21 November 2017

Review: What's In A Name? By Pat Henshaw

Title: What's In A Name?

Series: Foothills Pride Series Book 1

Author: Pat Henshaw

Cover Artist: AngstyG

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Genre: Gay Romance

Length: Novella

Synopsis

A Foothills Pride Story

Barista Jimmy Patterson thinks it's a good idea to get rip-roaring drunk on his birthday after he’s dumped by his boyfriend. When the burly owner of Stonewall’s Bar rescues Jimmy, the night starts to look up.

Now Jimmy just wants to know the bartender's first name since he's worn a different name tag every time Jimmy's seen him. "Guy" Stone gives Jimmy seven guesses, one for each night he takes Jimmy out on a date.

While Jimmy’s trying to come up with his name, he's distracted by the destruction of his coffee shop and what looks more and more like a hate crime.

Excerpt

Falling in love in your 30s, I'm here to tell you, is the shits. Take it from me. You're rolling along, minding your own business--in my case as the working owner of Stonewall Saloon--and then wham! You think you're immune, especially since you see so many crap-ass guys doing stupid shit every night. Maybe it's the bar. Who knows? I never thought good guys went to bars a lot until I met Jimmy.

Along about November a year or so ago, Jimmy Patterson and his stupid as fuck boyfriend started dropping by Stonewall three, four times a week around 8 or 9 and staying sometimes until closing, but mostly for a couple, three hours.

The boyfriend, this asshole named Alex, would parade in wearing whatever passed as the latest style and park Jimmy on a stool at the bar.

Now, see, Jimmy's the real friendly type. Shoot, he was even nice to Gus, a regular left over from when my Grandpa was owner and bartender. Gus can't see or hear too well now and for some reason gets on the nerves of my younger customers all the time. Mostly because you gotta yell and repeat what you say to him about a million times. And then he still doesn't get what you said.

Jimmy never blinked an eye at Gus. Just treated him like all the other guys who sat down next to him to bullshit.

"Good boy, that Jimmy," Gus'd tell me over and over when Jimmy and Dickhead came in.

I had to agree. During slow periods, Jimmy and I'd talk about all sorts of things. He wanted to open a coffee shop in Old Town, around where Stonewall is, and asked me questions about places along the strip. We even talked quarterlies during tax time and shit like that.

There's a few queer-run places now the big city guys have discovered us, and Jimmy wanted to know how they got along. Yeah, sure, there's some resistance from blowhards like Tommy Thompson and a few others, but mostly we're a live and let live kinda place.

At Christmas we laughed about some of the stupid ass holiday decorations along Main Street. Jimmy'd even asked if I was going to decorate. My answer? Blow me. For a minute it looked like he considered it.

The more we talked, the more lost I was. Got to the point I told one of the other bartenders to come get me if I was in the back when Jimmy came in. Go figure. Never done that in my life.

In the meantime, every time they were here, Dickhead the boyfriend was making the rounds. I caught him a few times sucking cock in the back. Made me so mad I nearly hit him up one side and down the other. I didn't though cuz I didn't want Jimmy to stop coming in.

It bothered me though. You know, one of those moral dilemmas. Should I tell Jimmy or not? So I started asking around.

Didn't help when I learned Jimmy'd moved into a condo with the Dickhead. What kind of friend tells a guy his boyfriend's a scumbag? On the other hand, what kind of friend keeps the news to himself? Moral dilemma, like I said.

Okay, so we're coming up to Jimmy's birthday, which I know because after I had another bartender card him, I wrote the date down. I decide to give the Dickhead one more chance. See if he could man up on the big night. I knew a bunch of Jimmy's friends were gonna throw him a party at Stonewall, you know try to get him drunk, all the regular crap. So I'd better be seeing Dickhead stand up and act right.

By that point, I've already been smacked around by Jimmy-love and am ready to beat down walls to make him happy on his big day. He's never gonna see his 20s again and he's feeling the pain. At least that's what he's said. I just want the guy to be happy, real happy.

What happened? Well, yeah, you gotta read Jimmy's side of the story. I mean, don't listen to me. I can't tell a story about love. Shit, I can barely tell a clean joke. Just listen to Jimmy. He's got it covered.

Review

What’s in a name? by Pat Henshaw is a short novella about a Barista by the name of Jimmy Patterson who gets dumped at a bar on his birthday by his boyfriend Alex. The burly bartender who we first know as Alex 2 then later as “Guy”, comes in to save the day when Jimmy gets drunk off his backside and finds himself in the bathroom with his head over the toilet bowl. All Jimmy wants is to know the bartender’s first name. The story starts unfolding when “Guy” makes a deal with Jimmy. He has seven days to guess “Guy”’s first name; one guess each day.

While each day for the next week, Jimmy and Guy’s relationship becomes deeper to the point where they end up falling in love and do find their HEA, there is so much more to this story than just your typical boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy, they live happily ever after type scenario. Jimmy and his co-owner of Penny’s coffee shop learn that not everything is going to be a bed of roses as thriving business owners when someone ends up trashing their mall branch shop. Jimmy and Guy have their own issues that they need to work out through the week that they’re together as well.

What I found interesting as well as refreshing about What’s in a Name? is that right from the very beginning the book had a fairytale feel to it. First there was the feel of a Rumpelstiltskin story in so far as having to guess Guy’s name and getting seven guess’s to figure out out. I’m not going to give away the ending of the book or the answer in this regards but the fairytale overlays continue throughout the book.

There were quite a few twists and turns to What’s in a Name along with unexpected surprises that pop up throughout the read such as Jimmy’s ex boyfriend Alex, who we meet at the beginning of the book, showing up later. There was some mystery to this story as well and the person we thought was the culprit wasn’t the one “Who done it” after all.

The one big downfall that I found while reading the story was that “Guy’s” first name became predictable by at least the middle of the story for me. Luckily that wasn’t the main plot otherwise there was a good chance I would have lost interest in the book. There were quite a few underlying and overlying aspects to What’s in a name that it kept me coming back to see what happened between the two men. What’s in a name is a quick read that I got through in a day and it took me that long only because it was during the weekend when I had other things going on. I would definitely recommend this to my friends.

Buy Link

Meet The Author

Currently living in Sacramento, California, and a former book reviewer, Pat grew up in the middle of the United States and subsequently lived on all three coasts. At various times, she has been a librarian, an English composition instructor, and a theatrical costumer. She's also traveled around Europe, Central America, and Asia.

Follow The Author

Facebook

Goodreads

Amazon

Instagram

Dreamspinner Press

Google +

Twitter

Review: Of Gods and Monsters: Menoetius by Wulf Francu Godgluck

Title: Of Gods and Monsters: Menoetius

Author: Wulf Francu Godgluck

Publisher: .Wulf Francu Godgluck

Genre: Gay Contemporary Romance

Length: Novel

Synopsis

Go ahead...hate me.

Slaughter me against the wall.

I never introduced myself as the goddamn hero. Even labeling me a pussy bad boy.

I'm an imperious villain! A tyrant cut from the bone of the worst kind of monster.

This is my story and I won't change it for anyone in the world, but...

For him? The one who calls me Master… This is no forever fairy tale romance. This is RAW. This is ripping your heart out and trampling it till there’s nothing left but an angry bloody mess RAW.
He was the one who saw through my cracks, who would suffer my pain, blood and tears, working to mend those still bleeding wounds on my soul.

He stood through my violent storm, hiding the battle raging inside him, one I was too stupid to see, that was tearing apart the only man I would ever love.

It took almost losing him to see that, to understand, to comprehend what he truly was to me.

Mine.

My precious boy.

My beautiful Beo.

Excerpt

“It happened again. Another man seemed to have fallen in lust with me, but this one was different. He was, and will be, the only one I love.”— Beo Moon.

I stood, and turned, “Sorry, big guy, but I got to run,” holding my hand out for my beanie. He looked me up and down.

“How long are you going to make me wait, boy?”

I gaped at the dude, dumbfounded. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“I can be a very patient man, Beo Moon,” he said and stood, glaring down at me from hooded brows. “But, when it comes to certain things, people shouldn’t test my endurance, or my temper. I’ve decided, when it comes to you, beautiful,” he stepped closer and placed the beanie over my head, “I don’t have any. You will be mine, Beo. I promise you. So don’t make me wait too fucking long!” he growled then cupped the back of my head with his left hand, hauled on it, and bam!

