Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Book Blast: Midsummer by Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Book Blast: Midsummer by Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Book Information:
Author Names: Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae
Book Name: Midsummer
Series: Love’s Labours
Book One
Release Date: May 20, 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht
Buy The Book:

Blurb: 

John Lyonel, a long-time theater professional and teacher, heads to Virginia to play Oberon in the Theater in the Woods’s production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, intending to focus on his work. John is recovering from the tragic loss of his family and needs a break. The last thing he expects is to become captivated by Michael Hilliard, the professional actor playing Puck, especially since John has never been attracted to men, let alone one so much younger.

They rush headlong into an affair which falls apart dramatically over secrets that John and Michael are keeping from each other. A steep learning curve, the gossipy cast of the show, and the sometimes sinister magic of the woods conspire to keep them apart. But stage lights and stars might work their magic and help them define a new future.

Pages or Words: 27,400 words
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt:

Michael breaks off from a conversation and wanders back over, then drops into John’s lap as easily as he had the night before. It’s comforting, the way a cat would be, and John gladly wraps his arms around Michael’s waist again and decides not to worry about figuring any of this out right now.

“You can stop staring now,” Michael declares to the fire at large, when they start attracting eyes. “Or I can give you all individual recommendations for who you should be staring at. And some of you might not be entirely happy with what I tell.”

He gets a couple of whoops for that, a lot of laughter, and not a few glares. John chuckles, and dips his head to kiss Michael on the shoulder before he even thinks about it.

Michael turns his head. For a moment John thinks Michael’s going to kiss him. And while that is far more ridiculous than John has ever had any intention of being in public, he’s not sure he wouldn’t welcome and return anything Michael did.

Michael just smiles, though, small and unexpectedly intimate, before he leans up to whisper in John’s ear. “Follow me in five minutes.”




Mari's Review:

*copy provided by author/publisher via Pride Promotions in exchange for an honest review:

I enjoyed this book, perhaps not as much as I thought I would, but that doesn't mean that I didn't like it. I loved following all the intricacies of putting together a play like this and I really liked the idea of Michael and John together, despite the age difference. They seemed to complement each other quite well, actually, and I loved that the way they fall into this was so seamless. 

I didn't particularly care for all of John's insistence on the age difference bit, although he did have a point. Especially once other things came into play, the age difference really made the difference. I was mildly annoyed with Michael for the way he reacted to John's 'secret', especially since it wasn't something you would share with another too easily, no matter if they were together or not, and the fact that Michael had been keeping secrets, too, so he didn't have much ground to act like he did. 

Other than that, it's a relatively fast read and I loved the chemistry between Michael and John, even if I prefer John all the way. It was a pretty good story, even if there are some things that could've been improved. 

Rating: 4 Stars


About the authors:
Racheline Maltese is a queer writer living a big life from a small space. She flies planes, sails boats, and rides horses, but as a native New Yorker, has no idea how to drive a car.

A performer and storyteller focused on themes of celebrity, gender, desire and mourning, Racheline has a journalism degree from The George Washington University; studied acting and directing at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School (New York City) and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (Sydney, Australia); and is a proud SAG-AFTRA member.

She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their two cats.
Twitter Amazon Goodreads

Erin McRae is a queer writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. She owns several pieces of paper from distinguished universities, including a Master’s degree in International Affairs from American University, which qualify her to have lengthy and passionate discussions about the microeconomics of Tunisia. She also engages in lengthy and passionate discussions about military history. She likes trenches.

Erin is a cofounder of Avian 30, a literary collective dedicated to narratives with magical and sexual realism. She delights in applying her knowledge of international relations theory to her fiction and screen-based projects, because conflict drives narrative.

She lives in Washington, D.C. with her partner and their two cats. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)