Blog Tour: Outside the Lines, by Anna Zabo

web analytics
hit counter

Anna Zabo’s newest release, Outside the Lines, is one you’re definitely not going to want to miss. This queer poly romance is the latest in the Bluewater Bay universe, and it’s out now!

So check out the book below, plus an exclusive excerpt involving pining, sexual tension, and… very small trees? And leave a comment on this post to enter for your chance to win a gift card (details at the bottom)!!

Outside the Lines, by Anna Zabo
A Bluewater Bay Novel
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: December 18, 2017

Continue reading

Interview with Anna Zabo, author of “Daily Grind”

web analytics
hit counter

zabo-daily-grind-banner

What’s more enjoyable than reading a sexy romance novel in a coffee shop? How about a sexy romance novel set in a coffee shop! With their newest release, Anna Zabo brings us the bold and steamy relationship of Brian (see also: bisexual barista) and Rob (mmh, ginger Brit).

Today I’m delighted to have Anna on the blog to chat with me about Daily Grind, the city of Pittsburgh, and what else is coming up in the Takeover universe!

(Also, don’t forget to check out Michele’s review of Daily Grind, which she says is “meet-cute fluff that subverts romance novel clichés and is also hotter than a freshly made americano!”)

Continue reading

Blog Tour: Due Diligence, by Anna Zabo… plus interview!

zabo-anna-due-diligence-tour-banner

It’s no secret that I adore Anna Zabo and her fantastic Takeover series. The third book in that series, Due Diligence, is out now… and it’s smoking hot! Second chances, past misunderstandings, and businessmen in suits? Yeah, it’s all that, plus two geeky men who use a D20 for… well, let’s just say it’s NSFW, alright?

Anna has joined us on the blog today, and we have some fantastic things ahead. You can get a glimpse into the book with an excerpt, check out a super fun scavenger-hunt interview with Anna, and there are two– you read that right, two giveaways for you to enter!

So what are you waiting for?

wordpress blog stats

Due Diligence, by Anna Zabo
Series: Takeover, Book 3 (Stand-alone)
Publisher: Intermix (Berkely/NAL)
Release Date: June 21, 2016

Continue reading

Guest Review by Liz Blue: Due Diligence, by Anna Zabo

zabo-anna-due-diligence-banner

JLR welcomes Liz Blue to the blog for a special guest review of Anna Zabo’s newest release! Liz can be found spreading #filthfairy magic on Twitter as @pb_reader or sharing more book thoughts on Goodreads, so be sure to check her out!

Also to check out: the AWESOME Takeover series audiobook giveaway we have for you! Scroll to the bottom to find out more… you won’t want to miss this one!

wordpress blog stats

Due Diligence, by Anna Zabo
Series: Takeover, Book 3
Publisher: Intermix (Berkely/NAL)
Release Date: June 21, 2016

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3-5-of-5

Continue reading

El’s Top 10 Books of 2015

best-books-2015

I read a lot of books in 2015 (more than 300 in total), so trying to pick my favorites for the year was not easy. After a lot of thought (and factoring in the number of times I re-read a book), I was able to narrow it down to my Top Ten Books of 2015.

And because it’s the end of the year, here’s one last contest. See the bottom of the post for full contest details.

comment-to-win-2015

And now the list, in no particular order:

Continue reading

Cover Reveal: Due Diligence, by Anna Zabo (Plus Excerpt & Giveaway!)

zabo-cover-due-diligence-header

I’m so excited today to bring you the cover reveal for Anna Zabo’s upcoming novel, Due Diligence! This novel is set in the same universe as Takeover and Just Business but is a stand-alone with a new  couple, and I can’t wait to read it.  While the novel isn’t out until June, Anna has also shared a brand-new (seriously sexy) excerpt with us! 

Of course, don’t forget to check out the giveaway at the end of the post… you could win a copy of Takeover or Just Business!

So without further ado…

wordpress blog stats

Continue reading

Top Ten Tuesday: My Dream Author Teams!

top-ten-tuesday-textAs always, this weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Batman has his Robin, and the Avengers work better together than apart. Since authors are basically superheroes in my mind, it makes sense for them to team up for a book (or two), right? I mean, you have Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett combining literary forces to write Good Omens, and John Green and David Levithan co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson. In fact, a quick glance at my bookshelf shows a handful of co-written novels, including Illuminae (which I just reviewed yesterday).

