Review: Bravo! Brava!

This anthology consists of three novellas all along the theme of cross dressing. Those of you who know me will know that I like my gay men to be, well, manly, so theoretically, I should be turned off by stories about men dressing up as women. Let's just say, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these stories.


I shall write a bit about each one in turn.

About Something by Jet Mykles
Shawn is a student in the final year of a Drama degree. His professor is a young, well respected director, Roscoe, who has cast Shawn as Benedict in a production of Much Ado About Nothing. Early on in the rehearsals, Roscoe asks Shawn to swap roles with the actress playing Beatrice, as the director feels that Shawn would be better in a female role. At first Shawn is horrified: He knows that he is small and looks effeminate and has strived for most of his teenage years to project a more butch image and take on the overly masculine roles in theatre class. Roscoe convinces Shawn that he should play to his strengths and so he finally accepts the role of Beatrice. Alongside this is Shawn's gradual realisation that he is attracted to his Professor which releases deeply repressed feelings for other men as well. This, coupled with Shawn actually enjoying dressing up as a woman, leads to him opening up to possibility that he might be bisexual.

This was my favourite story out of the anthology. I liked Shawn and the feeling of empowerment that he felt when he embraced his sexuality and how comfortable he felt wearing women's clothing. I also liked his confidence in approaching his Professor and his pragmatism in adjusting to his growing feelings for Roscoe. There were a couple of issues: Firstly the novella ended quite suddenly and I would have liked to have seen more of the reunion between Shawn and Roscoe, and secondly, Shawn was an 'all or nothing' type of guy, changing his wardrobe and sexuality very quickly and yet there was no fall out as a result of this. None of his friends seemed to mind, quite the opposite in fact, nor was he taunted or troubled by other students which seemed rather unrealistic to me. However, these were minor issues in relation to a well written romance, containing a touch of yaoi and tonnes of Jet Mykles' cheeky humour so gets a 'Very Good' rating.

Sometimes Life's a Drag by JP Bowie
This London set tale of blackmail, murder and stalking is firmly played for laughs with a cast of what seems like thousands. Our hero, Patrick, wins the part of singer in a cabaret act which is the vehicle for fading star drag queen, Kenny La Fontaine. Kenny is a vicious bitch who rules his cabaret club by sacking whoever gets in his way and playing on his dubious star connections to get what he wants. However, Kenny is being blackmailed by a former lover, who is then murdered whilst collecting the blackmail money. Suspicion falls on Kenny, but it all seems too obvious to be true. Added onto this is Kenny's stalker who silently watches him wherever he goes. The policeman investigating the blackmail and murder case is Ian Bannister. Kenny is attracted to Ian, but Ian is attracted to Patrick. Thus begins a completely camp and farcical turn of events involving lots of bitching, screaming, loving and general mayhem.

It was all a bit over the top for my liking, even if the characters were probably true representations of the sort of people you would meet behind the scenes at a drag queen cabaret club. All the characters speak in a British accent very reminiscent of the 1950s Ealing comedies, which isn't particularly in line with how Londoners speak today and, to be honest, got on my nerves a bit. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad for those readers outside the UK, who would probably think some of the British phrases are quite cute, but I just got a bit irritated by it. As well as this, many of the characters are not particularly likable especially the poisonous Kenny who gets almost as much page time as the two heroes. An interesting look at backstage shenanigans which gains a grade of 'Good'.

Woman's Weeds by Kimberley Gardner
This story was an interesting romance between David, the director of a small community theatre company and Keiran, an actor who auditions and gets the role of Viola in Twelfth Night. The story focuses almost entirely on this pair and especially how Keiran's love of dressing in women's underwear and clothing impacts on this relationship. There are a couple of other things thrown in, such as whether the theatre company has to compromise its casting in order to attract funding and a jealous ex-boyfriend, but mostly it's about the attraction between David and Keiran . David has not met a cross-dresser before and Keiran is nervous about telling David about his cross dressing because most gay men find it a turn off. Out of the two men, I liked Keiran the most and I felt the author had done a good job in making him a sympathetic character and showing how dressing as a woman made him feel. David was a little less rounded but I liked the way that his reaction to Keiran's cross dressing was developed throughout the story. The only main annoyance with the story was that again it finished quite abruptly and that I also found the character of David's sister a little irritating at times. Mainly though this was a lovely romance with an added cross dressing twist so gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Overall, I enjoyed this anthology. The stories were all quite different from each other, despite all being on the theme of the theatre and cross dressing. So did it make me change my mind about my 'manly' men? Not really, but it did give me an insight into why men might choose to dress in women's clothing.

Short Changed?

I've been spending a bit of time this week reading and reviewing a number of short stories from Torquere Press for Wave's blog (they'll be coming up soon). Most of these books are given titles such as 'sip' or 'shot' to give the reader an idea of their length. This is all well and good, but it did make me wonder how popular these short stories are. I'm enjoying reading them, but I wouldn't normally go and buy several short stories. I do buy short fiction, on occasion, when I like the author and fancy reading a quickie by them - as I did last week with Clare London and Sean Kennedy - but mostly I buy anthologies when I'm in the mood for short stories as I find them much better value for money.

Ah, yes. We are back to the old Yorkshire tight-fistedness again.

This is the crux of the matter really, isn't it? The expense of buying a set of 'sips' or 'shots' as opposed to buying an anthology of 6-10 short stories or even a novel.

One of the stories I have just read was 10 pages long and cost $1.29 to buy at Torquere. That's over 12 cents a page, which, to be honest, is a bit steep. I liked the story, really liked it, but I'm still left wondering whether it was worth the money. If I think this, then surely there must be many other people who feel the same, who don't buy the short fiction at Torquere or Dreamspinner or other epubs because they don't feel like they are getting their money's worth.

On the other hand, I read another story which was 36 pages long and, again, really liked it. It cost $2.49, which was slightly better value per page than the other story, but when you compare it to the price of a book, which typically costs $6-7 for 200 pages, it does seem like you're not getting very much value for money. I'm not trying to pick on Torquere, who publishes some fantastic books, it's just that the books I've just read came from them so I'm singling them out as an example. I'm sure there are many other epubs with similar pricing structures.

No matter how much I've enjoyed dipping my toe into these short stories, I don't think this is going to alter my view on short story buying. I'm not going to suddenly start spending my monthly book budget on several short stories when I can get 2-3 decent books for the same price.

I'm going to throw this open to people (again) as I genuinely want to know how these short stories are received by the book buying public.

To the readers out there: Do you buy the short fiction out there, such as 'sips' or 'daydreams'? If you don't, is it because of cost or because you just don't like short stories?

To the authors out there: Do you submit short fiction to places like Torquere or Dreamspinner? If you do, does it make much money? Are your stories selling or not?

Review: The Valde: Water by Astrid Amara

Like a huge tidal wave this book sucks you in and drags you under right from the start. It begins with two men, Joel and Charlie on a boat. It's Joel's birthday and Charlie is giving him a celebratory blow job. They are both so caught up in the moment that they fail to notice how bad the weather has become and soon both are fighting for their lives as the boat starts to capsize. Charlie pulls Joel out from inside the cabin and throws him a lifebuoy before getting dragged away by the stormy waves, leaving Joel to be rescued and suffer the guilt of knowing that Charlie died trying to save him.

It's an explosive opening full of drama and excitement. But it's also a time when we find out much about Charlie: his love of life, laughter, passion and warmth. Fast forward a year and Joel is still suffering a dreadful grief over Charlie's death. It's his birthday and the anniversary of that dreadful night so he holes himself up in a bar with several whiskey sours. In the bar he spots Charlie or someone who looks exactly like him. However, instead of the warm, loving, romantic man that Joel know and loved there is a cold stranger who appears not to recognise him. Later in the book Charlie explains that his human self did drown in the sea that day, but in doing so a latent spirit which lies dormant in a human's body was released and took the place of Charlie. He has Charlie's memories, plus those of many of the other bodies he has lived in throughout the thousands of years he has existed, but he is not the Charlie that Joel loved: He's a member of the Valde.

I have to admit I was rather confused as to what the Valde actually were. From what I can gather they are sentient spirits connected with the four elements air, water, fire and earth. Millions of years ago the elements of fire and water became allies and fought with the air and earth. They lost this battle and as punishment they were forced to reside in the bodies of humans, a dormant force unless the human died from either drowning (for the water Valde) or burning (for the fire Valde). It actually gets more complicated than that because there is a band of renegade fire/water Valde who want to fight the air Valde and regain their spirit-like state. Charlie is one of those rebels.

