I was really surprised, after reading the previous book and posting about it, to discover that The Katman's Mate was so popular among the M/M romance readers. And no, it was not a surprise due to the fact that the book was not good, as I said in my previous post, despite some typo errors, I really enjoyed that story, but I really thought it was not a story for all. There are some squeack factors that I thought would have taken aback some readers, especially male readers, and instead I have a first hand experience of a male reader who said it loved it... so, maybe, even if I try not to, also I have some preconceived ideas that are wrong.

The Katzman's Mate, and Dream Mate even more, are male pregnancy stories. I couldn't say it clearly in the previous post, since the male pregnancy of the main character was the final surprise of that book, but here instead is the central event and even the starting point: Demyan, mate of the Katzmen ruler, Chellak, is pregnant and he wants a doctor from his own planet. Chellak, who dotes on his mate, sends one of his warrior, Trajan, to fetch a suitable doctor. When Trajan arrives on Elquone and sees for the first time Saris, the chosen doctor, he knows that he has found his mate. Saris was a bruter, a genetically changed man who is able to give birth, but he didn't like the side effect, being a property of the sire of the babies, and chose to be a doctor for them, instead. Even if he doesn't like the idea to be the property of a man, also him recognizes Trajan as his mate, since he is the man he dreams at night.

From this moment on the story follows the usual path: the two fall in love, they have to overcome some perils, in between they have the chance to deepen their relationship, even to "mate" a time or two, and then the happily ever after, with full accessories. Again I think the story is very much as an old classic futuristic romance, when I read story like this one, I always think to Johanna Lindsey and her Warrior's Woman, and it's a compliment I'm paying to the books, I loved that old savage futuristic romance.

What struck me is that a story like this one could be of appeal for a man. All right, I can understand the appealing for a woman, seeing a man going through the labor (pun intended) of a pregnancy is like a little vengeance; no, I don't think it's much the idea to "womanize" the man, it's more a thing of "see what it means?". But for a man? maybe the appeal is the idea that, even if in a fictional way, the men are now independent from women, even for that "little" particular that is pregnancy (again reverse pun intended).

What probably it's less "squick" here than in the previous story, is that Saris is a little less feminine; not in body, he is, like Demyan, lithe, small and beautiful, almost cute like Trajan thinks, but at least in behavior he is stronger; he is also more independent than Demyan, he has a strong core that let me think that he would be able to take care of himself even alone, something that I didn't feel for Demyan.

Anyway, again, the story was surprisingly easy to read, and this comes from someone like me that usually is not very fond of Futuristic/Fantasy setting. Truth be told, I was expecting a sequel to the previous book with the two main characters of before as central characters here, and instead this second book is focused on another couple... nevermind, we have still the chance to see what happened to Demyan and Chellak, and from the plan of this story, I think that the author is not yet finished, there are at least 2 other men that could probably be future main characters in other sequels.

http://www.bookstrand.com/product-dreammate-15000-192.html

Series:
1) The Katzman's Mate: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/776839.html
2) Dream Mate

The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/850354.html

This short story is a big teaser, and I'm not sure I'm using the word in a positive meaning :-) Joke aside, I like it but after having just finished one of the nicer sex scene I read lately, I'm here eager to read more and the short story is ended, just like that, in a blink of an eye. (big pout).

First teasing: the cover. Have you seen that? well obviously you have, I'm posting it very big so you can see it. The cover is actually a big teasing even if it's not fully respectful of the main character, Ankerite is more a lost puppy than a dangerous killer like he appears in the cover. Nevertheless the cover served its scope, since it teased me into getting this short story, even if I usually don't read the shorts by this publisher.

Second teasing: the story. Yes, I know, many of you are skittish when dealing with human and "animal", and thinking at a boy/man who is not fully man and not fully wolf, a guy with eyes, ears and tail like a wolf and all the rest like a man, makes you cringe. Me? it makes me interested. What can I say, I find it cute. Even more when the guy not only has "external" evidences of his nature, but also some inner "urges", like the need to mating, and get all excited around his mate, Linden. And Linden is more a big mutt than a dangerous wolf... right, he can be dangerous if he wants, and he is an Alpha for his pack, but with Anke he is more a both lover than "brother", he represents all the family the boy lost and now he desperately needs.

Third and last teasing... big one this one: the end. Actually also the beginning and all in between. The reader is plunged in the middle of a story, there was something else before, and it seems really interesting, Anke's original family. They need to be wealthy, they hired a bodyguard for their "freak" son, and this bodyguard was a nice man. What happened? where is that nice man? Why Anke felt the need to leave his family when he was only 16 years old? And then what happened before?

On Linden's side: what is his story? Who is Darren? and Cole and Ron? what is his life before that made him such a nice, but strong man? And now that he has found his mate, what will happen to them? This story is just too short to fully satisfy me, I see a lot of potential in this setting, I really hope this is only an excerpt of something longer, just a taste to tease the reader to come back for more. To me, it worked perfectly.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=55_77&products_id=1477

The Rainbow Awards: Phase 2: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/823682.html


Cover Art by Evelsys

The first story in the Screen Shots series was nice, kinda sweet if you consider the setting, a porn movie company that sells online video. The basic concept is that 20SomethingTwinks is a family company, the two owner, Katherine and Thom are more interesting in having a friendly and comfortable working environment than doing money, and they want for their boys to be pretty sure of the step they are taking... quite an utopia, but it's nice to dream that it exists. And then there are the boys, all young men, most of them just out of college, till now all of them in needing of an easy and fast way to raise the money they need to survive out alone in the big bad world. This is probably the only real thing that makes an appearance in this novella series, these boys are doing that since they need money, they are lucky enough to like what they have to do, and that they are doing it in a nice environment. Plus all the boys share a friends with benefits bond, in and out the set, but some of them have a special bond, a bond that follows them at home.

This time is the time of Brandon, a newbie of the porn movie industry, but really a newbie at everything, even if it's not clearly said, I think he is a virgin. But Brandon has fantasies, pretty hot fantasies, and he is also in dear need of money. So the chance to see his fantasies come true, and plus being paid during that, it's too much to refuse. Like a sacrificial lamb, the first day at work, Brandon is spotted by Gabriel and Dylan, a perfect duo on the set and a real life couple outside of it. The duo is famous for being very intensive alone, and together they are something no one has ever tried. But they want Brandon, at least for his first time, and they don't want to wait for Brandon to go all over the usual step. In a normal context, Gabriel and Dylan would have been the last step, and maybe something no one will ever reach, for Brandon they will be the training ship. Problem is, starting with something so intensive can ruin a man for life.

It's all about sex, pretty good and hard sex, at least in this second novella. But it's not only about that. Willa Okati with this series built a special world, a world where something that usually is paired with dirty and obscure, here becomes a game in the sunlight, a funny and good game, a game where everyone is a winner. A game so good that people playing it are still willing to continue, even out of the set. It's like a community, you can be friends or lovers, but both bonds are important.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1206

Series: Screen Shots
1) Seduced: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/751693.html
2) Smolder

The Rainbow Awards: First Week results: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/811346.html

T.A. Chase hits a sure point with this novel with me, since the show business theme is one of my favorite, probably due to the fact that I love to see an happily ever after where usually I don't find them, and since I know that, despite some good changings happening in the movie industry, it's still not easy to be out and proud, and the stars who decide to be have not easy life.

So basically this is a cinderfella type of story, with the big Hollywood star, Ryan, who falls in love for the poor bartender, Josh, who has to work three jobs and has no time to be starstruck by the pretty actor. And here is maybe the most original point of the novel, T.A. Chase turns the table, and the cinderfella became the knight in shining armor, or better the big bear who will take good care of his lover. Josh can be the one with the less lucrative job, but he is not for sure the on a lower level than Ryan, on the contrary what draws Ryan to him is the feeling of being safe and sheltered in Josh's arm. This is a common point that I have already found in T.A. Chase's story: he is a favorite of mine since he often has characters living in the glittering world of the show business, or at least in an "in the spotlight" position, but those men are not unreachable or aloof, they are most of the time the boy next door who finds himself living in something bigger than him, and who still needs the comfort embrace of a lover. I like the mix of cuteness and coquetteness that is Ryan, and how he is ready to loosen up in the arms of the right lover.

Not only in this case Ryan needs the safe shelter of his lover's arms, he is also a submissive for nature, and he wouldn't have been happy with a lover who looked upon to him like the leader in the relationship. Being Josh a self-assured man, he is perfect for Ryan: the inner strength of Josh well balances the difference in social status of the two men, and then, the difference is still fresh, since it's not long ago that Ryan was still a struggling actor came to Hollywood from a little province town. Again this is another common element in T.A. Chase's stories, the origins of his characters are simple and down to earth, and they have solid basis that allow them to remain with the head on their shoulders and not being corrupted by the big bad world. There is always an homey feeling in those books, even if we are dealing with movie stars or professional sports players.

As I said, what probably I like most is that the story is a good and strong romance which leads steadily and fast towards a romantic happily ever after; the two heroes have to face some pretty bad moments, but they are never so bad to distract the reader from what is the main event, the love story. There was never one doubt that in a way or the other, the two men would have found a way to be together, and what started like a one single night of hot sex has good basis to become a last long relationship. Probably yes, what bonds Ryan and Josh in a good and strong knot is their perfect agreement in bed, and the fact to be the top in bed allows Josh to not feel like an addendum to Ryan; never once I felt him doubt his position (pun very much intended) with Ryan, if there were trouble for them, it was not due to their personal and sexual relationship, and the reader has plenty of proves in the good and numerous sex scenes, that, as usual, are detailed without being an exercise in style. Those are sex scenes you can read and enjoy without having to hurry up to seeing what happens next.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/tabloid-star

Amazon Kindle: Tabloid Star

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain

ETA: I read on T.A. Chase's blog that Josh's character was inspired by Ari Levanael. Ari was one of my first Man Candy, you can find his post here:

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/373957.html

I was pleasantly surprised by the first book in the Coyotes of Yellowstone series, and the second book it's up to the previous if not better. What I liked in Coyote Non Grata was the idea that coyotes shifters were mostly more animal then men, and even when they shift in human form they still hold most of their animal nature.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the clothes when shapeshifters change? I read various thesis, one even, if I remember well, was that the animal brought along with him a backpack where he stuffed the clothes and then trotted away with the backpack clutched in his snout. For her coyotes Lena Austin chooses the full "natural" way: they are naked before and after the shifting and they remain naked, at least since someone decides to borrow them a piece of clothes, maybe regretting to cover that fine body. So yes, the feral nature of these shifters, proved both by the "naked" thing, but also by their unfamiliarity with human language, is something that I liked in the first book and that I find again in this one. What probably is new, and made this second book even more interesting, is a undertone funny mood; I can't say more, to not spoil the book, but even the chosen pair is in a way, a bad but funny joke.

