Heart Song is a short story that puts a lot in game. Rafe and Charlie were a May and December couple, and plus there was also a difference in social status, being Rafe only a policeman and instead Charlie a wealthy businessman. But Rage really loved Charlie, and since he loved him so much, he had to leave the older man: he felt that that Charlie didn't love him as much as he loved him, there was always something or someone else that kept a big share of the man's heart. When Rage left Charlie for that last time, he was sure this time he wouldn't have changed his mind, but he didn't know that it wouldn't have any other chance to do that, Charlie dies and leaves behind him a lot of unanswered question, and a letter.Charlie had a son, Stewart, who Rafe didn't know and he meets only at Charlie's funeral. It's not exactly the place to meet a possible lover, above all when he is the son of your just dead one, and Rafe is a too good man to try something. But then Stewart finds him and brings with him Charlie's letter; Charlie knew he was dying and he wanted for Rafe and Stewart to look out for each other. He wanted for them something else? Probably. But that is Rafe and Stewart's choice.
This is only a short story, but I really like all the various layers, all hinted but well managed, the May/December relationship between Rafe and Charlie, their difference in social status that was overcome by their love, the new love between Rafe and Stewart, that someone could see as a way for Stewart to finally have something of that estranged father who left him so many years before... Rafe is not older, he can't be a fatherly figure for Stewart, they have the same age, but he was Charlie's lover, and so, in a way, he was more near to him than Stewart, and now Stewart wants at least a little bit of that love that Rafe had for Charlie, it's another bond to his father.
This is the first story by Jambrea Jo Jones I read, and it's only a short story, so I can't be sure about this author, but, from the little I read, I think there is great potential.
http://www.extasybooks.net/ebjmsite/inde
The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/85035
When Love Comes Back Around by Lisa Marie DavisThis book can be easily define a sweet romance. The story is pretty classic: small town, two sweetheart lovers, one from the most important family of the town, the other orphaned and raised by a drunk, the rejected of good society. They never should be friends, even less lovers. And to add problem to problem, they are both male.
Caleb is the golden son (even if he has dark hair...) and his father wants for him to be a politician. But when he is 13 years old he meets Royce, new in town after the death of his parents. Royce lives with his uncle, an abusive man, and the friendship with Caleb is his only escape from horror. When they are both 16 years old, friendship becomes loves and for four years they bring along a clandestine relationship. Caleb always swears that they will leave together, after college, they will go where they can claim their love. But when the moment arrives, Caleb cheats out, and Royce goes away alone.
Now after ten years, Royce is again in town, but he has no intention to meet Caleb, since he knows that he still loves the man and he will not survive to another farewell. Instead Caleb wants to see again Royce, even if for few minutes, since his life since their departure was an hell and he needs to be with the man he really loved, and actually the only man, or woman, for him.
The story is not so long, 70 pages, and as I said before, it's almost a sweet romance: there is a lot of talk about love, but not even one sex scene. Both Caleb than Royce treasure their memory, but the reader is not put apart of their thoughts. The story flows smoothly, it's easy to read, but since both characters are 30 years old now, I wouldn't mind a bit of more action. Anyway sometime is refreshing to read a sweet romance, and I'm always fond of the bad boy-good boy next door pair.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p
Amazon Kindle: When Love Comes Back Around
What Matters Most by Lisa Marie DavisSilas was always a strange boy. He saw imaginary friends, or so he thought. When he was a bit older he understood that what he saw were the souls of dead people who had something other to do before leaving, and they asked to Silas for help. Even if so young Silas knew that it was not normal for him to see souls, and from his parents he didn't have help. Lucky him his paternal grandfather, an old Irish man, taught him about the "sight" and that their family sometime gives birth to a special man like Silas.
To add strangeness to oddity, Silas soon realized that he was gay, and as he never hid the sight, he didn't hide his being gay. For his parents it was too much and Silas found himself alone at a very young age. With only a money help by his father he moved in a new city and began the life of a ordinary clerk, and at the same time he continued to help the souls. Always open in all the aspect of his life, when he became friend, or lover, with another man, Silas didn't hide the spiritual side of his life, and this lead to him being alone, since no one actually believed him. Silas got the fame to be handsome and sexy, but a bit odd.
When he spends a one night adventures with Josh, and the morning after he discovers that the man is very much in the closet and without any intention to come out, Silas tries to go on with his life, but Josh's mother has other idea... the problem is that Sarah, Josh's mother, is a soul and help her in her last wish means reveal to Josh that he can see the souls of the dead.
The story is an odd mix of hanging atmosphere and lustful sex. Silas is almost double faced, one side the cool and serene man who sees souls and calmly helps them, on the other side the man who picks up a man for a one night stand and makes passionate love; these are two side that almost crash, but that in a way melt together to draw up the character. Josh instead is a problematic man, with a abusive father and a weak mother, a grown man with still the mind of a child; sadly he needs an authoritative figure beside him, since alone he would not be able to break free from his father's clutches.
Even if there is sex in this story, it's almost like an ethereal experience... again that hanging feeling; the overall sensation of the story is of a continuous flow of energy, without the up and down that usually characterize a romance. In a way, for a story which deals with souls, it's quite a right sensation.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p
Amazon Kindle: What Matters Most
Unstoppable Force by Lisa Marie DavisThis book has written "Cinderfella" all over the pages... there is also a fairy godmother in the guise of the very special male escort agency owner who matches Cinderfella alias Pretty Man Cale to Multi-Millionaire Prince Charming Ethan.
So, see, I can't be too hard with this story, since it's all about romance, and I can't not like a romance; doesn't matter if the story is unbelievable, if the cynical in me continued to say that a man like Ethan will never and never fall in love with Cale, I want the romance and I get the romance.
Ethan is a very handsome and very wealthy business man; at the beginning of his career he was a runaway guy with a skill for software and a pretty, even if rough, look. With the help of both his virtue, he manages to warm the bed of a middle age and wealthy man who in exchange, taught to Ethan how to be a successful business man. When the man moved on to another young lover, Ethan was enough skilled and independent to make his own success life. Today Ethan isn't searching for commitment, he likes to play the field, and so he usually buys the service of an escort agency when he is in the mood.
Cale is another runaway boy; escaping from an abusive stepfather who unfortunately taught to Cale that he is only worth for sex, Cale ended in the clutches of a little mafia criminal who, at his eyes, was a big treat. Managing to escape also from him, Cale now is under the shelter of fairy godmother Gwen, who sends him to Ethan. It's a match made in... bed? but Ethan pampers Cale like a prince, trying to instill a bit of confidence in the pretty man (and in this case I mean pretty as beautiful, since Cale is really beautiful even if he doesn't realize it).
A little trouble to resolve the issue of Cale's past does nothing to ruin the fairy tale atmosphere and the obviously path toward an happily ever after; if only life would be so simple...
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p
Amazon Kindle: Unstoppable Force
Loving Lucas by Lisa Marie DavisTen years before Lucas was a young high school teacher just out of college; he was the classical teacher who liked to be more a friends than a authoritative figure for his students, but he did that without second thoughts. Problem was that one of his student was an unstable teen who probably would need a psychiatric help and instead his family didn't take with the right seriousness the problem. Riley, the student, approached Lucas and when the man refused him, all went to hell: Lucas was raped and left for dead in a burning cabin. He managed to survive and to denounce Riley, but he also lost his life and his lover, who couldn't suffer his scarred body.
Now Lucas has a new life in a little small town where everyone loves him, above all the local sheriff; Nicholas is an handsome man, with plenty of choice if he wants, but he sets his eyes on Lucas. When they met five years before, Lucas was still too traumatized by his past events and he was not ready for something serious, and so Nicholas accepted the second choice to be his best friend. But now Riley is out of prison and both Lucas than Nicholas know that the man will come for Lucas, and Nicholas is not willing to let the man take the most important thing he has, Lucas; since Nicholas has no doubt that Lucas is his own.
The story is not very long and there is not mystery, since it's clear since the beginning that Riley will try to harm Lucas once again. It's more interesting to read and see how Nicholas will convince Lucas to accept not only his help but also his love. Truth be told, I think that Nicholas takes advantage of the situation to force Lucas to accept something than in other condition it will be years before they arrive to the same point. Probably Nicholas is tired to wait (but not enough to renounce) and above all he is tired to be judge by someone else actions. And this is maybe the point that I understood less: it's true that Lucas is scarred, but only on his back; in his everyday life, with dress on, he is a very beautiful man, and no one can notice his scars. All right, being a gay man, maybe having is back all scarred is a bit more important than a straight man (naughty Elisa, I know), but is it enough of a reason to dump someone? Lucas is clever, handsome, with a good work, is it possible that someone dumped him for some scars? And even if it happened, is it possible that he chose 10 years of chastity upon the action of only one man?
