It’s Read Around the Rainbow time! On the last Friday of every month, we’re a bunch of authors who blog on the same topic, and since we’re heading into autumn, we figured we’d tell you about our comfort reads this time around.
Up until a few years ago, I never reread books. Nowadays, I hardly pick up new ones LOL. Nah, that’s not true, but I reread a lot of books. It’s relaxing in a different way than reading new (to me) books. When the world is going up in flames, it’s comforting to be able to disappear into an alternative reality where you know what will happen.
So, what are my comfort reads? I have a few, and which I pick depends on what I’m in the mood for.
First out is probably The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles. I don’t know how many times I’ve read this book. Many. Maybe too many. Though it was a few months ago now, so maybe it’s time again LOL.
Next up in times of how many times I’ve read it is probably Frog by Mary Calmes, which is funny, because if you’d ask me, I’d say it’s much too sweet for me, waaayyy too cringy at times, and yet… But I have to be in a certain mood, or I’ll only roll my eyes.
Then we have the Hidden Species series by Louisa Masters. It’s another one I’ve read many times. I have them individually, and I have the box set, and while I do not listen to a lot of audiobooks, I’ve listened to Joel Leslie read these a few times as well. Sometimes I read on through the Here Be Dragons series, too, but not always.
If I need to laugh, I’ll read the In Darkness series by Alice Winters. Fair warning, this is over the top, so even though it’s a contemporary trilogy, don’t go into it expecting everyday life.
Another one I sneak in like once a year is Too Stupid to Live by Anne Tenino. Sam *sigh*
Those are probably my most frequently read stories, but the Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara is making its way up on this list. I only first read it last year, but I’ve read it a couple of times since then. I’ll read Think of England by K.J. Charles semi-regularly. And I’ve read the Spectral Files series by S.E. Harman twice in one year, so… maybe it deserves a spot too.
And look at that! We got ourselves a list post LOL
Check out which books are the others’ comfort reads!
The lovely Ellie Thomas is back on the blog! She’s here to talk about An Unlikely Alliance, the box set, so keep on reading!
Thank you so much, Ofelia, for having me back on the blog again! I’m Ellie, and I write Historical MM Romance. I’m delighted to announce that the box set for my Regency London-set An Unlikely Alliance MMM trilogy is now on release!
This box set consists of An Unlikely Alliance, An Increasing Entanglement and An Uncommon Alignment, where Clem, Abe and Humphrey, three very different men in terms of character and status find mutual attraction and forge a lasting relationship to reach their HEA.
When we first meet Abe Pengelly in An Unlikely Alliance, we see him through the eyes of his occasional lover Clem. Tough-guy Abe holds court at the Old Red Lion Inn that straddles the Fleet Ditch with a long history of criminal confederacy.
Bur despite his swashbuckling appearance, complete with a red velvet coat harking back to the glory days of the tavern, Abe is already planning to transform himself into a respectable businessman.
Abe might have grown up on the streets as a brawler and semi-criminal, but his devotion to his mother, Lucy, means that he has no desire to be transported or to face the gallows. By his mid-twenties, Abe has moved away from fencing stolen goods to trading in information, which is how he meets Clem. Abe is not only attracted to Clem but over time, he’s developed an affection for him. However, his growing feelings for Clem don’t seem to further their relationship.
That changes when Humphrey enters the equation and the three men embark on a relationship. Abe finally feels he’s ready to settle down, to his mother’s delight. In An Increasing Entanglement, Abe’s plans to gradually ease into respectability are fast forwarded when Travers, a contact at the military headquarters of Horse Guards, offers him a job. Similarly, his personal life is upended by Clem’s abduction by his enemy and former employer Richard Farquarson. Since he confronted Farquarson on Clem’s behalf in the first story, Abe feels culpable for this development.
