Release Blitz ~ Of Sunlight and Stardust by Riley Hart & Christina Lee (Reviews + Excerpt + Giveaway)
OF SUNLIGHT AND STARDUST
RILEY HART & CHRISTINA LEE
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 09.21.18
Cover Design: JAY AHEER/ Simply Defined Art
Cover Image: Strangeland Photography
Blurb
After the death of his wife, Tanner Rowe takes a step toward making her dream come true and buys the house with the dilapidated barn she’d been inexplicably drawn to in the picturesque Upper Peninsula. But after a year, he still can’t get past his grief long enough to make the repairs he’d promised.
Recently out of prison, Cole Lachlan has little to his name. Homeless, broke, and without many options as a felon, Cole heads to Red Bluff with hopes of a second chance. There, he meets Tanner, whose loneliness mirrors his own and soon, Cole is trading room and board for rebuilding the burned-out barn on Tanner’s property that hasn’t been touched in seventy years.
Turns out, the barn holds a lot more secrets than either of them could have imagined. After unearthing a hidden journal from 1948, Cole and Tanner spend their evenings poring through the pages and reading about a young man pining after his best friend. As they delve deeper into this forbidden affair from the past, the more Cole and Tanner’s own relationship shifts—from acquaintance to friend…to undeniable attraction.
But as they begin to deal with the newness of falling in love amid Cole’s past and Tanner’s loss, they also become more determined to unravel the mystery of the young lovers who’ve captured their hearts, the rumors about the fire, and what really happened that fateful night.
Excerpt
Every so often, Tanner found his eyes drawn back to the window. With the exception of a small lunch break, Cole didn’t stop working. He might not know much about building a barn, but the things Cole was doing now he could help with. There was no reason he couldn’t clean or haul debris to the truck. He didn’t for a couple of reasons. First, this was what he’d hired Cole to do. It might have only been a short amount of time, but Tanner knew Cole well enough to know he wouldn’t feel as if he was earning his keep if Tanner helped too much. But also, even though he’d promised Emma he’d follow her dream for them, part of him resented it because it hadn’t been his dream, it had been hers. They were supposed to do it together, and now she was gone and he was here, with a man he didn’t know, trying to make it happen.
Those thoughts made him an asshole, he was pretty sure, but they were true.
He was lonely, Christ, he was lonely. He’d almost asked Cole to share lunch with him earlier, but his phone had rung instead. He didn’t know why he kept himself from talking much with Cole. He was an interesting man, and obviously well read. He had a pride about him that Tanner respected. It intrigued him. They had common ground, so why was he resisting? Their arrangement was temporary and a working relationship. It wasn’t as if any harm could come from it. It would give him someone to talk to until Cole was on his way.
That’s the man I know, Emma’s voice whispered in his head. He was beginning to worry he was going crazy. He heard her more often than was probably healthy. Not just memories either, but moments like this one, where it was almost as if she was talking to him. Logically, he realized it was just that he knew Emma, knew what she would say and how she would feel, but it was also concerning.
Tanner continued working until he reached a good stopping point, then went downstairs.
He was craving spaghetti and meatballs, which usually wasn’t one of his favorite meals. Since he had ground beef in the fridge, he washed his hands and started dinner. He sautéed the meatballs while he got the sauce going. An hour later he had the meal ready, complete with a salad. He went to pluck a plate from the cabinet to fix some up for Cole, then paused.
What’s it going to hurt, Tan?
He closed his eyes, pursed his lips because a part of him wanted to answer Emma. It would make him feel closer to her. But he didn’t. Goddamn it. He put the plate away and made his way outside.
Cole was standing by the truck, with his shirt off. Beads of sweat rolled down his sun-kissed skin, over the tattoos on his arms. Did they mean anything? He found himself wondering. He didn’t have any himself. Wasn’t sure what he would get if he ever decided to get one.
Tanner’s eyes darted away when Cole turned around to look at him. He figured that was silly and glanced back to see Cole’s brows pulled together.
“If you’re hungry, dinner’s done.”
