Release week jump-started.

Hey,
Yesterday I started by talking about my "contest" being an epic failure. A HUGE THANK YOU to those who commented and made me feel less like a loser. I am completely glad you liked my book When Love Is Not Enough and are looking forward to The Cost of Loving. For those who commented and continue to comment on THIS BLOG (Epic Failure) I WILL pick a winner of something. If what Melissa said is true, then maybe you all have already pre-ordered. (Or plan to buy on Aug 16th.) I guess I should be all gushy inside that you all love my stuff this much. Thank you. If I pick a winner, and you already have my books, I can promise the next book. OKAY? And maybe doing a give-away needs to happen sooner the next time? Thoughts?

As far as release week, Mrs. Condit and Friends has posted the first review online of the ARC. (Don't ask what that means, I don't even know.) There is also an interview OF ME talking about "who is Wade Kelly." I will not copy the interview here as that would defeat the purpose of a "blog hop", but you can CLICK HERE to read it :)

The review of The Cost of Loving probably contains spoilers of When Love Is Not Enough. (Yes, I read it, but I am not sure what it would give away, I'm just warning you.)

Posted by Lady McNeill on August 13, 2013

“God made me gay; there has to be a reason for it”
GENRE: M/M
RATING: 4 Sweet Peas!

BLURB: Matt Dixon, a young firefighter, is the golden child of his family, and he never dreamed that coming out would challenge more than the way his church sees him.

For years, Matt has led a double life hoping to avoid ridicule. When a self-righteous pastor’s statements provoke him to defend his recently deceased best friend’s honor and subsequently out himself, he suffers the brutal aftermath of his revelation. Everyone in his life, including his family and his new lover, Darian, must deal with the ramifications as Matt struggles to come to terms with guilt, shame, and his very belief in God.

Darian Weston lost his fiancé when Jamie took his life, and his feelings for Matt added guilt to his burden of grief. Confused and lonely, Darian clings to Matt despite his inner strife. But small-town realities keep intruding, and if Matt and Darian hope to make a life together, they must first take a stand for what they believe in, even if they fear the cost.

LADY MCNEILL’S OPINION: When Jamie Miller committed suicide, the effects of his death were far reaching. We met Jamie in When Love is Not Enough by Wade Kelly and through a series of flashbacks and journal entries we learned what brought him to that fateful day. We also learned a lot about the two separate lives he lived: one with his best friend Matt Dixon and the other with his fiancé Darian Weston. Jamie ensured the two never met and their lives never intersected for deep down Jamie really loved Matt no matter how much he thought he loved Darian.

So begins the story of what happens between Matt and Darian after Jamie’s death in The Cost of Loving.
Matt and Darian are both dealing with their grief together through lots of and lots of sex. I mean a lot of sex. They can’t get enough of each other. But as Matt tries to go on with his “normal” life he can’t get Darian off his mind or out of his bed and he doesn’t want to. Matt truly believes this has got to be love but he really has no clue about Darian’s past or the amount of grief Darian is going through. Matt is also dealing with the effects of “coming out” to his ultraconservative church when he attempted to defend Jamie’s honor. As much as Matt has a great family life, the way his parents treat him initially I thought were awful. In fact, I’m still not too fond of his dad even at the end of the book.

The story takes us through Matt and Darian’s journey towards a relationship together but they have so many roadblocks along the way. We have Darian’s addictions, oppressive parents, car accidents, psycho church members, homophobic coworkers. I don’t think there could have been any more things that could have been thrown into their lives. Told mostly from Matt’s POV we watch the continual beat down he is taking from everywhere and everyone. It is really quit tragic and I ached for him. Darian is more of an elusive character because we don’t hear from him much and when we do he’s consumed with grief. There were tender moments in the book like Matt and Darian’s first date. Those were my favorite parts when we read about the true relationship between the men because you could see the potential of their relationship.

In the end, the characters from the first book that I originally liked, I no longer liked in this story other than Matt and Darian whom I love. The book was a little slow in the beginning as we went through their daily lives but definitely sped up halfway through. It wraps up with a great HEA at least I believe HEA vs HFN because they withstood so much to get to the ending. The story is written in a way that you don’t have to read the first book at all but I would recommend it so you can see how Matt and Darian got together.

4 sweet peas. Not bad. If you read the excerpt or even just scroll to the end of the interview and excerpt, there is mention of a contest. Comment to win a eCopy of The Cost of Loving. Or just comment that you already own it if you do. I think I'd rather have commenters who already have it, then no comments at all. No comments is sad and lonely. :(

So if you want to get to know me MORE, GO HERE, this week contains a couple of interviews to give you a very complete picture of who I am and how I got here, why I'm guarded, and why NOW am I opening up about it. (If you haven't known all along anyway.)

So, I will talk to you all laterz! I have another review and interview on Thursday! Keep watch.

Wade