Tag Archives: Book Rec

Budget Book Rec: The Ransom of a Night Hunter by Megan Derr!

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This week I had an unusually difficult time deciding on a budget book to read. I perused the usual places, and hit a few websites and Facebook groups I hadn’t visited in a while, but didn’t see anything that grabbed me until I read the short blurb for this M/M Fantasy Romance:

 

All Whitney wants is to go to dinner with his boyfriend and ask him to move in with him. Instead he winds up kidnapped, a mistake for which his family will harass him relentlessly—and which his kidnappers will swiftly come to regret.

 

That hooked me fast and I zipped through this free short story, enjoying every page.

One caveat, though. I didn’t notice that it’s a sequel until after I’d finished—just goes to show that it’s important to read the whole blurb! LOL I still enjoyed and would recommend this short to anyone who’s looking for a fun and quick read, and especially if you’ve read Derr’s A Game Most Dangerous. I checked her catalog because this short made me want to read that story, but it doesn’t seem to be available at this time (at least not under that title). I hope she’ll re-release it someday because I could spend a novel with Whitney’s snark and style and be very happy doing so!

Here’s a tiny taste of why I enjoyed Whitney so much.

“Don’t look at me, sunshine,” Whitney replied. I’m just the hostage. What am I going to do just sitting here? He’s the dipshit who fell into the bars, talk to him.”

 

Find Megan Derr’s Amazon Author page here.

 

If you’re a fan of heroes who leave an impression you might like my books. Sign up for my newsletter and get a free ebook to decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

Join my reader group, Rainbow Readers Club and hang out with me & the other member authors. Click here to find the group!

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

The Ransom of a Night Hunter

All Whitney wants is to go to dinner with his boyfriend and ask him to move in with him. Instead he winds up kidnapped, a mistake for which his family will harass him relentlessly—and which his kidnappers will swiftly come to regret.

 

Author’s Note: This book is a sequel to A Game Most Dangerous

Available on Amazon & KU!

 

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Budget Book Rec: Mr. Frosty Pants: A Gay Christmas Romance by Leta Blake!

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I loved this holiday second chance romance! It had just the right amount of pining, and enough heat to make Christmas warm and toasty! I grabbed my copy when it was on sale for $0.99, but it might not be that price when you read this. If it’s not, I highly recommend perusing Blake’s catalog for another budget book & following to get notice of her next sale!

If Second-Chance Romance isn’t for you, you still might like this book—it’s full of tropey goodness! Here’s what I mean, from the blurb:

 

Mr. Frosty Pants is a Christmas gay romance by Leta Blake featuring a virgin hero, childhood friends-to-lovers, second chances, and romantically steamy scenes.

 

Whoa, that’s a lot for one story! And the thing is, none of those tropes felt rushed or cast-aside in favor of another. This is a full novel, but even so, not all novels I’ve read have been so well-balanced.

You might have heard me going on about a trope I don’t like, Rich Hero Saves Poor Hero, a.k.a. Money Solves Everything. Mr. Frosty Pants looked like it might have that—one hero is rich & the other is working-class—but Blake left me feeling as though the men were on equal footing and had both “saved” the other in an important way.

Mr. Frosty Pants: A Gay Christmas Romance is showing as part of the Home for the Holidays series. Hopefully we can look forward to more lovely standalone holiday Romances from Leta Blake!

Find Leta Blake’s Amazon Author page here.

 

If you’re a fan of second chance, friends-to-lovers, or first times you might also like my books. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook so you can decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

Join my reader group, Rainbow Readers Club and hang out with me & the other member authors. Grab a free short as a thank-you for joining! Click here to find the group!

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

Mr. Frosty Pants: A Gay Christmas Romance

Frosty former friends get a steamy second chance in this Christmas gay romance!

Can true love warm his frozen heart?

When Casey Stevens went away to college four years ago, he ghosted on his straight best friend, Joel Vreeland. He hoped time and distance would lessen the unrequited affection he felt, but all it did was make him miss Joel more. Home for the holidays, Casey hopes they might find a way to be friends again. But Joel’s frosty reception reminds Casey of just how hard he had to fight to be Joel’s friend in the first place. It’s going to take a Christmas miracle to get past that cool façade again.

Joel isn’t as straight as Casey believes, and his years of pining for Casey have left him hurting and alone, caring for his abusive father and struggling to get by. Unable to trust anyone except his rescue dog—and with no reason to believe Casey is interested in him for more than a holiday fling—Joel’s icy heart might shatter before it can thaw.

Can Casey and Joel’s love overcome mistrust, parental rejection, class differences, and four long years apart? Mr. Frosty Pants is a stand-alone, Christmas gay romance by Leta Blake featuring a virgin hero, childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, and steamy mm first times.

Available on Amazon & KU!

