Holiday!

It's that time of year again when me, hub and the kids pack up our stuff and head off camping for a week.  The forecast is looking pretty good for a change, but you know what the British weather is like....

Let's hope it stays dry and I'll see you all next week!

Review: Mixed Signals by Cooper West

I've read and enjoyed a couple of Cooper West shorts and so when I saw this novella at DSP, I jumped at a chance to review a longer piece by this author.

The story begins really well. Frank is everything a man would desire for himself. He's rich, attractive and has everyone falling over their feet to be with him. Unfortunately for Frank this also means that he pretty much can't trust anyone to deal with him as a normal person. The only time he felt he could be himself was in his job in the military as a pilot, but that ended in a dishonourable discharge. When visiting the hairdressers, Frank meets the brother of one of the stylists, Benjamin. Benjamin is a pudgy geek with a less than charming personality and Frank finds himself drawn to the man.

I really loved the start of this story for a number of reasons. Firstly, Frank is your stereotypical hero with dashing good looks and charm, but the author turned that around by showing how tedious that is for Frank. Secondly, I loved the fact that Benjamin is immune to all that, not because he doesn't see Frank's good looks but rather he knows that Frank is so far removed from the sort of guy who would look twice at him, so Benjamin chooses just to ignore Frank. Of course, as in the tradition of romance, this piques Frank's interest and so the journey begins! I also liked that Benjamin is a bit, well, soft around the middle. This is something that we are told early on and comes up a couple of times in the book but not so much that it belabours the point. It's especially great that 'soft' is something that Frank finds particularly attractive in men and so makes the whole initial interest in Benjamin all the more realistic. Benjamin's prickly personality was also something that I liked. It meant that Frank really had to work hard to get past the barriers that Benjamin has put up around him and I enjoyed watching that happen in the story.

After a good start, the story gets under way and I was enjoying myself a great deal. The story was interesting and skipped along at a good pace. The introduction of the complication involving Frank's family was handled well and I particularly liked Frank's father and the way he perceives the relationship between the heroes. There was a gentle humour to the story which I also found very appealing. It was a little unfortunate then when the story ended so suddenly with an epilogue which told us all the interesting plot that we could have seen happen in the story. There had been such a lovely set-up and although the romance of the story had been pretty much resolved by the end, the major complication still had a lot of mileage in it. I felt a little cheated to be honest.

This rushed ending was also an indication of some of the other things in the story which could have been expanded upon. I wanted to know more about Frank's 'dishonourable discharge', more about the business that Frank and Benjamin set up together and more about them as a couple. It seemed such a shame to provide us with such excellent characters and then not give them the space to develop.

So whilst I loved these characters and found the story amusing and interesting, I was left wanting a whole lot more. This story is still appealing and there was much to like in the characterisation and the romance plot so maybe there will be readers out there who won't be as bothered about the lack of detail and the sudden ending as I was. Grade: Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Report from UK Meet 2011

Warning: This post contains gratuitous name dropping!

As many of you know I was away this weekend at UK Meet which is a mini-conference/meet up for British lovers of GLBTQ romance and fiction.  It took place at Milton Keynes in a very clean and comfortable Holiday Inn Express - thanks to RJ Scott who booked the venue.  Prior to the event I was feeling a bit nervous. I knew that most of the people there were authors and not readers or reviewers and I was worried that the talks wouldn't be particularly relevant to me or that I would be too overawed by meeting people whose writing I admire.  Fortunately that proved not to be the case because there was a small contingent of readers as well as myself, plus all the authors were so lovely and welcoming I soon forgot my nerves.

Friday Evening

I arrived at the hotel at about 8pm and soon found a small group of people in the bar including Sam Leonhard and Zahra Owens, who had travelled from Germany and Belgium to come to the meet, Mara Ismine, Clare London and Becky Black.  Later we were joined by Stuart Wakefield, who was one of only 5 men who attended the meet, and Jo Myles.  Great fun, and much drinking of wine, beer and cola (not all in the same glass) was had by all as we discussed various topics around m/m romance and cleared the whole room with our shameful talk about sex :).

Saturday

I may not have been at my best over breakfast having imbibed too much wine the night before, but I was still looking forward to the day.  After making myself useful in helping to set up the room and being general dogsbody for Clare London (OK, I did offer!), the room soon started to fill up with people arriving from all over the country.  In the end there were about 40-45 people attending with the majority of people being m/m romance authors but there were some f/f and trans romance authors there too.

11am-12pm
This session was chaired by the very lovely Charlie Cochrane.
We all introduced ourselves and I put out a plea that no-one hit me if I'd written them a bad review!  We then had a general discussion about why women write and read m/m romance which garnered a range of different responses from: these were the stories that came to the authors to the wish to break away from the restrictive conventions of m/f romance.

12-1pm
A pot lunch.  We all brought something to eat and there was a massive amount of food!  There was also an opportunity to talk to people and look at the bookstall.  There was a stall from Total E-Bound as well as lots of freebie promotional material from the authors.  I picked up several pens and a bath bomb which had been hand made by Victoria Blisse.  It was at this point that I received my paperback copy of Tea and Crumpet and spent a bit of time getting all the contributing authors to sign my copy.

1-1.30pm
Victoria Blisse did a very entertaining talk about how to combat writers block with interesting visual aids :).  Then she opened it up to the floor and several (20 in fact) suggestions from other authors were added to the list.  Even though this talk wasn't really aimed at me as a reader I still enjoyed this talk because it was fun and also helpful for many of the authors in the room.  Victoria has placed the whole talk on her website which you can find here if you are interested.

1.30pm - ?
It was at this point that the timings went a little awry!
The next session was a very informative presentation by Total E-Bound publishers who talked about the ebook industry and their place in it as a British publisher.  They also had some fascinating facts about the explosion in ebook sales, mostly due to the popularity of the Amazon Kindle and talked about other subjects such as publisher/author relations, cover art and how they make their website attractive for readers and authors.  Afterwards there was a question and answer session where the tricky topic of age of consent was discussed and how far publishers were willing to push the boundaries in romance.

Um, no idea about the time now!
This session, on the topic of writing historical romance, was chaired by Charlie Cochrane, Alex Beecroft and Erastes.

Each author took one or two points each about writing historicals and then provided examples either from their own work or another author.  For me this was the most anticipated session of the day because I love reading historicals and respect these authors immensely.  I was looking forward to hearing their insights into how they approach their writing.

Alex Beecroft advised authors to focus on character as well as setting and make them act like they are from that time, giving the example that what we would find disgusting (over-ripe cheese covered in cheese mites, anyone?) would be considered delicious or the norm by our historical counterparts and therefore we need to make sure that our modern thoughts and ideals are not put into our historical characters.

Erastes talked about getting a balance between being historically accurate and dumping all the information that you have researched into your novel.  She cited Dan Brown as an author who often has paragraphs of information dumped into his books which neither add to the setting, nor further the plot.  She also gave some good advice to write your what your historical character sees in the same style as you would a contemporary, so just as a modern man would not enter his house and start telling the reader who made his furnishings, neither would our regency hero tell the reader that his chairs were Chippendale.

Charlie Cochrane advised authors not to fall into the big cliché trap.  She cited the recent series Downton Abbey which had the servants discussing the sinking of the Titanic as a way of telling the readers what year the story is set, or the newspaper boy calling out a famous event in history.  It's better just to put the year and maybe the location at the beginning of the first chapter and then just get into the story without having to place a really obvious clue to the time period in the first page.  She also urged authors to check facts as even the smallest detail could be an anachronism which could have easily been caught by a quick Google check.  However, the past can be surprising and things that you may think were relatively  modern inventions were in fact around much earlier in history.

Me and Clare London

Around 4pm ish?
Our final talk of the day was from Clare London who gave a very lively talk on marketing and promotion for authors.  She stressed that it was up to the individual authors to choose how much or how little they put themselves 'out there' but to choose to focus their energies on things that they are comfortable with and, most importantly, can keep up with.  She gave examples of a range of social media including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Good Reads, Yahoo and Google groups, but stressed that the most important place for an author on the web was their website which must be kept up to date and relevant for the reader.  Throughout the talk Clare stressed how all marketing must provide a trail which led back to the author, so always make sure that your website address is visible on communication so that people can easily find you.  Whilst this wasn't exactly relevant for me, I still found it interesting and, from some of the chat I had later, I got the impression that many of the authors came away feeling that this was something they needed to address.

