Giveaway & Review – Copper Waters, Book IV in the Annalise series by Marlene M Bell @ewephoric @ireadbooktours #romanticsuspense

Posted on February 22, 2023 by fundinmental

I WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS TOUR Join us for this tour from Jan 30 to Feb 24, 2023

MY REVIEW

Copper Waters is the fourth book in the Annalise series, and I have loved traveling the world, facing danger, and coming out on top of it, with her and her group of friends. As the series grows, so do the characters.

I do have an issue with Annalise shitting or getting off the pot as far as her and Alec’s relationship goes. She is an antiquities expert and Alec is loaded. He’s ready to tie the knot and give up the ratrace. She’s not so sure, having a hard time believing he could really want her. But, I think the time has come to make a decision.

Especially after the mystery and danger they face in New Zealand. But, before their adventure, before she will accept his proposal, another road block appears.

I doubt I will ever make it to New Zealand, so it is wonderful to see it through Annalise’s and Marlene M Bell’s eyes. The vivid descriptions…They paint an amazing picture with their words. Snow topped mountains, lush green fields, hers of sheep and cattle, and the small town of brightly colored businesses, with historical architecture.

Annalise cannot leave a mystery unsolved, so going home to the United States when the shit starts to hit the fan is not an option. I love that her and Bill, Alex’s…and now Annalise’ detective friend, are getting comfortable with each other…not in a romantic way, but as life long friends.

The characters become richer with each story, as Marlene M Bell fills in the blanks of their lives. After reading Copper Waters, I am wondering how she will help Annalise mature into a more confident person. I don’t understand why she is so hesitant with Alec, yet so bold when there is a mystery to be solved. I love a strong female protagonist, and I want Annalise to become a more mature, self assured person. confident woman.

The saying ‘ Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ works for Annalise and Alex. They learn each other even better while being apart, finding out the mos important thing is each other.

I am loving the series and traveling to foreign worlds, but Copper Waters fell a little flat for me. I don’t know what I was wanting or expecting, but I didn’t get it. I did enjoy the story and my travels, and kept picking up the book when I had a spare minute or hour. (LOL) so there is no doubt I will continue reading whatever Marlene M Bell writes. Bring it on Marlene.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Copper Waters by Marlene M Bell.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

Book Details:

Book Title:  Copper Waters – A New Zealand Mystery (Annalisse Series Book 4) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: October, 2022
Format available for review:  print – softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF )
Will send print books out:  USA
Content Rating: G. Book is for general audiences. No profanity. No graphic scenes. Crimes described briefly after-the-fact. Mild and limited romance https://www.youtube.com/embed/PjDimoA2yQc https://www.youtube.com/embed/PjDimoA2yQc

Book Description:

Annalisse Drury and Alec Zavos find themselves on opposing sides when an ex-lover from Alec’s past introduces him to his alleged son. With Alec distracted and their future engagement in limbo, Annalisse accepts a key to her dream cottage—situated on a picturesque sheep station on South Island, New Zealand—only this time, she travels alone.

But not long after her arrival she’s confronted by two peculiar deaths—either accidental, or the deliberate acts of a psychopath.

Local investigators are closing the cases too quickly and want Annalisse to exit the country before she reveals the town’s darkest secrets.

Will she return to Alec, or sacrifice their future together to expose it all?

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

Also Available for Review:

Book Details:

Book Title:  Stolen Obsession (Annalisse Series Book 1) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 296 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: March 2018
Format available for review:  print – softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF), audiobook (audible download)
Will send print books out:  USA
Content Rating: PG. Subtle romantic interludes. No profanity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EfPsyRPdIwI https://www.youtube.com/embed/EfPsyRPdIwI

YOU CAN SEE MY REVIEW HERE

Book Description:

People die, but legends live on.

New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury’s best friend was murdered. The killer’s identity may be linked to her friend’s expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.

Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act. Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner’s son to help—even though she’s afraid he’ll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse’s concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.

Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his parents, feared kidnapped or even dead. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse’s back, can her plan to rescue Alec’s mother save them all?

