Belonging Verse Tour

I was chosen to read one of the great books below. Before, I post my review of Counterpunch, I thought is best to give you all the details of the tour.

Welcome to the Belonging ’Verse re-release blog tour with Aleksandr Voinov and Rachel Haimowitz! We’re very excited to be bringing you edited second editions of our Belonging stories, Anchored and Counterpunch (in the case of Anchored, very edited, with over ten thousand new words and a completely different beginning and ending!), which are finally under the same roof and back in print after about a year out of circulation.

We’ll be touring for about two weeks, Aleks discussing his slave boxer and the barrister who tries to free him, and Rachel talking about her slave news anchor and the talk show host who covets him, and both of us discussing the world of Belonging at large—which, as you’ve probably guessed, is not a particularly pretty place. But good things can and do happen in this world, and we hope you’ll stick with us to find out what!

Speaking of good things, don’t forget to comment on this post for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Riptide store! Each new post you comment on earns you an entry into the drawing, so be sure to check out the rest of the tour schedule too!

About Anchored:

Network news anchor Daniel Halstrom is at the top of his field, but being at the bottom of the social ladder—being a slave—makes that hard to enjoy. Especially when NewWorld Media, the company that’s owned him since childhood, decides to lease him privately on evenings and weekends to boost their flagging profits.

Daniel’s not stupid; he knows there’s only one reason someone would pay so much for what little free time he has. But dark memories of past sexual service leave him certain he won’t survive it again with his sanity intact.

He finds himself in the home of Carl Whitman, a talk show host whose words fail him when it comes to ordering Daniel into his bed. Carl can’t seem to take what he must want, and Daniel’s not willing to give it freely. His recalcitrance costs him dearly, but with patience and some hard-won understanding, affection just might flourish over fear and pain. Carl holds the power to be an anchor in Daniel’s turbulent life, but if he isn’t careful, he’ll end up the weight that sinks his slave for good.

http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/anchored

About Counterpunch:

Fight like a man, or die like a slave.

Two years ago, Brooklyn Marshall was a happily married London policeman and amateur boxer with a promising future. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose powerful father had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the prison system, the state sold Brooklyn into slavery. Now he’s the “Mean Machine,” competing on the slave prizefighting circuit for the entertainment of freemen, and being rented out for sexual service to his wealthier fans.

When barrister Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn’s services for a night, Brooklyn braces himself for yet another round of humiliation and pain. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it love—such feelings can’t truly exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to get Brooklyn’s conviction overturned, Brooklyn dares to hope.

Until an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he’s worked so hard for. With the law on his tail and Nathaniel in his corner, he must prepare for the most important fight of his life: the fight for his freedom.

http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/counterpunch

About the Authors:

Rachel Haimowitz is an M/M erotic romance author and the Publisher of Riptide Publishing. She's also a sadist with a pesky conscience, shamelessly silly, and quite proudly pervish. Fortunately, all those things make writing a lot more fun for her . . . if not so much for her characters.

When she's not writing about hot guys getting it on (or just plain getting it; her characters rarely escape a story unscathed), she loves to read, hike, camp, sing, perform in community theater, and glue captions to cats. She also has a particular fondness for her very needy dog, her even needier cat, and shouting at kids to get off her lawn. You can connect with Rachel at: Website: rachelhaimowitz.com, Tumblr: rachelhaimowitz.tumblr.com, Twitter: @RachelHaimowitz, Goodreads: goodreads.com/metarachel, Email: rachel@riptidepublishing.com.

Aleksandr Voinov has been published for twenty years, both in print and ebook. He has ten years’ experience as a writing coach, book doctor, and writing teacher, and until recently worked as an editor in financial services.

After co-authoring the M/M military cult classic Special Forces, Aleksandr embarked on a quest to write gritty, edgy, sometimes literary M/M and gay fiction (much of which is romance/erotica)—the only way he can use his American Literature degree these days.

He’s been published with Heyne/Random House, Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and others, and is an EPIC Awards winner and a Lambda Awards finalist. You can connect with Aleks at: Website: aleksandrvoinov.com, Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com, Twitter:@aleksandrvoinov, Goodreads: goodreads.com/Vashtan.

Review Counterpunch:

Fight like a man, or die like a slave.

Brooklyn Marshall used to be a policeman in London, with a wife and a promising future ahead of him. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose father was a Member of Parliament and had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the overcrowded prison system, Brooklyn was sold into slavery rather than incarcerated. Now, he's the "Mean Machine", a boxer on the slave prizefighting circuit, pummelling other slaves for the entertainment of freemen and being rented out for the sexual service of his wealthier fans.

When Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn's services for a night, it seems like any other assignation. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it "love"—such things do not exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to help get Brooklyn's conviction overturned, he dares to hope. Then, an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve and sending him into the most important fight of all—the fight for freedom.

Lord, Aleksandr kills me. His writing is amazing! I have read many of his books and I have to say, this was one of my favorites. 

From the quirky smile on my face to the heart pounding sex scenes, you will love this book. 

Brooklyn, convicted of a crime that he committed was sentenced to slavery. Why? Well, the punishment was unjustly handed out. A former cop. Married and happy. With one act, everything...GONE!

His owners recognized that he can box. The main story line centers around Brooklyn's climb up the salve boxing championship ladder. All the while, his determination for freedom always sat in the background. 

Outside of boxing, the owners would pimp Brooklyn out. Mostly to women who liked to be "punished". The sex was just a way to make money. Then there was the men. Everyone, wanting one thing from Brooklyn. 

So, when he was called to the house of one Nathaniel, Brooklyn assumed he was there only for the pleasure of the dom. 

The world that he had be thrust into was about to change. Page by page, Nathaniel breaks down the wall that Brooklyn had built up. A love blossoms, and a damn the sex scenes were nice. 

Of course, there are challenges that will leave you wondering if the ending will be worth it. 

Will they survive? Will Brook gain his freedom? What about his past, how will that come back to haunt Brooklyn?

Amazing book, I wish that there were more than the two. There are so many questions that I have about the Verse that was created here. 

Looking forward to many more books (hopefully) from two of the best authors that the M/M community has! 

Thank you Riptide and Mr. Aleksandr! 

Amazing! 

Rating 

5 out of 5 stars! 

Until we meet again! Happy reading!

J