Anyway, the story is quite tender and the sex is good, something I noticed in the previous books by the same author: she mixes well the two elements, never letting the sex take the main role in the story, always letting the tenderness and love being in first line.http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p
Amazon Kindle: Loving Lucas
Amazon: Love Conquers All
(print book)Reading List:
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The Deadly Mystery series by Victor J. Banis is probably the only gay mystery series out there where the romance part of the book is good as well as the mystery one. In the four books we saw the evolution of their relationship, from being casual lovers and probably having no chance to be nothing else, to tentative long term partners, to the almost apex of happiness in book 3. Then the abrupt end of that novel, with a Tom, the strong man in the couple, scarred and for the first time weak. And maybe also a bit castrated from the fact that this time, it was not him who saved Stanley. They have their roles in the relationship, Tom is the protector and Stanley the one in need of protection, you can't change that, otherwise Tom doesn't know what is his place. Tom is a simple person, he is a man who reasons and acts more with his gut (and heart) than his mind, he is not stupid, but he is not one to brainstorming too much. If you take away from him his role, what he is for Stanley, what is his added value to the relationship. But as simple as Tom is, it's also simple for him to realize that even if scarred, he is still the same man as before, and that Stanley need him. It's not Tom's trouble to adapt to the new situation that is the focus of this 4th novel, but more the descending phase of their relationship. Don't get me wrong, it's not a negative descending, but more the natural evolution of a relationship fated to last a long time. You can't be forever newly wedded birds in love, you have to arrive at the time when you question if you are ready to take, or maybe respect, the decision to be IN a relationship, with all that means. And strange to say, it's not Tom who questions it, but Stanley. As I said, Tom is simple, he is a man of heart and gut, and when he decided to be with Stanley, he was well sure of what that would have meant. Already before, with the woman who wasn't a woman, Tom proved that he can be tempted, but he is strong enough to not surrender to temptation. Instead I think that Stanley realized for the first time that he has taken a decision for life. Stanley was infatuated, he was madly in love, and he strongly wanted Tom. More Tom resisted and more Stanley wanted him. Stanley didn't have time to think at what would have happened once his desire was granted. That once he had a man like Tom all for him, he has to be a one to one relationship, it's not possible to go off track, neither for a moment. Tom is a very demanding man, not at words, but as a whole: loving a man like Tom is a full time work, and Stanley is probably scared.
It's not a secret, if you read my previous reviews, that I like a lot Tom; I like also Stanley, but truth be told, my favorite is Tom. And so I'm true, I was a bit annoyed with Stanley, how could he have any doubts on his relationship with Tom? didn't he realize how much Tom changed his life to be with him? Didn't he at least be sure of their relationship and not be distracted by some pretty boys who flirt around? But then I understood that Stanley wasn't really interested in any of them, it was only a way to test his love for Tom. And then it was nothing of dramatic or irreparable, only some passing thoughts, and as Tom put it, if you have an itch, you scratch it with your man, and it's everything all right, even if that itch was caused by another man... see? simple and plain my Tom, no painstaking works on an hypothetical "mind" betrayal.
Oh, I forgot to tell you about the mystery... but is it really necessary? There is a mystery, it's good, I wasn't able to find for sure the killer, even if I have my idea on who they was... well friend, you now that, if you want a review on a mystery novel, this is not where you will find it. An "happy" note this time was that neither one of the victims was someone I care of, it was so sad in the previous books to read of interesting characters that were already dead, or soon be dead. I'm still grieving for that young boy in book 2.
http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?boo
Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks
Amazon: Deadly Slumber
Amazon Kindle: Deadly Slumber
Series: Deadly Mystery:
1) Deadly Nightshade: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/49853
2) Deadly Wrong: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/51713
3) Deadly Dreams: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/67447
4) Deadly Slumber
The Rainbow Awards: First Week results: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/81134
An Itch to Scratch by Julia TalbotThis is actually the prequel of a short story I read some months ago, The Werewolf Code. I remember that my impression on that story was very good, but it was too short, and I also hoped that the author was willing to write more, above all on how the couple gets together, since it was hinted a very interesting story. Apparently I was not the only one to think that, since here is the story on how werewolf Deke and vampire Kasey meet.
Deke is a vampire bite addicted. Like other people have a sex dependency, Deke has an addiction on the thrill of a vampire bite, never sex is better than when it starts with him in the role of a willing donor. Usually werewolfes are strong Alpha males who reluctantly give up the power; instead Deke loves to take the submissive role in bed; but only in bed, since even if he likes to bottom, he is not a bottom in life.
Kasey is an old and hard to please vampire. He can't imagine to commit to only a man, but when he tastes for the first time Deke, his possessive side takes the lead and he finds himself unable to stay far from Deke for long.
Kasey and Deke are very different and not only as "breed". Kasey is a prim and proper type and instead Deke is a slob. Kasey is a bit aloof, not easy to express his feelings and instead Deke is a pack animals, he is very touchy feelings and he has no problem to voice his needs.
The love between Deke and Kasey is easy and almost funny; there is a lot of sex, but it is always light and joyful. Again the story is not very long, less than 60 pages, but this time I have enough development on the two characters to know them better and to also understand better why they are together and what is the basis of their love relationship.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
The Werewolf Code: The Moon by Julia TalbotDeke is a werewolf, Kasey a vampire. They are PIs and lovers. It's not the first time I read about a pair of werewolf and vampire, but it's the first time that the two breeds seem to cohabitate without problem. Kasey is the mind and Deke the arm. Not that Deke isn't bright, but he is more feral, more instinct, and instead Kasey is cool and calculator: everything can be done at the right price...
They are engaged by a beautiful tall blonde werewolf woman to follow her husband, but soon they discover that Jason, the cheating husband, is not her husband, but a genetic experiment of her father gone mad. Jason has no control, and if they don't stop him, he could spread the virus around.
Unfortunately this is a short story, less than 30 pages, but if only in few pages, the plot is complete and enthralling. I think Deke and Kasey could be worthy material for another book, and maybe also one in which we can read how they meet and became a couple (apparently Deke was a willing donor and Kasey won him on an auction... just let me image that man naked on display...)
Anyway if you like a bit of action and a bit of eroticism (there are one or two scene pretty sexy), The Werewolf Code is a fast and enjoyable reading.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Belling the Cat by Julia TalbotThis is the story of Jonny, the vampire club owner who played matchmaker between Deke and Kasey, and that, if it wasn't for a professional code, wouldn't have minded to take Deke for him. Jonny is an ancient vampire, and maybe he is also a little bored; when he is not behaving like a workaholic, he doesn't know what to do. Living among so many beautiful men and possible lovers left him with a void, no one of them is right for him. When he finds a cat thief on his private room he decides that is time to play a bit: he will make a contract with the werecat, he is free to take what he was searching and in exchange the cat-man will come back to him for six months, every night.
Luc is more used to be a cat than a man, and if Jonny wasn't willing to accept his cat nature, he wouldn't probably have accepted his term. But Jonny is more than willing, and Luc can be a cat, and behave like a cat, for most part of the time they spend together; Jonny is not disgusted, or squeaked when Luc nears him in cat form, or when he wants to groom his partner like a cat would do before napping. Those are probably the most funny, tender and challenging moment of the novella: how much do Julia Talbot dare to push the challenge to overcome the tenderness? it's a quite trickly game of balancing, and I think that not all the romance readers will be up to that challenge. On my side, I didn't mind: what is the reason to read a romance with a shifter character, when that character looses all his animal side in human form?
As I said, Luc is more a cat than a man, and he has a playful nature in both form. His feline side is quite clear in his attitude towards Jonny: once they tight the pact between them, Luc tries to get the maximum from it, even if he was, in theory, the weak partner. But he is weak only since he was forced into it, for all the other aspects of their relationship, Jonny has no interest to tame the cat, and Luc is more a pet than a beast, so there isn't so much to tame in him, maybe only to teach him to not play rough games inside: again a proof that Luc is more pet than man. I wouldn't use for him the word "beast" since it's too strong and wild, Luc's cat is more the cuddling than struggling type.So yes, if you like a good shapeshifter romance, with a strong accent on the shifter theme, but at the same time, with a funny and playful insight on the genre, Belling the Cat is exactly like that.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon: Codes and Roses
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
This is the first book I read by this author, and as first impression is a positive one, but I have some trouble in following all the aspect of it. I had almost the impression that this was a story inside a bigger contest, that some characters were already known to the authors and her readers and so she didn't present them. The good point is that, for being a BDSM story, it's very light on that side and so it could be right for a wider audience, also maybe someone who wants to have a taste on the theme, without going too deep into it.Nick is a police officer in Chicago. When the story starts he is barely out of a forced leave due to an injury and he wants to come back work as soon as possible. But then he receives a phone call from home, a place he left months before: his former boyfriend and submissive, Tristan is missing. From Nick's reaction we understand that his feelings for Tristan are not vanished yet, and Nick runs back home. Shift in time: Nick is at Tristan's home and he was found chained in a cabin near home. Why and who did that is not clear, and Tristan doesn't remember anything. It was quite strange to not having any details in those days while Nick was searching for Tristan and the days of his recoveries, plus I would have liked to see Tristan's reaction to Nick coming back home. From what we can collect from conversation and personal brainstorming of the two men, Tristan and Nick didn't have a breakup since they were not good together but for different reasons and due to both men's insecurities.
Nick saw his parents marriage fails due to his mother's mental unsteadiness. Coupling this with his work, Nick wants a reliable partner by his side, someone who can stand the tension and the fear to be a policeman's partner. And Nick is also weary to express his feelings, in a way he is convinced he doesn't love anyone, but probably he doesn't want to love anyone since he is not ready to loose that one. Plus being a dominant lover, Nick tends to be overprotective of his partner without giving him any chance or info useful to understand Nick's actions. On the other hand Tristan is not the usual submissive; he has a business, he is independent, he likes to submit in bed but not in life. He is strong enough to be a policeman's partner, but Nick doesn't believe it. Plus Tristan doesn't pretend too much from a partner if not commitment, and those three words, I love you, that Nick never said.
So no, Nick and Tristan, even if good in bed, are not a perfect couple, at least not till they decide to put aside the too many unsaid "IFs" in their life to give a try to their love.
As I said, for a first time author, at least for me, I did find the story nice, but I wouldn't have minded some connection points between all the events, sometime I felt like I was lost in a labyrinth; most of the story is played inside the two men's mind and the events depend on their inner decision... that's right, it's as it should be, but the two men change idea soo often that also the story is sometime in a buzz: Nick does not love Tristan but cares for him, Tristan does not want Nick with him without commitment, Nick loves Tristan but will leave, Nick loves Tristan and will remain, Tristan loves Nick but will let him go, Tristan loves Nick and will let him stay... In a way maybe it's right like that, we are in the middle of the focal point of a love story, when all is unsteady and the result is still not very sure.
