Clumsiness

Occasionally I wonder what must be going through the mind of authors when they create their characters. Sometimes I think it must go something like this:

Hmmmm...I've created this female character with a perfect shaped body, perfect breasts, long legs, gorgeous hair and a musical voice. What adorable and endearing character trait can I give her to make her more accessible to normal women?

or

I've created this gay man with a bubble butt, perfectly defined abs, no body hair and a variety of interesting piercings. What adorable and endearing character trait can I give him to make him more accessible to normal men/women?

I know (they'll say) let's make them a bit clumsy. Then they can, on occasion, trip up and conveniently land into the arms of the hero. Or they can trip up, hurt themselves and be tended to by the hero. It's just so cute when characters are clumsy.

Can I set the record straight on this one. Clumsiness isn't cute or endearing.

I am one of life's clumsy people. I'm always banging into stuff, hurting myself or tripping up. When I was a teacher, I had bruises all over my legs from walking into tables and chairs. I work in an office now, which you would think is a pretty safe environment. Well for normal people maybe, but for me it's an opportunity to maim myself. My hands are covered in paper cuts. I have abrasions on my knuckles from taking things out of drawers and filing cabinets and scraping my hands on the top of the drawer opening. I have to keep my nails short or I end up catching them on things and bending them back (very painful). The other day I took the laminator out of the box, the plug flew up and hit me on the forehead. I bang my head on the computer desk after reaching under it to get more paper. I shut my fingers in drawers and cut them on the scissors. At home it's just as bad. I have been living in my house for 7 years and I still bang my arms on the door handles. I fell over the other day whilst putting my shoes on (don't ask). Was hub there to catch me in his manly arms? Was he heck! he just watched me go over and I half expected him to shout "timber" as I went down.

Clumsiness is not endearing. It's bloody irritating. You don't find me simpering and saying 'oh dear, silly me, I'm just so clumsy' whilst batting my eyelashes at hub. I'm more likely to be hopping round the room going 'ow, ow, ow' after stubbing my toe (again) or dropping something on my foot (again) or walking into the opened dishwasher door (again).

So to all those authors out there who are not clumsy and don't understand. Please stop making this affliction into something that non-clumsy people can smile about and go 'aw, isn't it cute?'.

Because it's not.

Review: Policy of Lies by Astrid Amara

I'd seen this book months ago when it was first released by Loose Id and considered buying it. It sounded a bit different from the m/m contemporary romances and mysteries I'd been reading up to that point. I didn't buy it in the end for two reasons: Firstly, it is a sci-fi, a genre I've not really read very much and I wasn't sure whether I would like it and secondly, I'd not read anything previously by this author and was unable to find a review of the book. With so many books around by authors I did know that I liked, it was safer to spend my money on a book I knew I would like for definite. However, since last October, when the book was released, I've read and enjoyed the Hell Cop anthology which contains a story by this author. I've also seen other bloggers recommend this book as worth reading, so I finally decided it was time to give it a go. I'm very glad that I did.

This story takes place on a fictional planet, Ishan, where a colony of people from Earth live in biospheres. The book begins as our hero, Levi, arrives in Washoe, one of the less salubrious districts of Ishan to retrieve a valuable piece of evidence for his story for the Ishan Report, a newstation where Levi is an investigative journalist. His story is about a conspiracy to cover up genocide on a mining colony, Taurus 9. Levi's family were all killed during that genocide and he only managed to escape their fate by hiding until the killing was over. Levi has been working on this story for ten years and plans to expose the mining company and take his revenge for the deaths of his family. After retrieving this evidence, a brain implant, he is heading back to the station when he is attacked and almost killed. He is rescued by Tiergan, a doctor who works at a local free clinic in Washoe, who promptly seduces him before sending him on his way. A few days later Levi returns to Washoe, determined to find out who has been sending him information about the genocide. All his sources are leading him back to Teirgan's clinic and a woman who works there.

I have to admit I spent quite a lot of time whilst reading this book completely amazed at Levi's naivety. He is researching a story which could topple one of the largest, most influential companies in the universe and yet he quite happily shares this information with all and sundry. There were a number of points in the book where I wanted to shout: 'No! don't tell him that. Can't you see he's dodgy?' but to no avail. As a result this was one of those books which you read whilst hiding behind your hands, knowing what is to come and unable to prevent it. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I liked knowing what an idiot Levi was being and it was rather gratifying to have all my suspicions about the other characters proven correct by the end. Despite being a naive fool, Levi is a genuinely nice guy. He honestly believes that through hard work and diligent research he is going to right the wrongs inflicted on hundreds of miners and their families. It was a noble pursuit and I was cheering for him all the way. I love a good conspiracy theory, and this one didn't disappoint, with its shady mega-companies, characters who are never quite what they seem and in the thick of it the honest man who believes he can topple mountains with his righteous justification. Is that the theme to the X-Files I hear?

Much of sci-fi depends on the world building. This story didn't disappoint in this area either. We are treated to coherent descriptions of the setting and I particularly liked the simulated weather, especially in that it 'rained' for two hours at 2am each night. The explanations of the different colonies and the corporations which ran them were, thankfully, not overly complex. This has to be my biggest bugbear with sci-fi - when you can't keep track of who is in charge and the different societal structures. Luckily for me this was all kept reasonably simple. Another good thing was that the sci-fi setting is integral to the plot and not just 'wallpaper' in which to decorate a romance.

If I have any disappointments, it was with the character of Tiergan. In some ways it was difficult to understand him, mainly because we only get Levi's thoughts and Levi doesn't understand him either, but also because he is so saintly and self-sacrificing that he borders on the unrealistic. Even when he is wrongly condemned he doesn't fight back or justify himself, which was rather irritating. I suppose this saintliness did serve to show Levi for the rash young fool he is, but by the end I wished that there had been at least something in his character which showed anything other than kindness, compassion and understanding.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, despite my misgivings about Tiergan. The plot zipped along at a fair pace and the conspiracy plot drew me in and kept me interested. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy sci-fi and those who are looking to try the genre. I certainly found it accessible as well as being an entertaining read. I would give this book a grade of 'Very Good' and I'll definitely be reading more books by this author very soon.

Saturday Shorts

It's been a week of novellas for me. I've been working my way through the Amber Pax "Opposites Attract" from Amber Allure and this week I read the novellas that had attracted me to the pax in the first place. I'm only doing a quick review of each here, but each novella had a more thorough review done at Wave's blog if you are interested.

The Other Side by Shawn Lane
This is a story about two men who were opposite in every way. One is black, the other white; one is rich and from a privileged background; the other is poor and from white trash roots; one is a cop, the other has a brother who was the victim of police brutality; one is scruffy, the other always dresses impeccably; one drinks wine, the other beer, etc, etc. You see what I mean, it's almost as though the author had set herself the task to create two people who are so different and make them love each other. But did it work? Well yes and no. The parts that did work was in the interaction between the two men. There is initial distrust, mingled with reluctant attraction which leads to a period of getting to know each other and discovering an emotional bond. This was done well, and in such a way as to avoid pitfalls such as sudden character changes in the two men. The other part which was done well was when Nick met with Ray's family. This was a heartfelt, mindnumbingly embarrassing scene for Nick and I really empathised with his mix of nervousness and mortification. The part that didn't work so well was towards the end. Just when you thought that the difficulties in their relationship were insurmountable, everything was suddenly better. The secondary characters all had an abrupt change of heart, casting off their antagonism and giving their blessing to the relationship. This was too easy, too convenient and, to be honest, made me roll my eyes a little. This gave me serious doubts as to the validity of the HEA, so this gets a grade of 'Good'.

Making Waves by Pepper Espinoza
This has been my favourite out of the pax so far. Not surprising, really, when I tell you that one of the characters is a famous actor. Yep, I love these storylines and this was no exception. The novella begins when our hero, Andy, is sent by his sister to find her missing fiance, famous actor Scott Huxley. He discovers him in a bar in Hollywood and has to get him up to his wedding in Napa in two days time. Scott is a closeted gay, who, in his drunken state, hits on the openly gay Andy. I have to warn you, this is not a story for those who get squeamish about infidelity. Though, having said that, this was nicely done. Andy spends most of the time with Scott feeling a mix of guilt and burning lust. He knows that he needs to get Scott to the wedding (and as far away from him as possible), and yet he has been attracted to Scott ever since their first meeting so can't help acting on his lust when the opportunity arises - it was realistic and humourous, making me cringe and laugh at the same time. The character of Susan, Andy's sister, despite being a very minor one, was also sympathetically portrayed. I pretty much guessed all the big secrets before the end of the story, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment one bit. I finished the book with a general feeling of contentment and a big smile on my face, so this gets a grade of 'Excellent'.

