Kris and I have a disagreement...

Today I'm blogging with Kris from "Kris 'n' Good Books". Why? Well see below for the explanation!

Fight or Truce? The lines have been drawn.

Kris: This all came about because I innocently - in a polite and non-confrontational way - expressed my opinion about a character in a book (ie Jake 'the undeserving prick' Riordan).

Needless to say it was not a popularly held view and losers misguided fools rabid fans some readers strongly disagreed; one of whom – a certain Mum of four from Leeds, who has a great blog where I've been known to lurk – actually DARED on MY blog to not only mention his name, but to say she *hmph* loved him. HIM! How did I not know this about Jen?

I was – and still am – shocked, but it made me determined to make sure all commentators state their allegiances upfront. After all, I need to know whether I can take a person's POV seriously or not... oh, okay, I'm only joking *kinda... not really*. It also seemed like much fun was to be had by seeing what other people thought about different things.

Jen: This all came about because I was commenting on Kris' blog - a certain Mum of two (cats) from Perth, who has a great blog where she tells it like it is - when I happened to mention in all innocence (OK, maybe I did it on purpose) that I like the character of Jake 'he's misunderstood' Riordan from the books by Josh Lanyon.

This little difference of opinion almost led to all-out war and my ultimate banishment from commenting on her blog any more. Fortunately, before we got to that stage, a truce was declared and we agreed to set out our allegiances in order to avoid any further escalation of hostilities.

Kris and I are now clear on where we stand, but what about other commentators on this blog? How do I know where you stand on our (now rather extensive) list of allegiances?

Jen’s Allegiances:

Jake Riordan = Yay!
Nate = Yay (if he will shave off the beard)!
Derek Craven = Boo!
Roarke = Sexy!
Lilith: (Kris: If we’re having a token female then she has to be totally kick-arse) = Never heard of her.
Derek & Blue = Yay!
Jake 'the jock' Campbell & Brandon 'the nerd' Bartlett = Yay & Yay!
the guy from Outlander that everyone talks about (Jen: Jamie Fraser)= Och aye!
Johnnie & Tyler or Luc & Reese or Brent & Hell or Darien & Chris = Luc and Reese!
yaoi = Yay!
the skinny heroine = put some meat on your bones, woman!
reviews = Yay!
BDSM = Mild – yay! Heavy stuff – erm, maybe not!
the 'manly' man = Oh yes!
chocolate = Yay! Diet – boo!
m/f = Yay!
m/m = double yay!
heroes with chest hair = mmmmmmm....sigh!
m/f/m ménage = Boo!

m/m/f ménage = No girl cooties, please!

m/m/m ménage = hot/hot/hot!
hubbys who don't dance = Boo!
characters who don’t eat or go to the toilet = Are they dead?
shifted sex = yuk!
chicks with dicks = Kick ass!

the twink = Annoying!

the giggling or pouting male = giggling - could just about get away with this, pouting - No, no, NO!
aliens with two penises = WTF?!
ebooks or print = ebooks.
modern language in historical = Like, whatever! (translated = Boo)
gay for you = Yay!
gay because of mate/blood/chick bonds = Boo to forced plotting!
winning free ebooks = Yay!
ebook prices too high = some are.
jock huffing = crusty!
m/m anonymous sex = Hot!
m/f anonymous sex = whore! (not really)
red or white (wine not menz) = Red, lots of it!
love at first sight = A myth (except for LB)
oral sex in medieval historical romance = cheesy!
alpha heroes = Yay!
HEA means marriage (no matter what the genre) = Hmmmm....

You can find Kris’ allegiances here, but what about you?? We challenge you to state your own allegiances!

Comment here or post on your own blog and provide the link for us; we want to know.

Surrender is not an option!

Boredom in Death

No this isn't a post on my thoughts about the afterlife but rather on the fact that I have "In death" fatigue.

I started to glom JD Robb's "In death" series about 3/4 months ago. I've been getting them out of the library a couple of books at a time and working my way through the series .

Yes, I am reading them in order of publication. I HAVE to. I can't read them out of order or it will short-circuit my system.

Ahem. Anyway back to the relevant point which is that at the beginning I loved these books and devoured them. I waited impatiently for each one to come into my local library (I had to order them to be shipped from other libraries in the area). I loved the characters of Eve and Rourke, the murder mystery, the fantasy of the rich guy who falls in love with you and sweeps you off your feet.

I'm now onto book 8, "Conspiracy in Death". I started reading this book about 4 weeks ago and had to renew it last week because I hadn't finished it. I pick it up, read for half an hour or so before bed and then put it down. I might not pick it up again for several days. I read 15 other books/novellas during the time I've also been 'reading' this book! The thing is I'm not sure why I don't just get on with it: The story is gripping, the characters are as good as they always are, the mystery interesting. So what?

I've been thinking about this a bit and I've come to three conclusions:

Firstly, this book doesn't have much of Peabody in it and I really like her. In fact I'm coming to like her more than Eve, who occasionally can be too good to be true.

Secondly, I'm a bit fed up of every villain in these books being a nutcase serial killer. Honestly every book has to have at least 3 murders and a loony person who is killing for some 'higher purpose'. It gets a bit tedious after a while and I'm longing for a bit of variety in the bad guy.

Thirdly, I'm just getting a bit bored of the books and need to take a break for a while. Perhaps leave my glomming for six months and come back to it when I feel a bit fresher.

I think it's probably the third option. The trouble is, I have to finish this one and the one after ("Loyalty in Death") within the next couple of weeks because I paid a fee to the library to order them and my Yorkshire tight-fistedness will not allow me to send them back without reading them first. Basically, I'll just have to grit my teeth and get on with it.

Has anyone else had this problem whilst working their way through a series?

Review: Yorkshire by Lynne Connolly

I haven't read a historical for ages. If truth be told I haven't read a het romance for ages either, but I'd bought this because it was on special offer at Samhain and also because I'd heard good things about it so I thought I'd give it a go. I also like historicals set in places other than London so the title had caught my attention, especially as Yorkshire is my home county.

Rather unusually for a historical this is written in the first person from the point of view of our heroine, Rose. I know that some people are put off by first person narratives, but I really liked Rose. She was a very interesting narrator, being quite sensible and a good observer, but also with a slightly self-depreciating sense of humour. She is the sister of a Devonshire landowner and she suffers from 'pretty younger sister syndrome' in that her sister, Lizzie, gets all the male attention and she then fades somewhat into the background in comparison. Because of this she is still unmarried into her mid-twenties and has resigned herself to being the spinster aunt in her brother's house.

I've just spent ages trying to sum up the beginning of the book in a few sentences and failing miserably, then I looked at the blurb at Samhain and, for once, the blurb does a great job, so I'm copying that instead!

