Welcome to our first week of celebrating the amazing
In our first post, we're going to take a look at the Signs Of Love series as well as Anyta's favorite things. There's also a chance to win an e-copy of one of the books from the series.
First up, Leo Loves Aries
A new person will enter your life in the early year, Leo. Look past any moments of frustration they might bring and laugh—this could be the start of a thriving friendship.
Theo Wallace usually laughs at the horoscopes his mom sends. Still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and practically friendless, this one begs him to reconsider. Because a friendship that stuck, that thrived…
Well, that would be a reason to leave past pains behind and look to the Bright Future.
When his sister Leone challenges him to find her the perfect date for a spring wedding, Theo uses it as a chance to make new friends. Theo’s ex economics tutor and newest roommate Mr Jamie Cooper seems to be a possible and convenient match. Real convenient. Like written in the stars, convenient.
All he has to do is make sure this Jamie is good enough. Could really be the one for her, and the friend for him.
But watch out, Leo, the stars have a surprise in store… (less)
Excerpt:
It was close to midnight when Theo returned home.
He made a racket at the door, purposely dropping his keys and swearing before jiggling the door handle. That should give everyone enough time to get decent.
Bit by bit he pushed the door open. No lights.
Maybe they were in bed. Jamie was too classy to have sex on the first official date, so Theo probably wouldn’t need to crank up music when he reached his bedroom.
Theo carefully slipped his shoes off and hung up his jacket. He didn’t bother with the lights as he stole across the living room to his bedroom. He didn’t particularly want to draw them from their rooms.
Theo quietly shut his bedroom door. He let out a relieved breath and turned into the room, automatically reaching for the light switch.
A movement caught his eye and Theo shrieked. His bag slipped off his shoulder and hit the floor.
Jamie was lying on his bed cloaked in darkness.
“You almost gave me a fucking heart attack. What the hell are you doing in here?”
Jamie swung off the bed and strolled through a patch of window-shaped moonlight toward him. “I’ve been here a while. Waiting. Pondering how best to do this.”
“How best to do what?”
“Make something abundantly clear.”
It happened too fast.
Jamie moved toward him and Theo’s shoulders hit the hard door. Jamie pushed against him, chest to chest, one leg slipping between his, snug at his crotch. Jamie’s hand threaded through Theo’s hair, his other on the curve of his neck. Jamie pressed his thumb against Theo’s rapid-fire pulse. Theo barely had time to suck in a surprised breath when Jamie kissed him.
A maelstrom of sensation had Theo bracing himself against the door, palms suctioned on to the paneling. Jamie’s warm, firm mouth teased his and when Theo instinctively parted his lips, Jamie hummed. Low and deep, the vibrations tingled the bow of Theo’s lips. The rasp of Jamie’s stubble over his chin was foreign and a flare of goosebumps tickled down Theo’s neck, pooling where Jamie was now stroking his thumb.
Jamie pulled back and his tone was displeased. “I’m gay, Theo.”
Theo brought his fingers to his swollen lips. The kiss was still dancing on his bottom lip, and yet his brain hadn’t caught up. “You’re not.”
“I am.”
“You are not.”
“Darwin would’ve loved you as a test case.”
“You can’t be.”
A frustrated growl. “This isn’t like peanut butter. You can’t just add nuts and make me chunky. I’m gay.”
“There’s a joke in there somewhere.” For later though, because right now his brain was still processing. “Seriously? You’re gay?”
“I could throttle you,” he said through clenched teeth.
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Book 2 in the series, Scorpio Hates Virgo
This year is all about healing the heart, Scorpio. It’s time to leave negative attitudes and stoic facades at the door and let others see the real, more vulnerable you.
Percy Freedman is not grieving. Absolutely not, take that back at once. No, he’s entirely sure that selling his dead aunt’s home and leaving the neighbors he’s known for years is the sane thing to do. Who in their right mind would keep the house that smells like all the hugs he’ll never have again?
Nobody, that’s who.
Well, except his cul-de-sac neighbors. They all seem to think some paint and new furniture will clean the emotional slate. They all want him to stay.
Even his nemesis, Callaghan Glover.
Especially his nemesis, Callaghan Glover.
Lured into a game of Sherlock Gnomes, Percy finds himself hanging out with his neighbors more than might be considered healthy. Along with juggling new and surprising verbal grenades from Cal, and his burgeoning friendship with Gnomber9, Percy is starting to wonder if selling might have been the grief talking after all . . .
That’s right, Scorpio. With a little patience, heartbreak might be a thing of the past . . .
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Book 3, Gemini Keeps Capricorn
Sometimes, one stubborn Capricorn is all it takes… to drive Wesley Hidaka to crazy, flirtatious lengths.