There were a number of issues about this world building which puzzled me. Firstly, if the battle took place millions of years ago before humans how could they be punished by being placed in human bodies? Secondly, I was a bit vague as to what forms the air/earth Valde take - are they invisible or particles in the air - I just couldn't get my head around that bit. Finally, I couldn't understand how this battle was going to take place if the Valde were essentially weak in their human form. All the air Valde have to do is to suck the breath out of their lungs and they're dead and replanted into a new human body as a dormant Valde. I've been told that this is a series, so maybe some of my questions will be answered in later books. Of course, this is assuming I can be bothered to read the rest of the series - the author is taking a big risk leaving so much to be carried onto subsequent books.

I really liked Joel at the beginning of the book. I sympathised with his situation and felt the pain and grief of his bereavement for Charlie. This went some ways towards me forgiving him when he continued to view Charlie as the man he had fallen in love with before the drowning. However, the romance was soured for me by the knowledge that the man who Charlie became after the drowning wasn't actually Charlie, but another being in Charlie's body. He may retain Charlie's memories and look like Charlie, but it wasn't him - that man died in the accident. This fact is reinforced by the constant reference to the coldness in Charlie. His eyes have a cold look to them, his skin feels constantly cool and his expression has lost most of its former life and animation, leaving him with a stony expression most of the time. Joel, however, still insists on searching out any of the residual traits of his former lover, focusing on them and ignoring the Valde that lives in Charlie's skin. At first it was understandable that Joel does this, but after a while I became annoyed with him and couldn't understand why he clung so desperately to a man who wasn't his former lover. If he had loved Charlie, then he shouldn't love this stranger in Charlie's body. The romantic in me found this perplexing and rather disappointing. The twist at the end left me even more disappointed, especially as I saw it coming and was hoping I was going to be wrong.

One positive thing to say about this book is that it made me think. I had to think through the implications of the world building and the relationship between Joel and Charlie, which has meant that the book has stayed with me since finishing it. Astrid Amara writes eloquent prose: Her descriptions are vivid; her characterisations solid - there were no cardboard cut outs here, even in the secondary characters; the whole story was compelling and I couldn't put the book down. However, the problems that I've outlined above were such that I don't think I can wholeheartedly recommend this book so this gets a grade of 'Good'. It will be of interest to those who enjoy complex UF world building as well as fans of the author. As for me, I'm going to reserve my final judgement until after I've read the sequel.

Swimming Against the Tide

I've had a funny few days in terms of reviewing. On Friday I reviewed a book which I really liked but no-one else did, and yesterday I finished reading a book which has received a number of favourable reviews but which I thought was so-so - I'm reviewing it here tomorrow.

Sometimes I think that the hardest thing for a reviewer is not when you have to write a negative review, but rather when your opinion of a book differs so greatly from the majority. It's great when there are a number of mixed reviews about a book, it promotes debate, gets people talking about their favourite or least favourite parts of the book. It's not so great when you appear to be the lone voice: That's when you become the unpopular girl in the class as everyone else stares at you in cyberspace with their mouths open.

I don't know how other reviewers work, but I deliberately don't read any reviews of a book I'm going to review myself until after I have posted the review. I don't want someone else's opinion to sway my judgement of a book; I need a review to be my reaction alone, which wouldn't be the case if I read lots of reviews of the book before I post my own. This doesn't always happen of course because sometimes I read a book because I've read a favourable review of it - as with the Vivien Dean book I read last week. That can sometimes work in my favour as I then compare the view of that reviewer with my own: Was I disappointed? Did it live up to the reviewers hype? etc.

Reading and reviewing in this way then makes me more open to clashing views with other reviews, as I discovered this week. This isn't a bad thing, just a bit lonely when you're swimming against the tide of popular opinion.

Anyway, all this is leading up to me saying thank you to those people who pop up here and on Wave's blog to tell me they had the same opinion as me about a book. It really helps to know that my opinion is shared by others and that I'm not the only turkey in a field of chickens.

I can't be the only one to experience this - surely. Come on, share your horror stories with me of the times you've read a book which had been generally well received and yet you couldn't understand what all the fuss was about; or even the time that a well loved book of yours had been universally panned.

Saturday Shorts

Halloween Sips by Clare London
I saw these at ARe and thought 'why not?'. I like a good horror and these were cheap. They were also remarkably different stories showing off the talent of the versatile Ms London.

Perfection
This was a genuinely creepy chiller which in no way could be called a romance, putting it firmly in the horror genre. It's a cautionary tale warning us to never underestimate the little guy and the lengths that people will go to, to get what they want. James is a guy who has a brief fling with one of his work colleagues, Vic. Vic then disappears for a while, returning as James' boss and a changed man. I love horror and this little story sent shivers up my spine, earning a well deserved grade of 'Excellent'.

The Mask
In contrast to the first story, this was a light, campy romance about a group of friends who go 'trick or treating' in a swanky apartment block. Joey and his friends, including the constantly overlooked Gaz, are dressed in various outrageous costumes, joking and larking about between doors. However, the ever dependable Gaz disappears forcing Joey to re-evaluate their friendship. The whole story was a laugh from start to finish with Clare London's wry sense of humour dominating the writing. There was even a 'yuck, that's gross' moment for those die hard Halloween horror fans. The only complaint was that I wished it had been longer, with more page space given over to Joey and Gaz. This deserves a grade of 'Very Good'.

Interlude by Vivien Dean
I bought this novella after reading the review by Aunty Lynn at Wave's blog. I thought it sounded just like the sort of book I'd enjoy - it was. AJ is part of a musical piano duo with his friend Tyrone. AJ has been secretly in love with Tyrone for a long time but is hesitant to make his feelings known because he doesn't want to ruin their on-stage act if Tyrone doesn't return his feelings. Also, Tyrone is a bit of a man-slut who sleeps with many of the adoring fans, both men and women. An opportunity arises for the pair to become a headline act for the restaurant of a Las Vegas casino and it is this shake up which brings the emotions of the pair to the fore. I liked AJ, liked that he was quiet and reserved off stage in contrast to the confident, assured Tyrone. The scenes when they finally come together were exciting and tender. If I have any complaints it was that I was slightly skeptical of Tyrone's shift from man-whore to wanting monogamous bliss with AJ. All in all, Vivian Dean is fast becoming one of my auto-buy authors and this gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Two Steps Up by Sean Kennedy
This tiny short story involves 17 year old Russ, who is trying to take the plunge and join a GLBT youth group. We begin the story with poor, nervous Russ standing with his skateboard outside the building trying to pluck up courage to go in. He's a bit early, plus he's got all sorts of mixed feelings - just like any teenager - about taking this first step towards coming out. Whilst dithering outside he meets Brian who takes him off, just for ten minutes before the meeting starts, to show him a good skateboarding area. This was a sweet story which encapsulated all the churning emotions and hormones raging through the body of a 17 year old male: nervousness, bravado, pride, lust, uncertaincy and the exhilaration of new experiences and feelings. I just wished that the whole thing had been longer, and in fact this read almost like a prequel to a longer story, one which I hope is coming soon. In the meantime this was a pound well spent and gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Duelling Review: Broken Boundaries by Evangeline Anderson

THE BLURB

Chaz is the youngest recruit the Academy has ever seen. Godlike reflexes and hawk eyes make him a natural gunner assigned to fly the futuristic ship with technology so advanced it's still classified. But it takes a two-man crew and Chaz, the lone wolf, must have a partner.

On his first day he meets Ferron, the most dangerous man at the Academy. The ice blue eyes and scarred face of the older cadet aren't enough to scare Chaz. Nor are the rumors that Ferron killed his last partner. But when he finds out they are to be a team, his anxiety starts to mount.

Tension climbs to a breaking point when Ferron informs him that in order to fly the Needle he and Chaz must have their bodies pressed together in a dance of sensual intimacy that makes the sexually straight Chaz angry and uncomfortable. Ferron must master Chaz completely and break down his physical and emotional boundaries. The only thing that will keep them alive is their partnership—any space between them means certain death.

THE REVIEW

Are you a big fan of sci-fi? Do you love to read about gadgets and technologically advanced machinery? Are you interested in books which contain aliens and their impact on our society in the future? If you are can I gently suggest that you stay right away from this book because it may make you a tad annoyed. Broken Boundaries is Evangeline Anderson at her finest. It's a gloriously over-the-top piece of high space camp that will appeal to those who love EA and are willing to set aside all pretense at a believable plot and hang on for a great ride. All her favourite plot devices are here: Straight to gay; gay for you; dubious sexual consent; public sex; fast pacing; oodles of sexual tension and evil villains. All this and lobster shaped aliens who are trying to take over the Earth. What more could a m/m reader want? Except, perhaps, fantastically hot sex scenes - and, guess what, there's that as well.

The story begins when we meet our hero, Chaz, who is newly arrived at the lunar station to train to be a 'needle' gunner. The needle is a technologically advanced space-craft, specially designed to be swift and deadly in a space fight. However, Chaz is not happy to discover that the only way to fly in this machine is for the gunner and pilot to be surrounded by a neural net. In order for this net to be effective the men have to pressed together skin to skin. The net works at its ultimate level when the men are joined together in sex. For the ostensibly straight Chaz this idea is completely horrific, especially when he discovers that his pilot is Ferrin, a man who is rumoured to have murdered his previous partner. As I'm writing this description now I'm thinking, 'this sounds like the biggest load of tosh' - and, to be honest, it is completely laughable and sounds like something out of a porn film or a gay space version of Top Gun ("Guns on Top", perhaps). The thing is, EA makes it work! I was wholly sucked in to the whole silly nonsense and couldn't stop reading it from start to finish in one sitting.

The relationship between Chaz and Ferrin shifted from tense to a gradual tenderness as Chaz began to realise that if he wanted to fulfil his life's ambition to be a needle gunner then he must set aside his inhibitions. Ferrin was very gentle and patient with Chaz, never pushing him to do more than he could take, but furthering their intimacies through constant touching and always being alongside Chaz. Thus the sexual tension grew and grew until an explosive finale. I liked both Chaz and Ferrin. I sympathised with Chaz and his mixed feelings about realising that he was attracted to Ferrin and I liked that Ferrin admitted that he too had been through those feelings when he first started his training. The scenes where Ferrin comes to terms with his previous partner's death were emotional and touching, allowing us to see how important that man had been to him.

There were a few things I hadn't liked about the book. Many of the secondary characters came off as a little too cardboard cut-out for my liking: The ultra evil homophobe; the campy twink; the thick-headed muscle guy; the twins who complete each other's sentences. I was also rather irritated by the way that Chaz refused to have sex with Ferrin because then he would somehow have to admit he was bisexual. There is also a graphic scene of non-con sex which didn't bother me too much (because of the circumstances, which I can't explain here or I'll give major spoilers away) but some readers may not find to their taste.

Overall, I was thoroughly engrossed in this wholly daft book. At no point did I think that this was anything but a tongue-in-cheek pastiche of a sci-fi novel. If you like reading thoughtful, realistic sci-fi which looks at the importance of maintaining cordial relationships with alien cultures, then I'd give this book a miss. However, if you are looking for a lighthearted space romp with lots of great sex and space battles, then look no further than this book. You won't be disappointed. I certainly wasn't which is why I'm giving it a grade of 'Very Good'.

So what about the other two reviewers? Well, click here to find out what they thought.

Faffing About

Erm, as you might have noticed I'm having a bit of a faff with my blog. This is after I finally got around to creating a picture for my banner. I'm not 100% happy with the style, but until I get some time to trawl the internet for one which will fit my banner better, I'm sticking with it for now.

Review of Freeman

For those of you who were disappointed with my half-hearted review of Freeman last week, I've been persuaded to have another go at getting my thoughts down in a coherent way. The result of this is the review currently up at Wave's blog, which you can find here.

In other news, I'm involved in a duelling review tomorrow on Wave's blog with Aunty Lynn and the new reviewer Kassa. We are doing Broken Boundaries by Evangeline Anderson. I, for one, can't wait to read what the other two thought about this. Should be interesting....

My copy of the review will also be posted here tomorrow.

The Fickle Reader

I discovered something about myself today: I can change my opinion about books.

After I had read Sleight of Hand by Katrina Strauss, I remembered that I'd read another book of her's months ago. It was the first in the Derek and Blue series: Blue Ruin: Some Kind of Stranger and I'd bought it because I was suckered in by that fab PL Nunn cover. I remember feeling rather underwhelmed after reading it and not being particularly bothered about buying the rest of the series. I even took the book off my Cybook to make space for others (this was before I bought the SD card). However, after enjoying Sleight of Hand so much I decided to re-read Some Kind of Stranger, and, guess what, I really enjoyed it the second time. How fickle is that?

This made me wonder what it was that had made me change my mind and I've come up with a few thoughts:

1. The BDSM
I think this book was the very first book I read which contained any BDSM. At the time, I remember not liking this part of the book - which takes up a pretty hefty chunk of the story. I also thought that the character of Derek came across as quite cruel as a result of him 'getting off' on Blue's tears. Since reading this book I've read lots more books with a light BDSM theme and I've realised that Derek isn't actually as harsh or unfeeling as I originally thought, but rather he is typical of many 'dominant' heroes of this genre.

2. The YAOI

When I first read the book, I found the character of Blue a bit difficult to like. He was totally submissive one minute but the next he played little manipulative mind games with Derek. I found him to be a tad annoying and unrealistic. Since then I've discovered that this character type is fairly typical of yaoi and with that knowledge came more of a liking for Blue and an understanding of why he behaves as he does.

3. The Cartoonish Uber-evil Villain
Once again I discover that this is a comic-book convention. Actually, I didn't change my mind about this - I still think that whole part of the book was far too OTT and ridiculous, but at least now I understand why it was used.

It's rather humbling, if you think about it, to realise that the strong opinions or convictions you can have about a book can be forgotten or overturned a few months later. Especially if you host a review blog, like I do.

Has anyone else found that a second reading of a book months, or years later has changed your mind about the plot or characters or your overall feeling for the book? I'm not talking about a change from reading a book as a child and then again as an adult - obviously that is going to give you a different opinion - but as an adult reading a book for the second time, have you been surprised at how differently you view a book after a second reading?

For those of you who are now curious about Blue Ruin, you can find the books here.

Review: Reckless Behavior by Amanda Young

Must resist the temptation to put the u back in behaviour.

I've not read a book by this author before and so I didn't really know what to expect. I was drawn in by the blurb and the promise of m/m/m goodness, and I suppose I got what I asked for in that respect, as this book is mostly about the sex and not much about the plot.

The book begins with our two heroes, thirtysomething Dante and nineteen year old Cody, on holiday and looking for someone to join in on a menage. This is apparently not unusual for the pair who indulge themselves with another man on fairly regular occasions. What's different about this one is that Cody wants to try the ultimate menage experience of...erm...how can I say this?...OK, I admit, I'm completely ignorant as to the correct euphemism for this so I'll call it two rabbits in the hole. However, at the same time as snagging themselves a willing volunteer, the men are internally bemoaning the fact that they are tired of the whole menage experience and want to settle down and have good old vanilla sex with the man they are beginning to love. Yep, this is one of those books. You know the ones I mean, where the men don't actually talk to each other and make assumptions about their partner which bear no resemblance to what their partner thinks at all.

All this internal angst doesn't stop them carrying on with the double penetration, which the reader is treated to in loving detail, pain and all. Actually this bit was quite informative, especially as we get it from Cody's point of view. All this happens in the first 15 pages of this short novella and basically sets the tone for the rest of the book, which, for most of the story, either has graphic descriptions of sex; or the characters thinking about sex; or them contemplating the sexiness of their partner, with a little bit of non-sex towards the end.

Still, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if you are looking for a sexy read as this fits the bill for that exactly. The author writes a great sex scene with each one being slightly different and written for different purposes. The first menage is showing the culmination of a sexual journey for Cody; whereas the second menage in the book is a flashback to Cody's first menage and the beginning of Cody's experimentation. These scenes then contrast with the sex between Dante and Cody, with those being less about the mechanics and more about tender feelings and emotion. The way that the author combined eroticism with character dynamics had to be one of the most interesting aspects of this book.

I did have a few issues with the book:

Firstly, the story was really too short to get any decent handle on the characters. They weren't completely cardboard cut-out but I didn't really feel I knew anything about them by the end of the book other than they like to have sex with each other and have perhaps fallen in love. We get hints about other things, for example we find out their occupations and a little about their family background but that is all. Even more annoying is that any secondary characters only function as a tool to further the plot. I felt that the character of Cody's uncle, in particular, could have been given more space to develop as I had a number of questions about him which were not covered at all. I appreciate that the story was only supposed to focus on the two main protagonists, but I actually found Cody's uncle to be a more interesting character than Cody and wished to know more about him.

Secondly, there is a huge age difference between the men (13 years). This is only addressed in a minor way in that Dante introduces other men into the relationship because he knows that Cody is young and hasn't had much other sexual experience. The fact that Dante is much older meant that his tiring of the menage sex was realistic and I could understand that he felt that he had matured past that type of sexual experience. On the other hand, Cody is very young at nineteen and although I can see that he may be currently tired of all the lovers that he shares with Dante, I couldn't see how this would be the case in the long term. Maybe if the author had made him a little older (even by five years) then I would have been more able to believe the HEA.

