Book Review: Losing It by Christine D'Abo

Book Review: Losing It 

by Christine D'Abo

Blurb:


Finn Miller doesn’t do social. He works his IT job from home as often as he can to avoid people. If it weren’t for his weekly training sessions at Ringside Gym, he might never leave his apartment. And he only does that because of Leo, the gym member he’s in love with. When Finn gets talked into attending a speed dating fundraiser at the gym, his greatest wish is to have the courage to try to say something—anything—to Leo.

Justin McCormick has spent most of his adult life being used, whether playing a corporate heavy, or acting as guard dog for his ward. So when he leaves Vancouver for a fresh start in Toronto, he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.

The moment Justin sees Finn at a speed dating event, he knows there’s no way he’ll make it without a little help, so he offers to coach Finn on the art of conversation. What he doesn’t count on is his unexpected attraction to this shy boxer, or his fear that if Finn gets his way, Justin might lose out on his best chance at love.

Virtual Book Tour ~ Losing It by Christine d'Abo (Guest Post + Review + Giveaway)

Hello, my name is Christine d’Abo and I’m so happy to be here today.

All things, no matter how good and loved, must eventually come to an end. When I originally planned to write my Ringside Romance series, it was only going to be three books. But then my lovely Justin came into being and there was no way I could leave this world without giving him his happy ending. So here we are, at the final stop on the journey, with both excitement and a few tears.

Justin’s character was my way of showing myself that every character can be his or her own hero. That we don’t have to be slaves to our circumstances, that given the right motivation and support from those who love us, we can move past our own negativity and become someone more.

Justin thought the person to help him was Grady.

That was because he hadn’t met Finn yet.

By helping Finn find his voice, Justin realizes that there’s more to life, more to himself, than he’d ever realized. I hope you’ll join me for LOSING IT, the final tale in the world of the Ringside Gym, where even the most unlikely of heroes can find his happily ever after.

About Losing It

Finn Miller doesn’t do social. He works his IT job from home as often as he can to avoid people. If it weren’t for his weekly training sessions at Ringside Gym, he might never leave his apartment. And he only does that because of Leo, the gym member he’s in love with. When Finn gets talked into attending a speed dating fund-raiser at the gym, his greatest wish is to have the courage to try to say something—anything—to Leo.

Justin McCormick has spent most of his adult life being used, whether playing a corporate heavy, or acting as guard dog for his ward. So when he leaves Vancouver for a fresh start in Toronto, he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.

The moment Justin sees Finn at a speed dating event, he knows there’s no way he’ll make it without a little help, so he offers to coach Finn on the art of conversation. What he doesn’t count on is his unexpected attraction to this shy boxer, or his fear that if Finn gets his way, Justin might lose out on his best chance at love.

Virtual Book Tour: Making It by Christine d'Abo (Reviews+Giveaway)

Hello, my name is Christine d’Abo and I’m so happy to be here today.

When I initially came up with the idea for the Ringside Romance series, I wanted to try and hit as many of the traditional romance tropes as possible. This was as much of a personal challenge as it was my desire to see more of these tropes appearing in LGBTQ romance.

So when I thought, hey, why not do a secret baby book, I got both giddy and terrified. How was I going to pull this off without it coming across as too unrealistic? Because a same sex couple needs to plan for a baby, right? Exactly!

I decided that in order for Devan and Eli’s story to work, this also needed to be a reunion romance. A couple that loved one another once, but due to circumstances, parted ways. With hearts broken, these two men had to find their way back to one another, had to deal with their past problems, while making room for a baby in their future.

Can they do it? Well, this is a romance…

The real question is, what will they have to sacrifice for their happily ever after?

I hope you enjoy the book and the trailer that I made!

Virtual Book Tour ~ Faking It by Christine d’Abo ~ (Reviews + Giveaway)

Hello, my name is Christine d’Abo and I’m so happy to be here today.

I’m a firm believer that the good friends are the family members that we get to choose. The get us on a level that sometimes our biological family doesn’t. When I came up with the idea of Ringside Gym and the men who were involved with it, I wanted to make sure that their relationships reflected that feeling.