What We May Be by Vivien Dean
I wasn't sure that I was going to like this novella because one of the heroes is a flamboyant clothes designer and I'm not keen on overly dramatic gay men characters. Actually, what this story is mainly about is how we judge people from their appearance and how looks can be deceiving. This happened to apply to me as well, because though Jared is chatty and personable he isn't your stereotypical drama queen designer. In fact I liked Jared: I liked how he felt embarrassed about jumping to conclusions about Rick (the other hero); I liked that he worked hard and enjoyed his job; I liked that he was aggressive in bed; I liked that he worried about his job being seen as frivolous when compared to Rick's job as a nurse who cares for terminally ill AIDs patients. There aren't any external influences which affect this couple or prevent them from being together, which was a nice change. In some ways this was about two men trying to start a relationship amongst a busy life, worrying about first impressions and tentatively feeling their way through the beginnings of an emotional attachment. It was wonderfully done and gets a grade of 'Excellent'. Actually, if I have any complaint at all, it's about the horrid, oily body of the cover model - yuk!

In other exciting news, I'm going to be joining Jessewave's team of reviewers doing duelling reviews along with another reviewer on the team. It's only going to be every so often, but I'll flag it up when I do.

Enjoy your weekend!

Sex Scenes

Like many bloggers out there, I am a bit of an aspiring writer. I haven't done much, just dabbling at the moment, putting off the time when I have to make a serious go at something. I'll call it honing my craft.

However, one thing I seem unable to do is write a sex scene.

Good sex scenes are a work of art. As well as describing the mechanics of the act in a way that doesn't reduce the reader to a fit of giggles because of words such as 'moist cavern' or 'power wielding man stick' (OK, I made that last one up), they have to show the emotions of the character. The worst sex scenes are those which just describe what is happening in the scene and how the person is responding to being touched, eg, he did this to me, it felt good. The best scenes are those which manage to convey emotions amongst the technical description. It doesn't just feel good, it touches the heart or taps into a core of feeling that the hero/heroine finds new and exciting.

This has nothing to do with the length of the scene. Some of my favourite sex scenes (yes, I do have favourites - does that make me perverted?) don't last very long at all and others which go on for pages and pages make me roll my eyes and skip onto something less tedious. Stephanie Laurens is a prime example of an author whose sex scenes go on for page after interminable page until I want to shout "Oh for goodness sake, let go of your 'reins' and climax before I die of boredom!". Whereas Mary Balogh writes very short sex scenes which aren't that graphic and yet contain such a depth of emotion that by the end of the scene you have learned something new about the characters and how they feel for each other. I wanted to quote a bit from "Slightly Dangerous" by Mary Balogh, except I've just realised I've loaned my copy to a friend - damn, never mind, you'll just have to take my word for it, that the sex in that book is just beautifully done!

As I mentioned earlier the terminology used in sex scenes is important. The last thing you want is for your reader to be pulled out of the moment by a misplaced word. In some ways I think that m/m writers have it a bit easier with this aspect. After all, no-one is going to object to 'cock' or 'prick'. However, if the tab is easy, what about the slot? Well, I suppose this is a matter of personal taste. I'm not too keen on the overly medical terminology, such as 'anus', but the rest: 'puckered opening', 'ass' (or 'arse' if your character is British or Australian), 'hole' - non of these are anything as bad as the euphemisms I've read for the female parts, so, yes the m/m writers do have it slightly easier.

So, back to me and my writing. Why can't I write a sex scene? Well, actually, it's got nothing to do with being unable to know what to write or how to write it, and all about embarrassment. Yep, I'm embarrassed writing it. My very annoying British reserve is causing me to die of mortification every time I try and sit down to write one. Even typing the word 'cock' makes me blush bright red and want to leave the room. Not now, of course. I'm quite happily able to type 'cock' now.

cock, cock, cock, cock, cock, cock

See? No embarrassment at all. However, attach the cock to a man and try and write from his perspective, get into his mind, his feelings and I become all shy, bashful and unable to write even the most simplest sex words.

It's bloody irritating.

I've set myself a task. I'm just going to write a sex scene with no lead up and no follow on, just the sex. Except that's not working. I can't just dive straight in, I have to set up the scene first and this is just leading to further procrastination on my part. I keep adding bits before the sex instead of doing what I set out to do because I am putting off the inevitable, ie. when I have to wallow in a pit of embarrassment whilst I attempt to get down and dirty with these characters.

I have to say that this has led me to a whole new appreciation of writers who write good sex scenes. In fact I applaud you... *clapping enthusiastically*.

I'm also interested in the authors who visit me here. How easy or difficult do you find it to write sex? Do you write the rest of story first and then add the sex later? Or do you just include the sex as you go along and it doesn't bother or embarrass you at all?

Review: Seeking Something Wicked by KZ Snow

I really wanted to like this book...

I enjoyed the previous book Looking for Some Touch, so I was pretty excited about the sequel because there were a few loose ends hanging about that I was looking forward to being tied up in this, the next in the Utopia X series. A lot of the groundwork for this series, such as the history and landscape of the future earth where this book is set; the relationships in the coven of three Alterationists; and the societal mix of humans and Otherbeings was covered in the first book. This means that firstly, you have to read the first book to understand what is happening as this is designed to be a series, with each book following on from the last; secondly, because of that, this book doesn't need all the explanation and as a result we are thrown into the action, leading to a faster paced, tighter read than the previous book.

The hero in this book is Tole, an Alterationist and part of the coven of three we met in the first book. He is, like all of the coven, a hybrid - part human, part angel and part demon. Because of his racial mix, he has slightly more demon in him that the other parts, which makes him prone to being outspoken, bad-tempered and lacking in social graces. At the beginning of the book he decides that he's had enough of Pablo and Win (the couple from the previous book) and their lovey-dovey relationship and takes himself off for some quiet time in the wilderness outside the city. Whilst there he meets up with Ridley, a vampire who is one of Win's previous lovers and invites him to sit a while. There is an obvious attraction between the two of them, but before anything could happen there is an interruption and the two then go their separate ways.

Later that night Ridley brings a rather gruesome discovery of part of an elf's ear, covered in silky strands, to the attention of the coven. The three men realise that the area outside the city is being hunted by a 'spinner', a creature that absorbs the magical powers of Otherbeings by eating them. The coven must find a way to stop this creature, but before they do, Ridley is snatched by the creature and carried off to a neighbouring city making the whole crusade personal for Tole as the coven races against time to rescue Ridley before he is consumed by the spinner.

Sounds exciting doesn't it? It was. Whereas the previous book was concentrated on the relationships between the coven and Pablo, with just a small part of the book focused on the mystery plot, this book was mainly focused on the relationship between Tole and Ridley in the first half and the action/adventure in the second part, with very little time spent on the coven dynamics. I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with the way that the relationship between Win and Pablo had altered these dynamics. However, I also understand that if each of the Alterationists are to get their own lover, then there has to be a move away from the sexual interdependency found within the coven and a move towards each member of the coven having their own monogamous relationship.

To be honest, I didn't really like Tole in the last book. His forthright, antagonistic behaviour made him the least likable out of the three Alterationists. This meant that I was a bit nervous at how likable he would be as the main protagonist in this book. I didn't really need to be that nervous: Tole comes across much better when you have his thought processes along with his dialogue. I had a great deal of sympathy for him, especially at the beginning of the book when he is trying to sort out his feelings for the change within the coven and try not to show his jealousy for the close relationship between Win and Pablo. It was delightful to experience his wonder at his developing feelings for Ridley as well as the frustration and panic he feels once Ridley is taken and he might lose something precious. Because the book is taken solely from Tole's point of view, we don't get any idea of how Ridley really feels about him. We know he desires Tole; we know that he craves a closeness with him; we know that he was sure that Tole would find and rescue him. However, there's a lot going on in Ridley that we are only given hints about; things from his past which have made him wary of getting too close. By the end of the book we still haven't had any questions about Ridley fully answered - which was very frustrating! At least it guarantees I'll buy the next one to find out more about this enigmatic man.

