Showing posts with label Ally Blue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ally Blue. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

August m/m releases I don't want to miss

One of the first things I did when I got home from our vacation, was shopping for ebooks. A few of my auto-buy authors – like Stephani Hecht, James Buchanan, ML Rhodes, Shawn Lane, TC Blue, Anne Brooke, Mary Calmes, JL Merrow, Cameron Dane, Heidi Cullinan and LA Witt – had a book release in July when I was without internet access (how dare they huh?).
While I was shopping, I also wrote down a list of the books that are going to be released in August and that I must have. As I’m packing for the move in a few weeks, I’m bound to lose this list. So I’m being smart and I’m going to post it here, and who knows, maybe you have a few recommendations as well for upcoming releases that I can add to my list. ;)

Out Of Focus
Release Date: August 2

Three to Get Ready
Release Date: August 5

Ashton and Justice
Release Date: August 7

A Solid Core of Alpha
Release Date: August 8

Abercrombie Zombie
Release Date: August 10

Life, Love and Lemon Cookies (Love's Evolution, #2)
Release Date: August 16

After the Sunset (Timing, #2)
Release Date: August 17

Finding Eden
Release Date: August 19

On The List
Release Date: August 21

Song of Oestend
Release Date: August 22

For The Attention Of (Pushing the Envelope, #1)
Release Date: August 28

Fall Into the Sun
Release Date: August 29

As you can see, my list is limited to m/m releases (and one ménage) but I’d love to hear what books you’re looking forward to, regardless if they’re m/m or m/f!
~

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Review of Oleander House by Ally Blue




Ally Blue
Oleander House
Samhain Publishing, 2006

Series:
Bay City Paranormal Investigations, book 1.
So far there are 7 books, with each a new investigation, but Sam and Bo’s love story continues and is the focus in the first 5 books.

Backblurb:
When Sam Raintree goes to work for Bay City Paranormal Investigations, he expects his quiet life to change-he doesn't expect to put his life and sanity on the line, or to fall for a man he can never have. Book One in the Bay City Paranormal Investigation series. Sam Raintree has never been normal. All his life, he's experienced things he can't explain. Things that have colored his view of the world and of himself. So taking a job as a paranormal investigator seems like a perfect fit. His new co-workers, he figures, don't have to know he's gay. When Sam arrives at Oleander House, the site of his first assignment with Bay City Paranormal Investigations, nothing is what he expected. The repetitive yet exciting work, the unusual and violent history of the house, the intensely erotic and terrifying dreams which plague his sleep. But the most unexpected thing is Dr. Bo Broussard, the group's leader. From the moment they meet, Sam is strongly attracted to his intelligent, alluring boss. It doesn't take Sam long to figure out that although Bo has led a heterosexual life, he is very much in the closet, and wants Sam as badly as Sam wants him. As the investigation of Oleander House progresses and paranormal events in the house escalate, Sam and Bo circle warily around their mutual attraction, until a single night of bloodshed and revelation changes their lives forever.

Genre & Keywords:
M/M, paranormal, Gay For You, ghost hunting, supernatural dimensions, violence

Why I read it:
Chris @ Stumbling over Chaos recommended this series to me

Storyline:
Sam joins the team of Bay City Paranormal Investigations, which is led by Bo. There’s an attraction between the two men but Bo is married with children. The team investigates a haunted house. While they discover dangerous supernatural dimensions Sam and Bo struggle with their mutual attraction and feelings.

My opinion in short:
This book had me on the edge of my seat during the complete second half. It has thriller elements as well as a blooming sweet gay for you romance. It’s well written, has likeable main and secondary characters and is a promising start of a series. I liked the angle of investigating the supernatural, instead of (one of) the characters being a vampire, shifter, demon, angel or any other paranormal being. I highly recommend this series.

~~~~~
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2 out of 3 flames
~~~~~