Will is a injured coyote; alone or with the little help from his fellow coyote, he can't heal, and so he chooses to die alone and far from the pack. During his search for the perfect spot to die, he stumbles upon Lee's cottage in the wilderness of the Yellowstone park. Lee's grandparents raised goats, but now the farm is empty and the barn is the perfect place for Will. Only that Lee is not ready to see a now human Will dying, and with the simple aid of few drugs, he saves the man to find himself a very eager lover.

Lee explains to himself Will's strange behavior with the "feral" people theory: legends say that some men chose to live in the wilderness and they lost contact with other humans. So Lee is not particularly scared by Will, and instead, being Lee lonely and gay, and not shy when dealing with sex, he is more than happy to satisfy some of the primal urges of Will.

The sex is good but it's not that makes interesting the book. I can't really say more, but I was almost laughing to tear with the scene when Will discovers Lee's true nature. And also what happens next, with Lee's quiet acceptance of that, and the family routine they build together... well, someone could have some "squeaky" feelings, but I found it tender and sweet, with again, a lingering taste of humor. True, Will doesn't come out like a very civilized man, but no one has never said otherwise: Will is more coyote than man, and I believe that he is more comfortable in his coyote form. And then, if you remember "Will E. Coyote", he was full of resources, but not particularly clever ;-)

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1210

Series: Coyotes of Yellowstone
1) Coyote Non Grata: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/602431.html
2) Wild Thing

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

I bought this book since I read in another post by a friend of mine of a particularly development of the story that I was really interested in seeing, but since I'm mean, and since finding out that development is part of the surprise of the book, I will not say what it was ;-) Yes, yes, I know that I had an advantage on you, but still I'm incorruptible.

Apart from that first element, the Katzman's Mate has many traits that usually I like in a futuristic gay romance: first of all the "furry" nature of one of the main characters, even more when it's the top of the situation. Truth be told, Chellak, the katzman, has less "fur" than usual, and he has not a tail, only pointed ears and a bit of more hair on his body than a human. And a cat like nose. And long and thick hair like the mane of a lion... said like that he seems not so handsome, but he purrs, so I can accept that.

Chellak is the commander of a small pride who comes back to his home planet to get rid of the usurper who killed his father more or less thirty years before. Having Chellak a bit of feline nature in him, he is all in all the classical "feline" man of a paranormal romance, all instinct and "you are my mate" attitude: when a Alpha Male katzman finds his mate, he gets in a frenzy mating and he has only one thought in mind... well, to be true, not so different from any other male, feline or not. Anyway Chellak finds his mate in Demyan, a small man from an exotic planet who was a slave of the usurper: Demyan is a beautiful little thing and the villain used him as carrot to his stubborn son; if the "Boy" behaved in a good way, he was allowed to play with his "toy", Demyan, otherwise the toy was put in a cage. From that experience Demyan comes out a bit traumatized and also mute, due to an harsh punishment he suffered to have refused unwelcoming sexual advance from his captor.

This is not exactly a yaoi novel, it lacks of some of the main characterizations (big blurry eyes, blushing virgin and so on), but many of the elements that draw female reader to gay romance are there: the Top and Bottom pair, with clear and precise play roles without shifting; the chick with dick bottom, a boy who behaves mostly like a girl, when girl where demure and shy; the exclusive and strictly monogamous couple. In the end the big "why" I was attracting to this book at first, the one I can't say, but that I know it's a big NO for some gay romance readers (especially the "purist"), but that has some fans among other. If I'm to be sincere, I like all of above, true, not always and not in all my books, but sometime I like it; I'm all for a big bad Alpha Male who can pur, and I like Demyan's character, a mix of innocent and teaser, sometime you wonder if he is dumb, but then you realize he is really only very young and not used to deal with strangers.

So yes, I liked it, and please don't take my following comment like a reason to not read it; I feel to write it only as an advice to the author and the editor: being me not English mother tongue, it's hard for me to notice typos, but I found some, one even in the second sentence of the book, first page. They are quite simple mistakes, I believe most due, maybe, to an automatic proof reader that perhaps changed a word in the wrong way. Most of them probably you can find and correct with a second pass from a skilled reader. Since, as I said and want to remark, the story is good and the characters also, I think it's a shame that a reader is distracted by those typos.

http://www.bookstrand.com/product-thekatzmansmate-13853-252.html

Amazon: The Katzman's Mate (Siren Publishing)

Amazon Kindle: The Katzman's Mate (Siren Publishing)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

This is only a short story, less than 20 pages, but it surprised me with the ability to have an unexpected but well developed turn right in the middle.

At the beginning of the story Erik is a leopard shifter who decided to live alone in a property in the wood since he was tired to mourn the lack of a mate. Erik is gay and he loves his pack, he loves his enlarged family made of his brothers, sisters and nephews, but he was tired to be "pointed out" how the unmated leopard. There were no other gay leopard in the pack and in the end Erik chose to stay alone.

Then one night he sees a man swimming in the lake near his home. Erik smells another shifter leopard and decides to make friends; the other man, Brandon, is younger and apparently skittish, but when Erik lets the guard down, Brandon unveils a stronger core and a very alpha attitude. It is not a chance encounter, and Brandon has his own plan on Erick.

The sudden change in Brandon's behavior is reflected in Erik; Erik is older and a strong leopard, but he is a beta, he needs the lead of an alpha man, and living along, he misses that leader. Apparently Brandon is not the right man, he is too young and not enough forceful, but Brandon is playing a role, like a nymph in the wood who is enthralling a passerby with his singing and the otherworldly beauty of his body.

Then the story moves on to an very hot sexual encounter that seal their budding relationship, and from the encounter you can already see how that relationship will be and who will play the top. In the end, a real "bravo" to the author to pack all of that in only 20 pages.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Embracing+the+Leopard/exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Embracing The Leopard

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

HellBourne series is not exactly a romance but more a discovery journey. It's the story of Lucifer "Luc" Hellbourne, half-fae half-devil, who is trying to find his place in the human and otherworldly world. After 20 years spent as Alpha male's lover of a werewolf pack, Luc is on the loose; his werewolf lover dumped him to marry a woman and have kids, a thing that even Luc, with all his special power, can't have. Wandering alone after so many years living in a pack is disconcerning and when Luc sees a night club called the River Styx, he feels a bit at home, and enters the club and a new stage in his life.

Obviously the Master Vampire of the club, Nikko, is all of the idea to make Luc his own personal thrall, and Luc, at first, is not against the idea: Nikko is a very good piece of a man, not exactly the emaciated vampire of legends. He is a stud, and Luc is not against the idea to have a rebound lover like him. Nikko is thinking to have found his personal pet, and in his magnanimity, to give protection to Luc, but he doesn't know that Luc has no need of his protection, Luc stays and goes when he wants and how he likes.

At the same moment Luc is in a three-way: his former lover Bran wants him back, his actual lover Nikko doesn't want to let him go and there is a new young vampire with the face of an angel, Jerrod, who needs his help, and how can a demon not being drawn by an angel?

Hellbourne is a continuing series, I have the feeling that also the following novella in the series will be centered around Luc and his search for a new home, and probably his real mate. The quality of the story is way better than the first attempts by this same author, she always plays with stereotype (the Alpha Male werewolf, the Master Vampire), but this time they are all elements mixed in a slightly more original way. Not that the previous short stories weren't good, but I feel like this new novella being more mature and complete.

http://www.literaryroad.com/product.php?ISBN_num=609

Amazon Kindle: Hellbourne: Lost & Found

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Amber Kell continues in her paranormal series this time exploring another classical hero of the genre, the vampire lover.

Calvin is a young carpenter who is working for Anthony, the architecture who is building a paranormal posh hotel. Anthony's consultant for all it's vampire is Alesandro, a fashionable and very handsome vampire, who since the first moment is attracted by Calvin. But Calvin has two reasons to avoid Alesandro's attention, one he doesn't see what a gorgeous vampire like Alesandro could see in a simple man like Calvin, and two, he has an hidden plan to kidnap Anthony. Calvin's sister was taken in captivity by a stranger and the price for her freedom is Anthony.

In comparison to the other two books in the series, Courting Calvin is a little less sexy and a bit more simple. I think it's almost a passing book, a little step more in the series; Calvin and Alesandro are side characters in the series, friends of friends, and so it's their story, almost a side story in the main series.

As always I think it has potential, but in this case the potential is more linked to the whole series than in this single story that nevertheless it's necessary you read if you want to follow the series. And finally I have a little doubt: in book two the author says that Anthony's grandfather is Zeus; in this book Anthony's grandfather is Odin... they are two different grandfathers, one by his mother side and one by his father side, or the author gets a bit confused? Probably I have to read the following books in the series to have an answer.

http://www.literaryroad.com/product.php?ISBN_num=142

Amazon Kindle: Courting Calvin

Series: Moon Pack
1) Attracting Anthony: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/558545.html
2) Baiting Ben: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/640308.html
3) Courting Calvin

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

In a way a paranormal romance like this one brings on an issue that is quite common in every day life: is it possible to have a long distance relationship? Especially when the relationship is at the beginning and the bonds are not yet tight enough and there is more unbridled passion than deep love?