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s
Rainbow Awards, The Game is On!: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/80750
With a title like this one I can't no read it as soon as possible! Garett is a cop and a nice guy. He likes is ordinary life and his prim and proper attitude. Late night shifts, a neat and clean house, some sports, a night out with regular friends and his life is pretty full. Not so full that he can't enjoy two nights at his favourite bookstore, managed by two old ladies that treat him like a nephew. And in one of these nights he meets Nate, another regular of the bookstore. Nate is a cook and like Garett he takes off from work pretty late and he likes to pass by the bookstore to rest and relax in the comfy chairs. And when he meets Garett he has one more reason to like the two old ladies who play the matchmaker role.Garett and Nate get along well, even if Garett is a bit uptight and Nate is more a bohemien type. But they have a lot in common, and there are all the premises for a good and lasting relationship to start.
Food and Books is a single shots and so it's not very long, less than 35 pages, but it's nice and erotic. Even if Garett and Nate don't jump at each other bones at first date, much for Garett's decision, they regain the time lost pretty soon at second date. So much of the book is the tale of their second date with two fast and furious sex scenes and a fast glimpse to their future together. But even if the book is only a novella, it's smooth and enjoyable, with two comfy and homey characters, two ordinary people you can easily find in real life.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon Kindle: Food and Books
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
A.M. Riley is probably one of the two authors who can write of Vampires and Cops, putting together two themes I'm not overtly fond, and make me like the book as I would like the sweetest romance. Not only, she made me love a full angst novel with cheating man (o apparently so), cops toying with BDSM, even a foursome... it's almost like she decides to pick up what a romance reader doesn't like and gives you the tongue, "see? how I write them, you like it". And yes, I have to say that she is right. I read almost all she wrote and was never disappointed.Adam and Peter are not new to her readers, she wrote a short story, a quite twisted Christmas tale, in where newbie vampire Adam, former cop, was still trying to acclimate with his new life, and his old buddy friend, Peter, former and present lover, had to decide what was the best gift for a vampire who has everything. The main interesting aspect of that short story was the "odd" nature of Adam: not the vampire thing, that is no more odd in gay romance, but his apparently bad boy reputation. It was not clear if Adam was a bad or good cop, he could have been even a corrupted one. But since Peter, the perfect good cop, loved him, something good in Adam he should have seen, and the reader had to trust Peter's judgment.
Anyway this is a prequel, the story of how Adam became a vampire. He is quite the lonely hero in it, Peter is more the good wife waiting at home, they don't have many scenes together, and when they have, they are almost always in bed (or even on the rug in front of the door). That this the strange thing of Adam: he knows that he is not at the same level with Peter, he was not at the Academy nor at work, but Adam seems to believe that Peter is his own property, that he will always be there for him. No matter that he has sex with a man on the way to meet Peter (first scene together), and continuously with two other men for all the rest of the book: that is something different, something he does almost in auto-pilot; with Peter instead is an act of bonding, and for this reason, everytime Adam feels at risk his exclusivity with Peter and on Peter's body, he claims him all over again, with sex that can be without problem compared to a club on the head of a caveman who claims his woman.
It's strange, but Adam's change in nature doesn't change anything in his relationship with Peter: all of above it was happening before Adam's death, and it's happening even now, with Adam as undead. Actually, Adam being a vampire doesn't enter in their routine, not even during sex: true, Adam's senses are higher, and he can desire something, but his particularly bond with Peter was strange even before. Adam was always the one in danger, and Peter was always the one who rescued him. For this reason, even if this is a paranormal romance, the love story between Adam and Peter has instead the feeling of a quite ordinary romance: two men, both cops, with different expectations in life who arrive to compromise to be together; maybe the one who renounces to more things is Peter, but he is clever enough to know that he will be never happy without Adam, so it's better something than nothing. Another thing I loved was how they were both sure, in their way, of their feelings: Adam was commitment's shy, but when Peter gives him a token of his love, he accepts that like a natural, like it is something of less importance; but I know that in his mind, he has scanned all the implications, and he has decided to accept it to not hurt Peter, since hurting Peter is the last thing he wants... in his way Adam loves Peter, as much if not more than how much Peter loves Adam.
I think this is a novel that could appeal to the paranormal romance readers, for the intake in the vampire world, a mix of old legends and "new" technology, but also to who usually is reluctant to read a vampire novel, since, as I said, the vampire nature of the characters is important but it's not all the meaning of the book.
http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Immortality
Amazon Kindle: Immortality is the Suck
Series:
1) What to Buy For the Vamp Who Has Everything: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/45866
2) Immortality is the Suck
Reading List:
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Well, well, well, never say never. These days you can hardly surprise me, I read too much and too various to find something really original, and then I have my preconceptions that often prevent me to read a book or the other, even if maybe I like that author and I know that I will like even that book. The Dick Hardesty Mystery series was something like that. I fought hard to not read it, not since I didn't like the previous book by Dorien Grey, quite the contrary, I like it, but since, let tell the truth, a series that is at its twelfth book? One, I'm not so fond of mysteries to be so crazy to start something that I already know it has 12 book of backlog, and two, I already was imagining this private investigator who was the classical example of lonely wolf, maybe even gay, but with no possible real good love story around, since it was impossible that the same hero was with the same person for all those books... and now probably the mystery lovers are ready to crucify me, since I know that there are out there famous "mystery" couple who lasted way more than 12 books. But I'm loosing the track of what I was saying.
I though, why not?, let's start from the last book, and if I like it, there is always time to go back to the previous ones. Since a mystery opens and closes with every book, I will have hardly trouble to get the feeling of the story even if I read only this one. And now I'm regretting my choice! Oh no, don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't like Dick Hardesty, it's since I like him so much! Dick is in a long term relationship with Jonathan, a cute guy who is an angel, and they even have a little five years old child, Joshua, an orphan they took to live with them. And I'm eating my nails since I want to know when Dick met Jonathan, when they decided to live together, when Joshua entered their life... and I know, OMG, I know, that I will not have these answers by reading only the previous book, I probably will have to go back for many many books to have them... I'm starting to to have very bad feelings towards Dorien Grey to be so cruel, you can't possible write of so good characters and dosing their story in more books, it's like giving small doses to someone to get them addicted, very bad behaviour.
Anyway, after my vent towards the author, what can I say more on the book? Obviously I can't say more on the mystery, other than it was, on the contrary of other similar stories, more a search for "who didn't do it", the victim, Grant, was quite the less nice guy on the planet, and more or less, everyone who knows him wanted him dead. The mystery unravels in the very closet circle around Dick and his partner Jonathan, the killed guy was in the same choir of Jonathan, and him or / and Dick know all the people involved. At least, the author chose to be original, and Jonathan is never on the suspects list, I really don't like when the private investigator has to dig on his partner's life behind his back. But this is the only thing I will say, since the author never once implied it, and so it's no a big secret to unveal.
The story is told in first point of view by Dick, so it's him the main focus, but I found that both him than Jonathan are balanced. Being Jonathan not new to the past readers of the series, we have not much added info on him, and I had the impression of a good guy, a good substitute father for Joshua, and a man that can hardly have a bad bone on him, he is always ready to find the good side in people. On the other hand, Dick maybe is less naive, but all in all neither him is so hard and aloof; he ponders his judgment, but all in all, he has not the usual disillusioned attitude that seems so common for P.I.s. Actually Jonathan and Dick are an ordinary couple, with a good circle of friends and with a little nice family; they help each other in managing all of it with an easiness that comes from practice, but they are not leading towards habit. They still have a good relationship and even a healthy sexual life, even if, unluckily for us, Dorien Grey didn't spend so much time to make us share in their joy, but there are hints here and there that "dad and dad" still have their moment, and thanks to the practice mentioned above, they manage even now that Joshua is with them.
So yes, Dick Hardesty and his partner Jonathan are a nice surprise, I'm happy to have finally met them, and it was good to read their story; it was refreshing for once to have an hero of a mystery series who has an ordinary life, a family, a comfortable home. I'm true, I was more interested to read of this, even of the little trouble they had in raising a little child, rather than to find who killed Grant, maybe since Grant was not a nice guy, and so I was not compelled to find out. Despite the matter, the story of Dick and Jonathan is light, sometime even funny (search for the scene when five years old Joshua comes home to announce that he has a girlfriend...), but the mystery in the background is not: the author manages to bring on both plots in parallel, each one with its own specific mood, and only in the last chapter, better in the last sentence, the two path cross. And it's again a proof that Dick ponders, and seldom lets his gut having the better on his mind (see how he reacts when the mystery is arriving to the end), and instead Jonathan lets always his heart leading him.
Amazon: The Angel Singers: A Dick Hardesty Mystery
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Bring the Heat is the classical cop and stripper story with a twist. And the twist is not that the stripper is a man, at least this is not the original thing, but that the cop, Riley, is a shy good boy next door type who falls in love with model turned stripper for fun, Dane.Riley was always a shy boy, and even a little skinny and nerd type. For all his youth he was scorned for being gay and this led him to choose to be a police officer more for the desire to help others like him than for a real sacred inner fire for justice. Riley comes from a middle class family, they have money and possibility, and his job as a cop is seen as something under class and not suitable. So to the shame he suffered when he was a teenager, now it is added also the scorn from his family for having an unsuccessful career. All of it makes Riley a man with big self-esteem issues and with him being so shy, it leads also to him being a single without hope.
