Angel Undone by Leta Blake, Book blitz and review

Title: Angel Undone

Publisher: Leta Blake Books

Release Date: 7/18/2016

Genre: Gay Urban Fantasy

Tags: angel, wings, erotic content, blasphemy, urban fantasy

Heat Level: 5

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 25,000 words in Mobi, Epub, PDF 

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Synopsis

The Archangel Michael is tired. He fought wars and shoved his brother Lucifer out of heaven all before the Dark Ages rolled around. His role as protector of Israel now encompasses all of humanity, and while he performs his job perfectly, there's little personal joy in it.

Until one night in a bar when he meets Asher.

Michael isn’t sure what it is about the vulnerable, self-deprecating Asher that calls to him, but something about the restrained depths of Asher, his gentle smiles and encyclopedic knowledge of flowers, tugs at Michael in a way that can’t be denied. Too bad romance isn’t part of his mission.

Facing an eternity of perfect submission to God’s authority, rebellion stirs in Michael. Questions of free will, angelic vocation, and the role of love and lust demand answers that just might cost Michael his place in heaven.

Excerpt

Angel wings aren’t easy to fold into the shape of human scapulae, but Michael is accustomed to the strain and hardly breaks a sweat. He forces the long primaries to bend into the upper wing coverts, and then, in moves like feathered origami, he tucks it all in again, before smoothing them under flawless human skin.

He glances in the modest hotel room’s bathroom mirror and pulls on the dark brown shirt that will set off his eyes, before running a hand through his blond, curly hair. The light of his angelic grace glows from his pores, too bright to escape notice, and with a small exertion of will he tamps it back.

Though human form is confining and uncomfortable, the time has long passed when dropping down in a blaze of angelic righteousness was appropriate. Now covert operations pay the dividends of souls delivered from jeopardy. Even if Michael’s skin feels too tight, and his wings are already aching, protection is his business and discomfort is a small sacrifice.

After tightening the laces on the leather, soft-soled Clarks he keeps for nights of trawling the Mercy Street bars, he kneels by the sliding glass door to the balcony and looks up at the stars. It’s a fallacy that heaven is up there somewhere. Heaven is everywhere all at once, and yet when Michael dons human skin, he finds his eyes drawn to the sky when he prays.

He rises. Time to go.

Review

The premise had me intrigued: much more than the usual guardian angel falls for his person story, this examines an angel’s relationship to God. The questions are good ones, and the answers—well, for that you have to read. It’s hard to discuss without spoilers. God makes an interesting secondary character.

The third person present tense gives a dreamy feeling, very suitable for being in the head of an angel. Michael’s physical being is an interesting concept: he can fold his wings into an impossibly small space and use them for shoulder blades, he can manifest physically and touchably, but he can’t or doesn’t think to adjust his facial features. His angelic glow gets away from him sometimes, which is good for a smile.

Asher is sweet. Forty years old and only now able to admit to himself that he’s gay, he’s hovering on the cusp of bad decisions, bringing Michael into his life. And Michael wants to stay.

In his turmoil, Michael consults his brother with experience, Lucifer, who’s running a surf shop on the coast. Lucifer’s funny and irreverent, wistful and untrustworthy. In the end, Michael still has to make up his own mind, and that, as much as the love between him and Asher, is where the meat of the story lies.

I think the author’s heat rating is way over stated, 5 makes it sound pretty darn kinky but it’s more of an enthusiastic 3. The sex is happiness for both of them in a way they’ve never had before. Considering that Michael originally gets in bed with Asher as part of his mission, there’s a pretty nice piece of subversion. The 5 may have been chosen for the way God is portrayed, which not may not fit with all readers' ideas of Diety, but which I was okay with.

This is a very thoughtful story with moments of heat and moments where the best of humanity comes out, in thinking and change and accepting joy, and maybe that’s the best of an angel, too. 4 marbles

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Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | ARe | Smashwords

Meet the Author

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake's educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more about her by following her online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Earthly Desires by Leta Blake and Keira Andrews

Earthly Desires by Leta Blake and Keira Andrews  

Series: Tempting Tales
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Genre: GLBT, Paranormal
Length: 92 pages



Cursed as an infant with a lack of physical and emotional gravity, Prince Efrosin can’t keep his feet on the ground or his head out of the clouds. Laughing his way through life, he’s never been weighed down by love and lust.