There is no doubt that sex between Adair and Lachlan is good and both of them know that they have something special, but they hardly meet once a month, and this is a bad period for Adair to be left alone, his werewolf nature asks him to mate and Lachlan is not beside him to satisfy that urge. When the book starts, Adair and Lachlan just parted way, Lachlan to a mission with an unwelcomed partner, a psychic, Keith, and Adair in the heat of the mating season, with Cedric, his former lover and sire, that comes back in his life in the worst moment.

Both men will be tempted, Lachlan while dreaming of Adair and having Keith intruding in his mind, as if he is seeing a free porn, and Adair who, despite his hatred for Cedric, can't prevent his nature to desire him, the man who made him the wolf he is now. The tension mounts, and it's interesting that almost all the sex scenes, hot and often, are in the minds of both lovers, reminiscing their past encounters; and it's interesting to guess who will surrender to temptation, the man-man Lachlan, apparently the weaker of the two, or the man-wolf Adair, strong and all alpha male? Who will be the cheater, the who usually is the weaker breed, or the wolf, who is notorious to be a very possessive and one-mate mind breed?

Dance Wars 3 confirms the trend of the two previous books, very pushed on the erotic side of the story, these men tend to think more with their bodies than with their minds, and this sometime drives them to do some big mistakes, but in the end love is the strongest force, and it allows men to forgive, if not to forget.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1120

Series: Dance Wars
1) Left Side of the Moon: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/464190.html
2) Ruled by You: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/512919.html
3) Bad Moon Rising

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Baiting Ben is another short story in the Moon Pack series with potential. Amber Kell is playing with the stereotype of the paranormal genre, in particular the shapeshifter subgenre, re-adapting all of them in a gay point of view. This time is the turn of the menages between two strong alpha males who compete for the attention of a cute pretty thing. And since this is a gay romance, the cute pretty thing is an half human half werewolf redhead twink. Ben was part of an Alaskan pack, and he always thought that his mate would have been Dillon; but when his 25 birthday comes and goes without Dillon claiming him, Ben decides to leave the pack and find his mate in the big bad world. The quest is not so long, and the first time he enters the Moon pack nightclub, Thomas smells him and claims him as his mate.

Thomas is big and bad, but he is not an Alpha male; he has not the attitude of one, and it's quite clear that the one in command in their relationship will be Ben, the classic top from the bottom. The first days are perfect but then Dillon arrives pretending that Ben is his true mate... apparently Ben is part of a tri-mate bond, and Dillon and Thomas have to learn to deal with it: Ben can't choose between them, he is the pivot, and even if Thomas and Dillon don't feel attraction one for the other, they can't deny that both of them are handsome men, and it would be not an hard task to share Ben. And when Ben decides to play director for his personal porn movie, Thomas and Dillon play the role of the main characters for their little man.

This shapeshifter series by Amber Kell is not bad. Sometime play according the rule, the romance rule, allows you to write something nice and enjoyable, even if maybe not so original (but sometime when you try to be a forced original, you risk to be ridiculous or annoying); there is only one little thing that I found distracting, something I have found also in the previous book in the same series, there are here and there little typos, something a mistake in the name of the characters... nothing important, and probably with a second editing all of them would have been detected.

http://www.literaryroad.com/product.php?ISBN_num=140

Amazon Kindle: Baiting Ben

Series: Moon Pack
1) Attracting Anthony: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/558545.html
2) Baiting Ben

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

“Kingsley and I Together”, like its predecessor, is not just another m/m erotic romance. “Kingsley and I” was a first point of view so centred around the main voice that the reader had very few change to realize that there was a world outside. The reader was so sucked inside "I"'s body that sometime I felt like captive of him, I was feeling what he was feeling in good and bad: "I" was feeling like his body betrayed him, his body craved Kingsley almost without "I"'s permission, and so was me, that was feeling "I"'s uneasiness. The fact that "I" remains without name is also a right choice since we don't think to ourselves with a name, and since reading the book we are "I", it's not necessary to have a name.

For almost all the first book, Kingsley and I remain inside their personal world, without interaction with the outside world, and so we have very few hint of their "public" life; but at the end of the book, they spent a weekend in a B&B along the coast, and they "tested" their relationship... now they need to decide if it's time to commit or to end things. Obviously since there is a second book, and it's called "Together", the decision is to give a chance to their relationship.

From the first book, the reader could have the idea that "I" was entirely dominated by Kingsley, he changed his life according to Kingsley's desires and needs, he becomes the "recipient" (more than the receptive partner) of Kingsley's love and lovemaking, and he considers himself the "female" of their relationship.

Kingsley is gay, yes, but his partner, "I," still considers himself not "gay," and although he is willing to accept the idea of bisexually, truth be told he thinks of himself more like a straight man who happens to love another man...but only Kingsley. "I" has not desire for other men than him. Recalling his past relationship with women, "I" remembers that he was always shy and that he never ignited the relationships or the sexual encounters, even if he appreciated the women and was flattered from their appreciation... and here we start to understand better "I". He considers himself shy, but in front of a mirror, he is the epitome of an hedonist, he likes his body, he likes to take care of his body, and he loves offering his beautiful body to Kingsley... this is not the behaviour of a shy person! We also have another detail on "I" that allow the reader to know him better: he is a professional dancer, and so it's obvious that he likes his body and he loves to groom himself, his body is at the same time his business card and his work tool. So, is "I" really shy or an hedonist in disguise?

And what about Kingsley? What we at first believe was Kinsley's overwhelming persona, that almost crushed "I"'s fragile ego, is not instead a form of worship? Is he, as he at first seems, the master of their relationship or is he actually more like the priest to "I," the God of Love? When "I" so carefully prepares his body for the upcoming sex with his lover, he is so meticulous that all the scene is almost clinical, "I" has total power on his body, but then, when Kingsley arrives, he seems to suddenly loosing that control, he is swept away by Kingsley's forceful behaviour. But at the same time also Kingsley seems to be unable to control himself: Kingsley, "the King," and "I" together are swept up in a greater force that drives them both relentlessly on.

Reading this second book I really changed my idea of “I”, I no more see him like an unsecure man who needs the steady figure of Kingsley beside him to be happy; “I" is a Bermuda Triangle, safe and innocent alone, but deadly when near, and Kingsley and the reader with him, must struggle not to drown in the deep sea that is "I". The more I read, the more I realized that, whether enthralling or dangerous, one cannot remain indifferent to the power of "I" and their growing relationship. I look forward expectantly to the next in the series.

http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?book=KINGS002

Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks

Amazon: Kingsley & I: Together

Amazon Kindle: Kingsley & I Together

Series:
1) Kingsley & I: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/295791.html
2) Kingsley & I: Together

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

First of all, sorry if I seem shallow, but have you seen that cover? This is the classical example of a very simple cover that catch my eyes. It's nothing of exceptional, probably it's a stock photo, but guys, I like it! It's perfect for the story and it's very nice.

And now let's talk about this novella. Rody is a coyote shifter who is kicked out his pack for a very stupid reason... actually at first, the fact that he is gay, and the only gay inside the pack, is not part of that reason: the pack in which Rody lives is not a mature and progressive pack, like some unbelievable packs of other paranormal romances. The members of the pack live almost all the time in shifted form, and rarely they shift in their human form; when they do that, they are naked both literally than figuratively: they are not used to the human lifestyle, they even have problem to communicate.

So when Rody is kicked out, he directs toward a "human" cabin, knowing that there he will find easy food, since he is wounded and unable to hunt. Rody behaves mostly as a stray dog, stealing food trying to not be catch by the owner of the cabin, but Jeff is too clever to be fooled. A Native American of Comanche heritage, Jeff is aware of the existence of the shifter people, even if he believed they were extinct; so when he finds Rody, he knows who he has in front of him, and it's not "only" a scared coyote.

The relationship between Rody and Jeff start till the beginning respecting some basic rules: Rody is not a leader, he is a beta male who is not used and able to live alone, he needs an alpha male; Jeff is not used to the pack rules, but he has enough character to be that alpha male for Rody. Both Rody than Jeff are gay, so there is no much question on how their relationship will evolve, and truth be told, being both gay it's not even the main reason for that development: Rody is a pack animal, even in human form, and when he finds a man that he can consider a leader, for him it's natural to let the leader have all of him. Their relationship is based more on instinct than feeling.

This is only a novella, and I believe that, if it will have a good welcome from readers, the author is thinking to write more. I would be not against the idea to read more, Rody's character is exactly in the middle between a coyote and a human, and I wouldn't mind to read how his relationship with Jeff will evolve, if he will lean more on his human side, or if he will remain a being in the middle.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

The Midnight Howl by Kate Steele

A very tender paranormal story about gay werewolves. Even if this is not exactly correct. Cause our werewolf, Crewe, is not gay, but he find that is mate was an him and not an her. And the animal instinct can't be deny. So he is very willing to claim his mate... but he is 18 years old and his mate 15 years old... so, maybe, he though that was better to wait some years

Years later, when he is 28 years old, Crewe thinks that is finally the time and, with the approval of his alpha, he goes out on the prowl to claim his mate, Ethan. Crewe is the typical jock, a very hunk man. Ethan instead is a nerd, a librarian... Could the two find a common way? Of course, yes, in bed they are all compatible!

I like this story, Crewe is a classical alpha male, very protective with Ethan; and Ethan is like a pretty baby, all new to the love experience (very very new, he is a total virgin!)... sometimes is good to read a story fresh like water.

A very enjoyble reading, but I think Kate Steele has in mind other stories and maybe a sequel, cause the story between Crewe and Ethan closes with an open point, and we read of other characters, like Chad, Duncan, Nick and Lucas, that maybe will have a story of their own.

Who Let the Wolf Out (Hoosier Werewolf 2) by Kate Steele

A short novel (only 70 pages) that will leave you with the desire to read more.

This the second enstallment in the Hoosier Werewolf series and tells the stories of the three Parks brothers, human, and of their werewolves mates.

In the first enstallment Ethan was mated with Crewe and at the end of the book, the second brother, Duncan, meets a friend of Crewe, Chad.

