with lots of smut, there’s also a lot of action and adventure. Traveling to hell, epic sword fights, a lesson in demon cooking, all very exciting stuff.
A wild ride
The story is engaging also because of the vivid details the author uses. Osborn really makes everything come to life and the scene plays itself out in front of you.
Blame my ADHD brain, but I do get confused between the brothers. There are seven of them! Just make extra note of who is who at the beginning. Fortunately, they’ll probably become more familiar if you read the whole series.
Simon just wants to run his antique shop in peace. But then he finds a small mysterious box that’s (probably) haunted, and his shop is broken into by the hottest man he’s ever seen who then steals said creepy box. Now demons are after him and his only hope is to trust the tall, muscled, combat-boot-wearing thief who claims to be the son of a fallen angel.
Galen is charged with protecting humanity from dark forces. Cursed with Wrath, he’s hot-tempered and spends his days fighting demons and trying not to kill his six brothers when they irritate him. His number one rule? Never fall in love. But then he meets Simon, a clumsy human who asks way too many questions and is—unfortunately—a total demon-magnet, and he starts breaking his own rules.
What’s inside the box, and why do the demons want it so badly? One thing is for sure… Simon can kiss his peaceful, ordinary life goodbye.
Book 1 in the Sons of the Fallen series. A low-angst urban fantasy MM romance featuring a grumpy half-angel and the human he swears he doesn’t like (he’s lying), seven warriors representing the deadly sins, a seaside mansion where they all live, banter, a snarky demon, and a HEA.
Growing up in a small town as a (presumably) straight guy, Luke Chambers has certain preconceived notions about gay people. He used to believe queer people were more flamboyant and easy to identify, but after frequently being hit over the head with the realization that this is not the case in One Little Word, it’s finally starting to sink in.
In this scene, Luke is working through his misconceptions. This is also called ‘revolutionary thoughts that actually aren’t that revolutionary at all.’ The scene is from One Little Word, and the box set for the first four books is available here.
Luke
“There are signs,” I tried slowly. “Clues that point to someone’s sexuality. There can’t just be nothing until suddenly, uh.” I puzzled my way through this as I spoke. “It doesn’t work that way. Because if there aren’t signs, then that means. That means anyone could be gay.”
“It’s true though,” she said.
“No, that can’t be right.” I laughed nervously. “Because if anyone could be gay—” I didn’t want to continue, but I also had to keep going. “If anyone could be gay, then that means I could be gay.”
Alicia nodded but showed no other reaction. The whole world turned upside down for me, but she just kept sitting next to me, eating her breakfast burrito.
“Aren’t you going to freak out?” I asked her.
“Oh no, oh no,” she replied in a monotone voice. “It’s the end of the world.”
“You’re a terrible actress.”
She smiled at me. “I’m actually a great actress.” She hooked her arm with mine and put her head on my shoulder companionably. “I just really don’t give a shit about your sexuality.”
When a teen’s attempts to come out of the closet are influenced by a vengeful witch’s hex, bisexual erasure takes on a whole new meaning in Invisi-bi-lity.
Vella is a new way for authors to post stories on Amazon, and it works in episodic format. An author I follow had this plan, probably much more thought out than my own, to have five stories published by the new year. Pretty ambitious, considering they possibly wanted the novels to be complete too. For some reason I thought I could do the same thing, so I guess I’ll look on the bright side and praise my confidence.
I have three works currently on Vella and one soon to be published. Of these four, two are finished. So I actually didn’t do too bad and am going to give myself an A for effort. I tried and I tell myself that’s the important part.
Here is a scene from the beginning of the book. The main character John has some trouble pinning down his sexuality because a certain boy always gets in the way.
~
Figuring out my sexuality is difficult enough without Cody O’Keefe screwing everything up.
The high school halls are filled with attractive people. From the cute girl with amazing legs in my English class to the washboard abs of the football quarterback. Then Cody smiles at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and I only see him.
Intelligent, funny, and gorgeous, Cody O’Keefe has it all. My favorite thing about him? When people talk, he listens. He makes people feel important. It’s basically a superpower in a boring city where nothing ever happens like Buffalo, New York… though his warm brown eyes are also nice.
Cody’s gay. And he always knew. Back in kindergarten, he told his parents he’d rather marry me than Ella Hopkins and no amount of her sharing Rice Krispy treats would change that. Girls? Not gonna happen.
Me? I’ve sometimes been pretty sure I may not be straight. Occasionally. Much less definitive.
Sometimes I think I’m not bisexual, I’m just a little in love with my best friend. Or am I bi but only fixating on the nearest and best queer guy and not really in love with him? These questions swirl in my brain constantly these days. How do I gain clarity? The answers won’t just slap me in the face with the truth.
