Well Read

Review: The Strongest Shape by Tessa Cárdenas

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

Christmas Greetings!

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

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

Merry Christmas

Seasons Greetings

Happy Holidays

depending on which you prefer, to my blogging friends.

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

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

Cheers!

Review: Bedknobs and Beanstalks Anthology

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

Review: The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:15:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

Monday Mistletoe Madness Minis - Week 3

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:20:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy these stories HERE.

Saturday Shorts

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:30:00 +0000

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

Buy this book HERE.

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

Buy this book HERE.

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

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Wings by JC Owens

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

Authors Behaving Badly

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:44:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh Christmas Tree

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:11:00 +0000

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

Why not, indeed. So here it is:

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

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

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

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

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

Review: Conventional Education by TC Blue

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:37:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

Monday Mistletoe Madness Minis - Week 2

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

It was more of a mixed bunch this week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy any of these stories HERE.

Review: Matchmen, Ltd. by TC Blue

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:02:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

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

Review: Rust Belt by Jessica Freely

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy this book HERE.

Talking about Genitals

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:51:00 +0000

Now this picture IS sexy.

I started reading my DSP Christmas short this afternoon and after about a page my heart sank slightly as I realised that I was going to be reading some gay erotica, rather than romance. Not that I mind reading erotica, if I'm in the mood for it, or actually expecting it from a story, but I thought I was going to be reading a romance so was a little disappointed.

How did I know it was erotica within the first page? The way that the characters constantly talked about sex, especially in reference to the size of each other's genitalia. It was 'ooh you've got a big one' and 'I just want your fat cock in my tight hole' or vice versa (OK, I'm paraphrasing here, but that was the gist of it). It was all so obvious, and frankly rather unsexy - almost embarrassing for my British sensibilities.

This got me thinking a bit. In my life I've never come across people who speak to each other in that way. In fact, I've only ever come across it in gay erotica. Where I come from people don't greet their friends with overly suggestive comments or discussions about the size of their genitalia and I expect I'd be losing friends fast were I to greet my friends that way: "Hey Jane, did Nigel put his big cock up your wet pussy last night? I bet he made you come so hard." (BTW Jane and Nigel are completely fictitious friends). I have one friend who talks openly, though not as crudely, about her sex life and when she starts we all put our hands over our ears and go 'lalalala, don't want to know, thank you very much'.

Does this make me a prude?

Anyway, since I've only ever come across this in gay erotica I've come to a couple of conclusions:

1. All gay men talk to one another in that way - erm, really? This can't be true.

2. Gay men get all horny when they read about other gay men talking about fat cocks and tight arses. This must be it, otherwise why is it included in gay erotica in this way?

I've not read any lesbian erotica, but is that the same? Do the women make crude references to their genitalia in those stories? I'm sure some of you will be able to help me answer that question.

Have I come to any conclusions at the end of this rambling post? Not really. Other than I can't say I enjoy gay erotica as much as m/m romance and a little subtlety is far more sexy than making constant references to the size of a character's, er, assets.

Review: Love Me Dead Anthology

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:27:00 +0000

I knew I would probably be onto a winner when I picked up this anthology of two short stories by A.M. Riley and a story each by Lex Valentine and William Maltese, all based around the theme of ghostly goings on. Although I’ve only read books by A.M. Riley before, I’ve heard a lot of good things about William Maltese and was hoping that I would enjoy the story by Lex Valentine too. I wasn’t disappointed.

Ghost Hunters Long Beach by AM Riley
This short tells the story of long time buddies and fellow ghost hunters James and Rick. James has had a long time crush on Rick for many years and, rather pathetically, follows him around from ghost site to ghost site just so that he can be with Rick. This time they are on a ship in dry dock, investigating the supposed ghost of a mariner who killed himself after being rejected by his lover.

There’s a lot packed into this short story: the back story of Rick and James, the story of the doomed mariner, a few minor characters and the development of the romance. However, this was all done with such fluidity that it didn’t seem too overcrowded. I enjoyed the playful banter between the two men and liked the first person narrator, James. I was so caught up in the drama between the two heroes that the twist at the end completely snuck up on me and took me by surprise. Overall a great short which is more focused on relationships and romance than spooky ghosts. Rating: Very Good.

Rousing Caine by Lex Valentine
This story begins, nervously, with the hero, Jason, waking up in the middle of the night at his beach house and realising that someone is in the en-suite bathroom. When that person slides into bed with him and attempts to initiate sex, Jason leaps out of bed thinking he was about to be attacked by a burglar. It isn’t a burglar, but a man who Jason knew only slightly, Caine Carruthers, a famous surfer who had been shot dead a few weeks previously.

