Square One by JJ Harper; Release Blitz w/ Synopsis, Teasers, Review, and, Purchase Links! ~ A Book Lover's Dream Book BlogA Book Lover's Dream Book Blog

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Blurb:

Xander is angry and fed up with being signed off work for something that was out of his control. He loses himself in alcohol and one-night stands, anything to dull the pain in his head.

Jonah is enjoying the freedom away from his small-town life, living life to the full in a big city. A few weeks away from starting his job as a firefighter, he embraces the nightlife and the men found in the clubs. One man, in particular, catches his eye, and not even exchanging names, they spend a night lost in each other, and then another. Still not bothering to find out any more about each other, they go their separate ways.

Until they find themselves face-to-face at work.

Unable to stay away from each other, they embark on something that soon morphs into so much more. Deeper, more intense, looking a lot like love.

But will it be enough when Jonah hears some life-changing news and he turns to Xander for support?

EXCERPT ONE:

It’s been two months since Xander and I got together. Although we haven’t said we’re boyfriends, we are definitely more than friends. Looking in the mirror, I smooth out the button-down shirt, then attempt to sort out the riot that is my hair. It’s decided to stick out in every direction. In the end, I give up. Maybe messy curls will become fashionable.

I hear a car horn beep and know that Xander is here. The butterflies in my stomach stir and flutter awake. We’ve had a five-day rest period from work, and he took the chance to go to see his parents and sister. It seemed more of a duty call as his mum had been pestering him for a visit. I haven’t given my folks the chance to guilt me. I call every week, letting them know how busy I am.

The doorbell rings, making me smile. Xander must be as eager to see me as I am him. I race down the stairs to open the door. We both gaze at each other before smiling.

“Come here, you.” I grab his hand and pull him inside and up against me. “I’ve missed you,” I murmur as my lips press up to his.

“Mmm, me too.” He presses harder, then lets his tongue slip over the seam of my lips, asking for entry.

I can taste the faint mint of his toothpaste, but it’s the full flavour of him that has me moaning. My hands move to grip his hips, letting our groins bump together. I can feel his dick swell as I deepen the kiss.

Breaking away, he sighs and licks over his bottom lip. “We need to go before I drag you upstairs.”

“I know. Maybe we should’ve left dinner for tomorrow night.” I rest my forehead on his.

“C’mon, we don’t have to be there long.” Xander kisses me softly before stepping back.

I grab my keys, and we head out. The Indian restaurant is busy, but we are quickly shown to our table. After ordering a beer each, we sit.

“How was it? Your parents okay?” I reach over to touch his hand, loving it when he turns it over to hold mine.

“Yeah, they were happy to see me. My sister came over with her kids, making it crazy but fun. It’s great to spend time with my nephew and niece.”

By the time we have finished eating, I’m ready to get him back to my place and naked. Our feet have been tangled together throughout the meal while Xander’s eyes have become darker, boring into mine, making me hornier than ever.

“Let’s go, baby.” Xander stands and holds out his hand.

The ride home is quiet. My fingers trace the seam of Xander’s jeans on the inside of his thigh. The tension is high. I see him chew on the corner of his lip as he holds himself together. The minute we get inside, all bets are off, and he can have me any way he wants.

As soon as the door is shut, Xander drags me up the stairs to my room.

EXCERPT TWO:

Waking up, I stir and move my hand across the bed, finding it empty. I hate it when he does this. I want us to wake up lazily wrapped around each other, then mess around, getting all hot and sweaty again. Listening out, I can hear him moving around downstairs. I look to see where my clothes are because I have come to learn that Jonah doesn’t do mess. Not one bit, so it’s no surprise to see them folded neatly on the chair in the corner by the window. Before I can move to get out of bed, I hear him whistling softly, almost under his breath as he comes back upstairs.

Pushing upright, I lean back on the headboard and wait for him to come back in. I smile when I see him with a tray full of coffee cups and toast.

“You’ve brought me breakfast.” I laugh softly as he blushes slightly.

“Yeah, I woke up and was hungry, so I thought I’d bring it all back up to you too.” He hands me the tray, then slips his joggers down his legs and folds them neatly on the end of the bed. Climbing back in next to me, he drops a soft kiss on my eager mouth.

“This is awesome. I can’t remember the last time I had breakfast in bed. Thank you, Jonah.” I kiss him again.

Looking at the tray, I see he’s done more than just coffee and toast. There’s orange juice and waffles with some strawberries too. His eyes shine bright with happiness as he reaches over and snags his mug and a slice of toast.

“What do you want to do today?” he garbles at me with his mouth chewing his toast noisily. This should annoy me, but with him, it seems cute.

“I’ve got boring stuff like my laundry and a trip to the supermarket. I got back later than I thought yesterday and really only had time to shower and change before coming here.” I look at him as I grab a strawberry. “What about you?”

“I don’t have anything planned, so I can hang out with you if you’d like?”

“You won’t be too bored. It’s only Tesco and dirty clothes?”

“Nope, I’ve missed you. I’d like to spend it with you, if you don’t mind.”

I grin at him and kiss his cheek. “I’d like it too.”

So, after breakfast and a lot of fooling around in bed that ended with needing another shower, we make it out of the house.

Looking up at the clear blue April sky, I can feel the warmth of the spring sun on my face. I smile at Jonah as he slides his Oakley sunglasses on.

“You look fucking sexy, Jo. C’mon before I drag you back inside.” I hold out my hand for him and give it a squeeze as he clasps it.

“Yeah, we’ve done enough of that this morning.” He chortles.

“Never. There’s no such thing as too much sex! As a gay man, you should be ashamed of yourself.” I pull him up to me and kiss his grinning mouth. “Get in the car,” I mumble against his lips.

Review

Square One by J.J. Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Square One (ARC) has been graciously provided to me by the author for an honest review. I voluntarily read it and have provided my honest review.

“The Road to Happiness”

As a warmth, similar to the feeling one gets as a result of being wrapped-up snugly within the comfort of a warm and cocoon-producing blanket on a cold winters day, settles over me at the conclusion of my most recent read of an upcoming release, I feel all warm and satisfied at the conclusion of this welcomed, thought-provoking and ultimately heart-warming new story.

Square One, by J.J. Harper is a story filled with steamy and down-right sizzling moments between two firefighters, who are electrically immersed within a beautiful romance, one that had caught both of them by surprise, and as both had been simultaneously attempting to rise above various angst-filled, and at times, quickly resolved, heart-breaking moments, it was not something that either had been looking for but what had actually found them instead.

I loved this story! It had contained many wonderful moments, one of which turned out to be an extremely realistic and thought-provoking issue that I favor seeing within any type of story. I loved the main characters, Jonah and Xander, and enjoyed the natural-progression of their journey of self-discovery as they uncovered their equaled need and desire to be able to lead a happy and full-filling life through love, strength and dedication.

As Jonah and Xander took this road together, they relied on and had appreciated the support of not only each other but also of various family members as well as close friends, who as secondary characters were welcoming, loving, sweet, and, absolutely adorable.

As I am a returning reader of this author, having read and absolutely loved the previous book, Reckless Behavior, I had high expectations for any future reads. I will admit to feeling at odds with what I was initially reading, when I had begun Square One, as I wasn’t quite sure of the direction of the plot, in addition to not quite being able to figure out some of the characters, as well as needing more depth, at times, for that known emotional pull; all perhaps due to the need for another round of editing, but..it had all quickly gathered steam, pun completely intended, and, my thoughts and emotions had changed soon-there-after.

With its heart-breaking and yet heart-warming moments, its added emotionally dedicated and excellently-written characters, Square One is a story that had this reader fluctuating between needing to take a cold shower, to biting one’s nails, to cheering loudly, to needing a serious wad of tissues to soak up the waterfall of emotions, to being in total bliss. This story that while it had begun a bit slowly, in this readers opinion, it wound up picking-up speed as it ultimately became a wonderful story of strength, love, support, and, true happiness. I loved it and am so glad to have read it. 🙂

*star rating: 4.45 ‘I really liked it’ stars*

Square One is part of the Under The Uniform series by Aubergine Publishing. Check out the other books available from six other amazing M/M authors.

ღ 🌹░ ░J ░J ░ ░H░ A░R░P░ E░ R░ ░ 🌹ღ

You will normally find her in the living room—typing away—with her dog, Maud. As a hopeless romantic, JJ dives into her stories, always falling in love with her men, making sure they get the happy ever after they deserves, even if they do have to work hard for it.

As a bona fide bookaholic, coffee-addicted, wine-drinking and swear-like-a-sailor type of girl, she has yet to work out how to act her age!! LOL. And she has no intentions of growing up or growing old gracefully.

JJ lives in a small, very quiet, village in Lincolnshire, UK, with her husband and dog, and spends all day dreaming up stories full of really hot men.

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