Friday, October 6, 2017

Blog Tour: Tender with a Twist by Annabeth Albert (Review, Guest Post + Giveaway)

Title: Tender with a Twist

Series: Rainbow Cove #2, but stands alone well

Author: Annabeth Albert

Publisher: Annabeth Albert

Release Date: October 2, 2017

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 79,000 words

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, May-December, BDSM (light), Small Town

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Synopsis

One kinky wood carver. One younger chef looking to try new things. A series of lessons that bring both men more than they bargained for…

Curtis Hunt has made a name for himself as a chainsaw wood carver, winning national competitions and operating a small business in Rainbow Cove, Oregon. As winter whittles away his tourist traffic, his goal is just to survive the season and try to not get lost in grief for his dead lover. It’s been two years, but he’s sure he’ll never be over the love of a lifetime. However, his body has a certain restlessness that he doesn’t quite know how to calm.

Logan Rosner knows a thing or two about restlessness. It’s what drove him to Rainbow Cove to be a chef at a bar and grill run by his friends. And it’s what drives him to a single sizzling encounter with the local legendary lumberjack. Both men get far more than they expected and learn that first impressions aren’t always accurate…

But when Logan proposes a series of sexy lessons, Curtis must decide how much he’s willing to risk. He knows he can’t afford to get attached to Logan’s good cooking, his easy smiles, or his caretaking, but he keeps going back for more, even as deeper emotions become involved. Soon, Curtis must decide whether to risk his heart again or risk losing Logan for good.

Tender with a Twist is a 75,000 word stand-alone gay romance with a May/December theme, featuring a second chance at love, opposites attract, loads of sexy times with mild BDSM elements, and one emotionally-charged, guaranteed happy ending with no cliffhangers.

Excerpt

Logan

The crazy woodcarver was shirtless. Again. It was a sleepy Thursday in January on the Oregon Coast which meant most sane people were in flannel and jackets and bundled for the sharp bite of the wind. I was wearing fleece-lined bike pants and a long-sleeved cycling jacket myself as I celebrated the first good ride of the year, and I was still chilly when I stopped my ride near the jewelry store on 101—the main highway running through Rainbow Cove. I told myself that I’d stopped for some water from my bottle, but I knew it was a weak excuse. Really, I’d been transfixed by the sight of Curtis Hunt carving up a giant tree trunk with his chainsaw.

For all that rumors flew about his eccentricity, the man was an unparalleled artist, and watching him do his thing was a true pleasure. Sweat dripped from his head and back despite the cool temperature, and he worked like a man possessed, moving this way and that around the piece, dancing almost as his chainsaw flitted about with the sort of grace I’d expect from the jeweler, not this buff lumberjack with heavy machinery.

He wore sawdust splattered jeans, heavy boots, safety goggles and ear protectors, but his red flannel shirt lay discarded on a nearby sculpture of a falcon, showing off his shimmering muscles and tats that even from a distance were impressive. For all that the guy had probably fifteen years on me, he was in amazing shape. Hell, if I had ink and muscles like that, I wouldn’t keep my shirt on, either. All the muscles made something warm unfurl in my gut, but I dismissed the low thrum of arousal as a never-happening-in-this-lifetime thing. Chances were very high that he’d laugh at any of my fantasies, especially the ones involving him, some rope, and his usual intense stare replaced with something closer to supplication.

But, a guy could still look. And want. So I took my time drinking my water, watching as the outline of a bird slowly emerged from the raw tree trunk.

In a town as tiny as Rainbow Cove, the rumor mill worked overtime, and I knew all the rumors about Curtis. Knew he’d lost his longtime lover a year or two ago and that the two of them had been mythic fixtures in the area. Curtis had apparently gotten more eccentric since the other guy had passed, moving into the old gas station he used as a gallery for his carvings, growing his own food, and going notoriously cranky about change.

