The Novel Approach

Men of Smithfield: Adam and Holden by L.B. Gregg

“Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.” – Michael Pritchard

Holden Worthington wasn’t always stricken by panic attacks; at one time he was a world traveler who chronicled his global experiences in the books he wrote to make his living. But that was before his ex-lover betrayed him in front of Geraldo Rivera and all the general Geraldo-viewing population. Now, to a large segment of the Smithfield population, Holden’s just a hermitic, gay porn writing pariah, so he keeps himself to himself not by choice but by circumstance and fear. That is, until Adam Morgan enters the picture and suddenly makes Holden want to do things he hasn’t done or wanted to do for a very long time.

My first impression of Men of Smithfield: Adam and Holden was that it felt very claustrophobic. Odd, no? Well, yes, but it also sort of makes sense, and here’s why. This installment of the Smithfield series takes place almost entirely inside Holden’s house, because Holden is agoraphobic, you see, and his home is not only his sanctuary but his sanity, as well, which is why the story felt so close and crowded—the reader is wedged into a confined setting that’s helped along entirely by the tight prose of the author, who takes a man who panics at the mere idea of stepping across the threshold of his home, even to go only as far as his own backyard, and throws him a houseful of people to contend with, as well as a dead body that’s discovered behind his gardening shed; a body that’s discovered by Adam, a young man with a past and a disability, who is now Holden’s gardener…and his biggest temptation.

Did the gardener do it? Before that question can be answered, the cops have to figure out who the body is…was, and Holden also has to prove who it wasn’t, then prove he himself is not only innocent of murder but is also incapable of having committed the crime in spite of some very recent and inconvenient evidence to the contrary. And he has to do this all while dealing with an ex-lover, a philandering drunk of a brother, a soon-to-be ex-sister-in-law, a nosy priest, and a stern but loyal housekeeper. It’s enough to make anyone crazy.

Men of Smithfield: Adam and Holden does what this series has done so well from the beginning, with its intriguing little mystery paralleling the budding romance between two men who probably shouldn’t work, but somehow they do. These are not perfect men in a perfect world; they’re men who’re just a little bit broken but together shore each other up and make any- and everything a perfect possibility.

I just wish I knew there were more to come.

This Title Will Be Available on November 26, 2012 from:

The Men of Smithfield: Seth and David by L.B. Gregg

“I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.” – Lemony Snicket

I feel like I’m getting really redundant when it comes to L.B. Gregg’s books. I mean, honestly, ::pfft:: she makes this storytelling business look so flipping effortless ::yawn:: that I’ve run out of ways to give up the booyah! without repeating myself. ::headdesk::

Recap:

Brings the funny – check
Delivers the shmexy – check
Throws in some drama and suspense – check
Perfect timing and fast paced – check
Awesome couple – check and double check

Seriously, what more is there to say? “The Men of Smithfield” series, now three books in, with one more to come, population – fab, is one of those series I can see myself reading over and over again. In fact, I’ve already read Seth and David twice. Why? I’m not even sure I can answer that without being redundant.

So let’s look at the facts: Seth Weston is really a bit of an arse, not on purpose I don’t think, he just can’t seem to help opening his mouth and inserting his giant, erogenous feet into his big old gob. He’s grumpy, bossy, judgmental; he had intimate relations with a massage table… Oh yeah, he went there because David Cooke was just doing his job, poking and prodding and soothing all of Seth’s non-sexual bits and pieces, but it felt so damn good that Seth exploded right there between the sheets while birdies warbled and Celtic music thrummed ethereally in the air like a backbeat to some new age-y porn flick.

And let me tell you this: David Cooke was not amused.

David is every single thing Seth never thought he wanted: tattooed, pierced, fey…an underachiever. But see, Seth was guilty of the sin of judging a book by its cover, when that book was far deeper and more complex, far more eloquent and enigmatic, than Seth could ever have imagined, and it isn’t long before Seth wants to dig into the story of David and try to unravel all of his infinite surprises.

The Men of Smithfield: Seth and David is the story of two men who are entirely opposite but end up having one very important thing in common. Two small things, actually, two little girls they love. Okay, maybe there’s a third bigger thing too; they can’t keep their lips and hands off each other, and it’s that irresistible attraction that becomes a foundation for their family.