Rose Golightly is a country girl who thinks her life will continue on its comfortable course, but a series of events changes that for good. On a visit to the ancestral estate of Hareton Abbey, Richard Kerre, Lord Strang, enters her life. A leader of society, a man known for extravagance in dress and life, Richard is her fate. And she is his.

Richard is to marry a rich, frigid woman in a few weeks, and has deliberately closed his heart to love. Then a coach accident throws his wounded body into Rose’s arms.
With one kiss, Richard and Rose discover in each other the passion they thought they’d never find.

But the accident that brought them together was an act of sabotage. Somewhere, in the rotting hulk of a once beautiful stately home, a murderer is hiding.

See what I mean? Great stuff.

The book is set in 1780, when skirts were wide and men wore wigs. I haven't read many books set in this period of history so it came as a refreshing change. The book also had a very authentic feel to the history. I got the impression that the author had done a lot of research and yet it wasn't constantly rammed down my throat with too many clever references to things I didn't need to know. The characters all spoke and acted in a mannered way that I would associate with the time. Even the growing relationship between Rose and Richard was done in such a way that I didn't get any modern 'vibes' from their interaction. In fact, there was only one moment in the whole book where I felt let down by historical accuracy which I won't reveal as it's quite a bit of a spoiler, but even that part became integral to the plot later on so I understood why the author had done it.

The plot has a mystery sub-plot which, because of spoilers, I can't say too much about. It wasn't difficult to work out whodunnit though and I did feel that the mystery was included only to provide an excuse for Richard and his brother to stay at the house instead of going back to York where their Father was staying.

There was one thing that did annoy me rather. Throughout the book, Rose questions Richard's motives. He claims to love her, but he has a terrible reputation as a rake. She spends quite a lot of time wondering why he should have fallen in love with her when he could have anyone he chooses. Richard is a little intimidating in the way he professes his love so I can see why she feels a bit steamrollered. I think, as a reader, I was supposed to share her doubts and wonder myself whether Richard was all he claimed to be. However, slap bang on the front of the book is the subtitle "Richard and Rose", so that basically tells me she is going to end up with him and that he is all he proclaims to be. This book would have been so much better if I had been allowed to follow Rose's doubts without the spoiler in the subtitle!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well drawn and even the secondary characters were fleshed out. The setting was suitably gothic, the story interesting. I'm giving this a grade of 'Very Good' and buying the next book in the series "Devonshire" for my TBR pile.

Dancing Queen

One thing I've noticed about romance books; they certainly have a lot of dancing in them.

Real dancing, I mean. On a dance floor. Not just between the sheets.

I've never been much good at dancing for two reasons: Firstly, I am rather shy and hate putting myself in a position where other people look at me, so I tend to do the 'head down, one foot in, one foot out', type of dance. Secondly, my spacial awareness is rubbish and I am very clumsy so when I do dance (after consuming a vast quantity of alcohol), I dance like this:



Thus knocking everyone else on the dance floor over in my exuberance. I can't even do country dances. My aunt and cousin are Scots and they are very fond of their ceilidh. At my cousin's wedding I spent the whole evening either treading on my partners' toes or resisting their lead. I was hopeless!

Anyway back to dancing in books.

Have you noticed that nearly everyone in books can dance? Ok, I understand that in historical romance many of the women have been taught at a young age how to dance, but that's not the case for now-a-days, and yet all characters are good dancers.

There are exceptions, of course, but if a character can't dance it's often used as a device to further the relationship between the h/h. For example by him teaching her to dance or when he takes her onto the dancefloor, she suddenly glides like a swan in his arms (a sure indication of twu wuv).

Aside from historicals, the most instances of dancing seem to come from m/m romance. I suppose this stems from 'gay club culture' where men go out to clubs to hook up. Dancing in these places tends to be a sort of foreplay where the men don't actually dance but rather rub up against one another like a mass of writhing snakes. This makes me wonder...how do female writers of m/m know how gay men dance in gay clubs? Do they ask their gay friends and advisers, or do they visit the clubs and observe how the men dance? If they don't, then is this type of dancing yet another one of those myths that has grown up in and around m/m romance?

I'm not particularly put off by dancing in books. Just because I don't dance well myself, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be part of someone else's romantic ideal. In fact, I wish I could dance, especially some of the ballroom dances where the women are led effortlessly round the dancefloor....sigh.

Oh, and a big thanks to hub for showing me how to embed a YouTube clip. I'm such a techno-idiot!

On Pouting

Can I just get something off my chest?

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In my experience, men do not pout.

children pout - especially my precocious 5 year old.

Empty-headed women who can't get their own way pout.

But men - NO, NO, NO!

It's not a masculine trait. If men can't get their own way, they either glower at you or spend 10 minutes trying to convince you to change your mind before stomping off to clean the car (or whatever). They do not pout in an attempt to look 'cute' and get you to change your mind. Only women and children do that.

So please, please can all authors of m/m romance stop making their heroes pout?

Please.

----------------------------------------------

Thanks for that. I feel better now.

Labels

A few days ago one of the guest bloggers at Clare London's LJ did a post about labels. It was mostly about personal labels, but she did mention book labels as well. Well I remembered this post today as I finished reading "Looking For Some Touch" by KZ Snow, which I enjoyed immensely by the way. The thing was, I thought it was science fiction. I thought it was a story set on another planet, but it appears I was mistaken. Now, this isn't the fault of Loose Id, who hadn't even attached a label on it, other that to point out that it was a m/m novel, but rather my own mistaken thoughts from reading the blurb.

The thing is, I'm not quite sure what label to apply now that I've finished it.

The book is a m/m (and possibly a m/m/m/m) novel. Perhaps the safest label for that is GBLT.

The book is a romance, sort of. Perhaps I would describe it as having 'romantic elements'.

The book is set on Earth in the future so it's definitely a 'futuristic' novel.

The book has lots of paranormal creatures such as wizards, vampires, demons, angels, weres plus lots of other types I can't now remember (in fact I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of paranormals I had to keep track of). So I suppose it could also be called a 'paranormal' or even a 'fantasy'.

The book had a mystery sub-plot so it could be called a 'mystery'.

The book had elements of BDSM, so that label could apply too.

So, to recap, the book is a *deep breath* GBLT, romantic, futuristic, paranormal, fantasy, BDSM, mystery *phew*.

You see why I was having problems. In fact, the one thing that can be said about it is that it is definitely NOT a sci-fi.

How wrong can a person be?

Not Quite a Review: But I'm Your Teacher by Row Takakura

A few weeks ago I promised Kris that I would post my thoughts on reading yaoi for the first time. Before I do can I make this disclaimer:

I've not read any manga, yaoi or any other form of Japanese comic/graphic novel before. I know absolutely nothing about the conventions of this genre. Please take this into consideration when reading the following if you are a huge fan of the genre. I admit, I'm ignorant and taking this book only from the position of someone new.

OK, that's got me off the hook.