 

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Budget Book Rec: My top 5 places to find budget books!

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This week, I thought I’d share some of the places I find the budget books that feed my reading habit. Some of these may be familiar, but hopefully at least one or two will be new!

Obviously, it’s a good idea to follow your favorite authors on social media, so you know when their books go on sale. Unfortunately, given the ever-changing world of social media, their posts might not always turn up on your timeline. It’s a good idea to have more options at the ready.

And what about new authors? Sure, everyone’s favorites put out a book a month or so, so you could subsist on a diet of those books alone. I’m sure many (many!) readers do just that. If they’re happy, then more power to them! I could never be happy doing that. For me, reading needs to have some surprises—even in Romance, where you know how it will end—I love it when the journey surprises me. Something about the story or the way it’s told, even in M/M Romance where tropes are king, has to be unexpected, or I might as well just re-read the same book over and over. And I do that sometimes—I’m a big re-reader. That strategy has the added bonus of being much cheaper than buying new books—even sale books!

Even with re-reading and following my favorites, I check out the resources below on the regular so I won’t miss out.

 

1.      Facebook Groups

If there’s a sub-genre, there’s a Facebook Group to talk about it & promote it! Find them using hashtags, by following your favorite authors (which will then lead you to new authors also posting in those groups), and letting Facebook recommend them to you. A good place to start is my group Rainbow Snippets. Many authors post from their books and WIPs, and you might get a recommendation to a new-to-you Facebook group when you visit! At the very least you’ll be able to read a few bite-sized snips of queer fiction–or maybe a few dozen, it’s different every week!

2.     Amazon Top 100 Lists

The next time you’re browsing on Amazon, check out the categories of the books you’re interested in. If you click on one of those, you’ll find two lists of Top 100 books—paid and free. I usually find something interesting on the free list, which leads me to new authors and their catalogs.

3.     Twitter hashtags

Search on sub-genre or trope or any part of the book you’re looking for! Someday I’ll put together a list of the hashtags I use. If you have any suggestions please drop them in the comments!

4.     Prolific Works

Check out their Group Giveaways on the landing page and also by genre. I have a ton of books I’ve claimed and it’s fun going through them. You never know what gems you’ll find! 😀

5.     Book Riot

Sign up for their newsletter and get deals in your inbox as often as you’d like! These are sales, usually not free books, but you’ll find any genre & sub-genre under the sun. It’s a great newsletter if you’re in the mood to break out of your comfort zone!

Speaking of newsletters! If you like angsty MM Romance, you might like my work. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook so you can decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

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Free Book Rec: King Kong vs. The Skinny Pirate by Addison Albright!

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Now that NaNoWriMo is over, I have more budget book recs!

I’m reading a great MM Romance novel right now, but it was only free for a few days so it won’t work for this post. I will say, though, be sure to follow your favorite authors on social media (if you don’t already), so you can grab their free and $0.99 books while they’re on sale. My kindle is full of books my faves have kindly offered for free or $0.99. I pull one—or two!—up every week or so. These budget books really stretch my tight reading budget!

(Yes, that was a hint. If you don’t follow me already, you might want to start. It is the season for gifts! 😊)

So, today’s free book! I wanted to read a light MM Romance to balance out the angsty novel. Addison Albright is a regular contributor to Rainbow Snippets so I know she writes light-hearted stories & writes them well. That sounded like the perfect thing for this hectic week. I’m so glad I picked it up! Opposites Attract is one of my favorite tropes and the two men in this short story couldn’t be more different!

 

King Kong grinned. “Feelin’ desperate, are ya?”

 

Opposites Attract is also a trope that can be overdone easily (for me) but Albright uses a light touch with the humor. Neither man seems like a stereotype, they both feel real and multi-faceted. We only spend 17 pages with them in this Romance, but I stand by that assessment. Their flirting is original and fun, and I wanted to see them get together.

 

The beard and mustache tickled Blaine’s face, and the hair covering George’s body was incredibly stimulating.

 

This book is also steamy for such a short story! If you only have a short time to read and want to get a complete story with some smiles and sexy-times, you might like King Kong vs. The Skinny Pirate.

 

Find Addison Albright’s Amazon Author Page here.

 

If you’re a fan of light-hearted MM Romances…well, I don’t really have any of those! But if you like to intersperse your sweet-and-spicy reads with angst, you might like my books. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook so you can decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

King Kong vs. The Skinny Pirate by Addison Albright

Blaine is a well-dressed, high priced attorney, and George is a hairy mountain of an auto mechanic. This odd couple meets up one evening on a slow night at a bar. The pickings are slim. Slim enough for these opposites to eyeball each other and ask themselves just how bad they want to get laid.

Pleasantly surprised by the evening’s outcome, Blaine is faced with a dilemma. Should he throw caution to the wind and pursue George, or steer clear of that unexpected distraction to his carefully structured life.