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Amazon
Audible

Book Details:

Book Title:  Spent Identity (Annalisse Series Book 2) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 378 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: Nov 2019
Format available for review:  print – softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF), audiobook (audible download)
Will send print books out:  USA
Content Rating: PG-13+M. Main Character is accosted and fights an assailant in one chapter. Mild profanity. https://www.youtube.com/embed/bqwn2d2qBQU

SEE MY REVIEW FOR SPENT IDENTITY HERE

Book Description:

Antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury drives to her family farm in upstate New York to consult with Aunt Kate about her troubled relationship with Greek tycoon, Alec Zavos. When Annalisse arrives, she learns the beloved farm she expects to inherit is for sale.

That same morning, they find a stranger’s body decaying in the barn. Then her aunt vanishes.

In Spent Identity, Annalisse and Alec join forces for the second time. They must find the mastermind behind her aunt’s abduction before Kate’s health issues worsen. Was the corpse in the barn a coincidence or a warning? The clock ticks for Annalisse to find her aunt and repair what she has left with the man she loves.

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon
Audible

Book Details:

Book Title:  Scattered Legacy (Annalisse Series Book 3) by Marlene M. Bell
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 352 pages
Genre: Mystery-Suspense
Publisher:  Ewephoric Publishing
Release date: Oct 2021
Format available for review:  print – softback, e-book (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF)
Will send print books out:  USA
Content Rating: PG+M. Brief kissing/romance. mild use of profanity like “damn.” No F Bombs. Some violence and talk of an attack by villain that doesn’t materialize.

SEE MY REVIEW FOR SCATTERED LEGACY HERE

Book Description:

To outsiders, the relationship between Manhattan antiquities assessor Annalisse Drury and sports car magnate Alec Zavos must look carefree and glamorous. In reality, it’s a love affair regularly punctuated by treasure hunting, action-packed adventure, and the occasional dead body.

When Alec schedules an overseas trip to show Annalisse his mother’s birthplace in Bari, Italy, he squeezes in the high-stakes business of divesting his family’s international corporation. But things go terribly wrong as murder makes its familiar reappearance in their lives – and this time it’s Alec’s disgraced former CFO who’s the main suspect.

Accompanied by friend and detective Bill Drake, Annalisse and Alec find themselves embroiled in a behind-closed-doors conspiracy that threatens the reputation and legacy of Alec’s late father – linking him to embezzlement, extortion, and the dirty business of the Sicilian Mafia. The search for the truth sends the trio straight into riddles, secrets, and an historic set of rosary beads. Annalisse leads Alec toward a discovery that is unthinkable, and events that will change their futures forever.

Scattered Legacy is the third in Marlene M. Bell’s thrilling Annalisse series, which weaves romance, crime, and historical mystery into addictive tales to instantly captivate fans of TV show Bones or Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

Meet the Author:

Marlene M. Bell is an eclectic mystery writer, artist, photographer, and she raises sheep in beautiful East Texas with her husband, Gregg, three cats and a flock of horned Dorset sheep.

The Annalisse series has received numerous honors including the Independent Press Award for Best Mystery (Spent Identity,) and FAPA— Florida Author’s President’s Gold Award for two other installments, (Stolen Obsession and Scattered Legacy.) Her mysteries with a touch of romance are found at marlenembell.com. She also offers the first of her children’s picture books, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! Based on true events from the Bell’s ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb.

connect with the author: website ~ website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads

Tour Schedule:

