Sunday, April 29, 2018

Swann's Revenge (Dreamspun Desires book 51) written by Shira Anthony narrated by Peter B Brooke | Cat's Audiobook Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @WriterShira


Swann's Revenge
Dreamspun Desires book 51

Can a swan make peace with his ugly duckling past?

Chubby geek Jimmy Zebulon’s heart broke the day his high school crush, Danny Parker, looked on as his teammates tormented Jimmy. Fifteen years later, Jimmy is long gone, and from his ashes has risen Graham Swann, a movie-star-handsome law firm owner. Graham thinks Jimmy and his past are long forgotten - until attorney Dan Parker shows up for his first day of work.

Getting injured playing college ball was the best thing that ever happened to Dan. It turned his future in a better direction and allowed him to emerge from the closet that trapped him.

Graham wants to believe his childhood dream can come true, but he can’t bring himself to tell Dan who he really is - and their pasts might ruin any chance for a happily ever after....
©2018 Shira Anthony (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon Audio | Audible | iTunes
Cat gives this one 4 Meows...
"Revenge isn't always so sweet."
Overall
Performance
Story
Graham has a secret past that he wants to keep hidden. He is no longer the geeky, fat, pimply faced boy that was picked on in high school. He is now trim due to his marathons, triathlons, and training. He is a successful attorney with his own growing practice. When he meets dan at a triathlon there is a niggling of familiarity but he can't place it. Then he finds out his new hire is none other than Danny Parker the football player that did nothing to help him the day he was shoved in the mud by Dan's peers. The reason he swore to change and never be That boy again.

Having torn his knee in college football was the best thing could happen to Dan. He wasn't happy playing football. He went on to be a successful attorney, marry a man and adopt a lovely daughter. Now a single dad he needed more time with his growing daughter so when a colleague from law school contacted him for her firm he moved from New York and a little closer to home.

This is a sweet take on the ugly duckling trope and office romance. Its a sweet story with some twists and a few sad moments. I fell in love with both men but little Lacey stole my heart.
The narration is good and I really enjoyed listening to the story. Since I read the book too, I think I liked the narration even better.

Shira Anthony was a professional opera singer in her last incarnation, performing roles in such operas as Tosca, i Pagliacci, and La Traviata, among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle. You can hear Shira singing "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca by clicking here: Shira's Singing
Shira loves a great happily-ever-after and never writes a story without one. She's happy to write what her muse tells her, whether it's fantasy, sci fi, paranormal, or contemporary romance. She particularly loves writing series, because she thinks of her characters as old friends and she wants to visit them even after their stories are told.
In real life, Shira sang professionally for 14 years, and she currently works as a public sector attorney advocating for children. She's happy to have made writing her second full-time job, even if it means she rarely has time to watch TV or go to the movies. Shira writes about the things she knows and loves, whether it's music and musicians, the ocean, or the places she's lived or traveled to. She spent her middle school years living in France, and tries to visit as often as she can.
Shira and her husband spend as many weekends as they can aboard their 36' catamaran sailboat, Land's Zen, at the Carolina Coast. Not only has sailing inspired her to write about pirates and mermen, her sailboat is her favorite place to write. And although the only mermen she's found to date are in her own imagination, she keeps a sharp lookout for them when she's on the water.

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Fangs and Catnip (Dreamspun Beyond book 9) written by Julia Talbot narrated by Dorian Bane | Cat's Audiobook Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @juliatalbot @DorianBane1


Fangs and Catnip
Dreamspun Beyond book 9

A romance worth fighting for - tooth and claw.

Solitary vampire Fallon Underwood gets all the social interaction he needs being the silent partner at the Dead and Breakfast B and B high in the Colorado mountains. Change is hard for Fallon, so when his business partner, Tanner, suggests hiring a new manager for the inn, he's adamant that they don't need help, especially not in the form of bouncy werecat Carter Hughes.

Carter is a happy-go-lucky kitty, and he loves the hospitality industry, so the D and B ought to be a great place for him. He falls for Fallon as soon as he picks up one of Fallon's novels and begins to woo the vamp with gifts. When Fallon finally succumbs to Carter's feline charms, the results are unexpected, to say the least. Their mating will have irreversible consequences - for their bodies and their hearts.
©2017 Julia Talbot (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon Audio | Audible | iTunes

 Cat gives this one 4 Meows...
"A fun combination"
Overall
Performance
Story
Fallon is a vampire and is the silent partner of the Dead and Breakfast a B & B for paranormal beings. His partner Tanner is a bear shifter and with winter coming on he is feeling sluggish and wants help. Fallon likes being left alone to write his books.

Carter is a Mountain Lion shifter and happy to get an interview for the famous dead and Breakfast as day manager. Tanner likes him and hires him. He is a boon to business as he is a very outgoing and enthusiastic.
But as soon as he meets Fallon he realizes they are mates and begins wooing him. Fallon isn't as quick to accept that they could possibly be mates. And then things really start going wrong.

