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Let Love Live by Melissa Collins
Last month, I attended the Indies Invade Philly Convention. There, I met some of my favorite authors and I also met some new authors. One of those latter authors was Melissa Collins. Later that week I decided to give her book, Let Love In a try. (Long Island Girls need to stick together.) Needless to say, I binge read the rest of the series. I haven’t written about this series yet, because I was waiting for the fifth book in the series to come out. Now that it has……
The Love Series by Melissa Collins is a wonderful collection of love stories surrounding a group of family and friends. You will laugh but you will definitely cry, so keep your tissues handy.
Let Love Live is the fifth book in the Love Series. Here is the blurb:
Who would you become if you lost the only person who ever mattered?
For twenty-six year old Dylan Hopkins, the answer is easy. He’s become no one. Memories of the happier times are all he has left as he finds himself meandering numbly through his now dull life. Though he cares about his work and family dearly, he’s yet to let himself find love again. Afraid of letting go of what he once had, Dylan chooses to keep his heart buried, where it belongs, having died a long time ago.
Conner Michelson is about to change everything Dylan knows. He’s every bit the bad boy persona – tatted up, ex-MMA fighter, but after an injury leaves him unable to fight, he has to rethink his goals. Having just opened his own gym, Conner can cross his first major life accomplishment off his very short list. Next up: find a man he can settle down with and build a family. Seems simple enough – a dream most people have, but when he meets Dylan, his carefree, easy-going life is thrown into a tailspin.
Determined to keep Dylan in his life, Conner vows to resurrect Dylan’s long ago buried heart and let love live once more.
Like I said before, I have been waiting for this book to come out before I said anything about this series. But it is more than that. I have been waiting for Dylan’s story since the first time he was mentioned and that it was clear he was going to be a recurring character.
Devastated by the suicide of his first lover, Dylan has been afraid to turn himself fully over to the possibility of love for the fear of being left again. You can feel how lonely he has been from the beginning. I longed for Dylan to have his happily ever after.
Conner is big, strong and sooooo handsome. As soon as Dylan entered his gym, he is interested. I just knew, once the truth came out, and they opened up to each other sparks would fly.
And fly they did. As their story progresses, you can feel how natural it is. They were meant to be together.
This might be Melissa’s first venture in the m/m genre, but I think she did an incredible job with this story. I read many m/m books, and I hope Melissa will do another one day.
Not only do I give Let Love Live 5 Hearts, but I give the entire series 5 Hearts. I hope that there will be more installments.
Melissa Collins has always been a book worm. Studying Literature in college ensured that her nose was always stuck in a book. She followed her passion for reading to the most logical career choice: English teacher. Her hope was to share her passion for reading and the escapism of books to her students. Having spent more than a decade in front of a classroom, she can easily say that it’s been a dream.
Her passion for writing didn’t start until more recently. When she was home on maternity leave in early 2012, she read her first romance novel and her head filled with the passion, angst and laughter of the characters who she read about it. It wasn’t long before characters of her own took shape in her mind. Their lives took over Melissa’s brain and The Love Series was born.
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Walk with Me by Kaitlyn Stone
KENNA SLOANE is running for her life. It’s the day after her eighteenth birthday and she’s escaping from the oppression and pain at the cruel hands of her stepfather and controlling mother.
An independent old soul, yet still innocent and inexperienced to the ways of the world, Kenna sets out on her own determined to bury her painful past while living with the family of her best friend and receiving minimal help from her elderly uncle – the only positive male influence during her childhood.
Kenna distracts herself with an occasional boy toy, whose sole purpose is to numb her of any feelings from her past, because the last thing this career-focused girl wants is a relationship. That is, until she’s set up with twenty-two-year-old Santa Monica cop DONOVAN ALEXANDER. It doesn’t help he’s built like a Roman Gladiator, awakening the sleeping butterflies she’s worked so hard to contain, but the feelings he stirs within her – that he can see straight into her injured soul, knowing what she needs from him to win her sheltered heart – terrifies, yet excites her at the same time.
