Thursday, July 9, 2020

Extraordinary Things (Star Shadow, #4) by Beth Bolden (Release blitz, excerpt, and review) GBP ADULT title

RELEASE BLITZ


 Extraordinary Things
  (Star Shadow #4)
ADULT title
by
 Beth Bolden



Publisher: Beth Bolden Books

Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood Designs

Genre/s: MM Rock Star Romance, Existing Couple

Heat Rating: 3 flames 

Length: 50 000 words

NOT a standalone story.

Release Date: June 26, 2020





 


Extraordinary Things is a continuation of Leo and Caleb's love story from Terrible Things.

It should not be read as a standalone.


Blurb

Leo and Caleb have been through hell—addiction, destruction, and even a five year separation—but they’ve come through on the other side with their love stronger than ever.

Caleb knows he’s earned Leo’s forgiveness. He wants to believe he deserves it, but just when Leo needs him more than ever, a voice in his head insists that maybe he doesn't. It’s so loud, he can't block it out. So loud, he’d do anything to silence it.

Including risking everything he and Leo, and the rest of Star Shadow, have built together.




Excerpt

“If you don't want to buy another house, you just need to tell me,” Leo said, and then wiggled out of Caleb's grasp, walking over to their big oversized walk-in closet. “Then I'll tell the realtor,” he said, his voice muffled. “But I feel stupid going to look at all these great places, when you end up hating all of them.”

“I don't hate them,” Caleb said quietly. That was true. He didn't hate them. There wasn't even anything really wrong with them, but there was this voice that kept telling him it was a mistake to move. A mistake to buy a new house, even though they had enough cash they could buy ten houses. “I just like this one.”

“I do too.” Leo walked out of the closet, wearing only a pair of skintight briefs, leaving nothing to the imagination and sending Caleb's pulse through the stratosphere. His voice and expression had softened, and Caleb thought if he kissed Leo, he wouldn't push him away. Not now. “I just wouldn't mind having some additional space.”

“Maybe,” Caleb said, clearing his throat as he began to unbutton his own shirt, “maybe we could look into an addition.”

Leo gave him a soft, chiding look, like he could see right through Caleb, straight into him, into all those ugly places that he tried to hide, and tried to hide from. “Maybe,” he said. Even though they both knew perfectly well that there was no extra room on their small, beachfront lot for an addition. If they wanted a bigger house, they would need to buy one. But for right now, Leo seemed to have let the problem go, and so Caleb decided that now when they had so much to celebrate, what was the point of continuing to argue about it? They'd figure it out—someday, anyway, Caleb reasoned.

“Hey,” Caleb said, shucking his shirt and reaching for Leo again, his hands sliding up his soft curves, reveling in the way his skin felt against his hands. “Hey, let's go to bed.”

Leo gave him a sly, lopsided smile, reaching up and intertwining his fingers through his curls, pulling Caleb down so their lips were nearly touching. “And what do you think I was trying to do, this whole damn time?”

“Torture me?”

“Maybe just a little,” Leo acknowledged, raising himself up so their eyes were nearly level. That deep, endless blue was something that Caleb had gotten lost in for the first time at the age of sixteen, and he'd never ever gotten over it—and the truth was, he never ever wanted to. Leo was as much a part of him as his red hair or his too-big hands or his mediocre ability to play the bass. Even when they'd been separated, and it had been years since he'd seen Leo, there'd always been a part of him yearning to be with him again, to feel that hot wild blue gaze wash over him, calming and exciting him, somehow all at the same time.

“I love you,” Caleb said, even though the words didn't feel like enough to possibly explain the feelings surging through him. Love and lust and tenderness and winding through all of that, a golden thread of abject gratitude.

Leo was the toughest person Caleb knew—the most relentless, and possibly the least forgiving person on the planet. So if he'd forgiven Caleb, and they'd moved on, that must mean Caleb deserved that forgiveness.

“You look,” Leo said thoughtfully, tapping a finger on Caleb's bottom lip, “you look like you're not thinking of what you should be thinking about.”




Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited


 


About the Author 

A lifelong Oregonian, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband and their sweet kitten, Earl Grey. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published eighteen novels and six novellas.



Social Media Links


 

 



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My review:

 

4 out of 5 stars


Extraordinary Things by Beth Bolden is the fourth novel in the ‘Star Shadow’ series that features a group of guys as they finally find happiness and satisfaction in their lives. Caleb and Leo have had a difficult journey that was detailed in Terrible Things, the first novel in the quartet. They have gotten back together and are determined to make things work, but they’re not quite as confident in their relationship as they try to project…and the road ahead may be rocky.


This adult contemporary gay romance does a great job of tying up the series as all of the guys in the band settle into their relationships. Caleb and Leo have gone through the crucible of Caleb’s abandonment, and although their love is burning strong, they are still a little tentative about being honest about their wants and needs. There are a couple of relatively minor conflicts that have to be resolved, but this story is more about tying up all of the loose ends for each of the couples.

Given that there is such strong notice that this book should not be read as a stand-alone story, I was a little surprised that there were several flashbacks, which probably would help orient a reader new to the series but felt a little repetitive. I didn’t have the intense connection that I formed with these guys in the first story, but I still enjoyed the warm fuzzies from the romantic interludes and the resolutions for various happy couples. These stories were the first I’ve read by this author and I’ll definitely be looking for more of her works.


A copy of this title was provided for review



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