Ellie Reads All the Books: Amy Jo Cousins

Review: Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins

04:00

Title: Glass Tidings
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Date of publication: 5 Dec 2016
Genre/Themes: Romance, queer, holidays

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Add to Goodreads

My rating: 5 Stars

Blurb

Eddie Rodrigues doesn’t stay in one place long enough to get attached. The only time he broke that rule, things went south fast. Now he’s on the road again, with barely enough cash in his pocket to hop a bus south after his (sort-of-stolen) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Midwest, USA.

He’s fine. He’ll manage. Until he watches that girl get hit by a car and left to die.

Local shop owner Grayson Croft isn’t in the habit of doing people any favors. But even a recluse can’t avoid everyone in a town as small as Clear Lake. And when the cop who played Juliet to your Romeo in the high school play asks you to put up her key witness for the night, you say yes.

Now Gray’s got a grouchy glass artist stomping around his big, empty house, and it turns out that he . . . maybe . . . kind of . . . likes the company.

But Eddie Rodrigues never sticks around.

Unless a Christmas shop owner who hates the season can show an orphan what it means to have family for the holidays.

Review

I'm a big fan of Amy Jo Cousins and I have read and enjoyed most of her books. Glass Tidings is no exception, I can honestly say it's one of the best books I read this year.

Glass Tidings is a moving romantic tale where the reclusive, a bit jaded and a lot lonely owner Christmas ornaments shop Gray falls for the always-on-the-road glass artist working at Renaissance fairs Eddie. They meet under very unlikely circumstances and are put in a situation of forced proximity where they become roommates, friends, confidants, partners, lovers.

What I love about Amy Jo's writing is how real, almost tangible she makes her characters. Gary and Eddie could be any of us - ordinary people with real problems who become something special and truly precious for the other. They are full-fledged, complex characters, each with his history and set of issues. And the romance that blooms between them is my own favourite kind of romance - slow burn, based on friendship and true partnership. I loved the way the author presents the domesticity of their relationship, the process of sharing our life with someone - the little things that bring two people together and the big issues that can tear them apart.

The sexual tension is right there from the start but it's not central in the story, rather the focus is on the inner struggle both Eddie and Gary experience with their growing attraction. For different reasons both of them find it difficult to give themselves permission to let go and follow their heart's desire, to risk a comfortable routine (which admittedly was not working for either of them any more) for the chance at happiness and more fulfilling, richer life.

This is a Christmas story, but the holiday spirit is not overdone and I really appreciate that. Yes, they are selling Christmas ornaments but what the author focuses on is buy no means the commercial aspect of the holidays but their relation to following/creating tradition, setting roots, building a home, creating a family and on a larger scale a circle/community of friends.

I loved following Eddie and Gary falling in love with each other, sharing a common living space and gradually making it their own. Their romance was all about establishing something in the always transient life of Eddie and simultaneously, bringing new possibilities and change in the too quiet and lonely life of Gray.

There is some crime/mystery plot that I liked and it helped move the story along rather nicely. I found Adrian intriguing and I'm curious what happened with him before and after. I felt like this plotline was left unfinished and wish we got more closure on him (perhaps an YA story about him?).

Overall, Amy Jo Cousins has written yet another deeply engaging and real story, heart-warming and just perfect Holiday romance with two strong, complex characters for find love and get their HFN.

Pre-order link: Riptide

Amy Jo Cousins

Interview with Amy Jo Cousins on her Bend or Break series and a few other things

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Amy Jo Cousins is my second guest in the author interview feature which I recently started (Alexis Hall was the first one a few weeks ago). Read on if you want to see what she has to share about her writing and to learn more about her fabulous NA LGBT series Bend or Break.

Interview with Amy Jo Cousins on the Bend or Break series and a few more things

ER: Hi, Amy Jo and welcome! I’m so happy to have you here today.

I want to start this interview with some general questions on your writing. You have been a romance writer for some time now, can you tell us how that happened, when did you realize this was what you wanted to do in life and how did you go about actually doing it?

AJC: I always wanted to be a writer, but until my late twenties, that was mostly a fantasy, a theoretical dream. I would start a lot of projects, but I never finished any of them. I think I didn’t believe it could really happen (which was a lot more realistic twenty years ago, before epublishing), so I only dabbled at it. But when I was approaching my 30^th birthday, I decided I needed to (pardon the crassness) shit or get off the pot. It’s amazing how motivating the feeling that you are getting old and accomplishing nothing can be. At the time, I actually wanted to write a literary historical novel about a composer in fin de siècle Vienna. I figured I’d work on that, but I wanted to practice writing query letters and I knew romance publishing had the fastest turnaround as far as response times. So I made up a romance novel synopsis and wrote a query letter that I mailed to Harlequin. Snail mail! Man, this was a long time ago. I figured it would get rejected (everything did, especially back then) but maybe I would be lucky enough to get a personal response and I’d learn how to write a better query, so I’d be prepared when the time came to pitch my composer books. This is what I told myself. In hindsight, I think I really wanted to write romance novels, but was afraid they weren’t serious enough for an English major. (I was young and foolish. Forgive me.) In any case, Harlequin requested the ms. and then bought the book, which I had to sit down and write in a hurry! And the rest, barring a ten year gap in my writing career due to single parenting taking over my life, is history.