Finally, as I mentioned previously many of the problems between the two heroes would have been resolved if they just talked to one another and weren't so quick to jump to conclusions or make assumptions. To be fair, I suppose this is fairly typical of how men can act, but I still found it irritating.

Overall, this was a short, fast paced read which would have been better had the characters been fleshed out more. I'm giving this a grade of 'Good' and will look out for further books by this new-to-me author.

ETA: Have just discovered that this book is a sequel to Reckless Seduction so maybe some of the issues I had with the characters, especially Cody's uncle, wouldn't have been such a problem if I had read the previous book first.

Reviewer Credentials

When I started this little blog a few months ago I didn't really think about whether I was qualified for the job of book reviewer. I just wanted to get my thoughts about books out into the world because I'd keep looking for book reviews and there weren't any on the books I wanted to buy. So I set myself up with a blog and got typing.

Now I've joined another review blog - a proper well-established review blog, if you like - I'm slightly more concerned about what people might think about me, whether they think 'who is this woman and what gives her the right to review this book (or even my book)?'. In a way they have a point, if what I say is going to influence the book buying habits of others, then my 'credentials' as a reviewer are going to come under some scrutiny.

This made me wonder what sort of credentials you need to be a reviewer. You see, I just thought you needed to have a love of books and reading, plus be literate enough to be able to put down your thoughts in a coherent manner.

Am I wrong about this and if I am, what are these credentials that all reviewers should have?

Do you perhaps have to be an author to be able to appreciate the crafting of a book? In which case, I'm fairly stuffed because, although I may aspire to be an author, so far I've only written two short stories, neither of which have been published, and have two languishing WIPs.

Do you perhaps need a degree in English or some other arts subject? Well I do, but I can guarantee that hub would be able to write a more logical, better structured review than me and he's a scientist. I've also known many people with an arts degree who would struggle to write book reviews, so that can't just be it.

Do you perhaps have to have a job in the arts as maybe an editor or journalist? Again, I've struck out there.

Hmmm, one out of three is not looking great: #jen_fail.

My views on this subject are as follows: There are a number of different romance review sites out there in the blogosphere and all of them are equally valid because what matters above everything else is that someone has read a book and thought it noteworthy enough to want to tell other people about it. Reviewing is not a job for those of us who do it; it's a hobby; a passion for some; a compulsion to share the love (or the not-love). We don't need an impressive CV, or to have an interview, or even to meet someone face to face. We just need time, a computer (or laptop, or iphone, or blackberry or *insert device here*), and an ability to put what's in our heads up on the screen. These, plus an abiding love of books and an opinionated personality, are all the credentials you will get from me.

I'm interested to hear what other people think about this. Do you implicitly trust a blog reviewer or do you wonder what gives her (or him) the right to give their opinion? Do you think that review blogs should state the credentials of their reviewers or even that people who are not 'professionals' shouldn't review books? Or do you think that common sense says to look at a few different review sites before you buy because reviews are so subjective.

BTW, I do NOT want this to turn into a Jen love-fest. I know you all love me and my reviews ;) so no trying to make me blush! Please also keep all comments general - no finger pointing please.

Saturday Shorts

I've done much better with the reading this week...

Playing the Field: Tee'd Off by JM Snyder
In this short story we meet Greg who works at a country club organising golf tournaments. During one of these tournaments he meets up with Trey, who is the son of the man who introduced Greg to the love of golf. Greg remembers Trey as a gawky kid, four years his junior but now Trey is all grown up, very sexy and very interested in Greg who he crushed on all those years ago. However, no matter how gorgeous and available Trey is now, Greg can't get the image of the irritating teenage Trey out of his mind. What follows is a light, breezy read in JM Snyder's fluent prose. The book is written in the present tense which I found quite hard to get into, plus I wished that the story had been a little longer as there were a lot of characters and ideas that were thrown in to the mix and then never given any space to develop. All in all this was an interesting read that could have been so much more than that, so gets a grade of 'Good'.

Sweet Oblivion: Brazen by Jordan Castillo Price
This series carries on from the Channeling Morpheus books and this time the story is from Wild Bill's POV. Michael is keen to do a bit of sexual experimentation and persuades Bill to take part in a menage with another vamp - Damian, who we have met previously in Vertigo. Bill's not too happy about this as he's not keen on sharing Michael, and yet he also understands that Michael is young and keen to gain a few new experiences. It says a lot about Bill, that he is willing to put aside his jealousy to give Michael what he wants. The two heroes then meet with Damian and much menage smexing ensues. I have to say the menage didn't work as well in this book as it did in Payback. This may have been a deliberate ploy by JCP, because the scene is done from Bill's view and, although he's happy to go along with the menage, he's not emotionally engaged with the sex nor is he particularly attracted to Damian. It's very detached and almost cold and clinical. However, this was an interesting look at how far Bill will go to make Michael happy, showing that a sex scene can give important information about characters, so this gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Sleight of Hand by Katrina Strauss
This historical, paranormal m/m is set at the beginning of the twentieth century and follows a period of about 48 hours of a train journey. Edwin is travelling across the country with his mother and sister so that his sister may marry a rich elderly man and save them from financial hardship. Edwin is a repressed homosexual which causes him to have periods of depression and insomnia. On the train he meets with Satori, a travelling magician, hypnotist and spiritualist who arranges to have tea with Edwin, hypnotises him and then seduces him. The rest of the short story concerns Edwin's acceptance that he is gay and the gradual discovery of who Satori actually is. on the whole, I really enjoyed reading this as the historical setting was a bit different; the character of Edwin was likable and easy to identify with; and the sex scenes were tender and nicely written - and the hypnotised sex didn't bother me like it might some people. The only niggle I have is that I wished it was longer, that the time frame had been drawn out. However, without giving too much away, the rattling of the train wheels mimicked the rattling of the story as it sped on to the inevitable conclusion, so I understand why it had to be written that way. A great short read which gets a grade of 'Very Good' from me.

Have a great weekend!

It's Friday!

I'm blogging late today because I've had a busy day. I'm also feeling pretty done in after two weeks with the kids on school holidays, hub away in The Netherlands and Cardiff, and having the builders knocking holes in my roof for a loft converstion.

All this means is that, even though I've got ideas, I've not got the clarity of mind to formulate my arguments or compose a thoughtful review.

So now that I've got the two youngest in bed, I'm going to drink this:



and eat this:



or possibly this:



and catch up with this:



and see you all tomorrow with my Saturday Shorts.

Not Quite a Review: Freeman by Clare London

I've just spent quite a lot of time trying to formulate a coherent review of Freeman and failing miserably, so, instead, I'm going to throw out a few thoughts I had on this book.

1. It's like a British gangster film
It has all the classic characters: The dodgy businessman; the heavy muscle bodyguards; the handsome right hand man; the put-upon wife; the not-so-innocent young man; the honourable hero.

Much of the book takes place in seedy clubs, back alleys, warehouses or in Freeman's flat and nearly all the action takes place at night or in dark places. This lent a claustrophobic air to the whole book adding to the sense that everyone is trapped somehow by circumstance.

2. We hardly find out anything about Freeman
Even though he is the first person narrator, we are given very little information about his past, his family or his occupation. He is just as much an enigma at the end of the book as he is in the beginning, due mostly to him deliberately hiding things from the reader. I have to admit that I liked the character of Freeman. he had a very dry sense of humour, plus a sense of the ridiculous. He was greatly aware of his failings, especially his inability to open up to people or to hold a conversation.

3. The character of Kit brought out all my maternal instincts

I wanted to take him home, feed him and look after him. Which is pretty much what Freeman did! I also wanted to give him a slap round the head for his selfishness, thick-headedness and stupidity for getting himself caught up it the situation he was in.

4. The sex scenes were beautiful, tender and also clumsy
Just like real life sex. Clare always writes really good sex scenes and these were just lovely *sniff*, as well as being bloody hot.

5. I was fooled by the mystery
Towards the end of the book we have a big show-down. I hadn't guessed at all what was going on so this was just a great scene for me where I sat, openmouthed as all was revealed. Actually, this scene links with the first point about the book being part of a gangster film as it was very stagy. All the characters had their positions and as each new aspect of the mystery was uncovered we were shown the reactions of the people in the room, like a camera focusing on them to gauge their reactions. Marvellous.

6. This book won't be to everyone's taste

For a start it was very dark, with only occasional black humour to lighten it. Everyone in the book is hiding something both from each other and the reader, which is quite disorientating, but also means that the characters are complex and, well, very human. There is a pervasive sense of hopelessness throughout the whole book and even the HEA doesn't wholly dispel that feeling. These were some of the things that I liked about the book, things that made it a bit different from the usual m/m read. However, those of you who like your romance to be sweet and fluffy won't like this book at all.

