Author: sharisakurai

Shari Sakurai is a British author of paranormal, horror, science fiction and fantasy novels that almost always feature a LGBT protagonist and/or antagonist. She has always loved to write and it is her escape from the sometimes stressful modern life! Aside from writing, Shari enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to (loud!) music, going to rock concerts and learning more about other societies and cultures. Japanese culture is of particular interest to her and she often incorporates Japanese themes and influences into her work. Shari loves a challenge and has taken part and won the National Novel Writing Month challenge ten times!

Series Tour: The Historic Homes Series

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SERIES TOUR – THE HISTORIC HOMES SERIES

The Historic Homes Series by R.J. Koreto

Publisher: Level Best Books

Available in Kindle, Paperback and Audio

Series Blurb

Young architect Wren Fontaine specializes in restoring grand historic homes in the New York City area. She finds these homes contain mysteries, which also connect to modern crimes, all of them centered on the magnificent mansions. She’s assisted by her girlfriend, chef/event planner Hadley Vanderwerf, a descendant of one of New York’s great Gilded Age families.

They contain the same main characters, and can be read in any order.

Each book in the series ends with a solid conclusion.

Genres: Contemporary, Murder Mystery and Suspense, Romance

NOTE: All three books in this series take place in the present. However, my protagonists spend a lot of time researching and discussing characters who lived in the past.

Pairing: FF

The central romance is between the sleuth/protagonist, Wren Fontaine, and her girlfriend, Hadley Vanderwerf, which starts in the first book and grows and deepens throughout the series. A side romance exists between Wren’s mentor, Professor Lavinia Suisse, and her wife, Angela, a prominent physician.

Overall Heat Rating for the series: 1 flame – The characters have active sex lives, but there’s a kiss, fade to black, and then someone is making omelettes the next morning.

Buy Links for all books

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Continue reading “Series Tour: The Historic Homes Series” →

Book Review: The Supernova Era by Cixin Liu

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24.11.28 b

Eight years ago and eight light years away, a supermassive star died.

Tonight, a supernova tsunami of high energy will finally reach Earth. Dark skies will shine bright as a new star blooms in the heavens and within a year everyone over the age of thirteen will be dead, their chromosomes irreversibly damaged.

And so the countdown begins.

Parents apprentice their children and try to pass on the knowledge they’ll need to keep the world running.

But the last generation may not want to carry the legacy of their parents’ world. And though they imagine a better, brighter future, they may not be able to escape humanity’s dark instincts…

This book was another mixed bag for me. I liked the concept of children inheriting the Earth and was very interested in how it would turn out. The direction it took was not unexpected given the premise, but I felt that perhaps the author did not have as firm a grasp on how children’s minds work. One such example was commentary that children did not put as much value on life as adults do. I would argue that this is untrue and found the concept of a ‘war game’ with children highly unbelievable.

It felt at times that the author was struggling with the direction and as a consequence there was no real conclusion. Just a chapter serving as an epilogue after an unexpected end.

I would have personally liked to have read more about the first generation of the Supernova Era and how the final game played out.

New Release: Dangerous Attraction by Oliver Takely

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NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Dangerous Attraction

Author: Oliver Takely

Publisher: MM Romance Press

Cover Artist: Emily’s World of Design

Release Date: November 20, 2024

Tense/POV: Third person, present tense, dual POV

Genres: Contemporary MM Romance

Tropes: Workplace romance, found family, bisexual representation, slow burn

Themes: Rebuilding trust in love for both MCs, body positivity

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 61 000 words

It is book two in the Soho Knights series. It sets up book three, but there’s no cliffhanger for the couple.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

What if Fatal Attraction was gay and Glenn Close was a sassy twink?

Blurb

In the dark streets of Soho, London, where the nightlife pulses with energy and hidden dangers, Langdon is striving to carve out a life of his own. Having endured a tough childhood, marked by a mother who never valued him, he has found solace in the company of his four best friends, who feel like brothers. Although he thrives working in a bar, Langdon is haunted by his past, feeling like a dirty secret to the men he dates.

When Eric’s world crumbles after a disastrous wedding, he loses both his home and job, forcing him to seek refuge with his brother. It’s here that he encounters Langdon, and an undeniable connection sparks between them. As their chemistry ignites, they begin to explore a love that feels both thrilling and terrifying.

But their growing bond faces a sinister threat. Someone is determined to tear them apart, willing to go to any lengths, including violence, to ensure they never find happiness together. As Langdon and Eric navigate the complexities of their relationship and confront the demons of their pasts, they must also fight to protect one another from a force that seeks to destroy them.

In “Dangerous Attraction,” love becomes a battleground where trust is tested, and survival is at stake. Will Langdon and Eric find the strength to overcome the shadows that haunt them, or will they pay the ultimate price for their desire to be together?