ER: Continuing in these lines – what is the best and the worst thing about being a writer?

AJC: One of the best things is that I have an excuse to research anything I want, which is nirvana for the geek like me. Plus, I never have bad dates, because I am professionally interested in pretty much anyone. ;) The worse is that I spend all day sitting, way more than I ever did in my office jobs, even. I used to use any excuse to get up and walk around the office, going to talk to people instead of emailing or calling them. Now I sit, all day, and although I try to remember to get up and move around, I’m frequently unsuccessful at that. Being a writer is a terrible health risk. But I’m getting back into running again, which I cut waaaaay back on when I hurt my back (thank you, writing!), so I’m excited about that.

ER: Can you share some more details about your writing process – do you have a daily goals of words to write, do you use NaNoWriMo (like many other authors), or do you have a different strategy?

AJC: My writing process is in constant flux. Very rarely does one thing work for long, I think because I get bored with routine. So I’m constantly changing it up. I did #1k1hr sprints for a long time, then did pomodoros for a while, which are shorter sprints with breaks in between. Lately, I’ve been assigning myself the task of writing 500 words per hour, and as soon as I finish the 500 words, I’m allowed to do whatever I want for the rest of the hour. This kind of bribery has been very effective. Also, graphs. The visual representation of progress is an effective motivator for me, which is probably one of the things I love about NaNoWriMo. Most years I will start NaNo, but I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself. Sometimes I finish, sometimes other things get in the way and I don’t. I almost never have only one project going at a time, so that’s not the best event for me these days, but I enjoy the community and the temporary sense of urgency and it has led to some interesting projects.

ER: What is the easiest and the most difficult thing for you when it comes to writing?

AJC: Easiest for me is dialogue. I frequently “hear” scenes first as a conversation in my head, and then I figure out where that conversation is happening and what everyone is doing while they’re talking. Conflict, on the other hand, is my nemesis. I have a habit of writing my characters as being so reasonable that it’s hard for them to be in conflict with each other. I think maybe I want to get to the HEA so much, I forget sometimes that they need to have some real problems first!

ER: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

AJC: I am a plantser. Or is it a potter? A mix of both. Some books I work out in pretty significant detail before writing, and they are inevitably the smoother for it. Other times, I think I know exactly what’s going to happen in the book and just start writing. I always regret this.

ER: And final question on your writing process before we move on to talk in more details about your books. What is your favourite subgenre to write in?

AJC: Well, contemporary sure does make my research easier. I mean, there’s always research, but I’m working on plotting a historical series in 1930s London and I’m already flinching at the amount of research I’ll need to do.

You know what I’d love to write though? Epic fantasy. I doubt I ever will, because I’m not that into the kind of worldbuilding you need to do if you want to do it right, but some of my favorite authors write epic fantasy and I wish I could too.

When I wrote Off Campus, I had no idea this would become a series at all. As soon as it was done, though, I knew I wanted it to be. Usually I can’t tell if a story I’ve written is good or not, but with Off Campus I knew I’d written something special. It’s one of my only books that I actually reread for pleasure. So I started thinking about what came next for everyone. I actually had a story planned for Steph about her and Amira, her college girlfriend, until I realized it would be too depressing to break them up (because I always knew she and Cash would end up together in the long run). My original series proposal included Nothing Like Paris, The Girl Next Door, and Real World. But Level Hands and the new books were surprises, lovely ones!

ER: The next release in the series are the two novellas, Love Me Like a Rock and Hard Candy. Meeting Austin and Vinnie in Level Hands, I was convinced that they will end up together despite their differences, so why did you chose different partners for them?

AJC: While I was writing Real World, I realized that Vinnie was going to assume Austin would wait around for him forever and that if Austin ever met a guy who paid some serious attention to him (and one who was down for a whole lotta banging), Vinnie might miss his chance. As soon as I thought about that, and about who the right guy for Austin would be, Sean popped into my head and it was all over. Vinnie was one bummed out dude and I was happy, because not every teenage friends with benefits situation works out in the long run, you know? I mean, most of them don’t. So it felt right for Vinnie to screw up, Austin to move on, and for both of them to meet awesome guys who were perfect for them.

ER: This is a bit of unfair question but who is your favourite character in the series? I love them all but against all expectations I can relate the most to Rafi.

AJC: Well, Cash is my favorite to write, because he’s pure goodheartedness, and that make me happy. But Tom is my favorite overall. I’ve got a lot invested in a person like that getting their HEA. J

ER: Which book was the easiest to write and which the most difficult?

