Review of Rise of the Alpha Squirrel by Kate Lowell

Rise of The Alpha Squirrel (Nutty Romances #2) by Kate Lowell 4*

BLURB: Nathan's met Vince's family, but Vince hasn't met Nathan's, and Nathan would like to keep it that way. Holy smoked almonds, what else do you do when you know how completely nuts your relatives are? 
Why, you ease your man into it, by introducing him to normal shifters. Assuming you can find any. 
But with a gossipy werehummingbird spreading the news, and a pair of young red pandas wreaking havoc with their fainting goat friends, Nathan’s about ready to climb into a pine cone and pull it in after him.
Then the local playboy weremoose hears about Vince, and Nathan has to find his inner alpha or the consequences will be worse than moldy hazelnuts.

My Review:  A copy of this book was provided to me by Pride Promotions in exchange for an honest review. I said in my review for book #1 that I smiled all the way through it, well I can honestly say this one had me laughing out loud! The humour was as good, if not better, than the first one. But it wasn't all fun and games, there was a little angst, a little jealousy, and lots of loving too. If, like me, you liked Nuts About You then you will love this book. It has all those little touches that Kate added in the first Nutty Romance, including all the nut related expletives that Nathan is always using (I love them!). It has left me hoping it won't be that long for me to get my hands on book 3 The Wall Nuts.

A couple of unusual books have come to my attention thanks to Kate Lowell.

I begin to think that shifter's are real. Just check out these covers and the excerpt from one of them that Kate Lowell was kind enough to pass on to me.

Message from Kate:

The following excerpt is taken from the best-selling series ‘A Were’s Guide to Living in the Human World’ by Finnley Lakewood, Ph.D, and Gardenner Monk, Ph.D. Please don’t tell anyone where you got these excerpts—I had to take ridiculous risks to get my hands on these books and if they found me, they’d probably eat me.

Excerpt:

Appendix F: Never Live With Your Romantic Partner (if it’s a human)

…hair in the shower drain. While most weres will shed, and some shed profusely, what goes down the drain tends to be short and thus is easily washed away by the running water. But human hair will keep growing longer and longer. It balls up in the drain, impeding the flow of water. Then someone will have to dig it out.

That, dear were, generally ends up being you. Why? Because humans wait, hoping their partner or roommate will do it first. They don’t like doing it, and a human can be nothing if not patient in pursuit of its goals.

The best way to avoid the retching and nightmare-inspiring sights is not to live with a human. If that sad eventuality cannot be avoided, then you will have to steel yourself to the task. Ensure that your romantic partner is not in the building. A bucket to vomit in (for those species that can vomit) is an excellent tool to have on hand. And sunglasses, to reduce the visual impact of the task.

Book Tour & Giveaway for Rise of the Alpha Squirrel by Kate Lowell.

Author Name: Kate Lowell

Book Name: Rise of the Alpha Squirrel

Series: Nutty Romances

Book: Two

Series should be read in order for maximum enjoyment

Release Date: February 25, 2016

Blurb:

Nathan's met Vince's family, but Vince hasn't met Nathan's, and Nathan would like to keep it that way. Holy smoked almonds, what else do you do when you know how completely nuts your relatives are?

Why, you ease your man into it, by introducing him to normal shifters. Assuming you can find any.

But with a gossipy werehummingbird spreading the news, and a pair of young red pandas wreaking havoc with their fainting goat friends, Nathan’s about ready to climb into a pine cone and pull it in after him.

Then the local playboy weremoose hears about Vince, and Nathan has to find his inner alpha or the consequences will be worse than moldy hazelnuts.

Pages or Words: Approximately 24,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt:

“Breakfast,” Vince said and waved a hand toward the table.

It was a squirrel’s wet dream. Or it would have been, if good-enough-to-lick-all-over-then-eat Vince hadn’t been sitting on the other side of the table. Maybe he could say it was any other squirrel’s wet dream—whatever, it was the breakfast of Roman squirrel emperors.  

A pile of thick, deep brown pancakes waited for him in the center of his plate. Raspberries and shaved almonds sprawled seductively over the side of the stack, glistening with sweet, sticky maple syrup. Some of the less audacious ones hid decorously beneath the edges of a heavy daub of whipped cream, but Nathan knew they were there, waiting for him to discover them. He could see them peeking diffidently out, uncertain whether they wanted to attract his attention or not.

And the best part—the most gorgeous massage therapist in the world was sitting across the table from him, watching him with eyes that were dark in more than just the usual way. He looked at Nathan like Nathan was a maple walnut ice cream with a peanut dip. Like he wanted to lick him all over and suck bits of him deep inside his mouth…

Buy the book:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
All Romance eBooks

Meet the author:

Kate Lowell lives on the east coast of Canada, in an old farm house that has way more personality than it has any right to. During the winter, she spends her time dreading snow, cursing at snow, shoveling snow, and scheming ways to shove it down the kids' necks. During the summer, she prays not to have snow. :)

Kate likes to play in ALL the sandboxes. While her main genres are paranormal and contemporary suspense, she is also interested in science fiction, fantasy and--weirdly--romantic comedy. She’s willing to pay large amounts of money to anyone who can come up with a Time Turner, or find her an agreeable Time Lord to sort out her scheduling problems.

You can contact her at katelowellbooks (at) gmail.com . If you think you’d like to try writing gay romance, come visit her critique group (Link can be found at http://katelowell.com). New members are always welcome.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008313548018

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kate_Lowell

Website:  http://katelowell.com

Other: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7132484.Kate_Lowell

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28690157-rise-of-the-alpha-squirrel

Publisher: Kate Lowell

Cover Artist: Ana J. Phoenix

Tour Dates & Stops:

25-Feb: A.M. Leibowitz, Hearts on Fire, Velvet Panic, Nautical Star Books, MM Good Book Reviews

26-Feb: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Inked Rainbow Reads, KathyMac Reviews

27-Feb: Happily Ever Chapter, Molly Lolly, Love Bytes

29-Feb: Nephy Hart, Man2ManTastic, Bonkers About Books, Open Skye Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook

1-Mar: BFD Book Blog, Dawn’s Reading Nook, V's Reads, Boy Meets Boy Reviews

2-Mar: Bayou Book Junkie, Jessie G. Books, Alpha Book Club

Divine Magazine

Rafflecopter Prize: http://www.stuffedsafari.com/Plush-Ruby-throated-Hummingbird-Audubon-Bird-p/wr-83900.htm

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Nuts About You by Kate Lowell

Earlier today I posted a book blast and giveaway for this book. You can win a really cute squirrel toy wearing a bandana that reads 'Oh My Walnuts.

Nuts About You (Nutty Romances #1) by Kate Lowell 3*
BLURB: Nathan’s been crushing on one of his regular Bulk Mart customers for a while now. In squirrel form, he sits on Vince’s bird feeders, munching on seeds and enjoying the eye candy. Until the day Vince notices him raiding the feeder…


My Review: 'Oh My Walnuts!' (which will make a lot of sense when you read this book) this was such a sweet romance. I loved that Kate introduced us to a shifter that is out of the norm, no werewolves or weretigers in this book. In fact as anyone can guess from the cover and title it is a weresquirrel who is our main character. His obsession over Vince and how they meet is one of the sweetest romance beginnings I have read in a long time. In fact this whole book had me smiling throughout. If ever you want a book to cheer you up and make you feel good about the world read this one. And after the lovely little taster of Nutty Romances #2 I look forward to reading more about Vince and his sneaky little squirrel love interest Nathan.

New Kate Lowell book and a chance to win a cute toy.

Author Name: Kate Lowell
Book Name: Nuts About You
Series: Nutty Romances
Book: One
Book can be read as a standalone
Release Date: January 7, 2016

Blurb:

Nathan’s been crushing on one of his regular Bulk Mart customers for a while now. In his squirrel form, he sits on Vince’s bird feeders, munching on seeds and enjoying the eye candy. Until the day Vince catches him raiding the feeder…

Pages or Words: 11,500 words

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Paranormal (Shifters: Squirrel), Romance, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt:
The best part was coming next. Nathan took an absentminded bite of the sunflower seed in his paw and hung a little further out from the feeder to get a better view. Because now, the body wash was coming out. Vince’s hand stretched past Nathan’s field of vision, returning with what looked like the Natural Sea Sponge Vince had bought at Bulk Mart a month ago. He flicked open the cap on the almond-scented body wash and spread it on the sponge. Though Nathan couldn’t smell it through the window, he knew that scent. It drove him wild—he stopped to sniff it every time he walked down the aisle, and he even had a bottle on his bedside table. Not to use, just to smell every night as he lay in bed, wishing it was Vince’s hand on him instead of his own.
There it went, the sponge traveling over all the places where Nathan would like to run his tongue. Vince started on his neck, smooth up and down movements covering his skin with a rich lather. The bubbles slid down his body, clinging in a way that made Nathan irrationally jealous of them. The sponge followed the bubbles down, making circles over the sleek chest, then crisscrossing back and forth over the flat stomach and past his bellybutton, with its narrow trail of hair leading down to—OH MY WALNUTS!