Then at the coffeshop where he goes every morning he catches the eyes with Dane, a very handsome man; Dane is nice and flirting, and even if they have never shared a word, Riley knows that Dane is a man he would like to know better. Problem is that Riley is hopelessly shy and has no courage to pick up a line to approach Dane. Dane, on the other hand, is drawn to Riley above all for his shyness: Dan is a former professional model who still works sometime, but above all he is comfortably living with his savings. He also strips some nights a week, more for the fun that for real money need. As a model Dane was used to be judged and judging more for physical appearance than for having a working brain, and being Dane a man with a perfectly working brain, that didn't suit him well. So he took up the sad event of his father's illness to leave that world. And now he is attracted by Riley since he recognizes in him a man who will be nice and sweet, loving and caring, and who will not disappear when the beautiful facade of Dane's body will decay.
Everything is perfect, Dane is also planning his subtle seduction, but Riley's work as a cop comes in the middle: a fellow stripper of Dane is killed and Riley as to question Dane as possible witness. Dane and Riley are suddenly nearer than ever before, and the passion fights with the code of honor of a cop. Dane doesn't help, since he is tempting as devil and falling in hell seems very good.
Both characters are really good, they have deepness and the reader feels for them. Where maybe Riley is not exactly a stereotype, he is not at all the strong and silent cop type, he is coherent: Riley is not a leader, nor in life or at work; Riley is faithful and clever, but he searches the leading of other men, as lovers and coworkers. In a classical cop novel, Riley would have been the best friend of the main hero, the good cop by the book. And when chances make him going against his principles, Riley is full of remorse and fears, but still he is stable enough to face it in the right way.
On the other hand, even if the stereotype of a model is to be frivolous and fickle, Dane is instead the strong core of this couple. Even as a model he is a white fly, he earned good money and he saved them, avoiding the easy temptation of the glittering show business life. He is clever and gentle, and also generous; but not stupid. In all his acts, towards his father and brother, Dane proves to be able to take the right decision, not letting his heart leads completely the way, but hearing also to his brain. Only with Riley, and their first encounter, he maybe lets his passion takes the hand of the situation, but honestly at that moment he didn't think it was a bad thing. Otherwise, he is always ready to comprehend and forgive, and even to wait for Riley and his slower pace. And having a working brain, he is also able to counter to Riley's remonstrances with right and squared facts.
Bring the Heat is the proof that opposites attract, even when you change the tables, making the cop the submissive side of the couple. It's also more a romance than a cop novel, the mystery is not at all the main argument, it plays only a supporting role to the romance.
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Br
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Bottled Up is a full romance, with all the cliche of the good old romance (the hunky cop, the perfect family, the nice neighborhood), and it's also the proof that a man can write romance. Truth be told, it's more than a proof, since Bottled Up is way more romantic than any romance I read lately. Sean is a nice gay guy. He is the owner of a winery, no apparently money issues, a bunch of good friends, a supporting family and even a boyfriend. Well this last is maybe the only thing not so perfect, since no one of his friends seem to like Ted, his boyfriend. And being Sean so nice and perfect, it's only obvious that, when he saves an homeless teenager kid for a rape attempt in the alley near his business, Sean has no courage to put him again on the street. But Sean suddenly interest and attachment to Bobby would have been strange or worrying, if a bad experience in Sean's past didn't explain his reactions to the event.
From that moment on, the story flows down steadily and with little bumps towards an happily ever after, even the only nasty thing, the bad boyfriend, is soon replaced with the hunky cop of above, Sam, a patrol officer who are trying to catch Sean's interest for months without apparently success. But I have the feeling that Bobby's rescue, other than awakening in Sean fatherly instinct that he even didn't know to have, also unveils some inner trouble that Sean was hiding from friends, family, but even to himself. The Bottled Up of the title is an obvious reference to Sean's business, but also to his attitude towards the world, he has everything bottled up inside himself, and when he decides to let it go, the result can be only one: he will explode like a sparkling wine shook too much, but the explosion can have also a positive side, since now Sean is ready to love again, with all himself, body and mind, and not only with a cool external behavior that didn't reflect the pain he had inside.
Side by side with Sean during his journey from good friend and aloof boyfriend (with Ted, the ex) to perfect father and lover, there is Sam, the quintessence of the Cop Dream Lover; nice, gay, out and proud, Sam has nothing to hide since he has no mean bone. Sometime when you write a character like Sam, you risk to make him nasty since too much good could be too much; but this is not the case with Sam, it's true, he never once fails or does something bad in the book, he is always willing and ready to help Sean and to love Bobby, even if it's clear that he is doing so for Sean's love. Sam probably was not thinking to become a father, but like a perfect man, if the object of his love has a son, there is no doubt that he has to include that son in his affection. No complain for the time they lose since they are not alone, as he doesn't complain when he has to face Sean's past, a past that it's still conditioning Sean's response to sex and relationship. As I said, Sam is perfect.
As I said the story is basically a romance with an happily ever after; true, it deals with delicate matters, but the author manages to not push too much on the angst bottom. More than make you cry, the author chose to make you smile, a warm and quiet smile, since, to respect to the delicate matter, he never even pushed too much on the light bottom.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/current
Amazon: Bottled Up
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Chasing Smoke is about how you never forget your first love and about a little spoiled teenager. Daniel and Trey were friends as teenager. They were not exactly best friends, their parents were and the kids went along when the parents did. Daniel was the son of a wealthy doctor, living in the best neighborhood of the town; Trey was the son of a police officer, with an comfortable house in an average neighborhood. But it was Daniel who envied Trey; he envied his house, his parents, his life, and desiring all of that, he desires also the boy. Daniel was young and skinny, a bit of a nerd, where Trey was the next door good boy, with a cheerleaders as a girlfriend... even more than one. It's obvious than in a situation like that, when both Daniel than Trey realized that they preferred men on women, they started a secret relationship; Daniel, with all the certainty given by money and youth, was careless and full of hope in the future, and instead Trey was still in the closet, trying to be the perfect good boy that everyone thought he was.
I don't know if the relationship would have lasted, I have the feeling that Daniel was too immature, and Trey too scared. But a tragic fate gave a sudden break: Trey's mother was killed and Trey's father was framed; he went in prison while Trey was welcomed inside Daniel's home as a second son. But Daniel was not able to see Trey as a brother, and Trey was too scared to let his feeling transpire; as soon as it was possible, Trey enrolled in the Army. Daniel saw it as a betrayal, an abandonment, and also him took the first chance he had to let the city.
Years later, Daniel is an agent for Homeland Security, and he is also a playboy on the side. He has openly gay sexual relationship, also long-term relationship, but always without strings attached: as soon as one of his boyfriends try to tight the knot, Daniel runs away. I believe he still has the feeling that his story with Trey is not ended; as I said, if it was given the time to the boys to grew on their relationship, probably they would have realized it was only a teenager crush on the only other gay boy around, but like that, Trey's dreaming image became the forbidden fruit for Daniel, something he couldn't have despite all his money. Any man after him was only a means to forget Trey and didn't work. Now that Daniel is coming back home for Christmas, and Trey is there, working as a police officer in the same department as his father, even if Daniel is feigning indifference, I think he is on the prowl to capture that dream of long ago.
I like Daniel, but I said, I think he is a little spoiled. He always does what he wants, and he is very demanding, in and out the bedroom. Even when he is the submissive partner, I always have the idea that he is the one in command. On the other hand Trey is a more gentle character; it's true, he had not the courage to come out years ago, but I believe it was in his character. Trey is a man that has to ponder every move, to weight the pros and cons, but if you give him time, he always arrives to the right decision. Even years ago, if Daniel had the patience to wait for him, he would have taken the right decision.
The story is pretty sexy, there are a lot of erotic sex scene, where, as I said, Daniel is always in command, even when he is the bottom. He is demanding and eager, while Trey is caring and gentle... it's really interesting how the author was able to mingle so well the characters in and out the bedroom, maintaining their characteristics in both place.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/cha
Amazon Kindle: Chasing Smoke
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
Brushback is the example of a lost pearl; actually it's not so lost, it's the first work of a new author, Jamie Scofield, and first offer of a new publisher, Dancing Fools Press. They are both so new that I haven't any info on the author, so I don't know his/her background, but I have to say that the book feels a lot "mature" than a first try.Up front I would also like to highlight that this is probably a novel that appeal to readers who like a good mystery and not so much to who like for their novel to be more sexy than erotic. First in a series, the Evan Austin Mystery series, it features that's so Evan Austin, former police detective and now high paied private investigator. Evan is sophisticated, smart and a bit "aloof". He is not the usual PI with a lot of skills but few acknowledgment, on the contrary, Evan not only has a secretary, he has also other two employees who work for him full time. Plus a wide net of connections, most of them among the very important people. So Evan moves in the high society, has no money problem, and can decide if accepting or not a case: Evan has a moral code, and he reserves his right to decide if paying clients are the good or the evil in the story.
All above is about Evan as PI; but there is also Evan in his private life. Evan is gay, not out and proud, but neither in the closet. I think that Evan beliefs in true love, but he was burned. His former partner left him after a very dramatic even, with the excuse that he couldn't tolerate the risk of Evan's profession. After that Evan is wary to try again and he became over analytic whenever he meets a new potential lover. Evan applies all the techniques he learned as a detective to destroy the man in front of him: even if he can see the positive side, he overweights the small negative clues, an no man surpasses the test. At least until Roman.
Evan is hired by the lawyer of a British woman over the phone to find her lost son. Finding the boy is no problem, he is living with a guardian, Roman, who was the partner of the late uncle of the kid. I will not give more details on the plot, it's part of the mystery you have to read and try to understand, enough to say that Evan has more than a passing interest on Roman. What I found really interesting is that the author didn't choose the visual "effect" to build the attraction between Evan and Roman, he/she chose to build an attraction based on little things, like the timber of voices, common interests... chemistry. Actually if I read with attention Roman's physical description, he is not at all an handsome man for the classical parameter. Anyway, when I said that the author preferred to be erotic rather than sexy, I mean that there is a subtle eroticism all over the novel, the relationship between Evan and Roman is there, and it's strong, but it never goes down to a deep physical level, no sex under the belt. Being erotic is something subtle, strong and continuous, being sexy is something light and with ups and downs... So no, there is no sex in Brushback, but don't get me wrong, there is a lot of romance, and of very high quality.