The sort of damsel this modern-day knight in blue has been born to protect and serve, Donovan carefully pursues Kenna, sensing the need to tread lightly or she may shut down and run away. With each date they learn they have more in common than they thought – they are both trying to make right in the world that which they could not do within their own family.
Kenna surrenders to Donovan’s advances and their raw physical attraction is intense with unfolding sexual experimentation, but she still battles with the deepening emotional connection, afraid to submit control of her heart. Even with the revelation of Donovan’s own secrete burden, Kenna can’t level her walls to this kindred injured soul. She fears she is too broken for this perfect man and his TV-like family.
Donovan introduces Kenna to his exciting, but dangerous world as a rookie cop and she begins to fall helplessly in love with this commanding, but tender, witty man, and his supportive family, changing her beliefs about men to her core. Can Kenna release her heart to Donovan, surrendering her internal need to control, and walk with him in the healing light of unconditional true love before peril strikes?
A wonderful story of finding your knight in shinning amour.
Kenna’s childhood was abusive. As soon as she could she ran for her life. Living with her best friend, she puts up walls to protect herself. Until that is, she meets Donovan. Donovan is a gorgeous cop. Kenna feels so safe with Donovan, the walls start to fall away. Donovan has issues of his own, but with Kenna’s help, he begins to heal. The love that blossoms between them is sweet. When they finally make love…..le sigh……
Read this book and just watch two people realize about themselves and fall in love. 4 Hearts!
They say for authors to write what they know. My novels are inspired by events in my own life. I truly relive my experiences twice through the lives of the characters I create. Not only do I relate to their thoughts and feelings, I have lived many of them.
When I sat down to write a love story inspired by my real-life first love as a tribute to our very own fairytale romance, I never thought a book would be the end result, but 80,000 words later that’s exactly what I had. I wanted to express in words what his love means to me and how it changed me as a person, never to see or experience life the same.
My goal was to capture the essence of true love through an intriguing story and create rich, life-like characters to speak of the emotions I felt when falling in love for the first time. One chapter turned into two, and those, plus twenty-two more became a book. Once I realized my goal of writing a book was going to come to fruition, I wished to share my story with the world, to inspire others to believe in true love and happily-ever-after’s. Choosing our milestone anniversary as its publication date, I planned to self-publish my completed novel for my husband’s gift. What better way to tell the man of your dreams how much you truly love him, then sharing it with the world.
I admit I have always gravitated toward love stories and happily-ever-after’s, forever chasing the first love dragon. There’s nothing like the witty banter between characters, fueling their physical attraction, and the anticipation of their first kiss. Add in the push and pull from the couple’s sexual tension and the world trying to tear them apart, and you have a recipe for an exciting, steamy romance. Place the couple in interesting locations, living adventures most only dream of and the journey propels you forward through the pages. Sprinkle in danger for both the hero and heroine to combat and the courage and strength of the characters shine through.
Because I’m not a writer by training, I worked with writing critique groups to fine tune my manuscript before the planned release date of summer, 2014. As a fluke, not expecting any response, I submitted my completed manuscript to a publishing house, and a week later I was offered a contract.
It’s midnight, the day after my eighteenth birthday, and I’m escaping from my life of oppression and pain. With only the fear of being caught and dragged back to my cell of a life, I’m shortening the gap between what I know and the undiscovered world ahead.
The August air whips across my face and through the loose strands of my pulled-back hair. My internal will to survive, fueled by adrenaline, propels me forward into the night with no feeling of cold or discomfort. The wind stings my eyes and they begin to tear, blurring my vision as I sprint along the walking path between the condos and boat slips in the Marina, one foot in front of the other pounding the pavement. Thump, thump, thump. The same beat of my excited heart.
After two blocks I realize they’re not chasing after me. I slow to a fast walk, scanning the area ahead and behind me. My chest is heaving as I try to catch my breath and regain my thoughts, but I’m not tired. I could run for miles if I need to, and I will fight tonight to protect myself and my freedom.
I sweep the area one more time before ducking into the shadows of the next condo complex. Catching my breath, I lean against the wall of the entrance, pull out my pay-as-you-go cell phone, and call Danielle and her mom—my lifeline, my ride to freedom. This is it. I pace nervously under the cover of night, still on high alert, and wait for the transportation to my new life. Pumped from the adrenaline surge, my thoughts are spinning and making me dizzy, but assuredly I won’t be coming back here anytime soon, if ever.
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Double the Price by Flynn Eire (SeXlection 2)
Neil Morgan knows there’s a high price to fine quality, but simply never thought of it in reference to a person. As a New York businessman, Neil must keep up appearances even if he dislikes what’s required of him. While trying to contain his shock at the activities of the local Buy Ball, a gorgeous ocelot propositions him.Cecil Torres wants the right master and he thinks maybe he’s found the one when he stumbles upon Neil at the Ball. Getting Neil’s attention is easy—Cecil’s trained to make an entrance—but getting a smart man to agree to a risky bet is another matter. Never one to renege on a bet, Neil gladly pays the steep purchase price. Cecil plans to be everything Neil needs. And as an ocelot, no other cat is as qualified to be the perfect host, in every way.After one eventful evening, Neil and Cecil hit a bump in the road. Can a misunderstanding of words and Neil’s error in not reading the fine print cost them everything?
I had to Google what an ocelot was. This is the picture I found. Beautiful animal! This is what Cecil’s animal is, and his human side is just as beautiful. Even though he is a slave/prostitute, he is the ultimate high powered executive’s spouse. Speaks many languages, party planning and such. He sees Neil at the ball and knows.
Neil really doesn’t want a slave, but if he wants to be taken seriously, he has to play the game. Something about Cecil’s proposition just gets to him. After he purchases Cecil, Neil appreciates all of Cecil’s knowledge. I can totally see why they fall in love.
Cecil needed to find someone to love, Neil just needed someone to show him how to love. 4 Hearts!
The next book, Cost of Love, is due out August 28, 2014.
To Purchase your copy today, please click here and choose the site you wish to purchase from!
I’d never been to one of these “Buying Balls” before as people referred to them. It seemed crass, events people with old money went to because they were bored and wanted an excuse to show off their wealth. But it had been suggested more than once that I needed to fit in better and my business parties needed the right kind of entertainment if I wanted to draw the right kind of connections to attend them.So I paid the couple of grand to get into the event. And I almost fell over at the legal fucking orgy that I had no idea was going on right in the middle of New York City! It was a night of decadence in the extreme. Buffet tables filled with fountains of the finest champagne and caviar—with a naked woman wearing a gold mask getting gang banged at the end of it. I found out the gold mask meant the slave was into men.
The black, they accepted women, and upon checking in, I was handed a white mask to signal I was a buyer. I almost rolled my eyes. The fact I got to keep my clothes on throughout the night said about the same thing I thought, but whatever, I could play by the rules.
I sampled the lush desserts, ignoring and dodging the people from the brothel gushing over me and trying to schmooze me since it was my first time there and they could practically smell the possibility of a sale. Finding a spot against the wall, I watched the live porn, turned on and worried I might get distracted from the agenda I came here for. This was about business to further business and an investment.
Nothing more. I could purchase one of these poor cat shifters from the brothel that I heard was a horrid place and, in exchange, treat them much better, and instead of being subjected to whatever and whomever they were told to by the head of the brothel, they would simply tend to my guests at parties and my weekly poker night. I didn’t like it, but it was the world we lived in.A young man was taking two men in his ass, another in his mouth, and several were waiting to get at him next and I thought I might cream my pants. The shifter was gorgeous and I wanted a taste of him. Fuck, I wanted him for the whole night all to myself.
But that didn’t seem to be how this all worked.
I was a couple of drinks into my night and several plates of appetizers, working up the courage to start perusing the “catalog” of suitable slaves wandering around when the next show by me was resetting. This time a woman had a line of men getting to enjoy her. She knelt on a pillow and spread her legs.“I can make you finish before she can any of her suitors if you let me, sir,” a soft, musical voice said to my right. My head snapped away from the scene in front of me towards that direction and met the most beautiful orange eyes that had the depth of tone as if I was looking into the sun but without the pain staring at it caused.
“That’s quite a boast,” I murmured, drinking in his trim, perfect body that was hairless everywhere but his head.
“It’s not and I can prove it,” he purred as he moved closer. “I’ll even wager on it and be modest.” He glanced at the women who had men getting into place. “I could do it with my hand, but my ass would be too easy with all the stimulation going on around us. Would you consider a wager, sir?”
I nodded, setting down my drink and plate as he stepped closer. “I am a gambling man.”
“If I can accomplish as I say I can, then you buy my contract.”
I blinked at him, thinking that was quite a gamble. “I am in the market for party entertainment and a guest hospitality slave.”
His eyes lost some of their hope but he kept his expression blank of that. “But you would still partake in me as well, no? I would service you as well as your guests, sir?” He stepped even closer and pressed himself against me, letting me feel every line of his exquisite five-seven frame.
“I don’t see how I wouldn’t with a body like yours,” I moaned as my hands instinctively moved to his soft skin. “What do I get if you don’t win?” He blinked at me and I couldn’t help but smile. The little seductor hadn’t thought that far in his ruse.
“Whatever I can give you that you want, but I won’t lose.” He glanced over his shoulder, and I followed his gaze, seeing the first man mount the female shifter. “They’re starting. If we don’t as well, I’ll be playing with a handicap.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” I breathed as I ran my fingers over his silky black hair that hung in his face just past his ears. “I accept.”“Thank you, sir,” he sighed, relief so clear in his eyes I was dying to know how badly this slave had been treated in the past. “I will always please you and be so good to you.” He dropped to his knees before I could reply and, with experienced fingers, flicked open the button to my fly as he unzipped it and pulled out my cock. He swallowed my fully hard, ten and a half inches down without even hesitating or gagging.Holy fuck! This is why people buy sex slaves! I bit my lip and tried not to blow my load like a schoolboy experiencing something sexual for the first time. I’d gotten head before, lots of head.
But not like this, never like that. His tongue was rougher than any before, and he knew what he was doing. I watched him, enthralled with the way he loved what he was doing, and saddened to know it was just an act they learned to put on for clients.
This is nothing more than any other interview, Neil. An odd, crazy interview, but nothing more. I glanced at the scene with the woman, wanting to check on our competition, and when I saw that my holding back hurt the chances of the man on his knees, I let go and enjoyed the pleasure he was giving me when his smaller hand caressed my sac. I shot deep down his throat, coming harder than I could ever remember from nothing more than a kinky hookup.
I grabbed his head and thrust, wanting to draw it out and enjoy every second of it. With no gag reflex, it wasn’t as if I would hurt him. When I was spent, the first of the female’s companions cried out, and it was official, my slave had won our bet. He slowly pulled off my cock when I let go of his head, leisurely licking my cock clean as he stared up me curiously. It took me a moment to figure out why.
“I keep my promises and dealings,” I panted, giving him a firm nod. He smiled widely, purring as he rubbed his cheek against my groin in the oddest gesture before zipping me back up and rolling gracefully to his feet. “I’ve never bought a slave before. You’re going to have to walk me through how to do this.”
“I’ve never been bought before,” he mumbled as he glanced away. “Ocelots can only be bought once. They will explain why. It’s forbidden for us to warn potential buyers if they don’t know and we’re not allowed to tell them that we’re ocelots because of that. Please don’t be angry. Some search for ocelots, others hate it. I would have told you but if you hadn’t bought me and they found out…”
“Tell me,” I demanded and he shook his head. “I’m to be your master now. Tell me what they would have done to you if you’d told me.”
He slowly glanced up at me, and I saw fear in his eyes so stark I did a double take. “I don’t know, but the last ocelot who told, I never heard from again. I want to believe they simply sent him to another brothel in another city, but we’re property and property that has outlived its use is disposed of, so that is more likely. But there are masters who search far and wide for us so I just don’t know.”
“Now I’m fucking curious what I got myself into,” I grumbled as I took his hand. I asked one of the brothel attendants where the office was and dragged the man after me. Once I was in the room designated the office, I handed them my buyer card and yanked off my mask, nervous and tired of the games.