One of the things I like about KZ Snow's writing is that she is just so intelligent. Her writing is sprinkled liberally with interesting, thoughtful, literary vocabulary. She doesn't shy away from the long words and it's just so refreshing to find a m/m author who is not 'dumbing down' her work. Take this section from the first few pages:

Nevertheless, that relationship had also upset Tole's equilibrium. He thought his envious yearning would diminish over time, but it had only settled in deeper and gotten worse. There were periods, like this afternoon, when he felt inexplicably distracted or restless, depressed or peevish. Sometimes he sought solitude despite a hollow feeling of loneliness.

Isn't that just wonderful? You get a real sense of Tole's conflicted emotions, using intelligent, adventurous words to paint that picture in our minds. Marvellous.

However, there were a couple of issues in the book: Firstly, there was far too much m/f sex going on in this m/m book for my liking; secondly, the book does end with a few loose ends which I hope will be tied up in the next book; finally, I felt that the tensions within the coven to do with Win's jealousy of the other two interacting with Pablo was resolved a little too quickly, almost as though the author knew that it had be addressed, but wanted to get it over and done with quickly so that she could focus on other things. Other than that, there were some things that I had found frustrating in the last book, such as how the coven actually use the orb to aid their work and how Pablo is used within the rituals, which were covered in detail in this book, making me more satisfied at how the previous book had ended.

I have to admit, I found it difficult to put this book down, especially in the second half when the characters are racing against time to rescue Ridley. I would highly recommend that you read this, even if you hadn't enjoyed the previous book. This series is just getting better and better and I'm giving Seeking Something Wicked a grade of 'Excellent'.

I really wanted to like this book...and thankfully, I did!

Short Review: The Shape of a Heart by Kimberly Gardner

I picked this book up Aspen Mountain Press because I'm interested in books which deal with a grieving character. I think that it's quite a difficult plot device to pull off as there are many factors - such as length of time since the previous lover died; how consumed the character is by grief; and how quickly the previous lover is forgotten - which can affect how successful the author is at making the transition from past lover to new lover smooth and believable. The most successful one I've read so far was the heartbreaking story by Erastes in the "I Do" anthology.

Plot: At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Zach, who is still grieving over the death of his long term partner, Jay, who died two years previously. Since then he's continued to run the book and coffee shop business that he set up with Jay, with the help of Jay's sister, Rhonna. Since Jay's death, Zach has let the coffee shop (which was originally set up by Jay) run down but Rhonna insists that they need to re-establish that part of the business and employs Keith to do that. Zach is immediately attracted to Keith, but feels like he is betraying his memory of Jay by acting on the attraction. It doesn't take long for Zach to give into temptation, despite trying to avoid and then attempt to sack Keith so that he can go back to his dull, lonely life. Keith has his own problems. He is constantly on the run trying to escape a past lover who is trying to get back with him.

Characters: I felt that both characters were well realised and believable. The scenes where Zach reflected on his time with Jay had just the right tone of sadness and nostalgia and yet, when the time came to act on his attraction with Keith, I didn't ever feel that the past relationship was soured or intruded too much into his growing feelings for Keith. I liked how Zach slowly came to the understanding that he needed to have a new lover but that it would not spoil or taint the memories or love that he felt for Jay. Most of the focus on the second half of the novella was on Keith and his fear that his former lover had found him again. Stalker stories can often be a bit silly or unbelievable, but with this book, Keith's fear was very realistically portrayed through his reactions and especially when he discovers that Bryan (his ex-lover) had been in his apartment. Bryan's behaviour is genuinely creepy and I liked the way we never get to see him so all our emotions are focused solely on Keith and how he reacts.

Overall: This was a well written, fast paced read with empathetic characters in a believable setting. I do have a couple of niggles about the book: Firstly, we are never told how Jay died. This may not have been particularly important had Zach not blamed himself for Jay's death, but because he does, I was expecting to find out why he blamed himself and the circumstances around Jay's death. We are given some hints in the way that Zach becomes overprotective when he thinks that Keith is not being cautious enough with his home security but I would have liked a scene where Zach tells Keith about Jay and how he died. Secondly, the novella ended quite abruptly followed by an epilogue a year later and it jarred a little with the previously flowing storyline. It's quite odd that I had this complaint about the last book I bought from Aspen Mountain Press. The rest of the book though was a sympathetic look at a man slowly emerging from grief and joining with another man who is learning to face his fears rather than run away. This book gets a grade of 'Very Good' from me and I shall keep a look out for this 'new to me' author in the future.

Nipples

Something a bit more lighthearted today after all yesterday's angst.

Since starting to read a lot of m/m I'm often curious about what is a true reflection of the sex-lives of gay men and what is actually a myth, generated by m/m writers in order to make gay sex seem accessible to the women who read it. One of the things I wonder about is nipples and their general sensitivity.

Now, I must put out a bit of a warning here. This post may veer slightly into a TMI alert for some readers and I apologise in advance to anyone who might inadvertently read something they then wish they hadn't read.

In m/m novels nearly every single man has sensitive nipples. The other hero only has to slightly brush the tip of his nipple and he arches his back and nearly orgasms in delight. Extra pressure by pinching or twisting the nipple has the man writhing about in ecstasy, all before any other body part has been touched.

Now, in my (albeit rather limited) experience, men do not have such sensitive nipples. Women, however, do have very sensitive nipples, so I was wondering whether this is one of those things added into m/m books which is there to help a female reader identify more with the hero and with what is happening to him during sex. Or perhaps because I met married hub when I was young, I simply don't have the *ahem* breadth of experience of different men and that, actually, some men do have sensitive nipples.

So, without too much graphic description, I would like to know from either the men or the women who visit here, what their experiences are with men and their nipples. Are they just as sensitive as women or is this a m/m myth?

Review: Picture Perfect by Ashlyn Kane and Bethany Brown

I was going to do a review today of "Picture Perfect" by Ashlyn Kane and Bethany Brown. In fact, for the last few days, after eventually finishing it (it's been a bit of a long haul), I've been veering between feeling that I really wanted to review this book and thinking that I ought not to review it. Why is that, do you wonder? Well basically, I didn't like this book at all. In fact, this book was almost a DNF for me and, after I had finished it, I even wondered why I had bothered to pick it up again. It's been a long time since I've read a book that made me feel that way. I know that if I did review the book it would consist of a long list of reasons why I didn't like it. It wouldn't be balanced, it wouldn't be nice. I would be accused of being 'refreshingly honest' again.

On the other hand, I have set myself up as a reviewer. I may, up to this point, have only reviewed books in the top three categories of my rating system, but that shouldn't mean that I limit myself to that. If I've read a book which I didn't like then I should still review it, regardless of whether it makes me feel bad for the authors or whether I come across as a judgemental bitch.

OK, I think I may have actually talked myself into this one so here we go...

The book begins with our hero Cam, who is a wedding photographer, meeting up with an old friend Jeremy. Cam has fancied Jeremy for a long time and, as it it turns out, Jeremy feels the same way about Cam. It doesn't take them long to get together and fall almost instantly in love. However, Cam carries the scars from a previous relationship, plus he is being watched by a mysterious stalker. Cam's best friend and former lover, Patrick, who is a cop, is on the case to find out who is following Cam and also threatening to kill Jeremy.

I think, I've basically given away most of my initial thoughts on this book, so let's get down to the reasons. Why didn't I like this book?

My main objection was an entirely subjective one. To put it plainly, this book was just the wrong side of sickly sweet for me. I like my romance with a healthy dollop of savoury spice which was missing from this syrupy book. Jeremy and Cam fall in love very quickly and behave pretty much all the time like horny teenagers - even making out on a number of occasions in front of family, friends and even Cam's 16 year old niece. They give each other nauseating pet names like "Bright Eyes" and "Baby", using them in public, not just in the privacy of their bedroom. Their first date read like a young woman's dream date, except that there was a 28 year old Cam in the 19 year old woman's place. Jeremy buys him flowers, opens doors for him, pulls out his chair and even admits to reserving tables at several restaurants to make sure he booked the perfect place for Cam, they hold hands over the table and stare lovingly into each others' eyes . If ever anyone from the "m/m is too feminised" camp were to read this book, they would have plenty of ammunition in which to load their gun. Less than a third of the way through this book, I'd had enough. I stopped reading and couldn't face resuming the book in the face of all the cloying sweetness.