His mouth covered mine as he forced his tongue past my lips and kissed me with fucking, blazing hell-storm and passion. I moaned as his assault continued. The bastard even curled his right arm around my waist, crashing me against his hard body and deepening the kiss. It lasted fucking lifetimes. Grasping him by the lapels, I silently begged him not to stop— kissing him back, hard, and trying to bury myself in his mouth.

He tasted too good, too right, too damn perfect, and I wanted him too much.

“It started and ended with a hippie kid. Marriage just wedged itself in there like a bullet.” — Colt Maxus.

I roared, snapping my hips and slamming hard into him. Beo cried out so loud, Martin was up off his seat, fists clenching, white knuckles at his sides. My eyes cut to his, and I growled, thrusting into Beo again, this time only a whimper bolted from my boy’s lips.

Coiling the belt and his leash in my hand, I fucked my boy, hearing his cries going silent, his mouth pressed against my neck and nostrils snuffling at my skin as he breathed with each plunge. My eyes challenged Martin to dare step in and stop this. I was only met with a single wet tear rolling down his cheek. I sneered at him in victory, taking Beo’s lips like a deranged animal, kissing my Babyboy hard.

Sweat gleamed and dripped down my scalp, and our bodies rubbed against each other. I felt the increased sensation in my sac.

Beo’s dick was hard, straining backwards to his belly, smearing pre-cum as I moved inside him.

His submission was breathtaking.

“Beo…” I whispered into his mouth when he stopped kissing. My boy was slipping into subspace again.

“Come back to me, boy.” I slowed my thrusts, clenching my ass from the torture and the burn as I edged myself. “Don’t go there. Master wants you here with him,” I growled and bit his lip. When Beo’s eyes snapped open, beholding me with soft tenderness, I couldn’t help myself.

“I love you, Babyboy,” I said, not caring who heard because it was only meant for Beo.

Review

Colt Maxus is a Dom who is rude, arrogant, aggressive and is fine with the way he is. He embraces his role of Master at ‘The Bark’ and in the rest of his life with proverbial open arms. Colt takes what he wants, does what he wants and doesn’t give a flying flip about what anyone else thinks. He’s dark, menacing and refuses to let himself be loved or show love. Colt has issues that run deep from his past that have shaped his present.

In walks Beo Moon. A sweet waif of a male who just so happens to be submissive with issues of his own. A self proclaimed ‘hipster’ who sings beautifully. Like Colt, he keeps people at an arms length. He doesn’t want to get hurt by allowing someone in because of what is coming down the line. Even more so, he doesn’t want others to get hurt by it. What will happen between Colt and Beo? Will they come to their senses and find their HEA? Even more so, will they move forward, allow each other in and begin to heal?

I was introduced to Wulf Francú Godgluck and his books only a short time ago. Of Gods and Monsters: Menoetius (Of Gods and Monsters #1) was the first novel of his that I had read. At first, I will admit that the first person alternating POV had thrown me off a bit. It’s a unique way of writing. Yet, it was perfect for this book and this set of characters. Wulf pulled it off wonderfully and incorporated the views of both main characters to the point so we could see and understand what was going on within both Beo and Colt.

Another aspect of this book is that it is a dark romance. There are aspects of abuse and kinks that may be distressing for some readers.

Of Gods and Monsters: Menoetius is a wonderful story of two men who are broken by their past. It’s about two men who, even against all that they thought they believed and wanted for themselves, the Fates had different ideas for the two of them. The world is well developed and the characters were well thought out. There were times when wanted to throttle Colt and Lucifer while telling them to get their cranial orbs out of their rectal orifice. I wanted to tell Beo the same thing a couple of times as well. There were also times when, even though I felt badly for Colt, I couldn’t help chuckling at his confusion. But also I wanted to cry for both he and Beo while giving them both a huge huge as well.

I enjoyed of Gods and Monsters: Menetius quite a bit and would recommend it to others. Thank you Wulf for sharing this story.

Buy Link

Meet The Author

They come to me in the night, creeping into my head. Their voices are all different, their stories all dissimilar, but they keep saying the same thing...

"Show us, tell us, bring us into your world, and make us known."

Then I sit and they take over. They tell their tales of love, loss and sinister misfortune. Not all of them get a happy ending, but they are pleased when their part is written.