Duncan is a college student outspoken and friendly. But he has a boyfriend with a secret: he is a drug dealer, and to divert the police from him, leaves drugs in Duncan's apartment. Ducan is arrested and Chad, a lawyer, helps him to go out of jail. But from that moment on, Chad will never let go Duncan no matter how much it costs: Duncan is his mate, and he wants to stake his claim. Chad is so controlled in his everyday life than wild in bed: and Duncan is willing to sate his mate.

At the end of this book, the third brother, Nick, meets his mate, the alpha of the pack, Lucas. Can't wait to read their story.

Things That Go Grr (Hoosier Werewolf 3) by Kate Steele

The third and final enstallment in the Hoosier Werewolf series features Nick Parks, the older of the Parks brothers, meeting his mate, Lucas Deveraux, the alpha male of the pack.

Nick and Lucas are very similar, both are leader of their pack, even if the pack of Nick is his family, his brothers Dustin and Ethan, instead Luc is a real werewolves pack's leader. But both want someone as a mate who can understand the weight to be a leader, and someone who can, during their private moments, be both supportive than comprehensive, but at the same time not submissive. To be on top or at the bottom is not only a question of sex, is also a question of trust: Nick and Luc must learn that.

A very enjoyable fast reading, a good conclusion to a light and funny series.

All three books are now re-released as a collection and you can get three at the price of one ;-)

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Jory is the youngest son of the king of a futuristic planet. Being the youngest and gay, he should be not an obstacle to his siblings' ambitions to the throne, but Jory is well-liked by the people and by his father. And so the king decides to send his son in a "mate-searching" mission: he will travel from planet to planet till he will not find the right man for him, a man wealthy and power enough to protect Jory. Problem is that Jory is not exactly the man who likes to be dominated.

Anyway he agrees to his father's plan since the first planet he will visit will be Dragait, the native earth of shape-shifter dragonman, men well known to be real Alpha males, and Jory likes that type of men. Being pretty and cute, as soon as he dismounts on the new planet, he meets Val, a wealthy duke, who is probably his mate. Val doesn't waste time to mate with Jory, but the mating rules expect that Jory has to mate with another dragonman, and the God of Mating will allow the tattoo of the real mate to appear on Jory's body. And so, even if with regret, Val allows Jory to go out and find another man.

The second time, Jory does even better and attracts no less than the king of the planet. Rai is even more possessive than Val, and has no doubt that it will be his mark to appear on Jory. Both Val than Rai are Alpha male, but Val is the silent type, and instead Rai is the growling version. While reading the book, I was really perplexed since I really wasn't able to choice between Rai and Val, both of them were appealing and I liked both of them. The problem was that, even if the men were both attracted by Jory, it seemed impossible to have a bond between them, and so a menages seemed not proposable. And so I liked even better the solution with which the author came out.

The story is not very long, a novella, and it has still some minot fault, probably due to the fact that the author is young, but still, I found that between this one and the other I read, Amber Kell is a nice new voice in the M/M romance overview. It's obvious that she is also a voracious reader of gay romance, since she respects all the main rules of a gay romance written by a woman for women, and her characters are cute or strong, or both. The Dragonmen series is a good mix of paranormal and futuristic (back to the future subgenre), that winks to similar books in the genre, first of all the Sci-Fic Regency series by J.L. Langley, and so if you liked that one, you could try this one.

http://www.literaryroad.com/product.php?ISBN_num=621

Amazon Kindle: Dragonmen Book 1: Mate Hunt

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

All right, first of all, this is a new author and a new publisher for me, so my feelings on this short story have to take it in account: I believe this is quite an "experiment" for the publisher, like for me it was to buy these book. Of the author, I have the idea that she probably comes from a paranormal romance reader and so has pretty clear in mind the romance rule of the Alpha male paired with an apparently weaker mate.

Anthony is a young witch that is mourning his lost lover; after three years his best friend pushes him in the dating pool and the very first night he is spotted by Silver Moon (mmm, don't know if I like very much the name for this hero, it sounds a bit too much gentle to me). Silver is a strong Alpha werewolf who happens to be the owner of a nightclub for paranormal people. He is not searching a mate since he knows that, when his mate will be around, he will smell him. And when he catches the scent of Anthony, there is no doubt for him that he has found his mate. Anthony has casted a spell on himself to dull his looks, he said to not overshadow his friend, who is also searching for a mate, but I believe the real reason is that he didn't want to be at the center of attention. But the spell did nothing for Silver, since he is not interested in how Anthony looks, but only in his wonderful scent.

Anthony at first plays the role of the blushing virgin (even if he is not virgin at all) and then that of a teaser, but for it's only a game, since it's obvious that he likes Silver and he likes also that Silver is a man of power; Anthony is drawn to Silver both for sex but also for his need to be dominated. And he likes to top from the bottom, and Silver is alpha enough to let him play.

There is a lot of "baby, I'm your man and you know it" philosophy in this short story; for sure it's a litght and funny romp, without much aspiration to be more. There are some point that I would like to see developed, as for example Anthony's family and their pursuing of finding the right mate for their son... what will they think of Silver? But this is a short story and a first in a series, so maybe I will discover something more in the following books.

http://www.literaryroad.com/product.php?ISBN_num=138

Amazon Kindle: Attracting Anthony

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Blaise Risner, the captain of a small cargo ship, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Confederation Army is dealing with some nasty attack to their ship and space colony, and they blame the pirates, and so the attention is very high. In normal time, probably Blaise would skip the control, but now he is arrested for smuggling, piracy and other minor violation. Since he can't avoid to admit the smuggling crime, he tries to negotiate for the other two accusation and Admiral Peter Keller is willing to listen to him. Peter is not new to similar arrangements with his prisoners: a sentence to hard labor commuted to service him as personal assistant... very personal assistant. More the prisoners are stubborn, and more Peter likes to bend them (pun intended).

If you stick to the romance rules, what Peter does to Blaise could easily be classified as non consensual sex, since Blaise at first claims that, if he had a choice, he would have never submitted to Peter. But truth be told, he doesn't protest so much, and for what I can understand, he enjoyed every single encounter with Peter, even the first one. What I like of the story is that the sexual relationship evolves with them: at first it's obviously only sex, Peter has not a personal interest in Blaise if not since the man is an interesting sex partner that gives him a lot of satisfaction. But more they are together and more their relationship deepens, but always remaining primarily a sexual one: there is not many chances for Blaise or Peter to know each other other than in a sexual way, they don't speak a lot; who they are and what they like is all communicated through sex.

Peter is obviously the domineering character, even if he is not the stronger in a physical way, actually I have the feeling, even if I'm not sure, that he is even leaner and smaller than Blaise. But he has for sure the attitude of a leader and he is used to the command; he lives his personal life as he lead his spaceship: no one questions his orders. Problem is that, on the other side, Blaise instead has the classical behavior of a rebel, he is not used to be ordered around, but he will find out that, in some cases, he likes it. It's not clear if Blaise, before Peter, have already realized that he has a submissive nature in bed, but he will discover it with Peter. There is not doubt that in bed this two work in a very good way, all the trouble arrives when they are out of the bedroom. They are both very stubborn, and they don't know how to communicate; they arrive to hasty conclusion even before having taken the time to analyze all the possible side of a problem.

The book is quite long and it's a very classic futuristic novel, even if the reader has not many chances to see the two heroes among other people or outside the bedroom, but in the few cases when it happened, the setting is light and enjoyable, there is not the usual heavy use of detailed description to force the reader to understand a different and fictional world.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/currenttitles/hotcargo/hotcargobuynow.htm

Amazon Kindle: Hot Cargo

Amazon: Hot Cargo

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

There is a clear tribute in this series that I almost missed in the previous book, this is very much a Romeo and Juliet's type of story, but not the classical drama play, more the West Side Story Broadway's version: do you remember yes that one of our hero, the thug and werewolf Adair is also a dance warrior? He challenges the other posse in dance fights on a stage, and he is pretty good at it. But as side work he and his crew are also predatories, almost like the eighteen century highwaymen, they hunt the motorbike Pony Express who pass from their territory.

In the previous book Lachlan was one of those biker, and he was not so good to avoid Adair and his men... on the contrary he fell full in their trap and he was almost raped by Adair; what Adair was not expecting was that Lachlan liked very much Adair, and even more his forceful behavior, and like an addicted with drugs, he came over and over begging for more (even if Lachlan will never admit the begging part).

Now Lachlan and Adair are almost a "steady" couple, Lachlan passing by from Adair's warrior zone every full moon during the two days Adair spends alone in the wood due to his little "problem" of his shapeshifting nature. Lachlan is more than willing to be Adair's outlet, even if it means starting to neglect his works and his safety.

Again the story is mostly a never ending sex scene, with Lachlan that, willing or not, entices Adair to let it go every safety as long as he has the chance to be one more time with his biker. There is not much setting to analyze, nor supporting characters worth to be mentioned, the lion share is all of Lachlan, neither Adair can overshadow him. Lachlan is all in all a top from the bottom hero, he knows how to use his weapons with Adair, and he has no need to use anything else than his body, the most powerful of all weapons with Adair. The problem is that Lachlan is also quite reckless, and he doesn't see when he pushes too far; not with Adair, for how much Adair is a big and bad wolf, never once I had the feel that he could hurt Lachlan, but the world outside is not the same as him. I have the feeling that the once to be ruled (as it says the title) is Adair, ruled by Lachlan.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA
 
Series: Dance Wars
1) Left Side of the Moon: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/464190.html
2) Ruled by You

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Usually I don't like to give up a story, but in this case I'm allowed... First time I heard of latino man Antonio and his blind lover Gabriel was perhaps two years ago. I read a short story by Laura Baumbach, South of Border, no more than a scene in an hot tube, but really hot (as most of Laura Baumbach's books). I don't know, probably it's a fetish, but I always am fascinated by love stories involving a blind partner... there must be a lot of trust on one side to allow someone near you when you are blind, but if you find the right partner, I believe the resulting feeling are much more intense. And so I was waiting for the longer novel the author was writing with the same pair.

