Shocktember 2021

I don't seem to do TBR stacks well, I've noticed. If I make a list to read five books in a certain order, I will do well for the first two books, then I will do completely off my TBR list. But if I do a theme, I seem to be more likely to stick to it. 

Plus, I've been in a mood lately to read certain genres. Last month, I went very hard into romance, mainly MM, and while I have a few more to read this month (one is for a blog tour so might need to stop what I am doing to read that one!), I've had an itch to read another genre for September. A genre I enjoy reading in but I don't go in often. Yes, that genre of crime and thrillers. 

Yes, my Murder Month is back. But, I didn't want to call it that. I had a list of ideas but nothing fitted: Suspect September? Suspension September? Stabbing September? Cyandie September? But nothing fitted, so I did my normal thing and asked Twitter. And while a few of you guys had good ideas, I went for this interest because, you know, LIBRARIANS!!!

Shocktember

— Mrs Baird (@StNiniansLib) August 20, 2021

 

So, WELCOME TO SHOCKTEMBER! My reading month of crime and thriller books. Now, I have a few titles in mind that I would like to read. This goes over a mix of subgenre (well, that is the plan). However, I am not sure how many books I am going to be reading/audiobooking this month because... well... I changed jobs. 

Yes, I have a new job! I'm writing this after my first week at the new place (I should be settled by the time you all read this, in theory) so the amount I can read/audiobook has gone down due to drive to/from work, lunch breaks and me trying to find my feet. So, this might be a bit of quiet month but oh, I have reading plans! I have one or two titles I would like to try to read this month (remember, this isn't a strict TBR so might do one or two non-crime/thriller titles due to preorders/blog tour I agreed several months back!) but, will I get round to them... we shall see...

Oh, wanna see some titles I would like to try and get round to this month?

Summer of Love 2021 - Vino & Veritas Mini-Reviews

In May, I did the covers reveal of five Vino and Veritas titles: Stronghold by Ana Ashley, Limelight by E. Davies, Showstopper by Regina Kyle, Unforgettable by Marley Valentine and Undone by Leslie McAdam (link to the cover reveal is here). And after doing the cover reveals, I treated myself to a few pre-orders (originally, it was meant to be one or two, and once I got my feet more firmly into this series, buy some more and do some experimenting with MM romances). I preordered Leslie McAdams's Undone and Marley Valentine's Unforgettable. Then, a few days later, Ana Ashley's Stronghold (I had, I think, finished Ana's How To Catch A Prince and went "Oh, I need this!"). 

And when I finally got the preorders on my kindle, it was a few days before I started my new Real Life job so I had to do some planning over how was going to read this. I, finished Stronghold over a course of several days and then started Unforgettable almost immediately afterwards. I wanted to read/include Undone here but due to blogging commitments, I will have to save for another day (which is sad as a side character in Unforgettable is the lead and I liked him hugely!). So, here we are with Stronghold and Unforgettable. 

In Stronghold, Skyler and Judson used to be best friends. Then something happened and Judson vanished from Skyler's life and he has no idea why. When, ten years later, Skyler is shocked to discover Judson is back in town. Skyler never forgot his former best friend, but he can't forgive him for leaving without saying a word. But he can't understand, when they meet, why Judson acts so coldly to him? 

Meanwhile, Judson doesn't want to be in the family home, but where else do you go when your life falls apart? He used to be a world class chef, but now... now he's in town, working as a bartending, trying to get over the events that happened in Paris which weren't his fault and trying to figure out how to get away. But when he sees Skyler, he wonders if he could forgive Skyler for what happened ten years ago and if they can be friends again? 

In Unforgettable, Reeve and Oz meet up on a dating app for a one night stand. Which will work well for them both as Oz doesn't do relationship and Reeve is only in Vermont for the summer. But after one unforgettable night, both are shocked that they're now working together as Reeve is a summer temp. While the two have a strong insta-lust and can't seem to keep their hands off each other while trying to be friends, when Oz asks Reeve for a favour: pretend to be his boyfriend for his sister's wedding. Reeve, surprisingly, says yes and as the two spend more time together, it's obvious that the lines between what's fake and what's real become very blurred. 