Then one fateful day, his tenuous tie to the earth is severed and he blows away on the wind. He’s rescued by Dmitri, a handsome young woodsman who suffers from a mysterious curse of his own, and the two strangers are irresistibly drawn together. Experiencing sex and love for the first time, they dive into a delightfully sensual and passionate affair.

But the evil witch who cursed them is planning her ultimate revenge. Efrosin and Dmitri must fight to find their fairy tale ending and live happily ever after.


Cryselle’s Review:
You know you’re in land of magic and strange happenings from the very first sentence of Keira Andrews and Leta Blake’s Earthly Desires.

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom at the edge of what was and what could never be. At the center of this kingdom was a castle, and within this castle was a king. Inside this king was a terribly selfish heart.


The king actually has very little to do with the rest of the story—we’re far more concerned with his son, Prince Efrosin, whose lack of gravity and gravitas has him unacquainted with walking on the ground or with deeper emotions. Growing up unable to feel more than amusement or a sort of gleeful terror, he’s missing out on most of the human experience. He has to remind himself that other people react differently than he does, a lesson drummed into him over and over by his faithful servant Geoffry.

Ever in danger of floating away, Prince Efrosin does sail away on a puff of wind when he turns eighteen, and fetches up in a tree on Dmitri’s land. The complete opposite of Efrosin, Dmitri has been weighted down by too much responsibility and is astonished by this hot young man who laughs at everything. They become lovers, and become a bit more like each other. Efrosin could never become a good king without empathy, and until he has a reason to stop laughing, he’ll never learn it.

There are sweet moments, hot moments, terrifying moments, and a highly satisfying ending for the young men. The explanation for why each of them was cursed is a bit muddled, taking elements from a good half dozen stories and combining them into an evil excess, but gives the pair something to triumph over.

The story is sweet and cute, but not entirely focused; even steady Dmitri can’t seem to care about time when the lives of children are at stake. Still, evil threatens and good must try to vanquish it, even at great cost, and even the curses of the wicked might be averted if one’s heart is pure.

This was a charming light read, and if you’re in a fairy tale + hot sex mood, Earthly Desires might be exactly what you’re looking for. 3.5 marbles

A Thousand Word Thursday Story by Leta Blake

Jumping In With Both Feet

Hanson has never liked the water. When he was a kid, Jarod, his jerk of a big brother, used to throw him in the deep end to watch him flail for fun, before jumping in to rescue him. Hanson still remembers the burn of water in his lungs, the terror that this time his brother might wait too long.

It’d been bad enough that when Hanson’s little niece and nephew were born, he’d worried that Jarod might think it was a funny joke to play on them, too. But age (or his sister-in-law) has thankfully dulled his brother’s sadistic streak.

Unfortunately, time had never taken the edge off Hanson’s fear of the water. Which is why it was noteworthy that he was currently in a row boat with his boyfriend, Marshall, and he’s not entirely sure why he’s not wearing a life vest. He supposes, should he fall in, he trusts Marshall to be faster to jump in and save him than Jarod ever was. Even so, he’s careful not to rock the boat.


“Juniper Lake,” Marshall says, rowing them farther from shore. The summers spent here at Jew Camp, as Marshall calls his family’s summer program for urban Jewish kids, have given him an ease with boats. “A misnomer since there aren’t many junipers around at all. It’s all maples and oaks. One of my favorite things in the world is rowing to the middle of the lake at the height of autumn. It’s surreally beautiful.”

“Okay,” Hanson says, his eyes drawn to the shimmer of light in Marshall’s blond hair. “Sure. If you say so.”

Marshall’s eyes soften. “I’m going to teach you to swim next summer.”

“And I’m going to sprout wings and fly shortly after that.”

“You’ll master the water and the sky with me at your side.”

The water splashes gently with each sweep of the oars. Hanson smiles despite himself. That’s something he loves about Marshall--he never tells Hanson to stop being sarcastic or dramatic. No, Marshall just takes him as he is.

“Are you ever going to tell me why you’re torturing me like this?”

Marshall grins. “Come on. Don’t you trust me with your life?”