AJC: Real World was the easiest by far. Tom and Reese were so familiar to me, I knew so much about them, that it was simple to slip back into their heads again. And I knew I wanted to wrap their story up (for now, she says mysteriously) with a big, swoony holiday proposal, so the story as a whole came together pretty quickly for me.

Level Hands, now… Oh, that book nearly killed me. I have never cut so much from a ms., and that’s always painful! The conflict in Level Hands is almost exclusively internal as opposed to external. It’s all about Rafi struggling to find his place and figure out a way to navigate in an entirely new environment. Making that book come together was a struggle and I’m so grateful for my editor Christa’s help with that one.

ER: And now question I know all the fans of the series what to ask – will there be any more Bend or Break books coming soon?

AJC: Not soon, but there will be more! Right now, I’m basically waiting on resolution with Samhain. There seems to be some question as to whether or not they are closing after all. If at some point I do get the rights back to the series, I will definitely be writing more Bend or Break books. Varun, Cash’s friend from The Girl Next Door, has a book, as does Andie from Nothing Like Paris. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that I get to write them!

ER: Speaking of upcoming releases, what will happen with this series now that Samhain is closing down?

AJC: If they do close, we’ve been told that we will all receive our rights back in a gradual unwinding process. When that happens, I will get the entire series back into circulation as soon as possible. I anticipate a very rapid turnaround!

ER: You also write het romances, what are your plans in this direction?

AJC: Right now, I am mostly looking at including some het romance within the predominantly LGBTQ series I’m planning. I like writing about groups of friends or co-workers or neighbors, and those groups will continue to have people who form m/f relationships too. I don’t have any plans to write a strictly, or even mostly, het series in the near future, but you never know. I have more story ideas than I can handle, and I’ll write the relationships that allow me to tell those stories best.

ER: And my final question is what advice would you give to aspiring authors?

AJC: Write, write, and write some more. With every new story or novel I write, I learn new things about writing. I also learn how to push myself further, to try

ER: Thank you very much, Amy Jo for doing this interview!

AJC: Thank you so much for having me!

Author Bio and Links

Amy Jo Cousins writes contemporary romance and erotica about smart people finding their own best kind of smexy. She lives in Chicago with her son, where she tweets too much, sometimes runs really far, and waits for the Cubs to win the World Series.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Amy Jo Cousins' latest release is the duology Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which includes the two novellas - Love Me Like a Rock (Austin' story) and Hard Candy (Vinnie's story).

Synopsis

When friends lose the benefits, can the friendship be saved?

Love Me Like A Rock

With the right art tools, there’s almost nothing Austin can’t make real. Except an official relationship with his best friend, rowing teammate and occasional hookup, Vinnie.

Emotional and sexual frustration fuel a spark between Austin and Sean, the nude model in drawing class. After a quick and very dirty encounter, all the reasons Austin has been waiting for Vinnie go fuzzy in his mind.

But if Austin can’t get his head and his heart on the same page, he could lose both his friend, and his lover.

Hard Candy

Vincent always assumed he and Austin would eventually end up together. But now that Austin’s in love with another man, Vinnie is at a loss.

After the world’s most awkward one-night stand with Bryan, a dance major, Vinnie is drawn to his vibrant spirit and calm center.

Physically, the rowing jock and the glittery dancer can match each other stroke for booty pop. But for the lovers to meet on common ground, they’ll have to find a way to get moving in the same direction.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks

Amy Jo Cousins

Review: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

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Title: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Bend or Break #6 and #7)

Author: Amy Jo Cousins

Date of publication: 22 March 2016

Genre/Themes: Romance, queer

Author's links:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Add to Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis

When friends lose the benefits, can the friendship be saved?

Love Me Like A Rock

With the right art tools, there’s almost nothing Austin can’t make real. Except an official relationship with his best friend, rowing teammate and occasional hookup, Vinnie.

But if Austin can’t get his head and his heart on the same page, he could lose both his friend, and his lover.

Hard Candy

Vincent always assumed he and Austin would eventually end up together. But now that Austin’s in love with another man, Vinnie is at a loss.

After the world’s most awkward one-night stand with Bryan, a dance major, Vinnie is drawn to his vibrant spirit and calm center.

Review

This is a joint review of the two novellas, Love Me Like a Rock and Hard Candy, included in this volume. These are the stories of Austin and Vinnie who are roommates and teammates to Denny and Raffi from Level Hands. We saw just glimpses of both of them in this book but I got the idea that they will end up as a couple eventually.

Now, since I stalk Amy Jo Cousins on all social media, a while back I came upon her sharing an excerpt of her WIP which clearly showed that Vinnie and Austin will get their stories told but they will end up with different partners. To say I was surprised would be an understatement but I was also excited to see who she would pair them with.

So, here we are now, starting with Austin, who met the geologist Sean posing as a nude model for the art students in college.