Apart from his mother, Abe is accustomed to being a lone wolf, and by the third story, An Uncommon Alignment, we watch him struggle with his change of circumstances. Instead of the freedom of the Old Red Lion, he is now an office worker with colleagues and has to tolerate their petty bullying due to a difference in social class.
He’s also no longer a single man. Abe is capable of deep-rooted loyalty but he’s used to keeping his own counsel and carefully guarding secrets. Abe has to learn not to make unilateral decisions where Clem and Humphrey’s happiness is concerned, and to function as part of a team, both professionally and personally. By the end of the third novella, Abe is no longer living life on the edge but has eased into a happy domestic life and a burgeoning career, with the support of the men he loves.
Blurb:
All three novellas in the MMM Regency An Unlikely Alliance trilogy by Ellie Thomas are compiled for this box set.
In these stories, bratty private secretary Clem, semi-criminal hard man Abe, and shy gentleman Humphrey discover that mutual passion leads to romance and even lasting love when they band together to defeat a mutual enemy.
Contains the stories:
An Unlikely Alliance: In Regency London, private secretary Clem encounters shy gentleman Humphrey with satisfying results. From then on, it seems natural to include Abe, Clem’s regular lover, in their frolics. Apart from willing bedfellows, Clem is used to being alone and unsupported. But will the alliance between the three men prove more substantial than mere passing pleasure?
An Increasing Entanglement: Clem, Abe and Humphrey are struggling to maintain their romantic connection in the hustle and bustle of Regency London. When one of their trio is threatened, will the others dash to his rescue? And might this be the making of their romance?
An Uncommon Alignment: In Regency London, Clem, Abe and Humphrey are spending the summer together, in the hope of consolidating their romance. But amongst the demands of everyday life, an old enemy reappears to threaten their harmony. Can the trio defeat Richard Farquarson for once and all? And might they find a way to remain together forever?
Excerpt:
Excerpt from An Unlikely Alliance:
Humphrey had tried and failed to forget the episode in the coffee house the week before. It wasn’t as though he had the excuse of no other distractions. He barely had a free minute given the number of house guests arriving for the start of the Season. There seemed to be a constant round of relatives expecting him to conduct them in the social round.
At Drury Lane Theatre, Humphrey was entirely distracted during a performance of Hamlet, simply because one of the supporting actors bore a faint resemblance to the man from the coffee house. Only then did he admit he was a lost cause. In conversation with his cousins afterwards, he tried to hide that he couldn’t remember a single scene from the play, even though he’d studied it at school.
So after dinner one evening, when he wasn’t required for an hour or two, he audaciously decided to beard his seducer in his den, or rather the Fleet Street tavern he frequented.
Humphrey was so flustered by his uncharacteristic decisiveness that he changed his waistcoat three times. Although the blond had seemed more interested in what lay beneath Humphrey’s clothing.
He eyed his modest supply of coats with trepidation. Is the green too sober, the blue too frivolous and the buff-coloured one too plain?
In the end, he solved the problem by closing his eyes and picking a garment at random. He didn’t dare glance at the mirror in case that prompted more equivocation.
When downstairs, Humphrey hesitated by the drawing room door, lured by comfortable congeniality versus the pursuit of illicit pleasure. One minute he was about to enter the room and in the next, he was haring out of the front door and down the steps to the street.
He calmed his pace when he reached Holborn, slowed by a steady trickle of early evening foot traffic that thickened as he made his way towards Fleet Street.
I’m just going for a quiet drink, he thought. He might not even be there.
Humphrey halted at the entrance to the tavern, his resolve failing him. His vacillation was overcome by pure coincidence. A group of men required access and their impetus carried him over the threshold. Humphrey removed his crown beaver hat and looked around the unevenly shaped room.
With a combination of disappointment and relief, he concluded that his quarry wasn’t present. Then he spotted him in a corner nook. A second glance proved that he was not alone.
Humphrey shifted from foot to foot. In any given social situation he was a reliable sort of fellow, or so Aunt Cece reassured him. But etiquette couldn’t guide him in this particular situation.