I decided to have a go at reading a yaoi comic (is that even the right term ? - please don't be cross if it isn't!) because I've read and enjoyed quite a number of yaoi inspired m/m novels. Some of my favourite themes of m/m romance like 'Cute Young Things' and 'Gay For You' come from yaoi, so I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss is about. I chose this particular book because I came across a review of it on a website (don't ask me which one, I can't remember) and the reviewer claimed that it was great because it was a set of short stories and wasn't part of a long series of books.

So what did I think of it? Well, to answer that I'm going to look at the two separate areas of story and artwork.

The Stories

There were six short stories in the book:

But I'm your teacher...

This was in two parts. The first part is about a substitute teacher who is seduced by his student (yes it was that way around). The teacher is the CYT and is tiny when put next to the student (who is 17 btw). The second part shows how they continue their relationship after the teacher leaves the school.

Bloom

This was a very short, slightly incestuous story of love between two step-brothers.

Honey Happy Baby

This was my favourite story of a young man who agrees to look after his sister's baby for a few days. He meets this handsome guy who comes and stays with him and seems more interested in the baby than him. Every time they try to 'get it on' the baby wakes up and starts crying. It was hilarious.

Voice Box

A slightly seedy story of a rent-boy who hooks up with a 'john' who turns out to be a reporter.

Scandal Kiss

This story was a bit difficult to understand, but involved an actor and a stunt double.

The View Through a Lens

This is another seedy tale of an older male photographer who takes a homeless kid to be his model, insists on keeping him naked, and is then seduced by the kid.

Once I'd got used to reading from right to left, most of the stories were pretty easy to pick up. You have to do quite a lot of filling in the gaps in the story by using the facial expressions or making suppositions as to what is happening. I'm not sure whether this is usual for yaoi, but I did sometimes wish there was more dialogue. Perhaps this is because I'm not a comic reader as such and therefore not used to the convention. I enjoyed the stories on the whole. They were the sort of light-hearted, slightly cheeky story lines that I've found in the yaoi inspired m/m stories.

The Artwork

I can't really judge this, as I'm not sure whether this book was a true representation of the genre. The main protagonists were always lovingly drawn and expressive in their facial features. The other characters were not drawn as clearly and you rarely got to see their faces. Most of the time I was able to follow what was happening through the art work except for the sex scenes. During the sex scenes I spent quite a lot of time wondering which bit was which - I kept thinking what position are we in here? What's that bit there? I often had to study them, turning the book around to try and work out what was going on as the bodies were often represented with a few brush strokes and some shading and so were drawn in less detail than the heroes are on the non-sex pages. The dialogue of 'oohs' and 'aahs' wasn't helpful in working out what was going on. It sounds completely perverted, but I was left wishing the creator had been a little more detailed in the sex scenes.

The book certainly lends itself to an interesting reading experience but I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy another one. Unless, that is, someone can recommend a better one for me to try. Until then I think I'll stick to the yaoi inspired m/m novels and keep the graphics in my head!

I'm an Idiot

I've just made a completely stupid mistake. I went to BooksonBoard to buy "Out of Bounds" by TA Chase and ended up buying "Bound by Love" instead. Not so bad, you might think. Well it wouldn't be if I didn't ALREADY OWN THE BOOK!

What a waste of money.

And thanks to DRM, I can't even give my extra copy away to someone who doesn't own it, or sell it on.

Honestly, fancy having two books with 'bound' in the title, it's no wonder I got confused. It's like those Kresley Cole books that all look and sound the same.

OK. I know. I'm just looking for excuses for my complete lameness.

Fame! I'm Gonna Live Forever...

The title takes you back, doesn't it? Ahhh, leg-warmers, sweat bands, garishly coloured sloppy jumpers, bad hair, leggings - actually, I think leggings are 'back' (though not for me and my thunder-thighs). Oh dear, now I am showing my age, best get on with the post.

I was pretty excited to read yesterday that one of my new favourite authors, Sean Kennedy, has a novel out in March. I was even more excited to read that the book has one of my favourite plot devices - the famous hero. I'd do a big squee, except I'm British and we don't do things like that (except in our heads).

But why do I like this storyline so much? Why does it push all my happy buttons? I haven't done a list for over a week now, so it must be time for another one...

1. The lifestyle

Famous people are usually rich and live the sort of decadent lifestyle I can only dream of, so these books are littered with gorgeous houses or hotels, designer clothing, fancy partys, etc, etc. This taps into the rather shallow part of me that coverts the shiny. I also like seeing how the non-famous character reacts to all this sudden wealth on offer, usually with complete external indifference whilst being overawed inside.

2. The public verses the personal

This has to be one of the best bits about this storyline. I like seeing the difference between how the famous character is viewed by the public as opposed to how they actually are with the non-famous character. The shift from 'larger than life' to 'normal' has to be done well for the book to work properly. After all famous people have to have some moments when they are doing normal stuff and it's seeing that side of their lives which gives me a big thrill.

3. Coping with Fame

This works for both characters. The famous character will have had years to cope with the adulation of fans, the non-famous character then has to adjust his or her life to cope with the fame. Sometimes this works the other way. For example, in "Hell" by Jet Mykles, the famous character, Brent, hates the fame whereas the (initially) non-famous character of Hell revels in it.

4. The interesting themes

A bit of a vague sub-heading, but what I mean is that this plot line often uses certain themes such as jealousy (over fans and lifestyle), loss of personal freedom, the transitory nature of fame and coping with periods of separation. Some of these aren't often used in other types of plot-lines and therefore makes these books seem fresh and interesting.

5. They're a great fantasy

Who of us at some point in our lives hasn't dreamed of being a famous person? Or married to a famous person (Johnny Depp, you were mine!)? This plot-line gives us that fantasy. These books aren't often supposed to be high level angst, but fun, fluffy books that leave me with a smile on my face.

I've read many of these 'famous character' books because I always buy them. Some of my favourites include the "Heaven Sent" books of Jet Mykles, the football books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, such as "Nobody's Baby But Mine" and the 'In Death' books of JD Robb (OK, those aren't fluffy, but I still like 'em).

So there you go, five reasons why I like famous characters in my books. Perhaps if everyone started writing them I'd get a bit bored, but for now I'm always of the look-out for the next brave soul who chooses to write one and Sean's book is one I'm going to be reading in the very near future.

At What Cost?

I'm officially turning into a grumpy old woman.

Today I was pootling about on various review blogs, killing time to avoid doing the housework (oh, come on, don't tell me you've never done this), when I came across a review for a novella from an author whose work I've read before and enjoyed. I read this very positive review and thought - wow, that sounds good, I think I might buy this. I followed the link and discovered that the novella, in ebook format, cost $5.99.

Well, that stopped me in my tracks. My first thought was - HOW MUCH? That's completely ridiculous! My second thought was - what a shame for that author that her work is priced so high as to put off potential buyers.