Continue reading “New Release: Dangerous Attraction by Oliver Takely” →

New Release: Beyond the Stix by CJ Barlowe

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NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Beyond the Stix

Author and Publisher: CJ Barlowe

Cover Artist: Jo Clemens

Release Date: November 12, 2024

Genres: Contemporary MM Romance, Dark, Romantic Suspense

Tropes: Domestic abuse

Trigger Warning: on page death, on page ref to cancer

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 59 163 words/230 pages

It’s a part of a series but can be read as a standalone. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Shocking news comes to Connor Wild, the drummer for Warrior Black, while they are in the middle of recording their next album. But the loss of his father brings forth terrible memories Connor had along ago buried and leads him straight to the nightmare he wants to forget. Only saving grace is the bodyguard, who can make his body thrum, and helps him to forget the past.

Bodyguard John Brand has been with Warrior Black since their rise to fame, after their appearance at last year’s Rocktoberfest in Black Rock, Nevada. His choice to stay as protection is solely for the drummer, who he can’t get out of his head. John wants more, but Connor refuses to see them no less than a hookup.

Can John beat away the dark demons from Connor’s past? Will Connor risk it all and expose the dark truth to John? Can Connor move on and give John a chance for love?

Connor would have to go Beyond the Stix to see how true love can heal old wounds.


About the Author
Award-winning author CJ Warrant was born overseas as an Army brat and raised in a vibrant Korean-Italian household. She sees life as a journey—filled with both light and dark, good and bad. Embracing each experience, she channels these moments into stories where life’s complexities shine through.

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New Release: Show No Mercy by Thom Collins

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NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Show No Mercy

Author and Publisher: Thom Collins

Cover Artist: Kelly A Martin

Release Date: November 14, 2024

Tense/POV: Third person/past tense

Genres: Contemporary MM Romance, paranormal thriller

Tropes: Dark romantic suspense, instant attraction

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 38 000 words/160 pages

It’s a one-off standalone story. No cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Link – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link

A chance encounter brought them together, but in a world of danger, it might not be for long.

Blurb

When a blind date ends in disaster, Hector is about to swear off dating for good, until he sees a handsome face across a bar and changes his mind. A drink with a troubled man called Callum leads to something far more meaningful. Hector offers Callum the chance to off load his problems.

But when they’re attacked by two men carrying knives, Hector is plunged into a dangerous world of vengeance and retaliation. His decision to stand by Callum puts his life at risk in ways he could never have imagined. Is he prepared to lose everything for a man he barely knows?

Continue reading “New Release: Show No Mercy by Thom Collins” →

New Release: The Unquiet House by Ellie Thomas

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NEW RELEASE

Book Title: The Unquiet House (Regency Paranormal, Book 2)

Author: Ellie Thomas

Publisher: JMS Books

Cover Artist: in-house with publisher

Release Date: October 26, 2024

Tense/POV: Third person, past tense, single POV

Genres: MM Historical Paranormal

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort, Opposites Attract, Friends to Lovers

Themes: Haunting, ghosts, romantic suspense, peril

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 17 520 words

It is not a standalone story.

It is book 2 in my Regency Paranormal series. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK

In Regency England, Sam and Christian come across a ghostly disturbance at a country house.

Can their combined skills resolve the problem before someone, including themselves, gets seriously hurt?

Blurb

After barely surviving their terrifying encounter with the spectre of the hooded monk during the previous autumn, Christian Maxwell and Sam Gillespie have consolidated their romantic relationship and are starting to gain a reputation for dealing with the unknown.

For this reason, they receive an invitation to Haverford House in Wiltshire during the spring of 1817. The owners of the historic haunted manor house, Mr. and Mrs. Huxley, are being afflicted by a series of inexplicable incidents.

With his sensitivity to atmosphere, Christian is immediately alerted to danger. Yet, despite their best efforts, neither he nor Sam can discern the cause, although their search brings them closer as a couple and as a team. As sinister events develop, can our devoted duo unmask the culprit without putting themselves in danger?

Continue reading “New Release: The Unquiet House by Ellie Thomas” →

Book Review: Room Little Darker by June Caldwell

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24.11.07

An abusive father haunts his daughter and wife from the confines of a nursing home; a couple with an appetite for S&M discover their escapades have led them into something unimaginably bleak; a desperate addict scours the depths of degradation in a nightmare Dublin; an unborn foetus narrates her torturous experience of the Irish legal system; a paedophile acquires a robotic little boy as part of his sex therapy.

Weird was the term used to describe this book by the person who recommended it to me. And dark came to mind when I read the summary. Normally I enjoy a good weird and dark read, but not in this instance. I don’t know what it was but the writing style I could not get used to. It made the stories difficult to follow and the mainly ensemble of unlikeable characters made this book very difficult to connect with. It was a frustrating read for me and unfortunately it has put me off reading any other works by this author.

