Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Book Tour for Action by Quinn Anderson (Review & GIVEAWAY)


With the book I'm giving you a glimpse of today readers will be pulled into the world of porn and the two young men trying to make their fake connection a real HEA.  Keep reading to get a tempting glimpse of the m/m romance Action by Quinn Anderson, along with a message from the author, as well as my impressions of this charming and scorching romance.  In honor of this second installment in the Murmur Inc series please leave a comment below answering the question posed, along with your email addy, for the chance to win a $10 Riptide Publishing GC too!

Hello, everyone! This is Quinn Anderson, author of the Murmur Inc. series, and I’m here to share some inside information about Action, coming out June 5th. Stay tuned to get an inside look at what filming porn is really like, hear fun facts about this novel, and find out what’s next for the Murmur Inc. series. Leave comments on the tour posts for a chance to win a $10 Riptide Publishing gift card too!

Pete Griflow is the last person anyone would suspect of being a porn star. He's quiet, gawky, and can't even talk to guys without turning red. But on camera, he's a different person. In the porn world, he's Jaden Prime, a coquettish power bottom who's been tantalizing fans for over a year now.
Pete is in a rut, though, and he knows it. And what’s worse, his boss knows it. If he can’t reignite his passion for the biz, he’s going to have trouble paying his none-too-cheap college tuition.
When Pete is given the opportunity to star in a huge summer production, sparks fly between him and his costar, Kyle Darko. Kyle is Pete’s opposite: he’s daring, achingly sexy, and in love with the sex industry. Their chemistry is palpable on and off screen, but dating on a porn set is tricky. Even pros struggle to separate fantasy from reality, especially with a script dictating their seduction. But what’s building between them can’t be ignored, and it’s so much more than getting some “action.”


MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

When you think of porn there's certain stereotypes that come to mind, notions of endless meaningless sex and arrogant participants.  Some of those stereotypes are in fact on display in this romance set in the porn world, but there's also charming characters and heartfelt emotions that emerge from between the numerous erotically-charged scenes.  This dichotomy makes for an engaging read that completely captivated me from the first page to the last.

Pete's a hard working young man struggling to make enough money to cover his college tuition.  To that end, he made the decision to become a gay porn actor (Jaden Prime) and gained a bit of notoriety for his boyish looks.  At first it was an enjoyable experience but lately it's starting to feel a bit stale.  The moment he meets new boy on the block, Kyle Darko, though he suddenly feels energized.  Pete's normally all about being a professional but Kyle (aka Evan) brings out a very unprofessional side to him that's making it harder to not mix business with pleasure.  As they engage in a relationship off-screen their time on-screen becomes even more complicated as the truth starts blending with make-believe which keeps readers on the edge of their seats waiting to see if The End will lead to HEA.  Pete's immensely appealing with his shy and awkward nature.  He's self-deprecating and almost like a teenager when it comes to his early feelings for Evan as he never thinks of himself as sexy.  His interactions with Evan early on were flirty but rife with uncertainty.  The more time they spend together though the bolder and more outgoing he became.  The more interactions they had the more endearing I found them as a couple which had me rooting for them from the very start.

Kyle Darko aka Evan's new to the gay porn world but quickly becoming a star. He has a commanding presence and it's led him to starring roles despite his newbie status.  He's full of self-confidence and his initial meeting with Pete reflects that as it's clear who's in control early on.  He's immediately drawn to Pete and unapologetic when it comes to his flirtiness and attempts to win him over.  He too tries to remain professional on-screen but off-screen he charms and lavishes endless attention on Pete, building up Pete's ego while working on defining their relationship more fully.  Evan's playful and wise beyond his years, quite comfortable in his own skin.  He's self-assured and his unabashed nature made him all the more likable.  He truly cared for Pete and showed him how much through each word and deed and his time with him was exhilarating to see.

