The Game Changer by Jaqueline Snowe (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT title

The Game Changer

by

Jaqueline Snowe

ADULT title

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GENRE:   NA Romance

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BLURB:

Pretending to date your best friend is always a good idea…right? Wrong.

Greta Aske has a lot on her mind, and a string of bad dates has her giving up on men, at least for the time being. Her life contains a little too much drama, meaning she needs a break and to save money and get good grades. The perfect solution presents itself—pretend to date the campus playboy. That’ll keep the guys away for sure.

Aaron Hill is desperate to save his baseball career because, with his dad fighting cancer, he damn well knows he can’t ask for a single penny from his parents. Baseball is his past, present and future, so when a scandal threatens his chance in the MLB, he turns to his best friend for help. A fake relationship will keep him out of trouble. It’s perfect, really. Greta’s taking a break from dating and Aaron needs to focus on training.

Nothing could go wrong…as long as neither falls for the other. But when lines are crossed, what’s real and fake blurs and the two are forced to face their fears. Could Greta be the game changer Aaron needs?

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EXCERPT

  

I groaned into his shoulder. “I would do it again if I had to.”

“I know you would, G.” He laughed softly, the first time that night. I’d missed that sound.

“There it is. I wondered if your laughing part broke.”

“Okay, no need to be dramatic.” He picked up the ice and hissed at my arm. “Promise me something.”

“No need. I already made a vow to never online date again. No, to never date again. Or at least for five years. Don’t worry. This will never happen again.”

“It better not.” His hand came around my leg, squeezing my knee. “Promise me you’ll call me if you need help. Any time. Any place. You’re one of the most important people in my goddamn life.”

“Okay.” I met his gaze and winced at the intensity in his eyes. “I promise.”

“Good.” He yawned, taking the bag off my arm. “I’m going to sleep. I’m beat.”

“Uh, should I call a cab?” I hesitated.

“Don’t be a dumbass. Sleep here. You’ve crashed on the couch countless times.” He leaned back, fluffing up the pillows and rolling over. Damn those back muscles. I want to bite them.

I pushed myself up to head downstairs when his arm wrapped around me. “Uh, Aaron?”

“Stay here. My bed is huge. Don’t make it weird.”

Buy links:

Finch Books

Amazon

B&N

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jaqueline Snowe lives in Arizona where the "dry heat" really isn't that bad. She identifies as a full-blown Gryffindor and prefers drinking coffee all hours of the day. She is the mother to two fur-babies who don’t realize they aren’t humans. Her life revolves around balancing her day job in education and her incessant need to write and explore the world with her wonderful baseball-loving husband.

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GIVEAWAY

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The tour dates can be found here

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My review:

4 out of 5 stars

The Game Changer by Jacqueline Snowe centers around the relationship between best friends Aaron Hill and Greta Aske. Aaron’s hedonistic lifestyle as a star athlete on campus threatens to derail his hopes for a professional career and his desperate attempt at redemption requires a fake romantic relationship with Greta. Both go into the arrangement knowing that it’s fake, and they’re both determined to adhere to the terms they set…or are they?

This contemporary new adult romance is part of the ‘Cleat Chasers’ series and definitely depicts the angst, stress, and joy of dealing with college life, friendships, relationships, and family challenges. Part of the charm of the story is its depiction of the awkwardness that is part of the maturing process as these new adults bump their heads and make unwise choices and hopefully learn from them.

I enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope and thought these two make a cute couple, but there were a few things glossed over that I would have liked to learned about in more detail to get a better sense of their respective backgrounds. I think some things were treated as having been resolved more optimistically than they actually were, and although I understand the need for hope, I thought the reactions were a little unrealistic.

Somehow I think my wince at an impulsive decision or two is due to an age perspective and I’m very relieved that college days are long since past, lol. Those in search of an entertaining tale featuring new adults dealing with the difficult task of adulting should enjoy the antics of these folks. Hopefully some of the charismatic secondary characters will also get their time in the spotlight.

A copy of this title was provided for review.

Detour by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore (Spotlight and review) ADULT title

Detour

by

Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore

(ADULT title)

Ethan Domani had planned the perfect graduation trip before tragedy put his life on hold. Smothered by survivor’s guilt and his close-knit family, he makes a break for the open road. He doesn't know what he's looking for, but he's got the whole summer to figure out who he misses more: his boyfriend, or the person he thought he was. It’s just him and his memories . . . until he almost runs over a hitchhiker.

Nick Hamilton made some mistakes after his younger brother died. His violent ex-boyfriend was the most dangerous, and the one that got him shipped off to Camp Cornerstone’s pray-the-gay-away boot camp. His eighteenth birthday brings escape, and a close call with an idiot in a station wagon. Stranger danger aside, Nick’s homeless, broke, and alone. A ride with Ethan is the best option he’s got.

The creepy corners of roadside America have nothing on the darkness haunting Ethan and Nick. Every interstate brings them closer to uncharted emotional territory. When Nick’s past shows up in their rearview mirror, the detour might take them off the map altogether.




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My review:

4.5 out of stars

Don’t be deceived by the bright cover of this new adult gay story. This is an intense, heart-wrenching tale that deals with horrific subjects that are all too prevalent in today’s headlines. It took me some time to decide what I felt about the story because I read it while in the midst of mourning a personal loss, and found myself relating all too well to the black clouds surrounding these characters, so those who have triggers should definitely use caution.

Kudos to the authors for creating such realism and providing details of the impacts that violence and intolerance wreak upon our psyches. I was horrified to read of the techniques used in conversion “therapy” even as I mourned for the lost innocence of both of these young men. The reminder that grief can manifest in different ways and the difficulty of finding a way to be supportive without smothering is vividly portrayed, as is the insidious challenge of coping with abusive behavior and finding a way to heal from the emotional damage perpetrated. This is not a light, airy story, but it definitely is a memorable and thought-provoking one that deals with the aftermath of experiencing several levels of violence and bigotry.

