KREWE DADDY by Margie Church

Sequel to Hard As Teak
Publisher: Noble Romance
Date published. February 26th, 2012
ASIN B007EB8A7S
Contemporary M/M
E-Book
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Self-Purchase


Luis is a much sought after Daddy, a lover who is well liked and wanted by many but Luis’s lifestyle is wearing him out. He has no idea how to jump off the social life he has lived for so many years. Can finding the one man who left him, amid bitter accusations and long pent up passion be able to help Luis find the peace he craves?

Drew left Luis six years before when his insecurities over his relationship with Luis got the better of him and he had an affair. Now he is unable to commit to anyone and though he tries to forget Luis, the man has a hold onto his heart that no one else ever had. When they finally meet again, instead of saying ‘Hi, how are you?’ snarky comments and more fly out by them both. Can these two find a way to bridge the gap between them before they lose the one good thing in their life-each other?

When I heard the secondary character from HARD AS TEAK had gotten his own story, I was jumping for joy. Drew was funny, sexy and lovable in the first book and he also had secrets that I, as a reader, wanted to find out more of. Margie Church delivers a story that will alternately thrill you and make you cry. The story itself is like riding a roller coaster of emotions. You smile, sigh, shout and swear as Luis and Drew find their way back to one another. Margie Church is a talented author who knows how to write an angst filled, simmering sexual tension, story that leaves you gasping for air. It has suspense, sex that is at times tender and then hot as Hades and a love that won’t be denied.

Meet Drew. When he was with Luis, the lifestyle Luis led made Drew’s insecurities flare uncontrollably and on one particular night, Drew gave in to them. One affair later, Drew walks away from Luis amid harsh and bitter words, leaving behind a man who holds his heart completely. Now six years later, Drew has grown, matured (or he hopes anyways) and is incredibly lonely. He wants what his friends Mark and Teak have yet he is afraid of letting anyone in since Luis broke his heart. I loved Drew in HARD AS TEAK but here in KREWE DADDY, he shines. Margie Church creates a character that is multi-dimensional, intriguing and also complex. Drew is a person I would love to meet and be friends with. Luis at first just irritated me. He was full of arrogance, pride and ego and that turned me off a bit. What surprised me was how that melted away when he finds himself searching for Drew mid-way through the book. Then the readers see the real man behind the name. That was when he stole my heart completely. The sparks fly the minute these two meet up again and man, I was sweating at times as Drew and Luis tried to work out their past in order to see if they had a future together. There were a few secondary characters that had me grinning at times as well as gnashing my teeth in order not to kill them. They were well written and moved the story along as well.

KREWE DADDY is more than a story about Mardi Gras but a story of two people finding that love can be strong, true and enjoyable the second time around. With each page of this latest book of Ms. Church’s, the reader is pulled in the story, having them fall in love with the characters and learning along with Luis and Drew that love is indeed sweeter the second time around.

Very well done, Ms. Church. I am eager to see what else you have in store for your readers in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

Guest Author Day with Sue Brown & a Contest

Give a warm welcome to author Sue Brown who is on a blog tour for her book, Final Admission.


Sue is giving away one e-copy of Final Admission to one lucky reader. Leave a comment with your email address included in case your name is drawn for Sue to be entered. Contest ends March 1st, 2012. Winner to be announced here on this post.

How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination? I started writing 5 years ago. Before then I’d made the odd futile attempts at writing sci-fi and fantasy, but I’d never had a strong enough plot to carry a whole plot. As some of you may know, my moment of epiphany arrived when I woke up to see Captain Jack Harkness kissing Captain Jack Harkness on Torchwood; a tender moment that in true Princess Bride terms, was the most pure kiss I’d ever seen. That was it for me. Suddenly I had my genre. Luckily I had a friend (an amazing fanfic writer) to ask for help. She got me set up on Livejournal, and there I was; a brand, shiny new writer. The transition from fanfic to published fiction was mainly due to some of my lj friends, RJ Scott and Diane Adams starting their publishing career. If it hadn’t been for RJ I’m not sure I could have done it. She was amazing.

What makes your characters so vulnerable yet strong? Can you describe them to us? What do you do when characters stop talking to you when writing? I’m a kitchen sink writer. I want my characters to have real emotions. I’m not overly fond of alpha males or weak little boys. I read them, but I can’t write them. I like my men to have all the faults of the men we love. I am accused at times of creating unlikeable characters because they aren’t perfect. My boys don’t talk to me. They lead me by the nose and write the damn book themselves.

You have some great secondary characters in your books. Will we see spin offs in regards to them in their own story lines? Do you prefer writing series books over non series or does it matter? I love my secondary characters, and in my Morning Report series, Tommy and Noah get their day. There is a third from a character in Complete Faith. However, and I’ll be honest here, I’m not strong on writing sequels. I don’t see it handled well with many authors that I love and respect.

What do you think is the level of sensuality/heat in your books? What can readers expect from your books with respect to sexual content and sensuality. It varies as with all my books. Morning Report was as close to erotica as I’ll get whilst still having a plot. I think that as I go on, I prefer to have more plot and less sex. Having said that, if sex/love-making is essential to the plot, then it will be included. 