The book in question is quite long for a novella at just over 40,000 words but the price did seem quite steep. I would think twice at buying a full length novel for that price, never mind a novella.

Anyway, after I (sadly) clicked away from the publisher in question, I had a third thought - how does this price compare to other epublishers?

So I've had a dig around at other sites to do some comparison. I looked at four publishers: Samhain, Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id and Ellora's Cave (none of these are the publisher of the novella in question). What I actually discovered is that different publishers have a completely disparate idea of what constitutes a novella as they all have different word lengths as well as different prices.

Let us take the novella I looked at today:

Samhain would have labelled it a 'category' (one up from a novella) and charged me $4.50.

Dreamspinner would have labelled it a novella and charged me $3.99

Loose Id would have labelled it a novel and charged me $5.99

Ellora's Cave would have labelled it a short novel and charged me $5.49

I also found that, with the exception of Samhain, I had to have a good old dig around these sites to find out this information. It's there if you go looking for it, but not easily on show. Most of the sites use 'labels' such as novel or novella, or they use page length to show the length of a book.

So what conclusions am I to draw from this? That I'm being completely ripped off by some publishers perhaps? or that I am being too hasty in clicking away from the novella in question because looking in more detail has made me see that at least two other publishers would charge over $5 for the same book? Or that I need to steer clear of those publishers who inch up their prices and hope that I won't notice because they use labels rather than a word count? Or, finally, that these books are ultimately someone else's livelihood and I should just cough up the dough regardless?

I can't come to any definite conclusions other than my initial gut reaction. If I see a book and think it's priced too high, I won't buy it. End of story.

Short Review: Ports of Call by Sean Kennedy

I’ve been looking out for Sean Kennedy after reading his fun story, “Some Delay Expected”, in the anthology “Make Me a Match Vol. 2”. I also really enjoyed his story, “Secret Santa” in the Christmas Dreams Anthology so I was pretty excited to see that he had a new story with Dreamspinner Press and snapped it up straight away. It’s only a short one, but I enjoyed it nontheless.

Plot: The story isn’t a romance per se, but more like a short interlude into the lives of an established couple. Jason and Pete are on the last day of their holiday at a beach in California. Prior to the holiday, Pete had been badly beaten in a mugging, and the two are carrying emotional scars from the fall out of that event. The story follows the way that these two men adjust to the fact that they have to return home to Reno and face the problems that they have been able to escape whilst on holiday.

Characters: The story is too short to get a real feel for the characters of these guys, but what came across very strongly was their love for each other. This is shown not just through the sex scene, but also by the way they joke and interact with each other outside the bedroom. Jason has a genuine concern for the wellbeing of Pete and Pete wants desperately to put the mugging behind him for the sake of Jason. It was all beautifully and realistically done, not too sickly nor too dispassionate. I felt for this couple and I wanted them to overcome their problems.

Overall: A well written, sexy, slightly angsty read. It kept my attention and had some really lovely description. The way that the men reflect on their time together on holiday and then move slowly towards accepting the inevitable return to reality was cleverly done. If I have any complaints at all it would be that the story was too short and left me wanting so much more from these characters. I wanted to know how they met, what they did for a living, and one hundred other details of their lives together. It made me thirst for more, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but was frustrating! I’m giving this a grade of ‘excellent’ and what I want to know is when this talented new writer is going to produce a novel, because I’ll be first in line to buy it.

A Little Bit of Politics

At just before 5pm this evening as I was trying to peel the potatoes for tea, eldest son, aged 10, came tearing into the kitchen shouting that we needed to put the telly on NOW! After extracting youngest son from the Wii, we switched on just in time to see Barak Obama sworn in as President.

Eldest son was transfixed and afterwards proclaimed that he wished we lived in America. On asking for clarification he replied, "If we lived in America, I could be President one day." - lofty aspirations indeed. I didn't have the heart to tell him that, even if we moved to the USA, our British citizenship wouldn't allow him to be President. I just couldn't rain on his parade. He was so excited at this 'history in the making' that he took a photo of the telly - bless.

I spent the next 15 minutes or so dashing between the kitchen, in an attempt to avoid burning the sausages, and the living room, trying to watch the inaugural speech. It was this bit that caught my attention:

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

All deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness - All. Even (gasp) homosexuals?

This remains to be seen, but I hope so, I really do.

Review: True North by Bethany Brown and Ashlyn Kane

I bought this book because I had been very impressed with the stories written by these two authors for the Dreamspinner Advent Stories. I wanted to see whether they could sustain that quality of writing over a novel and I’m glad to say that by the end of the book I wasn’t disappointed.

The book is set in small town Canada, to which our hero Dr Julian has recently returned as a GP, after working in a large hospital. He misses small town life and his cousin, Ros, with whom he now shares a house. He meets our other hero, Jack, when Jack has to attend the clinic for a knee injury and they hit it off straight away. The trouble is that both of them are in the closet, Jack more than Julian in that he hasn’t even come out to his family, whereas Julian has come out to his parents and cousin. Their journey in this book is a slow acceptance of their love for each other as well as a gradual coming out. Underlying all is a pervasive theme of the fear of loss, both in terms of love and family.

The main reason I enjoyed this book was due to the characterisation of Julian and Jack and their developing relationship. At the beginning the two men are almost crippled by their fear of loss and rejection, brought on by past experiences, especially with Julian. The men are lonely and yet scared of opening themselves up to each other to ease this loneliness. As the book progresses, their fears are laid to rest naturally as they learn to love and trust each other. It was beautifully done.

The two secondary characters of Ros and Flo were also well written. What was most interesting was these women were not there just act as 'filler' characters, or to provide someone for each of the heroes to discuss their problems. Rather they were used as catalysts in moving the relationship of Jack and Julian forward. It was nice to see secondary characters take on an important role in the development of the main characters for a change.

There were a couple of small negative points which meant that the book was a bit of a slow starter. Firstly, I was a little confused as to the position of Julian in the small town where he grew up and has now returned. He doesn’t seem to know many people beyond his close family and one or two others. What confuses me is how this can be possible when he grew up in the town and went to school with some of the residents. I know that he is described as a loner, but surely he wouldn’t have been so isolated? Jack is an outsider who has moved into the town and he knows more people than Julian. I think this part of Julian’s character could have been given a little more thought, especially as it is mentioned several times how everyone in the small town knows each other.

Secondly, the way that Jack spoke and thought at the beginning made him seem like a much younger man. He is actually in his mid-30's, yet he some of his phrases made him sound like he was in his early twenties. This got better as the book progressed and by the end I didn’t notice it at all.

Having said that, these were only minor points in what was otherwise a very enjoyable book. I was drawn into the lives of these two men, I cared about them, understood their problems and reservations, and, ultimately, was satisfied when the book was finished - what more could you want from a novel?!

