2013 Rainbow Awards Submission: Abigail Roux - The Gravedigger's Brawl

The Gravedigger's Brawl by Abigail Roux
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (October 9, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937551539
ISBN-13: 978-1937551537
Amazon: The Gravedigger's Brawl
Amazon Kindle: The Gravedigger's Brawl

Dr. Wyatt Case is never happier than when he’s walking the halls of his history museum. Playing wingman for his best friend at Gravedigger’s Tavern throws him way out of his comfort zone, but not as much as the eccentric man behind the bar, Ash Lucroix.

Ash is everything Wyatt doesn’t understand: exuberant, quirky, and elbow deep in a Gaslight lifestyle that weaves history into everyday life. He coordinates his suspenders with his tongue rings. Within hours, Wyatt and Ash are hooked.

But strange things are afoot at Gravedigger’s, and after a knock to the head, Ash starts seeing things that can’t be explained by old appliances or faulty wiring. Soon everyone at Gravedigger’s is wondering if they’re seeing ghosts, or just going crazy. The answer to that question could end more than just Wyatt and Ash’s fragile relationship—it might also end their lives.

2013 Rainbow Awards Submission: Elin Gregory - On A Lee Shore

On a Lee Shore by Elin Gregory
Publisher: Etopia Press (December 12, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: On a Lee Shore

"Give me a reason to let you live..."

Beached after losing his ship and crew, and with England finally at peace, Lt Christopher Penrose will take whatever work he can get. A valet? Why not? Escorting an elderly diplomat to the Leeward Islands seems like an easy job, but when their ship is boarded by pirates, Kit's world is turned upside down. Forced aboard the pirate ship, Kit finds himself juggling his honor with his desire to stay alive among the crew, not to mention the alarming--yet enticing--captain, known as Le Griffe.

Kit has always obeyed the rules, but as the pirates plunder their way across the Caribbean, he finds much to admire in their freedom. He deplores their lawlessness but is drawn to their way of life, and begins to think he might just have found a purpose. Dare he dream of finding love too? Or would loving a pirate take him too far down the road to ruin?

This book was written as an affectionate tribute to the pirate movies of the 40s and 50s and the novels of Rafael Sabatini and Jeffrey Farnol. It is dedicated to the original Dread Pirate Roberts, who drank tea, made his crew go to church on Sunday and took 420 ships in 2 years.

St-St-Stuffed (Enemies to Lovers) by Anyta Sunday

Don’t know why but I had the wrong idea this was a paranormal romance, and on the contrary it’s far from it. St-St-Stuffed is a contemporary novel, about two young men, and they fall in love, so you can add “romance” to the description, but I wanted to highlight this is more wide story than the love story.

This is the story of Karl and his search for a path in life, and of Paul, who was thinking to have found that path and instead everything crushed around him. Karl and Paul together is another story as well. And then there is Karl and Charlie, Paul’s son, a father-son relationship Karl was never expecting to find and love so much.

If I have to be true, when I read the impromptu of the story, of how Karl was the bully that made Paul’s life an hell when they were only kids, I thought, “I have already read this story” because indeed was really similar to another novel and to add to it, also in that other novel there was a kid. But St-St-Stuffed is a completely different situation, and the old fight between Karl and Paul is only a mean to give a complex layer to the relationship building between them now as adults.

Then there is the totally absence of labels; Karl is gay, probably Paul is bisexual, but it’s not that this is categorizing them into label. In no way Paul is prejudiced about Karl, and actually I don’t seem to recall a moment in the story when Karl says to Paul “I’m gay”, being gay is being Karl, not need to “declare it”; on the other hand, it’s not like Paul comes to Karl saying “I’m straight” or “I’m bisexual”. Sure, when it’s Paul’s time to admit he is attracted by Karl, then there is an obstacle in the story they will need to overcome, but that is Paul’s past coming up and showing his fragility.

Again, as for another novel but Anyta Sunday I read, closing this novel, I have the feeling that, wrapped in a romantic story, I read something deeper and complex.

Amazon Kindle: St-St-Stuffed (Enemies to Lovers)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Series: Enemies to Lovers
1) Shane and Trey: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1905645.html
2) St-St-Stuffed

Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

2013 Rainbow Awards Submission: Kate McMurray - Show and Tell

Show and Tell by Kate McMurray
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (January 7, 2013)
Amazon Kindle: Show and Tell

One of the few joys in Dan's life is the TV show Junk Shop, a reality show about antiques hosted by the handsome and charismatic Malcolm Tell. Then an old music box turns up, and Dan's sister encourages him to try to get on the show and meet the object of his affection. He does, and his life changes completely.

When Dan and Malcolm first meet, they have a sudden vision of a couple from the past. Is it a glimpse at a past life or something else entirely? They agree to work together to figure out what is going on, and they stumble upon a forgotten Celtic myth that may explain everything. If the myth is true, then Dan and Malcolm could be a pair of lovers who have been reincarnated over and over again over two thousand years. That seems impossible, but it's hard to deny that something very strange is happening.

As Dan and Malcolm work to find the truth, they fall for each other hard. But searching for who they really are puts them both in grave danger, and they find themselves racing against time to keep their happily ever after.