If you could travel to any time period, where would you and why?

Hollywood has come calling and is interested in Nothing Ever Happens. You get to pick the actors to play the main characters Drew and Nathan. What book do you choose and who do you choose to play these characters? Oooh I was thinking about this only yesterday. Okay, Nothing Ever Happens because it is a real tear-jerker at times. I can’t deny my ideal pairing *cough Jensen and Jared*, but if time has moved on and they are *shock horror* too old to play Drew and Nathan, who would I pick? Hmmm, Sean Paul Lockhart (Brent Corrigan, yes, I know) to play Drew, and Nathan… heck, I’ve no idea. Any suggestions?

What is your one favorite foods to enjoy? Only one? Um, chocolate/coffee/wine. What do you mean, that’s three? They are essential food groups.

Any weird cravings when writing? See the above.

Anything else to add? Thank you for having me here, Dawn. Is there anything else you’d like to know about me?

Reviews of Sue's Books from Love Romances & More Reviews:

Chasing The Dream

Nothing Ever Happens

Morning Report

Final Admission by Sue Brown

Noble Romance

Contemporary M/M

Buy HERE

James Trenchard is a dick. Everyone in Bingwell, Brock, and Bacon says so, and after Ethan’s first encounter with the man, he agrees. Ethan resolves to avoid James but ends up working closely with him and discovers the lawyer's hiding a secret from the world. Ethan also realizes he's falling too hard too fast. Ethan has to decide if he should help James and risk getting entangled in the mess James has gotten himself into, or move on. But walking away from love is never a simple decision to make.

HARD AS TEAK by Margie Church

Publisher: Noble Romance
Date published: July 7th, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60592-356-7
ASIN: B005BU9K3W
Contemporary MM
E-book
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by self-purchase


Kevin Marks is tired of his life. It’s the “same old shit, just a different day” type of days lately that leave him confused and not as energized as he once was in all aspects of his life. He has no idea what to do so he escapes to his childhood cabin. There he hopes to rediscover his passion for photography and maybe find the answers he is searching for.

Meeting Teak Hidalgo was something he was so not anticipating. He radiated sex appeal to the extreme and with one touch Kevin is lost in his arms. Teak takes Kevin on a sensual journey as Kevin explores his growing desire to be with a man-namely Teak. Can Kevin find the strength to accept who he is, once and for all, and find the relationship he has searched for in Teak’s arms?

The moment I spied the cover for HARD AS TEAK and read the blurb, something compelled me to buy this book. It could have been the hot cover, the intriguing blurb or the fact I was in a mood to read something a bit different. I got that plus a whole lot more. Margie Church delivers her first foray into the M/M genre with her feet running out of the gate. She breaks boundaries with creating a seemingly heterosexual man who finds out that hey, he isn’t into women as much as he thought. The conflict Kevin faces is more internal than external. It may not make everyone happy that they don’t have some angst filled drama on every page. That’s ok though. She added an element of real life that happens everywhere in the world and that is what made this story relatable to me. Who hasn’t heard or known people who find their sexual orientation isn’t as cut and dried as they thought?

The story flowed nicely with some twists that had me gasping; some of the most romantic sex scenes I have every read between two people and yes, they were hot as hell too. I recommend making sure to have an ice bucket or a cold shower afterwards to cool down. This is a coming of age story of one man finding out he is more complex than he thought with feelings for someone he never anticipated meeting or having a romantic relationship with.

Meet photographer Kevin Marks. He is dissatisfied with his life, feels like he is in a rut-professionally and personally. Taking off to his childhood cabin, Kevin meets Teak, a rugged man who stirs feelings in Kevin he had no idea he would experience with a man before. Can Kevin work through his issues before he lets the one person who is meant to be his slip through his fingers?

What I loved about Teak and Kevin was how they acted like mature, sensible adults through the entire storyline. There was no melodrama, whining or even angry angst to deal with. It was a breath of fresh air so to speak to read this. I fell hard for both Kevin and Teak as I met them in the beginning and found myself rooting for them to be together forever. Teak is sexy as sin and had me wondering if I can take a walk in the woods for my own version of a sexy outdoorsman. The sexual tension alone simmers and flares repeatedly between Teak and Kevin which left me squirming in my seat more times I can count. There were a few secondary characters that left me wondering if I could either give them a good smack down or a big hug. They made the story flow smoothly and enhanced the story nicely. Ultimately this is about the growing relationship between Kevin and Teak and it was perfectly captured by the author.

HARD AS TEAK is a sweet, sexy tale of two people finding their way to the one person they are meant to be with, be it man or woman. Ms. Church delivers a story that had me on the edge of my seat, eager to find out what will happen next for Kevin and Teak. If you are looking for a hot story with a heart of gold to enjoy that can heat up your night, then I suggest you try HARD AS TEAK. I am hoping Ms. Church comes back to these beloved characters in the future. I would love to see what they are up to and maybe have a glimpse into their sexy life together.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.