Tag Archives: office romance

Release Blitz: Studious by Leslie McAdam

Studious | Leslie McAdam

StudiousBANNER

Release Date: October 7th, 2022

Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 70,000 words / 258 pages

Amazon US | Amazon UK

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Blurb

After a disastrous high school game of spin the bottle, I gave up trying to get a boyfriend and spent my time studying instead. Now I’m twenty-four, and I’m not only a virgin, I haven’t even been kissed.

When I meet Danny, a handsome legal hotshot, he catches my eye. Right before I trip on flat ground. Ugh.

He’s got a massive … reputation. He’s the most popular guy in the club, a total playboy with a new conquest every night. There’s no way he’d be interested in me.

But one night after I imbibe too much, he winds up taking care of me. And when I ask for his help with my travesty of a social life, he agrees to teach me how to be less awkward with men … if I let him document my progress so he can win a bet with his best friend.

Even though he’s just my love tutor and I’m just his apprentice, this starts to feel like more.

Too bad it can’t be anything but a high-level seminar in how to seduce someone else.

Studious is a sweet and sexy contemporary opposites-attract m/m romance about a suave attorney who’s scared to love and the shy, nerdy bookkeeper he’s teaching how to be a player. Cue makeover montage and a smoldering first kiss. These heroes most definitely are not falling in love. (Okay, heartwarming HEA guaranteed.)

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Excerpt

“Can you help me?” I blurt out.

He blinks. “Help you how?”

“Help me be more like you.”

Danny throws his head back and laughs. “Why on earth would you want to be more like me? Just be yourself. You seem like a pretty cool person.”

“I’m too shy, and I don’t know how to ask for what I want.”

“You did it pretty well just now,” he points out.

“That’s because I’m desperate.” I bite my lower lip and let out a sigh. “Never mind.”

He holds up his hands. “Whoa, whoa. What is it that you want?”

“I’m really inexperienced,” I say. “It’s embarrassing. I see you all confident, and I wish I could have that kind of confidence.”

“You have plenty of confidence. You’re the absolute boss of spreadsheets.”

“But I know nothing about what to dobetweenthe sheets.”

Danny smiles. “Oh, is that all? You can get experience in the bedroom. That’s easy.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Itisn’teasy. I don’t even know where to start.”

Now his face morphs to confusion. “What do you mean?”

I straighten my shoulders. Might as well confess everything. “I’ve never even kissed anyone. Like a real kiss, I mean.”

He studies me. “You really haven’t kissed anyone?”

“Go ahead and say it,” I mutter. “I’m the biggest nerd you’ve ever met.”

“No. I think you may be the most genuine person I’ve ever met. You’re not letting yourself be talked into something you don’t want to do.”

I falter. “But that’s the point. Idowant to kiss someone.”

“Would you want to kiss me?” Danny’s question isn’t teasing or an offer. It comes out as a genuine inquiry.

My huffed-out laugh is loud and fast. “Yes. I mean, no, that’s not right.”

I can’t believe I’m talking about kissing with Danny while he’s wearing only boxers and looking so kissable I could die from …something. Desire or shame, not sure which. It could go either way.

Right now, it’s looking like shame, since I’m aghast that I managed to ask my crush for help.

Oh, shit.

This is going to implode. I’m going to lose my job and then be blackballed from ever working again. And …

I take a deep breath. I’ve come this far, and I’m ashamed enough as it is to both be a virgin and be asking one of my new bosses for help. I’m not going to leave here without having done my best to plead my case. Except …

“I’d like to kiss you, but I wouldn’t want you to feel guilted into it,” I say. 

“Fair enough,” Danny says. “But that isn’t what I meant. I’m just trying to figure out where you’re coming from. You want me to help you find someone else to kiss.”

Now or never.

“Yes, and I want you to teach me how to kiss. And how to have sex.”

Danny chokes on his coffee but recovers quickly. “Like, be a sex tutor?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus. I need a moment.” He puts his cup down and takes a deep breath. “Do you have any idea how enticing the idea of being someone’s first is? At least to a guy like me?”

“So will you help me? Because the only dates I’ve been on have sucked. I’m not having any luck at all.”

He rubs a hand over his face. “I’m trying to figure out what it is you’re asking. What exactly do you want me to teach you, and how? Because I’m not fucking you,” he adds quickly. “I mean, you’re plenty fuckable. But I’m not the right one for you. You should save that for someone you care about.”

“You don’t have that kind of restriction.”

“I don’t do feelings or commitments. So the emotional part of sex doesn’t matter to me.”

“I don’t want it to matter for me, either. I’m sick of this.” I gesture at myself helplessly.

He’s silent for a long moment. Then he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s a bad idea. I can’t do it.”

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About the Author

leslie mcadam

Leslie McAdam is a California girl who loves romance and well-defined abs. She lives in a drafty old farmhouse on a small orange tree farm in Southern California with her husband and two children. Leslie’s first published book, The Sun and the Moon, won a 2015 Watty, which is the world’s largest online writing competition.

She’s gone on to receive additional literary awards and has been featured in multiple publications, including Cosmopolitan.com. Her books have been Top 100 Bestsellers on both Amazon and Apple Books.

Leslie is employed by day but spends her nights writing about the men of your fantasies.

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Release Blitz: Mr. Jingle Bells by Leta Blake

Mr. Jingle Bells | Leta Blake

Home for the Holidays #3

Mr Jingle Bells Banner

Release Date: November 1st, 2021

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Mr Jingle Bells Cover

Blurb

Opposites attract as frosty business partners become fake boyfriends in this Christmas gay romance!

Playing fake boyfriends starts their sleigh ride into love!

After an emergency forces Ashton Sellers from his apartment, all he wants for Christmas is new lipgloss, zero contact from his abusive family, and a place to stay for the holidays. Cue his business partner begrudgingly taking him in.

Walker’s a fuddy-duddy with no sense of fun, but he does have a safe, warm home with four adorable dogs and delicious food on the table.

If it turns out Walker’s also a secret softy with a tender side and a hot body beneath his endless parade of golf shirts? Great, good, cool. And if Walker wants Ashton to pretend to be his boyfriend for his sister’s Christmas-themed wedding? Awesome, amazing.

Could Walker be the safe haven Ashton missed out on as a child? Could they be falling in love for real?

But when Ashton uncovers a painful mistake in Walker’s past, it hits too close to home. As the jingle bells quiet and the snow settles, will Ashton be able to forgive Walker, or will their relationship be over before it ever truly begins?

Mr. Jingle Bells is a gay Christmas story by Leta Blake featuring f, and a taffy-sweet happy ending. It’s set in the Home for the Holidays universe, which began with Mr. Frosty Pants, but can be read as a standalone.

Content warnings for childhood abuse, past addiction issues, PTSD episodes, and gambling.

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Excerpt

Hearing Ashton’s name, Walker froze in place. When he looked up, he almost couldn’t breathe. Ashton wore a pair of tight, black pants that cupped his ass and package, and a soft-looking, gold blouse beneath a black, faux-military jacket covered with gold and red trim.

He carried a Starbucks cup, like every morning, and, in the winter light from the big windows, he looked stunning. Absolutely breathtaking. What with his pale skin, dark hair, and all that black, gold, and red contrasting so perfectly. He looked like a model. Or a famous actor. He looked unreal. It was maddening.

Walker wished they’d instituted a dress code back when he, Casey, Ashton, and Nicole had met with their business attorney to draft all their other office policies. At the time, he’d barely known Ashton and hadn’t realized they’d need to prohibit Ashton’s entire wardrobe due to the risk of it sending Walker into a dazed and confused state nearly every single day. For fuck’s sake! How the man dressed, how he talked with that little lisp, the way he held his hands and moved his hips…none of that was Walker’s business. Why couldn’t he stop noticing it?

“Come here! You have to draw for Secret Santa!” Kayla said.

Ashton released a soft squeal of joy and rushed forward to shove his free hand into Kayla’s proffered bowl. Walker stayed only long enough to witness the overly dramatic production Ashton made of swirling the remaining four papers around before choosing one. Without waiting to see Ashton’s reaction to the name he’d chosen, Walker stalked off, his skin prickling with unwarranted irritation.

Once safely inside his lightly cluttered office, Walker shut the door and dropped his lunch on his desk. Settling into his ergonomic chair, he folded the piece of paper with Ashton’s name on it into a tiny square and slipped it into his desk drawer. He couldn’t quite bring himself to throw it away. It felt rude somehow. Ashton might make Walker feel confused and agitated but he still deserved better than the trash can.

Hoping the spicy banh mi wrap would distract him, Walker took a bite. Unfortunately, his tension didn’t dissipate, but at least he was sweating now from the spice and not from a riot of unwanted emotions over Ashton Sellers.

Why did he feel this way?

It wasn’t as if he were attracted to Ashton. Walker could never want a man like that—all feminine and glamorous, all gut-churningly beautiful. No. Walker liked women who were stereotypically feminine, and men who were, well, stereotypically masculine. Thickly muscled. Hairy in the right places. Button-ups during the week, and Polo shirts and golf shorts on the weekends. A beer drinker. A golfer.

Always a golfer.

Walker winced. His last boyfriend had been a traveling golf pro. Sebastian had spent most of their short relationship on tour. He’d never been around when Walker wanted him, much less needed him. He’d been only so-so in bed. But he’d ticked most of Walker’s boxes of someone worthy of interest, and they’d had a good run. Until it was over. That was always the way with the men Walker dated.

Not much work but not much reward either.

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About the Author

Leta Blake Icon

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

If you’d like to be among the first to know about new releases, you can sign up for Leta’s newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bdn32H

Bonus material for the Heat of Love series, Will & Patrick Wake Up Married series, Training Season series, Smoky Mountain Dreams, Mr. Frosty Pants, The River Leith, and more is available on Leta Blake’s Patreon account. Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/letablake

Social Media

On the web: https://letablake.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letablake

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/LetaBlake

Giveaway

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Join us over on Instagram for more of Mr. Jingle Bells!

You can also enter the giveaway on our Instagram or click here for your chance to a $35 Amazon Voucher from Leta!

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I struggled a bit but eventually this festive romance won me over

59120611._SY475_Mr. Jingle Bells by Leta Blake

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Not going to lie, I struggled with this book and wasn’t sure I was going to finish it.

I’m usually a massive fan of Leta’s Christmas stories because she never turns out a cookie cutter cutsie romance, there’s always an edge which stops them going overly sweet.

Unfortunately, this one seemed determined to go too far down that path and at times, it was borderline depressing to read about all the traumas Ashton had gone through.

Both him and Walker were at times unlikeable too imho. I couldn’t understand how they were possibly going to get together in a way that would be convincing.

Then again, Leta is also a wordsmith extraordinaire, and she slowly started to work her magic both on Ashton and Walker, but also on me.

I found myself thawing towards them both, helped along by Walker’s wonderful sister Evelyn and her fiance Tom, and actively championing the move from fake boyfriend plot to actual relationship.

The sex, as ever with Leta, is blow your head off hot, but I really appreciated the tenderness between them.

***Sort of spoilery bit***

Then we hit the ‘Third Act’ where something has to go wrong if you (generic) follow the great “Writing Gods” and so there was conflict, confusion and the potential for breaking up and once more I felt like quitting.

I totally understood why Ashton reacted as he did, but it was also incredibly frustrating for him to not see the difference in the situation (and that’s as far as I’ll go along the plotline) and I wanted to chuck my Kindle away.

***End***

It’s taken me a week to read this book, I’d normally have done it in a few hours.

All’s well at the end though and there is a lovely Epilogue set a year later, I’d have personally just preferred a bit less angsting to reach it.

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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