I thought this as a fun book to read. There are so many kinds of paranormal beings, each one fun in itself. I especially liked Tom the werewolf. There is a lot of worldbuilding and it really works for this story. I liked the authenticity. I had one issue. Carter is introduced as a Moutain lion shifter, then Fallon calls him a puma a few times and cougar once then back to Moutain Lion. I got very confused and had to keep going back. Other than that, the story is sweet and fun with a bit of spice.

I listened to this in Audio and the narration by DorianBane really made the story pop. He gives each character a unique voice, I enjoyed the audio version much more than the book.

If you like Vampires, Cat shifters, werewolves, other paranormal beings, and an allover fun romance this is for you.

Stories that leave a mark. Julia Talbot loves romance across all the genders and genres, and loves to write about people working to see past the skin they're in to love what lies beneath. Julia Talbot lives in the great mountain and high desert Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published by Dreamspinner, All Romance Ebooks, and Changeling Press. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. She also writes BDSM and erotic romance as Minerva Howe. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at www.juliatalbot.com "The mountains are calling, and I must go"


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The Secret of the Sheikh’s Betrothed (Dreamspun Desires, Book 46) written by Felicitas Ivey narrated by Simon Ferrar | Cat's Audiobook Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @FelicitasIvey


The Secret of the Sheikh’s Betrothed
Dreamspun Desires, Book 46

 A billionaire and a Bedouin girl - each with a shocking secret.

Billionaire Fathi al-Murzim is a workaholic businessman, too busy running the family’s companies to even think about marriage. Too bad he never told his grandfather he’s gay, because Grandfather just announced a childhood betrothal - to a Bedouin girl Fathi never heard about before.

Ikraam din Abdel was raised as a woman by his avaricious and abusive older sister, who didn’t want him to be their father’s heir. He’d never thought to be married either, and is surprised when his sister informs him of his betrothal.

When Fathi and Ikraam meet, they are drawn to each other in a manner neither of them expected. As the plans for their wedding progress, they both realize they need to tell the other the truth. But can they, with both cultural taboos and family pressures to deal with?
©2017 Felicitas Ivey (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon Audio | Audible | iTunes
Cat gives this one 4 Meows...
The Secret of the Sheikh's Betrothed is a fun, different story. Fathi is a workaholic businessman even though he has a twin brother, his grandfather pushes him to marry and have grandchildren and run the business. His brother is too much of a playboy. He makes the mistake saying only if his wife is chosen and that is when his grandfather reveals he promised marriage to the firstborn to a Beduin girl.

Ikraam is surprised when he hears about the arranged marriage. Even though his Sister has raised him as a girl since he was born he knows that things won't go well on the wedding night.

I loved Ikraam and his Jaguar. This is a sort of Cinderfella story in an exotic location. There is plenty of villains and a happy ending. 


Felicitas is a frazzle help desk tech at a university in Boston, who wishes people wouldn't argue with her when she’s troubleshooting what’s wrong with their computer. She lives with three cats want her to pay more attention to them, and not sitting at a computer pounding the keyboard. Her house is also home to Angenor the Minotaur, who thinks there aren't enough labyrinths in the house, even with all the stacks of books.
Felicitas writes urban fantasy with a side of horror of a Lovecraftian nature, with monsters beyond space and time that think that humans are the tastiest things in the multiverse. Her short stories for her most part are firmly routed in the real world. Which one that is, she’s not too sure. Occasionally there’s a romance or two involved in her novels.
Felicitas knits and hoards yarn, firmly believing the one with the most yarn wins. She also is sitting on hoards of manga, doujinshi, and books, which still threaten to take over her house, even with ebooks. Between writing and knitting, she brews beer, wine, mead and flavoured liqueurs.
Felicitas also bakes, and makes cakes whenever she needs to work out an issue in her novels. Sometimes, this leads to a lot of cakes. Her co-workers appreciate them, as well as the starving student workers she attempts to herd.

Website: http://www.felicitasivey.com/index.html

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Rented Heart by Garrett Leigh | Cat's Review & #giveaway @garrett_leigh


LAMBDA Finalist 2017

Ex-surfer-turned-businessman Liam Mallaney moved back to Holkham, Norfolk, to mourn the loss of his husband. Grief and loneliness keep him a solitary figure, and he likes it that way. There’s no room in his broken heart for anything else.

Rentboy Zac Payne left London and most of his demons behind, but he still only knows one way to make a living. When he spots Liam in a club one night, it seems he’s found his mark. But Liam proves nicer—and their connection far deeper—than he’d bargained for.

Their arrangement quickly becomes too complicated for Zac, who has other things on his mind: namely his BFF and wayward flatmate, Jamie. Zac owes Jamie the world, and even as Jamie’s drug addiction destroys all they have, Zac won’t leave him behind.