So, after all this why did I pick up the book again?

OK, I admit, I raise my hand and confess that it was for an entirely shallow reason. I read a review of this book which happened to mention that there was a m/m/m menage later in the book. I'm rather interested in the dynamic of this type of relationship in m/m novels and am thinking of doing a post on it in the future. This type of menage is still relatively rare, so I need to 'research' as much of it as I can. It had nothing to do with the hot sex, nothing at all...OK, maybe a bit.

So, I ploughed on through the sickly relationship with Cam and Jeremy, until I got to the menage between the two men and Patrick. I admit, I liked the scene between them which worked quite well within the context of Patrick and Cam's relationship and also all the previous information we are given about Patrick's slutty ways. Afterwards, though, there were scenes which didn't work so well, scenes which I felt should have led to conflict and jealousy, not to acceptance or even approval which is actually what happened.

Alongside the relationship between Cam and Jeremy (and to some extent Patrick) there were other relationships. Relationships within families, between friends, between lovers and former lovers. This would have been an intriguing part of the book had not everything ended so happily. Any conflict that starts to rear its ugly head is squashed before it can get interesting; any sour relationships are either shoved under the carpet and forgotten, killed (literally), or resolved to the tune of violins and with hearts and flowers. It was just so unrealistic and took the idea of the HEA and stretched it out to become similar to the end of a Disney film. In fact, it makes me want to break out into song with a rendition of "Once Upon a Dream".

I've just touched on a few things that I found particularly annoying about this book. There were actually a few other things too, mostly to do with several loose ends and character oddities, but I don't want this to turn into one of those reviews which tear apart a book for the vicious enjoyment of the slavering readership. I have to say, though, that I was very disappointed. After reading and enjoying "True North", I was very much looking forward to reading this book, the next in the series. All the qualities which were present in that first book seem to be missing here, which is such a great shame. I'm giving this a grade of 'Poor' and hoping that the next book will be better. I'm not giving up on this pair yet - I shall reserve judgement until after book three.

Saturday Shorts

After the success of last week, I'm going to make this a regular feature on Saturdays. For those that didn't see this last week, 'Saturday Shorts' is an opportunity to do quick reviews of the novellas and/or short stories that I read inbetween the longer novels which I tend to review during the week.

First up I have two from the same author as I continue my glomming of Jordan Castillo Price.

Many Happy Returns by JCP
This was a short story which I purchased for the very reasonable price of 28p from Lulu. Like last week's story this one involves Crash from the Psycop novels. In this story our hero is Kenneth who is trying to save up for a new computer by working extra hours in the returns department of SaverPlus (SaverPlus features a lot in JCP's books and I'm beginning to wonder whether this is some kind of running joke that I'm missing because I'm British). The department is situated in the basement. Kenneth is just about the close up when Crash appears wanting to change a shirt which is identical to one Kenneth is wearing. When Kenneth explains that they don't have another shirt in the size Crash wants, Crash insists that Kenneth gives him his shirt and that he'll 'make it worth his while'. I think we can all imagine what that means! This was a sexy, fun story which just cemented Crash's reputation as a slut of the highest order! This gets a very respectable grade of 'Very Good'.

Among the Living by JCP
After reviewing "Camp Hell" I re-read this book, the first in the Psycop series. I wanted to see how much the characters had evolved or changed from book one to book five. It was an interesting second look at how Vic and Jacob meet and start their relationship as well as an opportunity to remind myself of some of the things I had forgotten - like the incident when Lisa takes one of Vic's Auracel pills. I've already said enough about this series in my review of "Camp Hell" but if you want to know more then you can look at the psycop website. For now this gains a grade of 'Excellent' from me.


A taste of Honey by Christiane France
A bought this short novella as part of the "Opposites Attract" pax at Amber Quill Press, so I knew nothing about it at all (I'd bought the pax on the strength of three of the other books which had really good reviews). The story is set in 18th Century France and begins with our hero, Antoine, Marquis de Vernnay, reflecting on how bored and unsatisfying his sex life is at the moment. He decides to try something new and attends a 'gentleman's club' where he is picked up and seduced by a young man called 'Honey', who then disappears. Antoine is unsatisfied with only one night with this man and calls again the next night to find that Honey doesn't exist. The rest of the novella follows Antoine's schemes to find Honey and set him up as his 'kept man'. On the whole, I enjoyed the story. The author had a fluid written style and kept the action moving at a decent pace. I wasn't wholly convinced of Antoine's sudden infatuation with Honey and also I found myself rolling my eyes a little at how easily all Antoine's plans fell into place. However, there were sections that worked really well - Antoine's reactions to the seduction, especially his initial nervousness and panic rang true, as did his frustrations with the Madame. So all in all the good and not so good balanced nicely to make this a low 'Very Good'.

Clare London's Free Fiction
I spent a bit of time this week reading some of the free fiction found at Clare London's newly improved, fabulous website. I especially liked Accusation and The Anniversary as they both appealed to my delight in psychologically disturbing stories. There's a lot of fun stuff too so check it out here.

Enjoy your weekend.

Pink Ladies (and Men)

I don't usually do cover snark, but has anyone else noticed this trend in covers recently?

It truly is an alarming shade of pink and makes me think that we need to get these poor cover models into a decontamination chamber before they develop radiation sickness.

Either that or it may be as a result of over-exposure to the sun - I certainly go pink like that if I stay out in the sun too long without protection.

Hmmm, I don't think that was quite the image that the cover artists were trying to generate.

The Pitfalls of Research

I'd just like to say that I'm so frightened of heights that even this picture brings me out in a cold sweat.

I'm reading a book at the moment, "Hard Fall" by James Buchanan, in which the two main characters are rock climbers. It's pretty good and I'm, on the whole, enjoying reading about these men, their love of the great outdoors and especially the beautiful scenery of Utah. However, there is one minor blot on what would otherwise be an involving story about being outed in a close community, and that is that I'm having the author's research, if not rammed, then poked down my throat.

I've read a few reviews of this book that have waxed lyrical about the rock climbing aspect of the novel. How they learned so much about a sport that they wouldn't have otherwise read about. I have to say that if I had wanted to know so much about rock climbing, then I would Google it or buy a rock climbing manual, because, to be honest, I didn't really need to know half the stuff I was told. I understand that it was necessary to fill us in with some knowledge, otherwise I wouldn't have understood some of the technical aspects of what was happening, but I didn't need to know everything about climbing a rock face. Quite early on in the book our hero spends a long time talking to another character explaining about the ropes, the metal thingys, the belay whatsits, the erm....you see, I skipped over that bit because it was getting a bit dull at that point and I wanted to get to the action - you know, the bit where they actually climb the rock face where it would have been better to have the explanation, as they were doing it, rather than having a boring extended conversation about rock climbing beforehand.

When the author actually did combine the action or character development with the explanation, it really worked well. For example there was one scene where the two heroes were sitting on a porch, chatting, developing their relationship whilst unwinding and checking their ropes - this apparently is an important job for a rock climber to do. I liked having that bit of technical information slotted in as it made the situation less forced. They had to be together at that point to sort out the ropes and this led to a period of one of the heroes opening up, thus moving the relationship forward.

I know it looks like I'm having a great big dig at poor old James Buchanan, but he is rather guilty of including a lot of his research in his books. I remember thinking this when I read "Cheating Chance", where I ended up learning far too much about the internal workings of a Las Vegas slot machine than I really wanted or cared to know. However, Mr Buchanan isn't the only author who falls into this trap. I've read lots of books, especially historicals, where I'm told stuff about places, costume, famous people, guns, warfare tactics, sports or a variety of other topics that the author has lovingly researched and that I damn well will be told about, regardless of whether it's interesting or pushes the story forward.

