Tag Archives: Washington DC setting

Another wonderful romance from Jayce Ellis

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2-Cover_IfYouLoveSomething_JayceEllisIf You Love Something by Jayce Ellis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fab, fab, fab! I just love the way Jayce Ellis draws me into a world I’m not familiar with and fills it up with characters that soothe my soul.

Here she knocks it out of the park with a second chances/new beginnings romance between two people who never stopped loving each other but somehow lost sight of it.

DeShawn is a starred executive chef, a position he holds because his ex-husband Malik essentially sacrificed himself so that his talented man wouldn’t come to regret turning down his chance of fame.

Of course, things never do turn out as you expect them to and I absolutely adored DeShawn’s grandma’s meddling ways when she discovered the divorce had never been finalised.

Jayce takes a slow burn approach through the reconnection of the two men and it pays off, there’s enough UST to power a small country each time they meet.

I really enjoyed the secondary plot line with two skeezy reporters trying to find out if they really were married and together once the public started to cheer on their reunion.

I also loved the wee Easter Egg appearance from Collin (from Jayce’s Jeremiah) who works for DeShawn’s lawyer and brother in everything but blood – yes it’s the fabulously sarcastic Larry who I am desperately waiting for a story about please!

This little world that Jayce has created in and around DC really makes me happy and I loved everything about this book.

The secondary characters fill out the story beautifully, from Malik’s brother and sister at their family restaurant to Maribel, DeShawn’s number two, and of course Miss Maxine, Larry’s mum, who’s essentially DeShawn’s aunt and has helped bring him up alongside his Grandma.

#ARC kindly received from the publishers Carina Press in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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Release Blitz: Heart by Timothy Warren

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Release Blitz: Heart by Timothy Warren

Tales of the Circle #3

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Release Date: April 22nd, 2021

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Blurb

Chef George Patras is embracing life again. It’s been two years since David’s death and to honor him he’s opening a restaurant in his name.

Michelangelo Napolitano is a sweet bear of a guy, known in Dupont Circle as the singing mailman. He’s cute, funny, bold, impulsive, and light on his feet—one of which is often in his mouth.

George’s restaurant is on Mikey’s route. They see each other daily, yet date the wrong people. Will they ever see they’re perfect for each other?

There’s more Circle magic in this romantic comedy of blind dates, new love, and a whole lot of HEART.

Heart is a romantic comedy set in the gayborhood of Dupont Circle, in Washington, DC. It features characters from prior novels in the series that may enhance your enjoyment, but can easily be read as a standalone.

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Excerpt

George stood, holding the adjoining barstool for support. Wobbly, he went into the kitchen. Zac was there. He looked up from plating salads.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“Great. There’s a reviewer here… from The Post.”

“Oh. Well, that’s some news.”

“Yeah,” said George. “Jack and May made me drink some ouzo.”

“Yikes.” Zac’s eyes went wide. “That’s the real deal, George—imported. Much higher octane than the American stuff.”

“I know,” George said proudly, punctuated with a hiccup. “I can feel it.”

The door jingled from out front.

George threw his hands up. “And they just keep on coming.”

“Let me get you some water.”

Zac found a paper cup and made for the sink.

“George,” came a familiar accent from behind them. It was Mikey, peeking his head in the kitchen.

“Mikey!” George said, loudly. He turned with a little bow. “Welcome. Welcome to David’s”

Mikey entered with roses. “I wanted to congratulate you on the opening.”

George went to him, embracing him in an overzealous bear hug, smashing the bouquet between them. He lost his balance, falling backward. Mikey reached, dropping the flowers and George caught his hands, pulling him with him. They both went crashing into the kitchen island.

“Whoopsie-daisy!” said Mikey, chuckling. He bent down, retrieving the rose bundle, placing it on the island’s silver surface. George pulled him close.

“Mikey, my sweet, Italian brother. Thank you for the beautiful flowers. You’re such a gentleman.”

“It’s the least I could do, George. I just want you to know I’m here for you.”

George kissed him, their lips colliding sloppily. Mikey tried to withdraw and George squeezed him tighter, his hands moving up and cupping the back of his head, smashing their faces together, relishing the friction of his beard, the plush velvet of his sweet lips. Mikey caved into George’s embrace, pressing, pinning him up against the stainless steel counter. His tongue came out to play and George welcomed it with a chuckle.

When they separated, it was Mikey who looked drunk.

“Whoa,” he said. “Wasn’t expecting that. You taste like candy, George.”

“It’s the ouzo,” Zac said, returning with the cup of water. He handed it to George. “He’s nervous. May gave him a shot of ouzo.”

“Two,” George said, holding up matching fingers. “Big ones.”

“Opa!” Mikey said with a grin.

“Opa! Did I tell you that I have a low tolerance for alcohol, Zac?”

“No, but I can see that.” He returned to the salads.

Mikey whispered, “I’ll have to remember that next time I want to take advantage of you.”

“You already took advantage of me,” George said. “But that’s OK. I kinda liked it.”

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About the Author

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Timothy Warren lives in the Atlanta suburbs with his husband and their pets. When he is not writing, he is writing in his head… which often leads to strange looks from his spouse.

He loves writing about things that make him smile–the chemistry between men, in particular. Sex plays a big part in these relations, but love wins out more so with his enjoyment of telling these stories… as in life.

“I like to write about men being men and falling in love with men. And I love a happy ending.”

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/timothy.warren.507/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3448127.Timothy_Warren

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/timothy-warren

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/timothystavern

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Heart, we are giving away an e-set of Tales of the Circle so far (True, Secret & Heart).

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

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Jayce ellis ticked all of my contemporary romance boxes

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53079787._SY475_Learned Behaviors by Jayce Ellis

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The more I read Jayce Ellis, the more I fall in love with the worlds she creates and the men who inhabit them.

This was a beautiful romance between two single dads, one only 35 but with a daughter heading to college, the other a bit older, who get thrown together in a work environment and find out that they’re not as adverse to each others’ company as first suggested.

This is a narrative which also puts the focus front and centre on two black men, their experiences of life, their culture, language and their family expectations, are all fully explored and it’s such a pleasure to see more of this contemporary romance coming from authors of colour.

I’ve really enjoyed the other books I’ve read from Jayce and this one was no different. The plot loosely follows along with a workplace romance trope, but adds in more depth through complicated families and two daughters who also fall in love with each other while at college.

I did thing this plotline ended up dropped without a firm resolution, both girls seemed to be still pining for the other but there wasn’t any movement once their feelings had been revealed.

But, I guess that’s a mirror of life! We don’t always get a satisfactory conclusion to relationships even when residual feels still exist.

There was a great supporting cast of characters and I’m hoping the two men that Jaq makes friends with at his daughter’s college are going to be the subjects of the other books in this series. I’m intrigued by both of them.

I also loved the strong female secondary characters sprinkled throughout this book. All in all another great read from Jayce.

#ARC kindly received from the publishers Carina Press via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review

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