Wesley loves annoying his RA, Lloyd Reynolds. He just can’t help it. Lloyd is focused, decisive, grounded. He has this amusing ability to follow rules. Of course Wesley wants Lloyd to break one… or three hundred.
Sometimes, one smirking Gemini is all it takes… to have Lloyd laying down the law and marching Wesley straight back to his dorm room.
It doesn’t stop Wesley teasing again. And again. And again… But damn. Lloyd doesn’t crack easily. He’s full of principles. He’s unshakable. He’s the perfect friend to have when Wesley needs help. Like with his truant brother and his old high school principal.
Sometimes, one little lie is all it takes… to find Wesley fake-engaged to his off-limits RA.
What can he say? It seemed like a good idea at the time…
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And book 4, Pisces Hooks Taurus
It’s a time for searching, and a time for finding, Pisces: keep casting your line and you will hook what you’re looking for.
Zane has it all planned out: land the perfect Meet Cute, fall in love, and live happily ever after.
Should be simple enough if he put his mind to it. A little creativity and some thinking outside of the box, and voila, he’d be married to the woman of his dreams. It would be perfect.
And it would be before his visa ran out.
But why are his feelings running wild now that the pressure’s on? Why is his picture-perfect plan turning into a muddled mess of morphed metaphors he can’t make sense of anymore?
Just as well he’s met an English professor to help. And even though their first meet is anything but cute, this down-to-earth teacher may just be the realist Zane needs to ground him and give him a shot at love after all.
Don’t cast your line too wide, Pisces. Your perfect catch may already have bitten.
Excerpt:
Inside the duplex with five handles boring into his palms, Zane paused at the full-length hallway mirror. “You know what?” He winced at the snug, knee-high turquoise that made his calves seem slim. “These boots are too awesome for wearing outside. They’ll be my indoor shoes.”
“Not going to wear them on your date?” With nonchalant grace, Beckett toted his bags into the living room.
Zane followed and plunked the groceries on the kitchen. “No date. Cancelled it.”
“You cancelled?”
“I shifted it to tomorrow.” His phone buzzed against his thigh, and he read it with a sigh. “Scratch that. She said not to bother.”
Beckett stopped pawing through their purchases. “If you’re doing this to be nice—”
“Nice? Try romantic, Becky. This dinner is all about your birthday and our burgeoning bromance.”
A hesitant smile teased at Beckett’s lips, blue eyes boring into Zane like Beckett was trying to find an answer.
“What?” Zane asked.
“Bromance is never a bad idea.”
But Beckett had a valid question. Would it matter if they didn’t have one? The answer was yes, without a doubt, but why?
Butterflies swarmed his gut, each fluttering a different feeling. Filtering them would be difficult. Cooking would help. He reached into one of the bags, pulled out a packet of nuts he’d already opened on the drive home, and popped another in his mouth. “Let’s make dinner and bake pecan muffins.”
Beckett leaned on the other side of the counter. “Pecan muffins?”
“For Darla.”
Surprise glittered in Beckett’s eye. “You’ve met Darla?”
“She called me a fish. Our relationship can only go up from there.”
“Tell me you heard the part about my sister coming on Thursday?”
Zane smirked and sorted through the groceries. “The muffins are to thank her for watching my things last night.” He set two lemons, a plastic manual juicer, and a mug covered in multi-colored hearts in front of Beckett. “Grate the rind, juice them, and pour the liquid in there.”
Had his need for a bromance stemmed from Beckett’s sad eyes? He was wounded, and Zane wanted to take his pain away. He’d always been like that. Like the time Jacob had been dumped by a girlfriend after three years. He’d spent a week in bed drowning in rock music, and Zane had slung himself on that double bed and given his misery company.
He frowned as he grabbed a bowl, cutting board, and various utensils.
Beckett stared at the sieve he procured and watched him set the macaroni on the stove. “You sure know your way around my kitchen.”
“Thanks to your pretentious coffee habits.”
“Tomorrow morning you will sip your own filter coffee, and head straight back to King’s.”
“We’ll see.” Zane layered a glass tray with cream and cut an onion.
“What is the lemon for?” Beckett asked. “The muffins or dinner?”
“Dinner.” Zane picked up a long zucchini. “We’re having a zucchini-lemon macaroni bake.” Under running water, he glided his hand up and down the length of the vegetable.
Beckett’s hand faltered on the lemon he was juicing. He cleared his throat and continued twisting the lemon. “You are very thorough there.”
“Don’t want the skin to bruise.” He pointed the zucchini at Beckett and his lemons. “Wring out every last drop.”
Beckett’s gaze flickered to his. “I always do.”
Zane laughed so hard a few butterflies fluttered to his crotch.
“Would you mind pointing that zucchini elsewhere?” Beckett asked, voice rasping.