And change was what had driven me to Rainbow Cove. Change was what my restaurant represented—hope that the area economy could find a new foothold in tourism. So it wasn’t surprising that Curtis didn’t seem to like my friends and me any. Probably wouldn’t appreciate me looking at him like he was a lumbersexual Tumblr all queued up for my viewing pleasure. But damn, those muscles…

I gave myself last look before I pedaled away, heading away from the center of town, taking the turnoff that would lead me to the narrow residential road that skirted the beach to the south. I was alone on the road, glorious, vast gray skies and sprawling blue ocean my only companions. This was what I’d come to Rainbow Cove for, the space to be alone, the quietness that I’d only ever found before in a dojo. Portland was crowded, and not just with people. My parents’ expectations always loomed large, as did past mistakes and hurts, and the general hustle of the area made it hard to catch my breath, hard to think and breathe and simply be. The traffic. The noise. The demands. All of it had gotten to be too much for me, and when my friend Mason had proposed the idea of the bar and grille here on the coast, I’d leapt at the chance to start fresh, especially since I’d loved the coast from some of my earliest memories of family weekends away.

Eventually, my ride returned me to the tavern where Mason was signing off on a meat delivery from a local farm.

“Chef!” The driver greeted me with a wave as I locked up the bike. “We’ve got some new fillets in. Think you might want some for a special this week?”

My mind immediately flitted away the shirtless woodcarver and back to my real passion—cooking. I loved being the chef here, the guy who made the decisions and the specials. I’d had years of sous chef positions in Portland, growing ever more eager for my own menu, one where I could play with sauces and presentation and choose my own local ingredients.

“I’m picturing a peppercorn crusted fillet with red wine reduction.” I inspected packages Mason was loading into the freezer and fridge. We’d do most of our business with the endless stacks of burger patties, but I loved changing things up with my daily specials, too.

“Don’t know if anyone will pay fillet prices.” Mason shook his head. The slow winter season was starting to wear on my friend, who also served as our business manager. “You can try it as a special, but let’s not over-order.”

I reluctantly took a small order of fillets, ceding to Mason’s wishes, and rounded out my weekly specials plan with cheaper options like shepherd’s pie.

“How was your ride?” Mason asked after the delivery guy was on his way.

“Fine.” I didn’t feel the need to report on my perving of the woodcarver. It had been a little personal indulgence. Not to mention the fact that Mason’s police chief boyfriend, Nash Flint, was close friends with Curtis, which meant I’d be in for double the teasing if I let on that I’d let my eyes wander in that direction.

“You’re not too lonely, are you?” Mason pressed. “It’s your first winter on the coast, and I know that can be hard.”

“Not lonely,” I said, truthfully. I was so happy to be free of all the voices of Portland—my well-meaning parents, my ex, my aikido master, my many opinionated friends, the executive chefs and restaurant managers who hadn’t seen fit to promote me. The silence of the off season meant that for the first time in my life I was finally free to figure out my own direction, and I intended to seize that. I wasn’t telling Mason, but that was my New Year’s resolution—be the person I’d been reluctant to embrace in Portland. It was high time I took a chance on myself.

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The Tender Playlist

Greetings! Thank you so much for having me today! I’m so excited to be celebrating the release of TENDER WITH A TWIST, book two of my rainbow cove series (but stands alone fine too!), which features my kinky woodcarver and a much younger up-and-coming chef. I do a playlist for all my books, but I find that my May/December pairings always pose a musical challenge. In this case, I had one hero (Curtis, the woodcarver) with really strong musical opinions and his love of classic rock anthems really influenced what I listened to while writing. But the other hero, Logan, had to get his tastes represented too, and what happened was a very eclectic, rock-heavy playlist. You can see the whole list here: https://open.spotify.com/user/annabethalbert/playlist/5TrvRSRxmMwxn5L61r1lhY

A few songs really stood out to me as really embodying the book:

Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty. This was the first song added to the playlist with good reason. I just knew Curtis would be a fan of classic Tom Petty, and free falling is also a metaphor for his life post-death of his lover. He’s trying to figure out his place in the world, and it’s not always easy.
Small Town by John Mellencamp. Another song that just begged for inclusion. Can’t have a small-town born and raised guy like Curtis and not have this iconic anthem.
Anyway the Wind Blows by Eric Clapton with JJ Cale. I listened to so many great guitar legends while writing this book, and this one really showcases how aimless Curtis is when the book opens. He needs a new direction but is reluctant to commit to anything for fear of getting hurt again.
Crazy for You by Adele. Eventually we had to have a song from Logan, and this song jumped onto the playlist because it really seemed to speak to how Logan feels about Curtis—he drives him crazy on a number of levels and he just can’t seem to stay away.
I Need a Lover by John Mellencamp. This is a Curtis-era song but it will forever make me think of Logan and how much he needs someone like Curtis to drive him nuts and push him out of his comfort zone. They both really need someone like that.
Running on Empty by Jackson Browne. The book has a series of scenes set on a roadtrip, so I needed a classic roadtrip song to fuel that section. And this one is perfect because it speaks to how hard Curtis is working to hold everything together.
Hole in the World by The Eagles. A lot of the songs on the playlist talk about loss and anger and moving on because that’s what Curtis is wrestling with—he loved deeply and unconditionally and got his heart broken and must figure out how to try again. It’s a grieving process.
Heartache Tonight by The Eagles. Yeah, there were a lot of Eagles’ songs on this one. About ½ way through the book, both men know they are falling for each other, and they know that hurt is likely and they still can’t help themselves. Loved this song for that section.
Feels Like Home, Linda Ronstadt. Logan is learning what home truly—a place, a feeling, a person. And this song is all of that and symbolizes what Curtis and the town come to mean for him.
Lay Your Hands On Me by Bon Jovi. This song is pretty much the theme song for the book. It’s sexy and demanding and almost reverent. It fueled a lot of the kinky love scenes in this one!

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at my process! Be sure to check out the full playlist if you’re on spotify! Thanks again for having me!

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Tender with a Twist is book 2 in Annabeth Albert's Rainbow Cove series. And, I'm going to be honest here, I don't care if this book can be read as a standalone, this series is just too good to skip around so do yourself a favor and start at the beginning. Really, that sets the background for Rainbow Cove and for Curtis and Logan.

This book was a surprise to me, but many are! There are certain authors, series, books that I just automatically want to read without bothering to read the book description. And sometimes, that just doesn't work out well for me. If I had paid attention to the BDSM tag on this book, I probably would have skipped it even though I enjoy this author. But, I didn't even know about it so I happily dove into the story. I can enjoy some BDSM books as long as it's not too much. Everyone has their kink, and I certainly don't judge that, I just have different ones. 😊 The BDSM is very evident in this book, but not overwhelming in my opinion. And, I have to say, it was a little surprising and outside the norm by making the smaller, baby-faced guy the "dominant" one and the big, strong, burly, muscley (yes, I'm making it a word) the one who wanted the pain. Not that I read a lot of BDSM books, but I liked that it flipped the script and reversed roles.

But what made this work for me, was the story outside of the BDSM. Logan was working hard to figure out who he is. It was sad that he had spent his whole life being whatever someone else wanted, but I think this is a struggle many of us can relate to. Curtis had a life the complete opposite of Logan. He had found and lost his soul mate, he didn't want or expect to ever have that again. But Curtis had really cut himself off from just about everyone. I liked both of these men. I liked that even though it wasn't comfortable, Logan stood up to his parents. It's a pet peeve for me when adults are so unwilling to stand up for themselves when it comes to family. It's one thing if you're a young person, and need to count on them for basic needs. But when you're an adult, with a career and making you're own money, then it bothers me. And, as hard as it was, Curtis stood up to his mother-in-law.

I did enjoy the first book, but absolutely loved this one. There was something about the characters and watching them discover themselves, and find love that just worked for me. If you're worried about the BDSM in this book, I get it, but you should still consider reading it. I didn't find it overwhelming and really let you watch Logan grow into himself. And, it allowed Curtis to see beyond the appearance of Logan. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down and will reread it again in the future!

Rating: 5 stars!

Meet the Author

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer. Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children.