I had mixed feelings about this story. On the plus side it is well written. The opening section had me feeling apprehensive, then incredulous and then interested – all the emotions that Jason goes through. I also liked Jason a great deal. He’s a rich man who has all that he wants, including nice possessions and a successful business, but is too trusting, leading to him being taken advantage of. In fact, when the story starts he is at his beach house recovering from his last lover who took off with a priceless painting and $4,000 from his safe. I found him to be a sympathetic character and the range of emotions that he experiences during his time with Caine seemed realistic. The parts that didn’t work for me stemmed a little from the story itself. Out of all the stories in the anthology this was perhaps the least plausible – at least for those who believe in ghosts – and the ending was perhaps just a little contrived. The character of Caine was less well developed than Jason. All we really find out about him is how he died, that he is a ghost, he has feelings for Jason and that’s about it. There were also far too many unexplained things about Caine’s ghostly state. Caine doesn’t know where he’s come from or how he can read Jason’s thoughts or even how he manages to hold his solid state and after a while I got a bit fed up that any questions I (or Jason) may have had about the paranormal aspect of the story was answered with a very convenient – I don’t know, it just is. Those of you who like sweet stories of ghosts and love will probably like this story a great deal, but it isn’t a story I can wholeheartedly recommend. Rating: Good.

The Day They Closed the Iguana by A.M. Riley
Billy is a bit-part Hollywood actor who runs a theatre – the Iguana – in his spare time. Contractors wish to buy the theatre and its land to make way for a mall, but Billy loves his theatre. Whilst out for coffee he runs into Montana cowboy Frank, who’s visiting LA on business (and perhaps a little pleasure too) and they make a date for later, finding an unexpected attraction between these two very different men.

I really liked this story. It was simple and quite sweet and I found myself drawn into it, despite the fact that everything happens in a very short space of time – something which usually bugs me. What I liked most was the first person narrator Billy. On the outside he seems like many jaded LA actors and effects a worldly, cynical attitude. Inside he’s a man who has very little experience with men, having fallen in love and ’saved himself’ for his best friend, Seth. The scenes where Frank and Billy have sex were such a wonderful mix of awkwardness and tenderness that I was enchanted. The story wasn’t without flaws: We never really get to know Frank very much, the end is sudden and tinged with sadness and there are still many questions left unanswered about how Frank and Billy will get on – it’s very much a HFN. The paranormal aspects were underplayed, taking a back seat to the romance, but I liked that as well. Grade: Excellent.

Black Candle Reader by William Maltese
This story is made up of small chapters all taken from the viewpoint of different characters: There is the first person narrator (the rest are all written in the third person), an unnamed black prostitute, who with his boyfriend Jeremy, works for an exclusive escort agency; a writer, Kenneth, who has the psychic ability to ‘read candles’ to find missing people; the son of a Nazi soldier; a street hustler; and a murderer. As the story progresses their stories become intertwined and many of their paths cross, showing how fate can bring even the most different people together.

I have to admit I was a bit disorientated by this story at first. As I said in the description above, each chapter takes on the view of different characters and it took me a while to realise what was happening. Once I’d got into the swing of the story, I found this method of telling a story quite fascinating and different. Although the story is short, it drew me in as I began to see how each chapter was linked. The character of the black prostitute (if he had a name, I couldn’t find it and I checked through the story a couple of times) is the most dominant character with a strong voice in the book, especially as he is the only part written in the first person. At first I was taken aback by the crude and matter of fact way that he came across, but after a while I got used to that and realised that his voice fit his character perfectly, especially when contrasted to the other main character, Kenneth. The paranormal part of the story which involved Kenneth’s ability as a candle reader was unusual enough to keep my interest and I experienced a whole range of emotions such as amusement (sometimes slightly horrified amusement), disgust, sadness and satisfaction at what was a very engrossing story. If I have any negative points at all, it was that in one chapter – where Kenneth and the prostitute are together – the viewpoint was a bit jumbled as we slid in and out of the character’s heads. This possibly could have been on purpose – a stylistic device, perhaps – but I found it a little confusing. This was only a slight niggle though in a very well written story. Grade: Excellent.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this collection of ghost stories and would recommend it to those readers who like paranormals and are looking for something a bit different. I’m certainly going to be reading more stories by all three of these authors in the future.

But this book HERE.

Review: Deeper Blue by AJ Llewellyn

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:42:00 +0000

I had very mixed feelings as I finished Deeper Blue. There was much to enjoy about it, as I shall explain soon, but there was one element – that of the character of one of the heroes, Benoit – which left me feeling annoyed and frustrated on behalf of the other hero, Tracy.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The book begins as Tracy is about to start a new job as tutor to the daughter of a famous musician, Benoit. The family lives on the Greek island of Lesvos, which also excites Tracy as he is of Greek descent and has a Grandfather living on a nearby island. When he gets to Lesvos he discovers that Benoit is rude, arrogant and insufferable, but also loves his daughter very much and is worried about her safety. Marjo was kidnapped by his insane druggie of an ex-wife and Benoit fears she may try again. The story then follows Tracy as he draws close to the family, especially Marjo and finds himself falling in love the the handsome, yet temperamental Benoit.