There are some leavening elements that remind us that these are young men on the cusp of adulthood who may not make the best of decisions (including an attempt to sample umpteen varieties of pie, lol) but keep a tissue handy because there are definitely poignant and touching scenes that will tug at your heartstrings. I am disinclined to visit some of the spookier places that evidently lived up to their reputations but am reminded that there are some experiences that OTHER people seek that add to the mystique and mystery of ghosts and hauntings. The “happy for now” ending makes me hopeful that there will be a sequel to this story, but I will definitely be more prepared for additional angst and emotional upheavals if there are more tales featuring these guys.

 

Detour by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore details an unusual road trip taken by two young men who meet at the beginning of the trip and strive to cope with the pain that has shaped them to this point. Visits to quirky tourist spots across the U.S. form a counterpoint to the relationship that slowly develops between the two, but their pasts may prevent them from finding a future together.

A copy of this title was provided for review, which was submitted to Night Owl Reviews

Don't Plan to Stay by Kaje Harper (Spotlight, excerpt, and review)

Don’t Plan to Stay

by

Kaje Harper

Blurb:

At eighteen, Donnie Kagan's plans for graduation, and maybe even college, were derailed by a beer, a stoplight, and a fatal crash. Now he's twenty-four, out of prison, and bitterly determined to start over. But with the holidays approaching, he can't resist a quick trip home to Tallbridge, North Dakota, and the man he left behind. Just a fast look, to make sure Adam's doing all right, before Donnie starts his new life. He doesn't plan to stay.

Adam Lindberg's been waiting six years to get closure with Donnie. He missed that chance after the accident, fighting for his life in a hospital bed as Donnie pled guilty and disappeared into the justice system. Without so much as a letter back from Donnie in all this time, Adam's tried to move on. And yet, he never found another guy he cared about the same way. So when Donnie shows up in Tallbridge, Adam's ready to fight for more than three words of goodbye. Of course, Adam's brother and dad don't want Donnie to stick around, but it's the busy Christmas season at the family store. If Adam asks for Donnie's help, maybe he'll stay long enough to finally talk about the future, and the past.


Excerpt:

I let myself in down the hall to the john. Once the bathroom door was locked behind me, I sat on the lid of the toilet and put my head in my hands.

Beyond the hallway, the muted sound of voices and Christmas carols mingled in a garbled hum, distant enough to ignore. It was just me and silence in this cold little room, with the damaged tiles and rust-stained sink, behind a door that locked from the inside. For the last six months, this had been my idea of heaven. I let the quiet seep into me as the knots in my shoulders unkinked.

Down at my feet, I saw a web of cracks in the tile sealed with white caulk. It was a crap job, sloppy. I’d done that, eight years ago. Me and Adam, made to work off some prank I no longer remembered by fixing up the bathroom. Him and me and soap, paint, and caulk through five long days.

I traced the uneven lines of caulk with the duct-taped toe of my sneaker. I remembered Adam bending over to scrub gunk off the baseboards, and how the sight of him, the line of his back and ass, made it so hard to breathe. How I’d known, in that moment, what I wanted. And how sick I’d felt, not knowing if he might possibly want me too.

God, we were babies then. Him with his sunny view of the whole world. Me thinking I could be smart enough and tough enough to bend it to my will.

I kissed him that last day we worked in here.

I didn’t raise my head to look at the spot on the wall where he’d been leaning and laughing. Where I finally snapped and put a hand on his chest, stepped in close, and smooshed his lips with mine. I’d have freaked and run away but he shoved his hand into my hair and held me. Gentled the kiss. Said, “I was beginning to think you’d never do that.”

I was sixteen, he was fourteen and a half. We were so damned young, even with all I’d already been through. In the same grade, thanks to Mom’s screw-ups, and inseparable, with a future in front of us.

Now I was twenty-four, and this was a place to hide. Those memories needed to be locked away. Hidden, suppressed, until I could think straight again. I was so tired.

I imagined taking those summer days and stuffing them into a big box. I had a lot of boxes in my head. This one could stay closed with just a ribbon around it, something silk and soft. Some boxes in there were nailed shut, strapped with barbed wire and padlocks. This one I might get to open again someday.

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Author's links:

Website

Facebook

Goodreads Author page

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My review:

4 out of 5 stars

Don’t Plan to Stay by Kaje Harper portrays the homecoming of a man who has served his time for an injudicious decision but needs to figure out whether the ties he attempted to cut with those he left behind are really severed. The young love he left behind has matured into a man, who knows his mind and his heart…and is prepared to fight for what he wants, no matter what his family thinks.

This m/m contemporary romance is a lovely character study that explores the idea of redemption and dealing with the past, set during the Christmas season, making it perfect for reading at this time of the year. I am always fascinated by this author’s ability to portray men who have dealt with a crucible that has honed their character and distilled them to their indelible core, and this is yet another example of such. The gradual unfolding of the background that has shaped Donatello (Donnie) Kagan and altered the lives of the Lindberg family plays out against the events that accompany their moving forward, six years later. I’m a little puzzled by the antipathy displayed by one particular character…and dismayed that his inaction and/or actions resulted in such a harsh punishment, which is never quite resolved sufficiently for my tastes.

Nonetheless, I loved the different characters who are rebuilding and finding a new lease on life, including the four-legged addition to the family. The faith and persistence and tentative hope that unfurls provide such a wonderful warm feeling, and that final tattoo was just so perfect that reading the story was like a warm hug and a wonderful reminder that all of us need to let the painful past go and not allow it to define our tomorrows.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

Amazon link