The story actually starts at the beginning, when Gabriel is still a sighted San Francisco Police Department undercover agent. During his two years as undercover agent, but really even before, Gabriel, alias Giovanni, only allows himself one night stands and possibly well far from the circle he gravitates in: even if in San Francisco, mafia is not a word which match well with gay. And so when one of his one night stand, Miguel, reveals to be the lieutenant of the Mexican drug lord Gabriel's boss is dealing with, Gabriel is a bit disconcerted. How can he be so attracted by a villain? He should be the good guy and not mixing with the evil guys... But maybe Miguel is not so bad boy as he appears.

The first part of the book is good, I really like the way how Giovanni and Miguel met in a club and that first raw sex scene is almost an housemark for Laura Baumbach's books, but truth be told, I like much the second part; it's all over all pure hot romance, but also mushy feeling, and in some part it almost made me cry. How Antonio deals with a wounded Gabriel, how he manages to pull out all the protective layers of the man, to bare his soul... and how Gabriel leans on Antonio, without for this being weak or dependent: it takes a real man to understand when it's the case to call for help.

So sorry to the thriller lover, but I read this book more like a very good romance. Oh, don't worry, there are also the car racing scene, the shootings in the night, and also the classical scene in the warehouse, but I manage to read them in a bit to hurry to my romance scenes... instead, you, thriller lover, could linger on them as you want, you will have plenty.

As for the characters, Laura Baumbach confirms her love for a good Alpha male, Antonio is the classical type: it reminds me one of that chocolate with the dark and hard exterior but with a sweet and molten inside. Perhaps a bit different from the other Alpha males' mates I was used, is Gabriel, but not too much: it's true that Gabriel, as an agent, is independent and strong, but in his private life he prefers not to be the dominant side of the couple; he prefers to be dominate, he fights against his mate, but then, if the mate is worth of it, he surrenders with joy.

The book is the first in a new series with the same characters; good thing since they are both really worth of some more books. And then I still have to read about Christmas at Antonio's family.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/mexican-heat

Amazon: Mexican Heat #1 Crimes&Cocktails Series

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Kate Steele is specialized in Alpha male werewolves dealing with Omega puppy. In this new book Mick is a special agent of the Werewolf interstate security agency; he is asked to intervene in a very delicate situation, an Alpha male pack leader who has gone over the legal limit: he killed a newly made werewolf, a barely seventeen guy, and now he has another boy in his clutches. Rio was a runaway boy and an hustler; eighteen years old, small and cute he is totally unable to oppose to the big werewolf and there is also another problem: he was turned, but the psycho Alpha male interrupted his first changing, causing him a lot of pain and to fear his new wolf side.

Remove from the story the pervert is not a big deal for Mick, but dealing with the newborn werewolf is not so simple. There are a lot of issue that are against an involvement with Rio: first Mick is way older than the kid, 47 years to 18 years,  and second the kid is passed through a lot of very bad experience, always connected to sexuality, and so Mick is not so sure that it's a good thing for Rio to be mated with an Alpha male werewolf. "Imposing" a sexual relationship to a traumatized boy is the last thing Mick desires. But let the boy go and find a more suitable companion is not an option for the wolf inside Mick.

The story deals mostly with Mick and Rio's relationship, and even if starts with a quite angst prologue (a underage gay hustler), it's not angst at all. True Rio has a bit of problem regarding sex and his sexuality, but he manages them pretty well and they are soon overcome. Also the age issue is not so emphasized, since both Mick than Rio, as werewolves, have another concept of aging: Mick at 47 years old is not a man in his middle age, but it's still a quite young wolf. Actually he is older than Rio's father, who is 39 years old, but this fact is not at all highlighted, and James, Rio's father, in comparison to Mick, has the role of the "old man", save an unpredictable turn of event at the end of the story (I really would like for Kate Steele to write also James' story).

There is a lot of sex, but it's easy and funny, like often is in Kate Steele's works. This is a pretty "classic" werewolf story, with the strong Alpha and the cute Omega, and there aren't switch on the classical path: never once Rio doubts what is his role in the relationship, and never once Mick falters in his firm belief that he need to dominate but also to direct Rio on the right path.

https://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=809

Amazon: Altered Heart

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

John is a space pilot stranded in a strange planet without memory of his past life. He is hold in captivity by Tryl, a strong and domineering cat man who makes him his sex slave.

In this strange planet couples are made by a master and a slave and Tryl has decided to finally pairs with this blond hair and pink skin man he calls Yai. Yai is tender and cute, he fears everything, but not this big and impressive cat man, who makes love to him so tenderly. And he also takes care of him and Yai, for the first time, feels like someone loves him.

Yai is more than willing to accept his new state of slave. He likes Tryl and not objects to be his sex toy. He wants to please him, he likes to please others, and the reward he receives pleasing Tryl is very sweet. Yai is a strange character, I can't understand how old he is, but he looks to be very young and very innocent.

Tryl is a very self-conscious man. He has no doubt he will take Yai as slave and that Yai will not deny him. He is a leader and he really thinks that being his slave Yai will have a better quality of live than he had previously. If not for the gentle manners he has with Yai, he would be a very irritating character. But he is so gentle and caring with Yai, that you forgive everything to him.

This is a really classical yaoi story. The very elements of the genre are abundantly used in the plot: the cute uke, with watery eyes and shy behavior, the strong seme, tall and powerful, who pleased his slave but also punished him when necessary, bringing pleasure with pain.

Even if pretty short, it is an arousing tale with two complete characters who remind me of an old "bodice-ripper" romance, The Warrior's Woman by Johanna Lindsey.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1724

Amazon: Cat Toy

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Eros Rising by Ally Blue

You know? I have a tender point for this title, cause my father's name was Eros, and I like it very much.

BTW Eros is the art's name of Keegan, a stripper in a private club, Ganymede's Grotto. He is a beautiful man, although not so young (29 years old). He has gorgeous long blond hair and a lithe body. This are the first things Scott sees in him. But he has also a past who haunted him.

Scott is in a dead end relationship with Logan: Logan needs a dom partner, but Scott doesn't like this type of love. He wants a real and simple lovemaking, without "scenes".

With Keegan at first is only friendship: Scott has a partner, and he is not the type to cheat. But... what will happen if is Logan who is cheating around?

A story in Hearts from the Ashes anthology, Eros Rising is the tale of a man who wants love and of another who has to learn how to love again. Even if in a rather short story (100 pages), Ally Blue is the queen of angst: she can draw characters who arrive to us with a luggage of bad experiences and that we see growing stronger during the course of the story.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/eros-rising

Amazon Kindle: Eros Rising

With Love by J.L. Langley

I absolutely love the "funny" werewolves of J.L. Langley. After Without Reservation, now is the turn of With Love: Dev is a strong werewolf who arrives to Asheville for business. Like every good werewolf he wants to meet the local Alpha to give his respect to the leader. But the local alpha is a really piece of shit: when he meets him the alpha is trying to rape Lainey, an omega werewolf. So Dev saves Lainey only to find that he is his mate.

Lainey is a little tiny beautiful man with red hair and amber eyes and with a propension for making trouble. But he is also an eager puppy in bed and Dev likes him very much, so does it matter if he will spend his life saving from troubles his mate?

Here, like in the other books of J.L. Langley, the humor is a main aspect of the novel. She has a way to make you happy and to leave you with a smile in your face and also eager to read more. I can't wait to read the next chapter in this wonderful series.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/with-love

Amazon Kindle: With Love

Series: With or Without
1) Without Reservation
2) With Love

Cafe Noctem by Willa Okati

Apparently Nicholas and Grey are a perfect couple: they manage the Cafe Noctem in Asheville, Nicholas the night shift and Grey the day ones, but when they are both in the apartment above the cafe, it's a comfortable and warm life. Nicholas helped Grey when he was mourning the lost of his lover, Jimmy, a man who was also Nicholas' friend. In a way it was almost natural for Nicholas to take Jimmy's place in Grey's heart. But Nicholas has always wondered if Grey really loves him or, if he could have Jimmy back, he would prefer it.

All of them, Nicholas, Grey and Jimmy have Cherokee origins, but despite Nicholas being the one with most mixed blood, it's him that knows how to evoke all the old legends. And so he summons Sint Holo, the Snake god, the one who can resuscitate the dead...

It's a bittersweet tale this one by Willa Okati, as often is in her style. The reader feels for Nicholas, but honestly you can't hate Jimmy. And Grey is in the middle: if he is faithful to his lost lover, he will make suffer Nicholas, if he decides to start again with Nicholas, Jimmy in a way will be forever lost... it's a not simple situation, and in every way the author chose to end this story, I believe that a romantic like me will never be happy.

Anyway, you can feel the love of Willa Okati for the simple life and the old traditions, it's in all this book.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/cafe-noctem

Amazon Kindle: Cafe Noctem

Amazon: Hearts from the Ashes

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain


Cover Art by Anne Cain


Cover Art by Anne Cain

Even if the story is short, 47 pages, it took me so much that I would really like for it to be longer.

This story is full of Angel. Pretty like an Angel is Dillon, an eighteen years old guy who was thrown out of his home when his father found out him being gay. Dillon is too young and unskilled to find a good job, and so all his dreams of college and bright future were abruptly ended and Dillon has even problem to make both ends meet. He has a seasonal job in a big department store and a second hand car to reach it he called Angel, since it's a miracle that the car starts every day.

At the store works also Gabriel, Gabe, called Angel by his fellow police officers. Gabe is a undercover detective that is investigating a string of thefts; when he meets Dillon, Gabe is sure that the young man can't be involved, he has plastered "innocent" all over the face. But Gabe is interested in Dillon for other reason than the thefts; Dillon arises in him all his protective feelings, he wants to pamper and cuddle the man, all the while debauching him, but without making him loose his Angel face.

I like the story, it's a classical little romp, with a strong alpha male, and you can almost see him puff out his chest to impress the little omega; Dillon is all tenderness and tears, but he is soo sweet that you cannot like him. I like also the mix of Christmas story and naughty speech, even if, all in all, there is almost nothing of naughty in the story, some kisses and a fast encounter in a public restroom...

