Book Review: Painted On My Heart – Kindle Alexander

Blurb: Artist Kellus Hardin let love and loyalty cloud his past decisions, a mistake he definitely won’t make again. Now, lost and alone, he’s left to pick up the shattered pieces of his broken heart while facing the truth of his reality.

Arik Layne exudes power, confidence, and determination. But when an encounter with the guarded artist shakes him to the core and alters all his future goals, he finds more than just his heart on the line.

For Kellus, opening himself to love isn’t an option.
All Arik wants is to make the artist his.
Can love create a masterpiece when it’s painted on your heart?

This may contain spoilers.

Now, this isn’t quite a backlog review, as I just finished reading this book this month. I know! I know! I haven’t been as active or up-to-date with all the books coming out lately because, well, adulting demands attention. But let’s not dwell on that. Straight to the point: I absolutely loved this book. LOVED IT.

There aren’t many authors who create main characters with HIV, most likely due to the stigma attached to it. Unfortunately, that stigma in real life tends to seep into the literature we consume as well. I’ve come across few books with main characters afflicted by HIV that are as well-crafted and compelling as this one. I truly appreciated what the author did here. It was touching.

The story is incredibly emotional, perhaps the most angst-filled book by these authors. The sorrow emanating from Kellus is almost tangible on every page. The lost love, lost respect, lost lover… it’s heartbreaking.

Arik’s entrance into his life is like a lifeline. He is exactly what Kellus needed in order to move forward. The intensity of their chemistry is undeniable, and their love feels genuine. It wasn’t rushed, but it wasn’t dragging its feet either. They took their time.

Arik’s role in helping Kellus heal is beautiful. I’m deeply moved by these two characters.

While there are moments of frustration throughout the story, they are overshadowed by Arik’s personality and Kellus’s acceptance of love and loss.

I simply want to express my gratitude to the authors for creating this beautiful book. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

About The Author
Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica in the male/male genre. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming next!

Find out more by visiting http://www.kindlealexander.com or email me at kindle@kindlealexander.com

Book Review: Full Domain (Nice Guys, #3) – Kindle Alexander

I thought I should share this review before I post my upcoming reviews for two other works by the authors. This is another backlogged review, one that I hadn’t posted here since I shared a mini-review on Goodreads back in January of last year.

To be fair and honest, I am a fan of the authors—yes, in case you’re still unaware—Kindle Alexander is a duo of lovely ladies who adore the LGBTQ+ community, just like myself, and they’re enriching our lives with their magnificent writing!

First, let’s talk about that cover. I mean, come on, it’s a work of art in itself. I want to print that cover and hang it on my wall.

Now, onto the not-so-easy part: copying and pasting my review from Goodreads. This is, admittedly, my least favorite from the duo, and I have to say, I loved all of their books prior to this one. Let’s start by reading the blurb:

Honor, integrity, and loyalty are how Deputy US Marshal Kreed Sinacola lives his life. A former SEAL now employed by the Special Operations Group of the US Marshal Service, Kreed spent most of his life working covert operations and avoiding relationships. Never one to mix business with pleasure, his boundaries blur and his convictions are put to the test when he finally comes face-to-face with the hot computer geek he’s been partnered with. Hell-bent on closing the ongoing case for his longtime friend, he pushes past his own limits and uncovers more than he expects. 

Aaron Stuart strives for one thing: justice. Young and full of idealism, his highly sought after computer skills land him a position with the National Security Agency. Aaron’s biggest hazard at his job is cramped fingers, but all that changes when he is drawn into the middle of a dangerous federal investigation. Aaron gets more than he bargained for when the FBI partners him with a handsome and tempting deputy US marshal. His attraction to the inked up, dark-haired man provides another kind of threat altogether. Aaron tries desperately to place a firewall around his heart and fight his developing feelings, knowing one misstep on his part could ultimately destroy him. 

The solution isn’t as easy as solving the case, which is treacherous enough as it is. But the growing sexual attraction between them threatens to derail more than just Kreed’s personal convictions as he quickly learns temptation and matters of the heart rarely fit easily into the rules he’s lived by. Will Kreed be able to convince Aaron to open his heart and face the fact that sometimes the answers aren’t always hidden in code?

While I usually can’t stop talking about books by Kindle Alexander, this latest installment of the series left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I was hoping for something more innovative. It felt like a rehash of previous characters and plots, lacking the freshness I usually find in Alexander’s work.

Despite this, I must say that the book,as usual is well-written, even if it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. There were moments of repetition and an abundance of explicit scenes that made it a bit challenging to get through, and some character traits felt overplayed.

However, I don’t want to deter others from giving it a chance. It might just not have been my cup of tea, but I remain a fan of the author. After all, some of her other works are among my favorites in this genre, and I’m eager to see what she comes up with next.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

About The Author
Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica in the male/male genre. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming next!

Find out more by visiting http://www.kindlealexander.com or email me at kindle@kindlealexander.com

The X Factor UK 2017 – Live Show 1 Recap – Girls and Boys Categories

There’s a bit of a change this season with the live shows as the four categories will be performing across two shows with the Girls and the Boys categories performing on the first night. This is where the wildcard winners were also announced with Alisah Bonaobra and Leon Mallett making it via the public votes for their respective categories.

There will also be a winner for each live show with the two winners battling it out on Sunday to win certain prizes.

The Live Show 1 winner is none other than…

This is an absolutely breathtaking performance from Grace. I wonder if she’ll just be singing original songs all through out her stay in the competition. Her song is called Too Young and it’s absolutely brilliant! A really deserving win, indeed!

And apparently, a chance to see P!nk in concert is the prize this week! Even Dermot made a mistake when he said that she’d get to see Pink… watch…

Holly Tandy – Hollow by Tori Kelly

She isn’t the most polished singer in the bunch but she’s got incredible tone and stage presence. I could totally see her making Top 6.

Rai-Elle Williams – Doo Wop (That Thing) and Lost Ones by Lauryn Hill and No by Meghan Trainor

I don’t hink she’s the strongest singer in the competition but she’s very charming! Girl got sass and I absolutely loved her performance overall.

And finally, as I’ve said from the previous post – Alisah just killed it. Her song choice was absolutely brilliant and she looked wonderful!

 

Sam Black – Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved Sam’s personality and he seems like a nice bloke but I gotta say – he is the weakest amongst the boy and probably one of the weakest singers in the show. I don’t exactly know why he got in instead of the likes of Benji…

Lloyd Macey – City of Stars by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (OST – La La Land)

That personality, that accent! He’s absolutely adorable! And that freaking song!I didn’t think I’d say this but he’s absolutely a winner material after that performance!

Leon Mallett – Stay by Zedd and Alessia Cara

I wasn’t expecting Leon to make it to the live show and win the public votes as the boys wildcard but they obviously loves him. This performance was just okay. Nothing spectacular. I’m gonna give him two more weeks in the show tops.

Spencer Sutherland – Who You Are by Jessie J

What just happened there? I thought he’s the strongest in his category but seriously, what the ever loving fuck? I’m still baffled until now.

It all boils down to Spencer and Leon…such a shame really. Leon over Spencer is just utter BS. #RealTalk

Youtube videos from the X Factor UK

 

Alisah Bonaobra’s is the Girls Wildcard’s Winner on the X Factor! #XFactor

photo from the X Factor Facebook page.

Yes, Filipino singer Alisah Bonaobra definitely has the public on her side as she made a comeback on to the first live shows as the wildcard contestant for the girls category.

For the first live show, the Girls and the Boys categories were the first to performed.

Alisah performed an awe-inspiring rendition of the American Idol winning song of Jordin Sparks’ This Is My Now and man’ did she deliver! She fucking killed it!

Leon Mallett meanwhile was chosen as the wildcard for the boys.

Youtube video from the X Factor

Winwyn Marquez’ National Costume at the Reina Hispanoamericana 2017!

photo from @titasofpageantry on Instagram

Miss Filipinas Winwyn Marquez is looking oh-so-fierce with this Pintados-inspired national costume created by Edwin Uy specifically for our very first rep to the Latin pageant, Reina Hispanoamericana.

Now, this is what I call a well-thought-out national costume departing from the usual Filipiniana we’re all used to seeing in the past.

This intricate creation was also chosen as one of the Top 3 National Costumes along with the costumes of the delegates from Venezuela and Panama.

Pilot Beauty Queen Nelda Ibe is ready to conquer Albania!