Finally, along with all of the above, there is Clare London's exquisite writing. Her vivid descriptions of the seedy underbelly of the city, the rank, fetid places where nice people just don't go and the creation of this calm, cold, yet utterly sympathetic hero makes this one of the most unusual, interesting books I've read in a while. This gets a grade of 'excellent' from me and I salute the author for being brave enough to write something so refreshingly distinct.

If you want to know more about the book - erm, like what it's about, the blurb and an extract can be found here or click on the book cover.

The Annoying Female Friend

I don't read a lot of contemporary het fiction but I do read a lot of m/m contemporary fiction and I have noticed an alarming trend amongst these books: That is the character of the annoying female friend.

These women are usually long standing friends of one of the heroes, possibly all the way from school or college days. They are nearly always loud, bossy, opinionated and interfering. There are several different ways that these characteristics manifest themselves.

Yes, it's time for a list....

1. Offering advice whether it's asked for or not
This is often because she's a 'tell it straight' type of gal or is that 'sticking your nose where it's not wanted' type of gal. The advice is usually spurious at best and always given supposedly with the hero's best interest at heart. At worse, it's an attempt to undermine the budding relationship between the two heroes. Which leads me onto no.2...

2. Deliberately interfering with the hero's new relationship
This can take many forms, but the two most annoying ones are: Firstly, when she goes and sees the other hero and gives him a piece of her (usually misguided) mind, which usually leads to the that hero backing off from the relationship for a while. Secondly, when she turns up all the time just as the heroes are starting to open up to one another or just about to 'get it on' for the first time, usually ruining the moment and setting the relationship back a few days. This drives me MAD!

3. Having an unhealthy interest in the hero's sex life
Either she's a fag-hag and keeps trying to watch when the heroes are smooching, or she makes embarrassing overt references to their sex life. Yuk on both counts!

4. Taking all the credit for the hero's new relationship
When, in fact, she probably acted in a way that hindered the relationship throughout most of the book.

I find these female characters beyond annoying. In fact, I have been known to stop reading a book for a while because I can't stand her and have to take a break to calm down. The most irritating thing of all is that instead of telling her to keep the f**k out of his life, the hero indulges her, listens to her rubbish advice, smiles and thanks her for being his best (or sometimes only) friend. Well, to quote a cliche, with friends like these who needs enemies?!

I have to admit, not all female friends are like this. I've read some books recently, most notably Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy, where the female friend was spot on - just the right amount of care and concern without being too interfering. However, examples such as these are few and far between.

Review: Year of the Cat by Selah March

On one hand this sly retelling of the fairy tale "Puss in Boots" has its tongue firmly in its cheek with the incorporation of many traditional fairy tale tropes. We have the description of the hero at the beginning, the asides addressed directly to the "gentle reader" and the setting of Perrault's France. On the other hand, this is a dark tale of a man who is taught the true meaning of love in a most unexpected way.

The book begins with a description of three men, one of whom is Etienne, the youngest and best loved son of a French country gentleman. Etienne's father is dying and Etienne is well aware that once his father is dead, his two eldest brothers will try to kill him for his share of the inheritance. Etienne has been coddled and sheltered all his life and is unable to do the simplest of tasks, however, that does not deter him from packing a bag and fleeing to an abandoned cottage soon after his father breathes his last breath. Into this situation comes a nameless man who was cursed by a witch. He is condemned to spend his days as a cat, turning back into a man at night. Unfortunately the witch died before she was able to tell him how to break this curse, so he has wandered the land for over half a century, never growing old, but becoming more and more embittered by his experiences. The man, in his cat form, encounters Etienne as he is making his way to the cottage. Etienne names the strange cat Jacques and brings him to the cottage with him. What Etienne doesn't realise is that Jacques was listening in when his brothers were plotting to kill him, plus he spied Etienne earlier and was attracted to his angelic looks. Once Jacques realises quite how useless Etienne is, his admiration turns to a mixture of disgust and a desire to protect him and, as night falls, Jacques, in human form, takes advantage of Etienne's natural submissiveness by dominating and seducing him. The remainder of the book at first deals with how Jacques introduces Etienne into the delights of the D/s relationship whilst fighting any tender feelings for him and then how that impacts on their lives when Etienne once again faces danger.

The characters in fairy tales have a tendency to be stereotypes and here the author has played on that idea to perfection. Etienne wholly fits the role of the helpless lad or even princess who has to be rescued and protected by the prince, right down to his golden hair. Etienne's brothers too fit the mold as the 'ugly stepbrothers', grasping and greedy for all they can get of their father's inheritance. As a result of this, and also because he was so submissive, it was difficult to identify strongly with Etienne. However, if you can accept that he is a type or an ideal even, then his lack of character fails to be an important aspect. In fact we are told early on in the story that the hero is Jacques with Etienne being:

the cause of most of the misery and all of the joy contained within its pages.

Having said that, it's not difficult to like Etienne, despite his wimpish ways, and he does redeem himself at the end of the book in quite a delicious fashion.

What is most interesting is the clever way that the author has made the man Jacques almost as cat-like as his day time form. He has a streak of cruelty and selfishness common to most cats. He is predatory in his pursuit of Etienne, but also, as a lioness protects her cubs, he too is fiercely protective and possessive of Etienne. His total dominance in the relationship and the swift way he punishes for any transgressions reminded me of a male lion controlling his pride. I found Jacques to be an enthralling, fascinating character and was entirely pleased by his sacrifice and redemption by the end of the book.

This is the first D/s book I have read so I can't really comment on how it compares to others in the genre. However, I felt that this aspect of the book was believable. We are told enough about the characters at the beginning: Of Etienne's naturally accepting naivety and Jacques bitter reflections of his past; that it seemed natural for them to fall into that relationship. The sex scenes all built on each other, from the 'breaking in' of Etienne through to the gradual showing of tender feelings between the men, so although there is a lot of sex in the book, I never felt it was boring or repetitive, but rather that it was a necessary part of their developing relationship.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I like re-tellings of fairy tales and I like books which concentrate almost entirely on the bond between characters so this book was ideal for me. There is some action but mostly the book is completely focused on Jacques and Etienne imbuing the story with a sense of them being trapped both by circumstance, fear and by each other. The only slight niggle I may have would be with Etienne. I found his over reliance on Jacques and his inability to think or care for himself rather annoying at times. Then again, I think that is how we are supposed to feel about him; it's certainly reflected in Jacques' own disgust in Etienne at times.

If you are looking for something a bit different then I highly recommend that you read this book. I was engrossed from start to finish and I'm giving it a grade of 'Excellent'.

Free PsyCop Book

For those of you who read my review of Camp Hell and wanted to make a start on the excellent PsyCop series by Jordan Castillo Price, she is offering up the first book in the series, Among the Living, FREE, plus 15% off all her books over $2.50. This is for today only so get over there NOW!

I already have a copy, but I wanted to share the love with my readers. Be warned though, the series is seriously addictive and you may find yourself buying all the rest of the books in the series once you finish this. In fact I suggest you take advantage of the discount and buy the whole series today - it'll save you regretting it later.

You can find information about the book, the Psycop series and where to get your free copy here or click on the book cover.

Enjoy!

ETA: The free books have maxed out, so Jordan has made them available for the 14th April too. Or you can get it free when you order with another book.

Review: Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville

Those of you who, like me, love watching thrilling action films will find this book exactly to your taste. In fact, I spent the majority of time whilst reading Zero at the Bone thinking what a great film it would make. It's got all the right elements: A taciturn, reluctant, tortured hero; an honourable, personable, hero who appears helpless but has an inner strength; several different bad guys; shady government officials; action set pieces involving explosions, gun fights and car chases; betrayals; murders and underpinning the whole thing is a great love story between two seemingly opposite men.

The book begins as we meet D, a hit man and our reluctant hero. He is blackmailed into taking a job to kill our other hero, Jack, who is in witness protection, having witnessed a mob murder. However, D is a hit man with a conscience: He won't kill people who aren't already bad guys themselves. Jack, as a good, brave man who has given up his job and his life to testify against the mob, doesn't fall into the 'bad guy' category and so D cannot kill him; even when he has the gun pointing at his head. Having been unable to carry out the hit, D realises that he now needs to protect Jack from the other hit men who would only be too glad to pick up where he has failed. He is also aware that the hit on Jack may not have been given to him by the mob guys, but may have come from another source; someone who was using Jack to get to D.

What follows is a breathtaking ride as we follow this odd couple into hiding. D feels that he is the only one who can save Jack, and the first part of the book concerns how they hide out from those who wish to kill Jack and frame D. I was amazed at all the little details that the author had included to make this as realistic as possible. Details such as how D gets weapons and money; how they manage to avoid being caught; the intricacies of how the hit men operate. All these ideas built up in the book so that I really believed that D had the know how and resources to back up his claims that he was the best person to protect Jack.