What’s more to know about this book:
Characters
Sam is a likeable protagonist: open, vulnerable, honest, sexy, caring and forgiving. His frustration and anger are tangible and understandable. Bo is the main cause of his frustration and anger because he refuses to admit his gay feelings. I would’ve loved to smack Bo with something on the head to beat some sense into him (and this urge only grew stronger in the next books of the series). The rest of the team members are nice supporting actors who are interesting enough without them stealing Sam and Bo’s show.
POV
The story is told in third person from Sam’s point of view, which works perfectly for this first book, with him being the newby in the investigation team. The reader has to guess along with him, not only about the investigation but also about the other team members, their relationships and feelings (especially Bo’s).
Plot
The plot is the strongest feature of this book, it’s well developed, fast paced and full of suspense that keeps you at the edge of your seat, especially during the second half of the book, when the supernatural danger is manifesting itself more and more. The build-up is dosed perfectly.
Smexing
M/M. There are not that many smexy scenes (when you don’t count the hot dreams Sam has) but the few sexual encounters between Sam and Bo are pretty scorching and well written. They are cleverly related to the paranormal story line as well. In this book the sex scenes add something meaningful to not only the developing romance between Sam and Bo, but also to Sam’s unfolding paranormal abilities, due to his vulnerability in those scenes (cryptic, huh?).
Writing style
Pleasant, doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, which is good because it never pulls you out of the story. The dialogues are nice and numerous. The descriptions of the surroundings and situations are vigorous and easy to picture. I enjoyed Ms. Blue’s writing.

Favorite scene/quote:
The scene where the other team members find out Sam is gay and the way they (especially Andre and David) handle it:

““Yeah,” Sam answered. “Sorry I didn’t tell you before. It just didn’t seem important.”
“It’s not.” Andre clapped him on the back. “Whatever floats your boat, man.”
“Just don’t stare at my ass.” David grinned over his shoulder. “I get as much of that as I can stand from Andre.”
“You wish,” Andre said, and swatted David’s rear.
David yelped and danced out of reach when Andre lifted his arm for another swing. “See?” he exclaimed. “The guy’s totally gay for me. He can’t get enough of my manly sexiness.”
David wiggled his butt invitingly. Andre calmly flipped him off while Cecile giggled. Sam laughed, feeling the last of his unease drain away. In his experience, anyone who could joke so casually about it had no problem with it. He was profoundly grateful no one had mentioned his confession to Bo the evening before. He wasn’t ready for that conversation just yet.”

Linking:
Ally Blue’s website | blog | on Twitter | on Goodreads
Buy Oleander House here

The books in this series:
# 1: Oleander House (Sam and Bo, 4 stars)
# 2: What Hides Inside (Sam and Bo, 4 stars)
# 3: Twilight (Sam and Bo, 3.5 stars)
# 4: Closer (Sam and Bo, 4 stars)
# 5: An Inner Darkness (Sam and Bo, 4.5 stars)
# 6: Where The Heart Is (series-related: Dean Delapore's story, 4 stars)
# 7: Love, Like Ghosts (series-related: Adrian Broussard's story, not read yet)

~~~~~~~~~~
This is the first review I tried the format on that I came up with a little while ago. I would like to know what does and doesn't work for you about this review format.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Happy Gay Friday & What I've Read


Wow, it’s Friday again. Time for some man on man love! Yay!
Isn't this a hot looking couple? *sigh*

Before I forget, let me remind you of the giveaway of Sloan Parker’s M/M/M romance here at my place. You can still go to Sloan’s guest post on POV here, to enter, until Monday night. I also have an M/F giveaway going on here, until tomorrow night.

Then my M/M reads. The past weeks have been quite good, m/m reading wise. I’ve read a few shorts (Ratchet by Chris Owen & Jodi Payne from their Deviations series and the free story Pineapples & Chocolate by E.M. Lynley) and I’ve read books 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series by Ally Blue. Now I have only book 7 from this series left and I find myself postponing reading this one because I don’t want to feel desperate for the release of book 8 (which is not known to be written yet and may not be written at all).
I want to review the books from this series in a separate post in the near future. At least the first five books, which are all centered on Sam and Bo’s love story. The sixth book is telling, their friend and colleague, Dean’s story and the seventh will be about Bo’s son Adrian, so they can both be read (and reviewed) as a standalone.


Like I said I took a little break from Ally Blue’s BCPI series and I did that with two books from authors who weren’t new to me: L.B. Gregg and Shayla Kersten. I’ve enjoyed their work before and they are both on my auto-buy list.

First I read Happy Ending by L.B. Gregg for the DIK Reading Challenge. I have to write a longer review for that but here’s my first impression of this second book of the Men of Smithfield series:
The opening scene is memorable and hilarious. Overall this was an enjoyable read although I didn't laugh out loud as much as I did with L.B. Gregg's other books. Still, Seth made me chuckle quite a lot and he's a rather refreshing character, with his gruffness and direct, short responses. He and David are an unusual and somewhat odd couple - talk about opposites attract - but the author succeeded in making me believe in their pairing. I thought the story ended at a point that their relationship started to get interesting and I found myself wishing the book had at least 50 more pages. My rate: 3.5 stars.

Backblurb:
All Seth really wanted was a simple massage—was that too much to ask? When his usual therapist is replaced by a sexy young masseur, Seth finds himself obsessed with the unpredictable - and wholly inappropriate - David Cooke. Pushed to the breaking point by forces both mysterious and not so mysterious, Seth must lose his rigid control to find the happy ending both he and David deserve.

Second I read Icing on the Cake by Shayla Kersten. My thoughts:
Although this is only 48 pages I really enjoyed this story! Okay, I wouldn't mind if it had been twice or three times as long, because that had probably satisfied my curiosity about this deliciously sexy couple. Jeff and Ollie are such interesting characters that I want to know more about them. Together they are incredibly hot. Jeff is a closeted, conservative, big shot business man and Ollie is a bold, tattooed and pierced biker kind of guy who bakes cakes for a living, and is very successful at that. Their attraction is an unlikely one but made very believable and tangible. They do a lot of hot stuff with icing and other food. And they rock each other's world very convincingly! I rate this with 4 stars.

Backblurb:
Jeff Morgan’s life is all about career. Relationships aren’t on his radar. His friendships are limited to a very few and his sex life consists of wham-bam-thank-you-man sexual encounters. He doesn’t do long term. He doesn’t even do breakfast.
Then the fate of a cake brings Ollie Cranford into his life. Shaved head, tats and piercings, the baker is far from Jeff’s type, but Ollie is as luscious as the treats he whips up in his bakery.
Now if only Jeff can relax long enough to enjoy the icing on the beefcake.

I also wanted to let you know that there's a wonderful post at Jessewave’s blog today about coming out that includes contributions from Ethan Day, Rick Reed, Sean Kennedy, John, Christian Otto, Batboy 126 and Ozakie Knotts. The contributions give a glimpse of the lives and personal experiences of these gay men who talk about “coming out” or choosing to remain in the closet.

Have a Happy Gay Friday!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene


This week’s sexy smutty scene is from What Hides Inside by Ally Blue. It’s the second book of her Bay City Paranormal Investigation series. I’ve finished this book last night and in a few hours I’ll start reading the third book Twilight. I don’t know what it is about this series but it’s pretty addictive. It’s m/m PNR but it’s not the vampire, demon or werewolf kind of paranormal. In this case it’s about a team of investigators that look into strange occurrences that seem to be paranormal. The investigation angle is attractive and addictive.

This week’s very smuttalicious man love scene might be a bit spoilerish when you just started this series or want to read it soon. So don’t read further if you don’t want to know (yet) :)
Oh, and it’s hot (maybe superfluous to mention)! Enjoy!



For a second, Dean went rigid with surprise. Then he moaned into Sam’s mouth and melted against him, one hand curled in Sam’s hair and the other winding around his waist. Dean’s body fit perfectly against Sam’s, warm and pliant, hips rolling in a search for friction. Hungry little noises bled from his lips as the kiss went deep.
“God, I want you so bad,” Dean breathed, and bit Sam’s ear.
Growling, Sam grabbed Dean’s ass in both hands and squeezed. “Don’t wanna go out anymore.”
“Me neither. Oh shit, yeah, do that again…”
Sam obediently sucked up another purple mark at the juncture of Dean’s neck and shoulder. “Bedroom,” he mumbled, his mouth still pressed to Dean’s skin. “Now.”
“Hell yeah.” With one more hard, hot kiss, Dean drew back, a finger still hooked through one of Sam’s belt loops. “Which way?”
Taking Dean’s hand, Sam led him through the door into the bedroom. As soon as they were inside, Sam tore off his jacket, watching as Dean did the same. Both garments were thrown unceremoniously aside, then Dean molded his body to Sam’s, hands sliding around his hips to caress his ass. They kissed again, tongues winding together as Sam backed them toward the bed. His knees hit the edge of the mattress and he let himself fall backward across it, taking Dean with him.
Rolling over, Sam pinned Dean’s body with his and buried his face in the man’s neck, pressing tiny kisses to his skin. Dean writhed underneath him, hips canting upward and thighs spreading. His moans rode the air, and his hands roamed Sam’s body with a great deal of skill and not an ounce of shyness.
Even through the lust fogging his mind, Sam couldn’t help comparing Dean to Bo. Kissing Dean, touching him and drawing those sweet sounds from him, was a very different experience from doing the same to Bo. Dean smelled different, he tasted different, the noises he made were different. And Dean threw himself into kissing Sam with an abandon Bo had never shown. Sam understood the why of it—Dean was out. Very, very out. Bo was not. Plus Bo valued control in every area of his life. Dean clearly shot from the hip more often than not.
I’ve never made Bo lose control like this, Sam thought mournfully, even as he yanked Dean’s shirt up and sucked one small pink nipple into his mouth. Dean arched against him, both hands fisted in his hair, soft keening sounds falling from his lips.
“Fuck me,” Dean begged, his voice low and rough. “Fuck me, God please.”
Sam closed his eyes. He’d have given anything to hear Bo say that to him. But you never will, he reminded himself. Dean’s here, he’s hot and willing and expects nothing from you, and God knows you need a good fuck.
Shoving the wistful thoughts of Bo firmly to the back of his mind, Sam sat up on his knees and went to work getting Dean’s jeans undone. Once he had the button and zipper open, Dean toed his sneakers off, lifted his hips and helped Sam shimmy the tight denim down his legs.
Tossing the pants over his shoulder, Sam pushed Dean’s thighs apart and stared at the thick, straight cock and tight balls he’d uncovered.
“I like how you’re looking at me,” Dean whispered. He ran his fingertips up and down his shaft, making the silky skin twitch. “Get undressed, so I can look at you too.”
Without taking his gaze from Dean’s prick, Sam stood and hastily shed his clothes, then crawled back onto the bed. Dean wrapped Sam in strong arms and long, graceful legs. Their lips met in another searing kiss. The feel of Dean’s bare skin against his sent lust thumping through Sam’s blood.
Following a sudden, irresistible urge, Sam kissed his way down Dean’s neck, pausing to swirl his tongue in the hollow of Dean’s throat before moving on. Dean cried out and squirmed as Sam’s teeth dug into one nipple, his fingers pinching the other.
“Sam, yes,” Dean hissed, his skin jumping under Sam’s lips and teeth and tongue. “God…fuck…”
Sam could only groan his agreement, his mouth being busy with making Dean incoherent. He slid further down Dean’s body, leaving wet kisses and reddened bite marks on the way. When he caught the sharp, musky scent of Dean’s arousal, all his control vanished. Shoving Dean’s thighs up and apart, Sam swooped down and swallowed Dean’s flushed and leaking cock to the root.
“Ah, oh my God!” Dean cried, his upper body coming completely off the bed. “Yes, fuck yes.”
Sam smiled smugly around his mouthful. He’d been half afraid he’d forgotten how to drive a man crazy with his mouth, after two months of not being allowed to even consider it. Apparently he hadn’t lost his touch after all, if Dean’s broken, lustful moans and the persistent thrusting of his hips was anything to go by.
Sam licked and sucked and stroked until Dean was thrashing on the bed, legs splayed wide and hands clutching the sheets. When he felt Dean’s cock swell in his mouth, Sam abruptly drew back. Raising his head, he grinned at Dean’s shocked expression. Dean let out a pitiful whimper and pushed at Sam’s head.
“Don’t come yet,” Sam said, struggling to get the words out past the need filling him to bursting. “Wait ‘til I’m in you.”


Ally Blue’s weblog and website and Twitter account

Backblurb:
Sam Raintree's life changed forever when he started his dream job with Bay City Paranormal Investigations. In one fateful week, he learned he was psychic, discovered he possessed the power to open interdimensional portals, and accidentally let loose a horror like he'd never imagined. He also began a relationship with his boss, Dr. Bo Broussard, a man who'd been in the closet all his life. Now, three months later, the burden of secrets has become too heavy for a fragile relationship to bear. Bo isn't ready to come out, and Sam is tired of hiding. When Bo hires a new investigator, Dean Delapore, Sam is intrigued in spite of himself. Dean is bisexual, attractive, and very interested in Sam. During the intense investigation of South Bay High School, from which three students have mysteriously disappeared, Sam and Dean draw closer together, while Bo pushes Sam away despite their feelings for one another. When the investigation erupts and Sam comes face-to-face with his worst nightmare, he has to decide whether to fight for Bo's love, or let him go.
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