Let’s begin by saying what I loved about this story. It’s obvious that A.J. Llewellyn has a deep love of all things Greek, especially the food and the Greek way of life. I too love Greek food and my mouth watered over the sumptuous descriptions of the meals that Tracy and the family ate, all of which were lovingly portrayed in gorgeous detail. It made me quite hungry and planning a trip to my local Greek restaurant soon! The depictions of the relaxed Greek way of life, the music and the lifestyle also brought Greece to life as I was drawn into the daily lives of the characters and those who live in the nearby towns. Thrown in amongst this were little bits of history about Lesvos and the other islands that are visited, which all added to the general accurate feel of the setting. It was just so well done that I felt I was there with Tracy, living in the warmth of Greece.

The second part of the book which worked well was in the relationship between Tracy and Marjo. I was a little worried when I first started reading because, as a mother of four, I find reading books with spoiled bratty children in them really irritating and I start thinking how I would handle situation were it my child (failing that, I speculate on the need to bring in Supernanny!). However, I shouldn’t have worried, because although Marjo can be a difficult child at times, the way Tracy deals with her and helps her is done very well and in keeping with the way a child like that should be looked after. I also liked how Benoit obviously doted on Marjo and wanted the best for her. If anything Marjo seemed to bring out the best in Benoit too as his bad moods were often soothed by her presence. The other secondary characters, especially the young widow Toula and Tracy’s twin sister, Shayla, were also well drawn.

The part of the book which didn’t work for me was in the relationship between Tracy and Benoit. In some ways this book reminded me of 1970s and 80s Mills and Boon books, especially in the way that Benoit treats Tracy in such a high handed manner. Tracy falls quickly in love with Benoit and then slavishly follows his every whim and desire. In return Benoit treats Tracy very badly. One minute they are having tremendous sex and Benoit is claiming undying devotion, the next he ignores Tracy, refusing to speak or even look at him, taking his family out to dinner and deliberately leaving Tracy behind, laughing about it behind his back. Benoit also has a relationship with another man, Dimitri, and uses that to taunt Tracy. Actually it was this part that was the last straw for me. It happens late on in the book, just as I was beginning to think that Benoit was starting to behave like a reasonable adult, he treats Tracy cruelly, using emotional teasing and bullying against him for no reason. I also found the fact that Tracy and Benoit don’t use condoms at all quite worrying. All Benoit does is claim “I’m clean” and Tracy believes him, despite knowing that he may be seeing Dimitri as well. Tracy is a good, kind man who does his best to help everyone in the book – even when it’s not always what he wants to do – and Benoit takes advantage of that time and time again. After treating Tracy so badly, I was anticipating a big grovelling scene from Benoit at the end of the book, but, sadly, that never happens and Benoit even has the gall to suggest that Tracy needs to apologise to him. The whole relationship saddened me because relationships where one man bullies another man are not destined to last. I didn’t feel that by the end of the book Benoit had changed sufficiently to deserve Tracy and could only see a continuation of the emotional bullying that had dominated the majority of the book.

So whilst the character of Tracy was eminently sympathetic and the descriptions of Greece and Greek life and food, beautifully done, I finished this book unconvinced that the romance would work. I would still recommend this book simply because it is well written, with good pacing and a wonderful setting but be warned, you may find your blood pressure rising on Tracy’s behalf when you read about the way that Benoit treats him. In some ways my ire for Tracy is indication of the quality of the characterisation and for that reason as well as the other positive things already mentioned I will be reading other books by A.J. Llewellyn in the future. Grade: Very Good.

But this book HERE.

Monday Mistletoe Madness Minis - Week 1

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0000

I've gone all out with the alliteration today!

Last week Dakota Flint asked me whether I was intending to review the short stories from the DSP Mistletoe Madness anthology. It seems that some of you haven't taken the plunge and bought the 'daily dose', choosing instead to pick the ones that you fancy from the thirty-one stories on offer. But which ones do you choose, especially since there are so many new authors who have contributed to the anthology?

So I've decided to be helpful this year and instead of my usual round up of the best stories at the end of the month, I shall do a weekly round up of the stories. In order to do this I'm going to steal borrow Kris' 'taster reviews' format, otherwise it will take me all week to write the post! I'm sure she won't mind.

Season's Greetings by Chrissy Munder
The anthology got off to a great start with this humourous story of Russ whose job it is to write slogans for greetings cards. It's Christmas in the office, but Russ is a season ahead, trying to think up witty greetings for Easter cards with the help of a stuffed bunny. He's finding it difficult to concentrate on his work because the new guy in the office is so hot, and despite Russ's usual slutty ways, he likes Ian and would rather be his friend than sleep with him and ruin a good friendship.

Likes: I really liked Russ. He's got this sarcastic, prickly sense of humour which made me warm to him. I also liked the bunny.

Dislikes: Not too much to dislike here, except maybe that Ian was a little perfect.