“Ah!”
Tuning back into the world around me, I stand on the sidewalk, staring incredulously at the guy who just slapped me in the face.
“Sorry, did I hit too hard?” Cody pats my cheek this time, an affectionate sort of slap. “My bad, but you were pretty far away.”
About a head taller, he stands there with an easy smile, all up in my business without the slightest hesitation. Comfortable in our friendship and totally unaware of the thirsty thoughts in my brain.
Cody O’Keefe has amazingly soft chocolate-brown hair that gets mussed if you so much as look at it wrong. With peach skin and the most enticing slightly chubby cheeks, his beautifully open face is nearly as expressive as the song lyrics, affirmations, and notes he always writes on his arms in black or blue pen.
In One Little Lie, a clueless athlete learns the world is more than just gay or straight in this coming of age love story about secret relationships, friendship, and bisexuality. This scene involves two boyfriends snarking at each other before they go out for the night. I don’t believe more context is necessary, this is mostly shameless flirting.
Oh, expect some helpful information to know is that One Little Lie is on sale. Get a discount now by grabbing the book for 99 cents while you still can! This is the second sweet and snarky M/M romance in the One More Thing series of contemporary YA novels.
~
Luke
“Wait, your parents weren’t home?” Ryan asked. “Shoulda mentioned that earlier, Chambers.”
I had no idea. Also, I blamed him. “You’re supposed to be the smart one, Miller.”
Ryan squawked in outrage. “Sorry, I was distracted by someone trying to pick out the right nail polish and dress to wear.”
“Are you implying I wear a dress because I’m gay?” I managed not to add an ‘or something’ on the end and ruin the joke. I continued with, “That’s homophobic and I’m offended.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Don’t even try that with me.”
“I’ll do what I want with you,” I muttered darkly, moving into his personal space.
He batted his lashes at me. “Promises, promises.”
–You can also grab the book here as part of the One Crazy Love Story Boxset, which features the first four books in the One More Thing Series.
Such a tiny word for a huge subject. At its core, art is a form of expression. A way to show a piece of your heart or soul when words fail.
As the shy kid hiding behind his mother’s Anne Taylor pant leg, skipping words altogether appealed to me. Putting pretty colors on a blank page and creating a picture, creating a statement without the awkwardness and anxiety, it was everything.
I love painting. I love everything from color theory to the first brush stroke. I love art.
Art is beautiful, transformative, passionate… and limited.
What you always wanted for Christmas, One Little Lie is on sale. Or maybe what you didn’t know you always wanted for Christmas. Yeah, that works. And because in my mind it’s appropriate, I picked part of the book to share where they talk about glitter because glitter is a vital part of Christmas. Not as celebrated as Santa but totally there in every shiny present and tacky decoration.
The book is about Luke, a popular athlete at his small town high school who just did the unthinkable by falling for another guy. His journey to figure out his sexuality will test everything he knows about his relationships and himself. In this scene, Luke and friends are going out to a gay bar and he’s trying not to freak out.
I wrote this book so long ago I barely remember writing it, but I do know this part was really fun. Luke and his boyfriend were both panicking for different reasons, and there is glitter, moody drunk girls, snark, and cuteness, which is apparently everything I adore.
~
Glitter!
Luke
As Ryan’s really good at being a spaz, I should leave that to him. Me? I’m awesome. I had to remember that. So what if I was going to a gay bar for the first time and couldn’t even get drunk? Without alcohol to help, I was a terrible dancer.
Did I belong at a gay bar? As a couple, yeah, I guess. But me? No idea. What if everyone looked at me and knew I didn’t belong? What if they didn’t? Did that mean I did belong?
I went simple with my clothes, a red shirt that hugged my muscles and tight jeans. Ryan… did the opposite. He looked good, a little ridiculous with all the glitter, but also like himself. Also super gay.
“What do you think?” Ryan asked coyly while preening, batting his eyes in a way he thought was flirtatious but was actually excessive.
Dragging my eyes away from their current focus, I managed to reply nonchalantly. “Are you sure that’s the most obnoxious glitter you could find? Because I can barely even see it when I close my eyes.”
-This is from One Little Lie, the second sweet and snarky M/M romance in the One More Thing series of contemporary YA novels. Grab this gay romance for 99 cents right now! The deal lasts from the 26th-31, for those in the US and UK.
If you miss the sale, you can still get a great deal! Grab the book here as part of the One Crazy Love StoryBoxset, which features the first four books in the One More Thing Series.
Gay Paranormal Romance 