Since co-writing novels seems to be “the thing” to do these days, here are five teams of authors that I’d love to see team up!

wordpress blog stats

1. Maggie Stiefvater and John Green

stiefvater green

Obviously they have a healthy rivalry on the race track, but Stiefvater and Green also have the young adult world wrapped around their little fingers. Apart, the authors of The Raven Cycle quartet and The Fault in Our Stars (respectively) are wildly popular. Together? Well, I’m pretty sure there would be a shortage of tissues world-wide, to say the very least!

I want a book with Stiefvater’s magical realism and Green’s crushing realism. I want a book with emotions that will feel like a punch in the chest, characters that are witty and sarcastic, and a thread of fantasy twisting down the center. If their powers combined, the YA genre wouldn’t know what hit it!

2. Anne Rice and Stephen King

king rice

Yes, it’s obvious. But they’re two of the biggest names in horror. And I’m not talking the new horror, that’s sole purpose is to freak you out with sudden revelations and gruesome images. Rice and King are masters at the slow-build horror, the creeping chill that runs its icy fingers up your spine late at night.

King has plenty of experience dabbling in the paranormal horror genre, so I’d love to see a book from the two of them with mythical creatures. Like, Supernatural if it were actually scary!

3. Garrett Leigh and Heidi Cullinan

leigh cullinan

In the M/M romance genre, there are no authors that I trust more than Leigh and Cullinan when it comes to writing beautiful, realistic characters. Leigh’s Misfits is at the top of my recommendations list, and Cullinan’s Love Lessons series is RITA nominated and achingly perfect.

If these authors paired up to write a novel, I hope it would be as poignant and heart-breaking as everything else they’ve written, with characters who leap off the pages and romances that are as close to perfect as any I’ve ever read.

4. Anna Zabo and A.J. Rose

zabo rose

Two of the most amazing BDSM authors in the M/M genre, Zabo and Rose are both on my to-re-read list. Zabo wrote Takeover and Just Business (one of my favorite books of the year so far!), about the power dynamics in the boardroom and the bedroom. Rose wrote the Power Exchange trilogy, about a cop investigating a series of BDSM-related murders who finds himself attracted to the lifestyle.

If these two authors paired up, I would be camping out to buy their books. They both write excellent, realistic BDSM romances. The power exchanges are gorgeous, the characters are interesting, and the books themselves are a blast to read over and over!

5. Neil Gaiman and Anyone

gaiman

Is this cheating? Meh, I don’t care! Neil Gaiman is a phenomenal and incredibly versatile author. He writes short stories that make you laugh, children’s books that inspire, and novels that have you gasping for breath. While most of his previous collaborations are with artists (particularly Dave McKean, who is brilliant!), he’s teamed up with a few authors in the past.

Gaiman has a really unique voice, and I think that could be combined with several authors with amazing results. Imagine him writing a historical magic novel with Susanna Clarke or Zen Cho, or an urban fantasy with Maggie Stiefvater? I’d even love to see a collaboration between him and his wife, Amanda Palmer. YES PLEASE!


Who are your dream team authors?

wordpress hit counter

Like this post? Follow me for more great reviews:

wordpress_logo_buttontumblr_logo_buttontwitter_logo_button

Review: Just Business, by Anna Zabo (Rating: 5/5)

Just Business, by Anna Zabo
Publisher: Random House/InterMix (June 16, 2015)
Page Count: 266 pages
Genre: Gay (M/M) Romance

wordpress blog stats
Cover Artist: Unknown

Cover Artist: Unknown

Short & Sweet: Justin White doesn’t fit the corporate stereotype; his dyed-black hair, heavy eyeliner, and preference for jeans over suits makes him stand out among his piers. Eli Ovadia, the CFO for Justin’s new company, dislikes Justin’s mess and attitude, and he’s not one to hide his contempt. As Justin works to prove himself to Eli, he realizes that he can’t seem to keep his cool around the domineering Eli— and soon he finds himself taking their heat from the boardroom into the bedroom…

Warnings: Mentions of dubious consent and past abusive relationships.

* I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. *

My Thoughts: This book was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Bam, done, end of review. (But seriously, I could ramble for hours about how much I loved this novel, so I’m going to do my best to rein it in!)

After reading Zabo’s Takeover last year, I was ecstatic to see another book in the same universe announced for this summer. Just Business is, like Takeover, about two corporate businessmen who enter into an intense BDSM relationship, but that’s where the similarities end. Justin is a brilliant MBA student who’s taken a step back professionally after fleeing from an abusive relationship, while Eli is a successful, cold, and often terrifying CFO who has his own past demons to battle with.

Continue reading