And the story? What I noticed is that the author builds a complicated plot, with a lot of clues scattered all around, some of vital importance for the mystery, some only side dishes for the main order. What was interesting, and complicated, was that, when you find them, you don't know what is what, and so your mind is continuously trying to place the missing pieces in the puzzle that is the mystery. It's engaging and I believe it is what will thrill the real mystery lovers.
The story is complex, the characters, both main than supporting, are very well developed, the mystery is good and the romance is enticing... a big bravo to Jamie Scofield for this debut novel.
http://dancingfoolspress.com/book/brushb
Amazon: Brushback
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All right, I'm sincere, I don't know if I personally like how the series evolved in the last chapter. Please take a good look to that "personally" word, this is an opinion of mine, and it's totally based on my personal taste, it's not a judgment on the value of the writer or the story.The two cops in this series, Gary and Dan, both evolves in reverse flow. Gary starts like a very troubled man, who is not sure of his sexuality or his life at all. He was a molested child, he denied his homosexuality for a long time, and when he finally admitted his love interested to Dan, he found out that he probably was bisexual, not homosexual. At first both Gary than Dan probably thought that it was a remainder of that denial period, or maybe an hint that Gary was not ready or willing to seriously commit to only one person... but more the time passes, and more Gary realizes that he is not complete with both Dan than Kim by his side. If he is forced to choose, his love for Dan is stronger, and in book 3 he tried to commit to that love only, giving up his relationship with Kim.
On the other side Dan started like a very strong and self-conscious man. He was gay and proud, he was a cop by the book, he knew what it was right and wrong. He was the steady man that Gary needed to heal and flourish... or not? Being Dan so "straight" (no pun inteded), so convinced of his own idea, makes him quite inflexible. To live with Gary you have to comprimise. In the last three book Dan went through all the rollercoast that is a relationship, the happiness, the sadness, the denial of love and the realization that you can't live without. Now it's time for Dan to decide if he is willing to accept Gary as a faulty man, or if he wants to be alone with the icon of a dream man that is not real.
So, this is a menages... no way to avoid the definition. At least the author wrote it as I like it, with the male/male pair stronger, but nevertheless it's a menages. Kim is also a nice character, and in a way, the fact that she really is in love with only one of the two men, Gary, make all the story more real... Kim is in love with Gary, there is no competition inside her, like Dan is in love only with Gary. There is no relationship between Kim and Dan is not friendship... giving that, it's still a menages? Nice point of discussion.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Series: Moment of Truth
1) To Serve and Protect: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/56010
2) Choosing the Light: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/67573
3) Missing the Ocean: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/70982
4) Learning to Love
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There are two worlds in this novel and Brandon behaves in a different way according to the world he is in that moment. Inland Empire is the sequel of Cheating Chance; the first book takes place in Nicky's world (so maybe the worlds are actually three), Las Vegas, where Nicky is out and proud and has no problem with that. He has a tight circle of friends and Brandon, his new boyfriend, enters the circle. It's always Brandon who comes to visit Nicky, since Brandon is not out: he is a Los Angeles police officer, and he stated from the first moment with Nicky that he has no intention to come out. But in the first book Nicky was in danger, Brandon had to call for some favor, and in a way, he came out a bit from the closet. Now, at the beginning of the second book, Nicky is coming to visit and Brandon can't avoid to present him to his friends. It's actually the Pink Elephant who tries to hide in a glass shop, since Nicky is obviously gay, he is staying with Brandon, and you can say seeing them together that they are not only buddy friends. I actually found almost irritating Brandon's stubbornness in insisting that he is in the closet... that closet has bigger hole that a wrecked ship.And so we read of Brandon who tries to live a double life: the mostly submissive partner for Nicky, when they are alone, and the bad big straight cop, when they are among other people. It's quite a contrast since Brandon doesn't change so much in attitude, and so it's strange, but interesting, to see him as the bottom in their relationship, seeking Nicky's comforting body and almost begging his love, without actually saying the word, and maintaining that facade of strong and untouchable man; and it's even more strange to see him denying that Nicky is someone special in his life, when it's obvious that Nicky is among the more important person in his life.
Another nice contrast is seeing as Brandon, all straight attitude, is mostly the bottom in their relationship, and Nicky, not exactly flamboyant, but almost, turns a dominant lover in their intimacy. There is a reason for Nicky's behavior, a bad experience with a past lover that makes difficult for him to submit to a lover, so the contrast is not so strange; basically Nicky was a submissive lover, but he got hurt, and now it's difficult to trust again. And Brandon's attitude doesn't help, since, trying to "hide" Nicly with him in the closet, he isn't proving to Nicky that he accepts him like he is, he is forcing Nicky to do something he doesn't like, and ab absurdo, he is behaving like his former lover, taking advantage of Nicky's trust to force him to do something unhealthy for him.
In the end I would like to spend some words on the setting, the LAPD. It's not a "romance" perspective that we have of the job, there are not lonely hero who arrives and burst into a scene alone and almighty, routing the enemies. Oh yes, Nicky and Brandon can play on how sexy can be Brandon with his former motorbike cop uniform, but all in all, Brandon's job is dangerous and underpaid, brought on in poor neighborhoods and among petty criminals, and at the end of the day, the only reward he has is a small apartment and a take out dinner. And Brandon himself is not some perfect hero, who can live as he wants without facing the consequences of his actions. Only if you meet someone special like Nicky, you can have something more, but you need to have the courage to be true with yourself and the world, knowing that there will be no rainbow flags cheering for you.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon: Inland Empire
Series:
1) Cheating Chance: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/26073
2) Inland Empire
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Cover Art by Pluto
Without doubt this short story winks at the tv fiction Charlie's Angels. As in the fiction, an unknown man who speaks only through a phone, Simon, owns a P.I. agency lead by three different "angels", three gay men: Cary, the it nerd, Marco, the macho ex-cop, and Rafe, the former actor and make up artist. Marco and Rafe had something in the past, but after a police case ended very badly, Marco ditched the job and the lover. Rafe has never had a real reason for Marco's betrayal, and probably he is still in love with the man. And so when years later, the agency asked him to work with Marco and Cary, I believe that Rafe accepted to have the chance to be again near Marco. In the agency the role are quite clear: Cary is the brain, Marco is the muscle and Rafe is the pretty; and so when a killer starts to target en-travesti man, it's quite obvious that Rafe will take part to a transvestite beauty pageant as bait... what it's not so obvious is that also macho man Marco will have to dress as a beauty contestant.
From that moment on, the mood of the short story is light and most of the time funny; Rafe is all coquettish on Marco, Marco has not the will to resist to his ex-lover, and he more than once surrenders to temptation. Rafe adopts the tactics to put out everything and always, to let Marco know what he is missing. And never once replies to Marco's late rebuttal with anger or offence: Rafe knows that he is in love with Marco and that he is the only man he wants, and so he doesn't see reason to hide it.
Even if there is a killer on the loose, and some casualty on the course, the mood of the short story is always light; I think the author is not taking very seriously the mystery plot, she is more interested in the love story between Marco and Rafe. And then, all the PI agency and mystery subplot is more tv fiction "fake" than realistic, wireless boobs transceiver and unbodied voices directly on the ears.
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s
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With the third chapter in the Moment of Truth series, the author almost made me think that I didn't understand anything of the story... the second book ended with Gary who confessed a betrayal to Dan, he said that there were someone else. Dan stomped out of their home to drawn his sorrow in the alcohol, but he receives the advice to not let it go. Meanwhile Gary was again thinking to suicide, but this time he is stronger and he is able to weight the good and bad side of life. When Dan comes back to him, Gary is also able to let Dan understand that it's not only his fault if their relationship is having trouble, and that Dan has to take upon himself his responsibility.Now if you haven't read the story and don't like to be spoiled, stop to read NOW.
If not, please continue... at the beginning of the relationship Gary was straight; he was a former abused child, and he denied his homosexuality. In fact he acted as and more than a normal straight man, he had girlfriends and he was quite popular. Then he met Dan and thanks to his love for him, he was able to consider a gay relationship. As often in a "gay for you" themed book, Gary has no interest for other men, he is in love with Dan, and only due to that love, he can have also a sexual relationship with a man. But basically Gary never stopped to like women. And Dan had this fantasy to see him with a woman... it was like putting the straw near the fire! Now Gary has feeling for a woman, and Dan has to decide if he loves enough Gary to share him with another person, a woman... or maybe he has to decide if he loves Gary so much that he can't even consider to share him. According to you, what Gary wants? For someone who doubts to be a good partner choice for anyone, he would prefer that Dan accepts to share him, or he, instead, would like to hear from Dan that he can't share his love? Dan is facing a test, and the more romantic readers just know the answer to the previous question.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Series: Moment of Truth
1) To Serve and Protect: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/56010
2) Choosing the Light: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/67573
3) Missing the Ocean
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Next of Kin by Astrid Amara In a futuristic world, the type I tagged Apocalypse Now, people live side by side with demons. Actually demons seem to have replace human in the most common jobs, and they are at the command of special men, the sorcerers. There are some big families of sorcerers, they are like the new aristocracy, and every sorcerer have some special powers, who more, who less.
Jay Yervant is one of those special men, but his powers brought more pain than anything else to him. He is a blazing man, like a human torch. He can't touch a human since he leaves deeply burns, and so he "banished" himself from his family. He became an Hell Cop, a special unit to fight the renegade demons. Jay has also another reason to disappoint his family, he is gay. But actually, other than feel desire for men, he has never acted upon it, since no lover can bear his touch.
