The Enema Scene

The other day, I was reading a BDSM book and came across an enema scene. It wasn't my first of such a scene - I think that was a Sean Michael book, the name of which I can't now remember off the top of my head. Maybe you can enlighten me. When I realised what was going to happen, I have to admit my heart sank a little. You see, I just don't find enema scenes sexy or romantic, and so I skimmed it and moved on.

ETA: Chris has identified the book for me.  It wasn't a SM book at all. It was Where the Heart Is by Ally Blue, so my thanks need to go to Ally for that special introduction to enemas :).

This got me thinking a little and, helped by a quickie discussion on Twitter, I began to think about why such scenes are written into romance books. They nearly always occur in BDSM books. An enema BDSM scene is all about control and humiliation of the sub because, let's face it, rinsing out your bum is not really something you want to do in front of another person. It's on a par with, for example, changing a tampon - ie. undignified and a bit yucky. Having the task performed on you by another person is an extreme act of intimacy usually reserved for the medical profession and it involves a lot of trust. I suppose this is why enema scenes are used in BDSM books to show a powerful submission. Unfortunately I just can't get past the clinical nature of the act. It reminds me of hospitals, of cold bathrooms and of sterile environments. I can't set aside that medical image in my head to see the sexiness of it. In my head I can see why someone would find that depth of submission very romantic but in my heart I find it a little bit uncomfortable and too much of a private act. Maybe that's the point.

Going back to the first enema scene I read in that Sean Michael Ally Blue book. I found that particular scene rather interesting because I wasn't entirely sure how one performed an enema, never having had one myself. Hub's great grandparents were huge before-their-time health freaks who advocated a regular enema as a way of keeping your body in tip-top condition inside and out. This meant I had a vague notion that one gave oneself a bit of a swill out. Um, it seems I was a bit wrong there, and I'd like to thank Sean Michael for that very enlightening scene! However, once I'd got that knowledge safely stored in my brain, I wasn't that bothered about reading about it again.

I don't think we should totally ignore the fact that enemas exist but if it's necessary to mention one, then I'd rather authors use euphemisms or just a brief mention without needing to produce a whole scene. I wouldn't be sad if I never read an enema scene again and when they occur I just do what I did with this recent book and skim the scene.

Let me finish with a couple of my favourite passages of m/m romance which allude to enemas, one which is romantic without us seeing the whole scene, and one which made me laugh:


There was a triangular rubber bag hanging from the shower head, the enema ball looped over it. Brian looked at it. Looked at Paul.
"If you want to," said Paul.
Something about the way he requested it ... "I will if you like," said Brian.
Paul cupped Brian's chin in one hand, thumb tracing his lower lip almost with reverence. "You're really something."
And then Brian was standing in the steaming shower, warm water on his back, big wet arms around him, soft warm lips covering his. He felt utterly safe, utterly happy. When the kiss broke he was grinning like a crack addict.
"Lemme take a shower, Daddy," he said. "I'll be right out."

From Goldilocks and His Three Bears by AM Riley


He hugged me, kissed me and tenderly asked if I’d had a bowel movement that day (and they say romance is dead) I cautiously nodded, aware of alarm bells beginning to ring. He asked if I’d cleaned thoroughly and I said, yes of course, making sure I said it loudly enough to be heard above the alarm bells, which were now clanging like an invasion warning. He grinned wickedly and said ‘oh goody get your kit off, honey, because I’ve got something for you.’

From More Fun with Dick and Shane by Gillibran Brown


So what about you dear readers of this blog? Do you find enema scenes sexy and romantic or would you prefer that they are kept firmly behind the bathroom door? Do you like them in your BDSM books because of the deep submission and humiliation they show in the sub or are you ambivalent and don't mind either way? Do you have a favourite scene from a book? The floor is yours!

Review: Broken by Jessica Freely

Those of you who like flawed heroes are in for a treat with this book because both men have some very un-heroic qualities about them. As the book begins our first hero Eben is nursing wounds on his hands from having beaten a guy the previous day. He gets a phone call from his brother Nicky who runs the family gangster outfit asking Eben to go and collect a man from the airport. He tells Eben that the man is an exchange student from China and so Eben heads off to the airport to collect him. In fact Xiu isn't an exchange student, he's a male prostitute and a damned good one at that. Not only that, but he's a heroin addict and when Eben arrives at the airport Xiu has a serious case of withdrawal. It isn't until Eben gets Xiu to Nicky that he figures out what's going on, but by then Eben finds he likes Xiu. As the book progresses, Eben is torn between loyalty to his brother and his developing feeling of love for Xiu, until circumstances mean he has to make a choice.

As you can see from the above description, neither hero seems at first particularly 'heroic'. Eben isn't the brightest button in the box, but he also uses that as an excuse not to see how much of a criminal his brother is. Eben is an enforcer, and whilst he hasn't killed anyone yet, he is still used by his brother for beating people half to death. Despite this, Eben is a nice guy when he's not being told to do his brother's dirty work, and in fact the only reason he does this is out a a deep sense of loyalty and love for his brother. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is seeing the change in Eben from a gentle hearted, yet clueless man, to someone forced to open his eyes and see - for the first time - how much of bad man his brother is, and how Nicky's control is making him into someone he doesn't want to be. I liked Eben a great deal and enjoyed seeing the way he slowly redeems himself.

Xiu (or Shoe as Eben calls him because he can't pronounce his name properly) is a practised whore whose act is completely undone by Eben's gentle concern and kindness for him. There were times I didn't like Xiu very much because by necessity he's a selfish person. There's growth for him too in the way that his self-image is altered as the story progresses. It was a brave move on the part of the author to have a heroin addict as a hero, and Xiu veers between the love of his habit and wanting to be free of it. It helps, I think, that Xiu is so upfront about his feelings for his habit, but also that there are specific (and heartbreaking) reasons for his addiction. Xiu is also a good foil for Eben. He's intelligent but never undermines Eben for his lack of quick thinking, instead Eben gentleness soothes Xiu and Eben unfailing ability to see the good in Xiu brings out a protectiveness that works both ways.

The romance between Eben and Xiu was sweet and charming and a good opposite to some of the darker themes in the book. This meant that those dark themes didn't overwhelm the story bringing a balance I liked a great deal. Alongside Xiu and Eben is the character of Nicky, Eben's brother. The way the author had portrayed Nicky was perfect for a Bostonian gangster, especially in the cadence of his speech and his rigid enforced rules. He's not a nice man and treats Eben badly, but then every so often he shows remarkable love and tolerance for his Eben which saved him from being an all out bad guy and made me understand why Eben is so loyal to Nicky. It was cleverly done. I also liked the character of Rhonda, who managed to combine pragmaticism and a little cynicism with a carefully guarded affection and friendship for Eben.

I don't have that many niggles with the book but one thing that spoiled it a little for me was the rather unnecessary epilogue. Also I had a few occasions where the plot stretched plausibility a bit - but then again I think that about action films all the time!

In the end, these niggles weren't enough to spoil what was an exciting and fast paced novel with a couple of flawed and unusual heroes. This has to be about the sixth book I've read by this author and she really does get better with each book. I can highly recommend Broken, with a grade of 'Excellent', to those who are looking for a book which manages to successfully combine great characterisation with a very romantic story.

Buy this book HERE.

