Friday, June 30, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors - Month in Review

Hello and welcome to Day 30 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

I thought I'd end the month with a month in review. I know the vast majority of my books are romance novels because that's what I read, but there are other great books out there featuring our neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers who are all part of the queer community. Yesterday, June 30, was the last day of Pride month - celebrating what was actually a hard-fought battle to gain rights and acceptance. 

Yet on the same day, SCOTUS delivered a ruling that allowed people to legally discriminate against these same people. Bigotry should never be legalized, so we should do all in our power to support their rights. 

As a woman, I know what it's like to have my rights up in the air every time there's an election - such as the special election in Ohio scheduled for August, which, if passed, would allow for minority rule in the state of Ohio just as abortion rights will be on the ballot in the November 2023 election. 

In an attempt to stay positive, check out these posts. Read some of these books. Leave a comment below if there are some other queer-friendly books you'd like to recommend. Don't let discriminatory practices win out. 

And certainly don't pass on some amazingly well-written and fantastic stories! 
  1. Day 1 - Intro and Welcome
  2. Day 2 - Evie McGlynn
  3. Day 3 - Auckland Med Series
  4. Day 4 - World of True North 
  5. Day 5 - Ohana Surf Club 
  6. Day 6 - CU Hockey Series
  7. Day 7 - Lonely Heroes Series 
  8. Day 8 - Never Mine - Bryce Oakley
  9. Day 9 - Michael Robert
  10. Day 10 - The Artist's Scope
  11. Day 11 - Happy Birthday Grant's Crossing 
  12. Day 12 - Twisted Wishes
  13. Day 13 - Wrath - Ella James
  14. Day 14 - Cruising - Anthology
  15. Day 15 - Dianna Roman RoMANce Box
  16. Day 16 - Garry Michael
  17. Day 17 - Pucks and Rainbows
  18. Day 18 - Kings of Hell MC Series 
  19. Day 19 - Bethesda Barracudas
  20. Day 20 - A Guy Walks into My Bar
  21. Day 21 - The Guncle
  22. Day 22 - Atlanta Lightning
  23. Day 23 - Fever Falls
  24. Day 24 - Everything for You
  25. Day 25 - First and Forever Series
  26. Day 26 - Yerba Buena Nina Lacour
  27. Day 27 - Hitman vs. Hitman
  28. Day 28 - Matthew Dante
  29. Day 29 - Joelle Lynne
  30. Day 30 - Month in review 

Thanks for visiting my website all month long. I hope you'll visit again. My book, Wayward Guilt, Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1, will be out in 25 more days. (HOLY COW! I WROTE A BOOK!), so I hope you'll pre-order it, follow me on Amazon and Goodreads, and add it to your want-to-read shelves and wish lists - ALL LINKED BELOW. 

It's amazing how even following an author or marking their book as a favorite can be a huge help to an indie author. 

Thanks so much! 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1 is available for pre-order now! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)


BARNES & NOBLE: https://lnkd.in/gbEKZDhG 



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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 29 - Joelle Lynne

Hello and welcome to Day 29 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Sure this month is all about showcasing queer authors and/or queer characters in books. Beyond that, the month is all about finding romance novels that feature fake dating or hockey.

Wait. You mean it's not? Yes, it is.

Enter romance author Joelle Lynne and The Date Mistake. Fake dating? I'm all in. Trevor and Aaron go all in because Aaron needs a date for his brother's wedding. And it's like crack for me in terms of reading. You'll love it because they make the most wonderful couple and Trevor is a darling. 

And a flirt! It's a great story with an awesome happy ending. Next up for me is Strictly Curious. I'm only one book into Joelle Lynne's writing, but I really love it so far. She's got six books to choose from if you're wondering where to begin. I started with her most recent and am slowly working my way back to her first. 

Click on the covers to learn more about each book. 




To learn more about Joelle Lynne and her books, visit her page on Goodreads. Be sure to follow her when you get there. 

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 28

Hello and welcome to Day 28 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Matthew Dante is another author I discovered via Instagram. He had some great posts, so I decided to try a book he posted about: I Love to Hate You. It was actually pretty sweet and also pretty clean. It made me laugh and had a feel-good ending. 

Next up? Laying Claim. 

Not so sweet. Definitely not pretty clean. It was a great story, and now I'm working through his series. Yeah. I'm hooked. 



His story in Cruising was a good read as well. I've posted about a few authors from Cruising. You should just pick it up and read it. You'll be glad you did! 

To learn more about Matthew Dante and his books, visit his author page on Goodreads. 

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 27 - Hitman vs. Hitman

Hello and welcome to Day 27 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

I love action movies, so why not combine some action with a good enemies-to-lovers romance? So what if they're trying to kill each other. 

Literally.

The Hitman vs. Hitman series, co-authored by Cari Z and L.A. Witt, is great fun! Pretty sure it was only supposed to be a book or two, but new books keep appearing, and well - I can't say no. Besides, it would be rude not to read them, right? 

Oh, and their Facebook posts, while they're writing are entertaining, too. 

"I just beat up one of the characters." 

"Great. I just set you up for a car chase."

Okay fine. They might not be exact quotes, but... you get the idea. 

This is a 5-book series that features the same two assassins throughout. It's got a lot of action and plenty of humor, and, oh yes, tons of steam. I listened to these - all of which are narrated by the fabulous voice artist Michael Farraiuolo, who narrates so many of Witt's books. His ability to narrate in various accents is put to the test with these books, too, so it's a super fun listen. 

From Hitman vs. Hitman's blurb:     
Hitman vs Hitman is a standalone gay romantic suspense featuring two men who’d rather chew glass than fall for each other, a whole lot of inappropriate comments, and some buttons that will need resewing.



To learn more about Cari Z and her books, visit her official website.

To learn more about L.A. Witt and her books, visit her official website

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Monday, June 26, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 26 - Yerba Buena

Hello and welcome to Day 26 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

I've been subscribing to the Book of the Month for a while now and have recently picked up Yerba Buena, a novel by Nina Lacour. I'll be honest, of all the books I'm highlighting this month, this is the only one I haven't yet read. I'm only a chapter or two in it, but the writing, so far, is beautiful. 

It's a story about two women who's lives cross paths over and over... Here's the blurb: 

When Sara Foster runs away from home at sixteen, she leaves behind not only the losses that have shattered her world but the girl she once was, capable of trust and intimacy. Years later, in Los Angeles, she is a sought-after bartender, renowned as much for her brilliant cocktails as for the mystery that clings to her. Across the city, Emilie Dubois is in a holding pattern. In her seventh year and fifth major as an undergraduate, she yearns for the beauty and community her Creole grandparents cultivated but is unable to commit. On a whim, she takes a job arranging flowers at the glamorous restaurant Yerba Buena and embarks on an affair with the married owner.

When Sara catches sight of Emilie one morning at Yerba Buena, their connection is immediate. But the damage both women carry, and the choices they have made, pulls them apart again and again. When Sara's old life catches up to her, upending everything she thought she wanted just as Emilie has finally gained her own sense of purpose, they must decide if their love is more powerful than their pasts.

At once exquisite and expansive, astonishing in its humanity and heart, Yerba Buena is a love story for our time and a propulsive journey through the lives of two women finding their way in the world.

Looks good, huh?  

To learn more about Nina Lacour and her books, visit her official website

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



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Sunday, June 25, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 25 - First and Forever Series

Hello and welcome to Day 25 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Alexa Land is an author I discovered quite by accident, I think by way of a google search - or something search - that had me looking for more fake dating books. 

Fake dating books. It's an addiction. It's not my fault I love to read them. 

Pretenders was the first book I saw about a man who needed a date for his ex's wedding. He thought he'd try hiring an escort but ended up with the escort's roommate instead. Can't go wrong, right? 

Right! 

Turns out the guy who didn't want a relationship wanted a... well... I'll let you read the book. It's really good and drew me in from the start. So far, I'm five book into the series. 

These are the Firsts & Forever novels that I recommend for your next book. It's a fun series and not a ton of angst, so the stress level stays low - just what you need for a romance! 

Click on a cover fore more details about each book. 






Click here to learn more about Alexa Land's books. 

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 24 - Everything for You

Hello and welcome to Day 24 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Who doesn't love a total grump paired with an eternal optimist? That's what Chloe Liese has delivered in Everything for You, the 5th installment of the Bergman Brothers series. 

Oliver and Gavin are co-captains of a pro soccer team (pro football? team) and are not getting along. Let the heated antics begin! Everything for You follows their journey as both co-captains and as neighbors. Yes - the grump and the optimistic are next-door neighbors. It's the best! 

Like all her other books, the whole family makes an appearance, but the best part? The practical jokes and pranks you can learn along the way. See? This is an educational book. Er... Sure? Ahem. Right. Moving on. There's plenty of good humor and while it tackles to heavy issues, it does so in a fun way, throwing a little bit of steam in for good measure. Hey - it's a romance! 

Enemies to lovers is one of my two favorite romance tropes, along with fake dating. I still don't know how I got hooked on those, but I can't get enough of them, so this book had me hooked from the start. Click the cover image below for more details on the book itself. 


To learn more about Chloe Liese and all her books, visit her official website

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Friday, June 23, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 23 - Fever Falls

 Hello and welcome to Day 23 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Welcome to Fever Falls! 

Fever Falls is a fictional town created by authors Riley Hart and Devon McCormack that is home to a series of six books featuring firefighters (swoon) and sports stars. Oh - and maybe even an actual prince. I've read all of these and am tempted to read them all again; they were so fun. 

Here's a quick description of the series, but if you have a few minutes, I highly recommend checking out the Fever Falls website itself. It's got a lot of fun information about the town and the characters themselves. It's super well done! 

Things heat up real quick in Fever Falls, and if you’re not careful, you won’t just catch a fever—you just might fall in love.

For some, it’s home—others, an escape. Between the booming job market, fabulous real estate prices, and exotic nightlife, Fever Falls has become one of the hottest cities to live in the country. This place has it all, including an inordinate amount of hot, curious, eligible bachelors who learn the hard way that there’s an unexpected consequence to living here: you just might fall in love. So we invite you to take a tour of our friendly town, but first, grab a fan and a couple of buckets of ice water…because things are about to heat up here in Fever Falls.


Click on the covers below to be whooshed over to GoodReads for more details.  



For more information on Riley Hart and all her books, visit her official website

And for more information on Devon McCormack and all his books, visit his official website. 

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 22 - Atlanta Lightning

Hello and welcome to Day 22 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Back to sports romances with shirtless, muscular men on the covers... 

Ahem. I'm taking a break from hockey and moving on to football today because, yes - I love sports romances. That takes me to the Atlanta Lightning series by Riley Hart.

The Atlanta Lightning is a fictitious professional football team at the center of this two-book series. Both books are great reads, but I especially love how the first one starts - a meet cute at a bar between a football player and a Senator who has no idea the guy he's hitting on is a professional athlete. 

Riley Hart does a better job of setting the scene, so better read it yourself!


Riley Hart is a prolific writer. I've read a bunch of her books, so be sure to visit her official website to learn more about them. 

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 21 - The Guncle

Hello and welcome to Day 21 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Taking a break from romance novels, I just have to tell you about this adorable book by Steven Rowley. I cannot say enough good things about it.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley is the most wonderful, heartwarming, amazing, charming, happy, 
funny, and feel-good story of all the books I'm showcasing this month. If you have never read a book before featuring an LGBTQ+ person as the lead character, then read this one. You have to read this one. 

I absolutely ADORE THE GUNCLE! And I promise - you will, too. 
Gay Uncle Patrick, or GUP, is a currently non-working actor living in CA, near where his brother is receiving health care. He takes in his young niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant, and takes care of them in a non-traditional yet completely loving and wonderful way. While they begin to learn about their own trauma, Patrick learns about and deals with his own love lost from a few years earlier. It's a terrific story about self-care, family, friends, and doing the right thing.