 

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Free Book Rec: LGBT First Chapter!

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Hello and Happy Wednesday! My budget book rec today is another Prolific Works giveaway. I’m getting a lot of new words written for NaNo, but that’s leaving me less time for finding, reading, and recommending books!

First Chapter is an LGBT only giveaway, organized by the lovely Elouise East. Read the first chapters of one book or all 29, including Buchanan House, my USA Today Must-Read Romance! If you’ve been wondering about the book it’s a good time to give it a try (hint, hint–it is the time of year for sales!)!

Prolific Works is the only place you can get a copy of my novella Cascades~An MM Holiday Second-Chance Romance without subscribing to my newsletter, but only for a limited time. Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like so we can keep in touch, but it’s not mandatory.

Find the giveaway here.

If you’re a fan of free books but not a fan of Prolific Works, you can subscribe to my newsletter and get your copy! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

Cascades, An MM Holiday Second-Chance Romance


 

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Free Book Rec: I Need Romance!

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Hello and Happy Hump Day! My budget book rec today is another Prolific Works giveaway. I’m getting a lot of new words written for NaNo, but that’s leaving me less time for finding, reading, and recommending books!

I Need Romance! is an LGBT Romance only giveaway, organized by the lovely AJ Sherwood. Choose from 56 stories, or download them all & read for days on a budget! Look for my novella Directing Traffic among the other amazing reads.

 

Prolific Works is the only place you can get a copy of my novella Cascades~An MM Holiday Second-Chance Romance without subscribing to my newsletter. Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like so we can keep in touch, but it’s not mandatory.

Find the giveaway here.

If you’re a fan of free books but not a fan of Prolific Works, you can subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

Cascades, An MM Holiday Second-Chance Romance


 

 

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Free Book Rec: Every Day is Black Friday Sale!

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I’m a little late getting a budget book rec up today because I’m doing NaNoWriMo! I’m so excited to be writing again! It’s been two and a half years since my car accident and I can finally write without every word being a literal pain in the head! That means I should have some new stories for you in 2020, along with the last couple of re-releases of previously published titles! I can’t wait to share them with you!

Today, though, I want to share a Prolific Works giveaway I’m hosting through the month of November: Every Day is Black Friday! I know, Black Friday isn’t cool anymore, but choosing from 41 free LGBTQIA+ books–or reading them all!–could never go out of style.

Prolific Works is also the only place you can get a copy of my novella Cascades~A MM Holiday Second-Chance Romance without subscribing to my newsletter. Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like so we can keep in touch, but it’s not mandatory.

Find the giveaway here.

If you’re a fan of free books but not a fan of Prolific Works, you can subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

Cascades, A MM Holiday Second-Chance Romance


 

 

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Budget Book Rec: Loadin’ Up by BA Tortuga!

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My budget book recs have mainly been freebies, and the majority of the time they’ll continue to be. This week, however, I was in the mood for a Cowboy Romance and nothing else would do. I’ve read some before but it’s been a long time. I checked the lists of the authors I’ve turned to in the past, but couldn’t find any free shorts. I’m sure they’re out there, so if you find one let me know. I knew $0.99 would turn out to be a bargain, but didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did! I loved “Loadin’ Up” so much I might go on a cowboy kick!

 

One of the safety men – a new kid, all braids and hawk nose and beaded chaps – looked down from where he’d been cooling down his buckskin and the rope flashed out, easy as you please.

 

My favorite thing about this story is the voice. Kaycee reads like a no-nonsense man who has his life all sorted out and I loved watching him get an unexpectedly amazing surprise! At 24 pages you’d think it would be too short for a whole Romance—with layers and enough feels to make you smile all day—but every word had a reason for being there and they all did their job as far as I’m concerned.

 

He imagined he could smell Julian – wood smoke and leather and horse. It was the scent of old Westerns and good honkytonks, without the tinge of booze.

 

I must not have read the blurb as well as I thought, because it was a happy surprise that the love interest is Native American. I loved Julian too, the way he flirts and isn’t the least bit hesitant or tentative but not over the top either, just very real. These two men seem perfect for each other—similar on the inside despite their outward differences. For me, that makes a perfect MM Romance. What do you think?

Find BA Tortuga’s Amazon Author page here.

 

If you’re a fan of men who know what they want and shamelessly go after it, you might also like my books. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook so you can decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

Stock contractor Kaycee works the rodeo circuit, and while he loves his job, it’s a lonely life. He could use someone to hit the trail with, and when he finds safety man Julian looking back, he thinks maybe he’s found that someone. Native American Julian isn’t worldly, but he knows what he wants. Can these two find a way to travel the same road?

This is a previously published title. The publisher has changed.

 

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Free Book Rec: A Reluctant Santa by Roan Parrish!

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This week my budget book rec is “A Reluctant Santa” by Roan Parrish. It’s a free short that you can grab on a (new-to-me) site called StoryOrigin. I chose it because I’ve read Roan Parrish before so I knew to expect a good portion of angst, or at least that the story wouldn’t be 100% sweet and fluffy. It’s just sweet enough for a Scrooge like me to enjoy. Before I finished the first sentence I knew I would be recommending this one!

 

Charlie Parkingham trudged down the hallway, his apartment door offering sanctuary after a day filled with the tortures of the damned that accompanied customer service before the holidays.

 

I love that the main character is a cranky retail worker and the love interest is collecting toys for kids. They seem like opposites, but this deftly crafted story shows that they have more in common than meets the eye. I don’t want to give too much away because this short has so many layers and I want you to enjoy peeling them back as you read just like I did.

 

The door was thrown open and Charlie only had a moment to register the wide eyes and gasp of the man in the doorway before he was hit full-force with a tumbleweed of brown fur.

 

Christmas stories are another sub-genre of MM Romance that I only read occasionally. Mainly because the holidays are a difficult time for me. Sometimes reading holiday stories gives me a jolt of the holiday spirit, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve written a couple of winter holiday stories and they are all fairly dark and angsty (even the one I tried to make as heartwarming as possible has a loaded backstory for both of the heroes 😊). Writing them is usually much easier than reading them because I do that in July. However, reading “A Reluctant Santa” was more than easy, it was a real pleasure.  If you haven’t yet, you should definitely grab your copy—read it now or save it for a day when you need some holiday cheer.

Find Roan Parrish’s Amazon Author page here.

If you’re a fan of angsty MM Romances, you might also like my books. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook so you can decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

For more budget book recs, click here.

 

Sometimes we fall in love by accident …

Charlie Parkingham hates the holidays. Working as a security guard for Macy’s, he sees the worst holiday shopping has to offer, so he’s glad he doesn’t have to worry about making Christmas for himself … or for anyone else. Until the day a mysterious package arrives on his doorstep.

Thomas Blake won’t stop until he’s made the holidays wonderful for every kid in Philadelphia. But when a grouchy neighbor returns a wrongly delivered package, Thomas knows there’s someone else who needs some holiday cheer.

Two men, one dog, and more presents than you can handle!

 

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Free Book Rec: Scrum by P.D. Singer!

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If you’ve been following my budget book recs you know I hadn’t read Sports Romances before. Well, I enjoyed Synchronicity by Keira Andrews so much I went looking for another!

“Scrum” by P.D. Singer is the story of a runner who meets a rugby player…eventually. 😉 I really enjoyed the crash course in rubgy, and the action scenes (both on the field and off!) pulled me in.

“Not rugby league, none of that hoity-toity, stay-halfway-clean play, but scrums, mauls, and rucks!”

We only get to know three characters in this story—it is a shortie at 37 pages—but none of their interaction reads as rushed, flat, or stereotypical. I’m not familiar with rugby players, though, so my thoughts on Yves are based on the overall skill in the writing. By the end of Chapter One I had complete trust the story would take me somewhere I wanted to go. “Scrum” is another little gem that I missed when it first came out (2014), when I was just getting started in the M/M Romance genre, so I can only imagine how amazing Singer’s latest books are. I think she even has another Sports Romance…

Sebastian spoke with fond memory in his voice. “Nothing like responding to a war chant with big swinging dicks.”

I miss watching American football, a lot, (but refuse to support their racism, even if they’ll never know the difference) and have just made a plan to spend this fall and winter searching for a few more short Sports Romances. Heck, I might even go crazy and read an entire Sports Romance novel!

I’d love some recs—any sport, any length of work, as long as it’s free or $0.99. But mainly free because I don’t make enough to support my fiction habit and I’m sure I’m not alone on that score. So drop those recs in the comments here or on Facebook, or Tweet me a rec—they’re all good! TIA, folx!

Find P.D. Singer’s Amazon Author page here.

If you’re a fan of character driven MM Romances, you might also like my books. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free ebook so you can decide for yourself! Click here to subscribe.

For more of my budget book recs click here.

Scrum

One look at the Canadian rugby star now playing on his local team turns Robin Isley into a super-fan. He’ll attend practices, cheer every game, and bleed with every tackle, but he won’t come close enough to get an autograph or say a few words.

Yves Dubois’ team runs faster, passes better, and scrums harder when Robin watches: they’ve been winning steadily. Yves has a blinding smile for Robin after practices, but never stops to talk.

Robin needs to know if Yves’ grin is only joy in the game. Finding out will be Robin’s birthday milestone, but first he needs to give himself the gift of courage.

This short story also appears in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s “Love Has No Boundaries” anthology volume 10.

 

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