RELEASE DAY REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Strong Signal (Cyberlove #1)

Strong Signal (Cyberlove #1), by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell
Publish Date: February 15, 2016
Publisher: self-published
Format: ARC, provided by the author
Genre: adult m/m contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) I was counting down the months until the end of my deployment. My days were spent working on military vehicles, and I spent my nights playing video games that would distract me until I could leave Staff Sergeant Garrett Reid behind.

That was when I met him: Kai Bannon, a fellow gamer with a famous stream channel.

I never expected to become fixated on someone who'd initially been a rival. And I'd never expected someone who oozed charm to notice me—a guy known for his brutal honesty and scowl. I hadn't planned for our online friendship to turn into something that kept me up at night—hours of chatting evolving into filthy webcam sessions.

But it did. And now I can't stop thinking about him. In my mind, our real life meeting is perfect. We kiss, we fall into bed, and it's love at first sight.

Except, like most things in my life, it doesn't go as planned.

This book - holy smokes. It was one of those books that stays with you for awhile. You know what I mean? Even after I moved on to other books and other characters, I still found myself thinking about Garrett and Kai.

Maybe it was because Garrett and Kai were so different, and yet they just... worked. And, when I say different, I mean DIFFERENT. Garrett is this big, buff stoic military dude currently serving his second tour in Afghanistan. Kai is this slender, cut personable gamer dude who entertains thousands of Twitch feed viewers every night from the safety and security of his apartment in Philly.

Despite their differences, Garrett sees something in Kai that causes him to reach out - something that is completely out of character for Garrett. And, Kai sees something in Garrett's e-mail that causes him to respond - something that is completely out of character for Kai.

One would think that a relationship that starts via the Internet between two drastically different people would never work. But, one of the great things about Garrett and Kai is that, from the very beginning, they are real with one another. There's no games, no lies, no false pretenses. And yet - how real can you get when you only communicate with the assistance of computers?

Garrett and Kai learn the hard way that, in real life, things are harsher, more complicated... and so much better than they imagined. Kai's reluctance to leave his apartment becomes the source of some real problems. Garrett's inability to find work locally is an issue as well. And, Garrett has yet to officially come out of the closet to his family. It seems that the deck is stacked against these to guys who started to fall in love online

Except, when they are together, whether it's electronically or physically, they are incredible. The little things they do for one another are so sweet. The passion they share is ridiculously off the charts. And the depth of their feelings for one another is bigger than either of them had ever bargained for.

Strong Signal was sexy and rugged and so, so good. The journey that Garrett and Kai take together will stay with you - I promise.

Megan Erickson is a former journalist who switched to fiction when she decided she liked writing her own endings better. She likes to pretend she has control now, but usually her characters are the ones who hold the reins. Her romance novels have a touch of humor, a dash of nerdy, and always a happily ever after.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and two cats named after John Hughes characters. She's still waiting for the party she was promised when she grew to five feet... maybe because she never got there.

Website: http://meganerickson.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormeganerickson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeganErickson_
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6879435.Megan_Erickson
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Megan-Erickson/e/B00AWD8MHS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1454466025&sr=8-2-ent

Santino Hassell was raised by a conservative family, but he was anything but traditional. He grew up to be a smart-mouthed, school cutting grunge kid, then a transient twenty-something, and eventually transformed into an unlikely romance author.

Santino writes queer romance that is heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, his belief that human relationships are complex and flawed, and his own life experiences.

Website (www.santinohassell.com)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/santinohassellbooks)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/SantinoHassell)
Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/santino_hassell)
Amazon (amazon.com/author/santinohassell)

a Rafflecopter giveaway