Boxing Day treats

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays, getting time with family and friends, and time to relax and kick back, too. Right now the most intense visiting is over for us, so I’ve been tripping around the internet and finding some lovely, wonderful things.

Book Utopia Mom mentioned my Jorrie Spencer book The Strength of the Pack in her 2007 roundup! Lots of other interesting mentions there, by the way. Good blog to visit as she reviews a mix of books.

And la-la-ness wrote a lovely post about me, Joely Skye/Jorrie Spencer. She’s most taken by Joely Skye work, particularly Beautiful Monster.

I LOVE Beautiful Monster. It’s a romance where one guy is normal and the other guy has the ability to control people’s thoughts and actions. I love Josh, who’s courageous and virtuous, and Kir, who’s so endearing and bighearted. Their relationship is very emotional, beautiful, and exciting.

She also mentions Marked and The Strength of the Wolf (by Jorrie Spencer) favorably.

And while I’m at it, I can’t help but point out that Marked is on the All Romance eBooks bestseller list at #3!!!

Reading

I decided I absolutely needed to do some reading this weekend. And so…

• Fairyville by Emma Holly

  Thoroughly enjoyable. This is a two-couple romance, one m/f, one m/m. I always like Holly and her characters. I got a kick out of of the fairies themselves and the world-building was quite fun, if not deep. I will admit that I became impatient with parts of the story cuz I wanted more romance and less sex. But I was reading Holly and I know what she writes. I loved Alex and Bryan together.

  Reviewed at AAR (A-):

  Fairyville is a quality story, with great characters, deftly used paranormal effects that never overshadow the humanity of the story, and a strong, hot, sensual plot. Zoe and Magnus are great, but it was the secondary love story between Bryan and Alex that really touched my heart.

• Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

  Totally blown away by this. Lanyon balances a lot in this relatively short work. Great period detail—it’s 1943. Interesting mystery. But what had me riveted was the characterization of the two leads: Lt. Matthew Spain and reporter Nathan Doyle. Two men falling in love at this time wasn’t easy and, in fact, I was quite sad at times. Very moving. Lanyon has a fairly understated style which makes, to my mind, the emotional punch even stronger.

  It’s available at Aspen Mountain Press though I got my copy at All Romance eBooks, my new favorite ebook vendor. (See post below.)

  I’ll have to pick up The Hell You Say which continues Lanyon’s Adrien English mysteries. I’m relieved it’s at Loose Id as I bought it somewhere else earlier and couldn’t open the damn thing.

  Snowball in Hell was reviewed by Book Utopia Mom (41/50).

  The vast bulk of the story is given to solving the mystery of Phil Arlen’s murder, but because there is a romance with consummation, I’m being difficult and classifying it as such. But the build-up is slow, wonderfully slow… It makes it very easy to connect with them as characters before they move on to the romantic aspects of the story.

Anyway, I realize the above aren’t reviews. I’m not terribly good at them, so these are more reactions. That’s why I link to a couple of reviews so you can read more about them.

All Romance eBooks bestseller!

I’m absolutely psyched because I just got an email from All Romance eBooks to let me know that Marked is on the bestseller list there. I’ve never been on ARe’s bestseller list so I’m absolutely floored.

Look, I’m number 9!

Marked review

Hey, a lovely review at Literary Nymphs by Water Nymph.

Ms. Skye pens an action packed and emotionally intense tale. Two sexy alpha males, with undeniable chemistry, bring a high level of tension to this story and will keep readers immersed until the end.

Number 4!

Hey, I’ve never zipped up the My Bookstore and More bestseller list like this before. I’m already at number 4! I’m thrilled and thank you to everyone who decided to give Marked a chance.

Marked on sale!

Marked is now on sale at My Bookstore and More!

Here’s an excerpt:

Outside of Alec’s apartment building, Liam sat on the curb. It was the least threatening place he could imagine waiting. He didn’t want to hassle Alec at work and he didn’t want to lurk by Alec’s door on the third floor. No doubt Alec would find the curb close enough to home.

Liam sighed. The library closed at five p.m. on Tuesdays. Ira and Casey had seen Alec at work today, so Liam just planned to wait here. Of course Alec might be out and about for hours. That was okay since Liam could be patient and the damp cold didn’t bother him. He had a werewolf’s metabolism. An hour and a half passed.

Just before dusk, he saw Alec out of the corner of his eye. Liam didn’t turn. He kept his shoulders loose, his hands dangling between his legs, his breathing regular. Let Alec choose to approach him, though if he didn’t, Liam would have to think up another strategy. He dreaded engineering some fake surprise meeting. Given his experience with the quad, Alec would not take stalker behavior in stride, no matter Liam’s motives.

Alec stopped and, after what seemed an eternity, walked over. He didn’t offer a greeting.

Looking up, Liam attempted a smile. “Um, hi, Alec.”

“What are you doing here?” Alec stared down, dark eyes flat and dull, and Liam didn’t think just the sight of him made Alec unhappy. He looked beaten down.

Zombie/Minder reviews

Hey, I got a couple of lovely reviews from Joyfully Reviewed for my Zombie and Minder novellas. Thank you, Sabella!

Zombie:

The passion between the two men is so engrossing that during their encounters you will find yourself feeling their uncertainty and pleasure. This book was difficult to put down once I began reading it. Zombie is a great sequel…

Minder:

Minder concludes the series in an amazing finale… The plot is fantastic… Minder goes from amusing to chilling to sensual in ways that seize your attention and pull you along for the emotional journey the characters make.