October M/M Releases I Look Forward To

I'm not sure what happened with September but it's October already. So, time for my monthly list of M/M releases. These titles caught my eye:

Love Lessons by Heidi Cullinan | Goodreads

August M/M Releases I Look Forward To

It’s a hot summer here in the Netherlands! And what better way is there to spend those hot days reading hot romances, right? Here’s my list for this month’s most anticipated M/M romances:

Review of Take It Off by L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

Take It Off (Market Garden #2)

Riptide Publishing | February 25, 2013 | 38 pages

LA Witt’s website | Aleksandr Voinov’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
Turnabout is foreplay.
High-end Market Garden rentboys Tristan and Jared have found their niche. Men are willing to pay good money to watch Tristan tease Jared, and the two of them seduce London’s elite with sex and power games.
Except Tristan is less and less interested in getting money out of the johns these days. He wants his partner in crime, and he wants the seduction to be real. But is Jared just in this for the pay?

Review of Something New Under the Sun by L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt

Something New Under the Sun (Falling Sky #2)

Riptide Publishing | January 21, 2013 | 212 pages

Author’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
Liam Lansing is heir to a prominent family of bio-modified vampires. That is, until he chooses the wrong lover and is cast down to the Gutter to scrape for his life.
Daniel Harding is heir to Cybernetix and a prince of the corporate Sky. That is, until his ideology drives his father to put a price on his head, forcing him into the Gutter.
But Daniel and Liam won’t vanish meekly into the smog. Together, they plan to rip open the hidden corruption that runs the Sky—for vengeance, for justice, and for hope.

Review Quid Pro Quo by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov

L.A. Witt & Aleksandr Voinov

Quid Pro Quo (Market Garden, #1)

Riptide Publishing, January 7, 2013 | 43 pages

LA Witt’s website | Aleksandr Voinov’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
For the past six months, Jared’s been selling sex at Market Garden, a London club that caters to the better-off. But business is slow in the run-up to Christmas, when businessmen and bankers are too busy bickering over bonuses to rent themselves a little high-class action.
Though Jared’s wallet finds the downtime unnerving, the rest of him rather enjoys the opportunity it gives him to admire Tristan, an old hand in the club whose reputation usually sees him well-booked. Jared has been crushing on Tristan for months—he’s no more immune to Tristan’s cockiness and confidence than the johns, and those are just Tristan’s inner qualities.

Review: Where Nerves End by L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt

Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1)

Amber Allure, June 3, 2012 | 180 pages, 61k words

Author’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
Welcome to Tucker Springs, Colorado: Population, 70-something-thousand. Home to beautiful mountain views, two respected universities, and a ridiculously high cost of living.
Jason Davis can handle a breakup. And an overwhelming mortgage. And a struggling business. And the excruciating pain that keeps him up at night thanks to a shoulder injury. Handling all of it at once? Not so much. When his shoulder finally pushes him to a breaking point, he takes a friend’s advice and gives acupuncture a try.

Review Anthology: O Come All Ye Kinky

Sarah Frantz (Editor)

O Come All Ye Kinky

Riptide Publishing, December 3, 2012 | 234 pages

Publisher’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
20% of all proceeds from O Come All Ye Kinky will be donated to the Domestic Violence Project of the National Leather Association–International.

Christmas is a time of love and joy, and the New Year is a time of renewal. But they are also times of stress and strife, family drama, pressure and heartache—a potent mix of high expectations and conflicted emotions. Add in power exchange relationships, kinky gift swaps, and unconventional love in a sometimes unforgiving world, and you have a formula for a sizzling anthology of stories that tug at your heart.