In two words, I absolutely loved their romance. In more detail, I found it very emotional and intense. Being in Austin’s head was such a pleasure, seeing his journey from getting over Vinnie (passing through the stage admitting that things with Vinnie are not working for him, which is hard when this is the only thing you know about love/relationships. As usually, Amy Jo Cousins is a master of presenting the angst and emotional turmoil of young people, finding out who they are and what they want from life/love. It takes a hard and painful look at oneself and one’s relationship experience to admit that you are not happy with what you have and want more.

And it was Sean, opposite to Vinnie and in many respects to Austin (I’ll just say 'camping' camping here) who helped him realise things about himself. I liked how their relationship developed smoothly and naturally. There was not forced change, no need to be different, just the gradual realisation that what they had between them made them both happy. It may not have been what either of them expected initially, or in Austin’s case, not something he was actively searching for, but it was just what they needed.

On to Vinnie’s story now. I admit initially I was more interested in Vinnie than Austin, he appeared an enigma, not too much into sex, super focused and organised, a bit of a bore, yet a loyal friend and teammate.

I enjoyed discovering more about him but ultimately ended loving Austin’s romance more. I shouldn’t be comparing them because they are so radically different though in the end they achieved the same goal, made Austin and Vinnie happy and satisfied with their lives, something that never happened when they were together.

Vinnie appeared cold and kind of disinterested, only initiating intimacy with Austin after he had finished his more important tasks and he had had a few drinks (for courage). But he was different with Bryan, we saw his vulnerability, his insecurity and I found this really touching.

Bryan was an unlikely match for Vinnie – out and proud, flamboyant, someone who could never pass for straight and who didn’t even want to. He had his own demons and fears to deal with but he was so good for Vinnie.

Despite the initial impressions they turned out to be more compatible than anyone would have thought – sexually, emotionally. They also challenged each other and this was good for them, a way to find their place, very much like Austin, Vinnie learned what he actually liked and wanted in life/love and got the courage to state it openly and go for it.

At times I felt Bryan pushed him too much, too far, making Vinnie act of character and out of his comfort zone. It could be seen as necessary for him to better understand himself and become more confident/comfortable with himself but it found it too much. This is just a minor quibble in a rich story which I very much enjoyed it.

Fans of the Bend or Break series woudn't want to miss these two excellent addtions to the series! And if you haven't read any of Amy Jo Cousins' books before, what are you waiting for?

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks

My reviews of the previous books in the Bend or Break series:

Off Campus (Bend or Break #1) - 4 stars

Nothing Like Paris (Bend or Break #2) - 4.5 stars

The Girl Next Door (Bend or Break #3) - 4 stars

Level Hands (Bend or Break #4) - 5 stars

Real World (Bend or Break #5) - 4.5 stars

Amy Jo Cousins

Review: Real World by Amy Jo Cousins

02:56

Title: Real World (Bend or Break #5)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Genre/Themes: M/M romance, Holidays
Release Date: 17 Nov 2015

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Add on Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis

When talking fails, it’s time to break out the big guns.

Five years ago, Tom Worthington busted his ass to overcome the fear and paranoia that led him to withdraw from the world and nearly lose his boyfriend. He never thought he’d find himself right back there, shutting Reese out, keeping secrets again.

Reese Anders is ready to try anything to get Tom to talk: if he can’t seduce his boyfriend with food, he’ll get Tom to open up in bed. But even Tom’s confession that his dad is getting out of prison soon doesn’t clear the air between them. And as the holidays approach, intensive mentoring from a new British boss creates more distractions, until Reese is keeping secrets of his own.

At a company Christmas party, it only takes Tom one look at Reese’s new boss to figure out how much danger their relationship is in. But he’s not about to let the connection that started all those years ago at Carlisle come to an end. It’s time to deal with their problems like adults. Face to face. Or back to front. Starting in the bedroom.

Review

This is book 5 in Ms Cousins' Bend or Break series and it's a sequel to the first book, Off Campus, bring us back to Tom and Reese, now an established couple, a few years after graduation.

I find Ms Cousins has the uncanny ability to steal some of my thoughts and give them to her characters. It was Rafi in Level Hands who could be my twin in so many ways and here I felt deeply connected with Tom, so much that it felt surreal at times.

This is not just a sweet follow up story. Both Tom and Reese had a lot of issues to deal before they came together and we see them still struggling with the hurt/burden of their pasts. Things get especially difficult for Tom and because he is the quieter, more introverted of the two, he reacts rather badly the situation, at least initially. He finds himself under so much pressure, most of which he places on himself and refusing to talk about it with his partner. He comes really close to losing everything and this possibility becomes his wake-up call.

I loved everything about this story, it felt real and natural and there were some sweet romantic moments that brought happy tears to my eyes.

I could relate to Tom's anxiety and nerves about everything happening in his life. His reaction to shut everybody out, to solve every problem on his own so as not to be a burden to the people who love him, his fear he might be a burden to Reese/or any of his friends came so very close to some of my own fears.

I got deeply immersed in his struggles, felt bad for him, rooted for his HEA!

