A – Z |Bearly Dating

March 12, 2020March 11, 2020 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 21 Comments

I used to do a lot of reading challenges in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. I’ve done A-Z challenges for titles, characters, and cover hunts, the Whips and Kisses game, the Shelfaton, the Around the Country in 50 Books Challenge, and probably some more I can’t remember.

It’s all great fun, and I get a bit manic when I can cross things off a list (For my everyday life I use Habitica.com, check it out if you like crossing things off a list LOL), but the more time I spend writing, the less time I spend reading. That’s not quite true, I still have periods when I read a lot, but it doesn’t happen as often as it used to.

So, I figured I’d do me an A-Z Title Challenge so I get to read and check thing off – two of my favourite things LOL.

For B, I’ve read Bearly Dating by Calandra Hunter. I was in the mood for some bear shifters. I wrote a bear shifter story, so now I figured I’d read one.

Jonathan is a bear shifter who doesn’t want to shift. He has the most annoying family, constantly pestering him about finding a mate and moving back home so he can be closer to other shifters. When Jonathan’s grandparents’ wedding anniversary comes up, he gets the brilliant idea of going with a fake boyfriend.

Eric recently broke up with his cheating ex so when his friend asks a favour – for him to play her boss’ boyfriend for a weekend – he says yes, thinking he could use a weekend to get away.

As often is with fake boyfriend stories, the attraction between the two grows, and when something happens that forces Jonathan to shift, things change forever.

Bearly Dating isn’t a story filled with surprises, but that’s okay. Shifters and pretend boyfriends, how else could it have turned out? I wanted to strangle Jonathan’s mother, though. So annoying LOL.

books2read.com/BearlyDating

Bearly Dating Jonathan Goddard is a bear shifter with three problems: 1, he doesn’t like shifting and has ignored his bear for years. 2, his family is pushing him to find a partner and settle down. 3, he’s just lied to his overbearing mother that he’s bringing a boyfriend to his grandparents’ wedding anniversary to stop her from setting him up with random guys. The solution? Bring a fake boyfriend and pretend to be in relationship for one weekend, then go back to his happy, single, bear-free life.

Eric Warden has recently broken up with his cheating ex-boyfriend, and a weekend of pretending to be someone else sounds like the perfect distraction from his heartbreak. Pretending to be the boyfriend of a fun, attractive guy like Jonathan will be easy — so long as Eric can ignore his growing, genuine attraction to the other man.

From the moment Jonathan meets Eric, he starts to wonder if maybe they could have more together than just one weekend. But first, he’ll have to deal with his bear who doesn’t want to be ignored any longer and a family that’s already planning their wedding.

Surrounded by dozens of nosy family members, a terrible thunderstorm and an aggressive inner bear, can Jonathan and Eric find a future together, or will they only be bear-ly dating?

This is a 45000 word stand alone bear shifter romance. No cliffhangers.

A-Z Title Challenge 2020

A – All I See

B – Bearly Dating

C – Champagne Kisses

G – A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness

H – Howl

I – I Will Meet You at Asphodel’s Pit

P – Purrfect Harmony

W – Words

A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness by Amy Lane

February 29, 2020February 1, 2020 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 19 Comments

It’s been a long time since I read Amy Lane. I used to read her a lot, and she’s written some of my favourite books, so I don’t really know why I stopped – not a conscious decision. On today’s menu, we have A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness, and I admit I picked simply because the blurb said Gabriel would be on a seat at Starbucks. Don’t judge how I get my coffee kicks!

Gabriel is an angel who has forgotten why he should bother to save humans so he’s sent to Starbucks to observe and remember why, despite all the shitty things humans do, they’re worth protecting.

Usually, when I read Amy Lane I end up crying. This wasn’t that kind of story. We’re seeing the world through Gabriel as he watches Jamie, a barista with a bright smile, and the shy Ernie, slowly work up to set a time for a date with a bit of angelic interference. It’s sweet, but not much is happening.

Angels? Have you read many books with angels? I have to admit I haven’t read many at all – The Guild Hunter Series, of course, and some occasional other, but they’ve mostly been M/F books. The only M/M books I can think of at the top of my head is Into This River I Drown by T.J. Klune which had me crying buckets.

If you’re up for some angels with your coffee, this is an 18-pages freebie you can get through Amy Lane’s Prolific Works Page.

A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness This short story was originally published in the Dreamspinner Press Anthology ‘Grand Adventures’

Witness the Angel Gabriel.

a.k.a. “Heaven’s biggest prick”

Gabriel has been accused of the crime of hubris–and his sentence is to remember why angels protected humans in the first place. A permanent seat at Starbucks might be Gabriel’s idea of hell, but it’s there that he meets the irrepressible Jamie and wounded Ernie, and realizes that the human race might be worth saving after all.

It just needs a gentle shove of human kindness

Purrfect Harmony | Arden Steele

February 26, 2020February 21, 2020 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 19 Comments

I figured I needed one more Valentine read this month despite the 14th having come and gone. I was scrolling through my feed, can’t remember if it was Instagram or Facebook (probably Facebook since I clicked a link) and saw a Valintine giveaway over at bookfunnel. One of the books listed was Purrfect Harmony by Arden Steele, and I was in the mood for some shifter smut LOL.

I’m a little confused. After I’d read Purrfect Harmony I went to look it up on Goodreads. It took a little time to find, but I did, only it had no cover. But I clicked my way over to the author profile in search of a website – no such thing was listed. So I googled, and there I fund Ms Steele’s website.

But, I also found a different cover of Purrfect Harmony and an announcement that it’s coming out in March 2020. Below the cover, it said that the new version is 20k longer than the version published in the Heart of the Beast Anthology. So naturally, I tried to find the anthology…no luck. Heart of the Beast was the name of the group giveaway, though.

It doesn’t really matter, I’m just a little confused about what story I’ve read LOL.

It’s cute, I enjoyed it. It’s a mates-destined-to-be kind of tale. Remington Raines is a rockstar and a cheetah shifter. He can have anyone he wants and no one ever says ‘no’. At least not until he asks Kol Livingston out for dinner.

Kol has had shifter boyfriends before, and he’s not sure he can survive another one finding his soulmate when that soulmate isn’t him, so he’s sworn off shifters. It doesn’t matter that it’s the Remi asking him out, he just can’t.

It’s short (though if you buy it, it might be 20k longer), it’s funny, it’s cute. And for those who know me, you know how I hate the uber-romantic scenes where the audience claps. We almost made it through, people, almost.

But, I well aware of that being a me-not-you kind of thing, so if you’re into shifters, give this a go! I enjoyed it.

Purrfect Harmony Kol Livingston believes in the so-called fairy tales, the clichés—love at first sight, soul mates, and happily-ever-afters. He wants it all, but after a series of failed relationships, he’s beginning to think he’ll never meet Prince Charming. He loves his job as a personal concierge at Blackhaven Manor, but with all the gorgeous paranormals strutting around the estate, why would anyone choose him? When cheetah shifter and infamous bad boy, Remington Raines, is asked to perform for the annual Valentine Masquerade Ball, he can’t say no. Literally. Still, an all-expenses-paid vacation from tour buses and screaming fans might be just what he needs. Falling for the quirky concierge with big, brown eyes and a smile that melts him, however, wasn’t part of the plan.