Blog Tour ~ Nothing Special SWAT Ed.: Fox and Bull by AE Via (Reviews + Excerpt + Giveaway)

Nothing Special: SWAT Ed.: Fox & Bull

AE Via

M/M Romance

Release Date: 03.24.21

Cover Artist ~ Jay Aheer, Simply Defined Art

Photographer ~ Wander Aguiar Photography  

 

𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐑𝐁

𝘼 𝙛𝙤𝙭 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩—𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨.

Dominic “Bull” Walker is used to the simpler things in life. Give him his own land to work, a strong horse, and twelve hours of daylight, and he is a contented man. But when someone threatens to take away the successful ranch that took him two years to rebuild, he’ll accept any help he can get to defend it.

Mandel “Fox” Tucker is a sixth-generation SWAT soldier. It’s embedded in his bones to protect and serve his community. So when he gets word of the vandalism occurring on the Walker Ranch, he quickly volunteers the free time he has, thanks to his recent suspension.

The brief visit Fox had with Bull four months ago had been a contentious—but powerful—encounter. Therefore, he’s not surprised when he shows up on his doorstep unannounced and has to pull out some of his best tricks to get past the six-foot-four, stubborn Texan.

Fox is only there to safeguard what’s most important to Bull. But being on the ranch brings an awareness to him that he embraces with both hands. Nature, peace… love—things he never found in the city. 

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒. 

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐸𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝐻𝐸𝐴

 

Amazon US – https://amzn.to/2ZO6ac1

Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/3pSYkZe

Smashwords – https://bit.ly/3qUnKXy

Excerpt

“Hey,” Fox said, staring up at him. “I’m going to find who did this…and when I do…I’m going to make ’em pay.”

Bull realized Fox was almost standing on top of him they were so close. But his aura exuded protectiveness and power that Bull needed whether he wanted to admit it or not. “I haven’t made any enemies, Fox. I’m not that kinda man. I don’t go looking for trouble.”

“You don’t have to, Bull. Sometimes trouble comes looking for you.”Fox nodded towards the house where a couple of Bull’s maintenance workers were tacking plywood over the missing window. “Let’s go inside and eat breakfast, then we can work out what you’re gonna tell your employees.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like. I don’t want you to tell anyone I’m a cop. Not yet anyway. It’s best to let people feel comfortable around me, and no one is ever comfortable talking to a detective,”Fox said. “We’ll just say I’m here doing land surveys. No one really knows what those guys do in that line of work. I think their job is to just walk around on land. Besides, you don’t want a small town spreading gossip that you got a detective snooping around your place of business.”

“That would definitely turn people off from bringing their kids around here. I can’t afford to lose any business right now. Especially during the cold season,”Bull said gravely. 

“Then let’s hope it doesn’t take me long.”Fox put his hand on Bull’s shoulder and squeezed, the firm, reassuring touch reaching him even through his thick black Carhartt coat. 

“Yeah. Let’s hope,”Bull muttered as he followed Fox back to the house because there was nothing else he could do. He’s only been here a few minutes, and he’s already talking about hurrying up. If that wasn’t enough for Bull to get his head out of the clouds, he didn’t know what would be. At thirty-three, Bull was in the settling-down phase of his life. And men like Fox were not catchable.

 

5 Stars

I really enjoyed the story that centers around two strong and stubborn men. Both are deeply attracted to each other, but drag their feet and try to ignore the blistering feelings they have. Ms. Via pulls you in immediately into the world of SWAT teams with their nerve-wracking precision, and making calls that could either save a life or kill someone. This is the career path of Mandel Fox Tucker, a SWAT Soldier that has given so much of himself to the job. I must admit I instantly liked him, despite his cocky confidence and constant smirks.

Fox needs to step away from his job for a bit. Due to stress and pressure from his superiors, he takes a leave of absence. He needs to feel useful, so—packing up his bags—he heads to a ranch owned by Dominic Bull Walker.  Some nasty stuff is going down there, and the owner is concerned for his family’s safety. Since this is my first venture into her Nothing Special series, I was not feeling lost, but there was definitely a back history between Fox and the hunky rancher.

