Sunday 18 August 2019

ARC REVIEW : Long Way Home by Nicky James

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It was love at first sight. 
They were soulmates. 
It was forever. 
But they were only sixteen. 
Too innocent. Too naïve. 
Too ignorant about the world around them. 
Besides, nothing lasts forever. 
With their fairy-tale future torn to shreds, both boys need to learn to find their own way in an unforgiving world. 

Gavin Buchanan is thrown into a life he didn’t want, molded to do a job he always feared. He must learn to get by, but with only his brothers in arms to lean on and secrets so deep they eat at his core every day, he struggles. How long until life in the Marine Corps turns this gentle, tender-hearted man into someone no one recognizes? 
Owen Wallace is adrift and going through the motions. Every time he tries to stand tall and put the past behind him, life kicks him down. There is only so much a person can take before they turn bitter and jaded. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. 
Their souls are bound to each other. 
Nothing will keep them apart. 
It will take time, but they just need to find their way home. 

**Triggers for PTSD**




Long Way HomeLong Way Home by Nicky James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I couldn’t look away from those swirling blue eyes. Eyes I’d seen every time I closed my own for years. Eyes that came to me in my dreams. Eyes that soothed and tormented in equal measure. My heart didn’t know if it should clench or race or swell, and my poor lungs gave up as I held my breath.


Wow!
Saying this book was sad, angsty, rollercoaster, is an understatement.
Long Way Home is the kind of book that gave you lots of feelings, sweet, blushing, angry, sad, frustrated, depression, knots in your stomach and the feeling of being betrayed, jealousy, angry, angry, angry...mostly angry.

Con :This book was THICK of angst, death, homophobic, a long journey to find each other and hookups while they're not together (this is the most disturbing thing for me).
Pro : the writing was stellar, chemistry between the two MC was thick, lovely friendships, made me cry (which I love sometimes).

Owen is Gavin's first (and only) love, right from the start when he saw Owen, the adorable Owen. All Gavin can think of is Owen. Owen is his whole world, his happily ever after kind of fairy tales he dream of.
Owen and Gavin both sixteen at the time.
Life is easy, happy, and both boys are so naive about life.
But life happened somehow, and their life were not as beautiful as they wanted to. It was ugly, rough, mean and destroyed the pure Gavin and Owen along the way.

This book spare sixteen years of their life, sixteen years full of bump road, ugliness, angst, and they're not really together for eight years. The ugliest eight years of their life. My heart was broken for Gavin. And I really wanted to kill his father for being the cause of it.
This was where I'm not happy about it, his father deserved more punishment in his life, but no closure except a divorce. Gavin practically alone in this world, I'm glad he had Niko, his best friend. While Owen had Lorenzo to be his shoulder to cry on.

Eight years of come and go, love and hate, together and separation, together and being with other people (I don't call it cheating, it was just young love need more to learn that sometimes life is not that pretty and they need to meet other people before finding their HEA).

Long Way Home is not a book for a weak heart like me, but I read it anyway, I cannot stop thinking about it anyway, I can't stop hating the the author for making Gavin and Owen's life miserable.
But in the end, I have to admit that this book consumed me to the level 'I need medicine' for my pain in my stomach and my head.
I wanted to give this book one star, but it won't be fair.
To me, this is one of those great book that you don't want to re-read it in the future. Once is enough.
I'm miserable enough. But happy for Gavin and Owen that finally their hell on earth ended beautifully. And I loved the ending so much.

Five stars

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Monday 5 August 2019

Release Blitz & Review Tour - Eli Easton - How To Run With The Wolves



Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Cover Design: Reese Dante

Howl At The Moon Series

How To Howl At The Moon (Book #1) Amazon US | Amazon UK
How To Walk Like A Man (Book #2) Amazon US | Amazon UK
How To Wish Upon A Star (Book #3) Amazon US | Amazon UK
How To Save A Life (Book #4) - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb 

Zeus loves his job on the Mad Creek Search & Rescue team, and his inner Saint Bernard is finally being used to his full potential. When he sees a mysterious and wild-looking quickened—a dog shifter—at an earthquake site in Alaska, Zeus is compelled to investigate. Zeus falls hard for the primal beauty of Timo and of Alaska itself. Both call to his deep canine soul. But the Qimmig pack’s laws are as harsh as the Alaskan winters, and Timo is out of his reach.

Timo’s pack of dog shifters left their Inuit village generations ago and have lived wild ever since. Not trusting the “one-skinned,” and with their numbers dwindling, the Qimmig are on the verge of extinction. Timo is shocked to discover a whole group of “two-skinned” working as a rescue team, and he is particularly fascinated by Zeus, a gentle giant. He senses what Zeus feels for him… but it’s forbidden.

Can Mad Creek save this lost quickened clan? Perhaps—if they can learn how to run with the wolves.


CHAPTER 12 excerpt

Zeus

The next morning, Zeus woke again at dawn. He looked at the ceiling of the little hut, knowing today was the day. This morning, in fact. Real life called, and it was time for Zeus’s human, adult side to take the reins.

Timo had hopped into bed with him again last night, both of them so tired they’d fallen asleep immediately. He’d rolled away at some point, too hot to puppy pile, and now he lay on his stomach, face turned away.

The bed was so warm and cozy, with Timo’s radiating heat and the cool morning air in the room. And Zeus’s dog was still sore and tired. But all good things must end. With a sigh, Zeus got up. He put on his clothes and went out to take a piss.