Guest Post: Deliciously Flawed Characters and Why I Love Them by Josephine Myles

Today is the first in a series of guest post coming up here at Well Read and I'm delighted that my first guest is the lovely and charming Josephine Myles.  Jo has a new book out at Samhain at the moment, which you can find out all about, as well as have a chance to win a copy, at the bottom of this post.  So without further ado, I'll hand over to Jo.

Deliciously flawed characters and why I love them

I've said in the past that I write character-driven romance, and have been asked to explain what I mean by that on a couple of occasions. To my mind, this means that the plot of the story revolves around the emotional development of the heroes, and in order for them to develop they need some character flaws - preferably some big, juicy ones. I'm not talking about minor irritants like not picking up after themselves or being forgetful - no, I need something meaty to sink my teeth into and generate plenty of conflict to keep the story going.

So what does make a good flaw? I honestly don't think I could handle anything too repellent, so I'm not about to write a romance about a murderer, rapist or anyone who deliberately sets out to cause harm to others. What I'm after is something that could be an asset if channelled correctly. For instance, in Barging In, Dan's flaw is his promiscuity (as far as Robin is concerned, anyway). However, this springs from two things: a deep-seated fear of commitment which he needs to deal with in order to move on; and an uncomplicated love of sex. With the right partner, situation and a certain amount of character growth on Dan's part, his libidinous tendencies could be channelled in a way that doesn't destroy his relationship.

Of course, to give us the necessary conflict in a novel length romance, the flawed hero needs to be paired up with someone whose own faults clash with them. Dan is pitted against Robin, a man who has not been able to move on from a past hurt and has let it sour his whole outlook on love. Robin finds it very difficult to trust other men, but is also intensely loyal to those few he does let into his heart. Free and easy Dan represents everything Robin is suspicious of, but also everything he needs to make peace with in order to move on with his life. Conversely, Dan needs someone as uncompromising as Robin in order to find the motivation to earn his trust.

There is a danger in writing deeply flawed characters, however. It's vitally important to give them good qualities too - not just at the superficial level of appearance, but to show that they have a sense of humour and exhibit kindness towards others - even if that's only to some people some of the time. Of course, good looks never hurt a romantic hero, but being fundamentally good somewhere on the inside is even more important. It can be hidden under the grumpiest veneer, but it needs to be lurking there in order for the character to be lovable. Being aware of and struggling against their own faults is also a real plus point. I seem to be able to tolerate a large amount of bad behaviour, provided I know the character is at least trying to change.

I know some readers want their heroes less complicated and are easily put off by what they define as "immoral" behaviour: cheating, lying, promiscuity and drug use being prime examples of non-heroic behaviour. However, if a writer has created a compelling character who lies through his teeth, yet takes the time to explain why he acts that way, I'm likely to love that character precisely because of his flaws. I love watching a character change for the better through the course of the novel, as the events make them question their outlook on life and find new ways of seeing the world. So long as light wins out in the end, I can take a fair bit of shadow on the journey there.

Who wants to read about the perfect hero? Not me, that's for sure. I find perfection dull and prefer my heroes deliciously flawed. How about you? What character faults can you tolerate in a romantic hero? And do you have any favourite deliciously flawed heroes to share with us?

***

Barging In blurb:

When the boat’s a rockin’, don’t come knockin’!

Out-and-proud travel writer Dan Taylor can’t steer a boat to save his life, but that doesn’t stop him from accepting an assignment to write up a narrowboat holiday. Instead of a change of pace from city life, though, the canal seems dull as ditchwater. Until he crashes into the boat of a half-naked, tattooed, pierced man whose rugged, penniless appearance is at odds with a posh accent.

Still smarting from past betrayal, Robin Hamilton’s “closet” is his narrowboat, his refuge from outrageous, provocative men like Dan. Yet he can’t seem to stop himself from rescuing the hopelessly out-of-place city boy from one scrape after another. Until he finds himself giving in to reluctant attraction, even considering a brief, harmless fling.

After all, in less than a week, Dan’s going back to his London diet of casual hook-ups and friends with benefits.

Determined not to fall in love, both men dive into one week of indulgence…only to find themselves drawn deep into an undertow of escalating intimacy and emotional intensity. Troubled waters neither of them expected…or wanted.

Product Warnings:
Contains one lovable tart, one posh boy gone feral, rough sex, alfresco sex, vile strawberry flavoured condoms, intimate body piercings, red thermal long-johns, erotic woodchopping, an errant cat, a few colourful characters you wouldn’t touch with a bargepole, and plenty of messing about on the river.

Available now from Amazon and Samhain.

Author bio:
English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. She blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.

Visit Jo's website for more about her published work, saucy free reads and regular blog posts.

COMMENT TO WIN: All comments during the Barging In blog tour will be entered into a prize draw for a 10″x7″ signed and mounted print of Jo's photograph of the Kennet and Avon canal, near Bath – as used on the cover of Barging In! What’s more, the stretch of canal shown here is the location where Dan first crashes into Robin.

The more comments you leave, the more chances to win. Please remember to leave your email address in the body of the comment so Jo can get in touch with you. She’ll make the draw on 2nd October, 9pm GMT, so you have until then to leave your comments

Review: By Any Other Name by Tia Fielding

I picked up this book because I like m/m/m romance and the blurb made it sound like a solid character based read. I wasn't disappointed in that regard.

The book begins with Dru and Thom who have been in a relationship for three years. They are very happy together and have reached that stage in the relationship where they have pretty much over come any personality clashes and have settled into an established domesticity. The love that they feel for each other is strong, and this was one of my favourite parts of the book. No matter what life throws at them during the book, they remain true to each other, discussing any problems and supporting each other through difficulties. Their comfortable life together is disrupted when they are contacted by Skye, Dru's best friend from childhood and the person who made Dru realise he was gay. Dru was devastated when Skye was taken away by an uncle after the death of Skye's parents, never to be heard of again, leaving Dru with severe abandonment issues. However, when Dru and Thom find out how Skye was treated by his uncle they are shocked and appalled. Skye has been in intensive therapy for two years and is ready to move on, but he has nowhere to go. Dru and Thom take Skye into their homes and lives which isn't easy at first, but Dru and Thom soon realise they need Skye as much as he needs them.

One of the things that worked well in this book was the way that the author managed to create a study of three very different men, all of whom are flawed in some way, but still work together. Skye's problems are the most obvious and I felt that his inability to draw close to people, the way he can't cope with physical contact and his panic attacks were realistically shown. He's two years on from the years of trauma he suffered but it was good that Skye wasn't given a 'quick fix'. Thom and Dru are more subtle in their flaws. Thom has self-esteem issues which at times make him seem needy. There were a few scenes where he's shown to be a little bit manipulative because of this, and although this wasn't particularly sympathetic behaviour, I could understand why he behaved as he did. As I said earlier, Dru suffers from abandonment issues and is terribly self-centred. This is one reason why he and Thom work so well as a couple. Thom wants to be needed and Dru wants the attention Thom gives him. It was rather cleverly done. You might think these flaws would make these characters unlikeable, and yes at times I didn't like the way they behaved, but I also found that they were remarkably self-aware, so much so that they are completely upfront about their issues. This somehow made them more human to me and I warmed to all three men, even when their behaviour was less than exemplary.

