Review: Wild Raspberries by Jane Davitt

I’ve been meaning to read a Jane Davitt book for ages. I loved her story in the Animal Attraction 2 (reviewed HERE) anthology but somehow never got around to picking up one of her longer books. Wild Raspberries was one of those books that seemed to have been liked overall, so I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did as this turned out to be delightful, if slightly angsty story featuring two opposite heroes.

The book begins with one of heroes, Dan, on the run. He’s left home in a hurry after he was discovered with another man. By the time we get to meet him he’s been travelling a while and it hasn’t been a good time for him. His possessions and money have been stolen and he’s been forced to turn tricks in payment for rides from disreputable truckers. After one particular nauseating experience, Dan decides to cut across country. He’s at his lowest ebb, starving, tired and depressed when he stumbles upon a patch of wild raspberries in the woods. The raspberries turn out not to be wild at all when Dan is discovered by their owner Tyler with a mouth full of his fruit. After almost shooting Dan on the spot Tyler sends him on his way, only to have to bring him home after Dan collapses. The pair then strike up an odd friendship forced upon them when Tyler hurts himself and Dan offers to take care of him. The sparks fly between them, but Tyler is so closed off that Dan has a hard time getting him to open up to him.

The strength of this book lies in the characters of Tyler and Dan. There’s a bit of an age gap between them, but this worked in the context of the book. Dan is literally ’straight off the farm’ having led quite a sheltered life with his widowed father. His naivety was quite charming and also what led him into trouble in the first place. My heart ached for him as he explained the circumstances of his flight from home and his experiences on the road yet I also had the same reaction as Tyler – a certain amount of incredulity that he didn’t see that he was being used. However, Dan is no twink, despite his age and slender looks. He’s willing to work hard, has the gumption to stand up to Tyler and quite a temper on him when he gets started. It was the combination of innocence coupled with the ability to stand up for himself that made me like Dan a great deal. He could also be incredibly manipulative on occasion, keeping Tyler on his toes.

Tyler was the opposite to Dan in many ways. An ex-soldier, who has seen and done much, perhaps too much and has now settled as a paranoid tinged recluse, living in the middle of nowhere. When Dan comes into his life he fights and fights to get rid of him, saying and doing anything to force Dan on his way. Dan is just as stubborn as Tyler though, and sticks with him, even when he’s left feeling unwanted. As the book progresses Tyler becomes increasingly frightened over his growing feelings for Dan and tries to keep them buried. Fortunately, Dan sees through all that and gradually works his way firmly into the centre of Tyler’s life. The journey that they take together, the push and pull, the stress and strain, made this a compelling read as I devoured the book, desperate to get towards what I hoped would be a happy ending.

The setting of the book is quiet static, with most of the scenes happening within the confines of the small house or the garden, with only a couple of scenes in town to break up the setting. This gave the book a slightly claustrophobic air and added to the intensity of the emotion running through the story. There are very few secondary characters and only one, the local doctor and friend of Tyler who gets any decent page time. I found her to be well drawn and sympathetic in her role of advisor. The lack of other characters in the story meant that we are focused entirely on Tyler and Dan. I really like books where most of the story is concentrated on the main characters, especially when the problems that encounter come from within themselves. It was no wonder then that I enjoyed Wild Raspberries so much.

Overall, this was a pretty marvellous book. If I have any complaints it was that the way the book ended felt slightly forced, especially as it was a sudden burst of action after a long period of slow burning character based story. Other than that slight niggle, then I would wholeheartedly recommend Wild Raspberries, with a grade of 'Excellent', especially to those who like stories high on emotional intensity. There’s a sequel to this book, Wintergreen, which is already on my TBR pile and I’m looking forward to revisiting these interesting characters again.

Buy this book HERE.

M/M Books of the Year - Part 2

I did all the intro stuff yesterday, so let's just get down to it shall we?

I will just remind you that these are my pick of the books that I've read this year, they may not have been released during 2009, in fact quite a few today have been out for a while now.

Urban Fantasy
Utopia X series by KZ Snow

I spent a lot of time debating the winner of this category because I really wanted to pick this series, but part of me was thinking that I'd already given an award to a KZ Snow book and two awards might be seen as favouritism.  Then I thought, the hell with it,  I loved this series so why shouldn't I have it as my favourite UF?  I've also cheated a bit as I've included the whole series rather than just one book, but I just couldn't separate the story arc into a favourite book - although if I was forced to choose, I would probably pick book 2.  Besides you have to read the first book to understand what's happening.  Anyway, this series involving hybrid alterationists and their love interests combined with fabulous world building and attention to detail sucked me in, right to the last page.  Reviews HERE and HERE - no review of Looking For Some Touch, sorry.

Comedy
Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon

OK, technically this is a mystery as well as a comedy but I really liked Kit and his reluctant partner JX.  I also liked the sly references to chick-lit inserted alongside the more obvious jokes.  The whole book is a riot from start to finish.  Review HERE.





Action/Adventure
Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville

A non-stop roller coaster of a book, this story of reluctant hit man D and Jack, the man he refuses to kill, grabbed me from the first page.  Lots of great action sequences interspersed with quiet reflective moments as both men face up their past and look to their future.  Fantastic.  Review HERE.




Historical
Transgressions by Erastes

Set during the English civil war, this book tells the story of blacksmiths David and Jonathan and how their forbidden love sets off a catalyst of events which sends them on their separate ways to a future of war, passion, obsession and religious extremism.  I was drawn in by the characterisation and the attention to historical detail which never seemed forced or preachy.  Review HERE.



M/M/M Menage
911 by Chris Owen

I've read 13 m/m/m menage books this year and this book about a fireman, a doctor and an EMT who start a menage relationship, is one of the few which really seemed to work well.  I liked that it wasn't just about sex but that we got to see to day to day running of the household and how they fitted into each other's lives.  It's been out for years, but I've only managed to get around to reading it this year and I'm so glad I did.  Review HERE.


Anthology
Sindustry 1 by Dreamspinner Press

I liked both Sindustry anthologies, but this was by far the best with nearly all of the stories being winners.  The anthology is made up of stories about heroes in the sex industry and surprisingly the stories weren't all about sex but a variety of different topics encompassing a whole range of emotions.  I also discovered a couple of great new authors from reading this anthology. Review HERE.



Short Story
Striking Sparks by Jordan Castillo Price

This spin off from the Psycop books involves Crash who seduces a very-soon-to-be-groom Andrew.  It's such a delicious blend of naughtiness and sexual tension as Andrew finds himself in Crash's flat and his bed before he really understands what's happening.  You don't necessarily have to read the Psycop books before reading this short story, but it helps if you have.  I've re-read it several times and it gets better every time.  Review HERE.


Overall book of 2009
The Elegant Corpse by AM Riley

There were several things which combined to make this my favourite read of 2009.  Firstly, the mystery kept me guessing all the way through the book; secondly, it gave me an insight into the workings of the somewhat secretive world of BDSM clubs; thirdly, I loved the relationship between the impetuous and outspoken Sean and the calm and controlled Roger; fourthly, the secondary characters were incredibly well drawn especially Roger's partner Mary Anne; finally, I really liked the whole old-fashioned feel to the book which contrasted sharply with the modern LA setting.  Beyond marvellous.  Review HERE.

And that's it folks.  In my opinion, if you select any of the books I've chosen over the last two days then you are not going to be disappointed.

On a side note, check out Wave's blog HERE later today where there will be my list of top ten books which I have reviewed for her this year, along with all the other guest reviewers.  It's slightly different to this list because I didn't review all of these books for Wave's blog.

M/M Books of the Year - Part 1

Last year, I did my books of the year in two parts.  The first part was comprised of my favourite m/f books I'd read during 2008 and the second part the m/m books.  This year I've only read a handful of m/f books and many of those were re-reads!  Instead, this year I'm focusing on m/m books only and I've added more categories as my list of genres has expanded, 16 altogether.  I shall do eight today and eight tomorrow.

Before I begin, let me give you an idea of how difficult it has been to choose my favourite book in each genre.  This year I've read 123 novels, 98 novellas, 22 anthologies (188 stories altogether) and 82 short stories not in an anthology. Out of those books most of them have been either contemporary romance, mysteries or paranormal/UF.  That's a lot of books to choose from, especially since I'm being ruthless and only choosing one book per genre, although I have separated the fantasy genre into three: Fantasy, Spec Fiction and Urban Fantasy.  The books I've chosen are ones that, if I was asked to recommend a particular book in a genre, would be the book which would immediately spring to my lips.

As with last year, these books are not necessarily books which have been published during 2009 (although many of them were), but rather books that I have read this year.  They are all books I've read for the first time during 2009 - no re-reads.  I've added the links to the reviews I did for each book and you can go to the publisher for each book from the review pages.

So without further ado, here is the Well Read list of favourite m/m books for 2009:


Contemporary
Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

This book about the sharp tongued, yet emotionally vulnerable Simon Murray who meets and falls in love with a famous Aussie Rules Football player, Declan, blew me away with its sympathetic look at the pressures of fame and being gay in a macho sport.  Review HERE.




Mystery
The Bones of Summer by Anne Brooke

The beauty of this story was in the characterisation.  Craig's world falls apart piece by piece throughout the book as he seeks to discover the truth about his past.  His boyfriend, Paul Maloney, has his own secrets but they gradually grow to become reliant on each other.  The mystery isn't too complicated but each reveal sends a shocking punch to the gut.  Review HERE.



Fantasy
Ghost Star Night by Nicole Kimberling

This book worked for me because of the slightly unsettling world building, where the souls of people can be extracted by wizards.  I also liked that the three main leads were caught up unwillingly in the action of the story and yet were instrumental to the final outcome.  Review HERE.




Speculative Fiction
A Strong and Sudden Thaw by RW Day

This beautiful story, set in Virginia in the future after a sudden ice-age has swept the world, affected me deeply due mostly to the first person narrator, David.  The view of his world is a mix of wonder and innocence, alongside the ruthlessness that is needed when trying to eke out a living in a harsh environment.  I was transported into this world and reluctant to leave once the book was finished.  Review HERE.



Paranormal
InDescent by KZ Snow

My love for this book has much to do with the love story between ex-vampire Adin and wizard Jackson.  The paranormal aspects were well thought out and executed but it was these heroes and how they worked through the implications of their unusual relationship which kept me glued to the book.  Review HERE.




Horror
Camp Hell by Jordan Castillo Price

The fifth in the Psycop series sees Vic really start to come into his own and become more comfortable with his powers.  There's a few surprises too for Jacob.  Along the way there's the usual mix of horror, embarrassment and humour as Vic tries to balance his job and newly emerging memories of the time he was training at Camp Hell.  Marvellous.  Review HERE.



Favourite Alpha Hero: Adam Bertoni from Immortality is the Suck by AM Riley.  A delicious mix of sarcastic humour and complete cluelessness when it comes to his relationship with Peter.  I wanted to punch him and/or give him a hug on several occasions.  Review HERE.






Favourite Beta Hero: Simon Murray from Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy.  Here was another character I wanted to hug as well as shake some sense into him.  He has a sarcastic sense of humour which he uses as a barrier to avoid getting hurt emotionally.  Yet, I could identify with his fear of getting too close in case he ends up unhappy.  Fortunately, the emotionally open, Declan, as well as his friend, Fran, is on hand to get him to talk about his feelings.

Well, that's it for today.  Join me here tomorrow when I'll give you my favourite comedy, UF and historical, among others and I'll also reveal my book of the year.

Monday Mistletoe Madness Minis - Week 4

The Santa Mug by Patric Michael
Darren is still grieving over the death of his lover on Christmas Eve a few years ago.  In order to try and get him away from his house at Christmas, Max, Darren's best friend, asks him to come with him to his family's thanksgiving dinner, where Darren discovers that a second chance at love has been waiting for him for years.

Likes: The family scenes were the right mix of chaos and camaraderie.  I liked Darren's bewilderment at being surrounded by so many noisy people and his reactions to this rang true.
Dislikes: The only sex scene was a flashback between Darren and his ex-lover which I felt was misplaced.  It's a bit of a bugbear of mine, but in stories about moving on from grief I need to see the physical closeness between the two alive heroes, not the dead one.  It may not have been so bad if there had been a sex scene later between Darren and Max but the end was too much about the dead lover and not enough about the new life between Max and Darren.
Overall: A well written second chance at love story with some touching scenes.  There was a good mix of holiday cheer and letting go of the past.  Grade: Very Good.


One Night Stand by Clare London
Teddy wakes up the morning after the office Christmas bash to discover another man in his bed.  He is horrified and embarrassed to discover it's his boss who he's had a major crush on for a long time.

Likes: Clare London is the mistress of embarrassing situations.  I loved the way that Teddy slowly came to the realisation that he's had sex with his boss, especially as it's clear to the reader that any feelings Teddy has for Marshall are reciprocated and yet Teddy is oblivious.
Dislikes: Morning breath.  It's another bugbear, but Teddy wakes up hungover and I kept thinking "just have a drink of water and swill your mouth out a bit" but he didn't.  The morning breath is even mentioned later and I find it a bit of a turn off.
Overall: A humourous story with a likeable, if clueless, hero.  One for those of you who are looking for something less sugary this Christmas.  Grade: Very Good.


Silent Night by Rowena Sudbury
Jonah is a wrestler who is stuck at the snowy airport on his way home for Christmas.  Also stuck is ex-wrestler Max who is looking forward to getting home to his lover Seth.  Their flights are cancelled so they are given a private lounge where they learn about each other's bad situations and comfort one another.

Likes: I liked Jonah and felt sorry for him that he's been used in the way that he has.  He has very low-self esteem and it was lovely to see how a little care and compassion from Max started to break down some of those bad feelings he has about himself.
Dislikes: At the beginning of the story Max claims that he misses his boyfriend Seth and yet not an hour later is getting it on with Jonah.  It wasn't enough for me to know that they had problems in their relationship, I needed them to break it off before Max had sex with Jonah.
Overall: This short is mostly made up of an extended sex scene, but there was enough in terms of emotional connection to get a understanding of the characters and their motivations.  Grade: Good.

ETA: Rowena has written a great little free add-on to this story set during New Year's Eve which answers the question of what happens with Max and his boyfriend Seth.  You can find it at her blog HERE.


Four Grooms and a Queen by John Simpson
Cops Patrick and Hank get an unexpected surprise and decide to celebrate by asking their lovers to marry them.

Likes: A good all round story of nice things happening to nice people.  It wasn't difficult to like.
Dislikes: Not a dislike, just an observation that as this is a follow on short from John Simpson's Murder Most Gay series, which I haven't read, I didn't have the emotional investment with the characters.  This made me seem more like an observer to a happy ending than involved with their story.
Overall: One for the fans, but still well written enough to be enjoyable to read.  Grade: Good.


Simple Gifts by Andrew Grey
Eli and Geoff are spending their first Christmas together, but Eli misses his Amish family.

Likes: I liked the way that Eli's preparations for Christmas were less commercialised and simple.
Dislikes: This is a follow on from Love Means...No Shame, which I haven't read.  There was one character, Len, who lived with the men and I had no idea who he was and what relationship, if any, he had to the heroes.  Just one word or a sentence to explain that would have been nice.
Overall: Having not read the first book there was, again, a lack of connection between me and the heroes, this coupled with a lot of assumed knowledge made it a bit of a frustrating read.  Still the writing was good and the ending left me with a happy glow. Grade: Good.


The Star Man by Jan Irving
Janitor Matthew has a crush on his CEO boss, Dove, who basically looks down his nose at Matthew.  After a terrible row where Matthew is fired from his job, Dove is struck by lightening.  When Dove wakes up, he has been possessed by an alien in the shape of an angel, who has been watching Matthew from afar for years.

Likes: There were a number of nice touches in the story, the use of the wings, the way that Dove's almost childlike innocence hides a slightly naughty love of kinky sex and Matthew's slow acceptance of Dove's feelings for him.
Dislikes: The ending left me with far too many questions about Matthew's future.
Overall: Despite the preposterous sounding premise, this was actually a lovely story of a man who is riddled with self-hatred and is saved by the pure love of a being who can look past Matthew's prickly defenses and see the hurt inside.  Grade: Very Good.


Holiday History by Heidi Champa
Kevin's future is turned upside down when his father gambles away his college fund.  Reduced to being an assistant to a painter and decorator, Kevin makes the best of his life as he scrimps and saves so he can go back to college and finish his degree in nautical history.  Just before Christmas, Kevin's boss, Tim, gets them a job at a large house owned by a rich and lonely man, Gary.

Likes: I really liked Kevin.  He was making the best of a situation which wasn't of his making and despite being from a rich a privileged background, he never looked down his nose at the blue collar, Tim.
Dislikes: Not much to dislike here, other than I wanted it to be longer as the ending was a little sudden.
Overall:  This is my pick for the week, a cute story about how love can find you when you least expect it and change your life for the better. Grade: Excellent.

Buy these stories HERE.

Review: The Strongest Shape by Tessa Cárdenas

I nearly didn’t read this book. I saw that the book was a m/m/m which is a storyline I find difficult to resist, but as I knew nothing about the author I decided to read the extract before making up my mind. My heart sank when I started reading and realised that the book is written in the present tense which is very difficult to write well and can be quite distracting. There was also an awful lot of info-dump in those first few paragraphs, so I regretfully decided that I probably wouldn’t bother with the book after all. Then, over the next few days, I found myself thinking about the characters in the extract and wondering how their story progressed. I also started to hear good things about the book from other sites, which sparked my curiosity further. In the end, I decided I would take the risk with the viewpoint and read the book. Boy, am I glad that I did, otherwise I would have missed out on a terrific book.

The book begins with one of our heroes, Caleb, waking up with a huge hangover, on a sofa in a strange man’s house. The strange man is Jason who took pity on a heavily drunk Caleb and brought him back home to sleep on his sofa. Caleb is recovering from a bad break-up with a boyfriend he’d moved from NY to LA to be with. he’s now stuck in LA with no job and no friends. Jason takes pity on him and introduces him to his group of friends which includes Scott, a fellow musician of Jason’s. Caleb and Scott get on really well and Caleb also finds Scott very attractive. Unfortunately, Scott has a boyfriend, Chris, who is insanely jealous of anyone who even seems to be slightly touchy-feely with Scott. Chris is working away and so Caleb doesn’t get to meet him for a few weeks. When Chris returns, Caleb tries to back away from his friendship with Scott, but Scott has grown fond of Caleb, as it isn’t long before Chris grows fond of Caleb too.

Once I’d got into the swing of the present tense, which was within a few pages, I found this to be a very absorbing book with a number of positive features. Firstly, this has to be one of the very few m/m/m books where I’ve got to the end and thought that the relationship really was going to work, to stand the test of time. This was mostly due to the whole set up of the relationship. In a number of other m/m/m books I’ve read, the men have sex as a three and also in pairs whilst one of the three is absent. In this book all the sex happens between the three of them, and this is something that is established early on in the relationship. This meant that there was never anyone ‘left out’ of the sex at any time and this went a long way to making the relationship seem solid. Another factor was the way that the men worked together as a three. Chris and Scott are quite a volatile couple and the slightly more laid back Caleb acts as a buffer between them, smoothing out some of the problems they had before they met him. This means that the three personalities complement each other which also helped to make the relationship strong.

Another thing I liked about the book links in with what I’ve said above. Each man has a distinct personality which made the men very individual. The book is written in a closed third person point of view, that of Caleb. As he is the one joining the relationship, the reader is taken along with Caleb as he works through various fears he has at being a third person in an already established relationship. I found myself identifying with Caleb and the problems that he has, even if he does have an annoying tendency to run away whenever he has a problem rather than staying and talking it through with Scott and Chris. The fact that Caleb is such a sympathetic character went a long way in my enjoyment of the book. Despite such a closed narration, I also felt that, through Caleb, I got to know Scott and Chris well too. Chris is the dominant one in the relationship, with a jealous streak a mile wide. When the three decide to have a go at a three-way relationship, Caleb has to cope with Chris’ jealousy as much as Scott does, something which causes tension between them. Scott is the emotional one, who often mediates between Chris and Caleb.

As the book progresses the three men deal with many problems caused both by their differences in personality and the pressures of work or having to confess their odd relationship to friends and family. As each problem is dealt with, they grow a little closer and add another layer of cement onto the relationship. It was the little things which I liked the best: For example, when the three first get together, Caleb is discomforted by the way that Scott and Chris can communicate by just glancing at one another and he feels left out of these wordless exchanges. As time goes on, he is able to read them both better until he is also part of this special exchange of glances.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this m/m/m romance and the only slight niggle I may have is that some of the sex scenes, especially towards the end of the book, seemed a little repetitive and superfluous to the plot. Apart from that very minor complaint, I found this to be an extremely well written, realistic portrayal of three men who meet and fall into a very unconventional relationship. I highly recommend The Strongest Shape, with a grade of 'Excellent', to those of you who like m/m/m menage and also to those readers who are looking for an engaging read, with strong characterisation.

Buy this book HERE.

Christmas Greetings!

Christmas Eve is very busy in my house - as I expect it is in many of yours - so just a quick post today to say:

Merry Christmas

or

Seasons Greetings

or

Happy Holidays

depending on which you prefer, to my blogging friends.

I'm taking a couple of days off now, but will be back on Monday with the Mistletoe Madness Minis.

Enjoy your turkey, or goose or nut roast and I'll raise a glass of wine to you all tomorrow.

Cheers!

Review: Bedknobs and Beanstalks Anthology

I'm a big fantasy fan and I love inverted fairy stories so this anthology of short stories all of which take an established fairy story or ideas from fairy stories and turns it around into a m/m story seemed just the thing for me. Surprisingly for an anthology, all the stories were well written with clever plots and interesting characters. In fact, it's been quite difficult for me to single out one or two stories to highlight as my favourites.

Swan Made by Mina Kelly caught my interest because its themes were slightly darker than the other stories. It tells of lonely older man Joseph who discovers a cloak made from swan feathers in a local lake. He takes it home, puts it in a cupboard and forgets about it. Later that night a strange naked man turns up at his house and the two men have sex. The nameless man stays with Joseph, easing his loneliness, but whenever Joseph leaves the house he returns to find that the house is being systematically searched.

The story is written from Joseph's point of views and we follow him as he is at first bemused and then reliant on the strange man who enters his life. It isn't difficult to know who the man is and there were a number of sly, amusing comments about the difficulties the two men have to overcome in order to live in harmony. Their relationship is tinged with sadness though as Joseph faces the inevitability that at some point the man will find what he is looking for and leave, leading to a poignant scene which left me feeling quite heartbroken on Joseph's behalf. Don't worry though, like all good fairy stories, he gets his happy ending.

Another unusual story was Japanese set, Kintaro by S.J. Frost which told the story of a man, Kintaro, with extraordinary strength who lives in the forest with his mother. One day a Samurai finds him and after losing to Kintaro in a wrestling match takes him to the feudal Lord to train as a Samurai. The lord is impressed by Kintaro's strength and wishes him to fill the gap in his personal guard left when one of his men was killed. What Kintaro doesn't realise is that the guardsmen are always paired and that lone Samurai Suetake is still grieving over the death of the previous guardsman and his lover.

What attracted me to this story was that it had a different setting to the other stories in the anthology. Instead of kings and soldiers we have lords and Samurai. Kintaro had a lovely innocence about him that contrasted nicely with the weariness of Suetake and I liked that despite their opposite natures they worked as a couple. I also liked the relationship that the feudal lord had with his guardsmen and how the young and inexperienced Kintaro seemed to breathe a new spirit into the the men. Overall a well written and engrossing story about how innocence can overcome grief.

There were a couple of stories with similar themes about young men who refused to conform and marry the princesses. The Rebelliously Single Prince by Lenore Black was one such story where the king is so despairing of his son who sneaks out each night to cavort with the stable boys that he locks him in his room with a guard outside. Every morning the prince is still debauched, so the king makes a hidey hole for his most trusted advisor to watch over the prince at night. What followed was a delicious mix of a beautiful, tender sex scene and voyeurism which I found both amusing and romantic. The second story was Kings Honor by JL Merrow where a young soldier arrives in a strange land to solve the riddle of the twelve dancing princesses. Before arriving at the castle he meets a young woodsman who, along with his grandmother, offers to help the soldier solve the riddle. The writing in this story was a mix of cheeky humour and seriousness which blended together to create an interesting tale of the pitfalls of too much power and how the simple things in life are often the best. Great stuff.

Honourable mentions also need to go to A Merman's Tale by Jay Di Meo which was a sort of cross between The Little Mermaid and The Frog prince but still managed to pack a strong emotional punch and Cry Wolf by Mercy Loomis which crossed magic and shifter romance to tell the story of a shepherd who falls for the big bad wolf.

One thing I feel I ought to mention is that the story Handsome and Grateful by Kilt Kilpatrick had both m/m and f/f sex scenes in its irreverent pastiche of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. This is not a criticism, just a warning for those who aren't interested in f/f stories.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this set of stories. Recently, my main complaint about anthologies has been that many of the stories have been too similar in theme. I was pleased to find that this anthology had a set of diverse stories whilst also sticking to the theme of the book. I highly recommend Bedknobs and Beanstalks, with a grade of 'Excellent', to those readers who like fantasy and inverted fairy stories and also who are looking for a set of well written, amusing tales which nevertheless give us the emotion and happy endings that all good romance should contain.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon

It's finally here: The long awaited fifth and final book in the Adrien English Mysteries series.  But does it live up to all the anticipation and hype?  Read on to find out!

Before I begin, for those who have been living under a rock, I feel I ought to mention that The Dark Tide is part of a series and cannot be read as a stand-a-lone.  If you haven't read this series yet you need to go HERE to Loose Id and buy the first book in the series: The Adrien English Mysteries: Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing.  Then clear your schedule for a few days because once you read those you'll have to buy and read the rest all at once.  I'm not joking.

The Dark Tide picks up a few weeks after the end of The Death of a Pirate King.  Adrien is recovering from a combined bullet removal/heart surgery and is pleased to get back to some normalcy, whilst also frustrated at the weakness he still feels.  When a fifty year old skeleton is discovered during the renovations to his bookshop, Adrien becomes convinced it is linked to a series of recent attempted break-ins.  He calls on Jake, who now runs a PI business to find out who is trying to get into his shop and why, and to see whether there is a link to the dead musician discovered under the floorboards.

There are two plots which run through the book.  Firstly there is the mystery plot which was complex enough that I didn't guess whodunnit but also simple enough that it didn't detract from the main drama of the book: That of the relationship between Adrien and Jake.  The mystery was low-key and quiet without any of the urgency or drama of the previous books.  This was partly because it was a cold-case and, for once, Adrien is not under suspicion, and partly because of the change in Adrien.  In previous books Adrien has a tendency to hair off at a moment's notice into situations which could be potentially dangerous.  He asks difficult questions to murder suspects and has a devil-may-care attitude about his own safety.  In TDT Adrien has lost that attitude as he comes to the realisation that the surgery has made him well enough to live a long life - something he has never before expected to happen.  With this comes a fear for his own safety and a change in his previously reckless attitude.  He is also still recovering from major surgery, leading to a lack of stamina which puts the brakes on Adrien being able to go off on his own.  The upshot of this is that, for the first time, this is more Jake's mystery than Adrien's and it is Adrien who tags along with Jake rather than the other way around.  Jake is the one to put together the clues, to take the risks and I found Adrien's reaction to Jake putting himself in danger a mixture of amusing and ironic as he definitely didn't like it when the shoe was on the other foot!

For most of us readers though, the main attraction to this book is to see the closure of the story arc between Jake and Adrien.  This part of the book is all about Adrien as he spends a lot of the time reflecting on his past, especially the last three years since he met Jake.  To further complicate matters, a previous lover of Adrien's, Mel, appears back on the scene, interested in picking up where they left off a few years ago now that Adrien is going to be well.  Guy is also still about and still interested too.  As the book progresses, Adrien's thoughts are a tumble of confused feelings about his past with Mel, his friendship with Guy and his love for Jake.  Overarching all these thoughts is a sense of fear, mainly the fear of getting hurt again by Jake. This fear causes Adrien to think about the 'good times' he had with Jake - especially during the period in the book A Dangerous Thing - and then onto the 'bad times' - especially during the time towards the end of The Hell You Say and into DOAPK.  I felt sorry for Adrien and his obvious confusion and fear especially as he has always been such a strong man in terms of what he wants.  The fact that everything he has ever wanted for the last 3 years is now within his grasp and yet he is afraid to reach out and grasp it shows just how deeply Jake has hurt him by his actions in the past.

I've always liked Jake as a character.  Not as a person, but as a flawed and troubled character.  One of the things which I've always found frustrating and yet also admired about Jake is his determination to see his dreams though, no matter the cost to anyone else.  All those dreams have now backfired, or perhaps they have just changed as he sets aside the ideal (in his head) of a wife and family and finally, finally listens to his heart.  That same determination is still there but there's also fear as Jake calmly waits for Adrien to make up his mind about what he wants.  It's a very different Jake in this book to that in THYS: He's no longer leading a double life, he's more open and willing to talk about his feelings, but he's also making plans for the future should everything not go to plan.  I admired Jake greatly in this book and felt that, this time, it was Adrien who was the cruel one who plays with Jake's emotions - not deliberately, just as Jake didn't deliberately hurt Adrien in the past.  Again the irony of the situation was not lost on me.

I'm obviously not going to tell you what happens at the end of this marvellous book but I will say that it was a fitting end, a satisfying end.  Many of Josh Lanyon's fans are bemoaning the fact that this is the last book but after reading The Dark Tide I can honestly say I don't need to read any more.  The story is complete and I am quite happy to say goodbye to Jake and Adrien at the point I left them at the end of this book.

All that's left for me to say is that for fans of the AE books this is a must:  A fantastic book containing Josh Lanyon's stark, lean prose but crammed full of emotion and wit.  I can't recommend it highly enough with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.

Monday Mistletoe Madness Minis - Week 3

The Mistletoe Phenomenon by Serena Yates
Lance is working in his sister's Christmas store after an ex-lover left him, clearing out the joint account on the way.  Magnus, who is newly arrived in town, comes into the store with his nephew Jakob, looking for decorations.  Lance and Jakob hit it off and Magnus, after kissing Lance under the mistletoe, asks Lance whether he would like to help them pick out decorations and decorate their house.  Lance agrees and over the next few days gets to know Magnus and Jakob as they grieve for the death of Jakob's parents and Magnus tries to be a good carer for Jakob, all the while wishing for a family of his own.

Likes: I really liked Magnus, especially in the way that he was slightly awkward and found it difficult to know how to relate to Jakob.  I also liked that he had a scientific way of looking at the world and his little 'experiments' were amusing and touching.
Dislikes: I'm not keen on insta-love and this story takes place over a few days in which time Lance and Magnus move in together and fall in love.  There were reasons given for this, but it all seemed a little rushed.
Overall: Serena Yates writes well and the characters were interesting and fleshed out.  Her stories are just too sweet for me though and this one was no exception.  Grade: Good.


Collingsworth by Andy Eisenburg
Set sometime in the Victorian period in a village not far from Boston, this historical tells the story of poor orphan Michael who lives with his cousins and attends a private school on a scholarship.  He's in his last year of school and faces an uncertain future when the music teacher takes an interested in him.  With Dr Kennedy's help Michael gets some surprising news as well as a chance to act on his hidden feelings for fellow student, David.

Likes: I enjoyed quite a lot of the period detail, plus that of life in an all male private school.  Michael's suppressed feelings for David were also done well, all longing looks and inward mortification.
Dislikes: The ending wasn't particularly realistic, but I expect that this story would come under that 'Timeless Dreams' heading that DSP use to mean 'we're ignoring the fact that gay men probably wouldn't be as accepted as they are for the sake of a lovely HEA'.
Overall:  A well written, diverting read which I enjoyed a great deal.  Grade: Very Good.


Dresden Weihnachten by Edward von Behrer
Advertising executive, Daniel, is shipped off to open a new branch in Dresden at short notice. As the Christmas period approaches he begins to get homesick and run down from overwork. It takes shop assistant Dieter to show him the wonders of Dresden at Christmas and ease his lonliness.

Likes: The author has an obvious love for Dresden which came shining through the descriptions of the city and the Christmas festivities.
Dislikes: The 'meant to be' ending and slight paranormal elements seemed out of place and turned a promising relationship into a clumsy 'soul mates' insta-love.
Overall: A good start to the story and I was lost in all the charming descriptions of Dresden, but thought the ending contrived and a bit disappointing. Grade: Good.


Home For Christmas by Nicki Bennett
British man Connell returns to Savannah in time for Christmas to surprise his long distance lover Spence.

Likes: The two men have an obvious love for one another which I found affecting.
Dislikes: Not a dislike as such but a warning: This is a follow on from a previous story written by the author and Rhianne Aile: Riverwalk.
Overall: I hadn't read the other story and so this snippet into the HEA of two established characters probably wasn't really aimed at me. Although you do pick up all you need to know and don't need to have read the previous story, I didn't have the previous emotional investment in the characters. Grade: Good.


The White Stag by Jamie Freeman
Joshua meets Jude at a support group for the friends and families of victims of the 9/11 attacks. They are drawn to one another but Joshua is a Christian and Jude a pagan and their differences cause a rift between them. When Jude invites Joshua to a joint Christmas/Winter Solstice party Joshua is faced with a decision: does he allow their religious differences to keep them apart or can they work together to make the relationship work?

Likes: This is the first story I've read where the gay character is also a practising Christian - usually the Christians in m/m stories are gay bashers or intolerant bigots - so it was nice to see a liberal Christian for a change, even if Joshua is rather mixed up about his feelings.
Dislikes: Although I understood why Joshua might be wary of committing himself to someone who doesn't share his faith, he was rather judgemental in his condemnation of Jude's pagan beliefs. Especially as he seemed happy to have Jude as a fuck-buddy.
Overall: This was an unusual and interesting concept for a m/m story. The way that the traditional Christmas festivities were set alongside those of the winter solstice was done well. I would have liked to see the men working through their problems rather than the 'divine intervention' at the end but there is scope for a follow on story so maybe some of the kinks will be worked out later. Grade: Very Good.


Charity Starts at Home by Zahra Owens
Quinn works as the manager of a homeless shelter which is often used as a place for felons to work off their community service. Hayden was one such felon forced to work at the shelter after a conviction for DUI. Quinn is surprised when Hayden returns months later and offers his time and money over the Christmas period. There's an attraction between the men, but Hayden has many problems which prevents him from being able to act on his attraction.

Likes: Although this is an 'opposites attract' story, both men are very sympathetic characters. Quinn makes judgements about Hayden, but never comes across as priggish or self-sacrificing. Hayden has a lot of problems but manages to avoid being the 'poor little rich boy', making the characterisation realistic.
Dislikes: Not much to dislike here, except that I got a little frustrated by Quinn's constant guilt when he was a way from the shelter.
Overall: A story set in a homeless shelter which deals with the realities of life for those on the streets without being too grim and depressing. My top pick for this week. Grade: Excellent.


Snow Follies by Chelle Dugan
Eric is moving from the desert plains of Arizona to the mountains to live with his sister and nephews for a while. On the way to the town where his sister lives he encounters snow. Having never driven in snow before he is bemused by the need for 'snow chains' on his tyres. Fortunately local cop, Cameron, is on hand to help and offer an escort. Over the next few weeks, Eric and Cameron bump into each other again and again.

Likes: This was a nice little story about two guys who tentatively start on the road to love. I liked both characters and found the relationship that Eric has with his sister and nephews quite heartwarming.
Dislikes: There was quite a bit of head-hopping which I found jarring.
Overall: A sweet (but not overly so) story of two men fumbling into a new relationship.  It also had a number of nice details about how hard it is for Eric's sister whose husband is serving overseas. Grade: Very Good.

Buy these stories HERE.

Saturday Shorts

Better Than Money by Taylor Lochland
This story is a follow on from The Meaning of Perfection which featured in the Sindustry 2 anthology and which I enjoyed a great deal.  This time it's Jack who's our hero and first person narrator.  Jack is a hooker who up until recently when his buddy, Felix, found love, was happy with his chosen profession.  He's now starting to feel like he wishes he had someone special in his life too.  At a party run by Felix and his lover Julian, Jack meets chauffeur Charlie.  There's an attraction between them but Charlie is wary of starting a relationship with a hooker.  There was much to like with this story.  Felix has a very matter-of-fact outlook on life and his job which I found quite refreshing.  There's no angst or soul searching but rather a pragmatism in the way he goes about his job. Only ocassionally does he think about some of the more distasteful things he's had to do, showing us that it's not an easy option, even if Jack claims that it is most of the time.  Charlie, too, surprised me.  He didn't like what Jack did for a living but was happy to go slow and give himself a chance to come around to the idea.  The only real flaw in the story was that there was quite a lot of extraneous detail given and I often found myself wondering why I needed such a detailed inventory of all Jack's actions.  Quite a bit could have been cut from the story which would have made it a leaner, sharper read.  Overall though this was a satisfying story and I was glad I got to see Jack get his HEA.  Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.

The Hummingbird Summer/Sukiyaki by G.S. Wiley
These are two tiny short stories (both about 5-6,000 words) set in the 1960's released as a package at Lulu.  The first story is a sort of slice of life involving two men. Typewriter salesman Henry has been in a relationship with married lawyer Pete for some time now.  They meet regularly at Pete's house during the summer when his wife and children retire to the coast to escape the hot city weather.  It was a bittersweet tale of two men who love each other but are trapped by societies conventions and although it didn't have a HEA, there was still a sort of sad recognition on the part of Henry that being Pete's 'bit on the side' is he best he is ever going to have.  The second story, Sukiyaki, features Japanese man, John Tamaru, who is asked by another Japanese man to look into the murder of his sister.  There's not much to the mystery plot, which is only to be expected for a story of 8 pages, but the beauty of the story is in the period details, especially in the way that John and other Japanese characters have to endure suspicion and discrimination.  The fact that John is gay as well as Japanese, adds an extra dimension to his character as he muses on love and his unconventional relationship with trumpet player, Jack.  Both stories are both beautifully written and evocative of the period and I can't recommend them highly enough.  Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Moor Love by Carol Lynne
I've heard lots of great things about Carol Lynne's books, but up until now I haven't read anything by her. After reading this lovely novella, set in my native Yorkshire, I shall certainly be picking up more of her books. The book begins with US agriculture student Caleb arriving for a year's placement at a sheep farm on the North Yorkshire Moors. He's surprised to find that the farmer he is to work with is a very attractive man in his mid-thirties. Jon is mute and has reluctantly arranged for Caleb to come and help him on the farm after an old knee injury flairs up and he cannot manage the hilly terrain. As the two men get to know each other, a mutual attraction begins to form, but Jon is shy and unsure of how to react to Caleb's 'out and proud' sexuality. Although the story is written mostly from Caleb's point of view, this was Jon's story as he came to terms with his past and overcame his shyness to be with Caleb. Caleb has a positive, sunny outlook on life and the contrast between the two men was done well. They really did balance each other out. The parts that stood out though were in the little details, the way that the men cared for each other, did things for each other and communicated without the need for words. The fact that they worked through any problems in a sensible but caring way was also a highlight and I found myself cheering these two lovely men on all the way to their HEA. Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Wings by JC Owens

Isn't that Anne Cain cover gorgeous? I could look at it for hours.

How you view this book is going to depend very much on your views about dubious consent. The story involves young soldier, Anyar, who is captured and taken as a sexual slave to the prince, Vanyae. There are several sex scenes in the book which depict Anyar's body enjoying the experience, but in his mind he is being taken against his will. It certainly treads a very fine line between rape and dub con, so fine in fact, that even I was a little uncomfortable and dub con doesn't usually bother me.

Despite this, there was much to enjoy about this novella. First and foremost was the depiction of the fantasy elements, especially the wings. All the characters have wings and I have to admit I was a little sceptical about this at first and wasn't sure whether I would be able to relate to a character who had wings. I shouldn't have worried because this aspect was dealt with with such sympathy and understanding that I couldn't help marvelling at how right the characters seemed with wings after a while. This mainly happened through the characterisation: Anyar and Vanyae are from opposing countries and this is even reflected in their physical differences. Anyar has large wings, whereas Vanyae's wings are smaller, giving him the advantage of speed, a difference which becomes important later in the book. What also worked well was the way that the wings are linked strongly to identity, especially with Anyar. Anyar has black wings which are seen as unusual in his country (wings are usually dark in colour, but not black). This makes Anyar uncomfortable about his appearance and shy around other people. The wings are also used to express emotion or give an indication as to how the characters are feeling, for example holding the wings up high and close to the body indicates stress and worry and in one scene we see the utter joy that Anyar has in flight. Anyar is terrified when he is captured because he has heard rumours that captured people from his country have their wings removed and to him that would be worse than death. The fact that the wings were so closely connected to the characterisation meant that they never seemed like an add-on or just there to make the story seem a bit different from other fantasy books. The author had really thought carefully about this aspect of the world building and that went a long way towards my enjoyment of the book.

Another thing I liked about this book was the author's written style. J.C. Owens is a new to me author and so I had no idea what to expect when I began reading the book. I was delighted to find that the written style flows well and that the descriptive passages were rich and evocative, especially in the way the setting is described. The character of Anyar is particularly sympathetic and I found myself feeling a great deal of empathy for him and his situation.

The part of the book that didn't work as well for me was in the relationship between Anyar and Vanyae. Not on the part of Vanyae and his attraction and then love for Anyar, that part I understood and was easy to accept. In fact, the change in Vanyae's feelings from a sort of cruel and obsessive need for Anyar into a bewildering love and need for him was done very well. I could see how the good and kind Anyar would incite a change in Vanyae for the better, leading to him falling in love with Anyar. What didn't work as well was the way that Anyar developed feelings for Vanyae. Although Vanyae treats Anyar with probably more respect than he would a slave, Anyar is isolated, sexually used and made to feel like a possession for Vanyae to get out and play with whenever he desires. The fact that he begins to have feelings for Vanyae made it more akin to Stockholm Syndrome than true love and even a few incidents towards the end of the book did nothing to prevent that little niggly feeling in the back of my mind that Anyar's feelings were as a result of enforced proximity. Perhaps if the book had been longer and there had been a few more scenes of Anyar and Vanyae developing an emotional connection, I may have felt happier. There were mentions of times when the men sat and spoke to one another, but as all these happened off page, I was only told of the growing feelings rather than seeing for myself. Despite this niggle, I was still satisfied with the ending to the book and was happy about the way the political plot merged with the romance.

I expect many of you are going to have read the words 'dubious consent' and already decided that this book isn't for you. Fair enough. For those of you who don't mind dub con, I would recommend that you give Wings a try. It's not without issues, but I found it to be an interesting and well written fantasy novella and I shall certainly be looking out for other books by this author.  Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Authors Behaving Badly

There's a lot of excitement on the blogs at the moment about this daft author who's having a complete snit about a 1 star review at Amazon.  It's nothing new, is it?  I've lost count of the number of times an author has gone off on one in public and the rest of the civilised blogosphere spend their time either gleefully watching the train wreck or scratching their heads and muttering about decorum and bad publicity.  Sometimes we do both.

But what rarely seems to get mentioned are the ways that authors behave badly in private, behind the closed doors of personal email and direct twitter messages.  This came to the forefront of my attention when I received an email yesterday from an author complaining about a review I had written of their book a short while ago.  Now, I'm quite lucky in a way, I don't get many emails like this at all, but I know that some reviewers get lots and lots of complaint emails from authors, enough so that they've even considered jacking in the whole reviewing thing because of all the nasty emails they receive.  When I got this email yesterday a few thoughts went through my mind:

1. Huh? But it was a really positive review.
True, it got a grade of Very Good and I said only one negative thing about the whole story.  It's also true that I explained my negative point thoroughly but that's my style.  I'm not one to throw out a negative comment and then not explain why it was negative.

2. What was the author trying to achieve by sending me this email?
Did this author think that I would suddenly change my mind about the review and the part I hadn't liked?  Were they expecting me to go 'Of course, I now see that I was totally wrong.  Let me change my review and post an apology immediately'?  Er, no.  No matter how much this particular author felt I hadn't 'understood' or 'got' what they were trying to achieve, I won't change my mind about a book just because the author sends me a horrid email telling me that, in their opinion, I'm wrong!  In fact, it's more likely to make me stick to my original opinion of the book.

On a side note here, I'm not talking about emails where the author tells me I've made a factual mistake.  If I've accidentally got the name of one of the heroes wrong, or even the title of the book, or even spelled the author's name wrong, I want to know.  Really I do.  I'll be absolutely mortified and will probably send a grovelling, apologetic email back after amending the review, but I do want to know stuff like that or I'll be even more embarrassed if I discover the mistake weeks later.  After all I'm only human so factual mistakes do sometimes happen.

Anyway, back to my original point.  What annoyed me mostly about this email was that the author had put a nice comment on the end of the review - a sort of, thanks for reviewing my book - so the whole world could see what a lovely person they are, how polite they are in the face of criticism, how reasonable.  Then they'd emailed me and been almost hysterical in their criticism of the review.  Talk about two faced.

So what am I to do now? I had several options:
1. Post up the email so the whole world could see it.
2. Ignore it, delete it and forget it.
3. Reply to the author.
4. Rant on to a 'safe' person.
5. Do a blog post about it.

Well, you can see which option I chose.  I also did number 4.  Many of you are probably wondering why I didn't just 'name and shame'.  Well for two reasons really.  Firstly, this author is very popular and I didn't want to start a wankfest on the blog which would happen when the author's fans got stuck in to defend their idol; secondly, That would be mean and vindictive and I am neither of those things.  Now I've got the whole incident off my chest I shall rise above it and get on with doing what I love best: Reading books and writing my (sometimes painfully) honest reviews.

One thing I WON'T be doing in the future is reading and reviewing and recommending any more of this author's books.

Oh Christmas Tree

Last year I posted up a piccie of my Christmas tree and I thought - why not do that again?

Why not, indeed.  So here it is:

As you can see, my tree looks like four kids stood across the room and randomly threw decorations at the tree and that's pretty much what happened.

Ah, but that's not the end of it because I want to see YOUR Christmas trees too.  You can either stick a photo on your blogs or put it on a photosharing site but either way post the link in the comments and I'll come and admire your handy work.

BTW, this is NOT a meme.  No it isn't.

On another note, Eldest son asked me yesterday whether people in the US ate mince pies.  I asked on Facebook but the only response I got was from Tam, who's Canadian, so I thought I'd ask here as well.  Do you US folk eat individual mince pies?

ETA: For Chris those of you who don't even know what a mince pie looks like, here's a picture of one:

Review: Conventional Education by TC Blue

Conventional Education is the sequel to the excellent Conventional Wisdom (reviewed HERE) which I had enjoyed a great deal. That particular novella had ending with a promise of things to come and so I was very much looking forward to spending some more time with Trent and Lucas and seeing how they have managed their long distance relationship.

The book begins a few months after the previous story. Trent, the geeky goth, is now working from home in DC as a programmer for a games company based in LA. The boss of the company, Mac, is putting pressure on Trent to move to LA, which is making the rather stubborn Trent dig his heels in a bit. Trent is also concerned that Mac doesn’t really seem very interested in his ideas and keeps trying to get him to work on an entirely unsuitable shoot-em-up for young children. Lucas is still the lead actor in a well received paranormal detective show. The pair meet up again at a convention in Michigan where they are keen to act on all the frustrating phone calls they’ve experienced since they last met.

The story follows three different themes. Firstly there is that of Trent and his increasingly uncomfortable relationship with his boss, Mac, and the games company he works for. I quite liked this storyline, even if I was disappointed for Trent. I thought it showed a certain naivety in Trent’s character which is slightly at odds with the confident exterior he shows to the world. I was less happy about the way the story progressed because the whole thing became a little overblown and slightly unbelievable and I began to wonder whether what happened would be something that reflected real life. However, never having had experience with big business, I couldn’t be sure, so I let it pass.

The second theme is that of Lucas and his co-star, Richard, who suddenly comes out to the world. I liked this theme a great deal. Richard was a very sympathetic character, as was his partner, Terence, and I thought that the way this contrasted with Lucas’ closeted life was cleverly done. There was lots of comedy to be had when Lucas realises that Richard has already cottoned on to his relationship with Trent and I found myself giggling at Lucas’ expense a few times.

The final theme is that of the relationship between Trent and Lucas. I had mixed feelings about this. Their interactions are mostly made up of rampant sex, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I found myself wishing that I could have at least some interaction between them with them wearing clothes. It is mentioned several times that the two men do talk to one another outside the bedroom, off page, but I would have liked to see that happen a bit more than it did. That way, when they start to develop feelings for one another, it would have seemed less to do with sexual compatibility than it did. Even their commitment to each other seemed less about ‘I love you’ and more about bareback sex, and the romantic in me would have liked to have seen a little more emotional as well as physical engagement. I was a little worried about the ending too. I can’t say too much about this as I don’t want to give away spoilers, but it did seem that Trent had to give up an awful lot, whereas Lucas got to have his cake and eat it. I’m hoping that there may be a third book about this pair as I still had a lot of unanswered questions about their relationship which need answering before I can be happy with their HEA.

So overall, whilst this book is well written, with sympathetic characters and hot sex, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did Conventional Wisdom. I’d still recommend it as a great book to read, especially for those who, like me, are already fans of Trent and Lucas, but would suggest that you read Conventional Wisdom first as this book does assume a little knowledge of the previous story. Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Monday Mistletoe Madness Minis - Week 2

It was more of a mixed bunch this week.


Silver and Gold by Devon Rhodes
Businessman Geoff is contacted by his first love after a twenty year gap. Jesse is back in town, newly divorced, and looking to meet up with Geoff. Geoff's pretty excited about this despite the fact that Jesse two timed him and then dumped him when Jesse's girlfriend got pregnant. Before they meet up, Geoff decides to get the grey dyed out of his hair and meets Abe, a stylist who loves Abe's grey hair and is interested in getting together out of the salon as well.

Likes: This was a lengthy story so lots to get your teeth into. I really liked Abe and his sunny character.
Dislikes: Geoff was a bit indecisive, one minute he was thinking about Jesse and the next Abe. I was glad when he finally made his mind up, but he did get a bit irritating for a few pages.
Overall: An interesting story about being happy with yourself as you are. Grade: Very Good.


Two Christmasses by Anne Brooke
Danny has made a major cock up. He went out drinking and smoking weed with an ex-boyfriend, Marty, and ended up shagging him. Now Marty has written to Danny's current live-in boyfriend, Jake, and told all. Danny desperately tries to cover it up, but it's too late.

Likes: Danny was a complete idiot, but I still had a great deal of sympathy for him. I especially liked that he realised what a dickhead he'd been and actively sought to change himself for the better.
Dislike: Not a dislike as such, but this was quite a dark story of bad deeds and redemption which may not appeal to everyone. I loved it.
Overall: This is my top pick of the week. A fantastic story with such sympathetic, flawed characters. I was engrossed right through this short story. Grade: Excellent.


All I want for Christmas by Linda Reilly
David is out for a night of drinking with his friends when they find a mobile phone which has been left in the gents. They crank call a number on the speed dial and David gets to take the call. He arranges to meet up with the man on the other end of the phone, Nicholai, to hand the phone to him but David gets much more than he bargained for when they meet up.

Likes: The set up for the two men meeting was quite unusual and the quality of the writing was high. I also liked how David came to terms with the fact that he was gay.
Dislikes: My big bugbear 'instalove' rears its ugly head. I would have preferred a HFN.
Overall: A very readable romance with paranormal elements. Grade: Very Good


Cabin Fever Over The Holidays by Jay Starre
Sam is spending Christmas and New Year with his friends in a secluded cabin. Cole and Andreas are a couple who like to 'share' but Sam isn't really interested. He is interested in Jimmy "a willing slut" who is sharing a room with Sam. As the guests arrive and the 'sucking and fucking' begins, Sam starts to re-evaluate his friendship with Cole and Andreas.

Likes: I liked Sam and thought his feelings about wanting to have someone to love in his life were quite affecting.
Dislikes: This was the story which generated THIS POST. It was basically PWP and I didn't like the way that everyone in the story only seemed to be interested in sex or chores.
Overall: If you like gay porn then this will be the story for you. The writing was good and the character of Sam believable but I was hoping for more Christmas romance. Grade: On the border of Good/Poor.


Vintage Toys for Lucky Boys by GR Richards
Randy enters a antiques shop wanting to sell some old toys to raise enough money for a Christmas present for his Mum. Whilst there he meets Max who guesses that there's more to Randy than meets the eye.

Likes: Not a like as such, but more that I found this story involving a Transgendered female to male character quite unusual. The little details about how the binding and padding worked were interesting.
Dislikes: There was a scene of explicit finger sucking which did absolutely nothing for me.
Overall: I have to be honest and say that a transgendered hero isn't really my cup of tea, but I admire the author for writing such a sympathetic character in Randy. Grade: Good.


If I Must by Amy Lane
Joel lives with Aussie brainbox Ian who is completely hopeless at organising himself or his life as he spends so much time living in his head. Joel helps Ian by organising his life for him but Joel is worried when he has to go to visit his family for Thanksgiving, especially as the cat, Manky Bastard, is sick and Ian dotes on her.

Likes: The relationship between Ian and Joel was very touching, firstly as friends and then lovers, and I liked how they gelled together as a couple. I also loved Ian's Aussie turns of phrase. The story had a deft, lighthearted touch to it which prevented some of the darker scenes being too overwhelming.
Dislikes: Ian verged on the 'too needy' at times and it was also difficult to see how he could have possibly survived before Joel came along.
Overall: A lovely read about two very different men who complement each other perfectly. Grade: Very Good.


Time For Charity by A Willingham
Mitch makes a complete fool of himself in front of a sexy shop assistant and is horrified when the same man appears at a charity event that Mitch is attending that evening.

Likes: I really liked the character of Sam who rather dominated the story over Mitch.
Dislikes: This was really too short to get any handle on the characters and at 16 pages, which included 4 pages of sex, everything was only dealt with on a surface level and I wished I could have gotten to know these two heroes a bit better.
Overall: The writing was solid and the characters were interesting but this story left me with lots of unanswered questions and wanting more. Grade: Good.

Buy any of these stories HERE.

Review: Matchmen, Ltd. by TC Blue

T.C. Blue is an autobuy author for me, and so I don't even bother reading the blurbs but get the books as soon as I spot a new release. I settled down to read Matchmen, Ltd. without having a clue what it was about and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the book is made up of three intertwining stories, all set within the back drop of the company Matchmen, which attempts to find true love for mostly gay men. The company is run by Trevor, who is one of the heroes in the first story, and assisted by Melody, his cross dressing PA and later partner in the business, who is the hero/heroine of the second story. Finally the new PA, William, features (along with Melody) as a secondary character in the third story which involves William's brother Adam as the hero.

Because this book has three separate sections which read almost like short stories, I shall take each part in turn to review.

Part One - Make Me a Match
Trevor and AJ have been friends for years and for a brief period eight years previously, lovers. AJ broke Trevor's heart all those years ago when he suddenly left him and moved right across the country. After that AJ became a successful businessman and all round man-whore, but after breaking up from a (for him) long relationship with famous gay pop singer, Parker, AJ turns to Trevor to help him get back into the dating scene.

This was actually the weakest section of the book and in some ways served more as a way of setting the scene for the other two stories than being a successful story in its own right. Personally, I'm getting a bit tired of ex-lovers/friends suddenly coming to the realisation that they love each other, so that could be another possible reason why this story didn't engage me as much as the other two. I liked Trevor, who I felt a great deal of sympathy for. He's trying to avoid getting hurt again, but finds it almost impossible to resist AJ. AJ was a less sympathetic character and in some ways I found it difficult that someone so rich, famous and charasmatic would find it difficult to know how to play the dating game. Where the story really dragged though was in the pages and pages of naval gazing introspection by both men. The story itself could have been half the length it was, if some of that had been cut and perhaps the story may have been better for it as much of it was just repetition as the men went over and over the same ground in their heads.

The highlight of this story was the character of Melody and I was delighted when I discovered that she/he is the focus of the second story.

Part Two - Little Match Girl
Melody is a cross dresser who is a woman during the day, but changes back into a man, Mel, when she returns to her apartment and to her lover Jackson. At the start of the story Mel has just been promoted by Trevor and now deals with her own clients, specifically that of Parker, AJ's ex-lover, who is a famous pop star. Melody finds Parker very attractive, as does Jackson, and Parker also finds himself having lustful thoughts about Mel and Jackson. All this is brought to a head when Parker and Melody are photographed together in a restaurant and the newspapers are printing stories gloating about Parker being 'turned straight'.

It was this story where the book began to pick up. I just loved the character of Melody and was fascinated by the depiction of her as a cross dresser. I felt this was handled well, in that it was addressed and explained but wasn't particularly made into a big deal. Melody's personality is rather larger than life and so did dominate the story slightly, but the other two men, specifically Jackson had enough detail to their character that they weren't overwhelmed by Melody. There was a lighthearted feel about the story as well with many amusing moments that made me smile and even laugh out loud and the lengthy naval gazing from the previous story had all but disappeared here. A slight warning in that this is a m/m/m story, so may not appeal to all of you, but I thought that it was actually done well, and I finished this section thinking that there was a chance that the three men would make it in the long run. Overall, this was my favourite section of the book and I was quite sad to move on.

Part Three - Mix and Match
This section involves another one of AJ's exes, Adam, who has just quit his job as a paralegal after being propositioned by the rather elderly owner of the law firm where he works. He is also a client of Melody's, and confesses all to her. On the advice of a friend of Melody's he accepts a month long position as a PA to a very rich businessman, Jeffery, who has a reputation for being difficult to work for. The two men get along fine, but both also harbour inappropriate lustful feelings for each other.

There was one slight niggle I had with this story, which was Adam's sudden transformation from paralegal to PA. He seemed to fit neatly into his new job despite never having done anything like that before. However, once I'd decided to set that aside, I greatly enjoyed this story. There was a lot of humour to be had from the two men who both fancied the pants off each other but were clueless to the other's attraction. It's not a new or original storyline, but there was enough freshness about the story, especially as most of it is set in a luxury boat, that I didn't get bored. Both characters were easy to like, Jeffrey wasn't too bad-tempered, and the story skipped along at a good pace. It was quite a static story with mostly just encounters between the two men, which fit nicely with the slightly claustrophobic setting of the boat. Despite a minor misunderstanding to add a bit of complication, I got to the end and was happy for the two men.

Overall, I really enjoyed Matchmen, Ltd. The first story was a slow start and I would urge you to push on past it to get to the really good stuff. Once the second story began, I was completely hooked and found it difficult to put the book down. I'd recommend this book, with a grade of 'Very Good' for fans of T.C. Blue, m/m/m menage and anyone looking for a set of romantic, lighthearted stories.

Buy this book HERE.

BTW, sorry about the lack of Saturday Shorts.  I've not read any other than the Mistletoe Madness stories.  It'll be back next week!

Review: Rust Belt by Jessica Freely

This is the third Jessica Freely book I've read now. Whilst I've always said her writing is good and the romance in her novels affecting, the paranormal aspects of her Awakenings books haven't worked for me. Rust Belt is a contemporary novel with no paranormal themes at all. As a result, I found this book to be an arresting read and quite moving in places.

The book begins when homeless guy, Seth is brought some left over Thai noodles by David, who works at a nearby bookshop. Seth is homeless because his Grandmother died and he came to the city to look for work. On arriving, he was tricked into going with a man who offered him a job and then sold him to an underground fighting establishment where Seth was raped and brutalised before having to fight for his life in order to entertain the members of the club. He escaped, but had no money or anyone alive to help him back on his feet. After David's kindness, Seth tries to pay him back by keeping an eye on him when David walks home from work, something which proves fortuitous when Seth is able to save David from a street gang.

This isn't the sort of 'will they, won't they' type of romance because the two heroes get together within the first few pages of the book, but more of the sort of book which looks at two scarred men and how their mutual support of one another changes them for the better. I loved this first part of the book as both Seth and David work through things that have happened in the past and help each other. The story is very focused on the men at first with only one other character getting any page time in the first half. This made the feel of the book very emotionally intense and I found myself getting drawn into these men's lives and also sympathising a great deal with them. The sex scenes are hot, but with an underlying tenderness which was quite lovely. By the time the book began to branch out into other characters and move away from the insular feel of the two men alone in the world, I was so invested in Seth and David that even some of the slightly implausible things that happen to them later in the book, didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book.

As well as the sweet romance between the pair there is a dark shadow which tinges their relationship. Seth has killed two men and his past is slowly catching up with him, no matter how much he tries to distance himself from it. This shadow is represented not only by Seth's thoughts and nightmares, but also in the physical setting of the novel. The streets are rife with danger for the two men and every time they venture from the cocoon of their apartment, the oppressive feeling of trouble on the horizon becomes apparent. The setting is littered with abandoned buildings, dark and dangerous places and even the upmarket area when David works seems to be hanging onto its reputation by a thread and in danger of falling into the same disrepair as the streets surrounding it. This darkness contrasted with the love that Seth and David have for one another, making it shine out into the dark world. Together they are safe; apart they face peril, both known and unknown.

Although I liked the introduction of other characters, such as the two sisters Karine and Yolande, later in the book, this part also caused a slight shift in focus from the heroes to a more action based story. It was in this part and specifically where Seth is forced to return to 'The Pit' where he had been held captive, where I found most of the problems with the book. I was extremely sceptical that the police force would allow a civilian to go undercover where the chance of him getting killed was very high, even with high-tech surveillance equipment. The reasoning being, apparently, that this was the only way of finding out the location of new premises for The Pit. However, I could figure out at least one other way they could have done it so that excuse didn't wash with me. It lent the last twenty or so pages a bit of a forced edge to it, which was disappointing when the rest of the book had been so realistic and believable. After a while though, I decided to put aside my disbelief and just go with the story which ended with a very satisfying climax.

Despite this slight negative, I really enjoyed Rust Belt. The pace clips along at a fair rate and I was thoroughly absorbed in the beautiful relationship between Seth and David. This book is definitely one for the romantics amongst you. I'm also glad to have read a book by Jessica Freely which has shown that, given the right type of story, her writing can really stand out from the crowd. I'm looking forward to reading more of her contemporary books in the future, but for now, I'd recommend that you read Rust Belt, which gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Buy this book HERE.