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/advent.htm

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

First of all about this ebook it's the nice surprise that it's quite long for a Changeling Press' typical book lenght, 62 pages but small type. Second surprise: it's a very strong but very erotic book, not romance, not dancing around, but full and graphic detail sex.

Lachlan is a futuristic Pony Express in an apocalyptic United States. In this world, some places are safer than other: Washington is among the not safe and Lachlan should pass as fast as he can. And instead he stops, not only he enters a downtown pub that it's all than safe and as soon as he enters the place, he is challenged. But the type of war they make there is not the type he is used: they dance! Dance war to challenge each other and determine who is the best. Adair, the leader of one of the gang, is not out typical dancer: he is strong and very handsome, a man who probably could fight also with his fists other than with his legs on a stage.

And when Lachlan questions Adair's skill outside the pub, he asks for an almost rape scene; they have sex rough and fast, Lachlan surrenders all he has to Adair, begging for more. And when Adair sends him away after his best ever sexual experience, Lachlan comes back to ask more and more. There is no romance, there aren't nice words, Adair is a strong alpha and Lachlan is a begging omega, without any intention to question who has the upper hand in their sexual relationship... in private life I don't know, since Adair and Lachlan seem to always being in bed when they are together.

All in all the story surprise me, for its forceful sex, but also for the characters that are not at all as you can expect: Lachlan manages to remain a strong character despite being a "beggar" in bed, and Adair is a total top despite his dancing fight skill... yes, I know, I'm influenced by my culture, I know that if a man begs in bed or can dance it's not said that he should be a bottom, but for me this means that the author was able to go outside the usual boundaries.

Side note: despite the cover and Adair being a werewolf, there is not any hint on sex in shift form.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Aoi and Aya are buying the last Christmas gifts and they need to find something special for Itsuki, their foxy lover. Aoi brings Aya in a sexy shop and among all the toys he is amused to see that Aya is still really shy, almost if having an elves and a shapeshifter fox as lovers is not enough to "outing" him.

But Aya is barely twenty, and Aoi and Itsuki were his first lovers and even if he is now in a threesome, he still considers sex a private matter. Browsing to find a special present for Itsuki is not the time to debauch the young man, and then, all in all, Aoi likes him like that, all blushing and cuddling.

This is really only a sip, sixteen pages of enjoyable and funny sex. There is no need to feature the characters, since this is the last of a series of short stories with the same characters, and so this can be consider a Christmas gift for the readers of the series. A series that, despite the threesome matter, that usually I don't like, instead is among my favorite, maybe since Aoi, Itsuki and Aya have found a balance in their relationship that it doesn't make one of the three an "intruder" in the main relationship.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=107&products_id=1669

Series: Between a Fox and a Hard Place
0) Naughty: Sex and Presents
1) Threesome: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/287881.html
2) Geas: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/288448.html 
3) Home: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/333612.html
3.1) Tail-tell Signs of Trouble: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/334233.html
3.2) Naughty: Last Minute Shopping

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

It's a bit a Fantasy Cowboy Land the one described in this book by T.A. Chase, but well, sometime it's good to forget that there are places in this world where you can't really be who you are without worrying of the consequences, and it's important to tell the story as you would like it to be, since maybe, time over time, you will change a mind at time.

And so in this story we have Tyler and J.T., twin rodeo cowboys. Both handsome and gay (well actually, J.T. is bisexual...), J.T. is the shiny twin, while Tyler is the shy one. Tyler is also the responsible one, first his mother on her death bed and then his father asked him to take care of his twin, and Tyler always acted as guardian angel. He also left his beloved ranch, and his beloved neighbor Ren, to follow his twin on the rodeo circuit. But eight years after, Tyler is wondering if it's not time to come back at home, J.T. or not J.T. on tow.

At home there is not only is aging father, but also Ren, the older and handsome neighbor who was Tyler's unrequited first love. Tyler has never had the courage to confess to Ren his feelings, instead he talked to J.T. who, soon after, seduced Ren. Now Tyler doesn't know if being happy to have a proof that Ren is gay, or be unhappy to be forced once again to compete with his twin.

On the other hand, Ren is only waiting for Tyler to be old enough, and tired enough of the outside world, to be ready to settle down in their ranches. Ren is the older brother of three, but his two brothers have no intention to stay at the ranch. So Ren is ready and willing to build a family, and Tyler was always is first choice when arriving to a life partner. His relationship with J.T. was only a fling, and something that tired him soon after the first encounter.

Ren has some personality issues, a legacy from his military service during war time, and he needs to be in control in every moment. On the other hand, Tyler needs to let the control sometime, since he is always the reliable twin, the one who everyone expected to take the right decision. In this way, Ren and Tyler are perfect together, being Ren always the top in their relationship, and Tyler the willing bottom.

So no problem in their relationship and no problem also outside their relationship: Tyler's father behaves like a old fashioned father, means that he only asks Ren's intentions toward his son, and he is more than happy when he is assured that they are honest; Ren's brothers are only waiting for their brother to find a partner in order to be able to move out of the ranch without worrying to leave their brother alone... Sure, there is no the time, or the chance, to see the behavior of who is not a strict relative, other than one of Tyler's friend, but the atmosphere of all the book is of a total acceptance of Ren and Tyler's love.

Setting and details are very accurate, with few right positioned words, T.A. Chase gives the reader all the necessary details to be deeply immerse in the rodeo and breeding horse culture.

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/romance/bound-by-love

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain

Trick Of Silver (Calendar Boys - October) by Jamie Craig

I have never been attracted to the idea of men in dress... I like my men fully men! But I can admit without problem that sometime a man in dress looks better than a woman (have you ever seen Priscilla the Queen of the Desert? Guy Pierce in dress? if yes, you know what I mean).

So this story begins with Darren, a paranormal special agent, a werewolf hunter, who has the mission to kill Aden, an alpha male framed with a string of recent kills. I actually haven't understood for sure why Darren should be dress as a woman on the Halloween party he goes to find Aden, since the purpose to lure Aden better as woman rather than as a man is not the reason; au countraire, Aden seems a lot more interested in Darren when he finds that he is a man, the hunt is more exciting in that way.

Anyway, Darren thinks at Aden as the enemy, an enemy to destroy, but he can't help to be attracted by the man. Darren is not a werewolf, but when he is near Aden, he is like a bitch in heat. Darren is not an helpless man, he can be lethal, but he is more than willing to give up the control to Aden. Is not a "sweet love" feeling, is hundred per cent lust: Darren forgets his mission and his beliefs for a chance to be on the same bed, or wherever else, with Aden.

Aden likes to play. He has a target in mind, but he has no problem to reach the target and at the same time play with Darren. And if something else comes out, even better, he can always do with another member in his pack. Again is not a question of love, love is never mention in the book, for real, not even one time in all the almost 90 pages!

Trick of Silver is a paranormal Halloween romp, full of sex, flesh and blood... enjoy your plate!

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/CalendarBoysOctober.html

Over Here (Calendar Boys - November) by Jamie Craig

During the WWII, Harvey and Zach were all for each other: fellow soldiers, friends, lovers. But then Harvey was badly injured and sent home and instead Zach had to spend another 20 months fighting and killing. Knowing that the man he loved was alive somewhere was enough for Zach to go on, but when nor a letter or a message arrived from Harvey, Zach though that his friend had moved on with his life, a life in which loving Zach was not allowed.

Ten years after, during the first official Veterans Day, Zach decides that he is tired to try to forget the only man he loves and goes to find Harvey to at least have his official goodbye. What he finds his a man who has never moved on, a man who waits for every day to pass without a reason. Harvey is not married, he has not a family, he is alone. When Harvey went in war 12 years before, he knew that he preferred men, but in his little town he never had any chance to find his love. He found him in Zach, and when he was sent back at home, he thought that it was his fate, and that Zach should remain only an happy memory. Harvey thinks it's not possible for two men to openly love and live together, and what they had in the cold night during the war is the only thing they could have.

Zach is not of the same idea, he lives in a city and not in a small town like Harvey, and he knows that, if they don't flaunt too much their real relationship, they can have an happy life together.

I like this story, it's really sweet and tender. There is the sad memory of the war, but it's a distant thing and weights more the love between Harvey and Zach rather than the violence and the death. And I like both characters, the introvert Harvey, always weighting the things, always cautious, but ready to open to love; and I like Zach, dominant but gentle, not impulsive, but sure of what he wants and strong enough to reach for it.

The story is not long, less than 70 pages, but it's right and complete in its shortness.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/CalendarBoysNovember.html

Amazon: Calendar Boys, Vol. IV (October-December)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

This is the classic apocalyptic futuristic tale. In the previous book, Nickerson, an enhanced paid assassin for the government, was sold for an illegal hunt from his employers; Nickerson is more than forty years old and for the legal government he is too old to do the job, and so, since he has feline genes in him, he is the right target for an illegal hunt. Only that Nickerson was not of the idea to willing go to death, and with the help of a streetmuscler, BalqJaq, a young con who lived in the underneath city, he fough against his old alleys and won.

The story is set in a three way world: there are the underneath cities, almost an hell where people try to survive, there is the superficial terrain, a wild zone abandoned by human beings, and there are the space colonies, the civil and "legal" new world. The last book dealt with Nickerson and BlaqJaq's adventures in the underneath world; this one is the tale of their experiences in the superficial world... I have the impression that the next one will be set in the new space world.

Nickerson and BlaqJaq are at the opposite. Nickerson is older, wiser and more experienced, while BlaqJaq is younger, impulsive and a bit naivee, even if he has seen more thing a boy of twenty should see. On the other hand, BlaqJaq is stronger, with a very impressive body, while Nickerson has the grace of the felines of whom the genetic is in his body. Those counterbalanced elements make them a complete couple: no one of them is the master or the slave, no one is the boss or the boy; they have their own duties, Nickerson put the experience, BlaqJaq the refreshing thirst of life, something that Nickerson thought to have lost.

There is sex in this tale, but it's not the main event of the story, it's almost a pass by event, something that is good, but not something that you absolutely need to enjoy the story.

Again the story is not too long, less than 120 pages, and again it has an open ending, to make you want to read the next book in the series.

http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=763

Series:
1) Steel Sleet: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/206359.html
2) Blood in the Water

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain

The Chap In Chaps by Deirdre O'Dare

At the beginning of the twenty century, Charles, a classical Englishman, inherited a ranch in Arizona. He is glad of the distraction, since his "gentle" friendship with another man in England is not ended in a good way, and he wants something new. Maybe also a new man... maybe a commanding one, what his noble friend was not.

When Charles arrives in Arizona, he understood since the first moment that the real boss at the ranch is Sombra, an handsome and dark man, with a lot of secrets and hidden layers. Sombra is not a rough and simple cowboy, he is right the man Charles is searching, and lucky him, Sombra is more than happy to give to Charles what he needs.

The story is very very short, 40 pages. It's always strange to read an historical so short, since I'm always expecting for it to be longer, to have enough space to describe the setting, to give the details I need to immerse myself in a different era. Here there is very little, some hints to the fact that in England Charles needed to be discreet with his sexual preferences, another hint about a scandal in Sombra's past life... but other than that, there is very few to make this an historical romance.

The same thing that left me perplexed about the book, probably is also the thing that make it right. Without giving too much details, the book also doesn't make mistakes, and so you can read a romance setting in another era without cringing for the historical mistakes.

As for the story, it's quite simple: the two men meet, they like each other, they have matching needs, and so no problem with their romance. This is a fast and enjoyable reading, smooth and simple.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/ChapChaps.html

Amazon Kindle: The Chap In Chaps

Amazon: Daring Desires

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Dangerous Ground by Josh Lanyon

The book begins abruptly: Will and Taylor are hiking and arguing. They are FBI special agents and Taylor is recovering from a shooting and they have taken a vacation. Taylor resents Will for something, we at first don't understand and Will wants both to take care of Taylor but also hit him to instill some common sense in him.

Little by little we understand that other than partners they are also friends and maybe something more: both Will than Taylor are gay, but between them there wasn't nothing more than teasing and glaring until the last fatal night, the night before Taylor's accident. And then there wasn't a right moment to face the argument, until now: in the open space of mountains all seem to be free from restrain, words and thoughts. And Will and Taylor seem to not be able to do other than yell to each other and offend each other.

When they only want to understand how they can go on or move on on their relationship, real world interposes between them, in the guise of a cold case: a robbery to a casino, ended with the lost of the spoil. And now the thieves want it back.

The book is not very long, little more than 100 pages, but I think it's more sexy than previous Josh Lanyon's books. There is actually only one real sex scene, and it's hot, but since as I said the book is not very long, and the building tension that promises the real scene and the simmering ashes that follow are both long and detailed, the scene is the apex of the book. And it's also very good, very... erotic.

Taylor and Will are both strong characters. I think this is the real problem: they fear to give a chance to their relationship since both fear to lose independency and the alpha male role in the match. But they are not equal in their dominance: Taylor is an hot head, a man of action and someone who is pretty driven by instinct; instead Will is more caring and a thinker, he likes to analyze everything before taking a decision. So maybe, if they manage to balance their powers, they can find a common path.

Dangerous Ground is not a mystery, is more an action romance. And the romance is a big ingredient of this book. But even if they talk about feelings and love, not Will or Taylor lose their masculinity.

http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=682

Burn Card by Laura Baumbach

Cody is a CSI officer for the Las Vegas PD. What he lacks in body, being small and lithe, he makes up in cleverness. Cody is a very prim and proper East Coast guy, but inside he is a romantic guy, who likes to cuddle the teddy bear his lover Gil gave him as birthday present. Gil is a big and strong badass, former football player, former wrestler and now owner of a very exclusive security firm. His primary business is to provide skilled bodyguard to celebrity. Gil is also a high tech lover, and likes to surround him and his lover with all the latest tech gadget.

Cody and Gil are at the opposite in body, Cody small and pretty, Gil big and rough, and at the opposite in behavior, Cody always perfect and impeccable, Gil a bit of a slob and impulsive, but they are equal in feelings, they are deeply in love and love overcomes all their differences.

When Cody is kidnapped, Gil has only 12 hours to find his lover. And some of that tech gadgets he likes to give him could be of help.

The story is very short, less than 70 pages, and it felt almost like one of that "what happens after" type of story. It almost like if Laura Baumbach just wrote the main story, when Cody and Gil met, and where she gave us all the details about them and their story, and this one is only a welcome back story... a bit strange.

Anyway as usual in a Laura Baumbach's book, there is the strong contraposition between the two main characters, even if in this case is more physical than anything else: Cody could be little in body, but he is not at all a dependent character; he has a strong and independent personality, and it's a good match for Gil. Actually this time, it's the apparently submissive character, Cody, who has the main role in the story, and we know very little about Gil.

I'd be glad to read a little more on these two, above all the beginning of their love story.

http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/more-hot-reads/burn-card/prod_169.html

Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks

Amazon Kindle: Burn Card

Amazon: Hostage

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Artist by April Martinez

This is a multi-author series, so I don't know if the futuristic world was an original creation by Jade Buchanan or not, but in a way or the other, this short story, 70 pages, is a funny erotic romp.

It's a menages, an you know that I'm not really fond of menages, but since the three men got together at the same time, there is not the problem of the odd man out who interfere with a previous pair. Chet is a Nil Raja, an alien race which still lives in caste; every caste is identified by the blue swirl patterns in their skin, and since Chet belongs to a pleasure caste, his swirls are sensuous and delicate, made to enthrall and entice. He doesn't have a protector and when Dinesh arrives to the same Spaceport where Chet lives, the lithe Nil Raja thinks that the big Nil Raja Warrior would be a perfect protector.

Dinesh is a very conservative Nil Raja warrior. He doesn't like when he is forced to leave his planet, but when he witnesses to a murder attempt of the Councilor of the Spaceport he doesn't think twice to protect the man, even if this means that, from that moment on, he has bound his life to Ainsley. And when the fate brings to him also the little Chet, Dinesh thinks that where there is space for one, there is also space for two, and so he only widens his protective embrace.

Even if Ainsley is a clever politician, he is not a prudent man; he puts himself in danger without thinking when deal with politic matters. But not when it arrives to personal relationship: usually he faces that matter in an aloof way. But this time he has not choice in matter: he is between Dinesh and Chet, and he can't disentangle himself from the two, and truth be told, he doesn't want to.

Dinesh and Chet's characters are at the opposite: Chet is the omega male, lithe, sensual and graceful; he reminds me a cat, content to purr in the lap of his big warrior, but with a wit of his own that it's not easy to control. Dinesh is the alpha male, stocky and of not much words, he prefers to grunt fast order and he doesn't see the reason for long speech. Ainsley is in the middle (pun not intended...), he is usually a man of control, but his force is more based on his social status than in his body strenght.

Even if there is a minor adventure plot, the story is for the most part a sexy tale, with a lot of erotic encounters, and if you reason that the story spans for only a week and tells on two days of that week... well you realize how much space is devoted to the sex!

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

I was curios to read this one since L.A. Day is an het author I was looking since a bit, but for a reason or another I never picked up one of her books (mostly for Ellora's Cave). From what I read she was the "classical" erotica author, and in the positive means of the word.

Feral Intensity follows the path lead by Ellora's Cave's previous production, a not so long story, less than 90 pages, with a lot of sex without boundaries. There is not slowly wooing in this book, but two males in heat: Dirk is an enforcerer of his wolf pack and Rian is the alpha of a coyote pack. Between wolfs and coyotes there is not good blood, but since the first time the two males scent the other, they realize that they are fated mates. For Rian is not a problem, he has long ago admitted that he is gay, his only worry is that he has not a big pack and so maybe he can't give to his mate the right protection. Instead fo Dirk this is his first gay experience and he is not so ready to surrender; he knows that sooner or later he needs to follow the path the Fate has chosen for him, but he is not an easy prey for Rian.

Obviously in only 90 pages and with the sexual relationship the main focus of the story, the plot can't be very complex; after a undecided beginning where Dirk plays the role of the reluctant virgin, both men surrender to desire; in a way Dirk succeeds in his own intention arriving to an agreement with Rian: Dirk will recognize the Alpha role of Rian in front of the pack, but in bed they are equals, and so Dirk has the right to top as much as Rian.

All in all if you want a R&R fast reading, Feral Intensity is a good choice: two sexy males, a lot of sex and you are served.

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419916373

Series: Faldron Shifters
1) Feral Domination
2) Feral Lust
3) Feral Intensity

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Blue Ruin series was born like a yaoi romance which blended in a BDSM relationship. At its third book, the yaoi component is only hinted and the BDSM relationship is in full swing. Blue and Derek still live together and they had overcome the little escapade of Blue with Cameron; true, Blue sometime still thinks to his old sweetheart, but I believe that Blue is too much for someone like Cameron, probably he is too much also for Derek.

This is probably the main aspect of the novel. Derek should be the Master on the relationship, but for me he isn't enough of the dominant type. Derek likes to play, but he is more into the aesthetic of the game, than into the pleasure / pain things. When he is making a scene, he is like painting, he develops all the details, he enjoys in the view and then he makes love to Blue, but he always stops a bit before the limit, even before Blue himself asks him to stop. This trait of Blue is something that you can find till the first book: Blue is a brat, but he is a strong willed brat, he always does what he wants, and I think he is never really in a submissive position. He can go on with his game since Derek has yet not still realized that he is played around by his little pet, and this is instead the specifically trait of Derek, he is sometime out in his world, and doesn't really understand what it's happening around him.