Reese was great as well, more mature than in Off Campus, yet still vibrant, full of life and emotions. His enthusiasm was truly infectious. We see him doing everything he can think of to help support Tom and to save their relationship. Seeing how they made mistakes, yet never gave up on each other was inspiring. they were aware of the difficulties in their relationship and tried to work things out. I loved that they manage to speak openly, despite it being so difficult for Tom to open up.

As much as I liked Reese and Tom, I also loved seeing Cash and Steph again, even a glimpse of Denny and Rafi and their happy, healthy relationships all made my heart full.

And we gets bits of Cash (and Steph) and they were such fun!

This story has the perfect perfect romance HEA and to avoid spoilers I will just say that it was so sweet and romantic, yet never sappy, just real for these two guys.

Fans of the series should not miss this book! It's a sweet and sexy holiday romance, engaging and real, in this magical of Ms Cousins creating a story and characters that stay with you long after you finish reading the book.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Samhain

You can find my reviews of the previous books in the Bend or Break series in my Review Policy and Archive tap above.

Amy Jo Cousins

Waiting on Wednesday: Real World by Amy Jo Cousins

21:30

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Real World (Bend or Break #5)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Genre/Themes: M/M romance
Release Date: 17 Nov 2015
Add on Goodreads

Pre-order links: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Samhain

Synopsis

When talking fails, it’s time to break out the big guns.

Give years ago, Tom Worthington busted his ass to overcome the fear and paranoia that led him to withdraw from the world and nearly lose his boyfriend. He never thought he’d find himself right back there, shutting Reese out, keeping secrets again.

Reese Anders is ready to try anything to get Tom to talk: if he can’t seduce his boyfriend with food, he’ll get Tom to open up in bed. But even Tom’s confession that his dad is getting out of prison soon doesn’t clear the air between them. And as the holidays approach, intensive mentoring from a new British boss creates more distractions, until Reese is keeping secrets of his own.

At a company Christmas party, it only takes Tom one look at Reese’s new boss to figure out how much danger their relationship is in. But he’s not about to let the connection that started all those years ago at Carlisle come to an end. It’s time to deal with their problems like adults. Face to face. Or back to front. Starting in the bedroom.

*** *** ***

Why am I waiting for this? - It's pretty simple, the Off Campus series is my favourite queer (diverse) NA romance series and this book goes back the first couple, Tom and Reese whom I love so very much. We get to see them as grown ups in an established relationship dealing with ossies any long-term couple faces, yet which are rarelly explored in romantic fiction.

Amy Jo Cousins

Review: Level Hands by Amy Jo Cousins

06:20

Title: Level Hands (Bend or Break #4)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Date of publication: 25 August 2015
Genre/Themes: Romance, queer
Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Add to Goodreads

My rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis

When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as smooth sailing.

Rafael Castro is so far out of his element he can’t even see it anymore. Carlisle College in Massachusetts is a long way from his Chicago home, even farther from his Dominican Republic roots.

The only thing keeping him attached to his last nerve is the prospect of seeing Denny Winslow again. The first time they met, Denny taught Rafi to fly across the water, rowing hard in a knife-like boat. Now, two years later, on the wings of a rowing scholarship, Rafi is attending Denny’s elite college.

Even before the excitement wears off, Rafi is struggling with classes and fending off rumors that Denny’s family, not Rafi’s talent, won him his spot. To quash the gossip, Rafi tries to steer clear of the man he wants. A plan that evaporates in the fire of renewed attraction.

But Carlisle’s academic pressure cooker has Rafi barely treading water. And when a family crisis hits, both Rafi and Denny must pull hard to keep their relationship from capsizing in rough waters.

Review

This is book 4 in the Off Campus series and while I loved them all, I think this is my favourite story. I rarely do more personal reviews but this book touched on so many personal levels that I can't help it.

It's a tender and sexy interracial mm college sports romance and Amy Jo Cousins covers brilliantly, I'd say, so many aspects of college life and the struggles to fit in, to belong in a place and with a person (you love).

It's Rafi's book through and through, not just because the story is told from his POV. Don't get me wrong, I loved Denny quite a lot and he has a strong presence in the story but Rafi got me teary eyed a time or two in this book.

It is uncanny hom much I could relate to some of his college experience given how differen him and I are. I'm a 36 yo white het woman from a small country in Europe. I went to the best University in my country and who lived with her parents at the time and didn't suffer from racial or sexual abuse but none of my parents have university degrees and pressure to fit was real. My first year was so intense and scary and wonderful without having to navigate a love relationship at the time.

In short, for long stretches of of the story I felt like Rafi's thoughts were mine. His struggle to make sense of this new, unfamiliar place, to be good enough/to deserve his place there (since he got there on a scholarship). His experience was powerfully presented and his anxiety felt real and true to life, especially to me as someone who is pretty anxious about a lot of things in life.

And I absolutely loved that the story made me look back on my own experiences in university with just a touch of melancholy and no real sense of regret.