I sometimes find myself lost in my own mind; a world very similar to our own yet so different. Things don't go bump in the night-- they squeal and crawl under your skin, making you grind your teeth, and making your stomach turn over and putting your nerves on edge. Then there's the drama. Oh, the drama!

Wulf Francú Godgluck hails from South Africa. His work is not for the faint-hearted! In his books you'll find... all the beasties with their nasty claws and teeth, and some you didn't even know existed.

But the monsters aren't all real.

Some live inside us. Who knows what he will make you discover about yourself, lurking in your heart, behind the closed walls in the deep, black recesses where no light penetrates?

Wulf will steal your heart and never give it back. More than likely, he'll pin it to the wall with a bobbypin and sit there sipping his tea while you writhe and squeal on the floor...

STILL sure you want to read a Wulf Godgluck book?

Proceed at your own peril.

Follow The Author

Pre-Order: What He Needs by E.M. Denning

Title: What He Needs

Author: E.M. Denning

Publisher: E.M Denning

Cover Artist: Designs by Dana

Genre: Gay Contemporary Romance

Length: Novel

Synopsis

M&M Romance

A Disillusioned Dom

A Devastated Sub

When Craig walks into the first kink club he’s been in for months, the last thing he expects to see is his former Dom, Tim, wearing a collar. If learning his ex is a switch isn’t shocking enough, Craig quickly finds himself on the wrong side of his ex's Dom. When the reunion turns ugly, another Dom swoops in and saves the day, and Craig is too shaken to argue when the sweet Dom steps in and takes care of him.

Alan noticed the boy the minute he walked into his club. It was hard not to. He was beautiful, sad, and fully clothed. Once the boy is in Alan’s arms he knows he doesn’t want to let him go, maybe ever. He worries that even though his hardcore Dom days are behind him, his experience will scare Craig and he’ll lose the chance to have something real with him.

Their relationship quickly heats up, but Craig can’t stop wondering if an inexperienced sub will be enough for a seasoned Dom in the long run.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Craig

He shouldn’t be nervous. He’d done it before. He’d walked into clubs before and never felt the sickening swirl of his stomach as its contents prepared for launch. Craig swallowed, then popped another antacid into his mouth and chewed it up.

He could do this. He needed to do this. He normally hated the club atmosphere, but it had pleased Tim to take him places and show him off, and if he hoped to move on he needed this. He had to get over Tim. He needed someone who would give him the things Tim gave him and there was only one kind of place where you were guaranteed to meet the kind of person Craig needed to meet. Tails had a reputation as a popular kink club. Tim had never taken him to this club, and Craig hoped that he’d be able to go in there. He’d tried to visit a different club a few weeks ago, but couldn’t make it past the bouncer.

It was a place he’d frequented with Tim and the bouncer recognized him on sight. He looked at him with those big, sympathetic brown eyes and Craig’s insides liquefied. He quickly lost his nerve and hurried back the way he came. Everyone understood what happened to him, well, everyone in that circle knew. It was why he hadn’t talked to any of his former kink friends since Tim left him. Maybe if he did, he could at least figure out what he did to drive Tim away. Perhaps he could find out why he came home from work one day to find all of Tim’s stuff gone.

Craig cursed himself and wiped away an errant tear. He needed someone to get him out of his head before he lost his mind completely. Tim had been perfect for him. Roommates at first, then friends, then lovers. One fateful night they stumbled into something more; something that took everything they had together and made it all that much better and more powerful and meaningful. Or so Craig thought.

They spent a year together exploring the lifestyle. Both newbies, they muddled through a little on their own before Tim insisted they join a club and do it right. Everything seemed perfect. Tim was a good Dom. Sure, he made a few newbie mistakes, but Craig made some mistakes as a first time sub. Despite the times they stumbled, discovering his need for submission had to be the best thing that ever happened to Craig. Even when Tim wanted things that Craig didn’t feel comfortable with, he still relished belonging to him. Craig figured that even though they were out of sync to begin with that over time they’d get better at the whole Dom/sub dynamic of their relationship.

Then Tim left.

Now, eighteen months later, Craig’s life was a wasteland, and he had tired of it. Tired of being tired. Tired of being angry and miserable and feeling like a total failure. He needed to get out of his head. He needed to break the sick cycle of thinking that had him awake most nights.

