Hiya,
Today’s guest is Lily G. Blunt, one of my favourite writers, with her new anthology of short stories; the wonderful ‘You’re My Everything’.
99c BOOK BLAST and REVIEW TOUR.
Title: You’re My Everything
Author: Lily G. Blunt
Cover Design: Jay Aheer at Simply Defined Art
Genres: contemporary, gay romance, short story anthology
Length: 52 000 words/172 pages
Release Date: March 29, 2018
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Also available on Kindle Unlimited
My Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I never felt the need to look at another man. He was my first and last. He was my soulmate and would be for all eternity…’
I could scarce wait for the habitually tardy Jasper to turn up for his annual dinner date, so eager was I to meet the man Nathan adored. Then…Bam. My eyeballs nearly plopped on my laptop, my jaw dropped and I went all hot ‘n’ cold. I sort of sat, running the story through my mind, wondering where I’d gone awry or misread, missed something I should have seen. Of course I had. Plenty, but I’d overlooked it; too invested in their relationship and eager for Jasper to arrive to note the nuances so skilfully weaved into the words. This is the best opening story of an anthology I’ve ever read, it’s exquisite. I adored it.
The second story ‘Over the Rainbow’ made for a lovely contrast. A much welcome, lighthearted read in comparison, it was the perfect palette cleanser. I instantly warmed to both characters and enjoyed them enormously. Dorian and Mark are professional, urbane men, who couldn’t be more different from Andreas and Chris in ‘Opposites Attract’ Theirs is a far more quirky coupling. Chris is an extroverted adventurer and Andreas, an introverted homebody, happiest amidst the things he treasures. Both have many frailties, despite the fact Chris seems so…sorted. It takes a bit of a mishap in a winter wilderness for his truths to surface…and for Andreas and Chris to find their way back to one another. In every sense.
‘You Can’t Stop Loving Someone Like That’…is a less conventional love story, with a twist I’d now become a mite more prepared for. These stories delighted in taking a turn I hadn’t expected and, true to form, this one didn’t disappoint. While I couldn’t applaud Corey’s choices, they felt oh, so human, fallible. His journey followed the beat of its own drum and I enjoyed that fact. I’m fond of stories that have the courage to do their own thing and eschew a few conventions along the way.
‘Service With A Smile’. Phew… changing rooms should clearly come equipped with fans. Terry and Ash were an utter delight…as was the twist to their tale. Luscious.
‘Happy Anniversary Jasper’ made for such a memorable opener, I realised what I was about to be treated to in the very first sentence of ‘Without You’. I couldn’t have been more chuffed; it is an inspired conclusion to this anthology. An unexpected but exceedingly welcome way to round off an excellent collection of stories. Masterfully done, I loved it.
A Collection of Contemporary Gay Romance Stories from Lily G Blunt.
Six love stories.
Some sweet, some steamy, and one or two will bring a tear to the eye.
Happy Anniversary, Jasper
As Nathan waits for Jasper in a restaurant to celebrate their tenth anniversary, he recollects their past and some of the passionate moments he has experienced with the love of his life.
A heart-breaking yet erotic tale of love, romance and destiny.
Over the Rainbow
Dorian has been cast as Dorothy in his school’s production of The Wizard of Oz.
Like his character, Dorian is about to discover whether dreams really do come true.
Opposites Attract
Chris and Andreas are opposites in character. Both fear the other wants to move on.
Can being stranded on a mountainside resolve the doubt that is threatening to tear them apart?
You Can’t Stop Loving Someone Just Like That
Despite being besotted for years with Jack, Corey finds himself falling in love with Pierre, a foreign exchange student, who is staying at his home over the summer vacation. Up to this point, Jack has shown no sign that he was gay or that he wanted Corey as anything other than a friend. It is only when he sees Corey and Pierre together that Jack wishes he had acted sooner.
Service with a Smile
Terry visits a men’s designer boutique, and Ash gives him service with a smile…
Without You
Jasper is struggling to move on with his life without Nathan by his side. If only he could touch his lover one more time…
Excerpt from
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, JASPER
JASPER AND I first became friends at school. He moved into the area when he was thirteen and, as he was shy, I took him under my wing to protect him from the school bullies. No one dared mess with Nathan Collins and his gang. We hit it off straight away and became best buddies within a matter of weeks. The other lads, especially Kieran and Jack, were pissed off at first, but what could they say? Jasper became part of our clique, and there was nothing they could do about it. Well, they could take a hike, but I knew they wouldn’t do that.