The story covers Rafi's life in its complexity - the romance, the college, the family stuff, the rowing. There is even a brief and rather sweet appearance of Steph and Cash (with some Tom and Reese on the side). Rafi struggled with so many new things in his life and it all was interconnected and affected deeply his relationship with Denny.

The chemistry was really strong but they had to deal with a lot of issues on practical level, basically they had to find a way to be together. I liked how Ms Cousins didn't gloss over their difficulties and made their romance a perfect one. The love to each other and both felt they belong together but that didn't save them from making mistakes along the way. They are too different in terms of social, ethnic background, financial situation, family situation and their love didn't just magically erase those difference. They had to learn how to be together while still being different. There was no sacrifice on oneself just to make the other happy. Rather what we got were two young people making compromises for each other.

There is an element of coming-of-age to this story. Both Rafi and Denny had to figure out what they wanted in life and how to go about getting it. The ending came as a bit of surprise but I think it fits the characters and I see it as promise, something that helps them to be happy together.

It's a very moving, touching story and at the same time it felt real. This series keeps getting better and better and is quickly becoming one of my all-time favourites.

I want to end this embarrassingly personal review with my favourite quote from the book which is about Denny but I think it fits Rafi as well and pretty much sums up my way of loving - "Denny needed to take care of him because that was how Denny loved."

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks / ARebooks / Samhain

Amy Jo Cousins

Waiting on Wednesday: Level Hands by Amy Jo Cousins

21:30

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: Level Hands (Bend or Break #4)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Genre/Themes: M/M romance, college, sports
Release Date: 25 Aug 2015

Add on Goodreads

Pre-order links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / ARe

Synopsis

When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as smooth sailing.

Rafael Castro is so far out of his element he can’t even see it anymore. Carlisle College in Massachusetts is a long way from his Chicago home, even farther from his Dominican Republic roots.

*** *** ***

Why am I waiting for this? - I'm a big fan of Bend or Break series. We met Denny and Rafi in the previous book, The Girl Next Door and there they were just teenagers in high school. Can't wait to see them all grown up. Plus, look at that cover, how can anyone resist it?

Amy Jo Cousins

Review: The Girl Next Door by Amy Jo Cousins

01:37

Title: The Girl Next Door (Bend or Break #3)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Date of publication: 16 June 2015
Genre/Themes: Romance, queer

Author's links:
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My rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis

When it comes to love, go big or go home.

Charles “Cash” Carmichael traded his high-rise condo and family-firm career for a job coaching soccer for Chicago’s inner-city kids. He’s adjusting to living on minimum wage when his young cousin, newly out and running away from home, shows up on his less-than-luxurious doorstep.

Angsty teens definitely aren’t Cash’s thing. He needs local backup, and there’s only one name he can think of: Stephany Tyler. Back in the day, the bisexual Steph was the perfect friend with benefits until she fell in love with a woman.

To his relief, his former friend steps up to the plate. Soon, though, Cash finds himself feeling the familiar need to keep her in his bed, and in his life. But Steph, burned by the ex-girlfriend and by the absentee dad she’s been trying to connect with, won’t risk her heart again.

Good thing Cash believes in leaving it all on the field. If he can just convince Steph to get in the game, there’s a chance they can both win.

Review

I love this series, the first two books so far being New Adult MM and this one is more adult since we have a m/f couple at the centre yet the story is diverse/queer at heart.

I like Ms Cousins' writing - it's engaging, telling the stories of real young people dealing with different issues. Her strength for me is the way she builds her characters so real - insecure, making mistakes, yet not giving up, following their hearts.

This is the story of Cash and Steph whom we meet in book 1, Off Campus, he is Tom's best friend and she's is Reese's. They were both great there, especially Cash - accepting Tom being bi-sexual, the friendship he developed with Reese was pretty awesome as well. We never see much of his relationship with Steph there though I always suspected there was something more than friendship between them.

This books takes place a couple of years after the four friends graduated from college and now are trying to make it on their own as adults.

The best thing about this story for was Cash. I loved everything about him - he truly one of a kind. Open, acceptable, loyal to his friends, honest with himself. Working with the kids just warmed my heart. I loved his voice - struggling to be an adult, the sense of confusion, not feeling smart, often feeling lost and not knowing simple things, things that are supposed to be common knowledge, yet he was hardworking, never quitting, giving his all (I just have to say is again, he was FANTASTIC with those kids).

Steph had a tough time competing with Cash for my heart. I liked her, she was fun and open minded and, yet vulnerable, tender, hiding emotional scars behind free and easy-going attitude.

Cash absolutely stole the show for me. In fact, the romance felt somewhat weak compared to all the other things happening in his life. There was so such much of growth and development in him as a person that his relationship with Steph.

They have this great chemistry, sex is the easiest part of their relationship but Cash wanted more and was both patient and persistent in his affections. Their relationship flowed easily and lacked much tension and conflict. The (in)famous threesome scene was huge sign of Cash's love for Steph but still it left me wondering how it will affect the relationship between the three of them.