He saw Cole’s eyes lower to his hands since he usually carried the plate out.
“It’s hot as hell. Figured you could eat in the kitchen with me, if you’d like.”
Again, he averted his gaze, this time looking toward the barn. Did Cole not want to share a meal with him? Would he prefer to eat alone in a half-burned barn?
“You don’t have to if you don’t want, of course. I just thought—”
“No, no,” Cole interrupted. He had a slightly raspy voice that was unique to him. “It’s not that. It’d be nice to eat inside, enjoy the cool house. But I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.”
“You’re not,” Tanner replied. Really, what in the hell had he done for Cole? He wasn’t very hospitable at all. He was paying him for work.
“Okay,” Cole replied. “Let me get my things. And I should shower first. I’m awfully sweaty.”
Those thoughts made him an asshole, he was pretty sure, but they were true.
He was lonely, Christ, he was lonely. He’d almost asked Cole to share lunch with him earlier, but his phone had rung instead. He didn’t know why he kept himself from talking much with Cole. He was an interesting man, and obviously well read. He had a pride about him that Tanner respected. It intrigued him. They had common ground, so why was he resisting? Their arrangement was temporary and a working relationship. It wasn’t as if any harm could come from it. It would give him someone to talk to until Cole was on his way.
That’s the man I know, Emma’s voice whispered in his head. He was beginning to worry he was going crazy. He heard her more often than was probably healthy. Not just memories either, but moments like this one, where it was almost as if she was talking to him. Logically, he realized it was just that he knew Emma, knew what she would say and how she would feel, but it was also concerning.
Tanner continued working until he reached a good stopping point, then went downstairs.
He was craving spaghetti and meatballs, which usually wasn’t one of his favorite meals. Since he had ground beef in the fridge, he washed his hands and started dinner. He sautéed the meatballs while he got the sauce going. An hour later he had the meal ready, complete with a salad. He went to pluck a plate from the cabinet to fix some up for Cole, then paused.
What’s it going to hurt, Tan?
He closed his eyes, pursed his lips because a part of him wanted to answer Emma. It would make him feel closer to her. But he didn’t. Goddamn it. He put the plate away and made his way outside.
Cole was standing by the truck, with his shirt off. Beads of sweat rolled down his sun-kissed skin, over the tattoos on his arms. Did they mean anything? He found himself wondering. He didn’t have any himself. Wasn’t sure what he would get if he ever decided to get one.
Tanner’s eyes darted away when Cole turned around to look at him. He figured that was silly and glanced back to see Cole’s brows pulled together.
“If you’re hungry, dinner’s done.”
He saw Cole’s eyes lower to his hands since he usually carried the plate out.
“It’s hot as hell. Figured you could eat in the kitchen with me, if you’d like.”
Again, he averted his gaze, this time looking toward the barn. Did Cole not want to share a meal with him? Would he prefer to eat alone in a half-burned barn?
“You don’t have to if you don’t want, of course. I just thought—”
“No, no,” Cole interrupted. He had a slightly raspy voice that was unique to him. “It’s not that. It’d be nice to eat inside, enjoy the cool house. But I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.”
“You’re not,” Tanner replied. Really, what in the hell had he done for Cole? He wasn’t very hospitable at all. He was paying him for work.
“Okay,” Cole replied. “Let me get my things. And I should shower first. I’m awfully sweaty.”
5 Stars!
“Don’t you worry. I’ll hold you forever.”
I spent a good chunk of the morning with tears streaming down my face and feeling as if my heart was breaking for Tom and Charlie. This story is just as much theirs as it is Cole and Tanner’s. It was a bittersweet reminder of how differently the world views love these days and yet with all the changes and advancements, there is still so much more to be done.
Tanner Rowe wants to honor his late wife’s dreams of owning the Red Bluff Home that she couldn’t stop fantasizing about. Emma loved the home without ever stepping foot inside and there was something about the partially burned down barn that drew her every time she saw it. Tanner had thought they’d do it together, it had been her dream, not his. Now a year later and still drowning in the grief of losing the only person he’d ever loved he hasn’t a clue how to start on this house.