Sometimes, it would be a group of us hanging out, but more often, it became just the two of us. We completed our homework together in our bedrooms, spent weekends in the woods hiking, or camping out in the summer months. We did everything together. Hell, we even volunteered to sweep up the autumn leaves for our parents so we could spend an afternoon with each other. Nothing could separate us. We remained friends at school for the next five years. We didn’t want or need girlfriends. We never argued. We never fell out. We just wanted to spend time together.
There were whispers, of course, but I ignored them. I knew there was nothing funny going on between us—we were best buddies. Jasper surprised me when he punched Kieran on the nose because of some snide comment he’d made. Luckily, Kieran didn’t snitch on Jasper to the headmaster. He claimed he’d bumped his nose during basketball training. However, there were no more mutterings about us from that day onwards.
We were seventeen before we had our first major disagreement. Jasper wanted to go out with a crowd of students to celebrate the end of the school year. I wanted the two of us to go to the cinema. Sulkily, I said I’d give the evening a miss. I could see he was cross with me, but he let it go without saying another word.
In the end, nearly everyone backed out for one reason or another, so it was just Jasper and Sean who planned to go alone to a pizza restaurant. I don’t know why I did it, but I decided to call another friend, Carlton, at the last minute to see if he wanted to go to the cinema with me. As luck would have it, Jasper and Sean decided to go to the cinema after their meal as well. I didn’t realise until much later that they were sitting about ten rows behind us all night.
After dropping Carlton off, I pulled into my driveway and saw Jasper waiting for me in his car. I could tell by his face he was seething but didn’t understand why. He got out and slammed the door shut before marching over to me.
“Did you have a good night?” He stared intently at me.
Puzzled, I said, “Yes, did you?”
He didn’t answer me as we made our way into my house. My parents were out, so we took some cans of soda from the fridge and headed to my room.
“So, Carlton’s your best buddy now, then?” His face settled into a nasty sneer. This was totally unlike Jasper.
“Err… no, I just went to see a movie with him. Anyway, you went out with Sean,” I hurled back at him. We were jealous, but at the time, we didn’t know what we were feeling.
I slammed the door. Jasper let out a sob, which startled me. Until that point, I thought he was angry with me. I’d never seen him cry before.
“Jasper, what’s the matter?” I moved nearer to him. He turned from me, shaking his head, and I assumed he was going to leave.
“Don’t go.” I reached out to him.
“Why? What do you care?”
Putting my hand on his shoulder, I eased him around and managed to pull him close. His head rested on my shoulder, and he held me against his body. We stayed like that for some time, neither of us saying anything or moving. It felt so good; I didn’t want him to pull away.
I felt a slight tickle on my neck at first, moving up towards my jaw before I realised what was happening. Jasper tilted his face towards mine. His lips brushed over my skin, leaving a seemingly scorching trail towards my mouth. He pulled back. His stormy blue eyes locked with mine, asking, pleading, questioning. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was asking, but I nodded, and his lips met mine hesitantly for a second or two. Pulling away slightly, he smiled before our lips connected again. This time it was for longer. It felt so right.
Jasper groaned. Our kiss deepened. The tip of his tongue sought entrance to my mouth, and I parted my lips to welcome him. My first kiss and one I will never forget. As our kissing became less awkward, our hands and hips moved, pulling each other closer. Soon we were panting. Our excitement rose as we crushed our bodies together.
About the Author
Lily G. Blunt enjoys writing contemporary gay romance and paranormal stories. She loves to explore the relationship between two or more men and the intensity of their physical and emotional attraction. Angst often features in her stories as she feels this demonstrates the depth of feeling for each other. Lily is forever writing imaginary scenes and plots in her head, but only a few ever make it to the page.
Lily launched Gay Book Promotions, an online book promotion service for authors of LGBT+ romance and fiction, in 2017.
Lily loves to hear from readers and other authors.
Author Links
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