Review: Wicked Cool by Val Kovalin

I really liked this author's previous book Trinity Trespass which was an urban fantasy romance, so just after I read that book I bought this one feeling pretty secure in the fact that she'd passed that tricky first book stage and that I was in for a good read. This book is a contemporary and is part of a series at AA which deals with romance stories between blue and white collar men. I have no personal preference for this type of story, but I have noticed that most m/m romance involve white rather than blue collar characters, so again I looked forward to seeing what Val was going to do with such a set up. In the end, I didn't enjoy this one as much as Trinity Trespass, but it was still a very good read overall.

The story begins as we meet our third person narrator, Stu. He runs his own junk haulage business in Albuquerque. Whilst on a job he meets Brian who is the property manager at a motel which is in the process of being renovated. After a bit of dancing around they get together and Stu is happy to have found a guy he really likes. He's not so happy about the fact that Brian won't talk about his past and that he seems to be keeping a big secret from Stu.

I'll start with a minor disappointment. As the series is supposed to be looking at two characters from different social roles, I was expecting there to be a bit more of a gap between them in terms of ideals and education. In fact the two are quite close in their social positions. Stu owns his own business and although it's a junk removal business, it's still enough for him to match Brian's job as a property manager - which is almost like a glorified site foreman. Now, obviously this is not the author's fault as she wasn't the one to put the 'working stiffs' label on her book, but it still puzzled me as I was expecting one type of story and I got another - again not the author's fault, but mine for coming to the book with preconceived ideas.

Apart from that slight disappointment this was still a pretty great book. The characters are both very likeable men. Stu especially is a sensible sort who was willing to overlook some faults in Brian to make their relationship work. I did feel a little sorry for Stu as the book progressed. He seemed to be the one making all the effort in the relationship and also having to put up with Brian's increasingly erratic behaviour. I think I would have been much more alarmed than Stu was at Brian's secrecy, but I suppose the fact that Stu was willing to let things go rather than push Brian too much showed that is in general a laid back person and that he felt his feelings for Brian were more important than knowing the truth. Brian's secret wasn't too difficult to guess - in fact I'd worked it out long before the end - but that didn't detract from the story for me.

One thing I liked in particular about the book was the setting of Albuquerque. The city was well described and I got a realistic taste of what it must be like to live in that city. The desert setting, the heat, the houses and also little things like the layout of the city was interwoven with the story giving it a real sense of place. I love books where the setting is an important factor and so this book didn't disappoint in that regard. The setting was also used to show a difference between the men - mainly in the way that Brian speaks. Stu seems to be fascinated by his accent and comments on it a lot in his narrative. I had mixed feelings about this. Part of me thought it was a nice quirky way of showing characterisation and also a growing fondness for Brian on the part of Stu, and part of me found it a little distracting as it would pull me out of the story every time the author put in Brian's dialect.

The pace of the book is very swift and I read the book quickly, the pacing propelling me through the pages. There were a number of well written sex scenes which were also used to show something about the character of the men. There's hints that Brian likes his sex a little rough, and Stu worries about that and I thought that maybe this would be made more of later in the book. It wasn't and I wondered why not. I also found the sex scene in the garage a little difficult to concentrate on because they left the main garage door open. All the way through I worried about them being seen, especially as they had the lights on, and it detracted from my enjoyment of what would have been a very hot encounter between the men.

Overall I enjoyed Wicked Cool. It was a nicely written contemporary with well rounded characters and a tightly paced plot. I may not have liked it as much as the author's prvious book, but it still showed that Val Kovalin is an author to watch out for and I shall be picking up any of her subsequent books. Grade: 'Very Good'.

Buy this book HERE.

Saturday Shorts

I'm not going to be doing a Saturday Shorts post every week like I used to do, mainly because most of the shorts I read now get reviewed over at Brief Encounters Reviews.  However, this week I've read a couple which aren't going to be reviewed over there, or have been already by another reviewer.

Anyway, enough waffling.  Let's get on with it.

Toy Box: Bondage Mitts anthology
I actually picked this one up on the TQ review list intending to review it at Brief Encounters.  Then I realised it's an anthology, albeit a short one, and our policy is not to review anthologies.  Ah well, I get to do it here instead and I'm sure TQ won't mind.  The anthology is made up of 3 tiny shorts of about 10 pages each and they all contain a scene where bondage mitts are involved.

The first story is A Tangled Web by LD Madison which was a hot little story about a vice cop who gets into trouble with his boss, only to find that his boss has a rather unorthodox way of ensuring that his team obey him completely and without question.  The premise was a little far fetched, but I thought the sex scene was well written and, although I had pretty much guessed the twist at the end, it was still fun to have my suspicions confirmed.  The second story, The is Naughty Puppy Love by GR Richards, was a very humourous story about a guy who takes on a cleaning job for a former colleague and discovers some bondage mitts in the shape of puppy paws in the guy's bedroom.  Despite the fact that I don't really get the whole puppy/master kink this was still my favourite story, due mainly to the light, breezy tone of the writing.  The final story Hands Tied by Sean Michael was set in the Hammer world.  It was a follow on from an established couple, Jim and Marcus, from Bent. Jim is being taken advantage of by a client and Marcus has to step in the calm him down and instill some self-confidence.  I have Bent in my TBR pile and haven't managed to get to it yet.  I think that this one was really a story for the fans of that couple.  It was still a good story, but I wasn't as engaged with the couple as I may have been had I read their previous book.

Overall, this was a decent anthology, although there were a number of irritating typos that kept pulling me out of the story.  I'm often not too bothered when I come across the odd typo (I know it drives some people nutty) but there were more than the average number of errors in this anthology, which is a great shame.  As for the theme of the mitts, well I thought each story incorporated them in an interesting way into the story and I'm giving this anthology a grade of 'Good'.

Buy this book HERE.


One Night Stand by Cassandra Gold
Tam reviewed this one at BER and I liked the sound of it so much I thought I'd read it too.  It tells of Tom who is starting back into the dating scene two years after his lover died.  Whilst at a bar he meets Ian who, after a disastrous relationship which broke his heart, has decided to protect his poor heart through a series of meaningless one night stands.  The two men have sex after which Ian panics and leaves Tom feeling a little downhearted but determined to keep on the dating scene.  After that point the two men run into each other which leads to general embarrassment, but also hope that Ian can perhaps be brave enough to open his heart once again.  I really liked this story which had a great cast of secondary characters and a pair of 'nice guy' heroes.  The initial premise was unusual and even Ian's 'slut because of broken heart' routine was handled well because it didn't take too long to realise what an idiot he was being.  The whole story gave me a warm feeling and it was nice to read something where the focus was on good characterisation.  Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Enjoy your weekend, folks!

Review: Anchored: Belonging book 1 by Rachel Haimowitz

This book has only been out a short while but has already caused quite a lot of contention amongst readers. It seems to be one of those books which you either love or hate – and not just for the graphic violence or the rape scene. I am firmly in the ‘loved it’ camp, but I do suggest that you read a few more reviews before buying as there are many very valid points made by other reviewers who didn’t like the book as much as me.

The story is set in an alternative universe which is almost the same as the world we know except for one key factor: slavery. People can be bought and sold like cattle and forced to be subject to the will of their owners. It’s a chilling premise and one which made me feel very uncomfortable at times. The plot follows slave Daniel who is owned by a media company and is a successful anchorman for their news programme. When the company start to fall on hard times they ‘rent’ Daniel out as a companion to a competitor for a large sum of money. Daniel is terrified of intimacy with Carl, which leads to repercussions for both men.

The narrative is in the first person from Daniel’s point of view, something which works well as we get his views as a slave and the mindset that has been drilled into him from an early age, leading to a realistic and believable setting. In a way, Daniel has been very sheltered as a slave, and so when he is leased to Carl, it comes as a shock to him. It’s also ironic that his own misery and self-interest were the main reasons why he suffers later and this, more than anything in the story, made me want to shake him and show him how foolish he was being. As with many first person narratives, the other hero, Carl, is a little bit of an enigma. Daniel lives in fear of Carl and the intimacies for which Carl has leased him, but Carl isn’t actually all that harsh and scary as a master. His reasons for renting Daniel are to assuage his loneliness both in and out of bed and I sympathised with Carl’s frustrations that Daniel seemed completely different to his TV persona – and also that he wasn’t getting what he’s paying for. Again it is ironic that Carl’s selflessness and inability to force Daniel into doing what he wants is what ultimately leads to Daniel’s downfall. Neither men are wholly happy with the master/slave relationship and it is this breaking away of societal expectations which forces an event which eventually brings them together but not without a great deal of suffering first.

Be warned there are scenes of rape and extreme torture and punishment which may not be to some readers’ taste. I read those scenes absolutely horrified as to what was happening but also unable to stop reading as Daniel’s voice pulled me into the scene and made it impossible to put the book down. It’s not easy to read such scenes, but the violence was necessary and not gratuitous.

My only niggle about the book was the way the timing of the book changes towards the end. Most of the book takes place over a few days, then, after the climax, the story suddenly accelerates through a few weeks. This left me with a number of questions about some of the circumstances prior to the end which were glossed over a little and it also seems that the romance aspect is sudden – it isn’t, because it takes place over a few weeks but because those weeks are covered in only a few pages, it seems like it is. However, this niggle wasn’t enough to spoil my enjoyment of what was an engrossing and compelling story for me.

Overall, if you like BDSM, especially the master/slave dynamic then this book is a must. It’s been a while since I was wholly immersed in a book and so connected with a character and situation. It gets a grade of 'Excellent' from me.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Counterpoint: Song of the Fallen Book 1 by Rachel Haimowitz

I've read various reviews of this book and had mixed feelings about reading it. On the plus side is the fact that I like fantasy stories, and I also like master/slave or captor/captured stories (no comments about what this says about me as a person, please!). On the minus side, I often find it difficult to read stories where one character is so wholly under the power of another to the extent that they are completely helpless. In the end, after reading another book by this author, I decided to give this a go and see whether I would have the same reaction as my fellow reviewers.

The story is a high fantasy set in a fictional country where the land is divided between men and elves. There is enmity between the two peoples stretching back about 300 years and as a result elves are viewed with deep hatred and suspicion by men. The story begins as we meet elf Ayden who ventures into human territory to rescue his sister who is about to be captured by men who wish to sell her as a slave. Unfortunately, Ayden fails and he and his sister are brought to the Prince Regent, Freyrik. Freyrik enslaves Ayden for himself, attracted by his handsome looks. Life is not easy for the two heroes though - Ayden finds life as a slave dull, despite his growing attraction and respect for Freyrik and Freyrik is caught up in an oncoming battle between humans and bespelled beasts. More importantly, there's growing dissatisfaction amongst the people about the king's 'pet elf'.

Usually when I read a book where one of the characters is forced into slavery my feelings are mostly on the side of the slave. I found it intriguing then that most of my sympathy in this book was directed towards Freyrik. As slavery goes, Ayden has it pretty easy. He's kept in comfort, provided with all the clothes and food that he needs, and is actually quite indulged by Freyrik. He's allowed to speak his mind to the king - a luxury few have - and although Freyrik has every right to demand and even take his sexual pleasure with Ayden, he doesn't whilst the elf isn't willing. Therefore I found Ayden to be a rather petulant character, prone to fits of surliness and temper. On the other hand, I also admired his pride, spirit and determination not to be cowed by his slavery. The points in the book where I did feel some sympathy for Ayden was when he was exposed to the scorn and hatred of the soldiers. Even then, Ayden isn't broken, choosing to fight back rather than stand and take the insults. By the end of the book, where we see Ayden at his most noble and self-sacrificing, I had grown to like him.

I still liked Freyrik better though! He is standing in as king for an absent brother, something which weighs heavily on him. I felt sorry for Freyrik for most of the book. He has a deep and abiding love of his country and the people he governs and that love is returned. I thought the author did a good job of showing how well respected Freyrik is as a ruler, and how that respect is slowly eroded through his relationship with Ayden. If had any frustrations with the story, it was at how unfair his subjects treat him over his love of an elf, how he is scorned behind his back and forced into a difficult situation just because of his feelings.

Fantasy stories are dependent on good world-building and I felt in this book the author hadn't offered me anything too new - it was the usual high fantasy setting of courts and kingdoms, of battles and glory. Having said that, it also didn't bother me as I felt comfortable within the setting and that the important parts of the book were in the relationships and characterisation, not any elaborate or unusual setting. The book excelled in characterisation and not just with Freyrik and Ayden, but also with the secondary characters who move in and around the couple, helping and hindering in turn. I felt there was a good mix of court machinations, quiet couple time, high drama on the battlefields and tense confrontations to keep my interest throughout the book. In fact, I found it very difficult to put the book down and would have read the whole 350 pages in one sitting if it hadn't got so late!

One final thing to say is that this book is the first part of a duology. As a result, this book finishes half way through the story. I didn't think it was too bad a place to leave it - the heroes are about to move away from the current setting into a new one and embark on what could be a dangerous journey for them. However, that didn't stop me feeling disappointed about having to wait until the second book is released (later this year, apparently).

Those of you who love high fantasy will not be disappointed in the sweeping narrative of the story, nor the tightly written scenes of high drama and intrigue. Those of you looking for a quick erotic read need to steer clear of the book. There is eroticism, but it plays a second role to relationship, character and plot. I enjoyed Counterpoint a great deal, and give it a well deserved grade of 'Excellent', and I suspect it will be a story which stays with me for some time. Now I just need to be patient and wait for book 2!

Buy this book HERE.