GayRomLit Retreat: Cheryl Dragon

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Starting from March up until September I will feature authors attending the GayRomLit Retreat in Chicago (October 16-19, 2014: http://gayromlit.com/grl-authors).

Today author is Cheryl Dragon: A lover of unusual things, Cheryl Dragon enjoys writing unique stories with sinfully hot erotic romance including ménage plus relationship (MMMF etc) , M/M and F/F. Her two favorite settings are Las Vegas and New Orleans...where anything can happen! Cheryl lives in the Chicagoland area with her deaf albino cat. For more info: www.cheryldragon.com
Website: http://www.cheryldragon.com

Cheryl Dragon is offering a copy of Eostre's Baskets to one commenter on this blog. You can comment on LJ or DW if you have an account (I will send a PM to the winner), if you don't have an account, please leave a comment on DW with a contact email.

Undercover Cruising (Eostre's Baskets) by Cheryl Dragon
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (March 10, 2014)
Amazon Kindle: Undercover Cruising (Eostre's Baskets)

FBI Special Agent Carlos Perez is undercover on a cruise ship, working to find and stop criminals targeting gay passengers. He'll only get one chance to crack this case, so he has to stay on task. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem for the experienced agent, but normally, he wouldn't be falling in love on the job.

When Stuart "Red" Redmond takes a last-minute vacation over Easter, he's thrilled to find his sexy coffeehouse regular on the same cruise. For months he's been hoping that Carlos would ask him out, but both of them have been too busy working. What better time to have a first date than on a cruise?

What should've been smooth sailing on both work and relationship fronts turns to rough waters. Red knows Carlos well enough to poke holes in his cover, and while Carlos trusts Red to keep it under wraps, that knowledge puts him in danger. Then a mysterious Sundae's Easter basket appears in Carlos's suite. Are the criminals onto him or is something much stranger in play?

Comments

[inevitableentresol]

I'm in. Thanks.

[(Anonymous)]

I remember thinking the Eostre's Baskets was a cute conceit when I read of it earlier this year. Winning this would be fun!

Susan
skadlec1@yahoo.com

Undercover Cruising (Eostre's Baskets) by Cheryl Dragon

[sula_pb]

Hm, interesting this is part of series of stand alone stories, by different authors, that are all linked by the gift or one Essie's Sundae Easter baskets and the characters end up getting what they need in their relationships...but is there a more sinister plot in this tale I would love to find out?

I am intrigued how the basket weaves its magic in this story, or is there something more sinister in play, and I thank the author and Elisa for a chance to win a copy to find out.

[(Anonymous)]

I've been wanting to read this!

Trix, vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

[(Anonymous)]

Not familiar with the basket aspect but sounds interesting.
Please count me in too.
strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com

[inevitableentresol]

Thanks for the book, Elisa! It was a great fun read. The first chapter in particular was really skilfully set up, with Carlos, the undercover FBI agent and Red, the unsuspecting coffee house owner meeting each other unexpectedly on the cruise ship after months of flirting. I could see exactly where the story was going and that was part of the enjoyment.

The rest of the book wasn't so tightly written, although I did appreciate little touches like the differences between the main characters' Cuban and Irish heritage. The sex scenes weren't that sexy, with unfortunate porny terminology including "hot cream" that broke me out of the mood. Also the word "cum" should be kept to meaning "with" in Latin, unless it's a downmarket live action porn heading.

The crime plot was by far the best aspect of the book and really thrilling in places. I could have done with a lot more of that, rather than the last third of the book being set after the cruise/police work was over. The two supporting FBI/Interpol characters were also really promising but didn't really go anywhere and then vanished.

I went to read other reviews of the story, between winning the book and receiving it (only a few hours later, thank you Cheryl Dragon!) and one of them used the word 'rape', which worried me (This review.). But the rape crime angle, though an integral part of the plot, is never explicitly shown, which I was relieved at. (In case any other potential readers are also worried by this).

Thank you again!

[tizzzzez.livejournal.com]

This is a new author to me so please include me in the draw. Thanks

[hawk-soaring.livejournal.com]

Romance on the high seas! Would love to read this.

[whitestar.livejournal.com]

Count me in please :)

[lisa-thecat.livejournal.com]

OMG - this cover is so hot! Please consider me for this book!