On top of this, is the knowledge that this was the first book by these authors - very impressive! I'm giving it a grade of 'Very Good' and I am already looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Where am I Again?

Purely by chance I'm guest blogging again today. I think it must be like buses, you wait around for ages and then two come along at the same time!

Today I'm blogging with the lovely DIK ladies.

Do join me and add your two pence worth about the attributes of your perfect hero.

Where am I?

Today I'm blogging over at, the fabulously talented m/m author, Clare London's LiveJournal. She's doing a month long 'guest slot' and and has had many wonderful authors and bloggers contribute so far.

Join me here to find out my reasons why I love reading m/m romance.

Not a Review: Fan Fiction by PL Nunn

I've not been reading many books recently because I've become completely engrossed with PL Nunn's slash and fan fic, especially the 'Smallville' fan fic. I'm not even sure why I'm reading it because I've never watched 'Smallville'. Let's just say I was browsing in a nosy way and got drawn in. It really is terrific stuff - a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and m/m. I don't get the references to the TV show, but that doesn't seem particularly important and I've picked up enough info from what is said in the story. The world building and descriptive detail is fantastic.

I've also been reading her serialisation, Kato, about a poor, unfortunate cat-like man, who gets captured and forced into sexual slavery. It's very strong stuff and not for those with a weak stomach or under the age of 18. I certainly found it an eye-opener. It reminded me a bit of Louis De Berniere's South American books.

I've said before how I'm a big fan of PL Nunn's art -isn't that drawing I've borrowed gorgeous? - and now I'll have to add the fiction to that as well. If you want to read some really well written free fiction then click here. You won't regret it.

You can also catch PL Nunn at her LiveJournal blog where she posts all the latest chapters to her fiction.

ETA: Oops the story's called Neko, not Kato - do your research, woman!

Relationships in m/m

This is something I've been mulling over for a while now.

In many m/m romance novels there seems to be certain levels of relationships, some of which are similar to m/f relationships and some not. These could be categorised as the following:

Hand/blow jobs or sex in bathrooms/alleys in or near a night club or at a party

The men then part ways never to see each other again or they might meet up purely by chance at a later date. This never happens in m/f romance because then the heroine would be a WHORE.

One night stands

Has been known to happen in m/f romance but only if the woman then meets up with the man again and they get together, otherwise see above.

Fuck buddies

This is where the men meet up for the occasional bout of sex but do not have any sort of relationship outside the bedroom. Again this never happens in m/f romance.

Non-exclusive relationship

The men may see each other in and out of the bedroom, but the relationship is open and they see other men. Once again, this does not happen with m/f romance.

Exclusive relationship

Where there is an agreement between the men not to sleep around with other men. This actually needs to be agreed on! In m/f romance as soon as the relationship starts there is an expectation of exclusivity (at least on the part of the woman) and there does not need to be an 'agreement' about anything.

Moving in with each other

This is pretty similar for most types of romance, although it doesn't much happen in m/f romance as the suggestion of moving in together is usually the HEA. In m/m romance the men often move in together quickly and then have to sort out a few problems.

Marriage

Considering that it is illegal in most of the US, it always surprises me how many m/m romances end with a marriage offer.

Having said all that, what I've been pondering is whether the above is actually a true reflection of how a gay man will enter into a relationship with another gay man or is it one of these 'conventions' that has grown up out of slash fiction? Do gay men regularly go along to a gay club 'to get off' or are they, like many women, looking for something more permanent? Are gay men more likely to have an 'open' relationship than their het counterpart? You see, I'm not sure they do. Sure, it's pretty hot reading about anonymous sex in alleys or steamy one night stands, but don't gay men also feel cheap and used if they do that a lot, just as a woman would?

Perhaps I'm just incredibly naive about these matters and need someone to educate me!

Lukewarm

I was going to write a review today. I'd got a number of books that I had read recently which I had set aside to maybe review. To be honest though, the books didn't really grab me. They weren't bad, there was nothing about them that screamed 'dreadful' or 'DNF' or even that the prose or characterisation were poor. They were just OK. Books that I would grade 'good', perhaps.

The thing is when I tried to think what it was about these books that made them average, I couldn't put my finger on it. They grabbed my attention, I read them through quickly enough. The characters were believable, the sex pretty hot, the setting and description fairly well done. They just didn't rock my boat as it were. In fact for some of them I'm struggling to remember what they were actually about or what the names of the main characters were and it's only been maybe 3 or 4 days since I read them. That's not good really.

In some ways it's so much easier to review a book that is very bad or very good. At least with those books they've elicited some sort of response from you, had particular things which have jumped out and either astonished or amazed you (for good or bad). A book which elicits very little response other than, 'well that was an OK read, it passed the time' doesn't lend itself to a very stimulating review.

So no review for today. Perhaps tomorrow I'll feel more inspired.

Gay For You

There are few conventions of m/m romance that rile people up as much as 'Gay For You'. I've read many blog posts of people ranting and raving about it, mostly discussing how much they hate it. 'It's not realistic', they cry, 'It never happens', 'It's a load of rubbish', etc, etc. Many of the detractors are gay men who use the convention to sneer at female writers of m/m and hold it up as an example of 'how women don't have a clue about gay men'.

Well I say, unfair, unfair.

Firstly, most m/m romance is aimed at women. I have to admit, I haven't got a clue what goes on in the mind of any man, let alone a gay one. I still like to read about them and it doesn't detract one iota from my enjoyment of the genre that it may not be completely accurate. I'm far harsher on the way heroines are portrayed in romance than I am about the heroes.

Then there's the fact that all romance is essentially fantasy. In my opinion, this is especially the case for m/m and GFY. I know that it probably doesn't happen much in real life - certainly not as much as in m/m fiction anyway - but I don't care, I'm immersed in the fantasy of it. Some authors, like Jet Mykles, even heighten the fantasy element by making their characters into famous people, or make them larger than life in some way.

It's also not true that it never happens. My gay friend, Rob, once spent an evening moaning on to me about how he couldn't get a proper gay boyfriend because the gay clubs were full of essentially straight men looking to experiment. Some of those 'experimenting' straight men may have decided that they were gay after all. A lot of GFY fiction uses the character of the straight man who is willing to experiment.

To claim that any romantic convention is a load of rubbish because it doesn't reflect real life is frankly rather ridiculous. All romantic conventions are unrealistic in some ways, that's why romance readers love them. We don't want to read about our own boring humdrum lives, we want to read something where we can escape to a different world. GFY, is a means of escape for me as it is totally different from anything I've experienced in my life - like a lot of m/m fiction actually.

I like GFY. There's something about the confident gay man seducing the straight man that I find particularly....stimulating. I don't read it thinking that it reflects the real life of a gay man - just as I don't read much m/m fiction thinking that - I read it because I enjoy it. It's a bit of fun, a fantasy and I hope that m/m authors who use GFY storylines continue to ignore its detractors because it's those books that I spend my money on.

Jenre Recommends...

After last week's foray into classic fiction, I thought I'd start an occasional series recommending other classic books that I've read and enjoyed over the years. I'm going to avoid all the usual classics because what would be the point? Everyone has heard of those.

Today's recommendation is "She" by H Rider Haggard.

Many of you will probably know this book by the truly awful film from the 1960's starring Ursula Andress. This book is better than that, much better.

The book is basically a 'boys own' adventure novel. It follows the adventures of the narrator Ludwig Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey, who is the epitome of male beauty, as they travel through the wilds of Africa during the late 19th Century in search of answers about Leo's parentage and possibly hidden treasure. There then follows a gloriously camp series of events where Holly and Leo encounter many dangers before discovering a despotic 'forever young' witch living in the heart of Africa. A place where all the men are barely dressed and Holly's admiration of all things Leo borders on the incestuous. The witch, Ayesha, is determined to have Leo for herself and to show him the secret of her eternal youth. Leo and Holly only wish to escape back to good ole Blighty with the treasure and their manhood intact.

This book is a marvellous rip-roaring adventure which I heartily recommend to anyone who has a spare afternoon and wants to be entertained.

Wake Me Up

It's funny isn't it how songs can be so evocative. How just hearing a song can transport you back to another time, to almost a different you, and you can become that person again. I was in a shop this afternoon when "Wake me up before you go go" by Wham came on over the system. I was immediately transported back to the Christmas when I was 14 and had got a Walkman and a copy of "Wham Make It Big" for my main presents. The sheer delight of listening to them late at night when I should have been sleeping; my first crush on a pop star (George, of course, not Andrew).

Books can be like that too. How many of you, I wonder, hear the name of a book and then can remember where and when you read it? I certainly associate certain books and authors from different points in my life: Like when I was so engrossed in "The Stand" by Stephen King on holiday with my friends at aged 17 that they had to drag me away from it every time they wanted to go somewhere; or when I was a teacher, reading "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen for the first time whilst waiting for my year 8 orienteering group to return at the school's yearly summer camp; or just after my eldest son was born, being so shocked by the ending of "Charlotte Grey" by Sebastian Faulks that I cried for about two hours and didn't pick up a book again for several weeks.

The funniest thing is, I don't remember reading some books at all. I wonder what it is about a book, or the situation when you read it, which makes it so memorable many, many years later.

Review: Snowed In by Rhianne Aile and Madeleine Urban

I'm going to look like such a kiss ass today because Madeleine Urban commented here yesterday, but, honestly, I'd planned this review for today. I had....honest...no, it's true...really... oh don't believe me then, see if I care!

I bought this book in the spirit of New Year experimentation encouraged by Kris' readolutions and started a few days ago with my first conscious trip into m/m paranormals. This book isn't a paranormal, it's a (gasp) menage. OK, it's not a m/m/f menage (I really don't think I can read one of those) but a yummy m/m/m.

The book centres round an afternoon's liaison between three close friends. Kasey, Warren and Mitch are long time buddies and work colleagues who have rented out a cottage for a holiday and are currently snowed in (like the title, you see). The book begins when Warren and Mitch discover that Kasey has a nice sideline writing erotic fiction. The trouble is that Kasey has been asked by his editor to include a m/m subplot which happens to involve a gay man seducing a straight one. Being straight (but apparently willing to experiment) Kasey hasn't got a clue about how to go about this so he asks Mitch for some advice as Mitch is bisexual. Warren is completely straight and has never been tempted to change that. There then follows an afternoon which involves them getting a bit tipsy, playing truth or dare and leads to Mitch seducing Kasey and Warren.

I have to say that there were two things which I enjoyed greatly about this story:

Firstly, for such a short story the characterisation was perfect. Each of the guys were distinct in the way they spoke and acted. The relationship between them firstly as friends and then as something more was believable and natural - I didn't feel that there was any forcing of characterisation so that the menage would work, no sudden changes in character. In fact the way that Warren is slowly drawn into to role play and games was expertly done.

Secondly, the sexual tension throughout was riveting. I couldn't put the story down as I was caught in the grip of it. One thing I always wondered about menage was whether one person would feel left out (the episode from 'Friends' when Ross describes taking part in a menage, always springs to mind). This wasn't the case here. The authors kept reminding you of what each of the men were doing and thinking and acting throughout their time together - and all without excessive head-hopping. It was great stuff. I have to say that Warren was my favourite out of the three men (and not just because he's British) because he is given space by the other two to think though what is going on and, despite his reservations, is perhaps the one most emotionally involved at the end of the story.

If you're looking for romance or a HEA then this may not be the story for you. Not to give too much away, but the story ends with a promise of things to come rather than everything neatly wrapped up, which I have to say is my preferred ending for short fiction like this. I'm hoping that this might mean we see more of these guys in the future. For now though, I'm going to grade this as an 'Excellent' read and look about for a few more m/m/m books.

Author Personality in Books and the Internet

Lisabea had a good discussion going yesterday at Nose in a Book about how authors represent themselves over the internet. During all the interesting commentary, Josh Lanyon had this to say when discussing whether you can be put off an author's writing by something they had said on a blog or website which had offended you:

"very often what bothers me about them -- the lack of compassion or a sense of humor or an understanding of how complex and diverse people are -- would be right there in the writing."

I went away and pondered this for a bit.

This then led me to start thinking about authorial voice in books. It used to be (in the bad old days before the internet) that the only contact a reader would have with their favourite author would be either by writing to them or by meeting them at a book signing or by watching or listening to an interview. In all of these cases the author in question would probably have been on their best behaviour. OK, I know there are some memorable badly behaved authors, like Hemmingway for example, but on the whole authors showed their best 'public face' when on display. This all meant that we readers didn't actually get to know what the authors were really like, their personalities, their political and social views unless that is what they chose to reveal to us.

Now-a-days this is quite different. Nearly every author has a website and some have blogs or LiveJournals. Of course this can be a double edged sword as Lisabea wrote about yesterday, but it does mean that we readers can be made more aware of an author's personality, especially those who encourage comments on their blogs or comment freely on other blogs.

So does this mean that I can now recognise the personality of the author in their books? Sometimes I think you can.

Take Josh Lanyon for example. He has a very dry sense of humour and from reading his LiveJournal I get the impression that he is quite a calm, sensible person, who likes giving advice to others. Knowing this, I can see these personality traits in many of his characters. Adrien English has a dry sense of humour and many of his heroes are very calm and sensible men who like giving advice to the other hero in the book. In other words, he has put a bit of himself into those characters.

Another example is JL Langley. She seems like a bubbly, optimistic lady and again this come across in her writing. Even when dealing with characters in difficult situations there is still an atmosphere of optimism in the way the characters deal with any problems. Having read some of her blog posts and comments, I can see how her personality is in her writing.

Of course this isn't always the case. I read the blogs of a number of authors who sound completely different to the characters in their books or who write situations that are completely alien to what they know. It's still interesting though, to get to know an author and to be able to make these comparisons.

Going back to Lisabea's discussion. I think it would be a great shame if authors stopped writing their blogs or commenting on the blogs of others because they are worried about what they say or how they appear to readers. I like getting to know them. If I like an author and feel like I know them a little through their blog or commentary, then I am more likely to buy their books rather than books from an author I don't know at all or who don't blog. I know that really you should buy an author's books based solely on whether you enjoy their writing or not, but I am one of those people with a limited book budget and I'm also easily swayed by an author's publicity. This often means that I will buy a book by Josh Lanyon, or JL Langley, or Clare London, or the other authors I read on the blog comments, rather than someone I don't know at all.

So my plea to authors is to keep up the internet presence: Presenting yourself as a reasonable, sane, nice person is some of the best publicity you can have.

Not a Review: Without Reservations by JL Langley

I'm not writing a proper review of this book because I read it with only one objective in mind: To see whether I would enjoy reading a m/m paranormal. So did I? Well yes, and no.

Firstly, I don't think this was the right book for me to begin my experiment (sorry Kris) for two reasons really:

1. The main focus of the story was in the relationship between the two men and the paranormal stuff was just a situation for them to be in, as it were. Basically the theme of the book was love conquering homophobia, jealousy and racism. If you removed the paranormal aspect of the book, it wouldn't actually have removed much of the book: There would still have been those themes of homophobia, racism and jealousy but everyone would have been normal humans instead of werewolves. The wolf thing was done well in the way that they greeted each other and that there was an obvious wolf hierarchy but there wasn't a pervasive wolf culture as you get in books such as "Bitten" by Kelley Armstrong. The two heroes were already wolves so there was no 'culture shock' of one person coming to terms with the existence of werewolves - except in a subplot which I think leads into the next book in the series. In fact the book was like many m/m books that I have read, except the men happened to be wolves.

2. I've already said here that I'm not a big fan of 'soul mates' and the whole beginning of the book revolved around the two heroes being 'mates' - perhaps the only paranormal theme which was necessary to the plot. This took away any of the romantic tension of the book which was a bit of a shame. This is not a fault of the author or the book really, it's just a personal preference of mine.

So to sum up. As a m/m romance this was very good, as I knew it would be since JL Langley is an author whose books I've read and enjoyed. As a paranormal, well I could take it or leave it. I am planning on reading Jake and Remi's book - "With Caution", as I want to see whether the paranormal stuff works better with Remi. We shall see.

Out and Proud?

Found this piccie on Google images. Don't you just want to be her - skipping about with her boobies hanging out all carefree like...

...anyway, on with the post!

I outted myself to my Mother-in Law on Boxing Day - no not in that way, silly, but in that I finally admitted that I read romance.

Let me explain. My in-laws are insufferable book snobs. They only read 'classic' literature or the sort of books that are nominated for the Booker Prize (in other words stuff that makes you feel bloody miserable). They haven't heard of Nora Roberts or Lisa Kleypas or even (gasp) Georgette Heyer.

Ok, I admit, I was drunk - or getting nicely on the way - when I happened to start a discussion on the use of language in Regency romance. I realised my mistake when MIL said "Oh you read romance do you?" and hub sniggered and put in his two-pence worth. No amount of glaring daggers was going to shut him up.

The discussion actually went better than I thought. She took it quite well and we moved on from the discussion with me thinking that I might actually have got away with it.

Alas, no. Just as I was about to leave, she made a snide remark about 'going home to read my romance books' or something like it. Damn and double damn.

So now the secret's out and I'm going to have to put up with lots of oh-so-amusing comments about my choice of reading every time I go and visit now. Sigh...

...at least hub didn't mention the erotica or the m/m.

Review: The Charioteer by Mary Renault

After finishing this book, two thoughts occurred to me. Firstly, I really wished I'd read this book 15 or so years ago when I was writing my final year dissertation on 'homoeroticism in Ballantyne's "The Coral Island"' as it would have been really useful to reference it! Secondly, it made me want to write a serious literary essay on some of themes in the novel. Themes such as love, war, betrayal, homosexuality and loss.

Phew, it must have been good to bring out the English Student in me! Perhaps it is time I went back and did that Masters degree. Or maybe not!

I bought this book after reading "The Dark Horse" by Josh Lanyon. In that story the main character is an actor who is hoping to be chosen for the role of Laurie in a film adaptation of "The Charioteer". The story draws some parallels between the characters of Sean and Dan in "The Dark horse" and Laurie and Ralph in "The Charioteer". I thought that perhaps I ought to read "The Charioteer", especially after Josh Lanyon has mentioned it quite a few times since as being a great book.

The book is set in the 2nd World war and revolves around our hero, Laurie, who is injured during Dunkirk and is now recuperating in an army hospital in England. Whilst there he meets Andrew, a conscientious objector, who is working as an orderly. Laurie falls in love with Andrew, but doesn't want to tell him as he views Andrew as being in some way 'pure' and doesn't want to sully this idealistic love with carnality - which he feels would happen if he confesses to being gay and attracted to him. Into this mix comes Ralph, an old school acquaintance who awakened Laurie to his own sexuality when he was 16. Ralph is the complete opposite to Andrew. He is practical, likes to take charge and is unashamed of being gay. Laurie also loves Ralph but in a earthy, sexual way. Laurie has to make a choice: Does he choose the idealised love of Andrew or the sensual love of Ralph?

I have to admit straight off that I found Laurie infuriating at times. He was such a naive dreamer and had this completely unrealistic idea that being gay was somehow a higher state of being - mainly from reading too much Greek philosophy. He is repulsed by the gay lifestyle adopted by Ralph's friends, refusing to believe that the coarseness and overt sexuality he sees with them should be part of being gay. He has no idea how Andrew feels about him and yet he idolises their friendship, putting Andrew on a pedestal and pushing Ralph away time after time - even after Ralph admits his love for Laurie. I just wanted to give him a shake and say 'for goodness sake, pull yourself together! Look what you could have.'

We only ever see the other characters from Laurie's POV, so it's difficult to make judgements about them. Andrew seems very young, perhaps in awe of Laurie, but ultimately, lacking in any personality. I never actually could understand what Laurie saw in him, other than someone who has stuck to their principles despite the scorn and contempt it has brought. I liked the character of Ralph and could see that he has probably loved Laurie for a long time. He knows that he could probably influence Laurie in his choice, but chooses not to - an admirable quality.