Buy the book:

All Romance https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nutsaboutyou-1955968-145.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019X1MXKQ?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1071207061


Meet the author:

Kate Lowell lives on the east coast of Canada, in an old farm house that has way more personality than it has any right to. During the winter, she spends her time dreading snow, cursing at snow, shoveling snow, and scheming ways to shove it down the kids' necks. During the summer, she prays not to have snow. :)

Kate likes to play in ALL the sandboxes. While her main genres are paranormal and contemporary suspense, she is also interested in science fiction, fantasy and--weirdly--romantic comedy. She's willing to pay large amounts of money to anyone who can come up with plot-bunny repellent, which she will first use on herself, then sell to LA Witt for an exorbitant price to recoup her costs.

You can contact her at katelowellbooks (at) gmail.com . If you think you’d like to try writing gay romance, come visit her critique group (Link can be found at http://katelowell.com). New members are always welcome.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008313548018
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kate_Lowell
Website: http://katelowell.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7132484.Kate_Lowell
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28219642-nuts-about-you
Publisher: Kate Lowell
Cover Artist: Ana J. Phoenix

Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, The Jena Wade, Tara Lain, BFD Book Blog, Bonkers About Books, Kiki's Kinky Picks, Open Skye Book Reviews, Kimi-Chan, Bayou Book Junkie, My Fiction Nook, Chris McHart, QUEERcentric Books, Happily Ever Chapter, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, The Hat Party, Havan Fellows, Velvet Panic, Nautical Star Books, Hearts on Fire, V's Reads, A.M. Leibowitz, Inked Rainbow Reads, Boy Meets Boy Reviews, Nephy Hart, Molly Lolly, MM Good Book Reviews, Caraway Carter, 3 Chicks After Dark, Alpha Book Club


Rafflecopter Prize:

This dude, wearing a bandana that reads “Oh My Walnuts!”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Flesh Market by Kate Lowell

Having been involved in the release blast/tour for this book I decided I should read it. So here is my honest thoughts on the book.

Flesh Market (Bodies and Souls #1) by Kate Lowell 4

BLURB: Special Agent Leo Gale is up a creek. A year and a half of deep cover is about to go up in flames. He needs help – something, someone to salvage the operation and save the lives of untold numbers of trafficked teenagers.
But he wasn’t expecting the partner they sent, or his own gut-punch of a response to the man.
Julian worked hard for that FBI Honors Internship. It was supposed to be a foot in the door. He’d never expected it to catapult him into the middle of a major undercover operation. Yet here he is, sleeping on a filthy mattress and using every trick in the book to avoid torture--and worse. He’s never felt so scared, or so alive, in his entire life, and he’s not sure if it’s the danger, or Leo, that’s making his heart race.
There’s no time to think about it, though. The operation is heating up, and Leo and Julian are running out of time and options. As choices become more difficult, they must find a way to take the traffickers down, or risk becoming just another set of organs for sale.

My Review: I believe you need an open mind and a strong stomach to read this book. That said I can't wait to read the next two books if they continue the story of Leo and Julian. One thing I really admired about this book is that the relationship is followed over a number of years instead of squashed into weeks. The crime aspect was cleverly portrayed and I found it believable but that might be because I rarely read crime stories. If this is an example of one, full of action and scary as hell, then I might just have to diversify my reading habits :D

A release day book blast!

It's release day for the lovely author Kate Lowell and her newest book Flesh Market. It's the first in what looks like an interesting series. So here's little more about the book.




Author Name: Kate Lowell

Book Name: Flesh Market

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Blurb:

Special Agent Leo Gale is up a creek. A year and a half of deep cover is about to go up in flames. He needs help – something, someone to salvage the operation and save the lives of untold numbers of trafficked teenagers.

But he wasn’t expecting the partner they sent, or his own gut-punch of a response to the man.

Julian worked hard for that FBI Honors Internship. It was supposed to be a foot in the door. He’d never expected it to catapult him into the middle of a major undercover operation. Yet here he is, sleeping on a filthy mattress and using every trick in the book to avoid torture—and worse. He’s never felt so scared, or so alive, in his entire life, and he’s not sure if it’s the danger, or Leo, that’s making his heart race.

There’s no time to think about it, though. The operation is heating up, and Leo and Julian are running out of time and options. As choices become more difficult, they must find a way to take the traffickers down, or risk becoming just another set of organs for sale.