Those of you looking for a book filled with m/m/m sex ought to stay clear of this book. There is some sex, mostly between Dru and Thom and one shortish scene at the end with all three men, but mainly this is a book about emotions and connections, and whilst lust and attraction plays into that, for obvious reasons the physical side of their relationship develops slowly. I liked this about the book. Having the characters fall quickly into bed would have been wrong, not only because Skye is confused about his sexuality for much of the book but also because physical contact is so hard for Skye at first.

The book is set almost entirely in the house owned by Thom and Dru, which gives the book a slightly static feel. However, I found it then more effective when Skye leaves the safety of the house. There is one other main character in the book, Kara, who is a neighbour and Dru's good friend. I liked that she was a positive female character, but also that she herself has flaws. One of my few niggles with the book was that Dru was very upset when he learns that Kara is moving away, and yet by the end he barely acknowledges her leaving and doesn't even bother to say goodbye.

My other complaint about the book was to do with the writing and plot construction. The writing was quite clunky at times with some bad phrasing and the rather irritating overuse of descriptors such as 'the blond'. The book also has a bit of a saggy middle where not much happens, and yet the story fast-forwards through what could have been some interesting developments in the relationship. Instead we are told in retrospect, rather than shown, what happens. However, it seems like this is Tia Fielding's first novel, so shouldn't judge too harshly someone who is still learning their craft.

Despite these niggles, this was still a very good book - hence the grade of 'Very Good'. The characters, their flaws and the emotions in the book were genuine, and I read the book engaged with what was happening and interested to see how it would all work out. Those looking for a character based m/m/m romance will enjoy this book. I did, and I'm looking forward to further stories from this author.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Other Side of Night: Bastian and Riley

This story takes the interesting idea of secrets and how much you should reveal to a potential partner.  We begin the story with college student Bastian who is coming to terms with the fact that his body is changing after a bizarre and frightening one night stand at a frat party.  He's suddenly developed a strong allergy to the sun, plus a craving for blood and he's desperately trying to avoid thinking about the V word.  As all this is happening he meets Riley and they start having coffee with each other.   Things are going well and they arrange a date but before it can happen Bastian's fangs grow in and he's unable to shy away from the truth any more.  Now Bastian is faced with a choice of being upfront with Riley about his 'condition' and risking Riley running a mile, or waiting until Riley gets to know him better before telling him the truth.

There was much to like about this book, especially in the genuine problems faced by Bastian and Riley.  They are both true to their age, as young men at college and so I found I couldn't judge them too harshly for the mistakes they make.  Bastian's promiscuity got him in the situation he is in at the moment, but that doesn't make him different from many college boys.  In fact, I found that Bastian is the character who grows the most during the story.   He changes from party boy to someone who is totally committed to his relationship with Riley, so much so that he would risk everything for them to stay together.  The baby steps that Riley insists on with their relationship would send some men running for the hills, but Bastian's patience with Riley was admirable.  It's not difficult to like such a man, who makes tough decisions out of love and stands by them even as things begin to fall apart.

I found that I didn't like Riley as much, in fact instead of becoming more mature and sensible, he seems to go the other way.  At first I liked that he was willing to listen to Bastian and to accept who he is, but as things go on he becomes more demanding, pushing Bastian into doing something he feels a little uncomfortable with - it's almost the opposite of how Bastian is with Riley.  Towards the end of the book Riley behaves in a way which is entirely selfish and reprehensible and I found that part of the story a little difficult to stomach, even whilst I could sort of understand why he was behaving the way he did.

Apart from  Riley's behaviour at the end of the book, the only other part I didn't like was the character of Cheryl who fit right into the characterisation of the Annoying Interfering Female Friend. I spent pretty much the whole time she was on page wanting to slap her for her uncalled for advice and the aggressive way she speaks to Bastian supposedly in the interests of Riley.

This book looks to be the first part in a series, and I was especially interesting in the foundations of world building which have been laid in this book.  The way that Bastian is introduced to the other vampires added a nice creepy tension to the story and I'm hoping that the smug Havva gets a comeuppance at some point in the series.  This aspect of the story certainly kept my attention and added an extra dimension to the romance, widening the scope of what was happening to Bastian and Riley.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, especially the character of Riley and the way that romance is blended with a touch of horror.  I'm looking forward to further books in the series and would recommend Other Side of Night: Bastian and Riley, with a grade of 'Very Good'.

This book is published tomorrow but you can get a 20% discount if you pre-order.  Get it HERE.

Bits and Pieces

I've been tremendously lazy here this week, especially as I've been quite good recently at keeping up with reviews and stuff. I have a book I was going to review today, Barging In by Josephine Myles, but I've already seen about 4-5 reviews of this book in the last couple of days, all of which were saying exactly what I was going to say. It's rather taken the shine off my reviewing focus to think I'll be just repeating what other have said, and probably less eloquently too.  So I decided to wait on the review until later.

Unfortunately, apart from a book I shall be reviewing tomorrow and a book I DNFed, I haven't read anything else this week, other than shorts for Brief Encounters Reviews.  Yep, it's a slow reading week so far!  So here I am instead blethering on about nothing.

I do have an announcement of sorts to make.  Up until now, I haven't really done any guest posts here at Well Read, but that's going to change soon.  I have a guest post coming up on Monday and then a few in November/December.  So that's something for you to look forward to.  Plus I've got a couple of author interviews coming up soon too.

So.... read any good books lately? I'm feeling a little uninspired by my TBR pile and suggestions are welcome.

Good Stuff

I seem to spend most of my time here either reviewing or having a moan, so I thought I'd share today a couple of nice things that have happened to me recently in my life as a reviewer/blogger.


Firstly, I was chuffed to bits to discover I've had a book dedicated to me.  LA Witt has dedicated the third book in her Changing Plans series, On the List, to me!  How exciting!  Apparently it was my badgering for more which led to the book being written.  Anyway this means that you all have to buy the book now so you can read the dedication :P.  It's HERE.  Actually you should read it anyway because the whole series is very good.

On a side note, I was telling hub about this and enthusing that it's the first time that an author had dedicated a book to me, when he pointed out that it wasn't because he'd dedicated his PhD thesis to me.  So I said (probably rather impolitically) that it was the first book that more than 3 people would read that I had dedicated to me.  *Ahem*  Apparently people read hub's thesis all the time, so I was wrong there.



Secondly, I had a really lovely review for Tea and Crumpet on Goodreads.  We've had lots of good reviews in general which is brilliant because we want to sell lots of copies, but this particular review was from Val at Obsidian Bookshelf who I respect tremendously as a reviewer.  In the review she has my little story as one of her favourites.  EVEN BETTER was the fact that she didn't even realise it was written by me!  So she wasn't just being kind to me.  This is what she said:

Sweet Temptation by Jennie Caldwell is a beautiful, subtle piece that meshes Anglican faith and gay sexual orientation into a single, compatible epiphany.

Honestly, it made my day.  If you haven't bought the Tea and Crumpet anthology yet, it's HERE.


So there you go.  Two things that have brightened my life in the last couple of weeks.  Do you have any to share?

Review: The Book of Daniel by ZA Maxfield

I'm completely hooked on the St Nacho's series by this author and was greatly anticipating this fourth book. It follows Jake's (or Yasha's) brother Daniel who at the end of the previous book had arrived in St Nacho's and announced that he was gay and divorcing his wife. Then both he and Jake are involved in an accident where Daniel's hand is crushed. As this book starts the story is a few months on from that accident. Daniel's hand is recovering but he doesn't have a lot of movement - something he finds a mix of annoying and slightly revolting; his divorce has nearly gone through with only the legal wrangling to take care of and Daniel is enjoying his life as an 'out and proud' gay man by picking up numerous men for one night stands. One person who doesn't approve of this new lifestyle or Daniel's selfish actions is fireman Cam, who treats Daniel with disdain. Underneath that there's a simmering attraction between them and it takes the actions of St Nacho's own 'Witches of Eastwick' to push the two together.

Like all the St Nacho's books this one is written in the first person, in this case from Daniel's point of view. What was interesting about this was that Daniel is completely honest with the reader. He's one of these guys who is so self-assured that he knows himself inside and out, warts and all, and isn't afraid to show the reader what an unpleasant guy he can be. In many ways that's all in the past, as he tries to turn over a new leaf, put his scheming and deceitful ways behind him and try for a life of total honesty. The reader is privy to these thoughts and we see how Daniel tries really hard to take on the new mantle of 'good guy'. Unfortunately for Daniel, no one else seems to want to believe him, so he spends a good deal of this book trying to convince everyone that he's a new man. I found this a little frustrating when I knew Daniel was trying hard and everyone else was slapping him down. Unfortunately, there something about Daniel that didn't gel for me. Despite the honesty, I didn't like him much as a person and didn't 'get' him as well as I did the other heroes from this series. This left me feeling a little distanced from Daniel as a character - but may not be the case with all readers.

I did like Cam, but really, what's not to like? He's incredibly sexy, fit and hunky. Plus he's a fireman. He's also kind, considerate, takes his job very much to heart, loves horses and a champion of environmental issues. He's able to talk coherently about his feelings in a way that would make many men run to hide in the garden shed or garage - which is also the case for Daniel too. Let's face it, Cam was pretty much perfect, except when it came to Daniel when he turns into this surly, distrusting and judgemental person. If I had a potential lover who was so brutal in pointing out my faults I don't think I would have stuck around like Daniel does, but they seem to click as a couple and Daniel uses Cam's harsh treatment as a way to measure himself, meaning that Daniel changes as the story progresses. In fact, it was that change which I liked most about the story, despite feeling a little disconnected to Daniel. His total honesty and refusal to break promises lead to hard consequences, but Daniel is a better character as a result.

One thing I did like about the story and which made me smile was the way that the author uses the town of St Nacho's. In previous books the town has almost been a character to itself, but in this book that's turned on its head. Daniel really hates St Nacho's, finds it claustrophobic and insular. Instead of seeing the beauty of the place, it's welcoming people and comforting atmosphere, Daniel can't wait to get out, and most of the scenes where Daniel feels comfortable take place outside the town. It was interesting to see this view, which has been so opposite to other characters in the series, and indeed Cam. It's a stumbling block in the romance, but I felt that the way it worked out was realistically done.

Those readers who have loved this series so far are going to like this book too. Many of the characters from the previous books appear again, especially Yasha, JT and the ladies from the bakery. If you haven't read the previous books then this could be read as a standalone but I would recommend you read book 3, Jacob's Ladder, to really get a feel for how Daniel arrived in St Nacho's. Overall, I liked this book even if I didn't connect too well with Daniel. The same great writing, characters, description, and above all real heart that I've come to expect from Z.A. Maxfield's writing is in this book too and I would recommend it, with a grade of 'Very Good', as a darned good read.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Galen and the Forest Lord by Eden Winters

One thing I really like about Eden Winters is that on one hand she can produce some really dark and angsty romance books and then she can produce books like this one which is a humourous fantasy story - what great versatility!

This story is set in the same world as the authors short story, Flame, which is quite a serious story.  Although the fantasy setting is the same, the characters from that book don't appear in this (although there is some mention of strange men who can burst into flame and fly) so you don't even need to have read Flame to read this novella.  The plot involves innocent young Galen who is heir to a decent sized smallholding in his village.  He's looked after by his bad-tempered uncle, but finds comfort and solace in the home of his 'healer' aunt.  As the story begins Galen discovers that his aunt's apprentice who is also Galen's friend has helped a young woman avoid censure by claiming the young woman's baby as her own.  Galen's aunt wants Galen to take the baby to the Forest Lord to be cared for but Galen is reluctant to undertake such a dangerous journey through the forest.  Events are taken out of Galen's hands though when he is suddenly banished to the forest, taking the baby with him.

This first part of the story is actually rather serious with a tinge of wry humour as we follow Galen's hapless attempts to do the right thing.  However, as the story continues, the humour changes, especially when we meet Lord Erik and his court.  Now that the danger has passed for Galen the plot becomes more relaxed and there are a number of funny circumstances centred around Galen's experiences with the various members of the court.  Most of the humour in this section comes from Lord Erik as he tries (and often fails) to bring his court into some sort of order, as well as battle his own mixed feelings for Galen.  The various machinations of court members are also amusing as they conspire to bring the two men together.  The dialogue in this latter part of the book is pithy and I laughed on a number of occasions, especially at the internal dialogue of Lord Erik.

The relationship between Galen and Erik is that of 'fated lovers'.  Whilst I often find this type of theme irksome in serious romance books, the humour of the situation meant that it worked for me.  Erik and Galen are both adamant that they are not 'mates' and the rest of the court all know that they are.  It's not insta-love though because the to men still have a lot of learning to do.  Instead the 'mated lovers' is more an instinctual initial response on which the heroes build their relationship.  This meant that when we leave them at the end of the book, they are more in lust than love, but that was OK by me and I was satisfied to wave them off into their potential HEA.  I also liked that, despite his innocence, Galen is just as must an Alpha as Erik and much fun was had with that situation.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting because the story grabbed me from the outset and I read on both amused and eager to find out how it would end.  The plot moves swiftly and the characters are sympathetic and engaging.  The fantasy setting has some nice quirky touches but doesn't stray too far from a medieval-type fantasy, making it easy to settle into Galen's situation.  Those reader who are looking for a light-hearted fantasy read to curl up with on a cold autumn evening can't go wrong with this novella and it gets a grade of 'Excellent' from me.

A-Z Challenge Review: Room at the Top by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow

Why I bought the book: I really fancied an m/m/m.

Plot: Austin and Jay are very much in love, but they are both subs who need a Dom to satisfy that itch for submission but are not interested in sharing their bed with another.  For a while they had Patrick, but when he moves away he leaves a hole in their lives.  After a disastrous time trying to find a replacement, Patrick suggests a straight friend of his, Liam.  The three hit it off straight away and things become complicated the more the feelings grow between them.

As you can probably guess from my summary, this is a BDSM story and it was in that aspect that the book shone for me.  There were many carefully constructed BDSM scenes which were note perfect in terms of sexual tension and emotional content.  Each scene built on the one before and because, at first at least, the men only see each other as a three during those sessions, it is there that the romance starts to bloom between them.  It was strong and compelling reading.

Characters: The three men were all very different, bringing their differing personalities to create a realistic whole.  I have to admit, Jay was my favourite character.  He's geeky and bookish but he's not afraid to tell it how it is when the need arises.  He's also a slob, forgetful and a bit of a drama queen.  Austin is the steadier one who has a deep seated compulsion to protect and cherish. As a couple they would have been perfect for each other, if not for their need for submission.  One of the highlights of the book is how much Jay and Austin love each other and this shines through all their interactions, making them very appealing as a couple.  Liam brings the dominance they need in his strict attitude which is needed for Jay, but also in a sense of security and comfort for Austin.  The way that Liam slowly comes to terms with his bisexuality was realistic, especially given his age - he's nearly 40.  There's an age gap of 15 years between them and I liked that this was both not a major problem but still addressed in the story.

If the story had focussed solely on the three men then this book would have been pretty darned perfect for me.  Unfortunately there is also the character of April, Austin's sister, who is a complete harridan.  Her poisonous personality spoiled whole scenes of the book for me, especially as I pretty much couldn't see what the point was in having her in the book in the first place.  She had no redeeming features whatsoever and could have been written out of the story with very little change to the overall plot.  Her actions act as a sort of catalyst towards the end, leading to a bit of an annoying forced separation, but this could easily have come about without April's input.  The only good thing to say about April is that the authors didn't make her have a sudden change in personality, she softens a little by the end but still pretty much remains a selfish bitch all the way through. I think one reason for her to be in the story is to show how noble Austin is, that he doesn't give up on her even when she treats him like shit. Unfortunately, it just makes Austin seem weak and spineless when the stronger thing to do would be to make her stand on her own two feet and face the consequences of her actions.

Overall: April nearly ruined the book for me, even though she's only in maybe a handful of scenes.  As it is, the love that Austin and Jay have for each other, the excellent BDSM scenes, the strong writing which was high on emotion and characterisation, and the slow development of the romance made this a winner, although should I ever re-read I shall be skipping the parts with April in them.  Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Unexpected by Sommer Marsden

By rights I shouldn't have liked this book. It contains themes which I usually avoid and which often don't work for me. However, for some reason I did like this book, so much so that I would happily recommend it.

The story follows Charlie who after agreeing to donate his sperm to his best friend so she can have a baby (by 'donate' I mean they got drunk and had sex in an attempt to create a baby) finds himself left with baby Annabel when her mother cannot cope. Six months of new fatherhood has left Charlie with little in the way of opportunities to date but when he meets Giovanni by chance, both men are struck by how quickly they connect with each other.

Let's get the first surprise out of the way. This book is essentially an insta-love story. Usually I hate these, but in this case it really worked. The author had done a good job in showing how utterly baffled both men are over their instant connection. For most of the story they are trying to fight the love because they know it's too soon. Charlie especially feels almost frightened at how quickly he falls for Giovanni and worries that it could be due to his long dry spell and lust rather than anything more concrete. Charlie is a very likeable man and also emotionally articulate. This made it easier for me to accept the insta-love story line. It also helped that the men were very good at being open about their feelings with each other. I also liked Giovanni, finding his generally optimistic outlook rather charming and a good foil for Charlie's more downbeat personality.

Another part which worked for me was in the sympathetic way it dealt with the themes for partner abuse and postpartum depression. Giovanni has just left an abusive relationship which leaves him with some feelings of shame but it's how the knowledge of that relationship affects the way that Charlie behaves which was the most interesting aspect of that theme. Mariah, Charlie's friend and Annabel's mother, suffers from postpartum depression and I liked how Mariah was never shown to be the villain of the story. It would have so easy to fall into the 'bad mother for abandoning her child' characterisation for Mariah but instead her guilt and confusion, as well as the panic and helplessness she feels about Annabel was sensitively shown.

I often don't like romance stories containing children but in this case Annabel is just a baby and so managed not to be over-cute or nauseating, so again that theme worked for me here. In fact, I felt Charlie's feelings over unexpectedly being a father and the difficulties in raising a six month child on your own were accurately shown.

The final thing about this book which usually doesn't work for me is that it contains an awful lot of sex scenes. Admittedly some of these scenes could have been cut without harming the plot, but a number of them were used to show a change in the relationship between Giovanni and Charlie. Some of the scenes are a little bit kinky but never stray into BDSM territory.  So, again, this aspect of the book wasn't off-putting either.

Overall, this book surprised me because I really shouldn't have liked it very much. However, the characters of Charlie and Giovanni, the honesty of the themes and the good solid writing made it an enjoyable experience. I've not read anything by this author before but the blurb appealed and I was glad to have read it. I'm giving this book a grade of 'Very Good' and will be sure to check out further Sommer Marsden books in the future.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: The Rifter Part 7: Enemies and Shadows by Ginn Hale

This review can also be found at the DIK Blog.

Like the previous part in this serialised novel, part 7 has a quiet, reflective feel about it at first. Much of the action happens towards the end and before that the story deals with the tricky politics surrounding the possible imminent war between Jath’ibaye and the Gaun'im of Southern Basawar. Much of the plot is taken up with discussion and intrigue, and whilst this meant that the action was slow, I was still immersed in the story because there's a constant tension. This tension gave the tone of writing an uneasy feel as Kahlil and Jath’ibaye strive to find a way to avert war or face the possibility of mass slaughter.

One of the beauties of this book is the way that dialogue is used to further the plot and that is certainly the case in this section which is taken mostly from Kahlil's point of view. He's a good observer of people, having spent most of his life observing John grow up, and this seeps into the way he views people and body language. Sometimes this is slightly humourous - for example as he watches Hirran use her feminine charms on the one of the Gaun'im noblemen - and sometimes it's deadly as he waits for the right moment to kill. We find out a lot about Kahlil in this section, especially about what he has been forced to do in his role as The Kahlil. This leads to comparisons with Ravishan, especially when we see Ravishan's innocence about the world when compared to Kahlil's world-weariness.

Towards the end of the section, in a scene which is both terrifying and compelling, the action is ramped up to maximum. This 'heart in your throat' moment shows us the versatility of Ginn Hale as an author in directing the pace, in this case from quiet intrigue to all out action and horror. About 20 pages before the end the action ends on a chilling note leaving the reader with a cliff hanger when we are suddenly thrown back in time to be with John and Ravishan. I have to admit I let out a wail of protest at this point and felt severely disgruntled! It wasn't long before I adjusted to John's point of view though, and if I have to be honest, I like John's point of view more than Kahlil's so once I got over the shock I settled into the narrative of John and Ravishan's escape from John's attempted murder on the Holy Road. It was interesting to see the contrast here between the earnest love of Ravishan for John when compared the the more mature feelings that Kahlil and Jath’ibaye have for each other. Both are passionate but the naivety of Ravishan seems almost painful next to Kahlil now that we've spent the last 200 or so pages in his head.

In the final 20 pages the pace again shifts to quiet moments between John and Ravishan which leaves the section on an emotional, rather than action based high. As a reader, I already know much of what is going to happen between them now because we have been told of Ravishan and John's future during the parts from Kahlil's point of view, and I wonder how much more of John's point of view can be sustained without repeating what we already know. However, I've trusted this author so far to deliver a tightly plotted story and I'm sure I won't be disappointed. With only 3 more parts to go, things surely must start to move towards what promises to be an exciting dénouement and I'm very much looking forward to the events in part 8.

You can either buy this seventh 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.

Eden Winters Book Give-away

The lovely Eden Winters has a new book out today and to celebrate she's offering a free copy to one lucky person who leaves a comment on this post. Details below:

Galen and the Forest Lord

BLURB

By the time Galen Olaf-kin woke up and smelled the spiced ale, it was too late, and he never finished the wicked deed for which he stood trial. Banished from his home, he flees to the forest, taking nothing but the unwanted infant he's rescued. Perhaps the legends are true and the forest lord will take them both in – he's said to give sanctuary to outcasts, but none of the stories mention the naughty, tempting things he whispers, or that he shares Galen's forbidden passions.


Lord Erik rolls his eyes at the prophecy that says when human hands deliver a babe to the forest he’ll meet the mate destined to reunite forest folk with humankind. What interest has he in a child? The handsome human that brings the babe is another matter entirely, and a little thing like destiny won't stand in Erik's way of claiming the golden-haired Galen as his own. Or will it?


Sometimes prophecies are overrated, legends incomplete, and heroes not always the sharpest swords in the scabbard.

Click on the book title if you want to buy.

You can also find Eden at the Torquere Social LJ site today so do pop over to say hi and ask any questions.

The draw is open until 11.59am GMT on Sunday and I shall announce the winner on Monday.  Good luck!

Home Fires Burning by Charlie Cochrane

This book is made up of two novellas both of which are very different in tone. The first novella, This Ground Which Was Secured At Great Expense:, is a sombre, bittersweet yet romantic story set in the first world war, and the second The Case of the Overprotective Ass:, is a lighthearted, almost comic, mystery story. On one hand this is a positive feature because it shows what a varied and talented author Charlie Cochrane is, but it's also a slight negative. I tried to read the novellas one after the other but gave up on that idea about two pages into the second. The lighthearted tone jarred with me after the very emotional, quieter tone of the first novella and I had to put it down. However, after a break of a couple of days I was ready to pick it up again and enjoyed the second novella a great deal.

As the two stories are so distinct, I shall take each one in turn:

This Ground Which Was Secured At Great Expense:
This story begins in 1914 at the outbreak of war. Country gentleman Nicholas feels compelled to sign up at the start of the war and leaves for France, leaving his estate in the hands of his slightly crippled estate manager, Paul. Nicholas has loved Paul for a while now and is glad that his bad leg means he won't be drafted. Whilst in France, Nicholas meets Phillip and they become close friends, close enough that they confess that they are gay. On a trip home, Nicholas is determined to tell Paul of his feelings but things don't go to plan and he ends up in Phillip's arms, more confused than ever about his feelings for both men.

I said earlier that this is a quiet and sombre story which fits entirely with a WW1 setting. As well as this it's also achingly beautiful in the way that Nicholas' feelings are described. The whole story is from his third person point of view which allows the reader to see the changes in Nicholas as the story progresses. He's not a very young man at the beginning - he's just shy of 30 - but he's got a naive innocence about him that endeared him to me right from the start. The things that he experiences during his time in the trenches hardens him emotionally so that he becomes almost closed off on the surface but underneath he's still as confused as ever. The sheer complexity of Nicholas and his emotional development kept me reading as I longed for all to work out well for him.

The setting of WW1 is always difficult for a romance, after all it was a time of great tragedy and loss of life, but I felt the author had got the balance right in this story between showing the harsh realities of war in trenches and providing a story which was not too bleak or unromantic. Having said that, those readers looking for a story without sadness may not find this to your taste. I cried and even the HEA was tinged with a little melancholy.

This was definitely my favourite out of the two stories and one which stayed with me for sometime. I highly recommend it.

The Case of the Overprotective Ass:
Alistair and Toby are darlings of the British silver screen. Their films with actress Fiona sends many women's hearts into a flutter and they've had great success with a Holmes and Watson pairing. Whilst waiting for their next film to start filming they get called into helping out a friend find his missing secretary. This leads them on a merry chase about London as they search for clues and avoid the newspaper cameras.

As I said earlier this had a completely different tone to the previous story. It's lighthearted with two leads who playfully banter with each other all the way through the book. Alistair and Toby are charming characters, obviously in love and frustrated at having to keep things firmly behind closed doors. They have a fun sense of adventure and you can tell that they really enjoy their foray into detecting as they go about London interviewing people and finding clues. The story is set just after WW2 and just occasionally the events of the time break through the comedy, as we are reminded of the bombing and the austerity of food rationing. This was never focused on for long but gave enough in terms of setting so that the feel was realistic. The mystery itself was cleverly done with enough in terms of twists and red herrings that I was kept from working things out before the end.

Although I enjoyed the story and liked the characters, there wasn't the depth of emotion that was found in the previous story. It was amusing and had a mad-cap comedy feel to it similar to many films of that era, especially in the fond way the two men verbally sparred with each other and I particularly liked all the humourous references to Sherlock Holmes. In the end it was an entertaining piece of frivolity.

Overall, I would highly recommend this anthology of two novellas. For those readers who are already fans of this author's Cambridge Fellows series, then this book is an absolute must. For those who've never read anything by this author before, then this would be a great opportunity to see what you've been missing! Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Body of Water by Stuart Wakefield

I met Stuart whilst we were at the UK meet and had a nice chat with him about the perils or positives of self-publishing.  Body of Water is (I think) his first self-published novel and I was keen to read.

The story is set partly in London and partly in Orkney. The first part, set in London, follows our hero Leven through his late teens. He's had a troubled childhood passed from foster home to foster home when his anger issues meant that he was difficult to reach. He finally finds love and acceptance with Ruth and Alex when tragedy strikes, leaving Leven bewildered and grieving.  His real father contacts him and Leven travels to Orkney, where the second part of the novel takes place.  Here Leven discovers some astounding truths about himself.

As I said, this is a novel in two parts. The part in London reads almost like a contemporary romance, especially as much of it revolves around Leven's romantic relationship with his neighbour, Shaun.  When things go wrong and Leven moves to Orkney, then the story shifts into a spooky paranormal.  Whilst I enjoyed both parts, they sat rather uneasily together, especially because Leven leaves behind a lot of loose ends in London which are never tied up.  Having said that, a quick look at the blurb for book 2 possibly shows that these will be dealt with in that book, so maybe I have to be patient!  The straightforward style of the opening changes to a mysterious and disorientating narrative when Leven moves to Orkney.  This was both a good and bad point for me because whilst I appreciated the way that the author was withholding information from the reader through Leven's confusion, and that stylistically it was a very interesting way to use the narrative, I found it a little frustrating to work out what was happening at times.

Leven himself is an intriguing character. He's on the cusp of manhood, and I thought the author had done a good job in showing the conflicting emotions that brings. In a way he's very immature, often flying into tempers or acting impetuously, but that again fit well with his age and also the problems he's had in life.  At first his relationship with Dom is a mix of hate and fascination, which added to Leven's confusion of being essentially alone on a strange island where the locals are less than helpful. He turns to Dom, almost against his will, and that reliance gradually becomes much more.  The first person narrative, and also because Dom is a man of very few words, means that Dom remains a bit of a shadowy figure, but their romance still worked for me, perhaps more so because it was so gradual and carefully drawn.

One thing I was looking forward to reading about was the Orkney setting. I have relatives on one of the smaller Orkney islands I was looking forward to reading the descriptions of place.  In the end that was a little disappointing, possibly because the author hadn't been specific about which island Leven visits making it more of a generic setting than I would have liked, but I thought the way that the sea was shown to be important and the descriptions of the wildness were realistic.  Much of the action happens at night which adds to the strangeness of the setting and the feeling of alienation that Leven feels about Orkney and its people.