When he came back inside, Timo was sitting up, rubbing his face. “It’s early. Let’s sleep some more.”

Zeus shook his head. “Can you drive me back to Yakatuk this morning? I have to get back to my team.”

Timo’s face fell. He blinked a few times, then looked away, gazing at the wall and yawning casually as if he didn’t care. But Zeus didn’t quite believe it.

“Timo?”

“I will come back.” Timo hopped out of bed and moseyed to the door of the hut, rubbing his naked hip as if there was a sore spot there.

Zeus averted his eyes. Eventually.

Dressed, there was nothing else for him to do but wait. So he tossed the blanket back over the bed and sat down on it gingerly. Man, his forearms were crazy sore today! They always got that way when he overdid it on all fours. They weren’t used to being weight-bearing appendages.

From outside, bird tweets filled the air, and sunlight gleamed around the edges of the ill-fitting door. Zeus had a feeling he’d dream about this place—and about Timo—for a very long time to come.

He rubbed his chest. Why did he feel so sad? Ugh. His inner dog would have to be drug away from this place as though on a leash.

Timo came back in. He didn’t look at Zeus but went to his clothes and pulled on a pair of jeans. They fit him so well and he looked particularly good in them with bare feet and bare chest, his long hair brushing his pale yellow skin.

Zeus looked down at his knees, frowning. “Sorry you have to drive me back. I bet we can get some gas in—oof!”

Timo tackled him onto his back on the bed. He tickled Zeus’s stomach, which made Zeus laugh, and then hovered over him, arms straight, elbows locked. He grinned. “Let’s play. Change into your fur. We can run in the woods. There’s a place I want to show you. It’s not far.”

Zeus looked up at Timo’s smile, his stomach doing lazy swoops. Timo’s long hair hung down and brushed the side of Zeus’s face, causing a shivery little flash of electricity.

“Stay one more day? Please?” Timo pouted, his eyes at maximum puppy dog.

Zeus swallowed and dared reach up to rub a long strand of Timo’s hair between his fingers. It was so coarse and strong, yet silky too. He searched Timo’s eyes and found determination there. Maybe even possessiveness. But why? Timo and Yuki both seemed to want Zeus in the pack. Was it just as another male hunter? Did they have too many females? He tried to see more in Timo’s eyes, some sign that he had more than a casual affection for Zeus, but it just wasn’t there.

Zeus sighed. “Timo, I have to go. I’ve got a mother. Father. Friends. A job back home. The Search and Rescue team. I like your camp very much. And you too. But I can’t run away from my life.”

Timo turned his face to the wall as if unable to look at Zeus. He wriggled his nose. “But you love it here. Yesterday—you loved it. This is the best camp. There is game in the valley. And we have shelter here, fire in the winter. And there is another trail that goes to the sea where we can get all the food that swims. We have everything.”

Shit, now Zeus felt guilty, like he was insulting the camp. “It’s a very nice camp. And yesterday was awesome. But my friends will be anxious and worried. They’re probably waiting for me to go home. Please, Timo.”

Without another word, Timo bounded up off the bed and took off out the door.

“Timo!” Zeus called after him, frustrated.

But by the time he got outside and looked around, Timo was gone.




About Eli

Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, and organic farmer, Eli has been a m/m romance author since 2013. She has over 30 books published.

Eli has loved romance since her teens and she particular admires writers who can combine literary merit, genuine humor, melting hotness, and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, bulldogs, cows, a cat, and lots of groundhogs.

In romance, Eli is best known for her Christmas stories because she’s a total Christmas sap. These include “Blame it on the Mistletoe”, “Unwrapping Hank” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles”. Her “Howl at the Moon” series of paranormal romances featuring the town of Mad Creek and its dog shifters has been popular with readers. And her series of Amish-themed romances, Men of Lancaster County, has won genre awards.



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How to Run with the Wolves (Howl at the Moon #5)How to Run with the Wolves by Eli Easton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Oh this is interesting.
Not as much as I enjoyed Roman's book, but enjoyable as the previous books before.
But I understand that Zeus has a free spirit and he loves nature, then when he met beautiful Timo, he just knew that Timo was his fate.
How to Run With The Wolves is the (last) book of this series. I think it's about time.
As much as I like this series, I think Eli Easton need to move on to another new series with the different realm.
Nice, adorable book, though.

View all my reviews

Confessions: Henri by Ella Frank - COVER REVEAL



CONFESSIONS: HENRI (Confessions Series, Book 5)

By Ella Frank

Good and bad. Right and wrong.
Life would be easy if things were always that simple.
That’s never been the case for Henri Boudreaux.

Son of a criminal. Ex-boyfriend to a Priest.
Henri's made a career out of getting in trouble and avoiding the law.
So when he winds up in bed with it, he knows that things are about to get…complicated.

But what’s life without taking a few risks?
And what’s a risk without the threat of being caught?
No one's ever accused Henri of being good man.
And Officer Craig Bailey is about to find out just how bad he can be.
*******************************************




PRE-ORDER Henri’s book now!

CONFESSIONS: HENRI (Confessions: Henri #5) is out 8/27/19 and it can be all yours here:

CONFESSIONS: HENRI (Confessions: Henri #5)
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2YHzBJv
Amazon Universal: https://mybook.to/confessionshenri
GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46943602-henri

And his guy Bailey’s book will be hitting Amazon 10/28/19 which you can pre-order today too!!

CONFESSIONS: BAILEY (Confessions Series #6)
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ZD5u7H
Amazon Universal: https://mybook.to/confessionsbailey

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