Ms. Anderson crafted a surprisingly sweet, sentimental, and sexy romance set in the porn world.  She vividly depicted the intense eroticism of the scenes being filmed, the pitfalls of being a couple in a career where you sleep with others, and the fears of others discovering the truth about their careers.  The relationship between Evan and Pete started off with a crackling introduction and quickly became enflamed through their erotic time on-screen and their time off-screen full of sexual tension.  Erotic encounters are beautifully balanced with sweet moments of heartfelt talks that had readers becoming more invested in them as the story progressed.  Readers got great insight into Pete, seeing him evolve from introverted to self-assured, but the same can't be said about Evan. As Evan is such an appealing character I would've loved to learn more about him, got his POV throughout the story, and it would've made this story even stronger.  What readers DID get to see of him though was an immensely likable and sexy character whose flirtiness and witty and dirty banter with Pete thoroughly entertained me.  Surrounding this delightful couple was an equally entertaining cast of secondary characters who were colorful and easy to relate to.  From Pete's understanding mother to his his brash boss Sana these were characters that were supportive and added even more charm to this very likable story.  There's also the decadently loud and tell-it-like-it-is Colette who knew from the start how picture perfect they are together and whose comments left me roaring with laughter.  From start to finish this was an unforgettable story with endearing characters and crackling dialogue that kept me furiously turning the pages in a tale that had a perfect balance of eroticism and romance and is one not to be missed!

My rating for this is an A-

*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion. 

AUTHOR INFO:

Quinn Anderson is an alumna of the University of Dublin in Ireland and has a master’s degree in psychology. She wrote her dissertation on sexuality in popular literature and continues to explore evolving themes in erotica in her professional life.
A nerd extraordinaire, she was raised on an unhealthy diet of video games, anime, pop culture, and comics from infancy. She stays true to her nerd roots in writing and in life and frequently draws inspiration from her many fandoms, which include Sherlock, Harry Potter, Supernatural, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Buffy, Marvel, and more. You will often find her interacting with fellow fans online and offline via conventions and tumblr, and she is happy to talk about anything from nerd life to writing tips. She has attended conventions on three separate continents and now considers herself a career geek. She advises anyone who attends pop culture events in the UK to watch out for Weeping Angels, as they are everywhere.
Her favorite television show is Avatar: the Last Airbender, her favorite film is Tangled, and her favorite book is Ella Enchanted. She can often be spotted at conventions, comic shops, and midnight book releases. If you're at an event, and you see a 6'2'' redhead wandering around with a vague look on her face, that's probably her. Her favorite authors include J.K. Rowling, Gail Carson Levine, Libba Bray, and Tamora Pierce.
When she's not writing, she enjoys traveling, cooking, spending too much time on the internet, screwing the rules, finding the Master Sword, guided falling, consulting for the NYPD, guarding the galaxy, boldly going, and catching 'em all.


**********GIVEAWAY**********

PRIZE IS A $10 RIPTIDE PUBLISHING GC!

-GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO EVERYONE.
-To be entered, LEAVE A COMMENT TELLING US IF YOU BELIEVE THAT HEA AND TRUE LOVE CAN BE FOUND IN THE PORN WORLD (ALONG WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDY).  NO EMAIL ADDY=NO ENTRY.
-To increase your chances of winning, comment at each of the stops on this tour.
-Winner will be chosen randomly from each valid comment left.
-GIVEAWAY ENDS AT MIDNIGHT EST ON JUNE 10TH.

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for the interesting review!
    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on the release & thanks for the review!
    legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats and thanks for the good review. Whew, sounds like quite the hot setting for a story. It also sounds like you've got the background to do it justice. It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic setting plays out. - Purple Reader,
    TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on the new release. Action sounds intriguing and I can't wait to read it.
    In the book world, anything can happen, so I do believe that true love and HEA is within reach in the porn world. But in the real world, I think people are more cynical, so the true love and HEA are harder to come by.

    iluvthebeach13(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I read this as ARC and I've enjoyed the look "behind" porn actors. It's interesting for sure...

    amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete