Book Spotlight for Same Page by Lily Velden (Review & GIVEAWAY)

I am honored today to bring Lily Velden back to my home to let all of you know about her new m/m release, Same Page, an utterly romantic and hot series starter featuring an actor who discovers what's been missing in his life and the handsome artist whose life has been full of one loss after another.  Keep reading to get my impressions of this book and make sure to fill out the form below for your chance to win some AMAZING PRIZES!

He was like the only splash of color in a black-and-white photograph.

The man was beautiful.

At an exhibition opening in Sydney, jaded Hollywood heartthrob Jaxon Moncrieff lays eyes on publicity-shy artist Liam Lassiter for the first time and is immediately captivated. But he doesn’t get far into their first conversation before he realizes what he’s feeling is attraction, which brings him up short. Jaxon has always been a womanizer.

Despite his reservations, Jaxon makes a play for Liam, but Liam has his own issues. Unlucky in love and orphaned at sixteen, he is reluctant to open his heart to anyone, and dismisses Jaxon out of hand. 

Driven by a need he doesn’t understand, Jaxon organizes a return to Sydney to film his next project. If he can’t be with Liam, maybe they can be friends. Of course, that creates a whole new problem. Now Jaxon is falling in love for the first time. How can he move their relationship from friends to lovers without destroying the trust he’s worked so hard for?

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Lily Velden has done it again!  She's dug deeply into her character's souls and beautifully and lyrically made me a part of their lives.  Same Page is a heartwarming yet gut-wrenching read that brought tears to my eyes, along with some smiles, as the rocky journey to love for Jaxon and Liam took place over many months.  The journey wasn't easy as self-doubts and trust issues ate away at them from the moment they met to their immensely satisfying and crowd pleasing HEA.  Throw in numerous playful and steamy sexual encounters that builds the bond between them and by the conclusion I was completely won over.

Jaxon has always thought himself straight but knew his relationships were somehow lacking.  Once his eyes meet those of Liam's he finds what he's been missing.  Liam doesn't give him a warm welcome as he's tired of being wanted only for his looks.  Jaxon can respect that as he's felt the same, so he doesn't push.  For months though his only thoughts are of Liam.  Discovering more about Liam and his past has him wanting to prove he's worthy of him.  Jaxon becomes a better person through his endeavors and it wins over Liam's godfather who acts as a matchmaker to bring them together.  Still not wanting to rush Liam has Jaxon proposing they be just friends which leads to lots of sexual tension that left even me frustrated.  It takes a bit of jealousy and a tragic event to finally bring them together and admit their true feelings.  That's not to say that things continue to go smoothly as the world of acting brings out jealousy issues, but these two are good at talking (among other things) and by the end of this story there's a sense of hopefulness and happiness.

Liam lost his parents when he was a teen so he's always wanted to be a part of a family.  His godfather Garrett is a wonderful father figure but it's the day to day acts of closeness that he desires.  It's led him to choosing relationships with men who only wanted him for his looks (of which he's a very sexy man), which left him shattered and untrusting of men.  Slowly but surely Jaxon wins him over and it's heartwarming to see them together as they go from friends to lovers.  Liam still has fears of Jaxon leaving him but through talking, issues of trust are slowly getting stronger and by the end of the story they are a united front in whatever comes their way.  

Liam is an attentive lover who slowly brings Jaxon into their sexual encounters.  Through little touches and subtle acts it becomes clear how much more meaningful his encounters with Jaxon are from his past.  Jaxon's extremely exuberant and a quick learner and each of their sexual encounters are hot.  There's also a bit of playfulness that's extremely endearing.  These two are also very vocal in expressing their love.  They say the L-word often and at times it almost felt a bit too sentimental, a bit too romantic for some readers.  The characters even worried that their numerous proclamations were becoming too girly! For me though, I found them utterly enchanting and I couldn't keep the cheesy smile off my face that their words brought me.

Ms. Velden has created two strong heroes who have dug deep to work past their demons to come together as a formidable couple.  They have wonderful and supportive friends around them who brought even more smiles to my face.  The sexual encounters are hot and varied and left me a bit breathless in their frequency.  This story has a definite conclusion, an immensely satisfying one, but I'm happy that their story will continue in The Race is On.

My rating for this is an A-

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

BUY LINKS:  Dreamspinner Press  |  Amazon  |  BN

TO BE RELEASED SOON.......

Hollywood heartthrob Jaxon Moncrieff and Liam Lassiter are finally on the same page: committed and in it for the long haul. Now they just have to prepare for the inevitable fallout when they reveal their relationship. Between Jaxon’s career and Liam’s need to prepare for a life in the limelight, they decide to wait until filming of Jaxon’s latest project has wrapped.

Unbeknownst to them, the relentless paparazzi photographer Rafael Cacciatore, aka the Hunter, notices a change in Jaxon and is determined to be the first to break the story of who has captured Jaxon Moncrieff’s heart. In the meantime, Liam and Jaxon have enough on their plate working out the not-so-little issue of how and when Jaxon will come out to his family. The paparazzi aren’t even on their radar. The race to out Jaxon is on, and Liam and Jaxon don’t even know it.

AUTHOR INFO:

Hi, I’m Lily Velden, a quirky artist with a passion for the written word. I write M/M fiction, and thankfully, for me, Dreamspinner Press decided they liked my words enough to publish them!  I admit to be unashamedly idealistic and ridiculously romantic.

Website:  http://www.lilyvelden.wordpress.com

Email:  lilyvelden@live.com.au

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lily.velden

Twitter:  @LilyVelden

Tumblr:  http://www.lilyvelden.tumblr.com/

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