Enter Brian, a 21 years old naive man... he is like a child in a candy store. Brian has always lived in a rural community which refused the modern technology, and above all the magic. But Brian didn't fit in the community and he left for the big city. Only that he wasn't prepared to what the big city is, he didn't know that demons were real, and not only a bogus the priest on the community used to scare the kid. Among all the caos the only thing normal seems his attraction to Jay, actually I didn't understand where and when Brian acquired all his sexual experience, unless in that community they did something else other than pray ;-)
Anyway it seems that Brian is the only guy able to touch Jay without being injured, and Jay was attracted to Brian even before discovering this "little" particular... maybe the days of Jay as a virgin are limited! If you think I'm joking, you are right, since the novella has a very funny mood on it. It deals with bloody killings, with body parts splattered all around, but I don't know how, it still manages to be funny. Maybe it's Brian's innocence, his fixation on having sex with Jay that makes him forget everything else around. Maybe it's also a bit the Cinderfella theme, since Jay is from a very wealthy family, but he chose to live far from them, and Brian is this poor guy living in a shitty apartment...
Really I don't know, usually I'm not a big fan of futuristic setting and too much blood around, but this time I read it all and would have been willing to read more. And in a nice play of contrast, both men preserve a type of innocence: Brian with his isolated upbringing has an innocent soul, even if he experienced sex, and instead Jay, who has seen too much and lived in a corrupted world, due to his special powers is still a virgin, at least on a physical level.
Red Sands by Nicole Kimberling
The story is set in the same universe as before, and this time has as main hero another Hell Cop, colleague of Jay. Actually Jay makes only a cameo for reference and instead Brina has a little role, where he confirms his naivete. Argent, Jay's colleague, is of a different sort from his friend. From what I understood, Jay comes from a sorcery family, and he has his special powers as a birthright, instead Argent chose to become an Hell Cop and was trained in the art of sorcery. Due to that, Argent, and his story, has a different feeling, it's more simple, and almost not "paranormal".
To balance a bit the lack of paranormal event, Argent chosen lover for the story is Michael, an half-demon half-human. From someone with demon blood you would expect from him to be something special, and instead Michael is an average man. He is a college professor, an anthropologist, who spends a lot of time far from his planet in some mission. When he is at home, he is not even a particular affectionate man, he has a family that obviously loves him, but he is detached from them. Michael's father was a famous rocker, and probably he used his relationship with Michael's mother, a demon from another planet, to gain popularity. Even if proud of his son, Michael's father was too much lost on his sex, drugs and rock and roll world to be a paternal figure. How strange that a otherworldly kid like Michael was subjected to the same destiny of the sons of the rich and famous.
Maybe since he is tired to be "different", maybe since he is alone, Michael's relationship with Argent flows in a nice and quite way; there is no paranormal event, no sudden passion, they meet, they like, they love, probably the only ordinary thing amid the extraordinary that is around them. Even Michael's special powers to read people mind by touch are neutralized by Argent's training, putting them on the same level of emotion.
Overall the lasting feeling is of a nice romance cop, and even the final solution is somewhat simple like that.
Touching Sparks by Ginn Hale
The last story is even more ordinary of the previous two, and I'm using the word ordinary in a derogatory way, remember that the futuristic genre is not usually my cup of tea.
No one of the two men involved in this story has special powers or half blood otherworldly lineage. Moran is an Hell Cop, and as all the Hell Cop, he was trained in sorcery, but all his powers are learned not inherited. He is the classical cop of wet dreams, dark, handsome and mourning. And as all the mourning cops, he needs a "fresh" boy to bring him out of his sadness.
James Sparks, Sparky for Moran, was the teenager kid who lived near Moran many years ago. Now he is a successful photographer who is stumbled in a drugs illegal market with illegal fight side entertainment. James is too good boy next door to let it go and obviously he asks help to Moran and forces the man to involve him as undercover spy. Moran has some trouble to match the memories of the skinny teenager with this young man, and he builds in his mind an imagine that is not exactly true: he sees James like a virgin damsel in distress that Moran has to help but not debauch.
This is the shorter of the stories and probably the less light of the three. It's a dark and gothic feeling, a sense of danger probably enhanced by the fact that no one of the heroes involved have special powers to shield them from death.
http://www.loose-id.com/detail.aspx?ID=8
Amazon Kindle: Hell Cop by Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling & Ginn Hale
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Cover Art by April Martinez
I think Josh Lanyon amused a bit himself in describing the character of Christopher Holmes, a fortyish and grumpy mystery writer. Christopher was a prodigy writer, being published and bestselling at 20 years old and something. After that exploit, he continued to thriving with his series on a sleuthing old spinster and her cat, till the moment the market changes and he finds himself old fashioned like his heroine. The market wants new things, the readers want paranormal and erotica, they want romance and sex (not necessarily in this order) and Christopher is not able to write romance, above all since he is just been dumped by his long last boyfriend and committed partner for a younger man. And here comes out the real Christopher, a man that the author would like to present like a bookish and grumpy intellectual, and instead comes out like a man bigger than him. Christopher likes the things to be simple and easy and he doesn't like to take risk, both in life than in his writing career. He is methodical and a creature of habit, and he likes to be the center of attention. He likes to see his books at the top of the bestselling lists, not for the money, but for the attention. I think Christopher has a bit of self-esteem trouble, and he pours his personal insecurities on his career. He takes very seriously the competition, and he has the tendency to be a bit of a snob regarding the other works, even if he knows all of them (meaning that he has read all of them).
His agent recommends him a change of style, she forces him to go to a writers retreat where he will have the chance to meet his editor and rethinks his career. But as soon as he arrives, a corpse is discovered and the place is isolated by the bad weather. More among the other writers there is also J.X., a 5 years younger fellow mystery writer and former cop, he seduced and dumped 10 years before, when J.X. was only an aspiring writer. Christopher had dumped him for the same man than now dumped Christopher, and so obviously, seeing him again makes Christopher wonders if he didn't do the wrong choice.
Again I had the idea that Christopher is more disappointed that J.X. doesn't notice him than of the fact that he is the main suspect for the murder. He is so self-conscious that he arrives to consider a problem a merely 5 years difference in age, and he starts to check his wrinkles on every mirror he has the chance to reflect on. Instead of trying to find the real culprit, he spends his time trying to bring J.X. on the nearer bed available, and while he is busy to seduce again the poor J.X., the killer has all the time to strike again. Now, don't get me wrong, when it's time to investigate, that is when someone near Christopher is involved, Christopher unveils all his potential as private investigator, but again, only since he is personally involved and not for the love of mystery...
And J.X.? Well he is the perfect boyfriend of an amateur sleuth: former cop, and so with knowledge enough to be of some help, but younger and in love, and so pliant enough to not being the dominant figure in their relationship. Apparently J.X. is the stronger in the relationship, but, even if he is always complaining of something (he is cold, he is wet, he is tired), Christopher is the real mainstay of the two, J.X. is a, very nice, supporting character. Anyway even if selfish and selfcentered, Christopher is finally an amateur sleuth that I like more for how he is than for what he does, I have always had a soft spot for the egocentric characters (maybe since they are less perfect and more real?)
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/som
Amazon Kindle: Somebody Killed His Editor: Holmes & Moriarity, Book 1
Amazon: Somebody Killed His Editor
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Setting in a suburban England town, The Nest is an unexpected story. First of all, the blurb is not quite right, hinting to some big bad trouble, really American style, where the big good cop plays the knight in shining armor's role. Instead the style of the story, and the troubles in it, are dry and all too much ordinary, not at all stage effective. The Nest is a story in an undertone, and the two main characters are more ordinary men than heroes. And surprisingly enough, it's almost a sweet romance, with few if nothing sex.Brendan Cuddy is the new police constable assigned to a poor council estate called the Nest. As the new man, Brendan is seen by all the people who live, and hide, in the Nest, like an intruder, someone you have to not trust, above all by Jay. Jay is a 19 years old guy who is trying to support his younger siblings, two of them under 10 years old, after their mother disappeared 2 years before. Jason didn't say to Social Services that his mother left, since the obviously conclusion would have been for the family to be split up. Instead Jay dropped out of school and now works two job to make the ends meet. He is doing a better job than his mother with his siblings, but it's not the dreamlike family of some romance stories. Jay is not some fabulous older brother that all at once became a perfect parent, he is still mostly a teenager who had to grow faster and sooner. And it's not even the classical teenager who gets himself in some big trouble and needs a good man to help him. As I said, the turning point of the story is not sensational and even the decision one will be quiet and simple, as all the book itself.
So here we have Jay, 19 years old and almost no experience with men, since he has really no time to date or think to something else other than take care of his family, and Brendan, the good constable, who wants only to help. Brendan is not a hero, he probably takes a little more interest in this case since he has a sweet eye for Jay; and really, he doesn't do anything special, if not closing an eye here and there (like with Jay's mother disappearance), and holds out an helping hand when necessary. In the meantime, we have also a proof that Brendan is not exactly a tough and pure perfect hero, since he brings on a fated relationship with Rowan, when he well knows that he is not in love with the man, and worst, he thinks to Jay even when he is with Rowan. But Brendan is not someone who sees things in black and white, and maybe he is also too gentle and caring to clearly say to a man who claims to be in love with him, that him instead doesn't feel nothing... better to let the river flows, than trying to stop it.