From the back cover: 
Patrick O’Hara has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant — from a safe distance. His Palm Springs home and reclusive lifestyle aren’t exactly welcoming to children. But when tragedy strikes, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.

Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his own great love and managing a stalled career. He regrets his decision to take them in, until he starts to recognize that his outsize lifestyle and unusual life wisdom could bring about a season of healing that redefines their understanding of family, and finally lead Patrick back to himself.


I haven't watched Schitt's Creek yet. Okay, fine. Fine. Fine! I've watched a couple of episodes so far and liked it. BUT... the whole time I was reading, I mean listening, to this, I pictured Daniel Levy as the Guncle. At the time, I barely knew who he was, but I could picture him in this role. 

He'd be perfect! Right? 

Right. (Right?)

To learn more about Steven Rowling and his books, visit his official website

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



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Monday, June 19, 2023

Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 20 - A Guy Walks Into My Bar

Hello and welcome to Day 20 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

Today we're crossing the pond to merry ol' England. London is a fabulous city in real life, so if you ever have an opportunity to visit, by all means, please do so. In the meantime, A Guy Walks Into My Bar by Lauren Blakely is far more budget-friendly, and you won't be tired at the end of the day. 

While the title may sound like a lead-in for a joke, I assure you it's not. Well... it may be the start of a story... Ahem. That said, Blakely fills this low-angsty romance full of witty banter and snarky flirtation that'll have you smiling throughout. 

Like many books I consume, I listened to this book that featured Shane East and Joe Arden, along with a full cast that gave us multiple voices throughout by a variety of voice artists.  


It's a cute read that doesn't stress you out the whole time unless you thought it was going to give you a break from hockey. No such change. I can't stop with the hockey romances, but it's far more secondary in this book than some of the others, so that means you get to spend more time enjoying a cozy bar in London. 

Trust me. I would never stear you wrong!

For more about Lauren Blakely's books, visit her official website

Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



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Pride 2023 - Books and Authors Day 19 - Bethesda Barracudas

Hello and welcome to Day 19 of 30 Days of Pride - Books and Authors! 

For Pride Month 2023, I’m sharing some of the fabulous books and authors I’ve discovered featuring LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly characters or written by LGBTQ or LGBTQ-friendly authors. 

There just aren't enough hockey romances in the world. It's true. I can't get enough. Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood are another husband-writing pair that write fantastic romance novels. They're not overly angsty and are high on heat. But they also have plenty of steam. And on top of that, some great hockey sequences. 

No, really, I want hockey, so yes. I'm going to comment on that. :-) 

They have a 4-book series with the Bethesda Barracudas that includes a fun novella in between Books 1-2 as well as two additional books from Mohegan U with related characters from the same world. 

I listened to all of these books (plus the novella), which were narrated by a local-to-me narrator, Nick J Russo. He does such an amazing job of bringing these characters to life. I think I discovered him with these books because I was excited that he pronounced Scioto River correctly. 

It's the little things in life. 

The stories are excellent to listen to or read, especially for those of us who are addicted to hockey on the page. And hockey books are more economical than hockey tickets though I do hope to make it to more than two Columbus Blue Jackets next season. (And since these books are created in a fictional world, you'll have to read them to discover what they named the Columbus professional hockey team. Sigh.)

Click on the covers below to be whooshed to their Goodreads pages with more details. 





I love this series and want to listen to them all again. Trust me, they're worth it. 

To learn more about Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood, visit their official website


Take care and happy reading!

- Heather 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Pre-order your e-Copy of WAYWARD GUILT - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1! (Print version will be available for pre-order in early July.)



Find me online! 

IT'S LIVE! Safe Now - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 2 is LIVE!

Safe Now, Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 2 is officially live!  Some secrets can’t be kept. Some people can’t be protected.  Some broth...