It is during these weeks that the pair are hiding out together that their relationship is developed. D starts the book being so closed-up in his feelings that he lives in a constant state of emotional denial. It takes Jack and his gentle, yet insistent probing to get D to open up and face some of the things that have happened in his past; things that led to him becoming a hit man. This part of the book was incredibly well done and when the men became intimate it was more than just a need for sex, but an opportunity for D to accept that he is able once again to have tender, sentimental feelings for another person.

The second half of the book is very action packed, with a court drama, and a final confrontation with the person who had betrayed D. Then the book shifts slightly as the characters are separated for a time before being reunited in a most satisfactory fashion. This part of the book was mostly about Jack: His feelings for D; how he copes with testifying; how he adjusts to a new life. Some readers may feel frustrated at this separation between the characters so late in the book, but I felt it was signposted throughout the book and gave us an opportunity to understand Jack better and to see how he has also grown and developed from the frightened man we see at the start of the book.

I have to admit, going back to the film analogy again, that this book reminded me rather of the last Lord of the Rings film because it had so many endings. Quite a number of times I felt that the book could have ended at that point, but no, here was another chapter, and another. This didn't bother me too much and the final scene as they drove off into the sunset was a nice touch, and a nod once more as to how cinematic the book is. However, then we get to the epilogue during which things went downhill rather rapidly.

I've written before as to how an epilogue can ruin the ending to a good book and I'm afraid this was definitely the case here. A good epilogue should be a snapshot of the lives of our main characters at some point in the future. It should be short and sweet. This epilogue was nothing like that. In fact I have to say that this was not actually an epilogue but the first few chapters of a sequel. For a start it was too long, going on for pages and pages. Secondly, it introduced a whole slew of new characters. Thirdly, it brought in a new plot and themes, including a rather nasty description of a crime scene that D had to witness. In some ways I can understand the author wanting to set up a situation for a sequel, especially as I've heard that there is one in the pipeline. However, this didn't leave me hungry for the next book: This was the next book and I wished that the author hadn't included it here as it severely detracted from the lovely HEA at the end of the last chapter. What a shame.

Overall, until that epilogue, this book was a great read, a fantastic read and I highly recommend that you buy this book. However, take my advice and don't read the epilogue - leave the last image you have in your mind the one of Jack and D, together at last, and not of a gruesome murder. Then, when the sequel comes out, go back and read the epilogue in preparation for the next book. I'm afraid that image has rather coloured my view of the book as a whole and although this gets a grade of 'Excellent', it's a low one. I was tempted to put it down into 'Very Good' but felt that the rest of the book was so wonderful that it wouldn't be fair to do so.

Happy Easter

Hope you are all having a chocolate-filled day.

Today, as a special Easter treat, I want to do one of those blog award thingis for my virtual friend Kris from Kris 'n' Good Books.

I've been visiting her blog for months now and she always has something interesting to say, whether it's in her insightful 'tasting' reviews or in the opinion pieces on things that have caught her eye. She's recently initiated a brilliant idea where she managed to strong-arm the author Sean Kennedy into writing a short story based on ideas suggested by the readers of her blog. I'm very much looking forward to the results of that one!

*raises glass*
So, here's to Kris, Aussie wonder and blogger extraordinaire, cos I love her blog!

Saturday Shorts

Actually, it's Saturday Short today because I only read one short book this week. After last week's mammoth read, I've read only one book, one short and I'm half way through another book. I'm disgusted with myself.

End of the Line by Sean Michael
I read this novella because Aunty Lynn had reviewed it at Wave's blog and it sounded just the sort of book I like. Also there was general amazement that I hadn't read a book by this author before. The story begins when Sam, an ex-military man arrives at the feed store managed by Chance. Sam is looking for work after being discharged from the army with a bum knee. Chance comes from a military family, though he never served himself because he has diabetes, and is happy to take Sam on. He offers to put Sam up in his spare room until Sam can save up enough to afford his own place. What follows is a lovely, gradual development of feelings between the two men. Both are gay, but are afraid to tell the other for feel of being beaten up or rejected. They become fast friends and the first part of the book is spent showing their friendship so that by the time they reveal their sexual orientation to each other they have become comfortable and easy. Once they get together then it's explosive and tender at the same time. The best thing about the characters was that they were real men; men who found it difficult to open up; men who were able to chew the cud with each other whilst fishing; men who hated showing weakness and respected that in each other. It was utterly delightful and gets a grade of 'Excellent' from me.


One thing I wanted to share with you, and this is a good a place as any, since my reading has been so slow this week, is the new advertising campaign by the libraries in Leeds. Here's one of the posters:



Isn't that just great? It's really striking and eye-catching, and I love the cheeky humour. There are a few different ones encompassing various genres which have been placed in the train and bus stations in Leeds and the outlying suburbs. I would have shown you a few more but this was the only one I could find on the web (the Leeds council site is rubbish, like wading through mud).

Now if only they stocked a selection of m/m, I'd be down at my local library every week!

How Anti Can Your Hero Be?

I'm reading a fabulous book at the moment by an author who is new to me: Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville. I was attracted to the book because one of the men is an anti-hero which is a character trait of which I am fond. However, this guy isn't just an anti-hero; he's an ANTI-hero. Yep, anti in big letters, so anti that I can see that some readers may not be able to read the book.

You may be wondering what is so anti about this man. Well, he's a hit man. A contract killer. A cold-blooded murderer of a large number of people. In fact, when we meet him at the beginning of the book he has been sent to kill the other hero who is currently hiding in witness protection, having witnessed a mob murder. Some of you may already be thinking that you wouldn't be able to read this book, that there is a line in the sand over which you can't step - a multi-murderer being past that line. I didn't think that. I wondered how such a man could be a hero and what the author was going to do to redeem him: How can a killer become the focus of my sympathy?

I haven't finished the book yet - I'm about half way through - but I'm finding that I can sympathise with this hero; I am wanting a happy ending for him and the honourable other hero; and already the reasons for the life he had led make sense to me. I'm fully expecting that by the end of the book the hero will have fully redeemed himself; I shall be a bit cross if he doesn't!

This has got me thinking about anti-heroes in general. Most of them are just essentially selfish and self-serving with a habit of putting themselves before everyone else; at least until the other hero comes along. However, occasionally an anti-hero will crop up where it's more than just selfishness. Where they have deliberately done something very wrong and behaved in a way which by rights should be punished by imprisonment (or maybe the death penalty in the US). It could be murder, as in the book I am reading, or housebreaking as in The Good Thief by James Buchanan, or drink driving as in the St Nacho's sequel due out soon by ZA Maxfield. These are the heroes which divide a readership between those who can empathise with that hero and those who cannot.

Where is your line in the sand? Mine will be child abuse: Not that I've read a book with a child abusing hero and I'm not likely to, unless by accident and then it will be an immediate DNF. What about you? Could you read and enjoy this book about a hit man, or is that past your tolerance line? What about other books you have read with an anti-hero such as these: Did you enjoy them? Would you choose to read one again?

Duelling Review: Def Con One by John Simpson

This is the first of the planned duelling reviews over at Wave's blog. You will note these reviews have a slightly different style to my usual reviews, mainly because I'm trying to fit them in with how Wave likes her reviews done.

THE BLURB

Air Force Airman Bryce Callahan reports to the missile silo base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to take up duties with the Base Security Police Squadron. There he meets Sergeant Todd Claymore, his training partner... who becomes his romantic partner, as well. Their lives settle into a routine as peaceful and pleasant as is possible while they're on active duty.

That peace is broken when a squad of rogue Soviet commandos cross the U.S. border headed straight for Callahan's base, intent on destroying the ICBM missiles. Led by a Soviet general who controls an unsanctioned missile base in the Ural Mountains, the guerrilla action could easily explode into World War III. Caught up in the danger, Callahan and Claymore must face the enemy with courage to stop the attack and an all-out nuclear war.

THE REVIEW

It took a little while to get into this book, for two reasons: Firstly, I had just finished reading several books which were very descriptive and lyrical in style. This book has a completely different feel to it. The language is down to earth and very matter of fact. This is not a bad thing, in fact it suited the story very well, but the switch from one style to the other took me a while to adjust. Secondly, the author begins this book with our hero, Bryce, arriving at a nuclear air base and checking in, settling into his accommodation and easing his way into a new job. This went on for quite a number of pages and I spent quite a bit of time wondering why I was being treated to lengthy descriptions of dull air-force life. It made the story drag and I had to force myself to continue reading. After a while I realised why John Simpson was doing doing this: Life in the armed forces is mostly how the author describes it - dull and routine with a thousand different rules and regulations for the men and women to learn. He is essentially telling us how these people live their lives from day to day. This meant that when the action started later in the book, we are able to see how that routine impacts on an emergency situation. Once I realised what the author was trying to do, I found the book became more engaging, especially once the excitement starts.