I love the characters’ careful dance around their obvious attraction. Oh my, I wish there was a real Fox in my life. He had me in stitches half of the time. This casual attitude and intense fearlessness was a potent combination. I equally enjoyed the strong relationship he began to build with both Bull’s family and the rather eclectic staff at the ranch. The love/hate friendship between Fox and Dale the foreman was the best.

The book centers around mysterious sabotage to the ranch, two alpha males simmering feelings, crazy ranch hands, and all the super cool high-tech gadgets a person could ever dream of. The story was masterfully written and I enjoyed every page. I highly recommend this riveting, humorous, and high-packed action novel. Happy reading!

* * * Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. * * *

~ * ~ Jo‘s Review ~ * ~

5 Stars

As soon as I see Nothing Special as part of the title, I know I’m going to buy the book. God and Day are one of my absolute favourite couples ever. There’s always a danger with spin-offs that they aren’t going to live up to the original characters. This isn’t the case with this series. I’ve loved everyone pairing. This is another great addition to the series. While I would never recommend not reading the whole of this series—as they are brilliant—the presence of previous characters is not to the fore in this one, so it did feel like you could get away with not reading those first. It might not be quite so enjoyable, but it would absolutely be worth reading. It’s brilliant.

Bull is tied to the land he works but there is something about Fox that calls to him. Fix is pretty burnt out by his job in SWAT. The guys around him are his family but the feelings Bull has are just as strong in Fox, and troubles at Bull’s ranch give him the chance to take the time to explore those and make decisions about his future.

This isn’t a rush into it kind of story; the guys take their time to make sure it’s what they both want. The chemistry, and the tension between them, makes this an addictive read. It’s the perfect blend of friendship, heat, and action. Brilliantly funny at times, these two show you being tough doesn’t mean you can’t have heart.

Loved it, perfect addition to series.

***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure. A review wasn’t a requirement. ***

 

4.5 Stars!

I’ve been looking forward to this story since we met Bull in an earlier book from the series. His resistance to the interest that Fox threw at him when they briefly met was intriguing and made me want to see how it all played out. The author did not disappoint; I loved their story. Initially, I’ll admit I was a bit confused by my memory of Fox from previous books versus who he reveals himself to be here. He is sly like his namesake, but a solid, loyal man as well. I would never have guessed how lonely and unappreciated Fox felt before this story though.

I liked how Fox slowly gets Bull to trust him more personally and breaks down Bull’s walls. Bull was a great guy, who clearly had been burned before. I like that he gave Fox a chance, even when he wanted to protect himself. Bull’s father and the rest of the ranch hands were great additions to the story. I found Dale and his antics funny, but watching Fox try to help the clueless Dale with his own life was pretty amusing as well.  I loved seeing Fox and Diablo bond and learn to trust each other; those scenes were beautiful. Overall, I loved that Fox finds his sense of peace and a place with Bull.

I definitely was disappointed in God at one point, but I could see why he was pressing. It probably would have been better if Fox would have stopped ignoring him, so I can’t completely blame God for what happened. I would pay good money to see the interaction on the ranch with God’s team in real life, especially a certain part of that whole situation. Thankfully, they were able to find a way for Fox to stay a part of the team he loved, but be where he felt he was at his best.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and gobbled it up faster than I wanted to. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***

 

About the Author

A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for six years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay literature for over twenty years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great, new up and coming MM authors.  

A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her. 

Writing. 

A.E.’s novels embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths. 

She’s recently celebrated her 20th book anniversary, and is well-known for her hardcore, love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.  

Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com  for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peek at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next. 

 

Author Official Website: http://authoraevia.com

A.E. Newsletter Signup: https://goo.gl/4hfuMh

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/aeviaauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAEVia

 

Giveaway 

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