It is such a busy month for pageants fans and pundits because of the simultaneous staging of different beauty pageants this month virtually all over the world.

One of these pageant is the Miss Globe which is currently being held in the southern European country of Albania. Binibining Pilipinas – Globe also known as our Pilot Beauty Queen Nelda Ibe has safely arrived a few days ago and is already making her presence felt in the competition. Nelda  was recently chosen as one of the delegates who will be showcasing their talents. I’m not entirely sure how this would affect her standing in the competition but ya’ll know that it doesn’t hurt to be noticed.

So to Nelda, bring back the crown to the country! Mabuhay ka!

photo from Nelda Ibe’s Instagram account.

 

Cover Thursday: Britney Spears’ Heaven on Earth by Matthew McPeck #Blackout10

Here’s my third and final Cover Thursday posts for this week in honor of my girl, Britney’s Blackout 10th year Anniversary! This song is fucking fabulous and one of Britney’s best songs ever!

Here’s a very interesting take of Matthew McPeck to the song published in 2009! I really, really liked it!

Cover Thursday: Britney Spears’ Break The Ice by Keri Hilson #Blackout10

photo from coverlandia

Okay, so this isn’t actually a cover but the very demo of the song sung by Keri Hilson who wrote the song herself along with Nate Hills, Marcella Araica and James Washington.

This is actually one of my favorite tracks in the Blackout album! Also, don’t you just loved its music video?

Book Review: When First I Met My King (Arthur Trilogy ,#1) – Harper Fox

Publication Date: September 30th 2017 by FoxTales Publications
Themes & Genres: LGBTQ, Romance, Young Adult
Format: ebook, 138 pages
ASIN: B075G3Y8VP
Character: Lance, Arthur, Ector, Gaius

Blurb: Once upon a time, there was a winter that wouldn’t end. And all that’s standing between the people of White Meadows and starvation is a young man called Lance.

He’s sixteen years old, and for all his courage and hunting skills, he’s running out of fight. His family has been wiped out in a border raid, and he’s drowning in loneliness. When strangers arrive at White Meadows, all Lance can think of is using his last strength to drive them away.

But these men have come in peace, not to burn and destroy. Among them is a hot-headed, utterly charming prince-in-training named Arthur.

For Lance, Arthur’s arrival is like the return of the sun. The prince has everything – learning, battle skills, a splendid destiny. But as the days unfold in the remote northern settlement in the shadow of Hadrian’s Wall, it soon becomes clear that Arthur needs Lance, too.

I’ve to tell you though that prior to reading this, I’ve no clear background on the legends of Arthur, Lancelot all and I’ve only watched a couple of films, seen a bit of Merlin and read a few fan fiction which are all salacious in nature. Hah!

But hey, I am a huge, huge fan of Harper Fox so I’d eat up anything she offers. This story is actually kind of cute. I immediately fell for our two young adult protagonists. Lance is adorable with all his naivety and Arthur is plain riot! I loved that they have different voices! As per usual, the author’s lyrical writing is her absolute asset so you’d really get the feel of the era! I want more from these two! I’m so happy it’s a trilogy!!!

Highly recommended and this is from someone who doesn’t know shit about any Arthurian tales.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

About The Author
Harper Fox is an M/M author with a mission. She’s produced six critically acclaimed novels in a year and is trying to dispel rumours that she has a clone/twin sister locked away in a study in her basement. In fact she simply continues working on what she loves best– creating worlds and stories for the huge cast of lovely gay men queuing up inside her head. She lives in rural Northumberland in northern England and does most of her writing at a pensioned-off kitchen table in her back garden, often with blanket and hot water bottle.

She lives with her SO Jane, who has somehow put up with her for a quarter of a century now, and three enigmatic cats, chief among whom is Lucy, who knows the secret of the universe but isn’t letting on. When not writing, she either despairs or makes bread, specialities foccacia and her amazing seven-strand challah. If she has any other skills, she’s yet to discover them.

Cover Thursday: Britney Spears’ Gimme More By Sia #Blackout10

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Britney’s Blackout album – considered by fans and critics alike to be her best album to date – I am posting multiple Cover Thursday posts!

This first one is Sia’s version of Blackout’s first single – Gimme More!

Enjoy it bitches!