The paranormal part of the story was the strongest aspect for me, especially because it tackled an unusual theme and the weirdness that Leven feels about the events which unfold in Orkney gave this part of the book a slight chill in terms of the tone.  As Leven moves further towards the truth about himself, the pace of the book picks up, leading to an exciting conclusion which managed to be both romantic and attention-grabbing.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, despite my occasional frustrations.  I'm certainly intrigued enough with this story to want to read book two.  I'm giving Body of Water a grade of Very Good and recommend it to those who want to read an intriguing paranormal with an unusual setting.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Boystown 3: Two Nick Nowak Novellas by Marshall Thornton.

I'm seriously hooked on these Nick Nowak stories by Marshall Thornton and part of me doesn't really understand why. I really ought to dislike the man intensely but there's something about his total honesty to the reader, even whilst he is lying through his teeth to everyone else, that endears him to me. It hard to dislike someone who you can see is lying to himself just as much as he lies to others. Nick is frustrating at times, a complete opportunist when it comes to sex and an emotionally cold man, but I still find him fascinating. That is what keeps me reading these books.

Book three in this series is divided into two novellas. As with the other two books in the series there's an initial main mystery with some side mysteries that get pulled into the story through Nick's investigations or by secondary characters. In the first novella, Little Boy Boom, Nick is trying to find out who rigged his car to explode and along the way continues his investigation into a murder from the previous book. In the second novella, Little Boy Tenor, Nick is employed by a murder suspect who wishes to clear his name, and along the way gets sidetracked into discovering the reasons behind the death of a friend. Both mysteries were engaging with Nick spending much of his time travelling around talking to people, getting answers or not, and generally making a nuisance of himself. As the books are all set in 1982 before mobile phones and internet made everyone's life much easier, Nick's investigations involve a lot of leg-work. I find this part of the book a mix of interesting but also mundane as that pretty much sums up Nick's job!

As well as the mysteries, there's an ongoing story arc for Nick. At the end of book 2, Nick's lover Harker got sick with what we, in hindsight, can see is AIDS. Harker's ongoing illness is a sub-plot through the stories as we follow his declining health and the bafflement of Harker's GP over what is wrong with him. Nick pretends to himself for much of the book that he's annoyed with Harker and finds the fact that he's convalescing in Nick's apartment a real bother. This is belied by Nick's actions and the occasional tenderness he shows to Harker. Nick is torn between Harker who he claims not to love and Daniel, his former lover who he is trying to get back with and claims that he loves. There's a constant tension in the books over when he's going to tell Harker to move out, so he can get back with Daniel. It's typical of Nick that he ends up pushing that decision aside, until a rather surprising reveal at the end of the second novella.

Knowing that Harker has AIDS, and that it's possible that Nick is HIV positive lends a completely different slant on all the unprotected sex that Nick has in the book. In the pre-AIDS era, gay men did not use condoms and so I wouldn't expect Nick to use one either. This meant that each time he takes one of the many opportunities given to him by men who offer him sex (and Nick himself is often baffled about what it is about him that attracts so many unprovoked offers. I think it's a combination of his bad boy demeanour and his luscious moustache.) I was conscious that Nick had possibly infected yet another man. It's not difficult to see how the virus spread through the gay population of many cities. Nick's often cold descriptions of the sex he has - and it is just sex with little emotional attachment for the most part - takes on an extra chilling edge in the knowledge of how much he was putting himself and others at risk.

Another thing I find fascinating about the book is the way book is firmly grounded in the 80's setting. I've mentioned the detecting, but it's so much more than that. The clothes, hairstyles, music, politics, change in lifestyle and the attitudes in society are all accurately shown. I may have been a child when the book was set, but the sense of nostalgia is strong when I read about the big hair and padded shoulders. The 80's was a turbulent time and I particularly liked the way that, through Nick's eyes, we hear about the Falkland's Conflict, and see the beginnings of the financial boom which is about to spread across the USA.

Overall, I'm greatly enjoying immersing myself in 1982 through the eyes of the rather dour, but practical Nick. The book isn't always an easy read, but there are flashes of dark humour in Nick's narrative which stops the themes and plot being too bleak. The mysteries are clever enough that I can't work out whodunnit and the mix of new and familiar characters continue to be well drawn and interesting. The surprise at the end of the book pretty much guarantees that I shall be reading book 4 and I hope I don't have too long to wait.  Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Abercrombie Zombie by KZ Snow

Don't be fooled by the cover, this isn't an m/m/m ménage romance but rather a story of two psychic mediums, Quinn and Hunter who partner each other in using their skills for hire. Sometimes this means that they help the police solve murders, sometimes they appear on cheesy cable TV programmes and sometimes they get hired personally to find things. In this case the person hiring them is a zombie, Dustin DeWind, who hopes that the pair of psychics will help him to find his ex-lover. In return, Dustin promises to use his ability to talk to the dead to help Quinn and Hunter investigate a haunting in an old mental health hospital.

There are two themes going on in this short novel. Firstly there is the romance between Quinn and Hunter. The story is written from Quinn's first person point of view. He's got a huge crush on Hunter and has done ever since a rather ill advised sexual encounter which then led to rejection. Quinn's trying not to let this crush affect his working relationship with Hunter but he finds this increasingly difficult especially as Hunter keeps sending out rather mixed messages. I found Quinn to be a very sympathetic character. He's trying to be wise and pragmatic about his feelings for Hunter, but frankly fails spectacularly. His longing for Hunter is difficult to control and I felt rather sorry for him. He never come across as pathetic though because he has a strong sense of the absurd and this also colours the way he thinks about his relationship with Hunter. The first person narrative means that we don't really get to know Hunter very well, although I felt that the author had done a good job in showing Hunter's conflicting feelings for Quinn.

The second theme involves Quinn and Hunter's dealing with Dustin. This part was a little creepy in places, but that was balanced with Quinn's humourous insights which shines through the narrative, making the story a little black in terms of the humour. The scenes in the hospital had a nice tension to them as the men look for ghostly goings-on and I liked that this part of the book acted as a catalyst for Hunter. Later as the men look for Dustin's ex-lover the paranormal goings-on become a backdrop to the twists and changes in the relationship between Hunter and Quinn, until an end which was both surprising and gratifying. I really liked the way that the individual strands of the plot slowly knitted together to create a story which was firmly rooted in relationship and love.

In the end this story is about what people will do for love - whether that's for good or bad. It's an uneasy theme in places, but meant that the story never verged on the too sweet. In fact the book has quite a thread of darkness woven through the romance which I felt worked really well with the paranormal theme. It never became too heavy or overwhelming though because of Quinn's distinctive narrative voice. Those readers who are looking for an unusual paranormal story will enjoy this book. The character of the zombie gives the paranormal theme a freshness, and the psychic heroes an unusual twist on the romance. I really enjoyed Abercrombie Zombie and have no hesitation in recommending it with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Moonlight Becomes You by Piper Vaughn and MJ O'Shea

I've said before how much I like rock star heroes, so I was pleased to see this release at Loose Id. It follows Shane who's the singer/songwriter in a successful band, Luck. Despite his success he's starting to feel a little jaded with the rock star lifestyle, especially when he looks in the mirror and sees the toll that the drink and drugs are taking on his good looks. As the story starts Shane is thrilled that his band have been approached by another band, Moonlight, who Shane admires a great deal. Moonlight want to tour with Luck, and Shane couldn't be happier about this, or the fact that he'll get to meet Kayden Berlin, the British singer whose good looks are just as attractive as his talent. However, Shane is mystified when Kayden treats him with utter contempt and resolves to find out why Kayden hates him so much.

