Of Poseidon
Author: Anna Banks
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Publisher
ISBN: 9781250003324

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . . 


Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

MY THOUGHTS
(Guest Review from M.W.)

What can I say? The beginning of this story had me crying. Of course, that could be because I get very emotional with books, but that’s not the point. The story, in my opinion, has your emotions going through a roller coaster ride and has you questioning a lot of things. You’re sad one moment, your angry the next, then you are happy. I felt very frustrated with almost every single one of the characters at least once in this book.

The main problem I had was that everything started off too fast. I felt that Galen and his problems were introduced into the book faster then I had expected. The author could have done so much with the characters but instead she went straight into a relationship between Galen and Emma and showed the already existing yet strained relationship between Rayna and Toraf. Don’t get me wrong though, I loved every single bit of the relationships, I just feel like she could have done more with them.

I would have to say that out of the whole book, my least favorite character was Rayna. She is a complete jerk at the beginning towards Emma and has you wanting to punch her at certain points. She’s the type of girl that just frustrates you to no end yet also has you feeling bad for her because of her situation. I can’t help but feel bad for Galen and Toraf for having to deal with her even if they don’t mind it.

The main part in the book that I liked and had me wanting more was when the author finally revealed the answer to the problem I had been wondering about half way through the book. Although, it was not fully what I had expected it to be, it had me grinning and thinking, “I knew it!”

Even after saying all that, I still loved the way the story turned out. I thought that she did a terrific job keeping the plot going and leaving it hanging at the end for a second book. The roller coaster ride of emotions in it makes it even better.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

The Officer Says ” I Do”
Semper Fi #1
Author: Jeanette Murray
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
Source: Publisher (Sourcebooks)
ISBN: 9781402265402

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)
He’s a Marine…she grew up on a commune.

He always puts duty first…she’s a free spirit with an unshakable belief in Fate.

He loves routine and order…she brings chaos and creativity wherever she goes.

They’re going to balance each other perfectly–or drive each other completely, utterly insane…
On a wild pre-deployment celebration in Las Vegas, Captain Timothy O’Shay encounters free-spirited beauty Skye McDermott, and for once lets down his guard. Now his life is about to take off in directions he never could have imagined…
MY THOUGHTS
Formally titled Honor Bound, The Officer Says I do is a new series by Jeanette Murray.  Skye is a free spirit who believes in Fate when it comes to life decisions.  Tim is an OCD Marine who likes to make his own decisions in life with no belief if Fate or Destiny.  Put the two people together in a marriage and you have the cliche of opposites attract.  
To be honest, this was just an okay book to me.  Yes, it has some hot scenes in it, but nothing too over the top.  I think the main thing that bugged me was the way the two meet and make it to the alter.  If Tim is such a person to where order, routine and seriousness is all he lives for, then the way he gets drunk and marries Skye a few hours after meeting her was totally out of character for him.  I also wasn’t a fan of him not even remembering that he got married but he was able to remember the sex on the wedding night.  It didn’t seem in character with what the author was wanting Tim to be portrayed as.
I didn’t have a serious connection with the characters either.  If I had to pick one character that made the book enjoyable it would be Tim’s sister, Madison.  I really enjoyed her character and reading about her more than I did Skye.  I can definitely tell who is going to be the future couple for the next book. 
I would say that this is more of a pass-the-time book instead of an engaging read to keep you up all night.  It is interesting enough to read between chores and other books, but not one that kept me up until 2am to read the outcome of the last chapter.  I will give the second book a chance in the hopes that now that the story base is set up, the rest will fall into place with the next couple.
MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
Today on My Overstuffed Bookshelf, I have the great pleasure to introduce you to the amazing Janet Cadsawan!  Janet makes some amazing jewelry and after we hear a special post from Janet, you have the chance to enter a giveaway for One Golden Lily Bracelet inspired by the series from Richelle Mead!
GUEST POST from Janet Cadsawan
Thank you Overstuffed for having me guest blog. It’s the second time in a month that I’m talking about jewelry and I wanted to talk about my love for Vampire Academy and Bloodlines. Many people ask me how I choose which book I want to make jewelry from. This simple answer is that I have to love the story. The more complicated answer is that I have to love the characters as well. In all stories, there are good, bad and gray characters. They all play a role in how the story will unfold but I find myself attracted to stories that have character driven story lines. For me at least, I feel connected to a “person” that somehow continues despite the story ending. I don’t think I’m the only one out there that is affected by characters like this. More often than one thinks, a character will wear a piece of jewelry, be compared with a symbol or have something like a hidden secret tattoo. Whether it’s strength, love, courage or in some cases loss, we love these characters and we want more of them. It is exactly this feeling I must have when I make a piece of jewelry.
I fell in love with Richelle Mead’s adult books first. The Dark Swan and Succubus series. Eugenie and Dorian. Georgina and Seth. All I have to do is evoke those names and so many emotions come bubbling up. I’ve wanted to do some Georgina jewelry because there have been so many good ones in that series, but it was Vampire Academy that really sucked me in. Rose and Dimitiri’s story broke my heart and put it back together again in such a wonderful way, I am afraid to re-read the series! I’m serious. In any case, it was such a pleasure to make the symbols of this series come to life for everyone to wear with pride! Now with Bloodlines, I think that Adrian and Sydney are going to do the same thing. I don’t want to give too much away, but Richelle Mead has a way with crashing through forbidden and taboo subjects. The characters have to go through hell in order to find love. I hope this golden lily bracelet shines brightly for you as Sydney does for Adrian!
ABOUT JANET