Cole Lachlan stepped out of prison after 4 years with the knowledge he’d never end up there again. With ties to no one, not even a Parole Officer, he sets off to find a place where he can set up a new life, hopefully, make his late Grandfather proud of him. Unfortunately, life just can’t make it easy for him and he quickly finds being a convicted felon might always hold him back. Red Bluff calls to him but it isn’t until meeting Tanner and agreeing to work on his barn in exchange for a place to sleep that he starts to truly feel like he might actually be ok.
In the midst of restoring the barn, Cole finds a journal dating back to 1948. Between him and Tanner, the two men begin to discover the story of Tom and Charlie and the mystery of the barn. Somehow between their story and the restoration of the barn, Cole and Tanner smoothly settle into a friendship neither man ever expected. The closer they become the more obvious it becomes they may just be exactly what the other needed and with that realization comes love.
I’m trying hard not to give too much away because I loved how this story unfolds and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. At the heart of it Of Sunlight and Stardust is a love story. Both Tanner and Cole are going through the motions of life. Tanner because of his loss and Cole because of his struggle to get on his feet and prove that he was a good man. They need each other in so many ways. To have someone that understands them, that makes them not feel the heavy loneliness they’ve become weighed down by. They give each other true friendship, companionship, trust and love. It’s beautiful.
We also get the story of Tom and Charlie and what life was like for them in 1948 Red Bluff. They are a bit of a mystery we get to unfold alongside Tan and Cole and it adds a different element to this story. I was so invested in both couples and I desperately wanted to understand it all. Both authors did an excellent job weaving these two stories together to create one. I loved it, even through the tears.
I would definitely recommend this book to readers. Christina Lee and Riley Hart created a beautiful story that I honestly couldn’t put down.
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***
4 Stars
Gay-for-you is seriously my favorite MM trope. I get caught up in the angst and struggles of the characters around making such a major life change, usually giving me all the feels. I can’t say that happened for me in this book, but it’s definitely a sweet read.
In this novel, widower Tanner takes in newly released, homeless felon Cole. Tanner lost his wife, Emma, a year before and given his foster-care childhood, she was all he had in life. He moved to a new town, buying an old property Emma had always wanted. At the peak of his loneliness, he meets Cole by happenstance and helps the down-on-his-luck yet fiercely proud man rebuild his life after he is released from prison. From there a deep friendship and mutual respect blossoms.
This book veered to almost formulaic. The addition of the parallel storyline of Tom and Charlie, two men that were deeply in love in the late 1940s, makes the story much more interesting. Tom and Charlie end up victims of a hate crime that is swept under the rug by the town. But the reading of Tom’s journal, feeling the deep love and intense chemistry between the two boys, was definitely the best part of this story.
This is a not very angsty (for example, Tanner gets over being bi really quick), but highly emotional read. It’s a slow burn and the sexy times were OK, although the chemistry between Tanner and Cole wasn’t sizzling in my opinion. This was more of a deep friendship, turned love. Very sweet read.
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***
Riley Hart is the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s a hopeless romantic, a lover of sexy stories, passionate men, and writing about all the trouble they can get into together.
She loves reading, flawed characters, and hanging out with her husband and children, who she adores. She and her family live in Southern California, soaking up the sunshine while also missing seasons. Not a day goes by that she isn’t thankful she gets to wake up and do what she loves.
Life is good. Riley also writes young adult and new adult under the name Nyrae Dawn.
Once upon a time, I lived in New York City and was a wardrobe stylist. I spent my days shopping for photo shoots, getting into cabs, eating amazing food, and drinking coffee at my favorite hangouts.
Now I live in the Midwest with my husband and son—my two favorite guys. I've been a clinical social worker and a special education teacher. But it wasn't until I wrote a weekly column for the local newspaper that I realized I could turn the fairytales inside my head into the reality of writing fiction.
I write Adult, New Adult, and M/M Contemporary Romance. I'm addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. I believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.
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