When I read the blurb to this book, I wondered how the relationship between Bryce and Todd would work in an atmosphere of 'don't ask, don't tell'. In fact Bryce is slightly careless in checking Todd out in the shower and Todd picks up on his appreciative looks at a certain large part of Todd's anatomy. After that it isn't long before they are hopping into bed and having a relationship. What was most interesting was how the two men hid their relationship almost in plain sight. They were buddies and co-workers before being lovers and they just continued that easy friendship as a way of preventing any unwanted talk. I felt that this was a realistic portrayal of how gay men might be able to form relationships despite the oppressiveness of the 'don't ask, don't tell' environment in the armed forces.

The book really starts to heat up about a third of the way through. The story is set slightly in the future where Russia is once again a threat to Europe and America. All through the first part of the book the author builds up the tension through news reports, presidential addresses and the men talking about the looming threat of war. It was all very well done and a nice juxtaposition to the mundane lives of the men on the airbase. The story then explodes into action and it's an edge of your seat ride right through to the end of the book.

I have to admit to being thoroughly gripped by the majority of this exciting story. The plain writing suited the story exactly; it was almost like being told the story by a man down the pub: a straight telling of a tale, with very little embellishment. Even the sex scenes were unsentimental, so those of you who like your sex with tonnes of emotion, may find this a bit off putting. I only have one minor gripe and that is that the last part of the book dragged somewhat. I also felt that the events that made up the latter half of the book were too easily resolved by coincidence making them less realistic and believable than even the moments of high drama earlier in the story.

Overall, after the slow start, this was an engaging read. I would recommend this book to those who like high-octane thrillers with a military theme and for those who want to know the impact that 'don't ask, don't tell' has on the members of the armed forces in the US. I'm giving it a grade of 'Very Good' and will certainly look out for more books and stories by this author.

So, this is my opinion. What about the other half of the review? Well, you'll have to go over to Wave's blog to see how Aunty Lynn reviewed the same book!

Where am I?

Today I'm blogging over at Wave's 1st birthday blog along with 5 other bloggers.

So join me there to find out all about "The Blogger's Dilemma".

Hooray for Clare!

Prepare yourselves for some shameless author pimpage...

When I did my author interview with Clare London a couple of months ago we were hoping that her new book Freeman would be out by then. Well, it got a litle bit delayed, so I promised her that I would do a big plug for the book when it was eventually released - which, obviously, is TODAY!

Here's the big plug...

No, not that sort of plug, silly. This sort:

Here's the blurb:

Freeman's return to the city is quiet, without fuss -- the way he likes things. But, he's missed by more people than he thought: his ex-wife, his ex-lover, and his ex-business partner. One wants friendship, another one intimacy. The third just wants him the hell gone again.

Freeman -- private, controlled -- hasn't time or appetite for trouble. But, when he strikes up an unusual, ill-advised friendship with young, lively, amoral Kit, it seems trouble's come looking for both men, ready to expose secrets that can destroy the fragile trust they've built. Freeman's more ready for the challenge than anyone realizes when the choice comes down to peace or Kit's life.

There's an extract over at MLR Press so go over and read it and then BUY THE BOOK!

Congratulations Clare!

Author Interview: Josh Lanyon

I've discovered that one of the best things about doing these author interviews is that I get to ask my favourite authors all the questions that never seem to crop up in other interviews; questions about books or aspects of their writing which have intrigued me. This has been especially the case with this month's author: The marvellous Josh Lanyon.

Josh is mostly famous for his series of m/m mysteries featuring bookseller and amateur sleuth Adrien English and his on/off relationship with closeted cop Jake Riordan. These books get quite a lot of attention over the blogs, and rightly so. However, Josh has written a number of other mystery and action-adventure novellas which I have enjoyed reading just as much as the Adrien English books and it is these books that I have focused most of my questions on today - mainly because all my questions about Adrien and Jake have been answered in other interviews. That, of course, didn't stop Josh from getting a few Adrien references into his answers as you will see below!

So, without further ado, I'll hand over to the very talented and witty Josh Lanyon.

On Your Writing

You were writing gay fiction before your transition to m/m. How easy have you found it to adapt your writing to the m/m audience? What would you say are the major differences between the genres?
There was definitely a learning curve. Of course they have two totally different antecedents. Gay romance is a subgenre of gay literature. M/M springs from slash fiction. So in gay literature you have (primarily) gay men writing for other gay men. In M/M you have gay and straight women mostly -- although it is changing -- writing largely for other gay and straight women. But mainly I think the difference between m/m and gay lit to be one of degree and sensibility. I find that m/m readers, be they male or female, want focus on emotions, a lot of sensory details, a…let’s call it romantic approach to sex. Not coy, I don’t mean that, but a more emotionally intense exploration. They also want -- require -- happy endings. At the very least, Happy For Now endings. You don’t necessarily need this in gay fiction, not even gay romance.

And, back to your original question, for my own work, previously, the emphasis on my stories was the mystery plot. Now, with the novellas, the romantic relationship is first and foremost. The mystery or crime plot basically exists as framework to hang the romance on. I’ll admit it’s been unexpectedly enjoyable to focus on characters and their romantic interactions.

You set yourself quite rigorous writing schedules. How realistically have you been able to keep to it? Are you not afraid of ‘burning out’?
I do, actually. I’ve teetered on burn out a couple of times -- and I’m close to it again. At the moment I’m right on schedule but I’m cutting it very, very close. Of necessity. It’s very difficult to earn a living writing fiction, especially in this genre where there are no big advances or huge distribution. So I am very much over-scheduled.

Why do you write mainly in the first person?
It really does depend on the story I’m trying to tell. If the narrator’s voice and view point is going to be crucial, then I go for first person which allows me to delve deeply into that psyche -- and allows for a lighter, more humorous touch. But if I need a slightly more detached view, or if I want to switch between POVs -- if I think it will make for a better story if the reader has insight into the other romantic lead’s thoughts -- I go for limited third person POV.

And then more and more I like experimenting with omniscient POV, which I think can be very funny -- but in a detached way. It works especially well with fantasy and historical fiction, I think.

Your first person narrator is nearly always the beta hero. Have you ever considered writing from an alpha hero’s POV?
I do occasionally -- always in the third person when I’m trying to show the other side like in Snowball in Hell or Dangerous Ground. To be honest, I think the majority of readers more comfortably identify with the Beta character’s view point -- because the Beta character is the quest character, the aspiring character -- the story is usually the Beta’s. The character that’s going to have to work hard for what he (or she) wants.

Part of why I think readers prefer seeing the Alpha through the Beta’s eyes is the fun of trying to figure out the enigma that is the object of one’s romantic desire. If you know flat out for a fact that Jake worships the ground Adrien walks on…well, it takes away some of the fun, doesn’t it?

Now in The White Mountains, I’m weighing whether to write entirely from the Alpha’s view point. It’s a different type of story.

A few of your books contain English characters. Do you have a connection with England? I know we’re all pretty irresistible, but which particular characteristics attract you to writing one of us into your books?
My father always yells, “British, not English!” Anyway, yes, my family is deeply inter-connected to the British sub-culture over here. *g*

Jenre: Ooh, don’t get me started on the whole national identity debate.

I do understand, believe me. *g*

Why do many of your characters have physical or emotional flaws, such as epilepsy, heart trouble, asthma or alcoholism?
It didn’t start out as a conscious decision. Adrien has heart problems because heart problems run in my family and that was on my mind at the time -- and also HIV was being heavily explored in gay mystery fiction, and the point of Adrien was that he was mainstream. He was the boy next door. But I had given him so many gifts…beauty, brains, wealth…so I decided I needed to “equalize” him in a way that anyone could identify with -- that anyone might fear.

And I liked exploring what the impact of that weakness would have on him -- and what kind of dynamic that would create with a Jake Riordan sort of character. Adrien’s physical vulnerability brings out a side of Jake that would not otherwise appear.

As for the characters and stories that followed…I don’t know. I like exploring different dynamics, and in particular the abstracts of strength and weakness. Our concept of masculinity is so tied in with strength, with toughness -- both physical and emotional -- that it’s interesting to explore -- even rock those ideas. I mean, who is ultimately stronger -- Adrien or Jake? Who wins that final battle of wills? Even if Adrien dies, he wins.