Overall: A funny, charming story. What more would you expect from expert short story writer, Chrissy Munder? Grade: Excellent

Biting the Christmas Biscuit by Dawn Kimberly Johnson
This story is a follow on from the marvellous Broken. Alec and Eli have travelled to NY where they are spending Christmas with Bennett's family. It's not easy for any of them as Eli has to cope with constant reminders of Bennett, Bennett's family are dealing with seeing Eli with someone new, and Alec has to work out how he fits into this situation.

Likes: I got to see a little more back story to Eli and also find out that Bennett and his family are not as perfect as they seemed in Broken.

Dislikes: Not a dislike as such but rather a warning: This is perhaps best read after Broken. It could be read as a stand-a-lone (some back story is filled in for the reader) but to get a real understanding of the characters and situation they are in, then I would read Broken first.

Overall: A nice little short, giving me a glimpse into how Alec and Eli are coping with their continued relationship. Grade: Very Good.

Mitchell's Presence by DW Marchwell
Successful businessman, Arthur, is shopping for the office 'secret santa' when he meets shop assistant Mitchell. There's an attraction between them and they part after Mitchell gives Arthur his number. They meet up and it's very clear that the two men have very opposite views on life. Arthur's interest is in himself and making money whereas Mitchell spends his time working two low paid jobs and volunteering at a homeless shelter.

Likes: I actually quite liked the character of Arthur. He seemed realistic and I completely understood his gruff attitude to Christmas and how he has allowed his job to dicatate his life - perhaps also losing focus on the important things of life.

Dislikes: I hated Mitchell. he was just so 'holier than thou' all the time. Never judging, never getting cross, gently chastising Arthur for his consumerist ways and always doing the right thing. He was like the male version of Mother Theresa.

Overall: Although this is quite well written and I liked Arthur, I did feel that I was being preached to quite a bit in this story. I could see how this redemption story may appeal to some but I don't think I'll be reading it again. Grade: Good.

Christmas Perfection by Bethany Brown
Long time interracial lovers Derek and Sky are a little apprehensive as they look forward to Christmas. This year they have invited both sides of the family for dinner. How will Derek's family cope with the wild and wacky set of people who form sky's family?

Likes: There were a few funny quirks which made me laugh, particularly the kid whose food had to be all yellow and not touching. I liked the way that the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day, getting the food organised and coping with lots of people, was done so accurately.

Dislikes: Near the end of the story there was mention of an estranged brother but nothing came of this at all and I wondered why it had been included.

Overall: If you ate all the chocolate santas and candy canes off the Christmas tree, and all the 'Quality Street' chocolates in the decorative bowls, then ate all the royal icing off the Christmas Cake and then licked off all the icing sugar on the mince pies, you still will not have as much sugar in you as this syrupy Christmas story. Well written, but one for those of you who like their stories so sweet it makes your teeth ache! Grade: Good

Earth and Sun, Cedar and Sage by Margaret Mills & Tedy Ward
Set in the American Frontier, this story follows ex-circus performer, Gideon and his lover Jed, who is mixed race half white/half Native American, as they travel from the Pacific coast to New Orleans, where the cosmopolitan crowds wouldn't look twice at Jed's NA features. It's nearly Christmas day and there's a storm coming so the pair hole up in an abandoned house near a small town, but not before having to deal with the prejudices of the local townsfolk.

Likes: Wow, wow, wow! I loved this story. Lots of great historical detail and the characters of Gideon and Jed were perfectly drawn. The story is quite serious as it deals with the difficulties the two men face as travelling strangers to a small town, especially Jed, but it still had moments of beauty and hope within that serious subject.

Dislikes: There's a lot of back story of which we only ever get hints. We don't find out how the men meet and their life on the road is only alluded to. I'm hoping this means we might get a full novel, or at least some more stories about these two fascinating men.

Overall: If you only buy one story from the anthology this week, then this should be the one. I was blown away. Grade: Excellent.

An Australian Christmas
Vince is an Australian who lives in NY with his lover, Chuck. As Christmas approaches, Vince becomes more and more homesick for a traditional Aussie Christmas - hot weather, cold beer, swimming in the pool, barbecued meat and his mum's trifle.

Likes: This has lots of Sean Kennedy's usual humour running through it - much of it to do with the differences between Australia and the US. There's a lovely closeness between the heroes and you can really tell that there's a lot of love and affection between them.

Dislikes: The scene with the Vegemite made me gag. Plus it made me miss my Gran's trifle.

Overall: A sweet little short read which fans of SK will love. Grade: Very Good.

All these stories can be bought either individually or as a zip file package which contains all 31 stories HERE.

Saturday Shorts

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Getting increasingly festive as we head towards Christmas.

From the Heavens: The Star by Vic Winter
Dirk is a paramedic on the edge of breakdown. Haunted by all the people he was unable to save, he heads off into the mountains for a six week sabbatical. He's found a great place to stay run by a lovely old lady and so takes off for an overnight walk into the wilderness. The lovely old lady turns out to be a worrier, as she sends out the mountain rescue to look for Dirk when he's not back by nightfall. At first Dirk is irritated by the appearance of Wayne, the man sent to rescue him, but this soon turns into an attraction. I have to say that this story was just delightful. It had just enough angst to counteract some of the sweetness later in the book and I loved Dirk's slightly sarcastic turn of phrase. His response when his peace and quiet is disturbed by Wayne had me snorting with laughter. In the end this was a lovely story of how you can find love in the most unexpected of places. Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Mistletoe on the Mountain by PD Singer
This short follows on from the end of the excellent Snow on the Mountain. Kurt and Jake are now living through their HEA, but there's still a shadow in their relationship. Jake isn't out yet and doesn't feel able to take that final step. This causes tension in the relationship as Kurt is out and having to go back into the closet for Jake, but Kurt is trying hard not to push Jake for his own reasons. I think I may have mentioned a few times how much I love these guys and this story was just such a perfect add-on to the previous book. It actually gave the reader something other than the obligatory sex scene (although that's there too!) in that the story follows a continued progression in the relationship between the heroes. It's taken from Jake's point of view and I really sympathised with his feelings about coming out - which stemmed really from his natural timidness than a worry about being rejected. Overall, a terrific short and a must for those who have read the two previous Kurt and Jake books. Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

The Dickens With Love by Josh Lanyon
This festive novella is a bit of a roller coaster in terms of the relationship of the heroes, but ends on a lovely sweet note designed to warm the hearts of even the most determined Scrooge. James is a disgraced antiquarian book dealer. A link to a dodgy book dealer in the past has led to him becoming a pariah of the book hunting world so he's forced to work for unpleasant private collectors like Mr Stephanopoulos who has hired him to assess a new, previously unheard of Christmas Story by Charles Dickens, currently in the possession of British professor Sedgwick Crisparkle. After a shaky start and a run in with an ocelot, James and Sedge act on their mutual attraction, but lies and secrets threaten to ruin the best thing that's happened to James in a long time. Josh Lanyon is an absolute master at putting two men together and causing a disagreement. Honestly, I'm in awe of the way he can start a scene with his characters in complete accord and end it with heated words and (almost) slamming doors. I just love books where it's not just the sexual tension which is high, but also the emotional tension. Both men in the book have an instant like and attraction to one another but underneath there's a simmering unease and you just know that a single misplaced word by one of the characters is going to light the fuse and set off the fireworks. The story isn't too complicated but that didn't matter in what is essentially a character based story and I liked James very much, sympathising with his loneliness and frustration over things that have happened in his past over which he had little control. The sly winks to Dickens' stories was just an added bonus. Overall, I spent a very pleasant couple of hours engrossed in this story and I think you will too. Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Shop 'Til You Drop

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:34:00 +0000

That's what I've done today and now I'm knackered so no post today :). I'm going to open some wine and watch Have I Got News For You and last night's QI.

I'll be back tomorrow with Saturday Shorts. Enjoy your Friday evening.

Christmas Books

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:24:00 +0000

It's that time of year when everyone is rushing about trying to think about what presents to buy their nearest and dearest. Not me though, I've done the majority of my shopping on-line cos I hate crowds. I was reading the new Josh Lanyon book, The Dickens with Love, and came across this passage spoken by the cynical narrator James who works as a shop assistant at Borders or B&N or some other big chain book shop:

But for the average person, books remind them of the bad old days of homework and report cards. For these folks, books and bookstores are the last resort, the last desperate option for befuddled holidaymakers who have run out of ideas for presents for people they don’t know that well. Books rank somewhere between a tie and a box of chocolates. It’s a book or go home empty-handed—and empty-handed means again facing the stores and parking lots that one frightening day closer to Christmas.

This got me thinking about how much I love getting books for Christmas. Each year I put on my Christmas list either Amazon vouchers, or book tokens or actually specify books that I want to read, and each year I am disappointed. For some reason everyone thinks that books are boring. Not me.

Thinking about this reminded me of one Christmas when I was about 12 and I got this book for Christmas:

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4 by Sue Townsend. I'd never heard of the book and wasn't sure whether I was going to like it. I needn't have worried though. I started reading it after the Queen's speech when all the grown ups were either sloshed or asleep and spent the rest of Christmas Day giggling furiously to myself. Since then I've always had a fondness for poor old Adrian Mole, plus the book is now a fascinating look at life in the 80's, through the eyes of a boy struggling with that awkward stage of finding girls and getting on at school when he's so obviously a nerd. The book has stayed with me after all these years and it's the only present I can actually remember getting that year - although I'm sure I had much fancier and more expensive presents.

So when you might be at your wit's end, looking for a present for your niece or nephew or cousin or godchildren or any other child or YA who you don't know very well but are obliged to buy a present for, don't look at books as the last resort. You never know, that book may be the best present they get this year - or at the very least the one which stays with them after the tacky electronic stuff has bitten the dust.

Do you have any Christmas books which have stayed with you, or did you think that books were boring?

I've just remembered that I blogged about something similar to this last year HERE (another one of those posts that nobody read but me *g*), and look! I posted it on exactly the same date as this one, a year ago. Spooky.

The Dreaded TBR Pile

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:56:00 +0000

We all have one, don't we? That huge, teetering pile of books which we fully intend to read at some point. I was thinking of my TBR pile today and wondering whether I really ought to have a system and if I did whether that would help with the crushing weight of responsibility a TBR has for a reader.

Actually, not to show off or anything, but I have two TBR piles. There's a pile of books which I have to review for my guest reviews for Wave's blog. I try to be as systematic as possible with that pile. At some point I have to review them all so I try to read them in the date I was given them. This doesn't always happen, especially when a book comes out that I HAVE to read then and there and it gets bumped up the pile ahead of those which I may not be so bothered about reading.

My second TBR pile is my personal one which consists of books which I may or may not review for my blog or just read for my own pleasure - this does happen, you know. Just occasionally. This is a very ramshackle pile, much larger than that for Wave's reviews and I'm much less disciplined in the way I pull books from it. Books frequently get bumped up the pile, especially new releases for which I've been waiting eagerly - the new Josh Lanyon is calling to me from it at the moment, even though there are many other books that I should probably read first. This is the pile which I was thinking about today. It all started when a post at Kris' blog reminded me that I have Windows in Time by M. Jules Aedin in my TBR pile. If I had a system of trying to read the books in order of adding them, then I would have read this book months ago - and I'm rather embarrassed that it's still in my TBR pile, as I've heard lots of good things about it.

The thing is, I know - absolutely know - that any attempt by me to impose a system on my TBR pile is doomed to failure. I'm too capricious in my personal reading, picking and choosing books from the pile which just happen to appeal to me at the time or buying and reading a new book straight away, just because it's intrigued me, rather than putting it into the pile and choosing one that's languished for months. So whilst I may start out with good intentions, I know that I'll be back into my old bad habits in no time at all. It's just like my attempts to give up chocolate, or start exercising. I may do it for a while but in the end chocolate just tastes too good, and exercising is just too dull and the newest release is just too tempting to resist.

Do you have a system for your TBR pile? Does it work? Or are you like me, haphazard in picking and choosing from it?

Review: Discreet Young Gentleman by MJ Pearson

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Having read and enjoyed MJ Pearson's previous historical m/m, The Price of Temptation (reviewed here), I was eager to read some more of her books. Discreet Young Gentleman has the same fluid prose and attention to detail as TPOT, but its tone is much darker.

The book begins with our hero Dean, the Earl of Carwick, returning from seeing his tenants. He is looking forward to his wedding to the daughter of the local magistrate, which, for reasons we discover later, is necessary as Meredith brings much money to the union. The coach is held up by a rather inept highwayman who Dean easily overcomes and takes to his prospective father-in-law to be brought to justice. However, it is discovered that the man, Rob, isn't a highwayman, but a male prostitute. The magistrate is appalled that Dean has been in a closed carriage with a male whore and calls off the engagement to his daughter. In desperation, Dean persuades Rob to travel to Bath with him, where his fiancee is currently 'taking the waters' to see if he can get Minerva to talk to her Father and claim it was all a misunderstanding.

The journey to Bath makes up the bulk of this novel and in the spirit of all 'road movies' the pair find themselves sidetracked by many situations - some of their own making, some not - which stretches their journey from 4 days to more than a week. During that time, Dean and Rob slowly get to know each other and Dean comes to realisation that his attraction to the other man is not something that can be repressed. I liked the format of the book, just as I like any book which takes us on a journey. By necessity both men are within close quarters during the journey and that too allowed me to get to know Rob and Dean better. I liked the way that Dean, at first, is eager to get to Bath, but once he learns of Rob's love of ghost stories is happy to stop here, there and everywhere in search of a good 'ghost sighting' place. Along the way, the reader too gets to find out a bit about the history of various establishments in Worcestershire, the Cotswolds and onto Bath. It was all very interesting and added to the historical accuracy of the book.

In terms of characters, we only really get to know three very well. Dean and Rob, obviously, but there is a sub-plot involving Dean's coachman, Erich, which I enjoyed just as much as the main story. Both Dean and Rob have parts of themselves with which they are unhappy - although in the case of Rob, this is not the fact that he's a whore. I liked how both men were so similar in their journey through life and the point at which this is made known explicitly, was quite a poignant part of the book. Out of the two characters I liked Rob better. He has a determined cheerfulness about him as well as a gentleness and vulnerability which made him appealing. Dean is the third person narrator, and it's possibly this which makes him the less sympathetic character as we see all his disgust and jealousy over Rob's profession. On a number of occasions he is downright insulting to Rob - flinging his profession in his face and calling him names - and I did wonder why Rob put up with that with such equanimity, especially as he is nothing but supportive and caring towards Dean.

Despite Dean's attitude to Rob, the growing feelings that he has for him was handled well. This is no 'straight to gay' story, more a tale of a man who is in desperate denial. It takes the whole journey for Dean to come to the realisation that he is gay and yet he is determined to get married. There is a sense of quiet hopelessness as Dean realises that knowing Rob, knowing what he can never have, will colour the rest of his life and I felt quite sad for Dean and Rob at that point. It was beautifully done.

Other characters do flit in and out of the book as the heroes make their way to Bath. I especially liked the scene in the all male house party hosted by Dean's friends, the time spent with Dean's uncle and also how even the most minor character, such as innkeepers and barmaids were characters in their own right.

Overall, this was an unexpected read. I had thought from the blurb that I would be treated to a rollicking journey in the tradition of a comedy or farce. In fact I got much better than that: A strong character based book following two men who yearn for one another but have many obstacles in the way and a theme involving how your looks or abilities at birth can affect you for the rest of your life. I enjoyed Discreet Young Gentleman very much and would recommend it with a grade of 'Very Good' to those who like Regency historicals or character based romance.

Buy this book HERE.

Review: Broken by Dawn Kimberly Johnson

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I was attracted to this book because one of the heroes, Eli, has a damaged leg and I thought it would be interesting to see how this would be handled. The book is also set in the UK and it's very rare that I can pass up a m/m book with a British setting. In the end I was glad to have taken a chance with this new author because Broken is a terrific book.

The book begins with a section heavy in emotion. Eli dreams of his lover Bennett, awakening to the realisation that, as Bennett was killed nearly two years previously, Eli will never again see his face or hear his voice. Eli has withdrawn from the world, caught up in an unending spiral of grief and self-hatred over the attack which left him seriously injured and his lover dead. This incident is shown to the reader through a graphic flashback quite near the beginning of the book. Eli lives in a shared house with Black American lesbian Ilsa, and two British gay men, Lyle and Tony. His housemates are concerned about him, non more so that Ilsa who arranges for a new man to move into the spare room. This man, Alec, is a fellow American and friend of Ilsa. He is also a psychologist and the author of a book about how to overcome trauma and grief. Ilsa asks Alec to befriend Eli and see whether he can help him move on from the grief and guilt he feels over Bennett. Alec agrees, but finds that, as he begins to fall in love with Eli, he is torn between admitting his feelings or trying to remain just friends.

Those of you who don't really like a lot of angst with their romance may not like this book but I love stories like that so it was ideal for me. There's a lot of emotion simmering on the surface and not just from Eli. Many of the other characters have their own difficulties to face, especially the housemates as they cope with their own grief for Bennett as well as other troubles. Alec also has his own problems too, as he starts his new life in London. Despite this, the book is not depressing because a theme of hope runs through it. Alec brings a change in the household, especially with Eli as his gentle friendship coaxes Eli out of his introspection. As Eli begins to emerge from the grief we see how oppressive those feelings have been for the whole household as they too seek to break free from their roles in the house and start something new. Lyle epitomises this as he initiates change in his life which then impacts on the other housemates. The whole impression is that the household is emerging from under a cloud, just by having someone new in the house, someone who didn't know Bennett or was directly involved in the tragedy. It was subtle, but done very well.

The majority of the story is taken up with Alec and Eli. Alec likes Eli almost from the start and falls quickly in love with him. It's difficult for Alec though as Eli rebuffs his attentions and in a heartbreaking scene tells Alec:

“I’m broken, mate. Not just my body,”— he indicated his leg —“but everything inside me.” He met Alec’s gaze. “I can’t give you anything you need or deserve.”

Fortunately for Eli - and for us - Alec doesn't agree and through gentleness and patience he begins to draw Eli away from the pain and towards a life where he can become whole again. It was beautifully done and even the slight misunderstanding towards the end - which had been signposted clearly almost from the start - didn't spoil my enjoyment of this engaging process. I was wholly immersed in seeing Eli recover and how that recovery affected the other people in his life. Eli's physical injury was handled very well. In one sense it is a constant reminder of the death of Bennett, but also the way that Eli had adapted to his injury, fought and won against permanent disability served as an opposite to his mental state: His body had healed and although not perfect, was as well as it could get; his mind was unable to heal, to move on from the trauma.

There were a couple of little niggles: Firstly Bennett is an absolute paragon. He was handsome, liked by all, loving, caring, stood up for what was right and his death was devastating for everyone who knew him. Now, I know we see Bennett through the eyes of his friends, and that friends have a tendency to forget all the bad stuff when someone they love dies, but it did make Bennett a little unrealistic. The second niggle was to do with the point of view. Mostly the third person pov is with either Alec or Eli, but occasionally it shifted to Ilsa, Lyle or Tony. It wasn't always clear whose point of view we were in when it shifted so I found myself thinking I was in one character's head, but finding after a paragraph or so, that actually I was in the head of a different character. This meant that I had to go back and re-read from the change in viewpoint and it got a bit annoying after a while.

Overall, despite these very minor niggles, this was an excellent book. The characters were well drawn and sympathetic, the situation realistic and the writing flowed gently to a satisfying conclusion. I was so caught up in the lives and interactions of these characters that it wasn't until I got to the end when I realised that there hadn't been a sex scene. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of kissing and touching, but the book ends just as the physical relationship between Alec and Eli is about to begin, and I was quite happy to leave them to that. If you like strong, emotional stories; if you like realistic characterisation with good, but flawed people; if you want to be dragged into a story about recovery and how love and friendship can heal; then this book is for you. I highly recommend Broken with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.

Saturday Shorts

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:10:00 +0000

Two short stories and a novella today.

I Can't Drive 55 by Jade Falconer
After enjoying Cold Hands, Warm... last week I thought I'd read another story by this author and see if I would continue to enjoy her writing. I did. This raunchy tale tells the story of Kyle who has decided to go for a fast drive down a lonely highway at 2am. He's hitting 110mph when he's pulled over by a cop, John. Kyle knows that if he gets a ticket for speeding then he'll lose his license, so he offers up a blow job as a bribe. The BJ goes ahead but both men get more than they bargained for when they discover a chemistry between them. The story wasn't the most original of premises - in fact I've read just such a scenario in another book recently - but it was well executed and both men are likeable and as well rounded as possible for such as short story. The sex was hot but there was also a hint of tenderness in it and a promise of things to come which I liked a great deal. Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Sins of the Father by Anna O'Neill
This historical short set in Japan began very well with a breathless chase through the forest. Two comrades, Sora and Kaname who are Shinobi, or spies for the feudal Lord, are escaping from the nameless enemy, persued by dogs. They decide to hide themselves by posing as lovers having sex in a pool. This works and the enemy passes, only Sora is affected by the sexual exchange and starts to develop feelings for the older man. This was a great start, but unfortunately things went rapidly downhill after that. The writing was good, the historical detail was interesting, but there was too much crammed into this short story. This meant that I found it a little confusing as to what was going on. There were also a few characters who could have been cut from the story altogether. I like the yaoi aspect of the story but again some of the humour found in yaoi, and included in this story, came across as slightly jarring with the overall serious tone of the book. A shame really because the story had great promise. Grade: Good.

Buy this book HERE.

Dangerous Ground 2: Old Poison by Josh Lanyon
I must be the only 'Fanyon' who wasn't that fussed about the prequel to this book: Dangerous Ground. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, thought it was well written and liked the characters of Will and Taylor, but I wasn't too bothered about reading another book about them and it certainly didn't incite the amount of rapture in me that I've seen from other fans. I'd rather have a seen a sequel to Cards on the Table to be honest. Despite this, I picked up this novella and prepared to be entertained, which I was. Old Poison picks up a few weeks after Dangerous Ground. Taylor has recovered from the shooting and is about to go back out onto the field. It's Taylor's birthday and he receives a package which turns out to be a cobra in rice wine. Other strange things happen too which add up to a set of threats on Taylor's life. Will and Taylor work together to try and find out who would want to harm him and why, and along the way have to cope with ex-boyfriends, diva wives of African presidents and working out just how committed the two men are to their new relationship. In some ways this was more Will's story than Taylor's - although they both get plenty of page time, both together and apart. Taylor has jumped into their relationship with both feet and is putting the pressure on Will to join him. Will still has quite a few things he needs to sort through in his head before he can fully commit himself to Taylor and I liked how this is explored within the story. In the previous book, my sympathies were more with Taylor than Will, as he struggled to overcome his injury, but in this book, I felt more sympathy for Will. Taylor has put him in a difficult position and it was interesting to how he reacts to temptation from others, and to pressure from Taylor as well as his thoughts as he thinks carefully about his future with Taylor. Great stuff. The sex scenes were carefully choreographed to show the development in the heroes' feelings for one another and as a result were very moving as well as steamy. Overall, a great read. Grade: Excellent.

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A Nice Cover

Jenre30@gmail.com (Jenre) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:50:00 +0000

I like this cover. Shall I tell you why?

It's because the model's tummy is just slightly rounded. It makes me want to reach out and give it a poke and smooth my hands over it. It will feel warm and just slightly squishy under my hands.

I've never been particularly attracted to washboard abs. They look too hard and rigid, like you might hurt yourself on them.

This tummy looks just right. Not too fat, or too muscled. The sort of tummy that you would probably find on many ordinary men. My only regret is the lack of treasure trail.

What do you think? Do you like this rounded tummy or would you prefer a tummy which has been subjected to a rigorous and sustained amount of sit-ups?