The noise element in the story is Sasha, a russian mob leader who takes a fancy on Blue. But Sasha is a man of honor and he respects the D / s relationship between Derek and Blue, and so he doesn't try to steal the boy from Derek, but he forces the couple to play for him. Sasha and his russian friends are a funny bunch, probably not much realistic, but nevertheless nice. I have a presentiment that Sasha and a certain guy with silver hair could be an interesting couple; since I read a short story about a blind pet, I always wonder how it could be a long story on this argument.

For who was left a bit stunned by the menage evolution in the second book, with this third installment all the things go in path, and the bond between Derek and Blue is stronger than ever. If not for the slightly problem that  Blue is always interested and excited by other men... yes, I believe Blue is a bit of a slut, but he is a faithful slut, so he never plays along his secret desires.

http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=779

Amazon Kindlle: Chains of Love (Blue Ruin 3) by Katrina Strauss

Series: Blue Ruin
1) Some Kind of Stranger: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/221831.html
2) Close to Me: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/276450.html
3) Chains of Love

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by P.L. Nunn

A little scene, two unnamed characters, a top and a bottom. Top works as bartender and sometime he needs a bar back; Bottom is his bar back for the night, but he is late. Little Bottom has problems with his boyfriend, who wants him more manly, but he likes to be dominated; Top is more than happy to satisfy every his desire.

Can't say more than that, since this is really only a scene, less than 15 pages, but J.J. Massa always writes very clear role play; she doesn't mix the role and her bottoms are always cute and pretty, almost feminine.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=123&products_id=1386

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Aoi is at home and safe... apparently. In the third installment of the series, Aoi and his two lovers, Aya and Itsuki, back home from Japan, need to find a new balance: Itsuki is costantly worried for the safeness of his lover Aoi, and Aya is searching to be a mediator. At first everything seems all right but a stupid accident puts Aoi in temporary leave from work and he doesn't know when he will be able to work again. From the one who was supporting the family, now he feels himself like a stepping stone and Aya and Itsuki need to work hard for convincing their man that he is still sexy and loved as before.

There is as always a lot of sex, joyous and funny, and without heavy and angst feelings. But maybe now Aoi is starting to understand that he can't repair everything with a good sex session and he also needs to grow a bit: even Aya, who for age can be his son, seems to be more adult than him. And also reality make an appearance in this "fantasy" tale, a reality represented by the bills that should be paid, and so Aya and Itsuki finally need to find a work themselves, since Itsuki is still of the idea that "his" Aoi should whore himself only to him and Aya.

This series is light and funny, it's the right thing if you want to rest and relax.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=107&products_id=1359

Amazon Kindle: Between a Fox and a Hard Place: Home

Series: Between a Fox and a Hard Place
0) Naughty: Sex and Presents
1) Threesome: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/287881.html
2) Geas: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/288448.html 
3) Home

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle 

The sequel of Goldilocks and His Three Bears is a very long one, and it's like two books in one. In the first part Brian (alias Goldilocks) learns how to settle in this new relationship of him: Paul (alias Daddy Bear) is again far from hom for works, six months of leave and Brian, who is studying at College, can't have the chance to be with him. So he is at home with Jim (alias Momma Bear), who also he is far from his beloved, Scott (alias Teddy Bear), travelling with his truck in the north. Brian behaves badly to call attention to him and Jim is not sure to be the one to properly castigate him. On the other hand Scott is sulking, believing that he is not an important piece in the puzzle of their relationship, and so also him behaves very badly. Paul with Brian, and Jim with Scott will have to tight the leash on this two bottom brats.

In the second part of the book, Scott takes home Joshua, like a child could take home a stray dog. Joshua is a young and frightened guy, needing a master figure in his life. But Paul and Jim are not the right person to do that, they have their plate full with their two brats. Luckily Paul meets an old friend, Freddie, a top without a domestic relationship in this moment.

As the previous one, this book is a funny romp: there is a lot of sex, but it's always a very relaxing and funny type of sex; even when it arrives to some pretty kinky and heavy erotic stuff, the description is always more light and funny, than angst. I'm not against some kinky stuff, here and there, but sometime, reading certain books, it's like reading an "how to do" books, full of clinical details that risk to ruin all the romanticism of the story. In this case, A.M. Riley gives us all the necessary inputs to understand what it's happening, but doesn't indulge in the description, preferring a light tone.

Of all the characters, the lion share is taken by the bottoms. Brian, as in the previous book, has a very prominently role in the first part of the book, and instead Scott, who really didn't shine before, in the second part of the book is the incontrastated hero. Seeing the two brats conspiring and involving also Joshua in their plans, allows the reader to fully understand who are the real puppeteers in this strange multipartner relationship. 

http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart

Amazon Kindle: A Man, A Jersey, and a Tight End

Series:
1) Goldilocks and His Three Bears: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/327881.html
2) A Man, A Jersey and a Tight End

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

This one is a little funny jewel, I needed to stop reading it to go out dinner with a friend and I spent almost all the time trying to retelling all the funny scenes I read.

Brian is a walking trouble. Pretty, cute and innocent, he is a small-town guy who finds himself in big-city and feels empty and lonely. Young and without the money to go college he works as clerk in a food store and meanwhile browse the gay club trying to fill the void in his life. No string attach relationships don't help him and so when he meets Paul it's like a dream. A classical Leather Daddy bear, Paul is a control freak: his life, his home, even his relationships are perfect and "straight", exactly what Brian needs. After a while they seems to have found a routine and Brian is happy like a fish in his bowl. But then Paul has to leave town for work and he will be gone for six months. Brian risks to fall again in his unsteady status, when he meets Jim, another bear, but this time more the feed and caring type, and in fact his nickname is Momma Bear. Brian clings to Jim like a baby to his teddy bear, and when he discovers that Jim is also the roommate of Paul, he freaks a little, but then Paul is away and he really needs the comfort he finds in Jim's embrace. But Jim is a free spirit, he arrives and goes as the wind and when he needs to go he goes. He asks Brian to water the plants, and so Brian has at least the chance to be in the house where Paul and Jim made him so happy. After some weeks arrives Scott, the third (and last!) roommate: a ball of energy and more a pal friend than a lover, Scott fills a bit the void left by Paul and Jim. But when Brian awakes in bed with Scott and with Paul and Jim glaring over him, he knows that he needs to take some important decisions...

A funny and a bit porn retelling of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears fable, the roles are pretty clear: Daddy Bear is Paul, the more steady and controlled of all the group, he is the one to whom all of them relate when important steps need to be take; Momma Bear is Jim, big heart and big body, he is the gentle and comforting touch in the group, always ready to listen and always available to dispense big hugs; Little Bear is Scott, full of energy, happy-go-live man, maybe not just fully grown, a bear in training. All of them together fill all the demands of Brian, who need a crowded family to never again suffer from loneliness: fantastic the description of when Brian bounces having eat too much chocolate...

Of course it's a foursome, but of course, like always when the bed is a bit crowded, different bonds will form between the men, some strong and some weaker, some true love and some a friend with benefits type of relationship.

A.M. Riley is very good in giving to all the men a deeply and complete characterization and even if all turns around Brian, no one of the other bears remain without a personality. It would be wonderful if something like that could really happen in real life, since the home these four men build together is an happy haven and a place where love and comfort and joyous sex reign. 

http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Duncan is Sir William's squire. Duncan is 18 years old but he is not "grown" like the other squires of same age. He is little and pretty, almost too pretty to be a man. And he is in love with his knight, Sir William. Duncan has yet to experiment sex, with women or men alike, but he dreams everynight of William and when he accidentally spies another squire making love with a man, he realizes that also him, who likes men, can physically love. But he still desires only William, who apparently only has female lovers.

Sir William is a 27 years old young man. He is very handsome and has his fair share of lovers. He is not against the idea to make love to a man, but actually it'is more simple to be with a woman. But his young squire is a pretty thing to look at, and now that Duncan starts to be interested in the sexual side of love, he is ready to pick up the "blushing virgin".

The story is very short, less than 45 pages, but it's a funny romp. Not very historical detailed, it's more a little piece of savage romance, with the twist of the maiden virgin becomes a virgin squire. Even if Duncan is a man, he is not a very good squire, and probably he is not ready, and never will, to be a knight. He is the classical omega man, always in trouble and always in need to have a firm hand to direct him.

The story faces the problem of the social status of William, and of his due toward his title: as first and only son, he is expected to marry and produce an heir. something that obviously Duncan couldn't give him...

If you don't expect to read a "strong" historical romance, but are happy to enjoy a short and funny tale, The Squire is a light one. Duncan is the real only main character, William is more an icon, the dream lover of young Duncan.

To better set the story, I notice that the author uses some uncommon words, like "to swive" and "mayhap": maybe they are not so uncommon as they sound to me, but they help me to be aware that I was reading an historical romance, and not a contemporary romance "dressed" as historical.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/TheSquire.html

Amazon Kindle: The Squire

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

Jacob and Sean were in a foster home together, Jacob a 5 years old scared boy and Sean a 15 years old young guy. From the first time Sean knew that Jacob needed him and he was always there for him. Even now, twenty years later, Sean a Navy SEAL and Jacob a professional baseball player, Sean is still there for Jacob.

Sean has long realized that he is in love with the younger man, but he can't do this to the man: both for his army career than for Jacob's public image, an homosexual relationship is not good, and so he forces himself to be a good big brother, always present, always caring. But when Jacob is kidnapped by a madman, Sean throws away all the thought about career and public opinion, and goes to rescue his man, since from that moment on, Jacob will be his man and no one wil interfere.

The story is pretty good, Sean the classic alpha male and Jacob the pretty twink. I also like the big brother-little kid relationship between the two, even if it borders maybe a little too much near incest, but well, they are not real brothers, and then now they are both adults, and Sean always behaved only as a caring brother and nothing else when Jacob was a kid.

What I find a bit disorienting is all the hurry in the story; all the events happen in a blur, I almost lost tracking of them. I think the plot and the characters were good for a longer novel, and a lot of points would be easier to understand. It's something I just experimented with Helen Gabriel's work: she has very good stories and characters, but I always read short stories by her (this one is less than 50 pages)... I'd like to try something longer.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1332

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting+reading+list&view=elisa.rolle