There was much to like about this book especially in the characterisation of Shane and Kayden. I felt that the authors had done a good job in showing Shane as an ex-bad-boy turned rock star. He's got a talent but wastes a lot of his potential on sex, alcohol and drugs to the extent that he's feeling the strain. It takes Kayden's harsh but fair assessment of Shane's wastrel lifestyle to give him a kick up the backside and I liked seeing that development in Shane as he tries to prove that he's more than just a slacker. The scenes between Kayden and Shane fairly crackle with tension and sexual undercurrents which continually build the more that Kayden pushes Shane away. It's this tension which held my interest through the book as the plot propelled me along and I eagerly read on wanting to see how they would resolve their differences.

Another part that worked well was in the portrayal of the rock star lifestyle. The scenes where the two bands are playing on stage were electric in their intensity and I also liked the realistic peeks behind the scenes as the band wait to go on stage, or take part in promotional work. The interweaving of the life of a rock star with the growing romance worked well within the narrative, grounding it firmly within the setting.

Shane's an interesting narrator as he's a little bit unreliable. He lies to himself, especially about his feelings for his ex-boyfriend Jesse. I found it particularly effective to see these lies laid bare by the end of the book, although this did lead to my one big niggle with the story. There's a revelation at the end of the book which causes a misunderstanding between Shane and Kayden. It doesn't last for long but when they are reconciled there's a lot of apologising which takes place. In my opinion there wasn't enough grovelling from Shane over his past actions. Both men have been deeply hurt by each other and I wanted to see some atonement on both sides. Instead Kayden is the one who apologises whereas Shane almost shrugs off his past misbehaviour when he really had a lot to apologise for. However, this wasn't enough to spoil the story for me completely and maybe some readers will feel that Kayden's actions were enough to cancel out the hurt inflicted by Shane.

Apart from that niggle, this was a very enjoyable book. The writing flowed well and I was pulled completely into the story, so much so that I read this in one sitting. I can recommend Moonlight Becomes You, with a grade of 'Excellent', to those readers who are looking for an engrossing contemporary with sympathetic characterisation and I'm looking forward to the sequel which I think is going to feature Shane's brother, Nick.

Buy this book HERE.

Holiday Reading

Well, I'm back from my camping holiday.  I'd like to say that everything was lovely, but those of you who live in the UK will know that I'm lying through my teeth. It was wet.  It was cold.  I don't think I had one day where I didn't get rained on, even though the BBC weather people claimed that I was only in for 'white cloud' rather than 'pissing it down at regular intervals'.

*sigh*

Still. I'm British and a bit of rain never hurt anyone so I still went for walks, explored castles, ate ice-cream and all the other stuff that British people do when they are pretending that being steadily rained on is no problem whatsoever.  Backbone. I haz it.

You would think that with all that rain I would have got a lot of reading done.  Not as much as usual actually. We were with a large group of people so I did that thing called socialising every evening which meant I had little time to read.  I managed 2 1/2 books which wasn't bad going I suppose.

Traitor's Moon by Lynn Flewelling
This is the third of the Nightrunners series which I'm enjoying immensely.  This book was a little quieter and had a lot of passages which dealt with politics, especially between the faie and the humans.  The story begins when Alec and Seregil, who have spent the last two years essentially running from the terrible things that happened in book two, are asked by the queen to accompany princess Klia on a diplomatic mission to Aurenfaie.  The queen is hoping to gain help from the faie with the war again Plenimar.  This is awkward for Seregil who was banished from Aurenfaie, but a series of rules enable him to go with Klia, along with Alec and the wizard Thero.  During the book our heroes encounter the entrenched politics of the faie, as well as the hatred many still feel over Seregil's previous actions.  Like all the books the world building was fabulous, and the author handles a large cast of characters with dexterity.  The introduction of the different faie clans was at first a little confusing but I soon settled into the book and was easily able to follow what was happening.  In the end this was a less action packed book than the previous two. I loved the progression in Alec and Seregil's relationship and the way that Alec was able to find out more about his past.  The downside was that some parts were a little dull, especially all the political wrangling, but that didn't mean the book wasn't worth reading.  I'm looking forward to reading book 4, but I think I'll read the short story anthology Glimpses first, as that is the right Chronological order for the series.  Grade: Very Good.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
This was a book which several people had recommended to me, plus I'd heard a good buzz about it.  It was written in the 1980's so it's been around a while.  The story follows Richard De Vier who makes his living as a swordsman for hire to noblemen or women who need satisfaction for a slight or problem.  He lives in the very dangerous Riverside with his obviously higher born lover, Alec.  During the story Richard is offered two jobs and he accepts one and rejects the other, leading to unforeseen consequences.  I have to admit that this book didn't work too well for me.  I didn't like any of the characters and even the honourable Richard and very flawed (and possibly part insane) Alec left me a little cold.  I also really didn't like the plot which involved political machinations mainly led by the character of the duchess whose icy smiles and deviousness made me want to smack her hard around the face.  The other characters, who were all mainly male, were mostly dupes in her political and social games and that drove me nuts, although I get the impression it was supposed to be amusing.  She didn't even get her comeuppance by the end.  That's not to say that other people won't like it, especially if you like comedy of manners and characters who twist the actions of others to meet their own ends. Having said that the world-building was very good with the characters and setting of Riverside being particularly effective.  The writing too flowed well. I just didn't like the plot or the main characters.  Grade: Poor.

On Fire II: Still Burning by Drew Zachary
This was the half book that I read.  It was a book I had on my phone for those 'just in case' times when you accidentally forget a book.  A couple of weeks ago I did forget my book when my daughter was at gymnastics so I started it then and finished it this week.  The story follows a few years on fromthe previous book On Fire.  Sam is now a qualified junior school teacher and he and Robert are living in a small Canadian town where Robert has the job of fire chief.  All seems to be going well until Robert is injured in a fire and Sam has to take time off work to help Robert recover.  It's at this point that Sam is made more aware than ever of the prejudices of small town life.  I really liked On Fire and so I was hoping that this would be a good read too.  Whilst I still liked it, there isn't very much to the book other than some progression in the relationship, a few difficulties to resolve and a whole lot of sex.  Whilst this was OK, I really would have liked to see a little more of a maturing of Sam's character. He doesn't seem that different from the much younger Sam in the first book - and even his sexual staying power hasn't improved with age!  The sex scenes were well written but very repetitive and I skipped through the last few.  Overall, this was a decent read and a nice opportunity to revisit two characters that I had liked a great deal from the first book, but it didn't blow my socks off and got a bit dull towards the end.  Grade: Good.


So there you go.  A bit of a mixed bag, but it was nice to read something that I'd bought rather than a book I had to review.  The tent has now gone away until next year. I only hope we get some decent summer weather when we get it out again!