Happy Release + Review: Falling by Barbara Elfsborg- Fall or Break Series – Book 1

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Fall or Break Series – Book 1

Genre: GLBT, Gay, M/M

By Barbara Elsborg

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Synopsis

Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.

Fall or Break, Book 1

Harper is no longer behind bars, but it doesn’t feel like it. Ten years serving time for a crime he didn’t commit have left him shut down, numb, and a frozen wreck over the simplest of choices.

He’s acutely aware of the dark-haired young man checking him out in the supermarket, but he’s too deep in panic mode to even meet the guy’s gaze. Afraid the slightest move will trigger a fall that will never stop.

Fresh off a long-term relationship with a controlling man, Malachi is stuck living with relatives who think he’s a waste of oxygen. The tall guy in the long, gray coat is the first bright spot he’s glimpsed in a long time…though the man’s unblinking stare at a bottle of shower gel is a touch alarming.

Hard experience tells both of them to turn away before lust turns to hopeless attraction, and inevitably to disaster. But once their sparks connect, the arc of electricity is too strong to deny. Even if the cost is too much to bear.

Warning: Contains an ex-con with disaster written all over him, a boy toy who’s trouble with a capital T, a damp old British house, compulsive meddling, and enough hot sex to cure the severe case of nervous babbling.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

4.5 Star

Tina’s Review

All Male Romance. Setting: England.
Immediately, I fell in love with the character of Malachi. Harper took a little more time to warm up to. Both have such uniquely tragic pasts. Malachi was miserable, as the submissive partner to an over-dominant man for too long. Harper was falsely convicted and imprisoned for ten years. Both are trying to make adjustments to their new lots in life.
There’s a full cast of secondary characters that create a rich spectrum of personality types. The dialogue and interactions are believable, natural and brimming with humanity of the best and worst kind. This entire book is a study in conflicts, better is how those conflicts are resolved. Mature and time-appropriate progression, with an allowance for mistakes and misunderstandings to be corrected. The plot is deceptive in that it seems like it will be a straight-forward contemporary, but there is a lot of hidden conspiracy and mystery going on. Festering hatred and blind ignorance fuel crimes both old and new and leave Harper and Malachi in a tailspin of what-the-f@ckery. There was very little predictability; in fact, my short list of top suspects were all wrong. That does not happen often. I would have liked to have known if the culprit knew him prior to the initial contact (that’s about the best way I can phrase is while not giving away a spoiler). The conclusion was very solid. There were no cliffhangers.
This was a very enjoyable read. Emotional and suspenseful.

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Author Bio:

barbara elsborgBarbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide. (Try saying that fast)
After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop. Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, sometimes two bad boys for each quirky heroine, and more recently two bad boys all on their own. She hopes her stories are as much fun to read as they are to write.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

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Happy Release + Review: Served Hot by Annabeth Albert – Portland Heat Series – Book 1

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Served Hot

Portland Heat Series – Book 1

Genre: GLBT, M/M, Gay

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By Annabeth Albert

Synopsis

In Portland, Oregon, the only thing hotter than the coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries are the hard-working men who serve it up—hot, fresh, and ready to go—with no reservations…

Robby is a self-employed barista with a busy coffee cart, a warm smile, and a major crush on one of his customers. David is a handsome finance director who works nearby, eats lunch by himself, and expects nothing but “the usual”—small vanilla latte—from the cute guy in the cart. But when David shows up for his first Portland Pride festival, Robby works up the nerve to take their slow-brewing relationship to the next level. David, however, is newly out and single, still grieving the loss of his longtime lover, and unsure if he’s ready to date again. Yet with every fresh latte, sweet exchange—and near hook-up—David and Robby go from simmering to steaming to piping hot. The question is: Will someone get burned?

First in the new Portland Heat series!

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes / Kobo

4 Star

Tina’s Review

Novella length, about 100 pages. The synopsis provided really does capture the essence of the book quite nicely. Well-written, very likable character each individually charming and with their own flaws. There are very few secondary characters & even then, they only minute supporting roles. The dialogue and interaction is believable in it’s initial awkwardness and progression as the relationship progresses. My heart breaks a little for these two guys here and there, throughout the book, because of the doubts and insecurities brought on my poor past experiences. There’s enough emotion conveyed to connect you to the story and it’s characters and the sexy scenes were sweet and hot. Plot is a hard element to score on novellas, they often lack the depth and dimension of a full-length novel. This one makes a valid attempt, but lacks the fullness I’d prefer to see. That said, it is still a nice story that flows very well, it just fell a little dynamically flat is all. There are conflicts throughout that are resolved in mostly-mature and timely manners. Predictability was pleasantly low. The conclusion is solid and nicely wrapped up. Overall, I’d say this was a quick, but enjoyable read.

Author Bio:

6477494Frequent tweeter, professional grammar nerd, and obsessive reader, Annabeth Albert is also a Pacific Northwest romance writer in a variety of subgenres.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads