Loving Without Limits

Giveaway ends 5/24/14. The rules (always have to have them)
Entries are limited to persons 18 years of age and older.  You are stating you are of age by entering.
Just one entry per email address will be counted.
Winners will be notified via email.  We are not responsible for incorrect email addresses on entries, alas.

Thank you to Less Than Three Press for generously donating this ebook for giveaway.

I seriously love, love, love this story. The engaging and dynamic characters, the beautiful unique world--Dude! Mermen with leviathans and an aching love story bigger than all of them combined. I just finished and I want to read it again. I would definitely recommend this, especially if you love mermen. Seriously, the princess at the very end rocked.

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A boy came out on Facebook and his mother wrote him this note which she posted on Facebook as well. Sometimes coming out is happy. A link to more information follow the photo.

http://www.upworthy.com/a-boy-came-out-on-facebook-his-mother-found-out-and-decided-to-write-him-this-letter?c=reccon1

If you are looking for sweet and fluffy, don't look here. It is the zombie apocalypse and the danger of this dystopian world isn't watered down or glamorized. Life is harsh, people can die horrible deaths, and other humans can't be trusted to not rob you or throw you to the mercy of the hungry Zombie horde. And yet, there is a romance within the pages.

Riley and Graham met at the beginning of the outbreak of the plague. Riley is small and quick and Graham is retired military, but together they manage much better than some of the larger groups. They discovered a well-stocked shelter and have been hiding there for three months. Winter is brutal and the cold temperatures seems to slow down the zombies. But it's not the zombies Graham's worried about. Supplies are dwindling and a group of humans have been going from building to building in their area. They have no mercy on the people they come across. It's just a matter of time before Riley and Graham are found.

Graham knows of a place they can go to but first they must cross the city, dodging both zombies and rooftop snipers. At first, the blizzard that is rolling in seems like a blessing in disguise, but it is just as deadly as the living and the undead.

Riley is attracted to Graham but is filled with regrets and loss. Unlike Graham who talks about the future, Riley only lives for the today because there is no such thing as tomorrow. The future is too bleak to risk being hopeful on. Graham wants more from Riley than today. If Riley desires more than to share a platonic bed with Graham, then he will to have to find the determination to look beyond the present and fight to have a tomorrow with Graham.

The story had the perfect amount of tension to keep me glued to the pages and the budding romance between Riley and Graham had me holding my breath. This does have a happy-for-now ending. But seriously, this is not a story that can have a HEA with all the zombie's hanging about, and they don't poof away. I was satisfied with how the story left off and I would be very interested in seeing where Graham was taking Riley.

Johnnie was adopted by the Dracula Desrosiers after the death of his parents. Brought into a paranormal world he didn't know existed, Johnnie embraced it only to discover he couldn't fully be a part of it. He would ever to be on the outside looking in because he may be smart, be able to put on the affectation of, and able to dress as a vampire, but he would always be only a human.

Johnnie cannot resist a puzzle and when his best friend asks him to look into the mystery of a pair of missing shoes, it is the beginning of several changes that will take place in Johnnie's life. He is called the perfect vampire with good reason, he is cold, austere, impatient, and snooty.

He's been in love with his step-brother since he was nine years old. With his brother's betrothal, Johnnie uses the excuse of the mysteries to begin to make a place of his own, outside of his father's controlling grasp—well mostly. He wants something more for himself, more than being known as the son of the Dracula. With each new mystery he carves out a niche for himself, even if he's stuck with Bergrin for a bodyguard.

Each chapter is a small mystery which reveals a little more of Johnnie's life, the misconceptions, and the ever broadening picture from what he thinks he knows, to what the underlying truth really is. An overall mystery encompassed the entire story which was a joy to puzzle out.

This was a delight to read on several levels. The main and supporting characters are superbly drawn within a rich and engaging urban fantasy world. The quoted lines of poetry were superb and well thought out. I look forward to reading more of this series.

Giveaway ends February 16th

Tour Giveaway Susan and her publisher, Boroughs Publishing Group, will be awarding a copy of Stripped Bare and a copy of Saving Alexander.

Less Than Three Press presents the second of three volumes of amazing stories along the theme of rock ‘n roll. Authors familiar and new combine for a collection of stories all about music and love.

Giveaway ends by 2/19

Giveaway ends 2/19/14!

And We Went by Spencer Rook is participating in a giveaway that ends 2/19. Follow the link for more details on how to enter.

This was actually very cute to read. My favorite one: 

7. Ignore the fucking snobs.  Write that space zombie sex opera. Just give it some fucking soul.

The beginning was too familiar. I kept thinking I'd read the book before because it reminded me of several shorts I've read. But that didn't mean the start was bad. No, it was hot. It's a little weird to start out with a sex scene but it was good so it worked for me.

Interesting new take on werewolves which I liked. I don't like it when someone is referred to as "the blond," especially a main character, but this only happened a couple of times. I'm not sure why Diego didn't help out his family with his money instead of establishing a scholarship fund. I'm not judging, it just seems more likely from a cultural perspective. I actually teared up when (major big ass spoiler) Beck proposed. Maybe I was just emotional yesterday.

It was a little too short, ended quite suddenly; I might have rounded up instead of down if that weren't the case. There better be a sequel.

4.5 rounded down because of sudden ending.

Reviewed by: Lexi

Summary: Time and circumstances may force true lovers apart but the tie that binds them can never be fully severed.

When Dylen Teris and Riodan Leyhar meet one harsh winter in the dual-gendered realm of Ylandre, neither expects the encounter to lead to a fast friendship and abiding love. For a chasm of vastly dissimilar social stations lies between them, and not all Deira could imagine, let alone accept, such a relationship.

Circumstances eventually separate them for what seems forever only to conspire to bring them together once more in the most unlikely of places—at the court of Rohyr Essendri, Ylandre’s powerful monarch. Complicating their situation is the attraction that still lingers between them, waiting to flare once more into love. But when one is unwilling to venture his heart again or wholly forgive its breaker, it may take a king’s interference to reunite these star-crossed lovers for good.

Review: This is the story of Dylen Teris, half-brother to the Arden Rohyr Esseni. He was born into and groomed as a Hethare, an elite organization that provides lively conversation and companionship, for the most part, to wealthy patrons. For a hefty amount one can purchase a torrid tryst from a member of the Hethare, as long as the individual agrees. Many times Hethare are thought to be common street whores and not the reputable and honorable occupation it was.

On a winter night, Riodan Leyhar, dropped, quite literally, on Dylen's doorstep. The son of a prominent ambassador who ran away from home to protest his possible betrothal to an uncharitable and mean noble much older than Riodan.

We follow the creation of an impossible friendship of two men from vastly different walks of life. They fall in love but obligations forces them to make choices that tear them a part.

Dylen waiting for Riodan to return to him, broke my heart. We already knew how unbendable Riodan's father was, and how impressionable and innocent Riodan was. Dylen insisted Riodan must follow the class distinctions/rules, not really believing a relationship between the two of them could really happen without detriment to Riodan's standing with his peers. Even Dylen's inner thoughts seemed to be self-fulfilling, and it appeared the love these two held for one another was all for naught.

In a desperate time of need, Dylen reached out to Riodan in such a way, that if he had been in his right mind, he would have approached and handled differently. Before that moment, no contact had been made in twelve long years. Riodan caught and conflicted, turned Dylen away cruely, causing a chasm to spring up between them.

That scene will be a point of contention for many readers. It is harsh and some may not be able to forgive or believe that Riodan can be redeemed afterwards. Despite the ages of these two characters, one had to remember they were still technically young adults. They reached majority at the age of 30, which was still very young for a race that lived as long as they did. They both had much growing up to do and was why I didn't find Riodan unredeemable for that one single deed. He had plans to make amends but by the time he returned, more mature and with a better grip on his own identity without taking his cues from his parents or his peers, Rohyr had found Dylen and claimed him as family.

Riodan worked hard, seeking forgiveness, not realizing the true scope of his prior rejection until too much time had passed, seeming to solidify Dylen's unmovable, broken regard. Both he and Dylen were miserable. Riodan had to decide whether to not to completely break the bindings his father placed upon him.

This was a story of social gaps, prejudice, and forgiveness. Wrong choices, mistakes and crass words that couldn't be taken back. I believe in forgiveness. I don't hold grievances. Riodan's action and denial was one, and only one, occurrence. He spent considerable time working towards Dylen's forgiveness, owning up to his actions while being truly contrite and regretful.

Now, if there had been other incidents, then I would've washed my hands of him and rooted for a different love interest for Dylen.

This is bit more angsty than Sacred Fate, more focused on the relationship as the overall plot and one mystery to solve in the second half. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read.

Reviewed by: Lexi

4.25 Hearts

Summary: In the dual-gendered realm of Ylandre, the great divide between the high-born True Bloods and the lower-ranked Half Bloods is deemed impassable by most. Rohyr Essendri dared to cross it when he took young Lassen Idana from his provincial town and made him his paramour. Lassen perforce learned how to navigate the intricate byways of life at court. What he never expected, however, was to fall in love with Rohyr, a most inadvisable and impractical thing to do when one’s lover is sovereign ruler of the land. But anything worth having is worth fighting for, both figuratively and, as Lassen discovers, literally speaking.

Contains hermaphroditism and explicit homoerotic sexual encounters.

Review: This story mixes historical and fantasy with exquisite world building. As novel as the idea for this story is, it could easily overwhelm the unwary reader. A glossary of terms came be found at the end. I would suggest first time readers to at least take a look before tackling the story. Even I needed a bit of help with the terms used.

This was a reread for me because I wished to finally read the rest of the series, which I already own just haven't gotten around to yet. I'm glad that I did because I needed the refresher on the world and terms. The story was unique enough that I still recalled the plot but the terms tripped me up. I still hold to my stance, there are too many side characters. It is why I cannot give the story five stars. Something of the story was lost when I had trouble following in certain places. The uncommon names and titles weren't familiar enough to help me place certain characters when they entered a scene.

That being said, remembering the core characters wasn't as difficult so I didn't become lost following them through the plot.

This is a story of a King (Ardin) Rohyr Essendri and his leman (concubine) Lassen Idana. There are many elements such as: court intrigue, Full Bloods and Half Bloods class distinction, a Templar secret society, mixed with mental abilities that ranged from reading minds to translocation.

Some years pass since Rohyr took Lassen from his home as a youth and claimed him as leman. He was strong armed blackmailed by his trusted uncle into a marriage to a younger cousin he hardly knew, but Rohyr negotiates that he would keep Lassen. It was difficult to watch Rohyr take and bed his consort, even though he was in love with Lassen. His uncle was always pushing, shoving, and reminding Rohyr of his duty time and again until I wanted to run the man through. The court intrigue and political maneuverings began in earnest. The threat the consort would find a way to part Rohyr from Lassen built until I devised multiple ways for Rohyr's duplicitous cousin to meet his untimely demise.

I think Lassen easily speaks to many readers. He's kind, thoughtful, and humble. He pigeonholed himself into his social class and it was evident that if he had been even slightly ambitious, Rohyr would've eventually caved and made Lassen his official consort. But Lassen would never use his influence for personal gain. His only ambition was on Rohyr's behalf, lifting him up in the eyes of the people.

Lassen didn't push, therefore Rohyr didn't think to solidify their bond more formally. He, too, trapped himself by adhering to the Full Blood's and his family's customs instead of listening to his heart. Much of what transpires was caused by mistakes, small and large, when Rohyr trusted the wrong individuals and did not look beyond his current personal circumstances, leading to culminating events that had devastating results.

Without giving away spoilers, there is a turn in the plot where Rohyr reveals a long held secret which will have some readers up in arms. I felt the reasons given throughout were sufficient to excuse Rohyr from not being perfect. Part of the story is about breaking the conventional bonds that holds each man to his social class, breaking age old practices, and being the first to step over that boundary to face ridicule and censure. Realizing that state of the country did not mean anything if Rohyr lost the one and only person he loved. All of that, plus knowing Rohyr lived his life as the office of Arden to the point, that without Lassen, he would have forgotten how to be simply a man, made him redeemable in my eyes. I do adore flawed characters.

If you find delight in historicals with an alternative twist, court intrigue, ambitious consorts, constricting class distinctions, blackmail, flawed characters, and epic love all wound to together in stunning world, then you may enjoy Sacred Fate.

Reviewed by: Lexi

Summary: Best friends Scott and Marco meet on a rooftop on Christmas Eve, each temporarily escaping from his difficult home life. With no gift to share, Marco instead promises to someday rescue Scott and take him to Alaska. As the years pass, they meet—first by design, then by chance—on occasional Christmas Eves, only to find life growing increasingly difficult. They treasure the few moments they have together, but will they ever reach Alaska?

Review: I have friends who I haven't seen in years. Who I only get to speak to or see every once in a great while, but when we do get together, no matter what has happened, how we've changed, what we've done, we slip back into the comfort of each other. No stilted conversation or awkwardness, just an easiness with each other as if we spoke the day before instead of ten years ago.

This story reminds me of the relationship I have with a very small group of people.

Best friends, Scott and Marco, had less than ideal family lives but they were there for each other. They shared hopes and dreams on a Christmas Eve where Marco swore he would save Scott. It was a vow only a young adult could make, fully believing that he would be able to keep the heart felt promise. Those words he would carry with him as the years passed.

Each scene was a snapshot in time. From boys to young adults and then to men, Scott and Marco were separated by circumstance and time, yet each time they came together, they noted the changes in each other but that connection between them was unwavering and strong. They each had their individual challenges that they struggled with on a daily basis. Marco came to understand it may not have been in his ability to save Scott, but it didn't keep him from lamenting the shortcoming even as he continued to yearn help Scott, who was just breaking my heart. I do wish there was a little more at the end because I wanted just a little more time with Scott and Marco.

There is a lesson in this poignant short story. Sometimes the smallest actions have the largest impact. The result is more grand and more lasting than a hero swooping down to save the day. Gah! I adore this little story.