Craig stepped out of the cab a few blocks from the club and walked the rest of the way. He kept his head down and stuffed his hands in his pockets and returned to the club he’d visited a few days ago to set up a membership.

Most places used the same basic set up, go in one door, sign in while they reminded you of the basic rules, gave you a color-coded club standard BDSM wrist band indicating Dom or a sub, available or unavailable. Then you got to enter the world of kink unfettered.

Craig hated places like these, but they were better than meeting someone on a random app. He didn’t like the idea of meeting a complete stranger who liked to tie people up. At least the club provided a controlled environment with people employed to keep their patrons safe.

It was little comfort.

Craig ordered a juice from the bar and looked around. He’d already been here once, for a few minutes, but during the day when the place was empty. Now it crawled with leather covered studs of all varieties. Craig raked his eyes over the crowd and took a deep breath. In a minute he’d get up the courage to throw himself into the fray. He drank his juice first, sipped it slowly until he emptied the glass. When he’d returned the glass, he took a deep breath. In another minute he’d slip into his sub mindset and maybe then a hot Dom would approach him and make him soar and forget about Tim.

Tim, whose eyes met his.

Tim, who he hadn’t seen in eighteen months stood ten feet from him. He looked at Craig with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Someone next to Tim put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in. That’s when Craig noticed the thick, black collar around Tim’s neck.

Tim had a Dom.

Tim was a sub.

Before Craig could wrap his mind around Tim being a sub, or a switch, or there, ten feet from him, Tim moved closer. Craig stood stock still like a cornered rabbit, too afraid to move.

The juice in Craig’s stomach churned. He didn’t understand anything anymore. He’d avoided all the clubs Tim used to drag him to for this exact reason. It wasn’t fair. Tim left him and now, the one time he’d gathered the courage to enter a club, Tim not only turned up, but as a fucking sub. A collared sub with a mammoth-sized Dom.

Only a few feet from him, Tim stopped. His master’s hand lay on his shoulder and Craig’s fist tightened. The fact that Tim had a master enraged him as much as it confused him.

“Craig. It’s good to see you. How are you?” Tim smiled, but Craig knew him well enough to know that it was fake, as fake as the rest of him. Betrayal fuelled Craig’s anger. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Go fuck yourself.” Craig turned to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“You’re a nasty little sub, aren’t you? That’s my boy you swore at and I expect you to apologize.”

Craig spun around and knocked the Dom’s hand off his shoulder. “Don’t touch me. I’ll talk to him however I want. I may be a sub, but I’m not your sub.”

Tim didn’t say anything. He stood there and let his master grab at Craig and bark at him to apologize and he stood there and watched with complete disinterest. As if Craig never mattered to him at all.

Craig glared at Tim as angry tears sprang to his eyes. He didn’t care if Tim saw him cry, it wouldn’t be the first time. “You’re a piece of cowardly shit.”

“I told you not to talk to my boy like that.”

Craig flinched at the Dom’s voice. Powerful and commanding, the tone was also edged with a bit of anger. Craig took a step back. “Screw you.” He knew he shouldn’t get so mouthy with a Dom, but his heart hammered as his vision blurred. At the same time, he couldn't catch his breath. Worse, his brain didn’t appear to be in control of his mouth anymore and he heard himself yell. “Screw you and screw him too.” Craig turned to leave, but the Dom caught his arm.

Before he could wonder what would happen next, another man came over and pulled the Dom’s hand off Craig’s arm.
“What’s the trouble over here?” He had to be a Dom. Not as tall or as wide as Tim’s giant of a man, he oozed a certain presence and had to be important because the angry Dom suddenly curbed his attitude.

“This little sub here seems to have a problem with my boy. They exchanged words and I want him to apologize.”

“Fuck you, you shit.” Craig’s voice cracked. “And fuck him too.” Craig panted, and fresh tears streamed down his cheeks. The other Dom appeared to be trying to spin it to make him look like the bad guy, and he might be, but all he wanted to do was leave. The guy should’ve let him go.

A hand touched his shoulder. “Kneel down, boy.”

Buy Links

Meet The Author

E. M. Denning is a writer from British Columbia. She loves her family and animals, and anything cute and fuzzy. She writes romance for the 18+ plus crowd because she's both a hopeless romantic and a dirty old woman.

You can find her on her website, Facebook or on her blog.

Follow the Author