Jan 30 – Cover Lover Book Review – book series spotlight / giveaway
Jan 30 – Paws.Read.Repeat – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Jan 31 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Jan 31 – Bigreadersite – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Jan 31 – fundinmental – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 1 – Reading Excursions – book review of COPPER WATERS
Feb 1 – Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Aha’s – book series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Feb 2 – Mystery Review Crew – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 2 – JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 2 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 3 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 3 – Bigreadersite – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 3 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 6 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 6 – Paws.Read.Repeat – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 7 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 7 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Feb 7 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 8 – fundinmental – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 8 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 9 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 9 – Rockin’ Book Reviews –book review of COPPER WATERS / guest post / giveaway
Feb 10 – Books for Books – book series spotlight
Feb 10 – Older & Smarter? – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Feb 13 –Paws.Read.Repeat – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 13 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Feb 13 – Bigreadersite – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 14 – Mystery Review Crew – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Feb 14 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 14 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 15 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 16 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 16 – Olio by Marilyn – book series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Feb 16 – Mystery Review Crew – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 16 – Lynchburg Reads – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 17 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book series spotlight / giveaway
Feb 17 – Lynchburg Reads – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 17 – Older & Smarter? – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 20 – Splashes of Joy – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Feb 20 – Paws.Read.Repeat – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 20 – Bigreadersite – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 20 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of STOLEN OBSESSION / giveaway
Feb 21 – Liese’s Blog – book series spotlight
Feb 21 – Splashes of Joy – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 21 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 21 – Mystery Review Crew – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 21 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of SPENT IDENTITY / giveaway
Feb 22 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review of COPPER WATERS / guest post / giveaway
Feb 22 – fundinmental – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 22 – Splashes of Joy – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 22 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of SCATTERED LEGACY / giveaway
Feb 23 – Deborah-Zenha Adams – book series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 23 – Splashes of Joy – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 23 – Mystery Review Crew – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway
Feb 23 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of COPPER WATERS / guest post / giveaway
Feb 24 – Stephanie Jane – book series spotlight / giveaway
Feb 24 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of COPPER WATERS / giveaway

MY REVIEW LINKS FOR MARLENE M BELL

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Giveaway – Copper Waters by Marlene M Bell @XpressoTours

Posted on December 8, 2022 by fundinmental

Copper Waters
Marlene M. Bell
(Annalisse, #4)
Publication date: December 5th 2022
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery

A rural New Zealand vacation turns poisonous.

Antiquities expert Annalisse Drury and tycoon Alec Zavos are at an impasse in their relationship when Alec refuses to clear up a paternity issue with an ex-lover.

Frustrated with his avoidance when their future is at stake, Annalisse accepts an invitation from an acquaintance to fly to New Zealand—hoping to escape the recent turbulence in her life.

But even Annalisse’s cottage idyll on the family sheep farm isn’t immune to intrigue.

Alec sends a mutual friend and detective, Bill Drake, to follow her, and a local resident who accompanies them from the Christchurch airport dies mysteriously soon after. A second violent death finds Annalisse and Bill at odds with the official investigations.

The local police want to close both cases as quickly as possible—without unearthing the town’s dirty secrets.

As she and Bill pursue their own leads at serious cost, the dual mysteries force Annalisse to question everything she thought she knew about family ties, politics, and the art of small-town betrayal.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Nothing’s sinking in.” I pass the note to Alec and prepare myself. “Would you mind reading it aloud?”

“She and Ethan traveled together.” He gazes at me.

“Okay, we’d considered that.”

“Kate has business to conclude in New Zealand before she returns to New York. She asks me not to mention this to you until she arrives in the States but didn’t give a reason. Kate says she’ll meet you in person when she’s ready.”

“Seriously? Where does she plan to live? With me in Greenwich? The Goshen farm could be sold by now. Does she mention Jeremy finding her another place?”

Alec scans the page randomly. “No, she didn’t.”

I scratch my scalp and shake my head. “Then my sheep station trip to New Zealand is perfect timing. I have to leave now and see if I can catch her before she skips out. Ethan must know where Kate is. If it’s all the same, we’ll hang on to the tickets for our April trip, and I’ll buy my own way for this flight.” Tugging at my sweatshirt with clammy hands, I take the note from Alec and sail it into the flames, watching paper crinkle and burn on the log.

He steps forward, his chiseled profile gawking at the fire in disbelief.

“Were you ever going to tell me about Kate’s message?” A sob chokes my windpipe. “If it weren’t for Ethan’s invite, I doubt that we’d be talking about Kate.”

“Babe, I thought by staying neutral…” He twists his lips and looks at his shoes. “Seeing your reaction now; it was a mistake not to tell you.”