The final hour of the day was kicked off by a question and answer session chaired by Charlie Cochrane and covered a diverse number of topics like how to market the genre to a more mainstream audience, the value or not of getting an agent and the influence of fan fiction verses traditional romance on the m/m romance genre.  Then the day was concluded by Jo Myles who thanked everyone who had contributed in any way to the organisation of the event and the two anthologies.  The remaining time was spent chatting, saying our goodbyes and signing copies of Tea and Crumpet - a very odd experience for me to sign my author name for the first time!

Looking back to what I've written above, it seems that the day was pretty full on.  What I haven't mentioned are the number of decent sized breaks where we could grab a drink and one of the delicious number of home made cakes and biscuits and just chill out chatting to each other.  I enjoyed catching up with some of the readers, especially RachelT whose name I recognised from around the blogs.  For me those were the times of greatest value as I found the freedom to talk about a genre I love without fear of censureship or ridicule.

My day ended with a couple of glasses of Pimms and meal at the local harvester which I shared with Mara Ismine, Stevie Carroll, Clare London, Becky Black and Charlie Cochrane, followed by drinks at the hotel bar with a large group of attendees.  I have to admit, I pleaded tiredness just before 11pm and left them all merrily chatting away.

Me and Jo Myles

Sunday
After breakfast, photos and a quick chat with RJ Scott, Sue Brown, Chris Quinton and another lady whose name I've forgotten but who had come all the way from the USA, I left for Milton Keynes train station feeling really happy with the way the weekend had gone and looking forward to next year's event.

If you are British, or from somewhere else in Europe, I'd urge you to consider coming to the meet next year. The organisers want it to be bigger than this years and are already making plans for locations.  Keep your eyes open for posts from me about the dates and location for next year and hopefully I'll see you there!

A-Z Challenge Review: Prove It by Chris Owen

Why I bought the book: This is a recent acquisition and I think I got it because it sounded a cute read.  Plus I generally like Chris Owen's books.

Plot: The story is a gentle meandering tale of three boys who become friends at school.  One, Tal, is very definitely straight, one, Silas, very definitely gay and the third, Warren, just not interested in anything other than his studies.  The story follows the boys through their years together and finishes during their final year of College. There's romance but it's a very gradual one which takes an unusual angle.  Often in m/m books there's attraction, lust and finally love.  In Prove It, the love comes first: firstly the love of strongly bonded male friendship and then much more as Silas comes to realise he's in love with Warren and sets out to prove his love.  I liked this approach and it made the book one of the more effective friends to lovers stories that I've read.

Characters: Although the romance aspect is strong, especially towards the end, the fun of this story for me is in the relationships between the three friends.  They all have very distinct personalities and yet complement each other completely.  There's lots of banter and joking around, but also some serious discussions.  Another plus for me was in the strong supporting female characters, especially Warren's mother and Tal's girlfriend, Olivia.  These women are a real showcase as to how to get a female character right in an m/m book.  Both are positive and affirming but also willing to offer advice without every crossing that line into interfering.  There's a warm humour which infuses the story, mostly in the characters of Silas and Tal whose quick wit and vivacious personalities bring out the fun in the very serious Warren.  I really liked these guys.

Overall: The way that the story is quite slow moving and mostly character based may not appeal to everyone, but I was charmed by the story and the characters.  It was one of those books that caught me quickly and I was so engrossed I didn't notice the time passing.  There's a realism in the way the characters behave and it's just as much a coming of age story, especially for Warren, as it is a romance.  In fact the only niggle I had was that I wished the story had been a little longer.  There's a satisfying epilogue, but the romantic relationship between Warren and Silas is only really getting going when the book ends and I wanted more!  I get the feeling I'll be reading this book again when I'm in the mood for reading something that makes me smile and which reminds me how good m/m romance can be.  Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Where am I?

I'm here!

Meeting with all the marvellous British authors that I've exchanged emails, message and tweets with over the last few years of blogging.

Yippee!!

Report to follow next week :).

Review: Living Promises by Amy Lane

I've been really looking forward to this third instalment of the Promises series, mainly because I knew it was going to be Jeff's turn to star and he was one of my favourite of the minor characters from Keeping Promise Rock. The story opens with a bit of back story for Jeff and for the other hero Collin, as through different means they discover that they are HIV positive. It's an emotional time for both, especially for Jeff whose lover is killed just prior to the diagnosis. Despite his pain and destroyed dreams of a future as a doctor, Jeff takes the time to be kind to a teenage boy, Collin, reassuring him about his future. Fast forward six years and Collin still has a huge crush on Jeff, which he now feels it's time to act upon. Unfortunately for Collin, Jeff's life is just about to unravel leaving Jeff with two choices: allow Collin in to help deal with his mess, or shut him out.

There was much to like about this book, mainly in the very likeable and sympathetic heroes. Jeff is a darling, whose acerbic wit and fluttery mannerisms are used as a shield to hide his emotions from others. My heart ached for him as he found himself slowly going to pieces, unable to keep up the act in the face of emotional pressure and the kindness of his friends. I spent most of the book wanting to give him a big hug. Collin is one of those strong dependable people who are older than their years and his steady nature was a good complement to Jeff. I felt all his frustrations at being shut out by Jeff but his patience and gentleness paid off and I was happy for them as a couple.

Another aspect which worked well in the book was the interweaving of the HIV theme and its effects on Jeff, Collin and Jeff's former lover, Kevin. It was sensitively done and looked at different aspects of the illness with a wry sense of humour. It was interesting to see how Jeff and Collin cope with the day to day task of living with the virus and yet the theme did not over-ride the romance or turn the book into a huge drama. In fact the HIV aspect of the book was dealt with in a rather matter of fact manner which suited the characters as by the time we meet them they've had 6 years to come to terms with things and adapt their lives accordingly.

Finally, another part I liked was getting to revist some of the characters from the previous books, especially Deacon and Crick who even get a bit of narrative. Amy Lane's gentle humour shines through the sections where all the characters gather together, and if it sometimes felt that the secondary characters overwhelmed the romance and story of Collin and Jeff a little, well I could forgive that. The choreography of the group scenes was masterfully written, as each of the characters shift around one another effortlessly and I found myself smiling a number of times at the way the characters make allowances for each other, or give a hard word when needed.

My main niggle with the story related to the theme that over arches all the Promise books: That of family being what you make of it, not what you are born to. In the first two books, I felt that the author had done a good job in subtly weaving that into the narrative. With this book all subtlety seems to have been thrown out in favour of the sledgehammer approach. The story is structured into a series of interlinked episodes with a main piece of drama in each episode. This worked well and drove the narrative forward but each and every episode was also used to highlight the family theme, to the extent that by half way through the book I was beginning to get a little fed up with all the repetition. I didn't need the characters in either the dialogue or in internal thoughts to tell me again and again that the family at The Pulpit was one where each person had chosen to be there and was therefore a strong and safe place. This repetition took a little of the shine off the book for me, but other readers may not be as bothered by it.

Despite that niggle this was still a very good book and I'm giving it a grade of 'Very Good'. It's firmly based in strong characterisation with a storyline which may have some of you reaching for your hankies. I understand there is more to come with this series and so I shall look forward to book 4.

Buy this book HERE.

A-Z Challenge Review: Offside by Ryan Loveless

Why I bought the book: Two reasons.  Firstly I had no O books in my TBR pile, and secondly, I'd read a really great short story, Off the Page, by this author so when I saw that she'd written this O book, then it seemed a good reason to buy.

Plot: The story is set in the world of football (or soccer to those across the pond who felt they had to change the perfectly legitimate name of a sport because it clashed with their own American football) where our rather big-headed hero, Adam, is transferred from super-club Galaxy to St Louis, who seems to be a mid-low league club.  Adam is openly gay, and although he has had the support of his club, it's still tough for him at times  When he arrives in St Louis, he meets fellow striker Colin, who he finds rather attractive.  Mistaking Colin's friendly nature for come-on, Adam  makes his move, only to be rebuffed.  This innocent mistake is a catalyst for Colin to reassess his own sexuality.

Now I have to admit that even though the whole of the UK is completely football mad, I don't really follow it. Hub made sure I had a good understanding of the off-side rule so I wouldn't embarrass him with my total ignorance and I do watch some of the more exciting matches when the World or European cup is taking place.  This meant I had a decent understanding of the parts of the book which explained some of the games - don't worry if you're not keen on long descriptions of football matches, there was only a few pages on this in the book.  My knowledge of the British/European football transfer system is very sketchy, but I knew enough to know that some of the situations which happened in this book wouldn't have taken place under our football rules.  It was interesting to read about the frustrations of the US transfer system, and I suppose it also seemed odd that some of the top strikers were being transferred for so little money when over here good strikers get million pound transfers.

Characters: The main story though is the way that Adam's presence in Colin's life forces him to accept that he's gay, and on the whole this aspect worked well in the story.  Part of me wishes I'd been able to see some of the book from Colin's perspective because Adam is rather self-centred at times and a little oblivious to the feelings of others.  His 'bulldozer' approach to getting Colin to think about his sexuality made me cringe a little and a few times I wanted to slap Adam for being so insensitive.  I wanted to see Colin's thoughts and the soul searching that must have gone on with the decisions he makes but unfortunately we only get to see the results, not the process.  What did work was the way the author portrayed the various management and team members who make up life with a football club.  The Australian goalie, Michaels, and mid-field player, Logan, especially stick in my mind for their contribution to the story and support to Adam.

Overall:  It was an interesting challenge to set a gay man in such a high profile sport, although I have to remember that soccer is still in its infancy in the USA, whereas it's a megabucks industry here in the UK.  I liked that theme of being gay and relatively famous was dealt with in the way that the public responded to Adam, and later to Colin.  This isn't a gaytopia where everything is suddenly peachy for these guys and I sympathised with some of Adam's reactions when he's confronted with homophobia.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I'm not always keen on sports themed romances but with Offside I thought that the author had given us a good balance between romance and drama, keeping the story firmly grounded in romance but still having enough of the sport theme to keep the interest and provide a fully realised setting.  The writing has a good flow to it and the characters are well rounded.  The slight antagonism I felt for Adam at the beginning melted away as he redeemed himself by the end and I was happy with the way the book ended.  I'm giving Offside a grade of 'Very Good' and I shall keep an eye out for more from this author.

Buy this book HERE.

Not a Review: Abandoned and Vanished by JP Barnaby

The Little Boy Lost series by JP Barnaby is a series I've been hooked on ever since I read the first book, Enlightened, when it was self published.  Since then JP Barnaby has found a home for it at Dreamspinner Press and I've been lucky enough to have had a sneak peek into each of the books during the editing process.  My 'role' has been as a sort of beta, but to be honest the writing and plotting has been so good that my response has usually just been to point out the odd error, and the rest of the time to tell the author what a marvellous job she's been doing.  You can read my review of Enlightened here.

When book two of the series, Abandoned, was released in May, I meant to do a post flagging it up and urging you all to go and read it, but somehow time got away with me and today book three, Vanished, was released.  In recognition of that, here's my catch up with the series and a few thoughts:


Abandoned

Blurb:
Jamie is gone.

Brian's secret has been revealed.

Brian McAllister's story continues as he tries to cope with the loss of his best friend and soul mate amid the alienation and ridicule of his classmates. When hatred turns to violence, Brian narrows his focus to two goals: surviving and finding Jamie. Along the way he meets Adam, whose life has also been shattered by violence and cruelty. Can Adam fill the hole in Brian's life left by Jamie's absence? The answer will change everything.

Abandoned is a book which put me through the emotional wringer, as my heart broke for poor Brian over and over again.  It deals in a realistic manner the problems for a young gay teen in a small town.  There's hatred and bigotry, but there's also love and acceptance.  The story is so intense that at one point I was sure my nerves couldn't take any more!  Fortunately, things got much better for Brian in the second half of the book, and despite the cliffhanger ending I was happy to see where book 3 would take him.  If you've read Book one of this series: Enlightened, then I urge you to continue the series with Abandoned.


Vanished

Blurb:
Brian McAllister’s story continues in San Diego, where he finds so much more than he ever expected: acceptance, friends, encouragement, and an entire world of sexual adventure he’d never dared to imagine back in his small Alabama town. He continues to search for one lost boy in a sea of humanity but slowly begins to realize that maybe dreams really don’t come true.

Encouraged by new friends Mike and Emilio, Brian struggles to find work and keep his spirits up while his hope of finding Jamie starts to falter. But when life comes crashing down, he’s desperate to keep his new life. Can Brian do the unthinkable to remain in California when his money runs out? When Brian meets a beaten and bruised boy no one seems willing to help, he knows that walking away is no longer an option.

After the emotion of Abandoned I wondered what else was in store for Brian.  Vanished is a very different book to the previous two.  There's still the same great writing, and the core of emotion, but as well as that it's a book where Brian really starts to come of age and become a man when he leaves home and finds his feet in San Diego.  More than that though, Brian spends this book discovering what life is like for a young gay man in the city.  He meets other gay men and has his eyes opened to many things he never really considered before.  The Brian at the end of the book is very different to the naive young man that we see in book one, and yet he still retains his core of sweetness.  Another cliff hanger ending left me desperate for more and I can't wait to read book four!

So whilst this isn't a review as such, I would still urge you to read this series. The quality of the writing is high and sucks you right in from the start; the characterisation realistic; and the story unfolds gradually but with a pace which drives you on.  There are another three books in this series to come, and I can't wait to see where JP Barnaby will take these characters into the next books.

Buy the books HERE.

Keeper Review: Goldilocks and His Three Bears by AM Riley

It feels a bit strange to review this book from the perspective of it being a new release, because although it was only published by Loose Id last week, I've owned a copy for over a year now, perhaps even as long as two years. The version I own is from the book's previous release at a different publisher. Once the contract ran out on it, the book languished in limbo until Loose Id picked it up for publishing. I can't tell you how pleased I am about that because it's a book that deserves some recognition. The new release has been tightened up slightly in the editing and also updated - but only with minor details such as the use of cell phones instead of house phones. Another reason I'm pleased it has been re-released is so I can recommend it again to people who like multiple partner stories and BDSM. I've lost track of how many times I've re-read this book and it's become one of my favourite comfort reads.

Those of you who have read some of A.M. Riley's other books such as The Elegant Corpse and Death By Misadventure, need to know that this book is very different to those books which are quite serious romantic mystery dramas. In many ways Goldilocks and His Three Bears proves just how versatile an author A.M. Riley is because this shows a playful side to her writing. The story is light-hearted and fun but also contains some great characterisation and a good understanding of the emotions that come into play in a D/s relationship.

The story begins with our golden haired hero Brian who's not long been in LA and is feeling a little overwhelmed by the city. He ventures into a leather bar because he likes his men burly, hairy and covered in tattoos, where he bumps into Paul who fits the bill exactly for Brian. After a few weeks of seeing each other, Paul has to leave for a few months on business, leaving Brian confused and hurt about where he stands with Paul. Not long after, Brian meets Jim, a huge hairy man, who takes Brian's hurt and makes it better. When Brian discovers that Jim is Paul's room-mate, he doesn't quite know what to do and he's even more confused when Jim takes off for a while and he gets to know the third room-mate in the house, Scott. It isn't long before Scott's affectionate nature leads them both to the bedroom. Now Brian's really in trouble because the three room-mates are suddenly all back in the house and Brian hasn't got a clue where he stands with any of them.

There are so many things I like about this book, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do it justice in this review. The story is really one young man's journey into the world of BDSM and that is done through his relationship with Paul, or Daddy as he calls Paul when they are in a scene. When we first meet Brian he's not coping very well with life. He's in a dead end job, and feeling emotionally lost. His growing feelings for Paul, the safety he brings Brian and the way Paul gently starts to bring peace, direction and purpose to Brian's life is all intermingled with the story of how the four men work through their rather unusual polyamorous relationship. Each man has a different quality to bring to the relationship. Paul is in charge overall, but flounders a little at first with how to meet Brian's needs. Jim is nurturing, but has the experience of BDSM life to pass onto Paul. Scott is Brian's friend and sceptical over how Paul and Brian's relationship is progressing. Together they work well and it helps that each of them are reasonably easy-going and "Don't hold much with tradition".

As you might expect there's a lot of sex in the book. However, unlike some books this is not PWP because each sex scene is precisely placed to either show us something of character or to further the relationship between the characters in some way or to add something to the overall plot. This means there's progression within the sex from the beginning when each character is introduced, through to the end where they've worked through their issues and are content with the situation they are in. I thought this was all rather cleverly done.

I fully realise that this book isn't going to be to everyone's taste. The polyamory alone will be off-putting to many of you, even though I think it's sensitively done and realistic. I also know that D/s books are not going to have a universal appeal, although that particular aspect is very light and not at all graphic. Plus the journey that Brian and Paul take together towards that D/s relationship is part of the appeal of the book for me. If you do like those themes, then I think you'll love this book.

The main reason I love this book so much is that it's a great deal of fun. There's a sense of joy in all the characters, and fulfilment in their relationship. I liked all the characters, liked that the author set aside space for them all to develop, not just Brian, and so by the end I had a good understanding of the feelings and motivations of all the characters. The writing is just as excellent as I've come to expect in all A.M. Riley books. Goldilocks and His Three Bears is amusing, not in a laugh out loud way, but in a way which gives me a warm fuzzy feeling and a gentle smile. It's the sort of book which leaves me happy. That is why it's a comfort read and why I can't recommend it highly enough with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Tinseltown by Barry Brennessel

Tinseltown is a light-heatred, humourous book which tells the story of Micah who, with the help (and hindrance) of his friends tries to find true love.  Along the way there is much disappointment, some tragedy and a lot of laughs.  I'm well aware as a reader of how subjective humour can be, and I have to admit that 20 pages into this book I wasn't wholly sure the humour was going to be to my taste.  Fortunately, this turned out the be just teething problems and it wasn't long before I got into the swing of the book and ended up enjoying it rather a lot.

Part of the reason it took me a while to get into the story, I think, is because of the way the book is organised.  Micah's a film student and because the book is written in his first person narrative, it's structured a little like a film or a play.  We begin the book with a run down of all the major players, including Micah's friends as well as the 'Greek Chorus' who are a trio of voices who act like Micah's conscience, or to call him out when he's trying to slip a lie to the reader (or be self-delusional).  This beginning meant that the start of the book is a little protracted and we don't settle too much into the narrative for a few pages.  The use of the 'chorus' plus assorted other 'voices' who slip into Micah's mind and narration in order to give their thoughts on the action, is a little gimmicky and depending on your temperament you could find them hilarious or annoying. I settled somewhere in between that and sometimes found them very amusing, and sometimes I just wished we could get on with the story.

Having said that, Micah is actually rather a charming narrator who suffers a little from low self confidence when it comes to looks, and a general apathy about his studies and his life.  In other words he's a bit of a typical college student: rather self-absorbed, easily distracted and fond of socialising.  That the author also manages to make him sympathetic and generally likeable is proof of the quality of the characterisation.  Micah's not a bad person, and I found that I followed his adventures with a mix of fondness and exasperation.  This is very much Micah's story and as such the other characters revolve around him.  This meant that the large cast of friends, family and counsellors who Micah interacts with tend to be seen through his rather biased eyes and also tend to flit in an out of the story. As a reader we often only sees part of these characters, the part that Micah notices, rather than then being fully fleshed out.  Thus we get glimpses into the lives of Micah's friends and family but little else.  Whilst this is true to the narrative style, I still found it a little frustrating at times.

The story itself is rather farcical in nature, as Micah bumbles around trying to find someone who can love him, whilst also fitting in his studies. The whole book is mostly made up of either Micah's thoughts or character interactions and dialogue - deliberately so, I think, as the book is trying to resemble film, and  is therefore very cinematic in tone.  It was an interesting concept and one that works only if you like Micah and his self-absorbed musings.  I did.  I also liked the different interactions that Micah has with his friends, especially the nerdy conversations he has with his friend Stan.  Each of Micah's friends has a distinct personality and role within the story - with perhaps the exception of the two Paulies who I kept getting mixed up - and so the interest for me was seeing how Micah uses that to his advantage in whichever situation he is in.

If I have any complaints about the book it was that the light-hearted tone and the breezy narrative meant that when some of the more tragic things happen in the book I was unable to make the emotional connection that I may have done had the tone been more serious.  It distanced me a little from Micah and the things he was going through, so I felt a little like an observer rather than caught up in his situation.  However, as the tragedy only covered a small amount of the story overall, it wasn't a huge problem.

If i had to sum up this book in one word, it would be 'entertaining'.  Once I'd settled into the narrative, and got all the characters correct in my head, I thoroughly enjoyed being taken on the journey of Micah's road to love.  If you want to read something light-hearted and witty with a very likeable hero, then I'd recommend Tinseltown with a grade of 'Very Good'.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: The Last Chance Ranch by DG Parker

Warning: Please remember to have a stock of hankies on hand when attempting to read this book!

I've read a few D.G. Parker short stories and always found her writing to be thoughtful and accessible. I was pleased to discover that she'd written this longer novel and so dived in to read. What I hadn't realised is that this book is a follow on from a short story which appears in the anthology Know When to Hold 'Em by Dreamspinner Press which I haven't read. Fortunately, it isn't necessary to have read the story before hand as it seems that most of the things you need to know are given as reminders in this book. Having said that, it was a little odd to come straight into the established relationship between Ben and Obie (Obediah) and as a result I took a little bit longer to warm to their relationship than I might have done if I'd seen them come together in the previous story. Not too long though because their troubles were one reason I needed to have a hanky nearby!

The story is told with two separate narrators who alternate through the book. The first is Obie who is in love with the owner of the Bar J ranch, Ben. The ranch breeds horses and has a moderate success. Ben and Obie's relationship is not a great secret and as a result of this, Ben has been refused business at the local lumber mill. This makes repairs difficult, but they cope as best they can. Because Ben is unconventional to say the least, he seems to attract men looking for work who have no options left in life, leading to the ranch being nicknamed 'The Last Chance Ranch'. As the book begins one of the old hands has died in his sleep, leaving Ben a little short. Chance has it that two new men arrive at the ranch looking for work. The first is a black man, Temper Free, who's been wondering rootless for a while and is our second narrator. The other is another drifter, James Arcady. Ben takes them on and it isn't long before tensions begin to rise. Firstly, Temper notices that Arcady seems to have a bad history with one of the other ranch hands, Larry. Then a Mexican soldier, Captain Vargas, tries to scam Ben out of his horses, leading to bad feelings between those two men.

This story is what I would consider a 'slow burner'. It doesn't appear that very much happens in the story but I was still engrossed. Most of the plot is character based and involves development and growth of relationships between the characters and in the personalities of the characters themselves. Not that nothing happens in the story - it certainly does! There's action and drama; tension and sadness; love and laughter. These exciting events all happen within the gentle plotting which draws you slowly in rather than grabbing you. I was charmed by the story, and by the men who inhabit the pages. I can always tell when a book has been successful for me when I find my emotions are so engaged that I'm moved to tears, or smiles and that happened a few times for me whilst reading this book.

Another aspect that worked for me was in the historical setting. Again, most of this is done through the thoughts and attitudes of the characters. There's hatred and intolerance in the town for the way that Ben and Obie live, but there's also kindness, solidarity and a 'live and let live' attitude that comes from living in hard times. The friendships that Ben maintains with his neighbours are just as vital to the story as the enemies he makes in Vargas and the town Sheriff. There's not much in terms of descriptions of place, just bare minimum really, nor are there long descriptions of life on a horse ranch, but that wasn't important in this book. The importance came in the characters and how they related to their surroundings. Because of that, the setting is personalised with the reader being told relevant information - such as the drudgery of clearing out horse stalls rather than being told how to run a horse ranch.

The romance aspect comes within both the narratives and it was interesting to see how the two narrators discussed their love for the other man. Obie is passionate, short-tempered and very loyal. His descriptions of the relationship he has with Ben matched that personality. Temper is thoughtful and calm, letting very little ruffle him and taking advice before acting. His romance is gentler, but just as loving as Obie's and I was pleased at how the romance progressed for both men.

Overall, I would recommend The Last Chance Ranch with a grade of 'Excellent'. The story is gentle but compelling, the characters well rounded and engaging and the writing superb. If you like historical westerns, then I urge you to read this book.

Buy this book HERE.

To Post or not to Post

I've realised that for the past few weeks, apart from a couple of posts, all I've done at this site has been to post reviews. Time was when I'd mix things up with maybe 2-3 reviews a week and a couple of posts where I would spout various opinions about things to do with books or trends in romance, but not recently.

Why not, you may ask.  Well, I've been having a think and a few reasons come to mind.

1. I've run out of things to say
When I started this blog my mind was buzzing with all kinds of thoughts and opinions on the books I was reading.  That buzz has been a bit flat recently, to the extent that I just can't seem to drum up the enthusiasm or the ideas or even the indignation that I used to fuel those types of posts.  I'm flat, spent and without inspiration.

2. I've become more and more conscious about negativity
I used to do quite a lot of posts where I had 'a bit of a moan' about something which had wound me up that day/week. Sometimes this was something very personal to me and sometimes it was just a theme or plot device that rankled at the time.  However, it often seems these days that the blogs are full of people moaning about stuff that annoys them, to the extent that I became annoyed about them being so negative!  This has made me especially conscious of when I feel a big moan coming on.

Hmmm....OK this post is a moaning post so I may have just invalidated that point!

3. I was hit pretty hard by the 'straight women shouldn't read or write gay romance' backlash that occurred a few months ago
I don't want to go into this too much because it's died down a bit now and that's just fine by me.  However, the whole thing left me bewildered and, to be honest, feeling a little dirty.  It made me want to hide away and not be so forthcoming with my general opinions.  Sticking to something concrete, like a book to review, seemed easier.

4. I'm tired. I have a busy life. Sometimes it's easier to keep to Twitter than to construct a longer post.
Well that speaks for itself!  I can have a 10-20 minute zap, zap, zap discussion on Twitter about a topic which would take an hour to write a post on - after which there's answering the comments (which I love doing BTW, I'm not complaining about comments!).  Part of me thinks that sometimes it's less hassle to throw out a provocative question on Twitter and run with it, rather than take the time and brain energy to produce a well reasoned post here.

However, what I know in my heart of hearts is that when I do take the time to set out my thoughts or opinions about a topic, then I'm more likely to have people stop by and pass on their thoughts too. I'm more likely to interact with a wide range of my internet pals and followers here.  The opinion posts often get more hits than my reviews because, let's face it, reviews are there as a resource and usually only of interest to those who are thinking of reading the book and want to find out whether it's worth spending their hard earned cash on it.  Opinion pieces are more fun for everyone because we all get to play and share.

On a side note: Did you know that one of the posts with the most hits overall is the one I did on Twincest?  Perverts, the lot of you :).

So where are I going with this self-absorbed ME ME ME post today?  Well, just that I think I need to take up the baton with opinion posts again. Drag myself out of this apathetic mire I seem to be in and start sticking my neck out, rather than burying it in the sand.

OK, OK, enough clichéd phraseology for now!  Look out in the next few weeks for my opinion posts and please do leave a comment when you read them. I love to know whether people agree with me or not.

Review: The Rifter Part 5: The Holy Road by Ginn Hale

This review can also be found at the DIK blog.

We're half way through this serialised novel now, and things are really hotting up!  Like Part 4, this section focuses entirely on John and his time at Rathal’pesha.  The story has once again jumped ahead in time, and is now a year on from Part 4.  It's the harvest fair and Ravishan has drank himself into a stupor over what he knows he has to do come sundown.  This year, instead of burning a witch, they have captured a Fai’daum rebel and, like last year, it's Ravishan's job to light the bonfire to burn the man.  Things don't go to plan though and the events that follow set off a chain reaction which leads to tragedy.

The Holy Road is a book of startling realisations.  As is fitting for the middle of a book, it features a number of 'turning points' for the characters.  For most of the book things have been simmering between John and Usman Dayyid, and it is here that things come to a head in a most unexpected way.  The implications of that then filter through the rest of this section, affecting not just John, but several other characters too.  Another turning point is in the relationship between John and Ravishan as they find a measure of freedom to be with each other.  The section where they are exploring the Southern city of Nurjimi, and marvelling at some of the differences between it and the dour repressiveness of Amura’taye, was my favourite part of the book.  It was a shame then that this proved to be the calm before the storm.  Finally, there is a turning point for Ravishan, who travels south to take part in the ceremony which will make him the Kahlil which will mean that finally John, Bill and Laurie can travel back to Earth.  Each turning point proved to be an emotional roller coaster as I was taken through a number of highs and lows, from utter shock and disbelief through to happiness and pride.

Alongside these turning points, and intertwined through the story is John's growing realisation of just how powerful he is.  This is explored in an exciting action scene and in quieter more desperate times.  John's realisation that he is the Rifter hasn't really been tested in previous books but that certainly changes in this book.  We are also given more information about the Rifter mythology, and how that will affect John in the future.  The implications for John who wields so much power are given some space to develop, and it is both wondrous and frightening for John.

Another aspect which worked well for me is the continuing world-building of the setting.  The religious and political situation in Basawar is always in the background during these stories and things are building to a breaking point.  The situation with the Fai’daum, the petty squabbles of the different priests and the treatment of the poorer, despised classes are all slowly coming to a head in what promises to be quite an explosive act of rebellion.  I am already anticipating the effect this will have on the oppressive religious regime as well as marvelling at how the author is managing to keep so many balls in the air, yet still have the space to provide what is turning out to be a satisfying romance sub-plot.

One final aspect which is slowly starting to work out through the series is the effect that John is having on the situation in Basawar and the characters that we see in the future sections with Kahlil.  I have to admit that books and stories which mess about with time can be confusing.  As this book progresses, I can now see how some of the effects that Kahlil feels when he gets thrown forward in time are a direct result of things that have happened in book 5.  As a result I went back and re-read parts some of the earlier books, as things slowly start to begin to make a little more sense.  It's all rather clever and leaves me rather in awe of Ginn Hale's storytelling prowess!

This section ends on a huge cliff hanger, one which I suspect I may have to wait awhile to be resolved.  Kahlil in the future has taken a back seat for nearly 300 pages now, and I suspect he will be back in part 6.  I shall have to be patient!  I'm just overwhelmed by the sheer breadth that this story has taken so far and amazed by the journey I'm being taken on through the characters of John and Kahlil.  This is fantasy writing at its very best and I urge you, if you are a fantasy fan and haven't started this series yet, to go and buy it now.

You can either buy this fifth part - and then any of the other parts - separately for $3.99 each, or buy the whole book at $29.95 and each month the new part will be sent to you via email. More information about this and the buy now page can be found HERE.

Review: Shadowed by Cari Z

I really enjoyed the previous book in this series, Treasured (reviewed by me at Wave's blog here), which told of Daniel, a man with minor magical ability, who gets seduced by a doppelgänger, Rhys, as a means to robbing the museum where Daniel works. In the process the men form a connection and the book leaves us with a glimpse into a possible HFN for these guys. This book picks up almost straight after the end of the last book. Rhys has arranged to take Daniel to Venice over the Christmas holiday period. Daniel is happy just to spend time with Rhys and hopes to find out more about him. Things don't quite work out for the pair when it turns out that Rhys is being hunted by the government.

One of my favourite things about this series so far has been the character of Daniel. He's completely overwhelmed by Rhys' attention to him, and as such is happy to go wherever Rhys wants without asking too many questions. That was also a little bit of a frustration because Rhys isn't too forthcoming about his past or his own feelings for Daniel and I worried that Daniel was setting himself up for heartache. When they are together Daniel rides an emotional high which is completely endearing, especially when he gladly gleans what he can of Rhys' feelings. Most of these insights happen during the sex scenes where Rhys lets go some of the control he has. I also liked how Daniel is slowly gaining more self-confidence. He's still quite down on himself most of the time, feeling bewildered over what Rhys sees in him and taking on a very passive role in the relationship. As the story progresses, Daniel's actions and abilities means he gets to save the day, giving him a boost, whilst still holding true to his essentially meek nature.

Another thing that appealed to me in the story was the Venetian setting which is vividly described. I liked how the paranormal world-building is included alongside the real life setting of Venice and how the city becomes both a help and a hindrance to Daniel in the story.  We also find out more about the gang of thieves who work with Rhys, and I liked the mix of personalities found amongst them.

Finally we get some much needed answers to some of the questions surrounding Rhys.  I was a little disappointed that these answers came from outside sources but was pleased to know more of Rhys' past.  I also thought that Daniel's worries about falling in love with a crook were dealt with mainly well. It's typical of Daniel that instead of facing up to the problem he chooses to shove it under the carpet, but I hope that at some point he has to make some sort of a stand one way or the other.  Hopefully, this will happen in another book as there's certainly scope for another story since, once again, this book ends on a tentative HFN.

Those readers who liked Treasured are going to like this book too.  It gives us an opportunity to delve deeper into the relationship with Daniel and Rhys as well as seeing some of Rhys' background.  There's a good mix of emotion and action in the story coupled with some interesting paranormal ideas.  Overall, I would recommend Shadowed with a grade of 'Very Good', and I'm really looking forward to more from these great characters.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Muffled Drum by Erastes

I'm not sure what it is about Erastes' writing which resonates with me as a reader. Maybe it's the spare, clean prose which manages to get across a wealth of emotion without the fussiness that you sometimes get with historical romance. Maybe it's that her historical settings are seeped into the bones of the story without any need for unnecessary information because the characters are just there, in that moment of time. Maybe it's that character and setting are so interlinked, so ingrained that I know I can trust her to produce something historically accurate as well as emotionally satisfying. Whatever it is, Muffled Drum certainly worked for me and I can highly recommend it to lovers of historical romance.

The story is set partly in Bohemia (which is mostly the Czech Republic today) and Prussia (which is now mainly Germany). The heroes are two soldiers fighting in Austro-Prussian war, but who are taking part in their last battle. They have made plans to escape the madness of war and resign their commissions so that they can be with each other. Despite the scandal this will inevitably cause, their love for each other is too strong to ignore. After the battle Mathias resigns his commission, much to the disgust of his superior officer, but when he goes to Rudolph, he is disturbed to find that, due to a fall from his horse, Rudolph has no memory of the last two years. Mathias is determined to stay close to Rudolph in the hope that he regains his memories soon and so decides to accompany him back to Berlin, but revelations about Rudolph's life in Berlin threatens to break them apart.

The story follows two strands: Firstly there is the lost love between Mathias and Rudolph. The opening scene where we see the men together, and are shown the depth of their love was wildly romantic. I felt all their frustration at going to war, their fear that all may yet be lost and the nervousness of what they are about to do, to give up for each other. When everything goes wrong, my heart ached for Mathias when he takes the brave, and perhaps a little foolish, step of resigning his commission, only to find that Rudolph can't remember him. It's a poignant moment in the story which brought a lump to my throat. The love that Mathias feels for Rudolph keeps him going through the story, even after it seems that he is betrayed and all is lost. I found Mathias to be a most sympathetic character, one who does what he thinks is best, even above his own desires and wishes.

The second strand is the amnesia story which is seen mostly from Rudolph's point of view. I'm quite partial to amnesia stories, particularly if the time is taken to show the effects of amnesia. In this story, Rudolph's disorientation, his headaches and his general confusion at times are well shown. He remains cheerful most of the time, mainly because he's living two years in his past. In some ways I found his narrative heartbreaking for Mathias, as Rudolph struggles to work out their relationship, thinking of Mathias as only a friend, whilst anticipating seeing what he thinks is his current paramour in Berlin. Mathias knows that he cannot tell Rudolph about their love for fear that it may make his condition worse, and I felt all his sorrow and frustration over that sitaution.

The setting itself moves from the battlefield, where we see the aftermath of battle in brief, accurate, bloody detail onto the opulence of Berlin and the rich lifestyle enjoyed by Rudolph. There's enough in terms of description to ground the story and give a vivid sense of place, but we're not overwhelmed by paragraphs of detail. I liked this because it meant that the story was focused on the characters, without the distraction of setting to get in the way of emotion. It also meant that the historical setting comes through strongest in the attitudes and feelings of the men. Prussia in the 1800's is slightly more permissive than Britain, but the men still have to be circumspect and careful with their relationship for fear of scandal.

My only niggle about the story related to the character of Ernst. I felt he was a little hard done by considering that he was the male equivalent of a kept woman and therefore only doing what he felt he needed to do to survive in society. I quite liked his pragmatic character, although I knew he was supposed to be the villain. Maybe other readers wouldn't like him as much as I did and would therefore feel he deserved everything coming to him!

My feelings for Ernst and his fate weren't enough to spoil what was a compelling book for me. I was hooked by the characters and situation from page one and couldn't put it down. Muffled Drum is chock full of emotion and romance and I highly recommend it with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.

Not Quite a Review: Scorpion by Alexsandr Voinov

This must be my fourth attempt to write this review. I get started, write a few paragraphs, re-read what I've written and think "No, that's just not IT". I then abandon the review and go away and sulk for a while at my inability to get my feelings for this book down on paper.  Why, you may ask, has this book been so hard to review?  Did I hate it so much that I can't write the review without being balanced?  Well actually no, the complete opposite in fact. I loved this book, really, really liked it and my difficulty in reviewing it comes from trying to formulate all the various reasons why I like the book in a coherent fashion which does the book justice without giving any spoilers away. A secondary reason why it's taken me so long to write the review is that I keep getting side-tracked by the book itself.  I'm not sure how other reviewers go about reviewing books, but I always have the book open on screen when writing a review so I can skim over bits again to refresh my memory, or to check things I may have forgotten like names of characters.  Every time I try to skim over the book I end up getting sucked right into it again and then next thing I know I've been reading it for over half an hour and have run out of time to write the review.  It's all rather frustrating, but in a good way, I suppose!

Anyway, in an attempt to get this review written, I'm going to write a different sort of review.  Instead of paragraphs of eloquent prose, I'm going to list all the things I liked about this book with a brief explanation and it's up to you to decide whether these things would appeal to you too.  Instead of my usual summary, I'll put the blurb and get straight into the list:


You learn your wisest lessons from your enemies. Assuming, of course, you survive the encounter.

Kendras is a casualty of war: injured, penniless, and quite possibly the last surviving member of the only family he's ever known—the elite fighting force known as the Scorpions. When a
steel-eyed stranger offers him medicine and shelter in exchange for submission and a secret task, Kendras has no choice but to accept. He is a Scorpion; he’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

But his true goal is to rebuild the Scorpions. Neither Steel’s possessive nature nor Kendras’s shattered foot can keep him from finding the last of his brothers... or the mysterious leader of the Scorpions, a man who held Kendras’s heart long before Steel tried to take it for himself. The goal is simple, the situation anything but. To rescue his leader and escape from Steel for good, Kendras must fight through a morass of politics and intrigue, where enemies are allies and even allies have hidden agendas.


1. Morally Ambiguous Characters
Kendras is a soldier through and through. He's trained to follow orders and does so no matter his own personal feelings on the matter.  Sometimes he does things knowing that it may not be the right choice but he's under orders and so does them anyway.  This theme of duty over self crops up quite a lot through the book and can be seen in many of the characters, both the 'good' and 'bad' guys.  The blurring of lines was an interesting theme, especially as there were at least two characters who teetered on the edge of being good or bad and one character in particular who I thought was going one way but went the other.  It certainly kept me on my toes as a reader!  Despite their moral ambiguity, many of the characters were still very sympathetic, Kendras and the Officer especially.

2. The Fantasy Setting
The setting is familiar to fantasy fans, being mainly high fantasy, but within that the focus is narrowed to the band of mercenaries led by the Officer.  So whilst we get lots of descriptions of the different regions, the religions, the conflicts, the social hierarchy and the politics, the heart of the setting is in a group of soldiers and their loyalty to one man.  Bringing everything down into such a narrow focus meant that much of the plot relied on the characters and their thoughts - mainly Kendras' - as their lives are described and shown to the reader.  For me, it was the small touches to the setting that worked best, mainly in the descriptions of life between the men, some of Kendras' past and his time spent with Steel.  Another effect of this small focus meant that when the larger set pieces happened towards the end, all the emotional connections were in place to create an impact for the reader.

3. The Use of Sex
As many of you know, I'm not a fan of 'sweet' stories.  This was anything but.  The characters in this book are  men who often use their fists instead of their words.  They train hard, grapple with each other, fight when they are told.  As a result the bond between them is strong, and strengthened still by their emotional attachment.  Within the group of mercenaries they all use sex to heighten that bond and attachment.  As such there are several scenes of group sex or multiple partners.  Sex is also used to control and torture so there are also some scenes of rape and dub-con which will not be to many readers' taste.  To me the use of sex in this way was as much part of the setting as the complexities of the political system. It showed that sex is a tool to be used for good or bad and I liked the way that idea was explored in the story.

4. The Theme of Comradeship
I have to admit, this story is a bit male orientated. There's only one main female character and she displays many characteristics which would be traditionally male.  Now, I'm not complaining about this because I don't need a female character in my m/m books if it's not necessary.  What this did mean though is that the book has time to explore the different relationships that men build up with each other and in particular comradeship. I thought that this theme was handled particularly effectively not only within the bad of mercenaries, but also outside of that group with characters such as Steel and Widowmaker, and with the feelings towards the king of Dalman.

5. The Development of Kendras as a Character
Not only was I drawn in by all that I've said above, but the main plus point for me was in the flawed and very human character of Kendras.  He begins the story in pain and yet full of bravado and determination.  As the story progresses so does his confidence in himself until the end sees him a very different man from the start of the book.  This development of character was a gradual effect of all the things that happen through the story and I was delighted to have taken that journey with him.  I also liked the way that his race was portrayed. His dark skin sets him apart and makes him an oddity, albeit a desirable one.  I liked how used this to his advantage on several occasions.

All those five things coupled with a written style where not one word is wasted with a vivid portrayal of setting and characters who are alive on the page, drew me into the story and I was engrossed from start to finish. If you haven't guessed already I highly recommend Scorpion and my usual top grade of 'Excellent' isn't enough to show how much I enjoyed this book - it's beyond 'Excellent' and into sublime.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Bad Company by KA Mitchell

This review can also be found at Three Dollar Bill Reviews.

I'm a huge fan of K.A. Mitchell's books and so when I saw this new one out at Samhain, I jumped at the chance to read and review. Whilst, overall, the reading experience was enjoyable, I wasn't engaged with this book as much as some of her others.

The book is a Gay For You with a premise that may or may not appeal, depending on your feelings about revenge plots. Kellan has been thrown out by his father and cut off from the family's considerable funds when he breaks up with his third fiancée. Kellan decides that the best way to take revenge on his very conservative father is to pretend that he's gay, and so he seeks out his old friend from high school Nate, who now works as a journalist and declares that he needs Nate's help. Kellan is somewhat surprised when Nate turns him down flat, having conveniently forgotten that he abandoned Nate to homophobic bullies after accidentally outing him. However, a mix of Kellan's persuasive techniques and Nate's guilt mean that the men are soon pretending to be in love, something that has an unexpected affect on Kellan.

I'm not a big fan of revenge stories but that aspect of this book was handled quite well. The slightly unfortunate side effect being that neither hero really comes out of the whole thing looking that good. The plot hinges on how much of an ogre Kellan's father really is, and I liked that actually that part wasn't as cut and dried as it could have been. He's certainly controlling and very concerned about his own business interests, but it's credit to the author that she didn't wholly make him out to be a monster. As a result of this, both Nate and Kellan come across as a little immature. Nate's hurt over Kellan's actions in high school was realistic, but not the way that he constantly let it dictate his reactions to Kellan. Nate's overly dramatic way of thinking and some of his actions made him more like an eighteen year old than a man in his late 20's and I found that a little off-putting at times. One of the best parts of the book were the times when Kellan would point out how much of a drama-queen Nate was being, and I had to agree.

Kellan is deliberately shown as thoughtless and immature, and as a result I warmed to him more than Nate. He's a big personality who shows the typical characteristics of a privileged upbringing whilst also being clueless about the effect he has on people. I liked the way that he had such a force of personality that people warm to him almost immediately. I also liked that, unlike Nate, he isn't a moper. He shrugs off any problems and picks himself up. This was especially true when it came to getting himself a job as well as undermining all that his father tried to do to control him. His approach to the growing feelings he has for Nate were done in such a lighthearted way, with a sense of wonder and growing anticipation, that the Gay For You plot worked as a whole, and I liked the twist that it is the gay man, Nate, who has more reservations than the seemingly straight man, Kellan.

However, by far the best character in the book was Eli, Nate's former lover and now friend. He basically stole every scene he was in and I'm so pleased that he's going to get a book of his own.

So whilst I wasn't keen on Nate as a character and yet liked Kellan, the reason that this book gets 'Good' and not 'Very Good' is that it didn't shine for me. The writing was good, the situation at times funny and other times serious, and the plot engaging whilst I was reading it. However, even after two reads of this book I can feel the characters and their story slipping away from me. It's not going to be a book I remember clearly in a couple of months time, unlike the previous book I read by this author, Life, Over Easy which I can still remember very well. For me, this is a book which was fun to read and an enjoyable way to pass the time, which is a good recommendation for any book, but it's not outstanding.

Buy this book HERE.

A-Z Challenge Review: Nikolai by Angelia Sparrow

Why I bought the book: My mate Kris recommended it.

Plot: Set in a futuristic world where the USA has been carved into separate states, this story follows Nick, the ex-leader of a gang of children who comes to attention of shadowy figure James Ligatos.  After being set-up, Nick is beholden to James in more ways than one as he has to pass a series of tests before he can join James' elite group.

The futuristic setting was quite fascinating. The state of Memphis where the story takes place is part of the confederation which is a theocracy.  It rather reminded me of Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, where woman are treated as second class citizens and minority groups even worse.  Into this comes James who is some sort of politician and yet also so much more than that. The laws of the land do not apply to him, although he keeps up the pretence whilst in public, and he uses his team to manipulate events to his satisfaction. The politics acts as a backdrop to the more personal events which take place with Nick, James and the rest of his team, and involve some sort of border dispute with Kentucky.  Whilst this was interesting within itself, it really only served to create an opportunity for Nick's final test.

The main part of the plot centres on Nick, his tests and the relationship he develops with James and the other Team members.  This takes on a BDSM theme as the dynamics of slavery are explored and also different aspects of D/s style relationships.  There's a lot of sex, but it was all varied and there for a reason.  It was also very well written as it was used to show the development of Nick's feelings for the team and James through their various sexual encounters. Those of you who aren't keen on multiple partners will not find this book to your taste.

Characters: Be warned, these characters are all totally amoral.  Non of them would be considered to particularly be the 'good guy' and some of the things that they do, especially towards the end of the book, filled me with dismay.  I can't even claim that some of the things that happen were for the 'greater good' because I honestly don't think that was the case.  These were flawed men and women and not easy to like.  Having said that, I was drawn into the story, especially Nick's.  He's a victim as well as victor and some really dreadful things happen to him in the story, engineered by James.  I read his development from quick-witted but uneducated street rat to the smooth and confident man he becomes by the end with interest, and I was on his side for pretty much most of the book.  The narrative is mostly from Nick's point of view, but every so often we get into the head of one of the team. I thought this an effective way of showing the different views, but it may annoy some readers.

It was an odd experience for my essentially 'good girl' nature to get involved in a bunch of characters who would normally be deemed the bad guys but I have to admit I really enjoyed reading things from their twisted point of view.  James is a complete enigma, and remains pretty much  like that throughout the book.  He wields a tremendous amount of power, but his origins are only hinted at  and I wonder whether this is given more space to explore in the sequel.  He's a bit of a 'Henry Higgins' in the way he selects raw talent and then moulds it to his own needs and as such has a dangerous benevolence which is enticing and well as slightly off-putting.  The close bond he has with his team is evident throughout the book, as is the special relationship he has with one of the team David and I liked the way that tensions arose with David and Nick over James' attentions.  That was another thread left hanging a little by the end, which may get picked up in the next book.

Overall: Let me say this again: This is not a nice book and these are not nice characters.  Some of things that happen include rape, torture, beatings, degradation and cold-blooded murder.  If that intrigues you then I would recommend this book.  My emotions fluctuated a bit between sympathy and a liking for Nick to almost hating him for his callous behaviour and it shows the skill of the author that he remains mainly a sympathetic character in my eyes.  No matter how you may see things, this was not a dull book!  I found it compulsive reading and I'm looking forward to the next in the series where I hope some of the loose threads will be tidied away.  One final note is to say that there is a short scene of m/m/f sex and another couple of short scenes of m/f sex in this book. I didn't mind this because the scenes were short. You could easily skip over them if it's not your thing.

I have to admit, grading this book has not been easy.  On one hand the characterisation of Nick as a amoral character, willing to do anything for James sent a shiver of repulsion through me, but on the other hand I was heavily invested in him, his training and his relationship with James.  The writing, setting and characterisation are flawless but the themes will not be to everyone's taste.  In the end I'm going for 'Very Good' but with a note of caution that these themes will not appeal to all readers.

Buy this book HERE.

Release Day for Tea and Crumpet!

Today is a special day for me because it marks the day that my first ever published story is released to the general public.  To be honest, I'm a bit scared and will more than likely spend the day hiding behind the sofa like I do when Dr Who is on the telly.

But it's not just about me!  There are 18 wonderful stories altogether.  Here's the blurb for the whole anthology:

Raise your rainbow umbrellas high and celebrate!

Enjoy this enchanting, entertaining and thought-provoking collection, a heartfelt expression of what it means to be queer in Britain, past and present. All these stories reflect the iconic sights and national character of the British Isles: a taste of our idiosyncrasies and eccentricities, but also an unashamed representation of the love, loyalty and laughter of our people.

Including a wide range of style and subject, this is the perfect way to sample different authors and to find both existing and new favourites. Follow the British way of life from historic villages to modern cities, from the countryside to the sea, through history and with a fantasy twist, in gardens, churches, campus and the familiar, much-loved local pub.

The stories cover universal themes of romance, desire, remembrance and reconciliation. The authors range from multi-published to up-and-coming, and they all share a passion for their characters, whether through great drama, erotic excitement, humour -- or a combination of all three!

Contributors include: Alex Beecroft, Jennie Caldwell, Stevie Carroll, Charlie Cochrane, Lucy Felthouse, Elin Gregory, Mara Ismine, Clare London, Anna Marie May, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, Zahra Owens, Jay Rookwood, Chris Smith, Stevie Woods, Lisa Worrall, and Serena Yates. Edited by: UK MAT (UK Meet Acquisitions Team).

My story is Sweet Temptation, written under the pen-name of Jennie Caldwell. Here's the blurb for that story:

Philip's life is divided between his duties at church and his lonely flat. When an opportunity arises to change that in the guise of a beautiful young man, Philip is torn. Follow his desires or follow his faith?

All the proceeds for the anthology are going towards next year's UK meet so if no-one buys it we'll be spending the weekend camping in a field or something, LOL!

So please buy the book which can be bought at the publishers JMS Books HERE, or at all the usual places such as All Romance Ebooks and Rainbow Ebooks.

Where am I again, again?

I'm at the DIK blog for my third and final day.  It's just a quick post to flag up the wonderful author appreciation blog crawl but I thought it was well worth drawing to the attention to the DIK readers.

Plus most of you will be off enjoying your long weekends rather than spending time glued to you computers :).

Join me HERE.

Review: How the Keep the Love of Your Life (After Mistaking him for a Serial Killer)

If you haven't already guessed, it was the title that drew me to this book. It's certainly catchy! I've not read anything by this author but the title intrigued me enough that I decided to give the book a go. In the end, I found it to be a decent read with a few little niggles.

The story begins when Randy is coming home from work. He sees this weird looking guy who appears to be following him and mistakenly thinks he's stalking Randy and going to attack him. It turns out that the guy is his neighbour, Dave, who's a graduate student from New Zealand. Niggle number one was my slight disbelief that Randy and Dave had been living next to each other for months but have never met before and yet suddenly they meet in the hallway all the time. Randy's slightly interfering female friend (all gay men have these, apparently) bullies Randy into coming to a party with her that evening. The party is at Dave's and the two men have a slightly awkward time together involving lots of booze and falling asleep on Dave's bed. After that less that satisfying start, coupled with yet another drunken incident where Dave finds Randy almost passed out on the hall floor, the two men start dating, but there's a lot of obstacles in the way to true love.

There was lots to like about this book. Firstly I really liked Randy at the beginning of the book. He's slightly neurotic with an endearing love of his fish and an odd job - he melts wine bottles to make things like cheese boards. His job means that he has to drink a lot of wine, but it's also quite lonely. At first, I thought his reaction to Dave following him was a bit over-the-top but when we discover that Randy has been forced to move on several occasions because an ex-boyfriend has been stalking him, his nervousness seems more realistic. The way that the two men meet was cutely done and Dave's bewilderment at Randy's behaviour, coupled with a protective streak was a nice touch to the characterisation. I also liked that Dave was a bit shy and unsure of himself, but Randy was able to overcome that nicely and the sex scenes were sweetly done.

Another part I liked was the narrative voice of Randy. Much of the story is amusing, with a lightness of tone which suited the sometimes farcical events which happen. I get the impression that isn't a story to be taken too seriously but that's never an excuse for unrealistic scenarios and there were a few more niggles to go along with the things I liked.

What didn't work for me was the reappearance of Randy's ex, or rather Randy's acceptance of his ex's behaviour. Everly breaks into Randy's apartment and sets out to come between Randy and Dave. Randy had taken out a restraining order against Everly and when it transpires that the order had expired, he just allows Everly to come back into his life. This seemed totally unrealistic behaviour from Randy who surely should have had the order renewed straight away. Instead he half-heartedly tries to send Everly away.

Another part that didn't work was in the way that Randy suddenly turns into a mess of clingyness when he discovers that Dave's visa is due to expire. They barely know each other but Randy claims to have fallen in love. The scene at the airport was, I think, supposed to be amusing but I was amazed at Randy's behaviour, as he sobbed on Dave's shoulder, after only knowing Dave for a very short time. Perhaps if Randy had been seeing Dave for a few months, his behaviour might have been appropriate but not on such a short acquaintance. If I had been Dave I wouldn't have been able to get on that plane fast enough!

So overall, whilst I liked the initial set-up and the way the men met, the development of Randy's character just didn't work too well for me. He began as a slightly neurotic and lonely guy and ended up bordering on the creepy with his overdependence on Dave. Other readers may find this aspect more amusing than I did and will therefore enjoy the story a lot more. I liked the author's voice and writing though, so I'll happily look for more books from her in future.  Grade: Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Where am I again?

It's day two of my stint on the island.  The cocktails have been shaken, the men stripped and oiled, and now it only leaves me to invite my friends along for a jolly big group hug.

Join me here at DIK.