It didn’t help that the man seated beside his acquaintance was equally attractive; well-built and with deep olive toned skin. He made a pleasing contrast to the other’s fair slenderness. His massive build reminded Humphrey enticingly of a bare knuckle boxer in an exhibition bout at the Lyceum.
Humphrey was dawdling indecisively when the blond looked up. Humphrey was neatly hooked by that sultry grey gaze. The man nudged his friend. He whispered a few words in his ear, from which hung a gold hoop. The other man grinned and looked Humphrey up and down in a far too knowledgeable way.
Oh good heavens, has he told him? Humphrey felt hot and cold and flustered all at once. He didn’t know whether to be flattered, alarmed, or horrified. He stood stock still, to the annoyance of another patron, halted in the course of reaching the bar.
“Scuse me, squire.”
“Beg your pardon,” Humphrey said immediately. Unfortunately, his reflex response brought him in front of the table occupied by his coffee house companion.
Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.
Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.
The lovely Ellie Thomas is back on the blog! This time, she’ll be talking about her new release A Period of Adjustment, so make sure to read on.
Thank you so much, Ofelia, for having me back on the blog again! I’m Ellie, I write Historical MM Romance and today, I’m here to chat about my new release, A Period of Adjustment.
This is the tenth story in my Twelve Letters series, set in Regency London with an ensemble cast of four established couples. In the ninth story, A United Front, released in April, one of my couples, Jolyon Everett and Daniel Walters were threatened with blackmail. Their friends rallied around and managed to subdue the threat, but Jo and Daniel were left rattled by this close call.
When the JMS Books Anniversary submission call was announced with a Date Night theme, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for Daniel and Jo to work out their remaining issues from the recent crisis.
As this is the tenth novella in this long-running series, by now, I know these characters intimately. What interested me about the aftermath of the attempted blackmail was how the couple would react as individuals.
Daniel Walters is a working class man who has attained the position of managing a tailor’s shop through sheer hard work and skill. In A United Front, when he’s approached by the potential blackmailer, Daniel has the street smarts to temporarily keep the corrupt constable temporarily at bay.
But once the threat is removed, Daniel feels on shaky ground. He might be surrounded by loyal friends, but unlike Jo, he doesn’t have the protection of social class. As a self-made man, it occurs to him how much he might have lost in terms of reputation, which would have a drastic effect on his livelihood and his future.
Despite four happy years together, Daniel’s fears and insecurities come roaring back, and he feels unable to communicate his feelings to Jo. It doesn’t help that, at least superficially, Jo appears to have thrown off the episode and is behaving as normal.
I thought that a ‘date night’ was the perfect occasion for these two to have an opportunity to communicate their feelings and put their relationship back on track.
Blurb
Sequel to A United Front
In London during the spring of 1818, the close-knit group of men successfully routed a recent threat of extortion that particularly impacted Jo Everett and Daniel Walters.
The after-effects might linger, but everyday life and other challenges keep all four couples occupied.
Luc, the musician, and Harry, the actor, are heavily involved with a production at Drury Lane Theatre.
Ben is helping Edward to counter his father’s edict that Edward quits London to take the reins of the family doctor’s practice in Wiltshire, leaving behind his lover and his medical research.
Meanwhile, Percy is out of sorts at the prospect of his sister Eustacia’s upcoming wedding. As usual, his long-suffering lover Nathan bears the brunt of Percy’s mercurial moods.
Life above the tailor’s shop at Tottenham Court Road has apparently returned to normal since the banishment of the corrupt constable, Jabeth Snell. But neither Jo nor Daniel has fully recovered from their close escape.
Jo is trying to put on a brave face while Daniel’s old doubts have resurfaced, making him keep Jo at a distance.
Can Jo and Daniel weather the storm and return to their previously happy existence? And will their friends rally round to help them reconcile?