In a way this book is very much of its time and this comes through clearest in its portrayal of certain ideas about homosexuality. Each one of the main characters has a 'reason' as to why they are gay and there is a pervasive theme of homosexuality being a choice rather than part of who a person is. Both these ideas seem very outdated now (or at least they should!). Also at the time it was written any sexual content in a mainstream novel would have lead to it being banned. This basically means that any reference to sex in the book is only alluded to, and alluded to so obliquely that I wasn't sure it had actually happened at first! There is a lot left to your imagination. Even references to the sexuality of Laurie and Ralph at the beginning are masked in such a way that if you didn't know they were gay then you might not even pick it up.

This was quite a difficult book to rate. The book is strongest in the portrayal of the various characters in the book. Each person has an individual 'voice' and Renault uses accent and dialect to accurately show how the different classes would have spoken. You can hear each accent clearly in your head as you are reading. The book is weakest in that you have to concentrate hard on the thoughts of Laurie which seem to flitter about and can sometimes be difficult to follow, especially when he makes constant reference to classical notions and texts which my Comprehensive School education never covered. All in all, I'm going to give this a grade of 'Very Good'. It might have been more, as the book was incredibly engrossing, were it not for my impatience with Laurie.

The Heroine Who Never Eats

It's that time of year again when women all over the Western Hemisphere are thinking about starting a diet (mine starts on Monday). There are many, many statistics around about the average size/weight of women in today's society (apparently a British size 16) and yet there are very few heroines who are deemed to be in the slightest way overweight.

Even worse than this, though, is the-heroine-who-never-eats. This is a breed of woman usually found in Urban Fantasy, but can also be found in Romantic Suspense and even some other Romance novels. She is usually very thin to start with and regularly either skips meals being too busy chasing the bad guys to bother with food, or she eats on the fly, or she stops eating when she gets nervous, or she is easily put off food. It seems to me that this sort of heroine perpetuates the myth that food is BAD, eating is BAD and if you want to be slim and beautiful and Kick Ass you have to foreswear food forever.

Can I just point out that it's that myth that is BAD, not food.

I find it very difficult to identify with heroines such as these. You see, I like food and I never skip meals. If I am late eating, especially during the day, I get in a very bad mood, usually directed at whatever or whomever is preventing me from eating. Therefore I just can't understand how these women can carry on all day without refuelling.

Worse than this though is the fact that these 'heroines who don't eat' are often contrasted against other female characters who do eat. Take the 'in death' series as an example. Eve Dallas is one such heroine who regularly forgets to eat. Her aide, Delia Peabody, is a character who never fails to eat. How are they described? Eve is slender, lithe, beautiful; Delia is sturdy, clompy, wholesome. Who would you rather be, I wonder?

I remember reading "Awaken My Love" by Robin Schone, years ago. In this time-travel erotic romance, the heroine, Elaine, is transported back in time from her 39 year old, plump body into that of a very slim, beautiful, 20 year old body. At first she worries that she is going to 'ruin' her new body but then she realises that the urge to comfort eat doesn't happen with this new body and, in fact, she is easily turned off food when stressed or anxious. Nice for her! This again perpetuates the myth that having a healthy appetite is a BAD thing.

In today's society, where food is seen as the enemy and women regularly abuse their bodies by dieting to the point of emaciation, or throwing up after binge eating, or hating themselves when they put on the slightest amount of weight, then perhaps authors of romance - a genre read mostly by women - should perhaps be a little more responsible with the actions of their characters. After all, it is possible to fight the bad guys and then stop for a sandwich.

Not Quite a Review: Christmas Dreams by Dreamspinner Press

I was pretty disappointed this morning when I opened my inbox to see that I no longer had my daily story from Dreamspinner. I've really enjoyed reading the variety of authors, styles and stories which have come with this anthology - even if I found it occasionally frustrating or annoying.

I know that some bloggers have done a short review on each story - all 31 of them - but I couldn't be bothered with that. Instead, I've selected 10 stories which I really enjoyed from this anthology and I've divided them up into two categories - sweet and sexy. Sweet stories contains either no sex or very little sex and the sexy ones, well I think that speaks for itself! These stories are in no particular order.

Sweet

Vespers in the Snow by M. Jules Aedin
This story was set in the 1940's-50's and centred around the relationship between a teacher and a pupil/former pupil from a boy's school. What made it slightly different was that it dealt with issues relating to the holocaust in a thoughtful way. The combination of the romance with the seriousness of the topic worked well within the confined, oppressiveness of the school.

Overture by DG Parker
This story was unusual in that one of the heroes was blind. He was also a famous pianist which tapped into my love of romance stories involving famous people. This tale of the spoilt, yet frustrated pianist and the down to earth cabbie was delightful from start to finish.

Gifts of the Season by Jenna Hilary Sinclair

This was another unusual story in that for the first part of the story we have the POV of a middle aged woman. The story is set in the 1980's and uses the themes of prejudice, homophobia and family to tell the story of a teenage boy's realisation that he is gay. I was convinced that this story was a sequel to another story written by the author and possibly a prequel to the story of the young gay teenager. However, after scouring the internet for this particular author I can't find anything. She doesn't even appear to have a website or blog - very annoying!

Fruit and Cheese by Madeleine Urban

I loved this sweet tale of a grocery store worker and the rich business man who comes into the store to buy food for the various functions he has to host. The story ends as the relationship begins and leaves you wanting to find out more about the two guys - the mark of a great story.

Hang a Shining Star by Ashlyn Kane

This was the first story in the anthology and has still stuck with me through all the other stories. A lovely story of a teacher who bumps into an ex-student on Christmas Eve and invites him to share the day with him, as they are both going to be alone. I enjoyed the contrast between the enthusiastic younger man and the wry older man.

Sexy

Weathering the Storm by Nicki Bennett and Ariel Tachna

This was a very short story about a trucker who rescues a stranded motorist from a snowdrift and the things they get up to in the back of his cab. Hot stuff!

The Long Way Home by Catt Ford

Two men who were best friends as children meet up when one of them returns to his hometown, after being away for many years, to check on his parent's house. A great, well written 'friends to lovers' story.

Where's Santa by Clare London

Two men in a store room cupboard, one is dressed as Santa, they may be discovered at any time and there's bubble wrap on the floor - very exciting, as I've already said here.

Giving Gifts by Chrissy Munder

The real strength of this story was in the way that the reader really empathises with the character of Seth. We meet him when he is feeling at his best and experience all his hopes for the night ahead, then when that comes crashing down around him we feel his sense of crushing embarrassment, then we feel his surprise and powerful emotion as he meets someone who values him for who he is. Marvellous.

Christmas Luck by Bethany Brown

This story taps into another of my favourite plot lines, that of doctor/patient. Dr Noah, wearing a pair of novelty antlers, meets Seth (popular name) when Seth has to have some splinters removed from his back after falling from a roof onto some lobster pots. The story of how they get together with the help of Noah's son was a fun tale from start to the very sexy finish.

So there you have it. All these stories are available to buy separately from Dreamspinner Press, or you can still get the whole anthology if you want to read all 31 stories.

Happy New Year!