Janet Cadsawan’s philosophy is that jewelry is magic adorned. She designs one-of-a-kind talismans, fine jewelry and supernatural baubles. Her pieces are showcased in both art galleries and fine jewelry stores. Her work has been on TV shows and movies. Several pieces come straight out of books!
All of her jewelry is made in New York City and Rhode Island with as much recycled metal as possible.

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/#!/cadsawanjewelry
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/janetcadsawanjewelry
Website: http://cadsawan.com/

CONTEST
Fill out Rafflecopter to enter
Open Internationally
One winner for one bracelet!
THIS POST IS INTENDED FOR READERS 18+

It is my extreme pleasure to have author J.P. Barnaby on the blog today.  Not only is she an amazing author, but she is also such an amazing person to chat with.  Seriously folks — this chick rocks! She was one of the first authors I started chatting with online when I first started my blog years ago.  She also is one of the first authors I read when venturing into the M/M genre of reading.  She has an amazing voice that translates to paper in such a way that you can’t help but love the stories.  So lets get started in celebrating with her at The Black Party Expo!
The Black Party Expo – Meeting CockyBoys

Cockyboys Booth at The Black Party Expo

In March, Dreamspinner scheduled a conference for its authors around the Rainbow Book Fair in New York. It was an opportunity for the authors to meet other authors, editors, art department, and other staff (some of us, for the first time). It would be my second time in New York. I’d been there for about 24 hours in October for Hustlaball. Instead of thinking of MoMA or Wall Street or even the Status of Liberty for this trip, my first thought was Cockyboys. Cockyboys is a gay porn site with some of the most amazing models out there. So, I shot a tweet to @CockyBoys and @BennyMorecock to let them know that I’d be in the area and they told me about the Black Party Expo where they would have a booth.

JP Barnaby signing books at the Rainbow Bookfair in NYC

The Rainbow Book Fair was amazing. After arriving in the stretch SUV limo that our publisher (Dreamspinner Press) provided to take us into the city, we found ourself on the first of  three floors of LGBT friendly people talking about art, music, books, and everything else under the sun. We were on the first floor in a room surrounded by other authors, publishers, and bloggers. We spilled across our assigned two tables, and into the Rainbow Romance writers on a third. We signed books, postcards, boomarks and other paraphernalia for our assembled fans. It wasn’t my first signing, but I was still nervous and Andrew Grey made me feel right at home. He kept us laughing all the way through the limo ride and into the fair.

Riding to the book fair in style

JP Barnaby & Andrew Grey on our way to the Rainbow book fair

After the festivities, because this blog post is about the Black Party Expo after all, I had a friend meet me and we headed out to meet hot porn models. However, we needed to make one little stop first. My friend, Drake Jaden, who I have since met in person asked me for a very strange favor. He wanted me to go to the Museum of Sex and have my picture taken with the exhibit of which he is a part. So, diligent friend that I am, three trains later, I did just as he asked.

JP Barnaby at the Museum of sex with Drake Jaden… well, sort of

As I walked into the Black Party Expo, which reminded me a lot of IML, now that I’m thinking about it, I ran into Preston Steel whom I had met in San Diego. It surprised me that after just five minutes in a smoke-filled club, he would remember me, but he did. At the Lucas booth where Preston stood was a table with promotional cards for each model. On them, I saw Adrian Long whose name I recognized from Twitter. My friend @Eli_Wyn seemed to be quite enamored with him, so I got him an autograph. At that time, I also met Tate Ryder, who was a very sweet man.

Caption: JP Barnaby with the charismatic Preston Steel

JP Barnaby with the gorgeous (and TALL) Adrian Long

Caption: JP Barnaby and a very naked Tate Ryder

Then, I saw Kennedy Carter.

Tate Ryder, Kennedy Carter, JP Barnaby, & Kennedy’s boyfriend Ivan at 
the Black Party Expo in NYC

Kennedy and I had been texting about meeting up at Eastern Bloc later that night, but I saw him at the expo first with his beautiful boyfriend Ivan. We talked for a few minutes, and he led me over to the Cockyboys booth where I met Hugo Harley. I’d spoken to Hugo several times over twitter because enjoys the Little Boy Lost series. I also met the absolutely adorable Jake Bass who is every bit as sexy and sweet in person as he is online. One more person I got to meet with the Cockyboys booth was Nate – I’m not sure what he does for the site, but he was a very nice guy.