Excerpt:
“Have you finished for the day, Mr. Jo?” Cribbins asked while Jo placed the completed stack of letters on the hall table ready for the post boy.
“That’s right, Cribbins. Ben told me not to linger once I’d finished today’s quota of epistles.”
“Rather you than me,” Cribbins said, eyeing the pile of papers. “I’ll stick to polishing the silver.”
“Why, is Ben such a stickler?”
“Not so you’d notice. Someone has to keep the captain up to certain standards, even if they aren’t his own. I call it a work in progress.”
They grinned at each other.
“Talking of standards,” Jo said, his mind turning to the recent upset. “Have you come across your friend Arkwright recently?”
This official served at the same magistrate’s court as Snell but was of a different pedigree entirely, and had been a soldier under Ben’s command. With some prompting from Cribbins, Arkwright had been pivotal in engineering Snell’s removal from London.
Since Cribbins and Ben were in close alignment, Jo had very few secrets from Ben’s manservant, the most reliable of men who he regarded as a friend.
“Funny you should say that, sir. I bumped into him only this afternoon, on my way back from the cobblers. You know how the captain needs his boots specially adjusted these days.”
Jo nodded at this allusion to Ben’s injured foot, or what remained of it.
“Arkwright was in no hurry and seemed pleased to see me. We shared a jug of ale as he was keen to relate his tidings of Snell.”
It was typical of Cribbins to refer to the potentially life-ruining scandal in such oblique terms.
He’s had plenty of practice at circumventing a trigger for Ben’s moods and rages.
“There’s been neither hide nor hair of Snell in Soho or thereabouts. Mind you, plenty of fellows seek him and not to enquire after his health,” Cribbins said knowingly, doubtless referring to the criminal element to whom Snell owed money. “Snell’s missus had the bags packed on the cart off to Southwark sharpish,” Cribbins paused for effect. “Although that’s probably because they owed three months rent.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Indeed, sir. I reckon Snell’s lying low in Battersea, out of the reach of any rogues. And from what Arkwright says, it’s not a comfortable billet. Mr. Thompson, the local magistrate is a God-fearing sort, close to Methodist in inclination. Arkwright says he makes Mr. Madingley seem like a Sybarite in comparison.”
Jo laughed at that colourful description of the eminently respectable Soho magistrate, a friend of Nathan’s and a new acquaintance to Ben, who had been delighted to rid the district of Snell and his nefarious schemes.
“There’s no scope for Snell’s schemes in Battersea, what with Mr. Thompson watching him like a hawk. There’s more sheep than people in that direction, anyway,” Cribbins said with the lofty condescension of a seasoned city dweller. “The magistrate disapproves of gambling and doesn’t hold with his men drinking spirits.”
“So it looks like Snell is forced into being a sober citizen.”
“Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving cove.”
“I have to say, that’s certainly brightened up my day.”
“I thought it might, sir. Are you off home now?”
Perhaps Jo was simply feeling oversensitive, but there seemed to be slightly too much understanding on Cribbins’ weather-beaten features.”
“I thought I’d drop into Jackson’s for a bit of sparring before preparing for the evening’s revelry.”
Better than going home to have Daniel invent yet another reason to keep out of my way.
In recent training sessions, Jo had imagined Snell’s smug face imprinted on the punching bag, giving him some measure of satisfaction.
“Ben’s got an invitation for tonight’s ball, too. He must have accepted as I spotted the card on the mantel.”
“That’ll please him.” Cribbins grinned. Ben was vocal in his dislike of frivolity. “I’d better get his evening suit brushed down and ready, so he’ll have no excuses.”
“Rather you than me, in that respect.
“We have to suffer our lot in life. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then, Mr. Jo.”
“Indeed, you will, Cribbins, despite the gallons of Champagne I’ll be obliged to consume this evening.”
“I’ll be sure to have the coffee ready. Strong enough to stand a spoon in.”
Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.
Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.
Ofelia Grand 