You have started to branch out away from mysteries into action/adventure. Was this as a result of a conscious decision not to allow yourself to be pigeonholed? Are there any other genres you would like to have a go at?
Oh yes. As much as I love writing mysteries, I saw early on that mystery was not nearly as popular or commercial in this genre as paranormal or simple romance. The problem is, I need a lot of plot to stay interested and engaged in a story -- and I am first and foremost a mystery writer -- so I just naturally think in terms of people dying and other people being suspected of knocking them off. But I’m branching out. I’m doing a fantasy -- spec fiction -- novel this year -- The White Mountains for Blind Eye Books.

Have you considered writing a plain (I was going to say straight, but that wouldn’t work) romance with no mystery plot?
Ahem. *g* I’m doing a Christmas novella for Samhain and there will be very little mystery, if any, in that one. Yes, I do have a number of ideas for simple romance with no dead bodies.

On Your Books

You are in the process of writing/planning a number of sequels to your previous books such as “The Dark Horse”, “I Spy Something Bloody”, “Dangerous Ground”, “Snowball in Hell” and not forgetting the fifth Adrien English novel. Is this as a result of pressure from fans or your publisher, or do you have a genuine desire to revisit these previous characters?
I’m a professional writer, so it behoves me to pay attention to what my readers would be interested in seeing more of. I do pay attention to my readers. But I have to agree that there is still a story there or character issues to explore -- enough to interest me. Do I tailor the stories to what readers might like? No. Readers have to trust me to tell the story -- and they seem to, for the most part. I write for myself, but publishing…well, that’s a partnership.

Can I put pressure on you to write another one with Tim and Jack from “Cards on the Table”?!
Ah. Welllllll, that’s one of the pairings that might be suitable for a brief revisit, but I don’t see enough conflict or story for another full-length novella. But the other factor is time. Sometimes a story will occur to me later down the line. I Spy Something Bloody was a story I’d started years and years ago, and lost interest in. And then one day it occurred to me that I was curious about what happened with those two. So you never know.

Jenre: Oh well, it was worth a try. I really liked the dynamic between these two characters, especially with the added complication of Tim’s epilepsy. I’ll have to content myself with re-reading the story. Again. For about the 10th time.

Ah. Thank you. And you never know. Someday a story might occur to me that would be perfect for Tim and Jack.

“Someone killed his Editor” is your first foray into an intentionally comedic novel. Was it a different experience having to deliberately write jokes/comic moments into a novel rather than the incidental humour found in your other books?
Definitely. I don’t typically try to be funny. Meaning, I don’t try to think up funny situations, I rely on the POV character’s internal and external dialog -- and (usually) ironic or whimsical world view. In the end…I don’t think SKHE was as light or funny as I’d hoped. It’s a good, tight little mystery…and it’s a nice romance. I think it has some funny bits, but I still need to work at the romantic-comedy thing.

You took a risk in making your hero of “I Spy Something Bloody”, Mark Hardwicke, into an anti-hero. Were you surprised at the negative reaction from many readers (not me, I hasten to add, I was in the ‘like Mark’ camp)?
I knew from my editor’s initial reaction that Mark was liable to be a hard sell for some readers -- and I toned him down a bit for the final draft. He was initially much colder and ruthless. Not about Stephen: Stephen is Mark’s weak point, but about everyone and everything else. Readers seem to either adore that book or loathe it.

What inspired you to use a May to December romance in “I Spy Something Bloody”?
Partly because I have -- and have always had -- a thing for older guys. *g* And partly because I like exploring that dynamic, the balance of power. With age difference often comes the clash of world views and life experiences -- it’s intriguing to investigate what that means for a couple.

You have teamed up with Jordan Castillo Price for the Partners in Crime books, after the departure of Sarah Black. Why continue doing these books at all instead of drawing the series to a conclusion?
I enjoy writing mystery novellas -- I’d be doing that anyway -- and part of the fun of the Partners in Crime stories is playing off the other writer. It creates a certain energy knowing that we’re both working from the same cues -- it’s exciting to see what the other is going to do with it, what magic they’ll devise. And in each case, my partners in crime have been writers I hugely respected and enjoyed, so…in addition to the fun of working on the same project at the same time, it’s an honour to have my work paired with theirs.

Everyone always focuses on the Adrien English books, which of course are fabulous. Does it bother you that some of your other books such as “Ghost of a Chance” and “Cards on the Table” are largely ignored in favour of that series?
The main thing that puzzles me is when readers who love the Adrien books won’t even try the novellas. That always surprises me. That readers have favourites…no, that’s not really a surprise and it doesn’t bother me. I ascribe Adrien’s popularity to a number of things…the fact that he’s a series character and has been around for about a decade, and the fact that his stories are novel-length, which means they’re more complex and he’s better developed than almost any other character I have. The novel format guarantees Adrien has layers and his stories have subplots that are not possible in the novella format.

Now ask me this question again in ten years. If Adrien is still blowing my other series characters out of the water…ouch.

You are about to publish a WW1 story set in England. Why choose that particular era for a story? Was it difficult to research?
Oh God. Was it ever. Out of the Blue is set in France, actually, but the main character is English. The world has changed a lot since the beginning of the last century -- a lot more than, say, WWII -- which is when I set Snowball in Hell (an era I’m comfortable with and know very well). Reading those old journals and diaries and letters…the voice and attitudes are so quaint. I mean, that’s really the word for it. Quaint. It’s difficult to capture without sounding stiff and artificial. Hurrah, old bean, we’ve got the dirty Boche on the run now! That kind of thing. That’s how they talked -- that’s how they wrote. The challenge was in bringing these men to life, making them real, avoiding turning them into cartoons.

WWI is a period that fascinates me -- the romance and the tragedy of it. I have volumes and volumes of WWI poetry.

Jenre: I’m going to be all literary and poncy now, but there is a poem by Philip Larkin, entitled MCMXIV where he describes a scene in which young men are lining up to enlist in the first world war. He describes their faces as “archaic”, which in a way is a perfect description of the way the men looked and spoke at that time. The poem ends “Never such innocence again”. It’s all so hopelessly sad.

Nice one. It’s astonishing how much poetry reveals -- in some ways it’s more revealing than prose because of the tight discipline required, the distance it allows -- and distance offers perspective. I’ve got a book called Men Who March Away -- published in 1965. It’s a good blend of the romantic with the horrific.

How important is it for you to maintain quite a high internet presence?
Nowadays over half my audience is an ebook audience, so it’s fairly important that I keep an online presence. I’ve actually cut back a bit, but that’s okay. This is a small pond, relatively speaking, and I’ve done a lot of splashing. I’m relying on the ripple effect now.

You have a new book coming out...tell us about it.
I just had The White Knight released. That was a something new for me -- I tried to do a combination sequel/prequel to my first m/m novella The Dark Horse. With Dark Horse I was trying something a little different -- what happens after the fade to black in one of those classic “bodyguard” romances. It was received well, but readers -- Elisa Rolle for one -- kept asking for the story that led up to The Dark Horse. So…I tried to give them a taste of that story, but there were limitations because anyone who read Dark Horse knows what’s going to happen. It’s bound to be anticlimactic, so I thought to combine it with a follow up for Dan and Sean. I liked the way it turned out, but we’ll see what readers think.

Next up is -- I think -- Somebody Killed His Editor through Samhain Publishing. It’s about Christopher Holmes, a formerly successful mystery writer who finds his professional and personal life on the skids as he hits forty. His longtime lover has dumped him -- and so has his publisher. The writing is on the wall -- and the crows feet are on his face. He’s scared and angry and insecure. His agent sends him to a writing retreat and the first thing he does is stumble over a body like a character in one of his own novels.

Maybe it’s my macabre sense of humour, but I find that funny.

What’s next for you?
Let’s see. This is once again a very busy year for me. I’m wrapping up one mystery series -- the Adrien English series -- and starting a new one, the Christopher Holmes series. Laura Baumbach and I are doing the follow up to Mexican Heat. There will be two Partners in Crime pairings. And I’ve got a slew of novellas due with both new and revisited characters. Probably the project I’m most excited about is the spec fiction novel for Blind Eye Books. I admire the folks at Blind Eye, they’ve got a brilliant stable of talent, and I’m honoured -- and terrified -- to have been invited to contribute.

So…anyway. The White Mountains is about Major Valentine Strange, late of the Emperor’s 21st Regiment of Benhali Lancers, who is hired to find an ancient diadem of both mystical and political significance. Strange is a kind of soldier of fortune, a mercenary Indiana Jones figure. He’s aided in his quest by Master Aleister Grimshaw, a witch with a mysterious and troubled history. It’s mostly action and adventure -- with a fair dollop of romance.

Thank you very much Josh for answering all my nosy questions in such detail.

Thanks very much, Jenre. Great questions -- I enjoyed the interview!

You can find Josh at his website here or his liveJournal blog here. As always you can click on the book covers to get to Josh's books.