And Denny, Cash's nephew, was cute and sweet and a catalyst for Cash making a fateful decision. I can't wait to see more of him (and Rafi) in the upcoming book 4, Level Hands.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / iBooks / Samhain

My reviews of the previous books in the series:
Off Campus (Bend or Break #1) - 4 stars
Nothing Like Paris (Bend or Break #2) - 4.5 stars

Amy Jo Cousins

Friday Favourites # 8: Amy Jo Cousins

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It's time again for my Friday Favourites post and today I'm having Amy Jo Cousins, author of the NA diverse romance series Bend or Break. She reached out to me with an ARC of book 1, Off Campus, after I complained on GR that Samhain had declined my request on NetGalley, yet again. After reading and loving Tom and Reese's story so very much, Ms Cousins and me have struck an online friendship all over the interwebs - GR, FB, Twitter and I can't tell you all, She is an amazing lady and a wonderful romance author.

Friday Favourites

1. Favourite place

Always: Chicago;

Nostalgically: the dock on the lake in the town where I grew up;

Far from home: the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Sevilla, Spain.

2. Favourite food and drink

I'm a peasant at heart: give me a plate of cured meats, cheeses, bread and olives, and I'm happy. I'm trying (unsuccessfully so far) to cure my Diet Coke addiction. Cranberry & club soda is my secret weapon.

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song

Depends on my mood! Bach's Double Violin Concerto is right up there with Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole" and Etta James singing "Don't Explain".

4. Favourite movie/TV series -

West Wing, West Wing, West Wing. Also, lately, the new Netflix Daredevil.

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby

Writing is my job and reading is what keeps me sane. Does having a pint and a cheeseburger at the pub while debating politics on Friday afternoons count? I enjoy that more than the marathon training. ;)

Five favorite books - Ack! This is hard! I'm gonna go old school and give you five of my formative romance novels growing up.

1) The Ice Maiden by Sally Wentworth - The early days of computer dating! Back when wearing a blond wig would totally fool your alphahole into thinking you're a different girl.

2) The Windflower by Laura London - Pirates. That's really all I need to say, right?

3) The Stanislaski books by Nora Roberts - I loved the rough and tumble love of this family. La Nora definitely sparked my love of series books about family members.

4) Angel by Johanna Lindsey - An independent young woman. A peacemaker with a gun. A panther named baby. Played with all my expectations and has that great eighties romance feel, without all the problematic stuff found in books of that era.

5) Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann - The entire Troubleshooters series, really, but this book is where Jules, Brockmann's gay FBI agent (a secondary character in earlier books in the series), meets Robin, the alcoholic Hollywood actor who is the love of his life. This book is a bit of a cheat, since it only came out ten years ago, but Jules and Robin's story line was my first encounter with LGBTQ romance and the idea that I could write romance about any kind of love absolutely changed me.

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Author Bio and Links

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Amy Jo Cousins' latest book in the Bend or Break series, The Girl Next Door, releases on 16 June. It tells Cash and Steph's story (we meet them in book 1, but it can be read as a standalone). I just finished it last week and it was such a fun, sweet and sexy and truly DIVERSE NA crossing into Adult (both characters graduated from college a couple of years ago) romance.

Synopsis

When it comes to love, go big or go home.

Good thing Cash believes in leaving it all on the field. If he can just convince Steph to get in the game, there’s a chance they can both win.

Exclusive Excerpt

Steph and Cash have arranged to meet up for dinner so she can help him figure out how to help his young cousin who ran away from home after coming out to his parents. They had a friends-with-benefits arrangement for a while in college that ended when Steph got involved with a woman, but they haven’t seen each other since Cash moved to Chicago for work. When Cash asks her about her college girlfriend, Steph gets emotional.

He couldn’t take it anymore. After reaching across the table to grab her chin, he dunked a corner of his napkin in Steph’s ice water. “Hold still. You look like the Joker in Batman.”

“Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger?”

“Yeah, you’re full-on creepy Ledger.” He wiped gently under her eyes, barely rubbing the delicate skin around her eyes.

“God. I’m so embarrassed I’m probably going to start propositioning you inappropriately or something, out of sheer need to change the subject.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He ran his thumb along the edge of her jaw. This was how it always started with them. A verbal flirt, the bold suggestion, a dare that one of them couldn’t resist. And then a fast, hard tumble into each other’s bodies, where he’d found a level of comfort and ease, mixed with blazing hot, filthy sex, that he’d never experienced before.

Or since, for that matter.

He finished clearing away the worst of the eye makeup damage. Dropped his napkin on the table and tilted her head with a gentle hand on her chin. Yup. Still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, though he knew she’d argue with him there. Everything on her face was slightly tilted. Her top lip curved up at the corners of her mouth. Her nose tipped up a little at the end. Even her eyes seemed set at an angle, just enough to make her look different from everyone else. Magical. Like a big-eyed elf or something.

“Stop staring at me. It’s your fault, you know.” She lifted her chin away and he dropped his hand.