Max would be the “middle” child of the trio of heroes. He’s my peacemaker, the one who wants to make sure everyone and everything is okay. But Max has a problem – he doesn’t know what to do when he’s not needed. Zack no longer needs him now that he has Noland in his life, and their other friend Eli has been MIA due to his MMA career. Max’s life begins to drift and he questions not only what he wants, but also who he wants in it.

When Grady Barnes shows up on the scene, Max is equal parts intrigued and annoyed. Here is a man who seems to have it all, but is seemingly at the whim of his father.  When Grady asks Max for help, he takes a leap of faith and agrees. What Max doesn’t anticipate is how quickly Grady will work his way into his heart.

All Max needs to do is find a way to prevent Grady from being forced into a marriage he doesn’t want, while not giving in to his impulse to sweep Grady into his arm.

Simple, right?

You can visit Christine at her website www.christinedabo.com, and chat with her on Facebook and Twitter. Want to keep up with Christine’s new releases? Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free book!

About Faking It

Throwback Thursday Review ~ Working It by Christine d'Abo

GoodReads ~ Amazon

Nolan Carmichael is getting a fresh start—new career, new company, new life. The only problem is, he liked his old life just fine . . . until an accident robbed him of his health, his job, his self-confidence, and his ability to go out in public without having anxiety attacks.

Zack Anderson has scared away his last four administrative assistants. So when he hires Nolan on a whim, he’s not too worried, since Nolan will be gone within the week anyway. Two weeks later, Nolan has made himself indispensable, completely reforming Zack’s schedule, life . . . and libido.

But in a company already torn by internal politics, one wrong step could ruin both their careers. And not only are they working to reopen Ringside Gym, Zack’s retreat when he was a troubled teen, but they also can’t help themselves falling for each other. If only the rest of their lives could go as smoothly as things do when they’re alone together. 

Virtual Tour ~ Working It by Christine d’Abo ~ (Reviews + Giveaway)

Virtual Tour ~ Working It by Christine d’Abo ~ (Review + Giveaway)

Thank you for having me here today. I’m so happy to be able to talk to you about my new book, WORKING IT, which is book one in my new Ringside Romance series. Don’t let the series title fool you, this is low on the boxing and high on sexual tension.

As an avid reader of all things romance, I personally love it when authors take chances and play around with what we consider typical romance tropes. Those situations that for whatever reason, really work for us as lovers of romance. One of my personal favorite tropes is the whole boss-assistant dynamic. There’s something wonderful about the tension that can be created when two people are working together, under pressure and in close quarters, that appeals to me.

I wanted to take this trope and do something a little fun with it. What would happen if both the characters were gay? What if they were so vastly different that under any other circumstance they probably never meet, let alone fall in love? What if they worked day in and day out in an office together?

In WORKING IT, Nolan Carmichael is working through the trauma of a serious car accident. He gets a job as Zack Anderson’s executive assistant, a position that no one at the company wants. Somehow the two of them work through their differences and fall in love.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

You can visit Christine at her website www.christinedabo.com, and chat with her on Facebook and Twitter. Want to keep up with Christine’s new releases? Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free book!

About Working It

Nolan Carmichael is getting a fresh start—new career, new company, new life. The only problem is, he liked his old life just fine . . . until an accident robbed him of his health, his job, his self-confidence, and his ability to go out in public without having anxiety attacks.

Zack Anderson has scared away his last four executive assistants. So when he hires Nolan on a whim, he’s not too worried, since Nolan will be gone within the week anyway. Two weeks later, Nolan has made himself indispensable, completely reforming Zack’s schedule, life . . . and libido.

But in a company already torn by internal politics, one wrong step could ruin both their careers. And not only are they working to reopen Ringside Gym, Zack’s retreat when he was a troubled teen, but they also can’t help themselves falling for each other. If only the rest of their lives could go as smoothly as things do when they’re alone together.

GoodReads ~ Riptide ~ Amazon