I read both of these quite quick. Stronghold was only four or five days while Unforgettable took just over a week. So, these are both fast, fun MM romances with a nice amount of steamy, angst and Happily Ever After-ness. 

Both surprised me as, while being light and fun romances, had an undercurrent to them. In Stronghold, both Judson and Skyler are hugely likeable but both have their issues: Skyler's father has a gambling addiction which bubbles in the background and Judson has huge self-esteem and body confidence issues. And in Unforgettable, both Oz and Reeve have issues with their parents (though Oz's issues are very much on the page while Reeve's are more off page) and again, Reeve does has self-confidence issues. 

I'm not sure what to write in this write-up and I liked them both though, I think, I prefer Stronghold over Unforgettable (though I do love Oz and one of the side characters, Murph, is the lead in Undone and I can't wait to read his story when I have time!). I wonder if it's because I have read Ana Ashley before while Marley Valentine is very new to me and I was taking my time more with this rather than Ana's. 

But both are solid instalments in the Vino and Veritas series and I am very intrigued over Undone and one or two other instalments in the series that I might buy/treat self to before the end of the year. 

Moody Reader Book Tag

Ok, I originally wanted to do Erik's from Breakeven Books's Loki Book Tag. But there was one or two questions where, if I answered them as fully as I wanted to, it would have been one very long and very dull post. So, yeah. I decided against that, but I wanted to a do a tag this week as new job and I wanted to write something as I didn't want a week blog silence. So, when I saw Erik do this tag, I went "This is so a Me Tag!" (I am very much a mood reader!) 

So, I saw this (and, therefore, saying I was tagged by Erik) and the creator of the tag is Britt from Slanted Spines. Both videos are above. So, with all that out of the way, let's get started!!!

Summer of Love 2021 - Mini-Reviews

I apologise for squeezing these two books together in one big review and a few weeks after I read them as new real life things are happening so I decided to put them together. Both are romance, both are fun and both had little issues here and there so, to save time, I decide to put them together so real life might not be calm at the time you all are reading this, dear reader, so bear with me for the next few weeks so things might be a little up in the air and the ideas I’m thinking over might take a little longer to write than normal… 

So, where to start?

HI-JACKED Cover Reveal!

COVER REVEAL TIME, FOLKS! Are you ready for it?

And yes, it's a little outside of the Pewter Wolf Read's comfort zone. It's a cover reveal for an adult MM romance. I know I'm dipping my toe into this for a little while (mainly due there events of the last year), so when Sarah from Social Butterfly PR emailed and said "I saw you're reading a few MM romances, fancy a cover reveal from New York Times bestselling authors, Lucy Lennox and May Archer?", I was intrigued. But then I read the blurb (which is what am putting down) and went "Oooh, this sounds like a fun read to have on kindle, by the pool with a cocktail (when we're allowed to go on holiday and be by the pool safely, of course). I wonder what the cover's gonna look like..." and that's when I realised I had to show you guys the cover...

Renowned cardiologist Carter Rogers is used to having things under control. His life, his prestigious reputation, his career, his future.

Things he can’t control this time around:

• His meddling grandfather 

• His annoying gamer cousin

• Buggy South American jungles

• Being the meat in a feuding cartel sandwich

• Getting kidnapped by a monologuing drug lord

•Falling for his very hot, very mouthy ex-Special Forces bodyguard

In short, Carter’s peaceful, well-planned life has been… hijacked.

Summer of Love 2021 - Stripped

As you know if you have been following the Pewter Wolf Reads or myself on other social medias (such as Goodreads/Twitter/etc) since last year, my main COVID-19 pandemic reading/obsession was the Four Bear Construction series by KM Neuhold, a MM romance with little/no angst. This series, I think, was my main drive for me to explore MM romance – or romance in general – the past few months. This series, originally a four book series, followed the four construction workers falling in love in their early 40s with a Happily Ever After (HEA). The series, then, got expanded to three more stories with characters introduced within the series (I reacted very happily when I read that news last year!).

