Book Tour for Black Dog by Cat Grant (Review & GIVEAWAY)

I'm honored to bring Cat Grant back today with her latest m/m release Black Dog which takes place in the world of MMA.  Keep reading to get my impressions of this book and make sure to leave a comment for your chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite!

Hello, all! Thanks for joining me on my blog tour for Black Dog, the first book in my new Bannon’s Gym series. (Hot mixed martial arts fighters – rawwrrr!) I’m giving away a brand new Kindle Paperwhite loaded with my entire back list. Follow along at all my stops on this tour – and leave comments on each. Every comment counts as another chance to win! I’ll announce the winner on my blog on Friday, August 30th.         

Anyone who’s been following me on Twitter or Facebook knows I’ve spent the last month moving. Purging and packing nineteen years’ worth of accumulated crap’s taken a lot out of me, but I’m settled in my bright new place now, and very, very glad I made the move - in more ways than one.

I moved right down the street from this place – the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey. Which means I see hot military guys every time I leave my apartment.

In fact, there are two Marines living upstairs. Both guys. Both very nice. Both, um, early risers in every sense of the word. And their bedroom is right above mine. *blush*

And my next door neighbor is a very sweet, respectful Army guy named Matt, who told me that if I need anything, feel free to knock on his door.

So I borrowed his hammer yesterday. No, that’s not a euphemism. I needed to hang some artwork, and my hammer didn’t end up getting packed with the rest of my household tools. So Matt let me use his hammer.

I can’t believe I just said that.

And I can’t believe I’m living in a neighborhood that’s absolutely crawling with hot military men. It’s like a walking, talking research book, right outside my door!

Now if I could just find some real-life mixed martial arts fighters, my life would be complete.

My new m/m novella Black Dog is now available at all the usual places. Here’s a blurb to whet your appetites.....

Danny Bannon and Eddie Roscoe have been fighting in and out of the ring for more than fifteen years, held together by mutual attraction and small-town ties, yet kept apart by a shared tragedy that continues to haunt them. Their steady on-again off-again is shaken up by the arrival of Tom Delaney, a teenage runaway trying to escape his tense home situation and his punch-happy dad.

In no time, the scrawny homeless kid has shown himself to be a boxing prodigy, and building him up brings Danny and Eddie closer than they’ve been in ages. It seems that the three of them, plus Eddie’s mother, Gloria, are forming a new family unit, much tighter than anything Tom experienced in his difficult past.

But Tom’s politically influential father isn't the only person he left behind. When his mother shows up at Eddie and Gloria’s diner with a shiner and a haunted look in her eyes, Tom is hopeful for her future. But when that hope is snuffed out, Tom is ready to turn his new fighting skills to a deadly purpose: get revenge on his abusive father or die trying.

It’s up to his surrogate big brothers, Danny and Eddie, to put their differences and their painful history aside to prevent another tragic ending.

BUY LINKS:  AMAZON  |  ARe  |  SMASHWORDS  |  BN

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Few authors excel at projecting mutual heartache as good as Cat Grant as many of her male couples end up being put through the wringer for years before they find their HEA.  Danny and Eddie are no exception as mutually perceived guilt and blame have kept them apart for years.  They were once extremely close but now barely talk until the day a belligerent and physically/emotionally scarred teen enters their lives.  The teen, Tom, left home after years of being beat by his high-profile father and is full of pent-up anger that they direct into becoming an MMA fighter.  As Danny and Eddie had a successful career in the fighting world they're the perfect pair to turn Tom into a successful fighter with their work together forcing them to revisit the past and heal old hurts.

Through Catholic school and fear of disappointing others Danny and Eddie have kept their feelings for each other secret.  The one time they gave into their feelings resulted in a death that ended their relationship before it even had a chance to start and has led to Danny following in his father's occasional drunken binges and Eddie working non-stop so he doesn't have time to think about his loneliness.  Danny and Eddie both like helping the underdog.  Even though Danny makes fun of Eddie for his habit of saving lost souls he's still the kind of man to go above and beyond to help a young man whose harsh early years remind him of himself.  They're loyal men with kind hearts hidden behind stoicism and their journey towards a HEA is a satisfying and hard-won journey that manifests in lots of sexual tension and two richly rewarding sexual encounters.

Along with an immensely likable main couple comes Tom who's been through so much in such a short life.  The rage he feels towards his father could help him in becoming a good fighter or bury him in rage.  As if it's not difficult enough dealing with an abusive father he's also dealing with questions about his sexuality that are subtly hinted at here and make me desperate to have more of his story told.  Eddie's mother Gloria is another delightful addition to the story as she's a wise and sassy older woman who cajoles these hardheaded men into doing what's right.  She's funny and her scenes with Eddie are particularly heartwarming.  In some ways I saw her as Yoda as she would come on the scene when the boys needed emotional comfort the most as say just the right thing.  

Along with these realistic and immensely appealing cast of characters comes the vividly depicted world of fighting.  I could feel the energy and excitement and became completely immersed in the heartpounding fight scenes drenched in sweat.  Ms. Grant perfectly combined action with romance all the while emphasizing this testosterone-filled world featuring lots of sweaty and sexy men who wore their hearts on their sleeves.  Tom has undertaken the first important step to having his own HEA and I greatly anticipate what Ms. Grant has planned for him in the future in this emotionally involving m/m novella.

My rating for this is an A.

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

AUTHOR INFO:

Cat Grant lives by the sea in beautiful Monterey, California, with one persnickety feline and way too many books and DVDs. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her watching movies or TV (Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries are among her favorite shows), singing along to whatever’s on her iPod, or fantasizing about kinky sex with Michael Fassbender.

Website:  http://catgrant.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CatGrant2009

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/cat.grant

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1912055.Cat_Grant

You can contact her directly at: cat@catgrant.com

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

Cat is giving away a Kindle Paperwhite loaded with her entire backlist.

-To be entered, leave a comment, along with your email addy.

-Winner will be chosen randomly from all comments made throughout the tour, so the more you comment the greater your chances of winning.  A list of all participating blogs can be found here.

-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 8/29.