Review: Putting Out Fires by Sienna Black

This novella by new-to-me author Sienna Black started with a great deal of promise but was ultimately let down by being too crammed with plot and world building for such a short medium.

The story begins with a great deal of verve and energy as firefighter Carlin is celebrating five years on the job by gaining access to an exclusive club known for its fetish scene. Once inside Carlin is mesmerised by beautiful and lithe dancer Zaid who invites Carlin back to his dressing room. Before anything too naughty can happen the club catches fire. It turns out that Zaid is a fire Djinn, who can conjure up and control fire. Another fire djinn wants Zaid to abandon his interactions with human beings and take his position of leader of the elements and the fire is his way of gaining Zaid's attention. Zaid is torn between his new relationship with Carlin and his calling as a leader.

Putting Out Fires is told from the alternating points of view of Carlin and Zaid. When we first meet Carlin we are given a few pieces of information about him: that he is gay, but not openly so; that he is shy; that he has dedicated his life to his job as a firefighter and his personal life has been lacking as a result. Actually this is all we are told about Carlin and even by the end of the book I didn't really feel I knew him any better than that. We are also introduced to the character of Toby at the beginning who is a friend of Carlin. Toby has managed to get both he and Carlin into the exclusive club and there is some hints that Toby has tried (and failed) to get into Carlin's pants in the past. Once inside Toby drifts off to dance with another guy and we never see or hear from him again. I thought it rather strange that a situation is set up between Carlin and Toby and then forgotten about. Even when the club is burned to the ground Carlin never once worries about whether Toby made it out of the building safely, even though they are supposed to be good friends. This is just one example where the characterisation is under-developed in the story which meant that I was lacking any empathy for any of the characters in the story or their situation. Zaid is also another character where we are only fed bits of pieces of information about him. He is a fire djinn but it is never quite explained what this entails and why he was raised to be a leader or why he chooses to remain with humans rather than with the elements. Perhaps I was just being a bit dense, but I was left by the end with far too many questions about Zaid for his character to have been at all satisfying.

The reason why the characterisation is lacking is mostly due to the length of the story and the amount of plot which is stuffed into it. It is hardly surprising that there isn't room for the characters to develop when the rest of the book contains world building about the djinns; the meeting of Zaid and Carlin; some establishing of a friendship between Zaid and Dash, who is a sort of friend/go-between; sex scenes; and a complex plot based around Zaid taking his rightful place as leader of the elements and battling with another djinn. It was all just too much to put into a short medium of a novella and I felt that the story would have been far better had it been lengthened to novel length and some scenes added to enhance the characterisation and perhaps explain a little more about who the elements are and how Zaid is their leader.

Having said that, the book isn't badly written. It zipped along at a quick pace and had some really good paranormal ideas in it. The opening section was particularly done well with lots of lovely sexual tension as the men meet and then the tense action sequence as the two men try to escape from the burning building. I liked the initial introduction of Carlin and was sorry that he didn't get to develop beyond that as he could have been a very sympathetic character. Actually, far and away the most interesting character was Dash and I found myself wanting to know a lot more about him, and what seemed to be his sad little life, than I did about Zaid

Overall, I would say that this is a book with a lot of missed potential. It wasn't bad, but it could have been so much better. The story ends quite abruptly and I did wonder whether it is to have a sequel. If it does, I hope it features Dash. I would recommend this book, which gains a grade of 'Good', to fans of the author and those who are looking for a quick read with little depth.

Review: Dash and Dingo: In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger by Catt Ford and Sean Kennedy

I've been eagerly awaiting this book. Sean Kennedy is one of my favourite m/m writers and I was interested in seeing how his writing would blend with that of Catt Ford. I also have a great love of adventure stories, especially those in the mould of H Rider Haggard and GA Henty. It's hardly surprising then, that I found this tale of love and adventure in the forests of Tasmania to be a enjoyable romp, with a message of caution about how humans, and particularly the imperial British, have trampled over the spoils of their empire.

The book begins in London in 1934 where our hero, Henry Percival-Smyth, is working in the dusty basement of Ealing College as a researcher and archivist. His passion is the the Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger or 'Tassie' as it is nicknamed, now almost hunted to extinction. His dull life is interrupted by the arrival of Jack 'Dingo' Chambers, an Australian adventurer and fellow enthusiast of Tassie. Within a few minutes of meeting, Henry has been given a new nickname, 'Dash', and swept off to plan a trip to Tasmania to capture a breeding pair of Tassies to bring to England in order to start a breeding programme. The story then takes us to Australia via Bangkok and onto the jungles of Tasmania where our intrepid explorers search for the tiger but also find each other, all whilst being tracked and hunted by men who wish to wipe out the tiger for good, even if it means killing Dash and Dingo along the way.

In fitting with many adventure novels of the early part of last century, this book started quite slowly. There's quite a lot of scene setting, especially in building up a picture of Henry's life in England and the dusty bureaucracy of his job. Even once the two men are on their way there's still a stop in Bangkok and a stay with Dingo's family before the true adventure begins. As this was the first book in the series, the focus is more on the two men and how their differences at first repel and then attract as they grow to know each other so I didn't mind the time spent setting the scene and fleshing out the characters of Henry and Dingo. Once the setting moves to the forests of Tasmania the focus shifts slightly towards ecological matters. The forest is a mix of terrible beauty and fragility, and there is a strong message in the middle section of the book about protecting the environment and working with harmony with nature rather than riding roughshod over it.

Most of the book is taken from the point of view of Henry as he first struggles to realise his dream of seeing a Tassie in its natural habitat and then grows both in boldness and in his views about the tiger. At the beginning of the book Henry is your typical reserved Englishman and it was delightful to see him change and develop through the book as he tackles life in the jungle and the arduous trek to see the tiger. Most of this change is to do with Dingo, whose outgoing nature and lust for life and adventure affects Henry. In some ways I wished that I could get more of the book from Dingo's point of view because I never really felt I knew him as well as Henry. In fact, on occasion, Dingo slipped a little into the stereotype of a jungle adventurer and I felt that maybe this would have been avoided if I had seen more of Dingo's thoughts. Dingo is also a little bit too good to be true at times, as is his family, which is used as a way of contrasting Dingo with Henry. Dingo is friendly, charismatic, with a wonderful accepting family and a very PC relationship with the indigenous people of Tasmania. In fact Dingo pretty much can do no wrong in the book (except perhaps deliberately winding Henry up on occasion). As a consequence of this, Henry is the more interesting man out of the pair simply because he does have flaws. The relationship between Henry and Dingo is also done well. Their feelings grow gradually, helped by the pressures and stress of their situation and also because they are isolated and therefore forced into each other's company. This is also tempered by the historical setting where the men are very aware that, once back in civilisation, they must be secretive about their love. The way that this was highlighted through the use of the gay love song was touching, as was the tender sex scenes.

The place where this book really shines is in the description of the various settings. Cold rainy England is all dull colours; Bangkok is heat and spicy tastes; Melbourne is sun and brightness; and Tasmania is lush foliage and animals with sharp teeth. The comparisons were delightful and each place lovingly realised so that I felt that I was actually there alongside the two men and experiencing Henry's awe and amazement with him.

There were a few little niggles. Firstly, at the beginning of the book there are a number of occasions where there is a sudden hop from Henry's view to Dingo's for a sentence and then back to Henry. I found this distracting and it pulled me out of the story. Fortunately, this only happens a few times and only in the first half of the book. Secondly, is the villain of the piece, Hodges, who behaves in a baffling random way which is rather conveniently explained away at the end of the book. I felt that he veered strongly into pantomime villain and I didn't really feel that the explanation as to why he was hunting the men was in keeping with his subsequent behaviour. I also hadn't really got a clue as to the role of the Tasmanian government and Hodge's relationship to them. In some ways, I suppose this fits in with an adventure setting where the bad guy is often a megalomaniac, but when fitted into the realistic setting and the serious issue of ecological responsibility, his presence and behaviour was slightly jarring to the story.

Don't let these slight niggles put you off though, because I really enjoyed this ripping yarn with a serious ecological message. Even the epilogue was well written and necessary to the plot and general arc of the series. It was very obvious that both authors have a great love of the settings and themes of this book, especially the Thylacine, as that enthusiasm shone through in their writing. If you like adventure books then this should be added to your TBR pile. I'm already looking forward to reading the next adventure starring Dash and Dingo and this book gains a grade of 'Excellent'.

Have you ever had one of those days...

...when all you want to do is stay at home and read your book but RL gets in the way so you have to take the kids to school or go to work or sit in the sports centre and entertain 3 children for an hour whilst the fourth does gymnastics or go to a BLOODY BORING evening meeting about SOD ALL which over ran by half an hour so by the end you wanted to kill someone...

...OR ALL OF THE ABOVE?!!

No?

Well, bully for you.

I need a cookie.



That's better.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

...which is where I'm going this weekend.



We go every two years to Scarborough (yes the Scarborough of the famous song) which is a seaside resort on the North East coast of England. On Saturday afternoon I shall be sitting on North Beach watching the kids play in the sand. It has become quite a tradition and usually it's bloody freezing (although strangely enough for Britain, not raining). However, this year the forecast says it's going to be warm and it may even reach the dizzy heights of 19 degrees Celsius. Good grief! I may have to faint! Hub is even talking about taking his shorts and needing to pack suncream.



So no Saturday Shorts tomorrow (I've not managed to read any, anyway) and I'll be back on Monday. Enjoy your weekend folks, especially you Brits who can revel in the late September heatwave!

Review: His Convenient Husband by JL Langley

His Convenient Husband is an extended version of the story which appears in the Studs and Spurs anthology. I normally don't look at reviews of books before I read them, especially if I know I'm going to review them myself. I did read a number of reviews for this book though, many of which were not too complimentary so I didn't really have very high expectations when I starting redding this book. Imagine my surprise and delight when I really rather enjoyed His Convenient Husband. It may not be as good as some of the other JL Langley books I've read, but it's certainly well worth reading.

One of the reasons I may have liked this book so much is because it took me back to my teenage years when I read a lot of Mills and Boon romance. JL Langley admits that the old US Harlequin books were the model for this story and it shows in that the plot is a little far-fetched at times. The book follows the fortunes of a Texan family. The patriarch, Ferguson, is dying of cancer, leaving behind two sons and two grandsons. The eldest son, Donald, ran off years ago with his brother's wife, leaving his brother, Jeff, and his two sons, Tucker and AJ to run the ranch. Tucker, however, chose the path of greed and money and took off to Denver to become a wealthy businessman. Added to the family is Juan, the ranch supervisor and his nephew, Micah, whose own family dumped him on Juan after his parents died. Micah has been raised as one of the sons of the ranch and is now in charge of the finances. The ranch is spiralling into debt so Micah visits Tucker in the city to ask for his help. They had a bit of a fling a few years ago and things are awkward between them. When a strange clause in Ferguson's will comes to light, it seems the best way to prevent Donald from taking over is for Tucker and Micah to marry.

In order for you to enjoy this book then a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is in order, just like with many of the old Harlequin books. I know that a clause in a will which states that the first person to marry gets the ranch is never going to stand up in court (which is also pointed out several times in the book) and I know that the fact that Tucker and Micah get married is a bit silly and contrived (particularly as the book is set in Texas) but I went with it and found myself enjoying the book as a result. The characters are likeable, especially Micah who is hard working to the point of giving himself an ulcer and independent but with a internal humour which made me warm to him. Tucker is a rather selfish man at the beginning but grew and developed through the story enough that I felt he and Micah complemented each other. Even Donald, who is shown to be the 'bad guy' throughout most of the book is given some redeeming qualities by the end.

I liked the tension between Tucker and Micah, and I found the scenes where they are talking or arguing were the ones which worked best in the book. JL Langley always writes great sexual tension and that came across strongly in this book too. Even when the men are trying desperately to cling onto old hurts, their bodies give away their obvious attraction which led to a number of 'will they won't they' scenes. Actually this was one area where I got a bit frustrated with the book. On several occasions the two men kiss and it starts to lead to more when either they are interrupted or one of the men 'comes to his senses'. I didn't mind it the first couple of times but it did get a bit tedious after a while and I wished they'd just get over themselves and get on with it! I also liked the clash of personalities, where the wiser Micah tries to get Tucker to realise that he's not the immature 18 year old that Tucker left behind four years ago. Having said that, Micah is still quite young and sometimes behaves in ways with shows his age by losing his temper, storming about the house and refusing to see reason at times. This contrasted with the older Tucker, who is trying to help Micah as well as protect his from further stress.

Overall, this is a light, undemanding read. I raced quickly through the novella and found it to be both funny and tragic in places. It's well paced with a good mix of dialogue and reflection, plus the characters are fairly well drawn and all get a nice bit of page time. It's true to say that this doesn't compare well to, say, Tin Star by this author. However, I would still recommend it , with a grade of 'Good', to those who are looking for a quick, easy read about love and cowboys.

Review: Bastards and Pretty Boys by KZ Snow

This delightful novella from KZ Snow was a quick undemanding read about the end of one relationship and the beginning of something new. It focuses on first person narrator Charlie who has bought a summer getaway by a lake and is starting a two week holiday at the house. Helping him move in and clean up the place is his lover Kenneth and his ex-wife Carolyn. Charlie has reached the point in his relationship with Kenneth that he has started noticing all the things that he doesn't really like about him and forgetting the reasons which brought them together. When Kenneth tells Charlie that he's been sleeping around on him, Charlie knows that it marks the beginning of the end for them, but gives himself a week to think before he calls off the relationship. As Charlie is settling into his holiday he meets Booker who owns the house next door. They hit it off immediately but Booker's got a dodgy past and Charlie needs to get past that before he can commit himself.

There were quite a lot of things I liked about this story. Firstly was the character of Charlie. He's had a bit of a rough ride when it comes to relationships. His marriage was a sham because it took him a while to realise he was gay, then he went off the rails and slept around before settling with Kenneth who he has begun to realise is not someone he loves or wants to continue seeing. When he meets Booker, therefore, he's at the stage where he's happy with his sexuality, he's had time to 'sow his oats' and also to experience a steady relationship. Charlie's ready to give love a go and he finds it in Booker, falling quickly for him. I had a great deal of sympathy for Charlie and found his feelings for Kenneth and Booker and the way he works through those feelings to be realistically done. Also realistic was the relationship between Charlie and Carolyn. We are never told how long it is since they divorced, but it is hinted at several times that it was a dark and difficult time for both of them. It was nice to see the aftermath of that time and how both characters had moved on with their lives. Another great thing about Charlie is that he is rather a sensible person. When Booker tells him about his past he at first reacts badly. It doesn't take long for him to realise that he was a bit of an idiot and so he apologises to Booker, thus avoiding a big misunderstanding which would have ruined the tone of the book and made me lose sympathy with Charlie. Instead the two men talk about their problems and their pasts and actively seek to help each other. It was this more than anything which made Bastards and Pretty Boys a special read.

Booker is seen only from Charlie's point of view, and as Charlie falls for him pretty quickly, that view is rather idealised. Booker, it seems cannot do wrong, has a fantastic body, is great in bed, etc, etc. This meant that it was more difficult to understand Booker. Booker himself is completely perplexed at times over Charlie's sudden feelings for him, leading to some scenes which were difficult for both men. In fact most of the book, apart from the opening section with Carolyn, Kenneth and Charlie, and a short scene between Kenneth and Charlie at the end, is focused on the relationship with Charlie and Booker as they talk and interact with each other. This lent the book quite a large emotional intensity which added to its romantic feel. I liked that the general tone of the book was relaxed and focused on the romance as it made a nice change from some of the other books I've read recently. This was also reflected in the setting. Nearly all the action happens around the cottage where Charlie is spending his holiday. I found the descriptions of the cottage, the lake, the pine forest and the nature surrounding it, to be quite lovely and fit nicely into what is a quiet story of two men who fall in love. Even the tension, which is introduced later in the story, is heightened by their isolation.

I did have one slight niggle with Bastards and Pretty Boys which was that on at least three occasions various different characters spouted off their views on the Cannabis Law in the US, mostly saying how ridiculous it was. The first time it happened I thought it was a bit strange, then on subsequent occasions it jolted me out of the story and made me feel like I was being lectured to. The subject was relevant to the book but I thought it rather unsubtle to have the authors own views injected into a book in this fashion.

Overall, I really enjoyed Bastards and Pretty Boys. It was a light, romantic read containing realistic characters who are sensible enough to know that they've found someone special. I recommend this book to those who love a good, well written romance and it gets a grade of 'Very Good' from me.

It's all Ingrid's Fault

No it is, really.

There I was, sitting in front of the laptop getting ready to write up my reviews for Wave's blog this week when Ingrid asked me whether I had seen Okane ga Nai!.


Now I don't watch anime and have only recently been seduced suckered introduced to Yaoi Manga, so I hadn't got a clue what she was talking about. Fortunately a quick search on Google revealed the first episode and I sat down to watch. Then Ingrid sent me the link to Anime Season which has loads of animes to watch and I was hooked. I've watched all four episodes now and wasted my entire evening, when I was going to be a good girl, watching yaoi instead.

For those of you as clueless as me (which will probably be non of you) Okane ga Nai! is a story of 18 year old college student Yukiya who is sold into sexual slavery to pay off the debts of his ne'er do well cousin. He is bought by shady business man, Somuku Kanou, and much forced seduction ensues before Yukiya admits he loves it all really and promptly falls for his rapist. If it sounds like the plot to a really bad 1970s Mills and Boon romance then you will be right. It was a great deal more fun than that though. I killed myself laughing over episode two where Somuku Kanou tries to get Yukiya to like him by following the advice in a manual on how to treat small cute animals. I did want to kill Yukiya on a number of occasions though and gouge out his overly expressive blue eyes that were on the constant verge of tears.

Anyway having got hooked on Okane ga Nai! I looked up some of the other yaoi on Anime Season and am now in the process of working through Junjou Romantica which has an entirely more sympathetic hero. Needless to say, I'm still not getting much done!


Go on then, since Ingrid has started it, let's have you recommendations for other yaoi anime, but don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a little while.

Review: Every Good Thing by M. Jules Aedin

I've read a number of short stories by M. Jules Aedin. Her writing has always impressed me, especially as she is relatively young and I was interested in seeing whether she could sustain that level of quality through a novel length piece. On the whole I wasn't disappointed, although Every Good Thing suffered slightly from being the first book in a series.

Every Good Thing is part historical, part fantasy set in a pseudo-Middle Eastern country similar to that of Israel/Palestine. The country is a seething mass of different cultures all living together and under the rule of the Keshen people, who are similar to the Romans. Arieh is a Riinean boy, sold into slavery to by his family to pay for their taxes. The Riineans are a race of people very similar to the Jews (although they are not monotheistic), who look down on foreigners and claim that anyone who is not Riinean is faithless and unclean, and who have a long list of rules about which foods they can eat (ie. not pork) and how they are to live their lives. Arieh is taken to the slave market where he is bought by a Kentari soldier, Enitan, to be his pais, which is like a sex slave but offers much greater opportunities for love and companionship. The story follows Arieh as he comes to terms with his new position in Enitan's house and tries to set aside the strict teachings on homosexuality from his upbringing. Alongside this plot are several subplots involving jealous slaves, the relationship between Enitan and Junia, a female slave in his house and also rumblings of discontent about the appearance of a strange Riinean man who appears to be able to heal people by magic.

There's a lot going on in this book and this is reflected in the number of viewpoints we get throughout the book. Not only do we get the thoughts of Arieh, Enitan and Junia but also Enitan's personal slave, Demis; a dancing girl called Sariyah; Kallias the cook; Kayin, Enitan's second in command; and Suqua the apprentice to the healer, Ashar. In some ways this was a good thing as all these voices provided a rich tapestry which added to the world building but I did feel a couple of times that some of the scenes, especially between Suqua/Ashar, and Sariyah/Junia, were rather superfluous to the plot and this affected some of the pacing. I began to be a little impatient during those scenes and wanted to get back to the main plot. I also felt that the subplot between these two pairs, could probably have been edited down slightly and that would have reduced some of the problems I felt with the slow pacing. Having said that, Every Good Thing is the first of a series so maybe it was necessary to have all these characters and see the beginnings of their stories start to develop, we shall see when the next book is released.

Where this book really shone was in the creation of the world in which these characters lived. The descriptions of daily lives, of religion, of the city in which they lived was vivid and beautifully realised. I really felt like I was living and breathing in this world with its smells, heat and dust of the city which then contrasted with the cool, clean opulence of Enitan's house. The world is part Arabian Nights with its dancing girls, slaves and shady dealings; and part biblical with the Riinean people and the displeasure of their god. The streets throng with people from every nation and the sights, sounds and smells of all those people are captured within this book.

Several of his men paced around the edges of the crowd or stalked through it on his orders, shoving bidders aside when there was no path between the tightly packed bodies. Enitan could smell the stink of the crowd, the pungent odor of unwashed bodies like soured spices, and the sickly sweet oils and perfumes that were poured over the slaves and rubbed into their skin. Dust clung to the air as he breathed it in. Dust and sweat and heat; it all collected in his lungs and made him wish more than anything that he were home in his cool marble bath, a servant pouring clear, sweet water over his hot, tired, dirty feet.

The characters are also well drawn and believable. Enitan is a mix of strong and gentle in his dealings with Arieh. Arieh's confusion and growth in terms of accepting his fate and then slowly falling in love was a delightful journey. I liked Junia, who came across as both strong and compassionate. There wasn't one character who slipped into caricature so those of you who like strong character based novels will not be disappointed with Every Good Thing.

One interesting part of the book related to Ashar the healer. The author uses many ideas lifted from the bible and links them to the Riineans but especially she takes incidents from Jesus' life in the New Testament and applies them to the Riinean 'magician', Ashar. These included Zacchaeus in the tree, the stoning of the prostitute, Peter's confession of the Christ and the healing of the Centurian's daughter. The character of Ashar is very sympathetic and is used to show that the Riinean people are not all judgemental and backward-looking, but I did feel cautious about how the author may develop this subplot, especially in the relationship with the healer and his apprentice. I'm not a great fan of books which take organised religion and subvert it for their own ends but I shall reserve judgement about this subplot until after I read the next in the series.

One aspect of this book which made me feel slightly uncomfortable was the problem of Arieh's age. The book is set around the time of the Romans/Jesus and, although the setting is fictional, many of the customs of that time are used in this book. It was common at that time for teenagers to be married to one another and have children. Arieh's age is never specifically mentioned, but I gathered from the descriptions of his 'coming of age' ceremony and also the way he is described as being on the cusp of manhood that he must likely be no older than 16, perhaps younger. I know that this is in keeping with the setting but it still made me a little uncomfortable, especially as Enitan calls him 'boy' for most of the story.

Overall this was a complex, involving read. M. Jules Aedin has proven that she can sustain that quality of writing over a novel in the way she has created and established the setting in this novel and produced some original characterisations. So despite a few reservations, I do feel that Every Good Thing is worth reading and I would recommend it with a grade of 'Very Good'. I have another novel by this author in my TBR pile and intend to pull it out and read it sooner rather than later, and I also look forward to the second book in this interesting series.

Saturday Shorts

A Good Neighbor by Clare London
Dylan is a thirtysome college professor living in small town America. He's content with his dull, predictable life and finds comfort and safety in the routine. Part of that routine is collecting his two 'aunts' from the nursing home and bringing them to his house for tea and cake. The story begins on one such afternoon where aunts Bess and Mitzi are doing their usual sly prodding and trying to fix Dylan up with one of the neighbourhood women, Josie. Little do they know that Dylan is already in a relationship with Josie's brother Neal. Neal is offered a job overseas and asks Dylan to come with him but Dylan is too tied down to his small town life and the safe, familiar world. One of the best things about this short was the pacing. The start is very slow which may initially put some people off, but I suggest you persevere as the story moves from the genteel pace of tea with the aunts - representing the familiar safe world which Dylan finds comforting - into a fast paced, breathlessly hot sex scene - representing the excitement and thrill which Dylan finds with Neal. Then the story slows down again and I was treated to what Clare London does best: great characterisation. I found my sympathies for Dylan shifting as the story progressed. At first I felt sorry for him that he has to put up with a part time relationship with Neal, who works away for most of the time. However, after Dylan rejects Neal's request to come away with him, I realised that it is actually Dylan who holds up the relationship because he fears coming out in such a small town so instead treats Neal like a dirty little secret. The story is very static which fits well with the style of the story which is mostly about character and less about action. Even the sex scene is there to show us something of Dylan and Neal's feelings for one another. Overall, this was a delightful read and a great start for Clare at AA. Grade: 'Excellent'.

Tempestuous Relations by Amanda Young
Remember last week when I said I probably wouldn't read another twincest book? Well, erm since then I've read two more (I was led astray!). This is one of the stories which JenB recommended to me. The story begins with Dom visiting a glory hole in a men's toilets where he's given an exquisite blow job by a mystery man. Dom has been visiting this glory hole each Friday for several weeks after overhearing his twin brother discussing it with a friend. On this occasion, after being blown, he bends down to pick up his cap from the floor and looks through the hole to see his twin brother Mason on the other side. After flying off the handle and storming off, Dom then returns home to discuss with Mason what exactly is going on and how it will now affect their relationship as brothers and perhaps more. The story is really just about the brothers and the start of their sexual relationship so, as a result of this and the short format, doesn't deal with the larger societal implications of twincest. The focus the entire time, therefore, is on the two brothers and the way they discuss Mason's attraction to Dom and Dom's realisation that he can bring out of hiding the long suppressed attraction he feels for Mason. I liked Dom and felt that his reactions ran true to the situation but didn't feel I knew as much about Mason other than he's been attracted to Dom for a long time. I like Amanda Young's writing and felt that she had done well to get so much character as well as action into such a short format. If you like twincest stories then I would recommend this one to you. Grade 'Very Good'.

Hell Dogs Squardron: Touch and Go by AR Moler
I reviewed this at Wave's this week so pop over HERE to read the review.

The Puzzles of Reading

Just a quickie today because I'm being middle class and having a dinner party with some friends. Fortunately hub's doing the cooking (I can't be left in charge of the kitchen or disaster will ensue) so I'm in charge of dessert (creme brulee) and of course the dreaded tidying and cleaning that one has to do when guests are expected.

BTW, don't any of you drop in on me unexpectedly or I may die of embarrassment over the state of my house - I need warning so I can pretend to be the perfect housewife.

Anyway, I was thinking earlier about last week compared to this week in terms of reading. Last week I read lots and lots of books (3 novels and 2 novellas) but this week I've hardly read anything (3 short stories and 1 short novella). It's no wonder I ran out of things to review this week!

The thing is, this week is no different in terms of how much time I've had available for reading. In fact I've had more time because hub has been away so I've stayed up later than normal. I have no idea why this week should be a particularly slow reading week. Perhaps I'll just have to chalk it up to 'just one of those things' and hopefully get back up to speed next week.

Do you have days or weeks like this when for some reason you find yourself getting distracted away from your books? - and I'm talking to the readers here as the writers shouldn't be reading at all, just working on their WIPs so we readers get more books to read ;).

ETA: Here's the creme brulee, sorry the photo's a bit blurry. Do you see what I mean about it being a bit uneven on top? It tasted nice, anyway, so that's the main thing.

Are Short Story Lovers Being Taken For A Ride?

Just recently I've been reading quite a few of the short stories from TQ. I quite like the stories which form series, usually trilogies, and I buy them up in threes and read them like a novel, one after the other.

Then it occurred to me that many of these stories were almost like novels or novellas which were just broken up into three and given slightly cliffhangerish endings so that we'd pop off and buy the next in the series, and that, actually, with very minor modifications the three stories could be released as one book. Then I began to look at the cost. The trilogy I'm currently reading has stories which are 50, 41 & 26 pages long - a combined total of 117 pages which is what I would class as a novella. Each story costs $2.49 which would make it a grand total of $7.47. The average novella costs about $5-6 so I'm paying more for buying a trilogy of shorts than I would if they had been packaged together as a novella. To be honest, I feel a bit cheated.

Now, I know that it can probably be claimed that a set of individual stories has as many overheads as a novel or novella and releasing a series individually means that the cost is higher than putting them into a novella. If that is the case then why not release the stories as novellas in one go and we all save money?

I'd like to point out that this only applies to stories where the story arc has been deliberately planned so that it is a trilogy, not to short stories which are complete in their own right but may have a few sequels or subsequent stories based around the same characters. I'm also not trying to pick on TQ who produces some really great stuff and whose short stories I really enjoy. I'm just wondering whether I'm being taken for a bit for a ride here.

So why does TQ do this? Do they make more money out of it? Do authors make more money? The thing is I'm not sure they do. Maybe I can be put straight on this by people in the know.

ETA: I do realise I've posted about this (or something similar) before here, but this time it's the trilogy thing that's bugging me so I'm not really repeating myself. Honest.

Keeper Review: Snagged by Jet Mykles

Snagged was the book which led to me discovering the delights of Jet Mykles' writing. Not long after I had started reading m/m I was perusing the recent releases at Loose Id when my attention was grabbed by this PL Nunn cover. I went on to buy the book, read it and promptly returned to buy up all the Heaven Sent books plus Tech Support and devour them one after the other. This was also the book which began my love affair with Gay For You. So although this may not be the best book written by Jet Mykles, it's still one that I come back to again and again when I need a quick comfort read.

The story begins with thief Kyle sneaking into his boss' study to steal an important letter from his safe. This letter contains blackmail information which Kyle's boss is using to keep Kyle under his control. When he gets into the safe he finds it empty. Disappointed, he turns to go when he is apprehended by Seth, a man who also works for Kyle's boss, who shows Kyle that he has the letter and arranges to meet him in a cafe. When Kyle gets to the cafe Seth refuses to hand over the letter, hints that Kyle's boss is in trouble and tells Kyle that he will explain all if he will come to his house. Once at Seth's house (and in the hot tub) Seth tries to seduce Kyle, but Kyle's not gay and rejects Seth, running away with Seth's jacket and money provided by Seth.

One of the best things about this book is the whole first section leading up to, and including, Seth's attempt to seduce Kyle. I love how Jet Mykles can catch perfectly the 'I'm not gay but I find this guy tremendously attractive' thoughts that run through a character in a GFY. This is built up slowly through Kyle's observations about how he is attracted to Seth's looks and body, almost against his will and there are some great 'no, no, no, yes, yes, yes' moments as Seth carefully seduces Kyle in the hot tub. In fact the scene in the hot tub is a masterclass in sexual tension and how to structure a GFY seduction scene. Plus it's smoking hot.

Once Kyle escapes, I like how the book has a settling down period for Kyle. This is also a time when he grows up and does some thinking about his life and how he feels about Seth. This means that Kyle grows as a character and matures so that the end is less about instinct and more a thoughtful realisation that Kyle has made a choice and that choice is Seth.

There's also a great sense of fun between the characters in Snagged. Let's face it GFY is just fantasy so why not have some laughs along the way? Most of the fun scenes happen towards the end of the book and this made a nice contrast to the tension at the beginning.

Snagged isn't perfect by any means: The ending is quite weak compared to the tense, thrilling opening section; Seth's shady government job is never really explained except in the vaguest of terms; and the only female character is a slut and a bit of a bitch. However, I still enjoy reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves Gay For You. I also think it's a really good introduction to Jet Mykles' books as it contains many of the ideas and themes which are extended and explored in her other books.

Overall, if you haven't read it already (and I'm guessing that that won't be many of you) then I suggest you pop along to Loose Id (or click on the book cover) and give Snagged a go. I love it, it gets a grade of 'Excellent' and a well thumbed (or clicked) place on my keeper shelf.

Doctor Heroes

Our m/m books are littered with doctor heroes aren't they? It's one of those professions which works well for either the alpha male - driven, authoritative, excellent in the operating room - or the beta male - bookish, intelligent, great with kids, caring - or even a combination of the two.

I have to admit though that I'm not overly enthusiastic about doctor heroes. Don't get me wrong, there are some great books with doctor heroes that I really like, but on the whole they aren't in my top 5 list of favourite m/m heroes.

I'm reading a book with a doctor hero at the moment and it has made me wonder what it is about them that means I can take them or leave them as heroes. Actually there are a couple of reasons:

1. My personal experience. Fortunately, I've always been in good health so I don't have too much experience with doctors but I have had experience with men who were planning on training to be doctors. Most of my experience of this stems from my A Level Biology class (don't ask, it seemed like a good idea at the time). There were a number of young men in that class who were going on to train as doctors and they were invariably the most humourless, self-important people in the class. I pity their patients, I really do. Most of them were going into medicine because it was a high profile career rather than any wish to help people. I've also come into contact with a range of doctors (as one does when one is pregnant with twins) and all of them have had the interpersonal skills of a gnat. As you can imagine, this has coloured my views of doctor heroes.

2. They are so perfect that they could apply for sainthood. Doctor heroes are always perfect. They never make mistakes, they are all perfect specimens of health and advocate good living by example. They feel deeply any death which happens on their watch. They...yawn... It's just so difficult to identify with someone who is just so wonderful that little children gaze at them with adoration wherever they go and old ladies bring them cookies to say 'thank you for their new hip' and all the nurses want to bed them. I like my heroes a bit flawed but there seems to be some unwritten rule in m/m which states that doctors are sacrosanct and cannot be portrayed in any negative way. The other hero has the flaws, the doctor heals and soothes the rough edges in the other hero.

So on the whole, I'm not too fussed about doctor heroes. I'd much rather read a book with a cop or cowboy hero than a doctor. Maybe this is because I've read the wrong books. Perhaps there are m/m books out there with plausible, flawed doctors as characters. If you know of any then please let me know, I'd be glad to try some.

While hub's away...

I've been really busy today cos hub has gone to Bristol and left me to deal with things on my own for three days. Monday is my busiest day anyway but today has been particularly bad.

So it's 10.30pm and I'm only just back in the house. I have a choice:

a) Don't post anything (OK so I've rather negated that idea).

b) Post a half-arsed review of something which may be below par cos I'm knackered.

c) Try and think up something witty and amusing to blog about even though my brain stopped working half way through my evening meeting.

d) Post a picture of a lovely man which hub has deemed in the past to be too rude to post, but as he's not here he'll never know, and then I can go to bed.




d it is then.

Saturday Shorts

I spent a bit of time umming and ahhing over whether these can be classed as shorts. In the end I decided that since they are all classed as novellas then I may as well go for it, especially since I haven't read any short stories this week.

Chicken Ranch: Hunger by Amanda Young
Declan is down on his luck. He's been tossed out of his home by his father when he discovered that Declan is gay and has been living on the streets for a few weeks, unable to get work. When a hustler mentions an all male brothel to him on the edge of town, Declan sets off to try his luck there. After passing the 'interview' with the boss by lying through his teeth about being a virgin, he's employed as a prostitute. His first client who wants him for more than a blow-job is Killian who is visiting the brothel for the first time. He makes it good for Declan and then goes back to his life. The two men then run into each other in the supermarket and start dating. I have to admit that I love prostitute stories so this one was always going to be a bit of a winner. I liked the way that the two men made mistakes, and were very wary of one another. There was a bit of a misunderstanding (which to be honest I saw coming miles before it happened) but that didn't detract too much from the story. My only slight misgiving was that Killian was very accepting of Declan's job and that I wondered why Declan didn't give up the prostitution once he'd got an apartment and some money and presumably could have found a different job at that point. Apart from that I enjoyed this novella by Amanda Young, who always writes interesting stories and it gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Dona Nobis Pacem by Willa Otaki
This historical short is set in the wild west frontier in a former boomtown called Nazareth. Donnell is the young owner of a bar, won fair and square in a card game. The unusual thing about Donnell is that he is mute and the only sound he can make is a shushing noise. Donnell was rescued by former prostitute Bettina when his mother died during his birth and has been raised by her. Bettina works in the kitchen of the bar. Into this situation comes Nathan who was training to be a priest but was thrown out when it was discovered that he had 'unnatural urges' and left to wander the harsh plains. He arrives in Nazareth close to death and rejected once again by the townsfolk. Donnell rescues Nathan and tends to him through his subsequent fever, all the time falling in love with Nathan. This book was a little hit and miss. I thought the setting was really unusual and loved all the little period details put in by the author, especially the way that the characters thought and spoke. I also liked the characterisation of Bettina and Donnell in that there was a love between them that was quite touching within their harsh environment. Donnell's disability was also handled well. The part that didn't work so well was in the relationship between Donnell and Nathan. Donnell falls in love quickly and Nathan, once he's got over his illness, falls quickly too. It just seemed a little forced. Nathan's past and the way he was treated by the Brothers, could have been explored a little more and there were also a number of other loose ends. This made me think that perhaps there is a sequel planned. Overall though it was a pretty good read with a grade of 'Good'.

My Brother's Keeper by Abigail Roux
I reviewed this for Wave here, so I won't say too much about this novella. It was a very clever mystery but I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters. Grade: 'Very good'.

Twincest

Is this a taboo subject? Am I breaking all boundaries of blog etiquette by talking about this?

Apologies to anyone who may get offended. I politely suggest you go away if the idea of twincest is offensive to you.

So, Tam suggested that I read a twincest book (hee, getting you into trouble Tam. It's all your fault and has nothing to do with me being a filthy pervert). In fact she suggested a particular one Gemini by Chris Owen. This actually came out of the comments about the review of 911 I did earlier in the week. So I read this piece of porn literature and I thought I'd share my ideas about it.

I have read a twincest story before but it was only a short and didn't contain any sex. It was part of the Cherry anthology which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. The story was well written and, although I felt a little uncomfortable, I wasn't overly horrified by the twin aspect.

Gemini is a menage book taken from the first person viewpoint of Gent. He works as a tattoo artist and meets Paul who comes in for his nipples piercing. There's an instant heat between them and Gent gives Paul his number. A few weeks later, much to Gent's surprise as he's convinced himself that Paul wasn't interested, Paul turns up at the parlour and they arrange a date. The date is a success overall until Paul drops the bombshell that he's in a relationship with his twin brother Jamie. Gent doesn't quite know what to make of this. On one hand he's turned on but on the other he's also a bit squicked out. After meeting Jamie and seeing Paul and Jamie together, Gent's dick makes the decision and they form a three. The book is then a sex fest with some plot thrown in about coping with menage relationships and also the difficulty of having to pretend that it's just Gent and Paul together and not all three of them.

I enjoyed it. I did. I had some issues that I felt didn't work but as this isn't a review I'm not going into that here. The main question though is how did I feel about the whole twincest thing?

When Tam recommended this book she told me that it's one of the easier twincest books to read because there are three characters. I have to agree that there were many aspects of this book which lowered the squick factor.

1. It's from the pov of the non-twin. This means we don't get the lustful thoughts of the twins towards each other we only get their actions and facial expressions. This meant that actually you could almost set aside the fact that they are brothers during the sex scenes as they just become another body.

2. The way that the twins entered into their relationship was through another man in their past so they have mostly only been with each other as part of a menage. This means that they haven't been doing each other ever since they were young teenagers and for some reason this made me feel better about it.

3. Although the brothers look alike they don't do anything too weird like dress the same. They also have very separate personalities so the whole narcissistic 'we are one and the same' thing didn't come into play at all.

4. The book is more focused on Gent and his troubles than it is on the twins so it's easier to take a step back from that side of things.

I finished the book and didn't feel overly uncomfortable with what I had read. I would have preferred it if two of the men in the menage hadn't been twins, but I accepted that this was part and parcel of the whole book. I'm not sure I'd race off and buy another twincest book, but also I'm not going to be put off if I come across a well written story involving twins either.

I'll throw it open to you now. Have you read a twincest book and did you enjoy it? Would you recommend any for someone who is curious and may want to give one a try?

Review: Maloney's Law by Anne Brooke

Maloney's Law is the book previous to The Bones of Summer which I reviewed on this blog here. One of the frustrations I had about The Bones of Summer is that I never really understood the character of Paul Maloney. He seemed such a private person and yet also had baffling mood swings. I now realise that many of my questions would have been answered if I had read Maloney's Law first.

The book is taken from the first person point of view of small time private investigator Paul. At the beginning we learn several things about this complex man. Firstly he had an affair and fell in love with a married man, Dominic, three years before the start of the book, which ended badly leaving Paul broken hearted. This led to Paul having a nervous breakdown. Secondly, he has a long term friendship with his assistant Jade, who helped him through his breakdown and thirdly that he has an uncanny ability to keep track of dates, almost down to the hour:

As he’s the last man I’ve slept with, it must be three years, four months, and one week since I had sex at all. At least with someone else in the room. I wonder if that makes me unusual.

Dominic has called Paul out of the blue and asked him to take on a case for his company. Dominic owns a very successful IT company and he is thinking of merging with another company based in Egypt. He wants Paul to discover if there is anything underhand going on that would affect the merger. On the surface this seems like a simple job. Paul needs to do a bit of digging, travel to Cairo and dig some more and then bring a report back to Dominic. However, things hot up when firstly a dead woman turns up outside Dominic's offices and then Paul is threatened and an attempt is made on his life whilst staying in Cairo.

I said earlier that Paul is an complex character. In fact it's difficult to put down in words all the various aspects of Paul's character. He's a man who is very much alone in his life. He never sees his father (for reasons I won't go into here as it would be spoilerish) and so the relationship with his mother is strained; he hasn't had a lover since Dominic; and he spends his time either working or alone in his house. His only friend is Jade and theirs is a delightful friendship full of love and laughter. They have an affection for each other which is shown in the way they joke with one another or share information and it is obvious that Paul holds Jade in deep regard. Jade's family also welcome Paul even if Jade's parents are a little perturbed over the exact nature of their friendship. Alongside Paul's relationships (or lack thereof) is his emotional state which seems to constantly hang in the balance. He spends most of the book barely holding onto his emotions, fighting to keep an impassive front in the face of the return of Dominic into his life and the wonderful/terrible memories that brings. When something happens to tip that status quo, Paul is unable to cope and goes into an emotional meltdown which was entirely in keeping with what I would have expected from his behaviour at the beginning of the book.

However, my favourite part of Paul's character were the little quirks given to him by the author. I've already mentioned the date keeping, but there were other things as well. Paul's love of whisky and the way he ruthlessly rations it out (hinting that he may once have had a serious problem with alcohol) is another great quirk sending him into rhapsodies of eloquence when he finally succombs and drinks some:

Last of all is The Macallan, rarely opened, its rich toffee glow hinting of secrets not yet understood, not yet known. Yes, this is the one. As I release it, the smell of new leather and dark Spanish sherry settles around me, and I pour a double measure, more, into my waiting glass. The golden liquid swings round, marking its place, waiting for me, calling.

He also has a number of amusing 'PI rules' which he brings out every so often, usually when he has broken one of them "Second rule of PI work: don’t employ someone who’s moral".

The story itself is a breathtaking ride from start to finish. Paul's tenacity leads him further and further into danger as he uncovers clues leading to the death of the young woman and the connection to her and the company Dominic wants investigating. Along the way there is action, excitement, tragedy, betrayal, pain and heartbreak until Paul is the only thing standing between corruption and justice. Not only does Paul have to face up to some of his greatest fears he also makes discoveries about those he loves the most. By the end of the book Paul has been put thoroughly through the wringer - as has the reader - and had his world turned completely upside down. It's no wonder then that he seemed so distant and so unwilling to get involved with Craig's problems in The Bones of Summer which is set only a few months after the end of this book.

I feel that I ought to point out that whilst there is some sex in this book, it is not a romance. There is hope though, especially as Paul meets Craig towards the end of the book. Maloney's Law is a mystery, and a great one at that which kept me guessing right to the end, but not romance.

Once again Anne Brooke has produced a book which is high in emotional intensity and yet never strays into hysteria. Her descriptions of setting, character and situation all combine to make Maloney's Law into an unforgettable read. I highly recommend that you read this book - preferably before The Bones of Summer - as you won't be disappointed. Grade: 'Excellent'.

Review: In the Rough by JB McDonald

In the Rough is a sort of follow on from By Degrees - reviewed here - in that the heroes in this book, Rick and Jay were minor characters in the previous book. Both men are in their thirties, with only three years separating them by age. They both have similar backgrounds in that they ran away from home as children and survived on the streets for a time. They also both used martial arts as a way to survive their time during childhood. The similarity ends there as Rick was taken into Social care and Jay was allowed to sleep at the local dogo (a place where martial arts are taught) by the man in charge of it at the time. When we meet the men at the beginning of the book they seem to be complete opposites. Rick now owns and runs the dogo where he spent most of his childhood. He's not making a lot of money - just enough to buy his own house and feed himself - but he works hard and gets a great deal of self-satisfaction out of his job. Jay is a drifter and a drinker. He moves from one job to another, never settling with anything or living in one place for too long. Jay has also been married and fathered a little girl who is now eight. He sees his daughter, Emmy, at the weekends and, although he loves her, is quite content to pass her back to her mother on Sundays.

All this changes when Jay discovers that his ex-wife's new boyfriend has been acting inappropriately towards his daughter. He calls his lawyer, who calls social services, who takes Emmy into care. Jay's wife won't get rid of her boyfriend and Jay isn't deemed fit to take Emmy as he has no job and no apartment at the moment. The authorities give Jay one month to sober up, find a decent job and get a home for him and Emmy. Otherwise Emmy will remain in care.

The story then follows Jay as he tries to get himself sorted out in time. Rick is there as a help for Jay but theirs is a strange relationship. For many years they have been 'friends with benefits' which has led to them sharing physically but not emotionally. I found this aspect of the book quite infuriating at times. Because of their pasts, both men are emotionally shut-down. They never share their pasts or even their own thoughts and feelings for each other. Rick is in love with Jay and has been for the past 15 years. However, Jay has rejected anything Rick has had to offer except for the occasional bout of sex. I was annoyed at both Rick and Jay because they could have solved so many of their problems if they had just talked to one another. Instead they hedge round difficult topics, keep everything firmly hidden away and even just leave when things start to become emotionally intense. On one hand I could understand that, given their past hurts, they didn't want to expose themselves to further harm, yet on the other hand their actions and the way they deliberately shut each other out became annoying after a while.

I have to admit that I found this book quite heavy going. The themes within the book of physical and sexual abuse and low self-esteem meant that the book was unrelievingly bleak at times. A few times whilst I was reading I longed for a bit of light relief that even some of the scenes with Tim and Con from the previous book didn't provide. This is a perfect book for those of you who like angst, which I usually do enjoy, but even I found it too much. It didn't help that the book focuses almost wholly on Jay and Rick and their problems, especially Jay, whose past was brought to us by a series of flashbacks. One part of their relationship which was handled well is the way that their physical relationship changes incrementally throughout the book, each time becoming less just about sex and more tender and emotion-led. This mirrored the way that the men begin to open up to one another as well, so that by the end of the book, even though things are still not perfect, Rick especially had come to a better understanding of why Jay acts as he does.

In the Rough is incredibly well written: The characters of Jay and Rick were realistic as were the problems that Jay faces in getting Emmy back. The way that Rick feels alternatively frustrated and annoyed by Jay and his refusal to go back to school and better himself, was also done well. I was pleased that the ending reflected the overall realistic tone and whilst it was upbeat, still retained a subdued tone which fit the rest of the book.

Overall, this is another great book by JB McDonald which shows that she is a talented author who is unafraid to tackle serious subjects in her books. I would recommend that you read In the Rough: Its themes of abuse and the struggle to overcome the gripping effect of the past may not appeal to everyone but it's still a book which I considered well worth reading. Grade: 'Very Good'.

Short Review: 911 by Chris Owen

Plot: Drew is a fireman who, at the beginning of the book, is confined to the ER whilst he is given the all clear from possibly inhaling dangerous chemicals at a fire. He meets Scott, a doctor who is part way through his residency. When Drew's ride leaves without him, Scott offers to take Drew home and then stops for a drink. After discovering that Scott is looking for a place to stay and that Drew is looking for a housemate the two come to an arrangement. Both men like each other and eventually start a relationship. This continues for some time and has its ups and downs, especially as they both work shifts and Scott is coping with long hours as well as studying. Into this situation comes Eric, who is looking for a room close to the hospital. Drew and Scott offer their spare room and the three men live comfortably together as housemates. After a while, feelings grow between the three as they start to get to know one another, rely on each other for company and support, and eventually fall in love. This leads to some hard choices as the men have to decide whether living and loving as a three will work out in the long run.

Characters: It's not often that you come across such sensible, down to Earth characters as the ones in 911. Even at the beginning when Drew and Scott are itching to get into each other's pants, they are (rather frustratingly at times) conscious of not wanting to mess up their friendship. Scott also has issues about being too dominant (due to an embarrassing and hurtful incident in his past) and refuses to initiate any contact between the pair, leaving all the hard work to Drew. As both men work shifts they devise a way to keep track of one another, and although it's a strain, they try to make time to spend with each other. Sometimes this isn't enough and they often spend lonely hours apart. In some ways this is where Eric fits into their relationship. He is an EMT who also works shifts, so immediately has some sympathy with their situation. Also, with three of them there's less chance that one will be on his own for any great length of time. The three men complement each other: Drew is gregarious, sociable and can't stand to be still for any length of time; Scott is quieter, more intense and very focused on his job; Eric is the peacemaker and an all round nice guy. Out of the three men, I felt that I knew Eric least which is possibly because I didn't meet him until later in the story and as a result get his POV less (the POV is shared between the three men during the book). It was very difficult to dislike any of the men and I think this went a long way to my enjoyment of 911. Even when one of the characters was behaving in a less than sympathetic way, as they all do especially during the final few chapters of the book, their thoughts and feelings come across so strongly that it was impossible to dislike them and, in fact, I understood and related to their problems.

Overall: As with any menage book, the main concern is whether the author has made the situation realistic enough to believe that three men can co-exist in a menage relationship (as opposed to just meeting up for sex on occasion). In 911 I did believe it. It helped that Scott and Drew discussed such a type of relationship at certain points during the first part of the book, so that when Eric came along it didn't seem like a spur of the moment decision. It also helped that the three men had been living together as housemates and friends for a few months before they entered into the relationship as so I got to see them living comfortably with one another. By the time I got to the end of the book I felt happy that this was a relationship which did work and would stand the test of time. One other thing I liked about this menage book is that it wasn't all just about the sex. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of sex in the book - yet not so much that it was all sex and no plot as can be the case with some menage books - but the way the three men lived their lives wasn't just about sex, but also about friendship, companionship and looking out for each other through thick and thin. I have to admit that 911 is the best menage book I've read so far and gets a well deserved grade of 'Excellent'. I raced through reading it, eager to see how things were going to work out, and it's now found a place on my keeper shelf.

Review: Out of the Blue by Josh Lanyon

In this novella, Josh Lanyon has stepped out of his comfort zone and written, not a mystery, but a drama set in 1st World War France. It tells the story of Bat, who is serving as a pilot and the equivalent of a squadron leader, in the RFC (the forerunner of the Royal Air Force). This involves patrolling over enemy lines twice a day, in what was basically an aeroplane made of wood, canvas and engine parts, looking for, and engaging with German planes. It's a dangerous job and nearly every time they set out they lose a plane and a pilot. There are no parachutes and almost no chance of survival if a plane is hit and goes down, thus the average lifespan of a pilot is less than 3 weeks. Bat is one of the lucky ones: an experienced pilot who has managed to survive for several months. As the story begins, Bat is mourning the loss of his lover and best friend. Gene was one of the very few servicemen in his squadron that Bat had allowed himself to become attached to and they had been in love and in a relationship together since they both joined the war. When one of the engineers, Orton, threatens to blackmail Bat by exposing his relationship with Gene, he loses his temper and accidentally kills Orton. This is seen by one of the other pilots, Cowboy, an American who is serving with them. Cowboy sends Bat away and deals with the problem of Orton, but then uses that situation to blackmail Bat into having sex with him.

There are a couple of themes which intertwine in this story. The first is the war and the effect that has on Bat. On the surface Bat is your typical upper class British man. He hides his emotions and fear behind a veneer of disdain and disinterest but underneath this exterior he is a man only just holding on to himself. He is ravaged by grief for Gene and feels a hopelessness about the war and the number of lives that are being lost each day. In order to protect himself from this he refuses to get close with any of the men, beyond the usual day to day dealings, preferring to keep his distance with all, except Gene and a couple of other men he knew at school. When Gene is killed, and then Bat kills Orton, things start to unravel inside Bat as he becomes reckless in the air and contemplates suicide. Alongside this, the story deals with the other aspect of war, engaging with the enemy, and contains a number of exhilarating action sequences involving Bat's squadron and the German fighters. These were always tinged afterwards with a certain sadness as yet another character is killed and Bat faces the knowledge that in a few short hours he will have to fly again and possibly face his own death. In fact it is the hopelessness of the war and the way it affects Bat and the other pilots which stayed with me long after I finished this book.

The second theme is the relationship between Cowboy and Bat. Cowboy rescues Bat not just from Orton but also from his own suicidal compulsions. Cowboy then makes his advances on Bat. At first I was appalled. The first couple of sex scenes (of which there are more than you might normally find in a Josh Lanyon book) tread a very fine line between consensual and forced seduction. I hated Cowboy for adding to Bat's already stressful life by making demands on him by blackmailing Bat for sex and I was also infuriated with Bat for allowing Cowboy to treat him like that and spent several pages hoping that Bat would take his service revolver and shoot Cowboy. However, as the story progressed I began to get glimpses into Cowboy and why he behaves as he does. This is wartime and people behave differently in times of war than they do during peace. Cowboy and Bat are aware that every time they go up in a plane they may never return and that tinges their relationship. It's obvious that Cowboy has feelings for Bat and has had for some time, even if Bat is never aware of it and initially feels nothing but a kind of horrified lust for Cowboy. There is no time for niceties, for courting or wooing. Cowboy seizes the opportunity to have Bat and takes him, even if it is with tenderness at times. Bat is reluctant to get involved again so soon after Gene's death, but craves the physical release that sex with Cowboy brings, despite being disgusted with himself, and eventually the two men do come to an, almost uneasy, understanding.

One thing that was very obvious when reading Out of the Blue is that Josh Lanyon has done his research. This came across strongly in the number of period details - from descriptions of the planes, flying formations and dog-fight strategies - and also in the way that the men, especially Bat, thought and spoke. I was immersed in the time period and felt all the hopelessness and despair at the number of casual deaths along with the tense thrill of the fighting. My heart was in my mouth several times during the action sequences and it ached with grief for the way that Bat is only 23 and yet is mature far beyond his years.

This story is not a nice wartime romance. In fact, I'll stick my neck out and say it's not a romance at all. How can it be? The year is 1916, two years before the end of the 1st world War. Bat and Cowboy fly over enemy territory twice a day, risking their lives each time they fly. It is not possible for them to have anything other than a very tentative and unlikely HFN - and thank goodness Josh Lanyon was not tempted to stick in a dreadful 'three years later' epilogue or the book reader really will have hit the wall! Theirs is a relationship based on the here and now and that's all than it can be, given their situation. I finished the book feeling extremely melancholy, but also aware that I'd read something truly extraordinary. I'm giving Out of the Blue a grade of 'Excellent', however, be warned that this novella will not appeal to everyone. It's not romantic, it doesn't contain any of Josh Lanyon's usual dry humour (except for one extremely black comic moment which surprised a laugh out of me), it is quite beautiful and also quite bleak, so those of you who like their m/m to be lighthearted with a solid happy ending would probably do best to look elsewhere which is a shame, to be honest, because you will be missing out on something special.

Saturday Shorts

Turquoise and Leather by Kim Dare
I picked up this short story after reading a favourable review of it at Lily's blog. I've not read anything by this author and was quite pleased to find that she writes interesting little stories. George is a Dom who is cruising a gay club. He sees a young guy dancing on a platform and decides he's going to be the pick-up for the night. However, before George can get to know the guy, he spies that he is wearing a collar and assumes that he is 'owned' by another Dom. Eric isn't owned by anyone except himself and is also attracted to George. George isn't interested in training up a new sub but Eric persuades him to take a chance. I really liked Eric in this story. He has submissive tendencies but he also refuses to give himself wholly up to George. This was quite a nice change from all the D/s stories where the sub is so self-effacing that his personality is squashed. George spends his time with Eric alternatively exasperated and charmed by his behaviour. There were a couple of oddities: Firstly there is an editing mistake at the beginning where George refers to Eric by name in his head before they've exchanged names (I had to go back and see whether I'd missed a bit, but no, it's an error) and secondly, George spends a bit of time at the beginning bemoaning the 'good old days' of clubbing which made me think he was much older than he actually is (30). However, I still really enjoyed this light D/s story and it gets a grade of 'Very Good'.


Favour by Alex Draven
I bought this sip on Tam's recommendation. It's a Halloween short from last year and tells the story of Goth boy Micky who lives in a university hall of residence. It's getting close to Halloween and Micky is getting fed up that all the other students, who have spent the year so far insulting him, suddenly want to borrow his stuff for their Halloween costumes. Then along comes Rhys, someone Micky has a major crush on, who wants not only some help with his costume but also wants to go out with Micky and his friends. The story is a slow burner with lots of sexual tension between the pair as they get ready to go out and spend time with each other. My fondness for goth heroes was always going to mean that I got some enjoyment out of the story, but Alex Draven's cute characterisation and realistic dialogue made this story a real winner for me. Grade 'Excellent'.

Destiny Takes a Holiday by TC Blue
This is the third in the 'Destiny' series about Raj and Andrew. This one is a 'slice of life' story where Andrew and Raj go on holiday to a 'clothing optional' gay B&B in Hawaii. There's a lot of humour to be had from Andrew's embarrassment about all the naked men, including Raj, and there's a real tenderness between the two men which built on what had gone on in the previous two stories. I did a more detailed review of this book at Wave's blog here, and it gets a grade of 'Very Good'

Seeds of Time 3: Final Curtain by GS Wiley
This was the third story in the time travel tale of Simon who had gone back to the 1940s in the previous two books and his strange love triangle with Adrian, who betrayed him, and James a vicar from the 1940s. I'm not going to say more about this here as I've written a longer review for Wave here but it gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Vampires

Is it me or are there a lot of vampire books being released at the moment? I've just finished reading the excellent Notturno by ZAM and happened to notice that I've read 4 vampire books this month and have another 4 waiting to be read, all of which have been released in the last 2 months.

KZ Snow said something similar on her blog a few weeks ago.

To be honest I'm a bit surprised because not so long ago people were saying *affects laconic tone of voice* 'Oh vampire books are so last year, nobody wants to read them any more'.

Well obviously some people (ie. me) are reading them or the publishers wouldn't be accepting them. Is it just coincidence that so many have been published in the last couple of months or is there an upswing recently in their popularity?

I've noticed that a few of the recent vampire books have done something a bit different with the old vampire myth, so maybe that's why they've been released.

What do you lot think? I've always liked vampire books so I do tend to buy them when they come out. Is it the same for you or are you fed up by the number of m/m vampire books/stories recently?

Review: Hemovore by Jordan Castillo Price

Aside from the fact that Jordan Castillo Price is an autobuy author for me, I was attracted to Hemovore by the unusual premise. Vampirism as a virus which can be passed on via bodily fluids seemed just such an unusual idea and lent itself to creating a world where people affected by the virus (V-positives) have to live alongside those who don't have the virus. In fact, it was the theme of living and coping with the virus, for those who had it and their loved ones which I found the most interesting and moving part of this book.

I found Hemovore to be a bit of a slow starter. At the beginning we are introduced to Mark who works for V positive artist Jonathan. Jonathan paints art for vampires, which looks like a plain black canvass to those who do not have the virus. This concept itself was one of a number of nice touches added throughout the book to the world building. Mark's job is like a PA: He organises the selling and distribution of Jonathan's paintings and keeps up his diary, just like a normal secretary would, but he is also in charge of collecting blood for Jonathan. Jonathan is very picky and won't drink anything other than cat blood as he refuses to drink human blood and claims that cow's blood slows him down and makes him docile. He has a point because another one of those nice world building touches is that V positive people do start to take on the characteristics of the animal blood they imbibe. Dealing with the cat blood dealer is one of the less pleasant aspects of Mark's responsibilities.

Most of the first part of the story is taken up with Mark's day to day dealings as Jonathan's secretary. Mark is one of life's moaners. He spends quite a lot of time bemoaning the fact that he has to do all the rubbish jobs for Jonathan, being excessively cautious with his use of antiseptic wipes in fear of catching the virus from Jonathan, and inwardly ridiculing the way that Jonathan insists that he drives a complex route to wherever he needs to go.

I could have taken numerous routes—and I’m not talking about normal-person routes, such as, “Should I stay on Halsted, or would it be faster if I turned down Clark?” No, I mean Jonathan-routes, dozens of maze-like paths designed to thwart a would-be pursuer. Not that I ever actually believed someone was following me. It was more that I suspected Jonathan might be checking the odometer to make sure I had followed his instructions to the letter.

All the time Mark is grumbling away in his internal monologue he is also lusting after Jonathan, even though he knows they can never touch one another, never mind kiss or more. This theme is taken up and explored in more detail later in the book when Mark meets a group of people called V-Luvv, who are a support group for those who have loved ones with the virus. The precautions that V-neg people have to take to avoid the virus and the way that they try to conduct normal relationships with their V-pos partners was quite affecting.

Then the story starts to pick up the pace as Mark and Jonathan come under attack. They are forced to flee together and go into hiding when a V-pos man from Jonathan's past, who has a grudge against Jonathan, finds him. Mark is completely bewildered at first but manages, with the help of the V-luvv group, to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. Then there is another twist to the plot and I was glued, unable to put the book down until I'd finished it.

Although the book is quite high on drama, it still retains a fairly light tone. This is due mainly to Mark's self effacing, dry internal humour and also because the story moves around a lot from place to place. There are many different characters who move in and out of the story, but the focus is mainly on Mark and Jonathan and their growing attachment and companionship. There are also many quirky funny moments which help to keep the tone from being too heavy and these were interspersed with periods of high tension and action. The scene where Mark is waiting in line to collect some money is an example of this as the pace moved from quite slow and a bit funny, to a sudden horrific realisation and all action car chase which shows a mastery of form and pacing that I've come to expect from Jordan Castillo Price.

Despite the slow beginning, this book grew into a compelling read with excellent world building and believable characters. Mark may have been a bit of a whiner at the beginning but he grew and matured as the book progressed so that I liked him a great deal by the end. If you've never read a book by Jordan Castillo Price then this would be a good one to start with as the horror aspects found in her other novels are toned down in Hemovore. To those who have read her books and love them as I do, this will be another one for the keeper shelf. Grade: 'Excellent'.

Review: Cherry edited by M. Rode

THE BLURB

What's better than a hot guy having his cherry popped? Ten hot couples doing it! From the first kiss ever, the first kiss with a new lover, or just the first time trying something new, Cherry has it all. From tender and sweet to raunchy and hot, from new lovers to old marrieds, this anthology has something for everyone.

With stories from Torquere newcomers and veterans alike, Cherry brings ten stories that are sweet and spicy, that explore the dynamics of trying out something new, be it kissing guys, meeting the in-laws or going places you've never gone before. There's just something about a first time, and Cherry brings you ten different ones.

THE REVIEW

This anthology of ten stories by different authors first attracted me for two reasons. Firstly, I liked the premise and wanted to see what could be done with the idea of a character experiencing things for the first time and secondly, I especially wanted to read the story by JL Merrow as I'd really enjoyed her stories in the Sindustry anthologies released by DSP.

The anthology turned out to be a mixed bag as you might expect. I enjoyed many of them a great deal and some were just OK. However, I still feel that the anthology as a whole is worth reading.

My favourite story turned out to be the one for which I'd bought the anthology: Different Strengths by JL Merrow. It concerned 1st person narrator Michael who is dragged along to a strip club by one of his clients. Whilst he's sitting there pretending to be interested in watching the girls, his attention is caught by the hunky bartender. After a while Michael needs to escape for a while and is taking a breather in the alley outside the club when the bartender, Kyle, approaches him. Michael thinks he looks vaguely familiar but can't place where he's seen him before. It's only after he's back at Kyle's place with half his clothes off that Michael remembers where he knows him from and it's not a good memory.

One thing I've noticed about JL Merrow is that she likes to inject a certain amount of darkness into her stories. This appeals to me as I like my heroes to work a little for their happy endings. In this case Michael has a lot of forgiving to do and his internal confusion is realistically done. I felt quite a lot of sympathy for Kyle, especially his frustrations at having to hide his sexuality throughout his life. I finished the story feeling that both men had come to a realisation that you can't be controlled by the past as they make a conscious effort to move on with a tentative HFN which fitted in entirely with the story.

There were a couple of TQ 'big names' with Sean Michael and BA Tortuga both contributing great stories. Graduation Cherry by Sean Michael was a cute 'second chance' story about ex-roomies who come together at graduation which was the perfect lighthearted way to end the anthology. File Gumbo by BA Tortuga was a Roughstock story which will appeal to both fans of that series and those who have never read BA's stories before. This time it's the turn of Sam and Beau to realise that cowboys can be rough in and out of the bedroom.

Nice Girls Do by Mallory Path was an intensely sweet story of two young men who have been brought up together in the same house. Alan has no experience with girls so Taz offers to let Alan practice on him at first with kisses then with more. It sounds contrived but it wasn't at all. I liked Alan's calm, serious nature as he attempts to get things right and Taz was a delight as he tries so desperately to pretend that he is just doing Alan a favour. His attempts to keep his voice from getting too strained and the way he tries to pretend almost up the last minute that he's just a substitute for a girl was quite charming.

There were other highlights as well: Particularly Alpha Male, Beta Male by Taylor Lochland, where vet Aaron is seduced by the much younger Nathan and, surprisingly for me, Just Like Him by Dallas Coleman, which was a well written twincest story where the door is firmly closed on anything other than a kiss. This might not be to everyone's taste and was in fact the first twincest story I've read, but I felt that the characterisation and story was so realistically done that I had a great deal of sympathy for the brothers.

Overall I enjoyed reading these stories and I would recommend Cherry to those who like anthologies and also those who are fans of some of the authors who have contributed. It gets a grade of 'Very Good'.