New Release Blitz: Summers Power by BL Jones

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Title: Summers Power

Series: Danger City, Book One

Author: BL Jones

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 11/05/2024

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 101300

Genre: Contemporary Romance, family-drama, bisexual, crime family, schoolteacher, enemies to lovers, superheroes, deceased spouse, deceased parent, slow burn

Add to Goodreads

Description

Danger City has been ruled by the bloody iron fists of the Winters crime family for decades.

When the Summers family waged war on the Winters in an attempt to take their power, violence reigned, taking no mercy on both sides of the conflict. The Summers were eventually defeated and as a result Max Summers lost everything.

Flash forward sixteen years, Max is a new man, no longer a gangster, but a simple primary school teacher still grieving the loss of his first love and trying his best to raise his children as a single father.

Cue his old rival Sam Winters re-entering his life when their oldest sons meet at school and become best friends.

During their time apart, Sam continued on the path laid out for him, climbing the organisation’s ranks right to the top. He has become every inch the mighty and lethal crime boss he was born to be.

After their unplanned reunification, both men are forced to confront the nightmares of their joint past and the burgeoning desire developing between them.

Can Max allow himself to fall in love with anyone again, let alone the man who was once his greatest enemy?

Continue reading “New Release Blitz: Summers Power by BL Jones” →

Book Blast: The Dragon King’s Assassin by Amy Sumida

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BOOK BLAST

Book Title: The Dragon King’s Assassin

Author: Amy Sumida

Publisher: Imaginary Worlds INC

Cover Artist: Amy Sumida

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Genres: MM Fantasy, Paranormal, Shifters

Tropes: Enemies to lovers

Themes: Fated mates

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 349 pages

It’s the first book in The Dragons of Serai Series. Each book features a new couple.

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link

My life changed the day I tried to take his.

Blurb

Mhavenna is a glorious city but, like every city on the face of Serai, it’s run by Dragons. As a human, I’m on the lowest rung of the racial ladder here, as far from an illustrious Dragon as I could be, and I’ve made my peace with that. I don’t like Dragons much, but like or dislike has nothing to do with my work. So when my broker offered me the task of killing the Dragon King, I took it. It was the sort of kill that could make an assassin’s career, and I was certain that I had the skills for it.

I was wrong, nearly dead wrong.

The King caught me before I could finish the job, but instead of killing me, he made me his. I’m now the Dragon King’s assassin. A warning and a weapon. A way for him to bypass his own laws without personally breaking them. But that’s not all. He’s tasked me with guarding him against future attacks. Who better to stop an assassin than another assassin? And who better to find the one who hired us? If only the King didn’t have a body that made me salivate, a face that made my knees weak, and a pair of teal eyes that made me whimper. If only he didn’t stare at me with those stunning eyes as if I could be more than property to him. Maybe then I could do my job, find the person who wants him dead, and save my own life. But I don’t believe in miracles.

Continue reading “Book Blast: The Dragon King’s Assassin by Amy Sumida” →

Audio Book Tour: Persistence of Memory by J.M. Synder

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AUDIOBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Persistence of Memory

Author: J.M. Snyder

Publisher: JMS Books LLC

Narrator: Nick Johnson

Release Date: September 25, 2024

Pairing: MM

Tense/POV: first person, present tense, single.

Genres: MM Dystopian Romance

Tropes: amnesia

Themes: love despite everything

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Length: 2 hours and 28 minutes

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Audible US | Audible UK

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Five years ago Joah was culled—kidnapped by the government to be trained as a soldier. In the process, they erased his memory, destroying his past, his dreams, everything but his name. Armed with that alone, Joah escapes from the facility in search of someone to help him recall the man he used to be.

That person is Tobin, Joah’s husband, who never gave up hope of finding him again. He refuses to believe that the strength of his love alone won’t be enough to bring back Joah’s memories of their shared lives, and he’s determined to bring back the man beneath the soldier, the man he knows has to love him.

But an alarm in the chip blocking Joah’s memories was triggered at his escape, and if it isn’t removed soon, it will shriek his life away. Removing it won’t bring back his past, and may destroy the present that Tobin has tried so hard to build between them. How can the love they once shared possibly survive?

About the Author

J.M. Snyder is a multi-published author of gay erotic romance who started writing fanfic (specifically, boyband slash). She has worked with several different e-publishers, including Amber Allure Press and Torquere Press, and had short stories published in anthologies by Alyson Books, Cleis Press, eXcessica, and Lethe Press.

In 2010, she started JMS Books LLC to promote and publish her own work as well as that of other authors she enjoys.

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