Cash nodded solemnly. “Most things are.”

God. Why did it make his heart thump every time he got a smile out of this girl?

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks / Google Play

Don't forget to stop by the blog next week when my guest will be Ms Cara McKenna!

Amy Jo Cousins

Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl Next Door by Amy Jo Cousins

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Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Title: The Girl Next Door (Bend or Break #3)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins

Genre/Themes: Contemporary romance, Queer
Release Date: 16 June 2015

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Synopsis

When it comes to love, go big or go home.

Good thing Cash believes in leaving it all on the field. If he can just convince Steph to get in the game, there’s a chance they can both win.

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Why am I waiting for this? - I loved the first two books in this series which are m/m NA romances. Actually, we meet Cash and Steph and I absolutely lovedthem, him especially. Now, I'm really excited to read their story, already as adults coming together. Another thing I'm very very happy about how inclusive this series is shaping to be - we have straight, gay, bi characters and their stories come to show only one things - Love is Love.

Amy Jo Cousins

Review: Nothing Like Paris by Amy Jo Cousins

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With this post I'm joining the Dive into Diversity challenge, hosted by Rather be Reading and Reading Wishes. This monthly challenge highlight the diverse books we have read and loved.

Title: Nothing Like Paris (Bend or Break #2)
Author: Amy Jo Cousins
Date of publication: 3 March 2015
Genre/Themes: Romance, New Adult, m/m

Author's links:
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My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis

Humble pie wasn’t supposed to taste this sweet.

Jack Tarkington’s life is in the toilet. He was supposed to be spending his junior year studying someplace cool like Paris or Rome. Instead, after taking out his anger on the campus “golden boy”, whose dad ripped off his parents, Jack is facing possible expulsion.

Sure, it’s all his own fault, but coming back to the small Iowa town he thought he’d escaped, after crowing about his admission to a prestigious school, has been a humbling experience.

When he runs into Miguel, Jack braces for backlash over the way he lorded it over his old friend and flame. Instead, Miguel offers him friendship—and a job at his growing farm-to-table store and café.

Against the odds, both guys bond over broken dreams and find common ground in music. But when Jack’s college gives him a second chance, he’s torn between achieving a dream that will take him far from home, and a love that strikes a chord he’ll never find anywhere else.

I loved this story so much. It's setting is completelty different from Off Campus, yet it worked perfectly for me. Ms Cousins has managed to create these real, flawed characters who totally captivated me with their story.

There is drama and pain and miscommunication and secrets but they felt real and there was not over the top or excessive about the characters and their feelings. It all fitted very nicelty with being a young person in their 20s figuring out how to be a grown-up.

Review

We met Jack in book 1, Off Campus, and he was a total jerk there, compeltely unlovable and plain mean. I wasn't sure how and if at all Ms Cousins will manage to redeem him. But boy, did she redeem him.

At the beginning, I was all about Mike (Miguel). He was perfect. He appeared all calm and collected, a responsible grown-up, business owner, yet he was as confused and misguided as any young person. I loved his relationship with his family and Andie.

The greatest strength of the story for me is the way the author protrayed that awkward stage when you are no longer a teenager and everybody expects you be a grwn up and act like it, yet you are a confused boy/girl, making mistakes, struggling to be a responsible adult. As someone in her mid 30s who still sometimes doesn't feel much different from her confused, misguided, naive teenage self, I can relate so well and easily to that.

Jack and Miguel's is a second-chance love story and first-love and friends-to-lovers all in one. They both had some grwoing up to do, time to figure how to be together and still chase their dreams (and deal with one harsh reality).

Jack was really bad initially, angry, hurting everybody who tried to help him, mostly Miguel. Years of neglect at home, emotional abuse, lack of love, support and understanding from anyone besides Miguel and his family have make prickiness and verbal agression his way of protecting himself. He had to learn how some pretty harsh lessons, saying sorry, trying to correct some of your mistakes didn't come easily or naturally to him.

Their getting back together was slow, sexy and intense. They both had some difficulty opening up about their feelings. Jack's journey was a fascinating one, he really did learn how to deal with the bad things in life in a better way.

I loved how the issue of bullying was presented in a rather unique way. We see a gay guy who was bullied high school turning into a bully himself in college. There are many social issues woven intricately into the text without sounding preachy.

The story doesn't show a perfect good/bad guy - just normal (young) people learning to be grown up by making mistakes, doing stupid things, but ultimately doing the right things. Things are no black and white, all the charaacters we meet, were complex real people with real feelings and real issues. Andie was fantastic (I hope she will get her book too, she soooo deserve some lvoe in her life).

Miguel was dealing difficult issues of his own. He was acepted and loved by his family, yet his relationship with them was a complex one - he needed to be needed and I understand this very well. His was having his own fight between responsiblity and desire to follow his dreams/heart.

This is an intense story with some funny times, teary times and sexy times, a lot of anger, resentment, tenderness, passion. A highly recommended read!

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks / Samhain