Besides, Liam knows nothing of Zac’s home life, too caught up in his own head to think much beyond the crazy heat he and Zac share. But when trouble comes to Zac’s door, putting his life in danger, Liam must set his grief and anger aside to pick up the pieces of Zac’s shattered heart and his own.

 Get your copy today from Amazon!

 Cat gives this one 5 Meows...
I fell in love with both Zac and Liam right away. Zach had me at "it's 100 for a F...k 300 for a night" Yes, I will admit the story had a very pretty woman with an MM twist with some angst thrown in. 

Zac is an ex-addict and what he calls an ex-hooker. he has left London with his best friend and trying to go it on his own without a pimp. His friend though is still an addict and has found another pimp. Jamie doesn't show up much, just when he needs to crash, money or some loving from Zac. Their relationship is both endearing and I found it sad. There were times I even rooted for those two to get together.

Bring in Liam. He has lost his husband in an accident and still mourning. He finally goes with a friend to a bar and that's how he meets Liam cruising for a hookup. There is chemistry between these guys. Though they have sex immediately (Zac is a hooker) the relationship developing is a slow burn. But the sex is hot. 

I loved this book and all the characters and I cannot wait to read Jamie's story.


She/Her


Bonus Material available for all books on Garrett's Patreon account. Includes short stories from Misfits, Slide, Strays, What Remains, Dream, and much more. Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/garrettleigh

Facebook Fan Group, Garrett's Den... https://www.facebook.com/groups/garre...

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer, cover artist, and book designer. Her debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards, and was again a finalist in 2017 with Rented Heart. 

In 2017, she won the EPIC award in contemporary romance with her military novel, Between Ghosts, and the contemporary romance category in the Bisexual Book Awards with her novel What Remains.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess. 


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Smoldering Flame (Rekindled Flame book 3) written by Andrew Grey narrated by Michael Pauley | Cat's Audiobook Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @AndrewGreyBooks

Title: Smoldering Flame
Series: Rekindled Flame: Book Three
Author: Andrew Grey
Narrator: Michael Pauley
Release Date: March 28, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Length: 6 hours, 3 minutes 


Sometimes the strongest flames take the longest to ignite.


Firefighter Dean’s life revolves around his very ill son, Sammy. Caring for Sammy and working to make ends meet leave Dean time for little else, and romance isn’t something he can even consider - no matter how much he longs for someone special to join their family. Because money is tight, Dean couldn’t be more grateful to the photographer who does Sammy’s session free of charge.

After growing up in the foster care system, Marco knows how to rely on himself, and his hard work is about to pay off - he’s poised on the cusp of fame and success he could only have imagined as a lonely child. When Dean brings Sammy into Marco’s studio, Marco can see they’re struggling, and both the boy and his father stir Marco’s heart. The slow burn between the two men isn’t something either expected, but neither wants to lose the possibility of a loving future. With Dean’s dangerous and possibly life-threatening career and Marco’s demanding one, can romance and forever find a place to fit?
©2018 Andrew Grey (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon Audio | Audible | iTunes
 Cat gives this one 5 Meows...
"Will make the Grinch's heart melt"
Overall
Performance
Story
Wow! This is book three in Rekindled Flame but it stands alone ok. Some of the characters carry over from the previous books but the story is solely Dean and Marcus.

 Dean is a firefighter and loves his job. He is a single father of a six-year-old son that is battling cancer.

 Marcus is an up and coming high-end photographer. Sammy, Dean's son saw a photo in the hospital of a child with a stuffed dalmatian that Dean took and wanted to see it. Dean takes him by the studio and the sparks start.  

Sammy won my heart over just like he does Marcus. Even the Grinch's heart would melt meeting this sweet little boy. Andrew Grey dis a spectacular job creating Sammy. He is charming, innocent, yet the angst is not overdone. We see a normal child though he is dealing with a terrible monster. 

 Marcus has some secrets and he can relate to Sammy and that is part of why they click so much. He gets him.

 The relationship is a slow burn which was perfect for the story but once those sparks turn to flames...watch out! The chemistry here is smoking!

 I love this series and I think this one is my favorite so far!

 Michael Pauley really brings the awesome characters to life. he makes a charming voice for Sammy and we can tell his age. I love the way he laughs when there is a laugh chuckle if its called for and sighs. and in the bedroom he makes the scene come alive.I suggest if you are going to invest in an Audio try this one! Or buy the book and add the audio so you have the est of both worlds. You won't regret it.

 I am not one to reread a lot but this is on my will read again list!
Andrew Grey is the author of nearly 100 works of Contemporary Gay Romantic fiction. After twenty-seven years in corporate America, he has now settled down in Central Pennsylvania with his husband, Dominic, and his laptop. An interesting ménage. Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He is a recipient of the RWA Centennial Award, has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and now writes full-time. Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing). He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.


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