A deadbeat dad, a jealous ex, blackmail, kidnapping: there’s plenty to keep things interesting in this one, start to finish.

Buy Men of Smithfield: Seth and David in E-Pub Here

All Other Formats Here

Mistletoe at Midnight by L.B. Gregg

“‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more!’” – Dr. Seuss

I know it’s a little early to be pushing holiday books. Or maybe, in this case, I’m a little late, seeing as how this book came out in December of 2010. Well, better late than never, as the saying goes, which is pretty much what this lovely little Christmas romance is all about. It’s about the one that got away; it’s about second chances and the fact that it’s better to be fifteen years late reconnecting with your first love than never to have reconnected with him at all. It’s about having everything to gain and nothing to lose and stripping away all the boundaries you’ve built around yourself and embracing the one from your past who will, from this day forward, be your future.

Caleb Black left Owen McKenzie when they were both just eighteen-years-old, but not by his own choice. Caleb was the kid whose father couldn’t stand the thought of having a gay son, so he sent Caleb away to military school to rid himself of the daily reminder of his son’s perceived shortcomings. Caleb couldn’t find it in himself to say goodbye to Owen, and as the weeks turned into months, the months to years, enough time passed that Caleb began to believe in the suggestion that maybe what he and Owen had shared was more fiction than fact in Caleb’s mind, and it was best to leave the past buried in the past.

Enter one meddlesome brother and a best friend who both know neither Owen nor Caleb have ever truly gotten over each other; mix that with an ex who shows up at a decidedly inopportune time, a huge measure of serendipity, a snowstorm, as well as a sprig of mistletoe, and you’ve got the makings of a full-circle romance between two men who’re meant to be, though it took some help to connect the dots, and a long time for them to come together and close that circle.

Mistletoe at Midnight is a story about a first love that’s ingrained so deeply inside that it feels as though it’s always been a part of you, a feeling that never faded but was there all along, and all it needed was for a spark to be lit in order for it to burn again. It’s that love that’s the true gift and the miracle that makes this novella a pretty wonderful and very feel-good sort of read.

Buy Mistletoe at Midnight in .ePub HERE, and .mobi HERE.

Men of Smithfield: Mark and Tony by L.B. Gregg

Meet Mark Meehan and Tony Gervase: my new addiction. Actually, I suppose that will apply to all the men of Smithfield, Connecticut, once I’ve had the opportunity to meet the rest of them. No, not all. There are a few resident dirtbags there, but for now, I’ll focus that addiction squarely on Mark and Tony.

If ever there has been a couple doomed to poor timing, it seems it’s these two, as life and circumstances continued to wear away at the very foundation of their connection—a friendship that could’ve been so much more if Mark hadn’t been too young and Tony hadn’t been too scared, and if there hadn’t been another man standing in the way (see: dirtbag) who ended up causing no small amount of trouble for both Mark and Tony, and kept Mark so utterly oblivious to the obvious—the fact that Tony has been and always will be there for him because, hello, Tony loves him. I guess there’s a reason they say love is blind.

Albert Einstein once said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once,” but boy, does Mark put that theory to the test because as soon as he walked into church and concussed the hell of out his suddenly ex-boyfriend, Jamie Dupree—with a Bible, no less (which is also the precise moment I started loving hard on Mark)—it seemed like that’s when time and trouble tangled into a big ball of Mark not being able to outrun or out-think any of it. But he did discover one thing in the whole process: he had Tony, and that’s really all that mattered in the end. Well, that and the fact that he survived in spite of it all.

I loved this book, loved Mark’s voice, L.B. Gregg’s humor and style and the way she provided just enough backstory for Mark and Tony’s relationship to hook me without getting bogged down in too many flashbacks to build the foundation for their romance. I love exposition as much as the next person, but sometimes I need it more than others to buy into a connection. With Mark and Tony, that bond was almost tangible and in this case, seeing really was believing, so I didn’t feel at all as if I’d been deprived of anything that’d come before. All I know is that what happened during was fun and manic and sexy, and now I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the Smithfield men. I don’t know if I’ll be seeing Mark and Tony again along the way; if I don’t, I sure will miss them.

L.B. Gregg is re-releasing the Men of Smithfield series with Carina Press, beginning August 6, with Men of Smithfield: Mark and Tony. There is no Pre-Order/Buy Link available at the time of this post.