Title And Author: Stripped by K. M. Neuhold

Publisher: Self-Published by Author

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought 

Stripped follows Miller, a ripped trans construction worker at Four Bears who, while on a job at a local university when he dumps into Demetri, a plus-size bear of professor who wears tweed, knits his tortoise cosizes for their shell and who Miller had a huge childhood summer camp crush on. There is an instant connection (of course) but Demetri doesn’t date. He has self-confidence issues and doesn’t think someone like Miller will look at him twice that way. They can just be friends... right?

The Raven Heir Is Healing

Ok, this is kinda breaking my Summer of Love plans but you know me, I like to mix things up! And what better what to mix things up than to show off a guest post written by the lovely Stephanie Burgis, author of the coming soon middle-grade fantasy, The Raven Heir?

The first in the Raven Crown series follow Cordelia and her triplet siblings, Rosalind and Giles who are safely living in a castle at the centre of a forest, protected by spells that their mother have woven. But when the outside world comes crashing into their home, the triplets find themselves in danger. Two rivals and their solders have come for them as whoever is the eldest is heir to the throne. 

But since the Raven Crown was broken, no one has been abled to rule the kingdom and live. So when their mother refuses to tell and she is taken prisoner, the triplets have to go on the run and soon, their realise that deep magic is at work and the three might be the ones to save the kingdom devastated by a war that has raged for generations. They might, also, be the ones to tear their family apart.

And here I am with an guest post about... well, I'm going to leave it as a surprise, but I enjoyed myself hugely reading this and it's making me itch to go to a garden centre! This looks like it's going to be fun magical middle grade so can't wait to read and share my thoughts on at a later date... 

Now, before I share the extract, just want to thank Blue from Kaleidoscopic Tours for allowing me to nip in on this tour! And I want to thank Stephanie for writing g this post. I know she must be super busy with Raven Heir, so am thrilled she found time to write this! Oh, if you are curious on this or any of Stephanie's other stories, you can always visit her website at stephanieburgis.com, or you can send her a quick hello tweet at @stephanieburgis!

Ok, you guys have waited long enough. Here is Stephanie's guest post for your reading pleasure!

Quickie Interview with Mel Gough

You thought I was going to take today off, weren't you? Well, nope. Not today, for I am welcoming author Mel Gough onto the Pewter Wolf for a tiny Q&A (Four questions. Yes, that's how quick it is!)

Mel Gough is the author of several romances (which usually have a dead body in, for good measure). Her latest, A Leap of Faith, is published by Red Dog Press and is a little different from what I normally talk about or read on here. 

Set in South Africa in the early 1950s, Father Daniel Blakemore is happy with his missionary secondment in small, rural hospital on the Eastern Coast. Being away from England makes it easier to hide this homosexuality - a secret that would destroy everything if it ever comes out. 

So when Doctor Eddie Raleigh starts working the same hospital, the two men are instantly drawn to each other and their liaison represents both Daniel's deepest desire and his worst nightmare. If this ever comes to light, it could ruin everything. 

And with the emergences of the apartheid in South Africa and the criminal nature of homosexuality in the UK, how are the two men going to survive: in love, fear or duty?

I am thrilled that, when I did a twitter query about "Should I randomly email some MM romance authors to see if they want to be on the blog?" that both Mel herself and Red Dog Press jumped at me and went "Yes!" and, after a mini chat, Mel had kindly offered to be involved in a small Q&A. So, to Mel, thank you for spending time writing this post out. I know you must be busy, and thank you to whoever is in charge of Red Dog Press's Twitter (@RedDogTweets) for pushing us together. 

Oh, before I hand you over to Mel, let me point you into her social media home. If you want to check out her website, you can visit at melgough.com, or if you want to tweet her and say hi, you can at @melgough_writer. She can, also, be found on Facebook and Instagram. 

Now, ONTO THE QUESTIONS!