Elisa Rolle's Blog, page 144

Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Secrecy and Synchronicity by Cherie Battista

Secrecy and Synchronicity[image error]

"I enjoy reading about peoples lives and what they went through to get where they are. Bio/Mem books are always fascinating."

Coming of age in Northern England and the Manchester music scene of the 1980s

Secrecy and Synchronicity is Cherie Battista's personal journey along a jagged-edge path, crystallizing hidden truths from her deepest soul. The story, driven by music relevant to the time, weaves through five decades from the early 1960's in Birmingham, England, the Manchester Gay Village, and the gay community of Hebden Bridge. Through her honest and heartfelt prose, Battista captures her emotional struggle to accept her sexuality, develop her psychic ability and clairvoyance, and ultimately find compassion and acceptance of her past.


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: A Full Plate by Kim Fielding

A Full Plate (Dreamspun Desires)[image error]

"This was truly a fun read. So many times through the story I tried to convince Tully to think of the life he'd have with Sage in a small town oppose to a life as a rich man in a large city where no one actually knows anyone. I'm so glad he 'listened' to me. LOL I really loved the outcome of their lives. Wonderful story and highly recommended!"

Bradford “Tully” Tolliver has everything—money, a beautiful condo, and a promising career as one of Portland’s hottest young lawyers. Sure, he puts in long hours and has no social life, but who needs romance when corporations pay top dollar for his expertise? When a colleague asks if her cousin can live with him, he’s hesitant, but the arrangement will last less than a year, and then the cousin—Sage Filling—will return to his tiny hometown. But Sage is handsome and intriguing, and his cooking makes Tully swoon. Sage has obligations back home, though, and Tully has offers from a persistent—and very wealthy—ex that he might not refuse. Tully and Sage each have a full plate, but will they make room for a side of love?


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: A Beautiful Disaster (Geek Life #3) by Marguerite Labbe

A Beautiful Disaster (3) (Geek Life)[image error]

"Another delightful story by an amazing writer. I totally enjoyed this book. After reading book 1, I now have a bit more understanding about the comic coms and what they entail. Lots of work for sure if you're the one who is putting the con together. Phew! I'm glad I'm not one of them and have all the 'feels' for those who do. I loved the characters...All of them! The story could really pass as true day to day life and the characters as real life people. I never tire reading books by the amazing Marguerite Labbe."

Geek Life: Book Three When best friends Brenden and Dakota launch the biggest comics and pop-culture convention of their careers, they finally realize what everyone around them already knows: they’ve been in love for years. Now what are they going to do about it? Meticulously organized Brenden Wade and easygoing Dakota Nye turned their love of geek culture into a business, running conventions all over the Chesapeake Bay area. Now the weight of their pasts is threatening not only their friendship but their dream. Brenden fears losing his foster family when his secrets come out, and though the last thing Dakota wants is to hurt his plus one, he doesn’t know if he’s capable of settling down. One night of passion challenges both men’s preconceptions and forces them to evaluate what they want from the future. They’re both scared, and though they’ve always been able to figure out anything together, hearts are on the line. Will taking a chance on romance lead to a beautiful disaster, or just a disaster?


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: A Little Side of Geek (Geek Life #1) by Marguerite Labbe

A Little Side of Geek (1) (Geek Life)[image error]

"I don't usually go for the geeky, game con genre, but I must admit, this was such a treat to read! It was a fun, quirky story that left me simply satisfied when I reached the end. The characters were sweet, the story could pass as real-life events. I adored Morris in his kilt and the shy Theo with all the responsibilities dumped on him when his parents died and he tried to do as much as he possibly could for his teen brother. Excellent story from an author I truly admire."

Geek Life: Book One When opposite worlds collide, it’s anyone’s game. Proud geek and comic book artist Morris Proctor wants nothing more than to live in semiseclusion with his devil cat and gamer friends. Despite what his well-meaning family thinks, he’s perfectly content with his status quo. The last thing he needs is to date another nongeek hell-bent on changing him. Then he meets his adorkable new neighbor, Theo Boarman, who doesn’t know Star Trek from Star Wars, but who tempts him like no other. Theo has spent the last year recovering from the loss of his parents and trying to play both roles for his teenage brother, while working to keep the family restaurant afloat. Dating is the last thing on the menu, especially with a man who thinks the height of dining is shoving a packaged meal into the microwave. But if Morris gives him one more shy smile or flaunts that kilt he wears so well, Theo will be forced to convince him that a hot summer fling is just the recipe to let off a little steam. When that fling gets serious fast, Morris has to decide if he’s willing to give his heart to Theo on the chance that they’re a perfect mix.



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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: The Arrangement by Alex Jane

The Arrangement (Homestead Legacy Book 1)[image error]

"The Arrangement is a compelling love story between two shifters with a past that will stay with you after its conclusion. A gay Beauty and the Beast meets Secret Garden, the simple tale is sweetly told from the heart. Alex Jane has written a satisfying historical romance."

1895. New York.

Gabriel Webster’s pack is in trouble. His father’s failing health and his mother’s untimely death mean that the vultures are circling. It won’t be long before his family’s assets are stripped and his pack disbanded. When an offer of help arrives in the form of a marriage of convenience, he has little choice but to accept.

The arrangement would be the perfect solution, if not for one thing. Gabriel is to marry Nathaniel Hayward, the Alpha who was badly injured in the accident that killed his brother ten years before—and the man Gabriel has been in love with for as long as he can remember.

Trapped in a business arrangement masquerading as a marriage — in a strange, empty house with a damaged husband who barely tolerates him — isn’t what Gabriel expected from life.

But sometimes the last thing we want is the beginning of something more.
And an ending can be the start of something beautiful.

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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Can You Hear Me by Geonn Cannon

Can You Hear Me

"A bloody good story. It would make an awesome movie."

From award-winning author and television writer Geonn Cannon:

For the next two years, Colonel Noa Laurie - the sole survivor of a disaster which destroyed the International Space Station - will be orbiting Earth in an experimental craft called ODIE. Her mission: to clear away the treacherous minefield of space junk that has accumulated around the planet and endangers future missions. Her only lifeline during this mission will be the radio connecting her to the command center and whoever happens to be assigned to the communications desk.

Or so she thinks.

Because tucked away and almost forgotten in an Indiana woodshop is an antique radio. Its owner, Jamie Faris, occasionally uses it for eavesdropping on the truckers passing by on the highway. One day in the third month of Noa's mission, Jamie uses the radio to vent her frustrations by screaming into the ether. She screams and rages and curses into the thick static knowing it won't matter because no one will hear, but she's wrong... someone is definitely listening.

And she's about to say hello.

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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Trafalgar & Boone and the Children of the Burnt Empire

Trafalgar & Boone and the Children of the Burnt Empire (Trafalgar and Boone Book 4)

"This story for me was a little WTF at the beginning, but once I got into it, it was a prettygood read."

Dorothy Boone, still blaming herself for a devastating loss on their last adventure, and Miss Trafalgar are offered a new mission from the Royal Geographical Society: an expedition to find the source of a mythical river has gone missing in the Amazon rainforest, and their patrons want them found. It seems like the perfect low-threat endeavor to get the duo back to normalcy, so Dorothy and Trafalgar accept. Accompanied by Cora Hyde, who is also recovering from a loss, the duo sets out for the jungle.
Their safe undertaking soon turns perilous when they run afoul of a previously unknown tribe known as the Burnt Empire. Dorothy and Trafalgar are separated in the scuffle and taken in by two groups with similar goals but differing tactics. The groups only agree on one point: the very existence of the Burnt Empire could lead to untold destruction.

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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Kennel Club by Geonn Cannon

Kennel Club (Underdogs Book 7)

"I really liked this story, though from some of the stuff they talked about I’d need to read some of the other books to catch up on the back story. I remember reading #6: Dog Biscuits two years ago in the Rainbow Awards, or maybe it was last year, and liked it as well. I’ll definitely have to go back and read the rest of the series."

The wolf has been caged.

Ariadne Willow has been framed for murder. Upon her arrival at the police station, she's given a choice: accept GG&M's offer in exchange for her freedom, or risk going up against GG&M in court. Ari refuses and is sent to prison to await trial. Dale teams up with Ari's mom and, along with Milo Duncan's British pack, begins looking for ways to either prove Ari's innocence or take down Cecily Parrish once and for all.

Time is not on their side. In addition to the usual dangers of prison, Ari only has four weeks before the wolf forces her to transform, exposing her as a canidae.

With the clock ticking on her secret and a seemingly all-powerful enemy who holds all the cards, the odds against Ari and Dale have never been higher. This time, if they can't find a way to turn the tables, the underdogs might be out of the game for good.

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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Dear Sophie by Ruth Simkin

Dear Sophie: Life Lessons in Feminism & Medicine[image error]

"Dear Sophie is a flawless memoir that is not only a story of Dr Ruth Simkin, but a story of feminism and women in Canada and the field of medicine, skillfully woven together with valuable life lessons. I feel grateful to Dr Simkin not only for her pioneering work that improved the quality of life for so many women, but for sharing her experiences. I found this memoir not only insightful and inspiring and a bit shocking, but at times funny. I learned more than I expected. Thank you!"

Dear Sophie is the continuing memoir of The Jagged Years of Ruthie J. as Ruth fights to get enrolled into medical school. She finally succeeds by being one of a few students to be accepted at a new type of medical school at the University of Calgary. Being admitted turns out to be the easy part as she continues to face sexual harassment and discrimination during her schooling. Told in letters to her niece Sophie, Ruth weaves a feminist story of perseverance and determination for equality.

Several male doctors did their best to get Ruth kicked out of the program, but she persevered. She finished her residency and opened her own medical practice despite being blocked at almost every step and clashing with the established medical community.

Ruth's story covers almost half a century up the present, all the while using her experiences, especially in the medical community as a means to show Sophie how to live a happy, feminist life.


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Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Lucky 7 by Rae D. Magdon

Lucky 7

"This story had all the right elements in the right places ... including room for a sequel without sacrificing a satisfying ending."

Elena Nevares is on the run. She’s a jacker, someone who connects to virtual reality with their brain, and everyone else on her crew was murdered during a mission gone wrong. Sasha Young is planning a rescue. She’s a handler, a team leader whose crew has been scattered by an evil corporation: Axys Generations. Together, they must find the rest of Sasha’s crew: Cherry, the engineer and explosives expert; Rami, the master of disguise; Doc, the wunderkind Medical Officer; and Rock, the mechanically modified muscle. But Axys Generations has bigger plans than taking down Sasha’s crew. Elena, Sasha, and the rest of the Lucky 7 must go on their most dangerous mission yet—not for credits or tech, but to save the world.

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