“Clearly, I do. I thought that was evident enough the time I let you talk me into riding that roller coaster at Six Flags.”

“Yeah, but you’re only mildly afraid of roller coasters. You’re terrified of water.”

“And?”

Marshall blows a soft breath out and slows his rowing. “I wanted to show you something.”

“Okay. I’ve witnessed that you’ve got strong arms for rowing across liquid death. Are we done?”

Marshall lets the oars drop and shrugs. “No, I wanted you to see the world from the middle of the lake. And I wanted to prove something to you—that we’re better, stronger together. That not even your biggest fear is anything compared to the power of us.”

“I…you’re…uh….” Hanson’s heart fluttered in his throat. “You’re being weird.”

“Because, the thing is...” Marshall leans forward, his head tilted and his eyes warm with affection. “The thing is, Hanson...I love you and I want you to marry me. Like for real. This isn’t a joke. I want you to marry me.”

“Whoa.” Hanson feels like he might start to cry, and he hasn’t done that since he was fifteen and his best friend dumped him when he’d come out.

Marshall puts his hands on Hanson’s face and neck. They are strong and callused, and Hanson leans forward to grip Marshall’s knees.

Hanson’s throat is dry but he manages to rasp out a joke. “You're asking me here? You do realize the implication is if I say no, you’re going to shove me out?”

Marshall laughs and shakes his head, leaning forward and brushes his lips against Hanson’s softly. “You know I’d never shove you out or you wouldn’t be out here with me, and you know I want to take care of you forever, and you can trust me with every last thing you’re afraid of, because I love you more than anything, and I’d never let you down. And I trust you with all of me, too. That’s what’s amazing about us. So...will you? Will you marry me?”

Hanson feels a crazy urge to scream, “Yes!” and throw himself overboard. It seems like the easiest way to show Marshall how much he truly does trust and love him. Instead, he leans forward and presses his forehead to Marshall’s, gazing into his blue eyes, and whispers, “Yeah. Let’s get married.”

Marshall looks like he might cry, but kisses him instead.

Later, Hanson watches Marshall row confidently through the water, all remaining anxiety lifting from his chest as the shoreline comes closer. “So...wedding next summer here at the camp?”

“Yeah,” Marshall says. “That’d make my dad really happy, and it’s really a great place. We could have the campers be, like, our wedding chorus or something.”

“They’d sing ‘Kumbaya’?”

“Uh, no. It’s Jew Camp, idiot.”

“Right. So, ‘The Dreidel Song’.”

“I’m about to not marry you,” Marshall said, laughing under his breath.

“And then after the wedding, you can toss me in the lake and teach me to swim.”

“How about we toss Jarod in the lake instead? Together?”

Hanson grins. “Deal.”

As the row boat scrapes against the shoreline, Marshall leans forward, grips Hanson’s hair, and kisses him again. “I love you so much. Me and you? We’re gonna conquer the world.”

“Or my fear of water.”

“Same thing.”

******************************************
Snfff, love that! Thank you, Leta!

Leta Blake and Keira Andrews have a new book out: Earthly Desires.

Part of the Tempting Tales series.

Cursed as an infant with a lack of physical and emotional gravity, Prince Efrosin can’t keep his feet on the ground or his head out of the clouds. Laughing his way through life, he’s never been weighed down by love and lust.

Then one fateful day, his tenuous tie to the earth is severed and he blows away on the wind. He’s rescued by Dmitri, a handsome young woodsman who suffers from a mysterious curse of his own, and the two strangers are irresistibly drawn together. Experiencing sex and love for the first time, they dive into a delightfully sensual and passionate affair.

But the evil witch who cursed them is planning her ultimate revenge. Efrosin and Dmitri must fight to find their fairy tale ending and live happily ever after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earthly Desires can be purchased at Ellora's Cave, All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, and Barnes &Noble.

Places Leta can be found around the web:

Email: leta.blake.author@gmail.com

Website:letablake.wordpress.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/letablake

Twitter:https://twitter.com/letablake

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6425833.Leta_Blake

Tumblr: http://letablake.tumblr.com/

Places Keira can be found around the web:

Email: keira.andrews@gmail.com

Website:  keiraandrews.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/keiraandrews

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/keira.andrews.50