Zane leaned over and prodded Beckett’s cheek, making Beckett drop his lemon. “Intelligent and cheeky. I brove you already.”
“Brove?”
“Bro and romance. Bromance. Bro and love. Brove, right?”
Beckett’s playful expression gave way to uncertainty. “You’re awfully fast to whip out the ‘brove’ word.”
“I believe in love at first sight, so why not brove at first sight?”
“Because it doesn’t exist, and could we please have this conversation without that fat zucchini plundering my cheek?”
He set the vegetable down with grin. “Love at first sight is real. It’s the holy grail of romance. Your gazes connect, and you silently share every secret and vulnerability, hope and fear in a few desperately magical seconds.”
Beckett focused on pouring lemon into the mug. “No, love is intimate. It takes time and experience to develop. Physical attraction isn’t enough; it’s about emotional fostering. About trust. Takes time and effort to nurture. It’s not something that’s entitled.”
Beckett slid the cutting board and the zucchini to his side of the counter and sliced like a pro. Zane seamlessly moved to prepare the muffins. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, rising agent.
He stopped between each addition to eat a few roasted pecans, creamy and sweet under a fine layer of salt.
“Maybe first sight isn’t the best wording,” Zane said. “Maybe first connection is better. It’s the feeling when you meet someone you are instantly comfortable with. You see they are not perfect, but you don’t care. You want to know more. You need to.”
Beckett rounded into the kitchen, pulled down a pan, and set it on the stove. They stood adjacent to each other, their arms so close Zane could feel Beckett thrumming with energy. Beckett’s shoulders deflated, and he stared at the heating pan. “First connection? People can fake their personality, and after time, you see what a jerk they are.”
Zane twisted, leaned back against the counter facing Beckett’s profile. “Was Luke a jerk?”
“No. He was young.”
“How old was he when you married?”
Beckett dropped onions into the pan and they sizzled. “Your age.”
“That’s why you think I shouldn’t marry?”
Beckett finally looked at him. “I understand why you want to marry. Just don’t fool yourself that it’ll necessarily be for love.”
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Each book also has short continuation or epilogue of the couple's story available. You can find them here.
Anyta's Favorite Things
By my last count, I’ve got 28 books currently out there (not including box sets and translations), so today I’d like to share my 28 favorite things with you!
Savory food: whatever my hubby cooks up – best chef in the world ☺
Sweet food: Daaaark chocolate!
Snack: Macademia nuts… roasted… with honey… can I have some please right now?!?!?!?
Fruit: Feijoa
Vegetable: Avocado (technically a fruit, but, really.)
Hot Drink: Coffee with Oatly Barista milk – Making a mean cappuccino is my hobby
Cold Drink: Thomas Henry Spicy Ginger
Alcoholic Drink: I barely drink, but from time to time I like a sip of a New Zealand Pinot Noir
Music: Imagine Dragons, a love I share with my preteen son
Movie: The Princess Bride
TV show: Friends, Buffy, The West Wing – love the classics!
Children’s book: The Very Cranky Bear, by Nick Bland
Children’s song: The Paw Patrol theme, sung by my three year old!
Place in Berlin: I love walking around my adopted home town, and I can never get enough of the view of the TV Tower with the sun setting behind it
Place in Wellington: In my hometown, this has to be anywhere on the Town Belt, breathing in the scent of pine. A great place to walk!
Place to vacation: Scotland, I’m so in love with you!
Restaurant: currently I’m in love with Poke Bowls, a great one is Mahalo Poke in my Berlin neighborhood
Writing tool: Leuchtturm notebook and a multicolor pen
Writing place: either my bed, or a café
Writing time: morning / early afternoon
Time of the week: Saturday afternoon, working side by side with my husband
Season: Spring and Autumn
Day of the week: Sunday (erm, what else? LOL)
Means of travelling: German trains – fast, efficient, and great places to work
Sports team: Pittsburgh Pirates, ever since we lived in this beautiful city
Animal: The cat, a writer’s best friend!
Artist: my friend, photographer extraordinaire, Caroline Wimmer
Book / author: impossible to say – way too many favorites!
About Anyta Sunday:
Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.
I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy. My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Thai.
Giveaway:
Thank you for celebrating this fabulous author with us. Come back next week for more of Anyta's books, five little-known facts about her, and another chance to win.
Until then, happy reading!
I love this series! What is a feijoa?
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty weird fruit that is a summer favorite in New Zealand! It has a pretty special taste, my German husband does not like it at all :D
DeleteI love this and I love Anyta!! I also love her series of the Signs of Love!!
ReplyDeleteLove this series so much! Never heard of Feijoa but I'll have to look it up.
ReplyDeleteGreat series! Cats!
ReplyDelete