“That totally blows.” I ball my hands into fists. “More like you were afraid that I’d run down there to find her.” I’m mad enough to send smoke signals, so I take slower, calming breaths.

“If I’d told you… Yeah, I worried you’d run off. The ordeal in Italy, then Peter Gregory terrorizing you, and Helga has had barely enough time to settle around here. Your safety doesn’t include encouraging you to hop on a plane to another country so soon after a trauma like that. Waiting for Kate’s return felt right to me. At some point, I hope you’ll see things from my side. Kate put me in the middle, but it’s you I worry about.”

Willing myself to relax, I take his hand to get him to focus on me instead of the floor. “I know that.”

Peter Gregory, an old coworker from my past job at another gallery, is responsible for a young woman’s murder in Lecce, near the Mediterranean Sea on Italy’s eastern shore. Alec and I went to Southern Italy for a working vacation that spun us into solving more than one homicide in order for Alec to sell his dad’s Signorile Corporation, a sports car company.

“After a shower, I’ll give your mom a call from the car on the way home. I might have trouble getting a flight out on the spur of the moment, but if I do, I hope you’ll help me.”

“Anna, we should discuss this.” He catches my wrist. “I’d like to go along. Say the word, and I’m on that plane with you. Allow what’s happened with Kate to simmer. You might feel differently in the morning.”

Grasping Kate’s locket beneath my shirt, I slide the chain over my head and cup Alec’s hand, dropping the necklace there.

“Hold on to my locket while I’m gone. It’s the most precious thing I own. That way, you’ll know I’m coming back to you.” On my tiptoes, our salty kiss calls a loneliness— In a flash, two people are about to have a hemisphere drifting between them from outside influences that want to manipulate us. “Gen will be here to see Noah in a few hours, and you have him until Sunday. Let me go, Alec, and please wait for me at Brookehaven. I have to make this trip by myself. If there’s the slightest chance that Kate’s with Ethan or he knows where she is, I have to go. I’ve already lost precious time.” I start for the drawing room doors and remember something left undone. “Oh, and sorry for the sticky mess in your stable office.”

In a dead run, I’m biting a quivering lip. On the way to Alec’s bedroom suite, I send Chase a text to hold Ethan’s box and note for me at the gallery. True to form, Kate shoves us all out of our comfort zones, where I’m certain to find a disaster waiting for me to book a ticket to New Zealand in a mad rush.

Author Bio:

Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep Industry News, to name a few.

Her catalog Ewephoric began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Ewephoric gifts may be ordered online or request a catalog at TexasSheep.com.

Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named, Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Givweaway – Strut by Jay Hogan @XpressoTours

Posted on July 14, 2022 by fundinmental

Strut
Jay Hogan
(The Style Series, #2)
Publication date: July 14th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

New Zealand farm boy turns New York fashion model.
Fairy tale? Maybe. But it hasn’t been easy. A year in this crazy city, working my tail off just to survive in a ruthless industry where sex sells and boundaries are too readily crossed.

A year and a reassuring ocean away from Hunter Donovan—a sexy, humiliating mistake that I’m not about to repeat. Distance is good. Distance is safe.

But now Hunter is back. In New York. In my life. In all those treacherous feelings that haven’t gone anywhere. But when my world suddenly crashes and I have to piece myself back together and fight for my career, will Hunter be there when I need him? Will we have what it takes to make it through this, together?

Note: This book contains themes of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Halfway down the block I came upon a small queue outside a tidy brick establishment which proved to be Color. The distant thrum of Ariana Grande leaking through the double wooden doors onto the sidewalk reminded me I was close to a generation older than most of the guys ahead of me waiting to get in.

I joined the line, ignoring a low whistle of interest from one of the guys as I passed. I took his appreciation as reassurance that my skinny black jeans paired with one of Rhys’s new season tight black-and-white-checked T-shirts passed muster. I checked my phone as I waited and fired off a text to my younger sister knowing it was afternoon in New Zealand. A few seconds later the phone rang in my hand, and I smiled and swiped it open.

“Hey, sis.”

