Thursday, May 7, 2020

Long Shadow by Elle Keaton Release Blitz


Niall’s known nothing but betrayal. All Mat wants is Niall’s heart; what will it take for him to coax Niall in from the cold?

Mat's connection with Niall is tenuous. One step forward, two steps back. Since that night on the beach Niall's been avoiding Mat like a bad case of the flu—which, ironically, most of his deputies have come down with. What will it take for Niall to believe Mat wants him for who he is?

Mat's overworked, Niall's unnerved, and then things really go sideways.

Will a killer destroy everything before Niall realizes they are stronger together than apart?

Long Shadow is a dual POV about a broody introvert and a somewhat patient Sheriff. Mat will have to prove to Niall he's the man for him. The Hamarsson & Dempsey series follows the same couple as they find their way to their happily ever after.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53246761-long-shadow


Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~




He paused at the guardrail, his hands jammed into the pockets of his jacket for protection from the cold. As he stood at the end of the road, the fog began melting away, slow at first and then faster, until he could see all the way across the water to the mainland crouching in the distance. Niall took a deep breath of the salt-laden air, filling his lungs, then released it. As he stared out at the dark silhouette of land, something unnameable inside himself loosened a bit further, a nearly tangible click into place. Piedras felt right.

Niall didn’t feel like an old-timer, but he did have a history on the island; he existed here as more than a bitter homicide cop. Some islanders—like Mat Dempsey—even seemed to want him there. Most of the residents seemed to accept Niall’s presence, and the few who whispered behind his back… well, that’s the way things had always been.

And, he thought as he breathed in and out again, more than likely the camper was no big deal. He was making a mountain out of a molehill—something his grandmother used to say quite often. There was likely a perfectly good, lawful reason the owner was driving around the island and only using facilities when they were less likely to run into other inhabitants.

The cop in him protested. Niall tried to ignore it.

His thoughts drifted further afield, as the fog continued to fade, to the sexy and very available Sheriff Dempsey. Mat seemed to see right into Niall’s soul and never once flinched—he actually thought he liked Niall. Mat was something Niall had never had in his life, or not often, anyway. Mat represented family, safety, commitment. Given everything Mat had done since Niall had come back to Piedras, it should be easy for Niall to trust him. But he couldn’t find the off switch for the little voice inside that pinged a warning every time he and Mat got close.

It was, however, proving difficult to stop thinking about him.




Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica☆☆☆☆☆
Niall has put his Seattle apartment on the market and is planning to stay on Piedras Island and rebuild on his grandparent's land. Mat is determined to let his gently budding romance with Niall unfold at Niall's pace, but it isn't easy.

Mat is stretched to the limit at work with sick deputies, someone setting fires around the island, and suspicion that the guy running the marine rescue might be fiddling the books. Meanwhile, Niall needs to find somewhere new to live, he has received a mysterious package, and he is a little obsessed by an RV he keeps seeing around the island.

The story is rolling along nicely and then one incident ratchets up the action and emotion. We are presented with several mysteries during this story and some are resolved, but not all. I love the way the mysteries unfold because we learn what is happening as the characters do and it is not obvious at all who did it.

Long Shadow is outstanding. The mix of mystery, action, and romance is just what I want and it was wonderful to be back with Niall and Mat – it made me happy. This is my ideal m/m romance. Beautiful, understated romance between two strong imperfect men, combined with mystery and action in a small town setting. I feel like the story was written just for me and I love it.


Sarah☆☆☆
The second book in this series is just as dark and atmospheric as the first. Set on a small island in the Pacific Northwest, the story is part crime serial and part romance.

For me, this was a painfully slow read. The main character, Niall, struggles with communication and remains emotionally closed off for most of the book. Mat is a little better with communication but not much better with emotion. And he’s still pretty closeted for most of the book. The result is a careful, tentative non-romance that drove me a little mad at times. The actual crime aspect of the book doesn’t really become obvious until the second half of the story. When I started chapter 12, I realised that I wasn’t sure what the actual crime focus of the book was going to be. The second half of the book is more satisfying as both a crime novel and a romance, but my attention wandered far too much in the first half.

This isn’t the kind of crime novel readers can solve alongside the detectives. The plot wanders and there aren’t enough clues to lead readers to the whodunnit before Mat and Niall figure it out. Like the first book, only the immediate crimes are solved in this story. I found that the series story arc wandered in this book to the point that I’m not entirely sure where it’s going.

There are some elements of this book that worked for me. I love the setting and I enjoyed the quirky island residents. Mat’s family provides the warmth that the two male leads are lacking and there are a few subplots that I quite enjoyed. Overall, I feel like the problematic pacing and plotting made it difficult for me to engage with the story. If I hadn’t agreed to review it, I’m not sure I would have made it past the first few chapters.


Also Available in the Hamarsson & Dempsey Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Conspiracy Theory Blog Tour.




Elle hails from the northwest corner of the US known for, rain, rain, and more rain. She pens the Accidental Roots, Never Too Late, Hamarsson and Dempsey, and the Home in Hollyridge series, all set in the Pacific Northwest. Elle’s books feature hot mm romance with the guarantee of a happily ever after. The men start out broken but they always find the other half of their hearts.

Elle loves both cats and dogs, Star Wars and Star Trek, pineapple on pizza, and is known to start crossword puzzles with ballpoint pen.

Connect with Elle

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Long Shadow (Hamarsson & Dempsey #2) by Elle Keaton to read and review for this tour.

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