Dinner At the Blue Moon Cafe by Rick R Reed | Cat's Release day Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @RickRReed

2nd Edition 

A monster moves through the night, hidden by the darkness, taking men, one by one, from Seattle's gay gathering areas.

Amid an atmosphere of crippling fear, Thad Matthews finds his first true love working in an Italian restaurant called the Blue Moon CafE. Sam Lupino is everything Thad has ever hoped for in a man: virile, sexy as hell, kind, and... he can cook!

As their romance heats up, the questions pile up. Who is the killer preying on Seattle's gay men? What secrets is Sam's Sicilian family hiding? And more importantly, why do Sam's unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon?

The strength of Thad and Sam's love will face the ultimate test when horrific revelations come to light beneath the full moon.

First Edition published as The Blue Moon Cafe by Amber Quill Press/Amber Allure, 2010. 

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon 

Cat gives this one 4 Meows with a 2 Purr heat index... 

I love a good werewolf story but haven't read any in a while as they are too much the same. I was happily surprised that this one was unique and the werewolves weren't sparkly or watered down. Sam Lupino has opened a new restaurant in Seatle he and his family has many secrets, and he keeps to himself. 

Thad has recently lost his job, living on unemployment and bored. One night he decides to try the new restaurant near him. He is surprised when the owner is so handsome and  sparks fly.They begin dating then worries pop into Thad's mind when gay murders are happening on the full moon, and Sam and his family are always gone at this time.

Dinner at Blue Moon Cafe has an interesting storyline with the murders. There are side plots as well.Thad and Sam's romance and also a building friendship with Jared who barely escapes the murderer. There are lots of twists and turns, and the think I liked most was there was none of the werewolf marking Thad and shouting mine. There was no instamate. The the one thing I would have like to saw more of was Sam and Thad's romance it along with the sex scenes were mostly off page. 

If you like werewolves, mystery/suspense, a bit of a thriller, and an excellent romance you will like this one.

Excerpt...

SATURDAY PASSED much as Monday had, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and so on. In other words, Thad cleaned his studio apartment that didn’t need cleaning; updated his Facebook status five times and his Twitter status three—stealing quotes from Lily Tomlin and Kathy Griffin to make himself sound more witty than he was; searched on Facebook for several hours for old friends, relatives, classmates, and boyfriends; made tuna salad for lunch—half the can of Chicken of the Sea went to Edith, who seduced him out of it with her eyes; and streamed three episodes of True Blood on his laptop.

By six o’clock Thad was staring out the window and thinking about counting his freckles, just for something to do. Perhaps he could shave the hair between his eyebrows? Do another online crossword? Google himself again?

“I gotta get out of here, money or no money.” He glanced down at Edith, who was lying at the opposite end of the couch. She looked up at him as if she understood and then glanced over at the door.

“That’s right, sweetheart. Daddy needs to get out… at least for a little dinner.” Thad had just gotten a flyer in the mail the day before, describing a new place that had opened on Green Lake Way called the Blue Moon Café. He had gone by it several times during his runs around the lake and watched as the restaurant had slowly come together: one day kitchen equipment was delivered, another it was dark cherry tables and chairs, yet another a shipment of beer and wine. Yet he had no idea, really, what kind of cuisine they’d serve.

But one thing Thad had loved about the Green Lake neighborhood when he moved in was its abundance of stores, restaurants, pubs, and cafés within walking distance. Thad had never owned a car and didn’t want one. So he liked to support the businesses there, even though many of them were more geared toward families and couples than the livelier—and gayer—Capitol Hill neighborhood, ten or fifteen minutes away depending on traffic.

After serving Edith her dinner of Thad’s own special blend of brown rice, chicken, and peas and carrots, Thad hit the shower. He took a long time under the hot spray, washing and conditioning his hair, soaping every orifice, and shaving the hair on his balls and adjacent to his penis, revealing his manhood in its most flattering light. Even in Green Lake and even on an outing for a quiet meal, one never knew whom one would meet. Besides, Thad had all the time in the world.

Don’t remind me, he thought, sliding his head under the shower to rinse the conditioner from his ginger hair.

He dressed in a pair of black jeans, combat boots, and a vintage Cockney Rejects T-shirt he’d found a couple of weeks ago at Value Village. He worked a dollop of hair wax through his hair, making it stand on end fetchingly and giving him that just-out-of-bed look. Although he hadn’t made it to the gym that day, the black made him look thinner and made his shoulders, naturally broad, stand out. The thin cotton fabric also clung alluringly to his pecs.

He thought briefly that he should head to Capitol Hill instead, or even the University District just east of him, but Thad was the kind of guy who, once he had made a plan, stuck to it.

He took Edith out for a quick bathroom break, kissed the top of her head, and set off for the Blue Moon Café. His step was light, and he’d set his status on Facebook to “optimistic.”

Who knew what the night would bring?

Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love. He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). His novel, Raining Men, won the Rainbow Award for Best Contemporary General Fiction. Lambda Literary Review has called him, "a writer that doesn't disappoint." Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever "at work on another novel." 

Visit him on the web at http://www.rickrreed.com or at http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @rickrreed

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered into the TTC Books and more monthly comment giveaway. EVERY comment that is relevant to the specific post will be entered. Prizes include various gift cards and swag donated by Publishers, Authors and blog Owner. REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFO! How else will I notify you if you win?