Swiftly Dusted: For the Living by L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt

For the Living

Amber Allure, April 1, 2012 | 302 pages

Author’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
For the last year, Jay Warren has struggled to find the nerve to tell his wife he’s gay. He’s ashamed of hiding it all this time and he doesn’t want to hurt her, so every time he gets the chance to tell her, he freezes up. The guilt has been almost unbearable, but when his wife dies suddenly, Jay’s conscience threatens to eat him alive.
Funeral director Scott Lawson deals with the bereaved every day of his life, and he’s also all too familiar with the inside of the closet. He offers Jay some much-needed compassion and understanding, and from that connection comes a friendship that quickly—perhaps too quickly—turns into something more.
But are grief, guilt, and loneliness the only things tying them together? Or will Scott get tired of being used as an emotional crutch before Jay realizes what he has?

Review: A Chip In His Shoulder by L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt
A Chip In His Shoulder
Riptide Publishing, November 7, 2011 | 78 pages

Author’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
“Contract killer” is a fitting job for a vampire, and it suits Liam just fine. Cast down from the wealth and status of the Sky for taking a human lover, Liam lurks in the poor and pollution-choked Gutter, killing to survive. Between his natural strengths and his Cybernetix mods, no mark has ever escaped him.
Liam’s ex-lover Daniel is the heir to Cybernetix—and its greatest threat. Horrified by people less man than machine and the exploitation of Gutter factory workers, he’d rather destroy Cybernetix than inherit it . . . if his father doesn’t destroy him first.
Years of anger and a heap of mods have kept Daniel and Liam apart. When Liam is hired to slaughter a man in his glass Sky tower, he walks right into a Daniel-shaped trap. Daniel’s father has betrayed them both, and only by working together can Daniel and Liam survive the coming day. They have no reason to trust each other, but as the dawn looms, a bargain that began with the simple urge to live soon reminds them of the love they once shared. Can they find each other again, or will the Cybernetix assassins find them first?

Genre & Keywords:
M/M, Romance, Urban Fantasy / Paranormal, Action, Cyberpunk, Enemies To Lovers, Interspecies, Contract Killer, Hacker, Future, Vampire

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2.5 out of 3
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A Chip In His Shoulder is a thrilling read thanks to the fast paced and action filled plot. Combined with a good suspense arc and an engaging and interesting world building it makes this novella a page turner. Add two memorable main characters and one would think we have a winner. Well, yes, I can definitely recommend this story, but I have a few niggles as well. I'll get to them later, first the good stuff.

November releases I look forward to & List of current giveaways at RDB

While October has been a hot mess of fun and excitement, November is probably going to be a lot more quiet, cold and normal. For me, this hopefully means back to reading, reviewing and blogging. Finally! Those are the things I love doing the most and for which I had little to no time at all, the past few months (okay, more like the past half year). Especially reviewing is something I haven’t done in ages and I’m itching now to start doing that again.

A dear friend mockingly called me the ‘queen of guest reviews’ and she’s probably right, I definitely need to write some reviews myself again. This doesn’t mean there’s no room for guest reviews anymore of course. Au contraire! I continue posting Sharon’s and Lis’s reviews with the greatest pleasure and gratitude, although I think it isn’t fair nor accurate to call them ‘guest reviews’ any longer. *g*

Anyway, I hope to read and review a lot of books the coming months and here’s a few of the November releases I definitely look forward to.