I understand that authors have to include some research in their books to provide them with a rich background on which to base their story. Whole paragraphs explaining the ins and outs of the rules of cricket*, or regency etiquette, or the tactics of Wellington during the battle of Waterloo, may be fascinating stuff to the author, but leaves the reader glazed over and skipping ahead to the sex next action sequence. In which case, what was the point in the first place?

*Not that I've ever read a romance with a cricket playing hero. I don't think that would sell to a US audience.

Review: The Channeling Morpheus Series by Jordan Castillo Price

OK, I admit, I've been on a bit of a JCP glom for the past couple of weeks. This culminated in me inhaling all five of these books over the weekend - don't be too impressed, they are only short! This series follows the adventures of Michael and his vampire lover, Wild Bill. Each book is written in the first person and alternates between either Michael or Bill's point of view so that books 1,3 and 5 are Michael's and 2 and 4 are Bill's. I have to be blunt here and say that the books are very erotic. In fact, the first two books were basically a long sex scene with a tiny bit of story either side. However, as the series progresses we find out more and more information about this odd couple and, gradually, a story arc starts to emerge.

I'm, going to do a bit about each book and then I'll sum up at the end.

Payback
In this book we are introduced to Michael. He's a 21 year old goth,who ran away from home two years ago after a friend of his, Scary Mary, was murdered by a vampire. He has taken it upon himself to find the vampire and avenge his friend's death. The story begins as Michael has arranged to meet the vampire in question at a club. The plan then is to lure him to a motel room, drug him with rhohipnol and then stake him. At the club Michael meets Wild Bill a young man who shows an interest in him. However, Michael is on a mission and rebuffs Bill in favour of the vampire, Grey. On the way to the motel, Bill joins them and suggests a threesome. At this point, of course, Michael's plans go awry as he spends the rest of the story experiencing his first menage whilst also trying to get rid of Bill so that he can stake Grey. It's all rather funny in a macabre way.

Vertigo
Bill has fled across two states to get away from Michael and joined a vampire commune. However, it doesn't take long for Michael to find Bill and exact some revenge on him for the way he left Michael at the end of the previous book. Bill refers to Michael in his head as "Vampire crack" because he is so young and full of angst - apparently vampires find angst a powerful turn on. I liked the way that the tables were turned in this book. We find out that Bill isn't a stereotypical vampire monster, we find out something about vampirism and we also get to see Michael turn the tables on Bill so he can have his wicked way with him.

Manikin
This book has a great opening scene, which I won't give away because it was a mixture of tense, funny and horrific. This time it's Bill who has sought out Michael, unable to stay away from the powerful attraction he has developed for him. We learn a number of things about how Bill views his vampire state and his views on Michael's new profession as a vampire hunter. The feelings between the two characters are starting to grow and develop into something more meaningful that just sex by this point and there's a constant battle between them for dominance in the relationship, neither one of them wanting to admit that they are starting to rely on one another.

Tainted
Michael has started to go off his food and is looking really thin. He also wants to know how vampirism is spread, specifically if it is spread through vampire semen, so Bill and Michael head off to an expert who has studied vampirism to get some answers. The answers are not quite as Michael expected. Meanwhile Bill is putting pressure on Michael to go home and tell his family that he is alive and well.

Rebirth
The book begins with rather a disastrous family reunion which Michael is quick to escape. He and Bill then join a vampire community in an attempt to be more sociable. However, things are not quite as they seem and it's not long before Michael is putting on his vampire hunter hat. At least he has chance to have a good bath before getting covered in blood (again). Much of this book is around the theme of family and the importance of fitting into a social group as both Bill and Michael realise that travelling, even as a pair, can be a lonely existance.

In some ways you can't help comparing these books to the psycop series. I would have to say that theses are not as funny or engaging as the psycop books. However, there is a certain macabre sense of humour running throughout them which I liked.

Out of the two heroes I liked Bill the best. He's this odd mixture of an old man in a young man's body. I also liked how the author didn't make him hundreds of years old (like many vampire heroes seem to be these days). Bill was 'turned' in 1987, which makes his inside age about 55 and he does think and act like a man of that age. There's quite a funny thread running through the books about the age of vampires. Many of the vampires, including Bill, don't move on from their 'turned' ages in terms of keeping up with the world. As a result Bill knows nothing about computers, the latest fashions or other technological advances. Bill views Michael with a mixture of lust, indulgence and alarm which was quite endearing and I particularly like how Bill is slowly showing Michael about the importance of family and being loved, without actually being confrontational about it.

I didn't like Michael as much. Even though he is in his early twenties he still acts very much like a teenager. You would have thought that even a young man from a middle-class, affluent background would have gained some maturity after being on the run for two years and yet Michael hasn't. He's clever, but doesn't think through his plans clearly and, like many young men, seems completely oblivious to the fact that he may be putting himself in danger. I found myself becoming rather frustrated with him on a number of occasions, especially after the scenes with his family. If you like your characters young, full of angst and false bravado, with a moral conscience which is cast aside when it comes to murder, then you'll like Michael, but I just found him immature and downright irritating on occasion.

On the whole these paranormals are gripping reads. They are, in fact, more addictive than a packet of Maryland chocolate chip cookies. I certainly sped through them at a fast rate, needing to read them one after the other until they were all done. The writing is pacey and pared down the bone with no unnecessary description, making it mostly dialogue, some character reflection and lots and lots of sex. The characters are gradually becoming more fleshed out as the series progresses and there's enough blood and gore to keep the horror fans happy as well as the sex and growing relationship for the romantics. I shall be looking out for the next books in the series as JCP has me hooked and I'm very interested in finding out the direction that the author is taking these characters, especially if Michael is going to grow up a bit. I'm giving this series a grade of 'Very Good' and urge you to give it a go, especially if you like dark, macabre, stories with morally ambivalent characters.

You can find out more about this wonderful series, as well as where to buy the books, at the Channeling Morpheus website here.

Not Quite a Review: Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

As I mentioned yesterday, I was having quite a bit of trouble writing a review of this book mainly because I really, really loved "Tigers and Devils". You would think that shouldn't be too much of a problem when writing a review, wouldn't you? After all, as long as you varied your superlatives, it should be easy to write about a book you loved. Well, not for me. Firstly I wanted to remain impartial and objective but that was rather difficult when there wasn't anything bad to say about the book (apart from one very tiny slight niggle which I shall mention later). Secondly, there's so much going on in this book - several different themes, a range of well rounded characters, moments of high drama mixed with comedy - that I just couldn't fit in a concise description of what happens as well as why it appealed to me so much. I could probably write a whole 'York Notes' on this book and still have lots left over to say about it.

Then, I read Kris' review over at Wave's blog and thought: That's it. I give up. There's absolutely no way I could write anything better than that.

However, I remembered this morning that I had done a review a few months ago on "Collision Course" by KA Mitchell, where instead of doing a balanced review, I'd just picked out some of the things I'd particularly liked about the book. So that's what I'm going to do with this book.

But before I start here's a disclaimer:

This is not an impartial review. I am throwing away all my reviewing integrity by totally pimping this book which is one of the best things I've read in ages.

So what was it about this book which made me love it so much?

The character of Simon Murray
Simon is the first person narrator of this book and he is very easy to like. He is funny in a witty, sarcastic, self-depreciating way; he is loyal to his friends, Fran and Roger as well as to his work colleague, Nyssa; and when we meet him at the beginning of the novel he is rather lonely, but also afraid of committing himself to another person. He is one of those people who finds it very difficult to express emotion, using that sarcastic exterior to deflect attention away from himself whenever anyone tries to get him to open up. During the first chapter, in a fit of astuteness, Simon tells the reader:

"The best way to deal with things is to repress them, that's my motto."

And that's basically what he does: I lost track of the number of times Simon gets up and walks away from an emotional situation. He just can't cope, not only with being forced to explain his feelings, but also having to understand the feelings of others, preferring to walk away, ignore the problem and hide behind an exterior of indifference. This continues throughout most of the book until he realises what an idiot he is being and that his behaviour is going to lose him something that he values above everything else. That was a beautiful cathartic moment in the book. It was so refreshing to experience the thoughts of such a real character, someone who I could truly identify with; someone I could meet in real life every day.

This aspect of Simon is also surprising because it is the opposite of what you might expect of the "arty wanker" he is. Simon makes his living as a film festival organiser where he meets and talks with sponsors and film makers all the time. He is very articulate, both in his head and when he speaks to others about a whole range of subjects and he is the master of the cutting remark, in fact he hardly ever stops talking, and yet, he can't vocalise his feelings. On the other hand, Declan (our other hero), is a AFL footie player and all round famous person, yet he is much more comfortable discussing his feelings with Simon, even though he is the quiet, calm, steady one in the relationship. The inversion of stereotype again made these characters easy to understand and identify with.

The theme of coping with fame
I've mentioned before that I really enjoy books containing this theme. In fact I did a whole post on it not so long ago. Usually books within this theme are quite light and fluffy, concentrating on the glamour and ritziness of going out with a famous person. This book was very different to that. The fact that Declan is so famous is a major barrier to their relationship, mainly because Declan is in the closet for the first half of the book. What was most interesting to see is how comfortable Declan is with his fame, accepting it as part and parcel of being an AFL player. In contrast, Simon finds the whole experience of going out in public with Declan completely nerve wracking and is convinced that any phsical touching or being overly familiar will lead to Declan being 'outed'. It is rather ironic then, that the outing occurs after what they considered to be a private moment.

After Declan is outed, things take on rather a surreal edge for Simon as he copes with being a WaG of a footie player. There are many comedy moments to be made from Simon's interactions with the other WaGs and how he is portrayed in the media. At this point there's a change in the relationship dynamic. Simon eases into a, troubled, acceptance of his new-found infamy, whereas Declan becomes more erratic and upset by the way that Simon is treated by other footie players and the media. This all comes to a head towards the end of the book when the pressures of fame threaten to destroy their fragile, yet beautiful relationship.

The theme of friendship
Running alongside Simon's growing love for Declan is how this affects the relationship between him and Roger, his long term friend. It was really great to see a realistic potrayal of friendship in a book, with all its ups and downs. At the start of the book Roger is the only man in Simon's life and, although this is strictly platonic, Roger has always been there for Simon, through thick and thin. Roger doesn't really cope very well to Declan intruding on that close friendship, reacting with a mixture of jealousy and over-protectiveness which annoys Simon and leads to quite a number of fall-outs. However, when Declan is outed, Roger is there as a support for Simon and proves that the best friends are those who forget past hurts and are there for you when things get bad. Roger and Fran were well rounded, believable characters and it was such a refreshing change to see secondary characters given so much detailed attention, rather than being paper cutouts or cliches. However, and here is the tiny niggle, Roger did come across as rather interfering throughout most of the book and I was getting rather irritated by him poking his well-meaning nose into Simon's business by the end.

So, there we have it: Three reasons why I loved this book so much. If you want to find out more about the book - like a proper blurb, for example - then you can find it at Dreamspinner Press here.

Overall, I'm unashamed in saying that this book was a marvellous, wonderful, brilliant, angsty, funny, laugh-out-loud-one-minute-then-cry-into-your-coffee-in-the-next read. I wholeheartedly recommend that you read it. I give it an (unsurprising) grade of 'Excellent' and I suggest that you go and buy it now!

Wibble

Have just spent ages trying to compose a review and my brain won't co-operate. I've written sentences, deleted them, rewritten, deleted. I just can't seem to be able to get what's in my head (and heart) down on paper/screen today.

I may have to go and sit in a corner with a pair of Y-fronts on my head and go 'wibble'.

Anyone getting that reference earns a gold star for your taste in comedy.

So, I'm giving up. No proper post today, just my moanings about my total brain meltdown. Maybe I'll be back on form tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a picture of a lovely man to distract you all from my utter crapness.

Not Quite a Review: Various

Usually when I write a review I focus on the longer novellas or novels I happened to have been reading. In fact apart from "A Brush with Desire" which I reviewed a week or so ago, I never review the short stories or even most of the shorter novellas/novelettes I read inbetween the novels (or even when I fancy a short break from the characters in a novel I am reading), unless they are part of an anthology. Anyway, I thought I'd address this imbalance today by doing a quick review of the novellas/short stories I've read this week.

Together by Madeliene Urban and Rhianne Aile
This is a short 'friends to lovers' story where two football players and long term friends escape a boring PR party by heading back to the hotel of one of the men. Whilst there they discover an attraction and act accordingly! This was brief and I wish I could have spent longer with these men getting to know them a bit better. Still Urban and Aile can't do much wrong in my book: The writing is always solid and the sex hot so this gets a 'Very Good'.


Striking Sparks by Jordan Castillo Price
After I finished "Camp Hell" I was thirsty for more of that world, so I got this 'novelette' from JCP Books. The story is about Andrew who comes for a palm reading. He gets there too late and the shop is shut. Outside the shop he meets a tattooed, pierced man who offers him a coffee. Of course the man is Crash, who takes Andrew up to 'Sticks and Stones' and proceeds to seduce him. It was an interesting look at Crash and how he uses his ability as an empathetic to get what he wants. There was also an element of sadness running through the story. Crash senses that Andrew wants to be forced and dominated, yet you get the feeling that Crash is after something with a bit more tenderness. Also Andrew is essentially straight and about to get married which might be offputting for some people. There's no real resolution in the story which left me wanting more - not necessarily a bad thing. I hope that JCP writes another story with these characters, just so I know how it ends, for good or bad. For now this gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Boys Toys by JM Snyder
This was originally part of an anthology, but I saw it at Aspen Mountain Press and thought it sounded fun. Actually it wasn't fun, but rather a serious read about coping with the break up of a relationship. Our hero, Jason, who has been recently dumped by a long term boyfriend, is persuaded against his better judgement to attend a 'boys toys' party which is being run by his friend, Barry. When he turns up there has been a mix up and his date for the evening has brought someone else. He is about to leave when the party organiser, Nigel, turns up and persuades him to stay and help him. This was a short read but Jason was a strong, sympathetic character. If I have any quibbles about the story it was that I wasn't really sure of Nigel's motivation in coming on so strongly to Jason - it was lust at first sight for both of them, but I didn't really get an impression that Nigel was as emotionally involved as Jason. Even the epilogue didn't wholly convince me of a HEA, so this got a grade of 'Good'.

Finding the Words by Terry O'Reilly
This short novella attracted me because the premise was different to anything I'd read previously. Speech therapist, Ryan is called in to help a man, Andre, who has suffered from a kind of stroke which has affected his speech. Andre has recently gone through a painful divorce when his wife discovered that he was considering exploring a relationship with another man. Ryan is instantly attracted to the older Andre, but is wary of having a relationship with a patient and is also suffering from a recent bad break-up. I liked the way that Ryan showed his attraction to Andre through touches and by the way he took care of him. I also admired Andre for his determination to overcome his difficulties. The sexual tension between the two characters is handled well even if I was smiling to myself over the number of jerk-off scenes that Ryan needed to ease his frustration. If I had any problems at all it was that once the men had admitted their feelings the novella ended quite abruptly. I would have liked a few more pages of them exploring their feelings for each other and perhaps a scene where they consummated that attraction, rather than an epilogue set later in time after all the tentative exploring had been done. Overall though, this was a sensitive look at a 'straight to gay' theme with the added interesting theme of overcoming illness. I'm giving this a grade of 'Very Good'.

I also re-read "The Assignment" by Evangeline Anderson this week. I'm not going to review that because it's been done before by many others. It's one of those books that nearly everyone loves - me included and gets a grade of 'Excellent'.

Hope you enjoyed my brief run-down of the often ignored books that I read. I may make this a regular feature if it proves to be popular.

Short Review: Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price

The first thing I need to say before I start the review is that this is the fifth book in the Psycop series written by JCP. This series is one of those that you have to read in book order to understand what is happening in the rest of the series. Seriously, you'll be lost and without a clue if you don't start from the first book "Among the Living" and work your way through. This is especially true with this book which follows straight on from book 4, "Secrets". If you haven't read any if the previous books then, firstly, why not? - these are seriously great books - and secondly, go away and read them now!