Rent boys having sex

Adorable little Nate from Cockyboys

I won’t get into the “pie hole eating” contest that went on while we were there – you can certainly use your imagination to infer what went on. I can promise, it was exactly what it sounded like. I’d hate to try to get the…er…residue out later. But, I can say that the Rentboy booth entertained us greatly. They gave us each bondage tape, and someone was usually having sex. While we were there, they used the bondage tape to tie up this hot boy while two other guys fucked him. It was…liberating. 😉

Finally, it was time to go, so my friend I headed to the East Village, which is where Eastern Bloc is located. We had a fabulous light dinner at a tiny little place, whose name I don’t remember. After wards we went over to the bar. The décor was something out of communist Russia, a theme I hadn’t seen before in a gay bar. We waited a while, imbibing a little liquid courage for spending the evening with Kennedy Carter and his boyfriend. But, just as we finished our drinks, they came in. They talked with us for a little while before taking the stage. I have to say, I appreciated the loud atmosphere of the club because you really haven’t lived until Kennedy Carter is standing next to you, close enough to brush against you, and talking in your ear with that fuckhot accent. Oh my sweet Jesus.

Eastern Bloc in NYC

The evening ended with me on the pole with them – I’m not exactly sure how that happened. Maybe it was Ivan’s beautiful, ever-present smile, or Kennedy’s sexy-as-fuck smirk – but either way, I had a fabulous time with the ginger God, and his sweet and incredibly friendly boyfriend Ivan. If you ever get the chance to see them dance – grab it with both hands.

 Ivan, JP Barnaby, & Kennedy Carter on the pole at Eastern Bloc

The Little Boy Lost blog tour continues June 25th – July 24th . Make sure to comment at each stop for more chances to win some really great prizes such as an entire series autographed to you by J. P. Barnaby. For additional entries – tweet about the tour including @JPBarnaby and #LittleBoyLost.
UNTIL JULY 9th — Dreamspinner Press is offering Little Boy Lost: Enlightened (Book 1) as a FREE download. Books 2-5 are all 20% off.

Little Boy Lost is a coming of age story about two teenage boys–Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield–growing up gay in rural Alabama. The six book series chronicles their lives as they navigate through peers, parents, and porn, desperately searching for the perfect combination of circumstances in which they can be together. Through their journey, they find friends, pain, acceptance, loss, and most importantly, themselves.


*****************

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.



The Chase
Fast Track Series #4
Author: Erin McCarthy
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Personal Purchase
ISBN: 9780425240144

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Kendall Holbrook is determined to make it to the top, even with the challenge of being a woman on the male-dominated racing circuit. She doesn’t have time for romance- especially not with racing rival Evan Monroe, the man who nearly crushed her dreams years ago. Forced into meeting up with him, Kendall is experiencing all those old feelings again- and she can’t deny that they still have more than enough chemistry to set fire to the track.

After getting dropped by his biggest sponsor, Evan is watching his racing season go up in flames. Now, the only replacement available is completely humiliating: a co-sponsorship for his-and-her deodorant with Kendall Holbrook- the girl who once broke his heart. Acting like Kendall doesn’t still get him all hot and bothered is bad enough, but the biggest challenge awaits him on the track- where Evan has to decide if a second chance at love is more important than making it to the finish line…

MY THOUGHTS

What can I say about this series that I haven’t already said?  I am loving the characters and was waiting anxiously to read about ladies man Evan Monroe.  He is funny, sexy, and charming as hell and I wanted to see who the author was going to pair him up with.  I hoped the author was going to pair him up with someone just as strong and funny as he was.  Evan needed someone equal to him to keep him in line and I didn’t want to be disappointed.

Kendall and Evan dated years ago and were in love with each other.  When a misunderstanding caused them to break up long ago, they each went on to their separate lives in the hopes of finding love again.  Neither one of them could get over the other though and they are quickly thrown into partnering up for sponsorship.  Kendall is wanting to prove to everyone that she can be a race car driver just like any man and she has had to deal with the torment and teasing from others because of it.  Evan thinks it is great that she is living her dream of racing and the two finally clear the air about their break up years ago.

While I enjoyed the romance between the two, I didn’t enjoy how the author took the path she did with Evan’s racing.  While the path did help for the ending of the book, I was just disappointed with the outcome. I wanted a turn around for him in racing, but it never came.  I also didn’t like how the author threw in the proverbial wrench in the relationship with Sara.  I think the author could have skipped that part and still made a different decision in creating a climatic finish.  It is left unresolved and I am hoping it is explained in the future books for the readers.

Again, not one of my favorites in the series, but one that kept me interested enough to keep on reading the series.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE

Tuesday didn’t sound offended, but Kendall still felt guilty that she had implied she couldn’t trust Tuesday.  “I know.  You are a good friend, and I’m damn grateful to have you around to keep me sane.  But I don’t want to be the biggest news to hit stock car racing just because I have a uterus.”
“I don’t think it’s your uterus most men are concerned with.  It’s your vagina.  Va-jay-jay. Your man hole.”
–Kendall and Tuesday, page 5

MY RATING

Okay book, but it left me wanting more!