Book Tour for Three the Hard Way by Sydney Croft (Review & GIVEAWAY)

As a fan of the paranormal genre I was drawn to the premise of this story and its mix of suspense, special abilities, and m/m lovin'.  Keep reading to get a brief glimpse of Three the Hard Way by Sydney Croft, along with my impressions of it.  Make sure to leave a comment, along with your email addy, for the chance to be entered into a giveaway for a $25 Riptide Publishing GC!

Lovers Taggart Brody and Justice McKinney possess special abilities that make them valuable to agencies who employ—or enslave—people with extraordinary talents. When tragedy tears them apart, Justice finds purpose working for the good guys: ACRO, the super-secret Agency for Covert Rare Operatives. But he never forgets Taggart or the past they once shared.

Heartbroken, Taggart runs from who he is . . . right into the arms of Ian Bridges. But Ian, battling his own demons, betrays Tag to the terrorist organization Itor. After months of torture, Tag manages to escape, but kills an ACRO agent in the process.  

With nowhere left to turn, Tag disappears into the Alaskan wilderness, but it’s only a matter of time before his enemies track him down. He reaches out to Justice, and somehow Ian finds him too, hoping to right his wrongs. With ACRO and Itor both bearing down, the three men must figure out how to forgive, how to work together, and how to love each other—or the coming battle will destroy them all.

**********LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK HERE**********

***Each year, Riptide Publishing releases a holiday collection in support of an LGBTQ charity. Twenty percent of all proceeds from the Share the Love collection will be donated to the It Gets Better Project.

This collection would not be possible without the talent and generosity of its authors, who have brought us the following holiday stories:

-Three of Hearts by Kelly Jamieson

-Lucky Strike by Jane Davitt

-Three the Hard Way by Sydney Croft

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

As a fan of m/m books I just gobble them up, and with the inclusion of paranormal powers, I was ready for one heckuva ride with this read.  What I ultimately got was a satisfying story with just a few quibbles to keep it from being great.

Justice and Taggart grew up with only each other to count on.  Their mothers kept them as hidden as possible when they were young as they have special abilities that had them targeted as medical specimens.  They were as close as could be until they had a falling out that left Taggart running.  In their years apart Taggart moved on with Ian until Ian sold him out to be tortured by the enemy.  Once Taggart escaped he ran back to where he always felt safest....back in Justice's arms.  Ian's not far behind though, desperate to make amends.  With the enemy looking for Taggart too these three men must work together to fight the enemy off as well as their growing attraction in this story that's full of twists and edge of your seat suspense.

Tag and Justice had an unbreakable bond, even with past hurts they would always be there for each other.  Their reunion was sweet and teeming with sexual tension and I loved seeing their strong youthful connection morph into endearing and sensual banter in a believable adult relationship.  Ian's part in the triad was a bit more unbelievable considering his betrayal of Tag.  That's not to say that Ian's not sexy but he should've had to grovel more before he earned a place back in Tag's bed.  Each man is appealing in their own way with distinct personalities that work well together.  Their sexual connection is hot but as a whole I never felt that their triad was based on love, it was more attraction based on sex and the other's needs to make Tag happy.

Though this book can be read on its own I wish more information had been given about ACRO and their purpose.  I enjoyed the inclusion of these men's special powers too but would've liked to know more about where they came from.  Though this book can be read on its own I think more of my questions would've been answered had I read the rest of the series.  Those looking for hot m/m loving with suspenseful storytelling will definitely want to grab this book!

My rating for this is a B.

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

AUTHOR INFO:

Sydney Croft is the alter-ego of Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler, two  New York Times  bestselling authors who blend their very different writing interests into adventurous tales of erotic paranormal fiction. Together, they developed a world where people with extraordinary abilities, like the power to control storms, could live and work with others like them. The series has been described as "Erotica meets the X-Men," and is unique in its own "erotic super hero romance" niche.

Larissa and Stephanie live in different states and communicate almost entirely through email, though they often get together for conferences and book signings.

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

PRIZE IS A $25 RIPTIDE PUBLISHING GC!

Leave a comment with your email addy to be entered in this giveaway.  Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a $25 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 7.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

***Help us choose a charity!

Every year, Riptide Publishing releases a Holiday charity bundle with themed stories by bestselling authors. Twenty percent of the net proceeds of each bundle goes to a charity that serves the LGBTQ population.

Royalties from Riptide's 2013 Home for the Holidays charity collection have raised over $14,000 in nine months for the Ali Forney Center, and continue to yield several hundred dollars per month in royalties donations. Our 2014 Share the Love charity collection will be raising money for the It Gets Better Project, and we hope to report even better results than in 2013.

For 2015, the theme will be Holiday Surprises, and we'll have stories by HelenKay Dimon, Christine d'Abo, and Marie Sexton. But we don't have a charity yet.

We need YOUR help to choose the 2015 charity. Nominate your favorite LGBTQ charity below and Riptide might choose it as the 2015 Holiday bundle charity!

The chosen charity for 2015 will immediately receive a $5,000 advance against royalties (paid in 2015 on announcement of the award recipient). The charity will continue to receive 20% of all lifetime net sales income from the 2015 holiday charity collection, in the form of a monthly royalty check.

Three honorable mention charities will each receive a $250 donation.

Click here to nominate a charity. Both supporters and representatives of a charity can submit a nomination.