	Wrangled and Tangled (Blacktop Cowboys #3) by Lorelei James Release Date: November 1 New in the Blacktop Cowboy series. Janie Fitzhugh and Abe Lawson have long been divorced and living apart. Now she's back in town, a changed woman-making cattleman Abe want to wrangle an invitation t...more
	Wight Mischief by J.L. Merrow Release Date: November 8 A stranger could light up his world...or drive him deeper into darkness. Will Golding needs a break from his usual routine, and he’s been looking forward to a holiday helping Baz, his friend-with-bene...more
	It's Not Shakespeare by Amy Lane Release Date: November 9 College professor James Richards is in a rut and feeling his age. He moved to northern California to escape heartbreak and humiliation, but so far the only good thing to happen to him has been his Bos...more
	A Chip in His Shoulder by L.A. Witt Release Date: November 14 “Contract killer” is a fitting job for a vampire, and it suits Liam just fine. Cast down from the wealth and status of the Sky for taking a human lover, Liam lurks in the poor and pollution-choked Gut...more
	Marathon Cowboys by Sarah Black Release Date: November 14 Jesse Clayton loves painting, his cowboy grandfather, and his life as an artist with a wild abandon that leaves scorch marks on everything he touches. Budding Navajo cartoonist Lorenzo Maryboy is a ha...more
	The Closer You Get (Distance Between Us #2) by L.A. Witt Release Date: November 15 The virgin isn’t the only one with something to lose... Self-described manwhore Kieran Frost is loving the single life. Two years after moving to Seattle, he still has his friends with benefits, Rhett...more
	Russell's Reversal (Lost Shifters, #14) by Stephani Hecht Release Date: November 15 Russell has always liked his men the same way he likes his sex: fast, hard, and without any emotional attachments. As leader of not only a pack of rogue Wolf shifters but also of almost every illegal ...more
	Texas Winter (Texas #2) by RJ Scott Release Date: November 19 Sequel to The Heart Of Texas... Riley’s past comes back to haunt him both professionally and personally. His dead brother left more than just bitter memories for Riley to deal wi...more
	Written Request by Kim Dare (Pushing the Envelope #3) Release Date: November 20 Some requests are easier to put down on paper than they are to say out loud to someone face to face. Especially if the man asking for something is someone like Scott—who can barely speak to Joe withou...more
	Honored Vow (Change of Heart #3) by Mary Calmes Release Date: November 21 Jin Rayne is still growing into his frightening new powers as a nekhene cat and his place as reah of Logan Church’s tribe when he learns that a sepat, an honor challenge, has been called. Logan, who h...more
	Touching Wood by Kim Dare Release Date: November 23 It’s been quite a while since Ross and his master, Harry, have had time to go down into their basement play room and have some fun together. That’s about to change. Everyone knows that t...more
	More Than Enough (More #2) by Shawn Lane Release Date: November 27 College freshman, Bart Smith, struggles with the day to day life of trying to keep his minor sister out of the range of their abusive father. He dreams of getting them both away once she turns eightee...more

Current Giveaways
Don’t forget to check out the current giveaways at Rarely Dusty Books. They all run until the end of this week. I’ll announce the winners on Sunday the 6th so be sure to leave your comments before then. Here are the links to the giveaway posts:

Guest post by Aleksandr Voinov: M/M in 2012 and beyond
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win any backlist book of choice by Aleksandr Voinov (excluding Counterpunch and Dark Soul 1)!

Damon Suede's GayRomLit: A million magical moments
Leave a comment on this post for a chance at the First Wave Winner’s Choice --> Pick any one backlist book from Rachel Haimowitz, Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt, Brita Addams, or Cat Grant (“Frontlist” books, i.e. Riptide releases and newest non-Riptide release, are excluded, as are the Courtland Chronicles).

Brita Addams’ GayRomLit Retreat Recollections
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win any backlist book of choice by Brita Addams!

Bryl Tyne’s GayRomLit: Reflection of a con virgin
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win your choice of Bryl Tyne’s Pull, At Day’s End, Beneath Me, Rite of Passage, Behind Blue Eyes, Tough Guy, Best Unspoken, Coin Operated Boy, Trey #3, The Secret Ingredient, and the Zagzagel Diaries!

Cat Grant’s GayRomLit: Do You Know What It Means to Visit New Orleans…
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win your choice of Cat Grant’s Allegro Vivace, Sonata Appassionata, The First Real Thing (Icon Men #1), Appearing Nightly (Icon Men #2), A Fool for You (Icon Men #3), or Entangled Trio!

Rachel Haimowitz' Love Letter to GayRomLit

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win any backlist book of choice (excluding Crescendo) by Rachel Haimowitz!

Good luck!

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