“Hey, you. I’m heading to the supermarket. What’s up?”

The line shrank by a couple of guys, and everyone shuffled forward. “Not much. I’m waiting to get into a bar and thought I might catch you.”

Silence. “Hunter Donovan is in a queue?” She chuckled. “You don’t do queues, bro. I thought you rarefied fashionista types skipped those pesky things.”

“It’s not that level of club,” I explained. “Think popular, off-the-beaten-track gay bar. I doubt I’ll see anyone I know and certainly no one who knows me.”

“A gay bar? Ohhhhh, are you on a date?”

“No, I am not on a date. You know me. Besides, I’ve only been here two days.”

“You’re right. I do know you. Which means you’re cruising for some pretty arse. You after a bit of downtown rough, big brother?”

“Jesus, Patty, you sound like a low-budget movie, and we are not having that conversation. Ever. If you must know, I met a guy I worked with in Auckland and he happens to tend bar here. I said I’d drop by.” Kind of, almost.

“Riiiight.” She sounded sceptical. “Do I know them? You’ve always said the best thing about your trips to New York was all the great clubs. I’ve never known you to waste your time on suburban bars.” My sister was way too perceptive.

“True, but this is that model from fashion week last year? The guy Rhys discovered—”

“Oh my god,” she blurted. “That gorgeous hunk of drool you shot for Flare. Alec someone, right?”

“Alec Williamson. He got signed by Cage Talent after the show and has been in New York since. I ran into him quite by chance.”

Patty was quiet for a few seconds as the cogs in her brain ticked over. “But you liked him, right?”

What the fuck? I said nothing

“You can’t lie to me, Hunter. I know you. He’s the one hanging in your office on your wall of fame, aka my personal wall of hotness. He’s wearing Rhys’s design. Holy shit, Hunter. Do you have a thing? Are you—”

I needed to shut this down fast. “He’s hanging there because it was my best friend’s signature shoot for his new label,” I argued. “Not because it’s Alec.”

“Mm-hmm.” There was an irritating smile in her voice. “Pull the other one. I called into Flare that day, remember? You couldn’t take your eyes off him. Neither could I, to be honest, but you were a little smitten kitten.”

I so was. “I so wasn’t. You’re dreaming. Alec is a great model, that’s all. If I was smitten, it was on a purely professional level.”

“And yet you’re queuing to have a drink at the place he works?”

Well, when you put it like that. “Maybe.” It was all she was getting. “It’s the friendly thing to do, right?”

“Aha. Yep. Very neighbourly of you. Oh, here’s a thought. If you like him, how about you keep it in your pants for once, at least for more than a day? Get to know him.”

Too fucking late. “Oh, look at that, the bouncer’s waving me in. Gotta go, sis. Nice talking to you.” I stabbed the End Call button, stared at the double doors for a second, took a deep breath, and then pushed through.

The immediate assault to my eardrums almost rattled my brain from my skull. Add that to the heaving crowd and multicoloured light display circling the room and dripping down the walls, and I needed a minute to orient myself. I passed the coat check desk and slid against the closest wall to take a look around.

The place was humming, the music pulsing loudly above the thrum of a hundred different conversations, while the surprisingly spacious dancefloor writhed with every possible combination of couples, throuples, and dogpiles of slick bodies. Like the queue outside, it was a younger crowd, mostly early twenties, but with enough around my age to drop the creep factor to acceptable. I watched the dancers for a bit, appreciating all the hot skin and tight muscle on display before scouting the bar.

“You wanna dance?” A warm body leaned close, and I turned to find an attractive dark-haired man just inches from my face. He had the greenest eyes I’d ever seen and a pouty mouth made for sucking cock. He licked his lips and ran his hand up my arm. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

On any other night I would’ve had him down the back and on his knees with my dick down his throat in about five minutes flat, but I wasn’t even tempted—a disturbing fact that was worth an alarm bell or two. Instead, I simply smiled and covered his hand with mine.

“Thanks. You’re pretty hot yourself, but I’m meeting someone.”

Author Bio:

Heart, humour and keeping it real.

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

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