Even if it was not what I was expecting, I like the feeling of the book, it was almost like one of those English movies, a la Stephen Frears, about the working class. You usually get to see a movie, or read a book, to see something different from your real life, and so, it's difficult that you willingly decide to see one of those movies, but maybe, one afternoon you are at home doing nothing, and that movie is on the screen, and you stop what you are doing and find yourself glue to the television... You are seeing your life, but, well, it's a good story, and you like it. There are not sensational scenes, there are not big emotional breakdowns, not even the sex, but still, there is something of undefined that draw you to the story... this book is something like that, I can't really find a specific point that made me like the book, it's a continuum thing, a continuum that is not even broke at the end: they are not the characters that lead the story, it's the story that incorporates the characters and makes them move along its placid flow.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-re
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Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey
With the second book in the Moment of Truth series, A.J. Wilde closes a door and opens a gate: Gary and Dan are now together, more in life than as partners. Gary needs to recover to an unhealthy act he did to himself, and above all, he has to make peace with his paste. Problem is that to do that, he needs to close for good that chapter and only a final gesture can do that. At first Gary, alone without Dan's love, thinks that the only way to do that is to close the thing from his side. Dan helps him to understand that he was the victim and not the guilty, and that he is strong enough to face everything.Good you would think, Dan admits his love for Gary, Gary had a strong partner and lover beside him that will help him to go over any obstacle, past and future, now they should be happy together? But life is not simple, and I believe that, deep inside, Gary is not yet recovered by his past drama, and he has not yet reached his full development. Gary is really gay, or he was influenced by his past? He really loves Dan, or maybe he loves the safe nest that he has found in Dan's arms? And when he will start to heal from his past, his feelings for Dan will be still so strong or they will fade?
While Gary is probably going through all this questions in his mind, I believe that Dan underestimated a bit too much Gary's situation. It's not possible to simple sponge Gary's past off removing the cause; the damage is done, and it would have been probably better to deal with it with a specific help. Instead Dan thought that love was the better cure, and that he could have been an happy family with Gary like two ordinary people who met, loved, and moved together.
Choosing the Light moves a bit further in Gary's discovery journey of himself, but it's not yet the final destination.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Series: Moment of Truth
1) To Serve and Protect: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/56010
2) Choosing the Light
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The Deadly Mystery series by Victor J. Banis is addictive! I finished the first book thinking, well, this was good, maybe with a little more romance... ended the second book thinking, wow, I wasn't expected from Tom to be a so good romance hero, he was nice in the first book but in the second, he is soo good. And now, closing the third book, I'm happy like a duck in her pond, since this is the most romantic of the three books, but also the one where I finally had the chance to see Stanley and Tom as a real couple, partners both in work than life. The third book is a discovery journey for both men, Tom is trying to fit in his new life, and Stanley has to rethink something in his past. Tom is really a good romance hero, but not since he is perfect, he is good since he is NOT perfect. Tom is mostly a straight man, as I just said in the past, he didn't find himself gay all at once, he found himself in love with a person (even if he, as a good tough man, don't use the big word love to define what he feels), and it happens that that person is a man. So, for the transitive law, if Tom loves Stanley, and Stanley is a man, Tom is gay, right? Wrong. Tom is still fighting with this idea, he doesn't like to be tagged, and then, truth be told, he still finds women attractive; I really liked this side of the story, Tom "chose" to be with Stanley, he is more involved with his mind (and I believe also with his heart) than with his body. Actually more the series goes on and more it becomes sexually explicit, but nevertheless, it's not only a physical thing for Tom. But even if Tom is fighting with himself and with the idea to be in love with a man, he never once in all the series, throw in Stanley's face his trouble; Tom is always the perfect romance hero toward Stanley, he is always protective and nice, always ready to listen to him and to change his life to make Stanley's one easier. Can you understand that I like Tom?
But Tom is not the only one that has to face some hard moments in his life. Stanley discovers that his parents, his now dead parents lied to him, and that lie now is resurfacing and it could case big damage to Stanley, but above all to Tom. Where the second book was more centered around Stanley, I believe that the third one is more centered around Tom, and it's strange, since actually the fulcrum of the story, the mystery, is all about Stanley. But I felt as Stanley has yet reached the deepest desires of his heart, he is living with Tom, and it was Tom that proposed, and even if Tom is not suddenly turned in the perfect gay partner, at least when they are in company, he is the perfect man inside their home, and in the tight circle of their relationship. So, yes, I felt as Stanley didn't need anything else, and this time is Tom who needs to do a bit of rethink on his personal life.
I don't want to say nothing more on the mystery of the book, I don't like to give up the story. Let me only say that again I found that Victor J. Banis gave a deepness even to the villain of the story Andrew; he should be the negative character, but there were time during when I was almost hoping in a strange turn, that in a way even Andrew could have a chance to redeem. There are reasons why Andrew is like that, and for those reasons I feel for him... what is that in Victor J. Banis' works that he manages to always make me have feeling for all the characters, from the dead one (like in the second book), to the villain (like in this one)?
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Series: Deadly Mystery:
1) Deadly Nightshade: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/49853
2) Deadly Wrong: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/51713
3) Deadly Dreams
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The quality of some new authors (new at least for me) it's always amazing, Elle Parker's first book has the feeling of some old classic spy story, like those B/W movies with Humphrey Bogart, but at the same time the sparkling atmosphere of a sunny beach in Florida, that I read is one of the "gayest" place in United States. Like Coffee and Doughnuts I believe refer to the two main characters, Dino Martini (yes, yes, not so hidden reference to Dean Martin), and Seth Donnelly: Dino is like an expensive but full of savor coffee mix, the one that when you open the pack smell like paradise and sunday morning, and Seth is like a chocolate doughnuts, all messy and unhealthy, but you can't avoid to eat them and then lick your fingers. Coffee / Dino is old fashioned like the real Italian coffee (sorry, American coffee is not the same...), and like the coffee, you have to stop and savor it, you can't drink it while hurrying somewhere else; Doughnut / Seth is a burst of energy, hyper-calories that you have to run a marathon to digest. Can two men as different match and love? yes, as well and good as coffee and doughnut go together.Dino and Seth are best friends; it's not clear how two men as different, also in age, Dino 42, Seth 33, met, but now they are buddy friends. Dino always goes to Seth when he needs an helping hand, and Seth never denies his. Apparently Dino is the safe and steady friend, but actually, if you think at it, it's always Dino who is asking for something and it's always Seth that is putting out (no pun intended) for Dino. Dino plays the role of the "adult" man, the one who doesn't do flings and who is probably waiting for the real thing, man or woman is not important, Dino is more looking to the right soul mate, regardless the gender. Seth instead is for the "now and soon" theory, and everyone is willing is good; again man or woman doesn't matter, even if probably Seth has a penchant for men.
On the outside, not Dino or Seth are the typical gay out and proud, but actually the one who is less flickle, is the one who seems gayest to me: Dino, with his Martha Stewart's attitude, the tendency to build a nest everywhere he poses, is the one who more seems to me the perfect poster boy for the flamboyant gay guy. Dino is the one who can cook, who spends a lot of time in front of the mirror deciding what to wear, who actually knows the difference between dress for work and dress to date. Dino is the wine and homecooking type, Seth is more the beer and takeout one.
From all of this, you will expect from Dino to be the one to make the first move, to be adult enough to recognize that Seth is the perfect man for him, and that, above all, Seth is years that is waiting for him to make that move. And instead, even if younger and sluttier, it's again Seth who proves to be the more open with his feelings. I believe Dino has some inner complex still unresolved, he is buying himself with the story that he is not the type for flings and that he wants a real relationship, but I think that it's more the case that Dino fears to commit. Maybe Seth is rushing a bit the thing, maybe with all his bursting energy, he is scaring away Dino, but all in all, I like his approach to life, he is like a thunderstorm, and you can hardly stop him.
As usual I was carried away from the characters and how much I like them and I said pretty nothing on the story... well I started saying that this book remind me an old PI movie, and it's true; all the right step to have a good PI story are there, and Dino plays well the role of the unwilling hero, he is more the PI to do the job behind a laptop, but when faced with a real case, he knows his things around it. The crime sub-plot is nice, even if remains down-tuned, like all the story: this is not a novel for gunshot and car-racing, this is more a novel for quiet shadowing and nice morning after in bed together.
http://www.lyricalpress.com/like_coffee_
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Turner and Turner: One Good Turn by Amber GreenThis is the second book I read by Amber Green and for the second time I have the feeling that I'm plunged in the middle of the story, with all a past behind me that I have to rebuild collecting clue here and there and a bigger future ahead of me that I'm reaching at a fast pace and I haven't the brakes.
Kendall Turner (KT) is the spoiled son of a very wealthy family; I haven't really understood if his family his old wealth or mafia style, in a way or the other, KT is the black sheep, the gay boy who tried to loose himself in alcohol and the only thing he gained was a bad experience in jail, an experience that his rich father didn't save him from since he had to learn his lesson. After that big demonstration of fatherly love, KT decided that he would be better alone and took his separate way. He is now a quite complicated young college professor, with a strange circle of friends, not exactly a perfect life, but at least it's his own life. Only that someone decides to blackmailing his family using a video in which KT plays the unaware role of porn star, and the family decide to let the matter in the hand of Turner Kendall (Turn) Scott (yes same name, reverse order), the poor cousin who entered the family when KT was still a child and became not only his father's favorite, but also the protagonist in all KT's teen wet dreams. Turn disappeared for a long period when KT was still a teenager, but now it's again inside the family, and once again the perfect son for his father, something nor KT or his brother Dean manage to be.
I believe that the instability that permeates the book is a mirror of the instability that is KT's life. KT seems unable to stay put, he is always in an hurry, probably he is running away both from his family than from himself. Neither Turn, who is maybe the only constant in KT's life, is able to stop him, and KT has the uncanny ability to always end in some trouble or dangerous situation. KT is not exactly a weak man, he is quite clever and able to collect all the clues he needs, but his inner unsteadiness causes him to put himself and the people around him in danger. Turn seems to be a nice character, but actually I have the feeling that he is not fully developed, we learn something of important about him practically at the end, and we have not enough space to fully understand it and its implication: is Turn gay? is he in love with KT?
