2017 Rainbow Awards Submission: Lillian Francis Renaissance (Village Love 2)

Lillian Francis Renaissance (Village Love 2) 
Gay - Contemporary Romance
File Size: 616 KB
Print Length: 298 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Finally Love Press (April 1, 2017)
Publication Date: April 1, 2017
Amazon: Lillian Francis Renaissance (Village Love 2)

Smudge really needs to get laid, if only to stop himself wondering about the softness of Raleigh’s curls and why he keeps running away.

After his tumultuous teenage years, Smudge has settled into his quiet life in the sleepy English village of Slopy Bottom. He’s his own boss with the time and space to indulge his artistic creativity. And he has friends. He’s happy. Satisfied. Lonely. And the pool of potential soulmates is almost non-existent. His friends, Rick and Mal, flush with their own happy romance, keep trying to set him up with the most incompatible men, and he's never finding true love on Grindr. Hell, he's not even going to manage a hook up based on the kinky messages he’s been getting recently. He'll just have to slake his desire to find his own HEA in the pages of bosom-heaving romance novels.

Raleigh is the darling of Slopy Bottom’s blue rinse brigade: church organist, mobile librarian, and apparently wedded to his trademark cardigans. He seems to be the polar opposite of the artistic Smudge, whose brightly coloured mohawk and piercings should be a red flag to Raleigh. Yet he’s yearning for company too. It’s just that Raleigh has less expectation and definitely less courage to chase after it, for reasons that he keeps very close to his chest. Reasons that don’t stop him from being drawn irresistibly to Smudge.

Smudge is sure that the way Raleigh runs from him whenever he sees him is cruelly deliberate. A reflection on his bad boy looks and his disdain for Raleigh’s precious church. So why can’t he stop thinking about the softness of Raleigh’s curls and his delicate body? Then Raleigh offers an olive branch of sugar and caffeine, Smudge’s favourite combination, starting them on a road to an awkward truce. And when they are conned into working together on a community project at the local hospital, the proximity ignites a spark that can’t be ignored. But navigating the murky waters that could take their relationship beyond tentative friendship all depends on whether Raleigh can release his secret fears – and whether Smudge is the man to share and allay them.

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Carsen Taite Without Justice

1) I loved the setup: an intense, big-city lawyer has to go into Witness Protection as a small-town librarian, where she falls in love with the District Attorney. The plot is well structured, well paced, and calculated for maximum tension. The characters are unique, and I loved them. A truly enjoyable and entertaining story.
2) Great read. Loved both Cade and Emily. Very well written characters. This author's word just flow off he pages making for an easy don't want to put it down story.

Carsen Taite Without Justice
Lesbian - Romantic Suspence
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (December 13, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1626395608
ISBN-13: 978-1626395602
Amazon: Carsen Taite Without Justice

Cade Kelly’s life revolved around her legal career until the day she testified against the largest crime family in Chicago. Now in witness protection, she’s working hard to adjust to a life devoid of the things she used to be passionate about. When she meets the smart and beautiful Emily Sinclair, Cade feels hopeful about her new life, but she learns no matter who she pretends to be, she can’t deny the pull of her past.

Emily Sinclair is settling into her role as district attorney and she’s ready to find a love interest to share in her success. Cade Kelly captivates her from the moment they meet, but she discovers that despite their undeniable attraction, Cade will challenge her at every turn. What will happen when Emily learns Cade isn’t who she thought she was, and worse, when they wind up on opposite sides in Emily’s first big case?

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Bones of Our Fathers Elin Gregory

1) The Bones of Our Fathers was delightful. The writing style is fluid and fascinating, almost like the voice of a completely separate character. Once I got used to it, which didn't take long, it was quite engaging and playful; the sentences roll into each other and the pacing is very smooth. The only downside was a number of punctuation mistakes and extraneous words, but it didn't detract from the overall story or infringe upon the plotting. Setting was evocative right from the beginning: I never once had to question where I was or work to imagine what it might look like: the author gives just enough detail to let my mind play, and builds a homey, cozy little community with its ups and downs, and above all, its sense of family. Most of the side characters (and there were a lot of them!) were given plenty of personality and individuality, and those that weren't fit in just the same; they were as developed as it was necessary to be. I found myself glad to be able to meet these people and watch how they lived their lives; I enjoyed getting to know them. The author acknowledges the deus ex machina right up front, and in such a way that even though I noticed it for what it was, in the end, it didn't matter because the resolution was so satisfying, slipping surprisingly neatly into place in the gentle pacing of the tale. An excellent read; I very much enjoyed it!

The Bones of Our Fathers Elin Gregory
Gay - Contemporary Romance
File Size: 2050 KB
Print Length: 215 pages
Publisher: Manifold Press (August 1, 2017)
Publication Date: August 1, 2017
Amazon: The Bones of Our Fathers Elin Gregory

Malcolm Bright, brand new museum curator in a small Welsh Border town, is a little lonely until – acting as emergency archaeological consultant on a new housing development – he crosses the path of Rob Escley, aka Dirty Rob, who makes Mal’s earth move in more ways than one.

Then Rob discovers something wonderful, and together they must combat greedy developers and a treasure hunter determined to get his hands on the find. Are desperate measures justified to save the bones of our fathers? Will Dirty Rob live up to his reputation? Do museum curators really do it meticulously?

Answers must be found for the sake of Mal’s future, his happiness and his heart.

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Carsen Taite Sidebar

1) I must admit this book had me guessing until the end who was behind he notes. It was a pretty good read.
2) Best Carsen Taite story I have read in a long time.   Hard to put down. Both MC's well written.  Both with flaws but very good for each other. Definitely knows her subject matter and writes it effortlessly.

Carsen Taite Sidebar
Lesbian - Contemporary Romance
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (August 15, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 162639752X
ISBN-13: 978-1626397521
Amazon: Carsen Taite Sidebar

Judge Camille Avery, newly appointed to the federal court, is finally back on her dream career path. She’s determined not to let any mistakes, past or future, get in her way, but a complex murder case and undeniable attraction to her rebellious law clerk threaten Camille’s carefully planned future at every turn.

Attorney West Fallon is a social justice crusader, reluctant to put her career plans on hold to clerk for a federal judge, even if the judge is the man who saved her life. When he’s suddenly forced to retire, West is stuck clerking for Judge Camille Avery, an infuriatingly stubborn—okay, brilliant, intense, and sexy—law-and-order jurist who seems just as unhappy to be saddled with her.

As Camille and West explore their growing desire and challenge the boundaries of their work and personal relationships, a big case threatens to destroy both their careers. Can their love survive?

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Lila Bruce Little Lies

1) This was a great read. I loved this book and will definitely check out more from this author especially if they are along the same lines as this story… it sucked me right in.
2) Well written action packed story. Lots of twists and turns.  Loved how the relationship between Lia and Dylan was developed.

Lila Bruce Little Lies
Lesbian - Romantic Suspence
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 15, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1539543595
ISBN-13: 978-1539543596
Amazon: Lila Bruce Little Lies

Getting shot was the last thing Lia Broderick expected to happen when she stopped by the bank on her way to work – that and having the gorgeous woman from the coffee shop down the street be the one to rescue her… FBI Special Agent Dylan McKenzie is a woman with a mission – locate Steven Horton, the witness who could single-handedly bring down the Giametta Crime Family. With Horton hiding from both the mob and the FBI, Dylan and her team are assigned the task of keeping tabs on Horton’s ex-wife after mounting evidence leads them to believe he will run to her. Keeping Lia Broderick under surveillance should have been just another day on the job for Dylan. But, when Lia becomes the victim in a bank robbery gone terribly wrong, Dylan has no choice but to break cover in order to step in and save her. Despite her best efforts to maintain a professional distance from the attractive accountant, Dylan finds herself being reeled deeper and deeper into Lia’s life. As the investigation heats up—both under the covers and out—it becomes clear that Lia is the key to finding the evidence that the mob is willing to kill to get their hands on. When Dylan is betrayed by a rogue agent, she suddenly finds herself on the run with Lia, uncertain who she can trust. And as the mob closes in, Dylan realizes that the greatest risk is the one she’s taking with her heart.