Plot: The whole series is set in a world which is just like ours except that paranormal abilities have been scientifically recognised. Or hero, Vic, is a medium - yes he really does "see dead people". In fact he does a lot more than that. Vic is a homicide psycop whose brief is to talk to the ghosts of people who have recently died and find out who killed them. Over the last few books he has had a number of partners or 'stiffs' - cops who have no paranormal abilities, but finally has settled down with his partner from book three, Bob Zigler. Each book has a mystery theme which Vic is supposed to be investigating. In this book, there have been a number of unexplained deaths in a local hospital and Vic has to find out why. However, as with all the psycop books most of the investigation is sidelined in favour of Vic trying to sort out his personal problems. In the previous book, Vic discovered that he was being watched by a mysterious organisation. This book focuses on Vic trying to find out more about this organisation, as well as recovering some of the memories he has lost about "Camp Hell"or Heliotrope Station, where Vic was trained to use his abilities. As well as this, we get to see how Vic and his lover, Jacob, strengthen and develop their relationship with each other.

Characters: This whole series hangs on the character of Vic who is the first person narrator. I have to admit that I love the character of Vic. He's funny, self-depreciating, nervy and lacking in self-esteem. On the other hand he is also one of the most self-absorbed characters I've ever read. He is so focused on finding out about his past and why he is being watched, that he often abandons both his partner and Jacob in favour of going off on his own. However, he is so clueless that he doesn't actually realise how much he has hurt or offended someone until they call him up on it later. There's this marvellous scene in the book where Vic notices that Jacob has become even more muscular recently. It then hits him that perhaps one of the reasons Jacob spends so much time at the gym is to vent his frustrations about Vic on the gym machinery. It's very difficult for the characters (or the reader) to get angry with Vic, though, because he doesn't realise what an idiot he is sometimes, which is the beauty of the characterisation in this series. The reader knows that Vic is frustrating and that he spends a lot of time unable to see what is going on under his nose, and yet he's still really adorable.

The other characters often play a back seat in the series because Vic has such a strong voice. It was nice to see in this book that Jacob's character was given some development and we are also introduced to Stefan, another inmate from 'Camp Hell' and one of Vic's previous lovers. Crash is still around, causing trouble, but no Lisa this time, and Jacob's partner is also given less of a role.

Overall: The psycop books are described as 'horror', which they are in a way; there's certainly lots of descriptions of dead people. However, they are also very, very funny. Vic has a habit of getting himself into farcical situations and even a small incidental situation like trying to eat in a taxi on the way to an appointment can be cause for comedy in this book. I have to say that this book has been my favourite so far. Victor has come a long way since we first met him, high on drugs, confused and lonely in the first book. I get a real kick out of seeing the love that has developed between him and Jacob as well as the newly found sexual kinks they are working out together. I also enjoyed seeing Vic coming to some realisation that his ability wasn't just something to hide or dismiss, but that he could increase his potential for good by stretching that ability. This series just gets better and better. I'm giving this a grade of 'Excellent' and I'm very much looking forward to book 6.

Free book? No thanks!

Does anyone else have a well-meaning friend or relative who passes books onto them: Books that you know you will never read?

I have two types of people who, after finding out I love reading, pass me books:

The person who has read a book and wants you to read it and pass it back to them when you are done

This has happened to me on a number of occasions. A friend will discover that I like to read romance, tell me that she has a romance that she loves and the next time I see her she will give me the book to read. Without asking me whether I want to read it or not. I'm then expected to read the book and report my opinions to her when I pass it back. Yes, it's like school.

The trouble is, I often don't like any of the books that are passed onto me. This is mostly because many people have a very different idea from me of what constitutes a good romance novel and I'm often passed on one of those 'family Sagas' which contain elements of romance, but are actually not just romance books. I don't like family sagas. Sometimes I do get passed a 'proper romance' but it is almost always in a genre that I don't like to read.

When I'm passed the book I always accept it. Always. I'd feel bad if I turned it down and I also don't want to disappoint a friend who has obviously been kind enough to think about me and give me the book to read. I take it home and put it on a shelf in the hope that I will soon feel the urge to read it. I never do. Then, months later, riddled with guilt I return the book to its owner. When she asks me what I thought, I lie to her and say: 'Oh, I've just remembered I had this book of yours, I read it so long ago now that I can't remember much about it, other than I liked it'. I am so awful. I am a bad person.

People who give me books and never expect them back

My Mum is the main culprit here. This usually happens after she's been on holiday. She'll turn up at my house with all the books that she had bought and read whilst on holiday (usually 3-4) and pass them onto me. I know why she does it: She wants to get rid of them so they aren't cluttering up her house. Guess what? Yes, they clutter my house up instead. Until, that is, I have a big clear our and they go to the charity shop, or sometimes I sell them on. Once again I can't turn them down because she thinks she's doing me a big favour in bringing me something to read - even if it's in a genre I don't like (chick lit *shudder*). The only consolation in all this is that she never asks for a book report.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that I should be honest, that I should just tell these well-meaning friends that I don't want to read their book. And, of course, you are right, I should. Honesty, after all, is the best policy. But I hate disappointing people, or throwing their kind gestures back in their faces. So I shall continue to accept these unwanted gifts; smile and graciously thank them. Even if I am inwardly groaning and wishing I hadn't told them that I like to read.

Review: Queer Wolf Anthology

This anthology is a collection of GBLT werewolf stories (three are f/f and the rest m/m). It caught my eye at first because I thought it sounded a bit different and, as you may know, I'm trying to expand my m/m reading to include some paranormal stories, so this seemed like a good intro to the genre. I fully admit that 'shifter' stories have never been something I've enjoyed particularly in the past, but I was willing to put aside my hang ups and give this one a go. I was also attracted by the fact that some of the authors who have contributed to this anthology, such as Charlie Cochrane and Ginn Hale, are those whose writing I've read and enjoyed before.

Usually when I review an anthology I go through and say a little bit about each story. However, there are 17 stories in this anthology, which in one sense is great because you get a lot of stories for your money, but on the other hand that's too many to write about individually, otherwise this review would be huge, I'd be exhausted and you'll all be bored with my endless prose. So instead I'll do a short summary, highlight a few stories which were particularly interesting for whatever reason and leave the rest for you to judge; if you decide to buy, that is!

As with all anthologies this one is a mixed bag. Out of the 17 stories I gave 3 Excellents, 6 Very Goods, 7 Goods and 1 Poor. I have to say that the anthology begins well. In fact the first few stories were, on the whole, the ones that I enjoyed the most out of the anthology. The stories which gained 'Excellent' grades for me were Moon Sing by Laramie Dean - whose sympathetic teenage narrator was full of heartbreaking angst and false bravado - and...

... Shy Hunter by Ginn Hale

The main character in this story, David, is a werewolf who was ‘turned’ by another werewolf, Calvin, who preys on young men. When we meet David at the beginning of the story he is still coming to terms with his new status. He does this by preferring to stay mostly in his wolf or ‘dog’ form and hide from the world. David is a genuinely nice guy. He helps out the local mountain rescue and the police by seeking out lost hikers and finding some of the poor young men who have been murdered by Calvin the psycho-werewolf; he has a lovely self-depreciating sense of humour; and he has a fear of becoming like the monster who turned him. It’s all rather endearing. After being nagged by his friend, David goes to a local gay club and meets Edgar. They hit it off straight away and start to see each other. Their relationship is slightly awkward at first, but with an underlying tenderness that was quite lovely. The undercurrent of tension throughout the book as both David and Edgar try to keep their secrets, coupled with the looming possibility that Calvin might be trying to hurt Edgar, made for fast pacing and an exciting finale. It didn’t detract from the story one bit that I had already guessed both of Edgar’s big secrets by the end as I was enjoying the ride too much to care.

However, my absolute favourite story was...

...The Stray by Anel Viz
The best thing about this sly, humourous story was the way that, even though it was written in the first person, the joke is on the narrator. The narrator is clueless John, who after several months of nagging is finally pleased when his lover, Farkas, agrees to move in with him. Around the same time a stray dog keeps appearing once a month. The strange thing is that Farkas and the dog are never around at the same time, a fact which John ponders on a number of occasions – what a hoot! I kept waiting for the penny to drop, especially after another plot development which I won’t give away. I spent the whole time reading the story feeling vastly amused and slightly exasperated at John’s inability to see what was going on under his nose. Great stuff.

Another story which I enjoyed immensely, but gained a grade of 'Very Good' was...

...Wolf Lover by Michael Itig
This slightly bizarre, blackly humourous story about a man with a fetish for werewolf sex had its tongue firmly in its cheek. The story is told in the first person by Nigel, who actively seeks out werewolves for sex and through a special light ‘turns’ them at point of orgasm – yes, be warned, here be shifted sex (just a bit and it’s not too graphic so don’t be put off by this). After one such liaison, Nigel is given a card with the name of a club on it. When he goes to the club he discovers that it caters for those like himself and their werewolf lovers. It is here that he meets Luke and they start seeing each other. The character of Nigel is darkly funny. He is completely unashamed of his sexual urges and I got swept along by his machinations to get as much wolf sex as possible. However, in some ways this is a cautionary tale, with a couple of plot twists – one of which I saw coming and the other I didn’t. Let’s just say that although Nigel gets his comeuppance in the end, it’s not a bad ending! Very enjoyable and appealing to my warped sense of humour.

Do you see a pattern here? Yep, if it appeals to my extremely odd sense of humour, then it gets a big thumbs up from me.

Honourable mentions also need to go to Wolves of the West by Charlie Cochrane - another story with a sly streak of humour running through it; Wolf Strap by Naomi Clark - whose author had deft touch with description; and Flip City by Lucas Johnson - a dark horror about a city under Demon attack and the uneasy relationship between a newly turned werewolf and the werewolf who bit him.

The stories which didn't work as well for me were those which left many unanswered questions, either about the relationships between the characters or the situation they were in. For example in Family Matters by Moondancer Drake, the werewolves are under attack from rogue Fae, but we are never told why they have such animosity towards humans and werewolves. Also in War of the Wolves by Charles Long the wolf pack is attacked by other werewolves, but we are never told why or what the other pack hope to gain. However, even though both these stories left questions in my mind, they weren't badly written.

The only story that I didn't like was A Wolf's Moon by Quinn Smythwood. This was because the author had written the story in a dream-like style which I found almost impenetrable in places. I managed to just about follow what was happening, but the thick prose and surreal imagery made it difficult for me to connect with any of the characters. This would probably be of interest to those readers who like authors who experiment with style. Sadly, I'm not one of them, so this story was a bit of a dud for me.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this anthology. There were a good range of stories from authors who mostly did interesting things with what many people are calling a tired genre. It was refreshing to see f/f stories amongst the m/m, and even more refreshing was the consistently high quality of the writing from all the authors - even if some worked better than others. I may have had some quibbles with plotting, but the writing itself was excellent. I'm going to give this anthology a grade of 'Very Good' as I will definitely be reading many of these stories again when I'm in the mood for something with a bit of bite.

Review: The Bookeen Cybook Gen3 Ebook Reader

Chrissy Munder asked me in the comments section of yesterday's post about my ebook reader, suggesting that I might like to post about it when I had a slow day. Well, actually, today is a slow day as the book on which I was going to post a review isn't released until tomorrow, so had I had to hang fire on that. I did have a vague idea for a post for today, but that could wait until later in the week.

Therefore, I give you my opinion on my ebook reader, a Bookeen Cybook Gen3. I love my ebook reader with a passion, but, as with all passionate relationships there are some little niggles that occasionally frustrate me - and isn't that the case with all electronic equipment!

Why I bought this particular ebook reader

I'd wanted an ebook reader for a while because I'd seen reviews or heard of books which could only be purchased as an ebook. It frustrated me that I couldn't read those books, except on my computer which is in the dining room and used so often that I barely get chance to go on it. In December 2007, when hub asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I jokingly said "an ebook reader" thinking that hub would say "No way, that's too expensive!". Well, imagine my surprise when he said that I could look about and see what sort of ebook reader I could buy and how much it would cost.

After extensive internet research, I realised that the sort of ebook reader I wanted to buy (ie. one with e-ink technology) was only available to buy in this country from two different companies. There was the Iliad (hideously expensive) and the Cybook. At that time the Sony Reader wasn't available in the UK, although it is now and the Kindle still can't be bought here.

So that left my choices a bit limited. Fortunately the Cybook was everything I wanted in an ebook reader, so that's what I went for in the end. I have to point out that this device only reads books/documents/pictures and is an mp3 player. It doesn't access the internet, act as a phone, play games, or do anything other than display books in Mobipocket, pdf or html and allow you to listen to music. Which is fine by me because that's the only thing I want to do with it!

I'm now going to go through the positive and negative things about the Cybook. I'll start with the bad...

The Negatives

1. The customer service is crap.

This may never affect you, but I was very unlucky. Three days after I got my Cybook it stopped working. Yep, refused to switch on. It took them 6 weeks of email exchanges before they finally agreed to allow me to send it back because obviously I was doing something wrong like not switching it on properly or putting the battery back in wrong. Most of that time was me waiting for them to reply to emails that I had sent to them. Then the thing got lost in the post and it took 6 weeks for it to arrive in France for repair - it should have taken 6 days (I was distraught the whole time, thinking I'd lost it forever). Fortunately, once they got it, they repaired it and had it back to me within a week. The whole thing took three months. THREE MONTHS!

2. The bookmark facility often fails

There's this function on the Cybook where you can bookmark your page so that when you switch on and access the book it goes straight to the last page you were reading. If I've had the Cybook on for any length of time, this facility stops working so that next time I access the book I have to guess which page I was up to (Mobipocket doesn't have a page display, just a bar which runs along the bottom showing how far you are through the book). This is very annoying.

3. It occasionally freezes

This has happened about 3-4 times in the year or so I've had it. When it does freeze I have to remove the battery and put it back it. Everytime I do this I'm petrified I'm going to snap the thin plastic battery connector.

4. No back light

I've included this because it may be important to some people. It's never really bothered me.

5. You can't read it in the bath

Actually I have heard that people do read their ebook readers in the bath. To be honest though, I'd be scared of dropping it.

The Positives

1. The e-ink technology

I love the e-ink. It's so easy on the eye. I can read it anywhere, indoors and out and it doesn't give me a headache when I read it for hours, unlike reading a computer screen.

2. It's small

According to the manufacturers this is the lightest ebook available. It's certainly small enough to fit in my handbag. Here's a picture of mine next to my hand. Yes, that is my real hand!

3. It's easy to download stuff onto

I have a wire. I put one end in the USB slot of my computer and the other end in the Cybook. A window pops up on my computer screen, I transfer files. Voila!

4. It holds lots of books

I currently have 115 books/novellas/stories on my Cybook. There is a SD slot for a card to hold thousands more, but I don't use this, I prefer to keep my books on my computer hard-drive and back ups on discs.

5. It has a handy protective cover

This hides the device as well as stopping it from getting accidentally broken/scratched in my bag. It also means that no-one asks me questions about it. When people do see it, they want to know how it works and then they see all the dodgy covers displayed on the screen. Reading one book with a dodgy cover is bad enough, having a whole library of them on display is rather mortifying!

6. I can buy my books cheaper

Despite the terrible interest rates, books are still cheaper when bought in ebook format. At least the sort of books I buy are cheaper. If I hadn't bought this device I may never have bought an ebook.

Overall, I love the convenience of having my ebook reader. But what about the Cybook particularly? Would I buy it again given the better choice available now in the UK (except for the Kindle - boo)? I'm not sure actually. I think I would probably be very tempted by the Sony reader. Part of the problem is that, on the whole, all my books are in the Mobipocket format which can't be read on the Sony so I'm stuck with this device now until Kindle release a version here. Until then, I'll continue my passionate affair with my Cybook, after all we've read hundreds of books, novellas and short stories together in the past twelve months.

What about you? What device do you use? How does it compare to mine? Go on, I've shown you mine, you can show me yours!

ETA: Not long after I wrote this post I discovered an update was available for the Cybook, which can be found at http://www.bookeen.com/. This seems to have cured my bookmark problems. However, I have encountered another problem: If you use a 2GB SD card the machine freezes all the time, especially after recharging or when you remove the SD card to load a new book. This doesn't happen if you use a 1GB card, so my advice for those with this problem is to downsize the size of your SD card and keep some books stored elsewhere if the card is full. It's an annoying glitch, but I can live with it for now as I don't have thousands of ebooks (yet).