This is only a first part of a series and due to the open ending, I believe that also the second book will focus on KT and Turn, and so probably we will have time to better understand Turn.
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The Men of Smithfield: Gobsmacked by L.B. GreggMark and Jamie are in-live lover in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Problem is that no one had the courage to tell Mark that perfect boyfriend Jamie was cheating around and Mark finds out in the worst way, unexpected coming back home and finding Jamie screwing someone on their bed. At first Mark doesn't react but then, as in a perfect play setting in a small town, he attacks Jamie during mass in the main church ot the town... telling about washing your dirty laundry in public...
But the cheating is not the only thing that Jamie was doing to Mark, he finds out that his bank accounts are cleaned out and that they didn't pay the last months rent, and this means that Mark is also without an home thanks to dear Jamie. Among all this disaster the only rock for Mark is old friend Tony, the local cop and his first crush. Actually this is a point I didn't understand so well: apparently Mark had a crush on Tony when he was 14 years old and Tony 17. Tony obviously didn't act upon that crush since they were too young, but then, when they were both adults, and Tony was available, Mark wasn't. Worst, when Tony was in need of a friend due to some family issue, Mark instead started a relationship with cheating Jamie, a man that no one in their circle of friends seem to like. I can only think that Mark is a bit selfish, not too much mind you, but he is the type that first of all think on himself and what he wants and likes, and then, if what he wants and likes is in common with his possible partner, only then he is willing and ready for a relationship. Mark is the classical man who needs a caretaker, he is not at all the strong side of a relationship, he is not able to take reasoned decision, he tends to have emotional reactions. Tony is perfect for him, since he was young, he always takes his decision considering all the consequences, and he always puts Mark's interests in front of his own. Maybe I would like for him to be a bit more selfish (on the contrary of Mark ;-) ), and for example, interferes when Mark started a relationship with a man that was obviously wrong for him.
Anyway, as first attempt from a new author, the book is nice and easy to read. Maybe Tony should have more space to develop, but you have to consider that the book is only 140 pages long.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/more-h
Amazon Kindle: Gobsmacked (Men of Smithfield)
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Amazon: Smart Ass: Close Quarters
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When I started this book I wasn't expecting to find romance in it, since it was presented as an old classic sleuthing novel, and so you can imagine my surprise when the hero, Elliott, not only has a romance, he has THREE romance, two of them at the same time, and he is not even a slut ;-)But I will try to start from the beginning. Elliott is a very wealthy man without attitude, who chose to work not for necessity but for pleasure. He loves the olf fashioned buildings of Chicago (a thing Chicago is famous for and I can say since I wandered for the city centre searching for them when i was there) and he made a work of them: he buys a building at time, gives it new life to then selling it to trusted hands. And sometime he falls in love for a building so much that he doesn't have the heart to sell it, and so Elliott has a strange collection: where other people collect miniatures, he collects real buildings. If you find strange that I spend so much time talking of Elliott's hobby, it is since most of Elliott's passion is reserved to his love for those old buildings, on a personal level he is quite aloof, almost detached. Elliott is a real nice guy, he seems to have no problem to find a guy when he wants it, and all his past lovers are still in nice terms with him... also since Elliott is so good that he is never the one to dump, they dumped him, always pleading forgiveness... mmm, I believe that Elliott is real good to not become involved when he doesn't want it.
When the story starts, Elliott is in hospital recovering from an accident and he "feels" that someone else is in the room. Elliott, practical guy he is, soon realizes that the presence is a ghost, and it doesn't take him much to link the ghost, whose first words were, My name is John, to the John Doe who was admitted in the ER at his same time, and who unfortunately died. The ghost is not actually your usual ghost, he is as I said, a presence, he talks in Elliott's mind when said mind is free from any other thought (means when Elliott is asleep), and makes clear his presence giving strange feelings to Elliott regarding objects and pictures. The ghost apparently is suffering from amnesia, and Elliott's quest to find who he is goes pace to pace with his ability to recall little pieces of his past life. So the main mystery, the core of the book, is to find out who was John, and the author is very good in letting the reader catches only little clues here and there. I pretty much soon suspected who John was, but I had an advantage that not many of you will have. Anyway I don't want to say more on it, since as I always say, you can't summarize a mystery without risking to give up the mystery itself.
Let us instead talk of Elliott's personal life, that is for me almost as interest as the mystery itself. At the beginning of the book, Elliott is in an on / off relationship with Rick; Rick is a nice guy, but sincerely I don't feel like Elliott was really involved; and so I was not surprise when Elliott manages to be dumped again... Rick also took the guilty on himself, and Elliott told him to not worry. I was not so disappointed that the first romance in the book ended in such a cold way, since I was already planning the romance between Elliott and John, the ghost. But no, even if I'm sure to have read something more between Elliott and John than a simple utilitarian bond aimed to discover John's identity, the author has someone else in mind for Elliott. Enter Steve, a young, hot and nice latin american guy who Elliott meets in a club and the same night takes to bed. The relationship between Elliott and Steve is more interesting than the one with Rick, but still I feel like Elliott is not entirely involved, I always feel as if he is taking back something. It's strange Elliott is quite a "physical" man, he has sex both with Rick than with Steve (but not at the same time!), even if the author adopts the the "behind closed door"'s rule, the reader knows that Elliott is not shy or antisocial, but truth be told, I felt a real emotional involvement only with John, and John is not even corporeal!
In the end, maybe I'm wrong but for me the real couple here are Elliott and John; Steve is a really nice guy, even John tells so to Elliott, and the reader can't really resent him, since being John a ghost, and an incorporeal ghost, you can't pretend for Elliott to be a monk. And so here my idea that Elliott has two relationship at the same time, one with Steve involving his mind and body, and one with Elliott involving his heart; till the day mind, heart and body will devoted to the same man, Elliott for me remains an on the edge man, still waiting for something.
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.p
Amazon: His Name Is John
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At first Freeman comes out like one of those characters from an old noir movie, a man tired of life with nothing or noone of important in his life, who tries to drown his sorrow in a glass of spirit. And so at first Freeman comes out also older and disenchanted; when he meets Kit, it's like an old lion with a young kitty, Freeman is all low growls that never turn in real danger, and Kit is like a burst of energy, like a bouncing ball that Freeman has no more the energy to follow. And so at first I didn't like Freeman, since Kit was obviously in danger and Freeman seemed to care but really he didn't do nothing to real help him: Kit entered and exited Freeman's house, and when he was there he was safe, but when he went out, we knew that he was in danger. We even witnessed to a very sad scene, through Freeman's eyes, and we had to turn the shoulders to that scene since Freeman turned them. It was not exactly what I would like to see from an "hero", but Freeman is not an usual hero.In a way, Freeman did the right thing, since Kit is a runaway kid, and he is running away from being an adult. He has to mistake and he has to find the force to do the right thing, by himself, since only in that way he will grew. Kit is always ready to accuse Freeman to treat him like a kid, but probably Freeman is the only one who doesn't do that. You tell to a kid what to do, and instead you give to an adult all the elements to decide what to do; Freeman is doing so with Kit, he is making him take his choices. Only that, unfortunately, before taking them, he will have to go through a very bad period in his life.
Due to this, this novel has a very dark mood in it, a mood that will always remain, even when the things will turn good for Kit. I often associate the mood of the book to the weather, and even if it's not clearly said, I always felt, reading the book, as if it was a dark night, without moon, or a covered day, with the sun that never really managed to come out from the clouds. Actually the only sunny moments are those when Kit is in the room, since he seems to have an interior light that never goes out, even when he is kept under the thumb of an evil man. Maybe this difference in behavior, Kit so open and exposed, and Freeman instead so dark and mourning, gives that first impression of a greater age difference between them, when instead there are less than 10 years. There is another things that linked them but has a different evolution: of both Freeman than Kit we don't know the real name for a big part of the book (Kit is from kid), and in the end, we will know Kit real name, but not that of Freeman: we will know all of his past, even maybe the reason why he is called Freeman, but we will not know if Freeman is a real surname, if it is a nickname... till the end the dark behavior of Freeman will be confirmed as well as it will be the one more sunny of Kit.
There is quite an originality in the way the author deals with the development of Freeman; usually the normal development of a mourning hero is to find the "light" in the arms of his beloved. Here instead, Freeman doesn't radically change, he more or less, remains the same mysterious man, since the mourning him was not a consequence of a some bad experience in his past: from what we know, he was always like that and he always faced the life with a silent and deadly approach, he takes home the job and moves to another one, always in silence, always without giving too much explanations or asking too much questions. Maybe the difference this time it will be that he will take away with him a bit of sun to light his cloudy day.
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Hidden Hands gathers a supporting character from Hidden Force (David) and one from A Helping Hand (Jeremy) and gives them their own story. For this reason, it's not necessary to read the previous books to enjoy this story, but for sure I wouldn't recommend to read them after this one since most of the mysteries on both stories are spoilered in this one and used as basis for the plot.Jeremy is a police detective; he is a nice man and this is confirmed from his role in the previous book: he was the buddy friend of Rich in A Helping Hand, the man to whom Rich turned when his unrequited love for Dan was not returned. And in a way he was the man that helped Rich to realize that he was using him, even if Jeremy was more than willing. Jeremy is not so young, 37 years old, and he has already realized that he wants someone steady in his life; he thought to have found that someone special in Rich, but it was not fated. At the beginning of this book Jeremy is cruising a pub more with the hope to find a lonesome soul like him than for sex, even if sex it's not left out.
David instead is the building contractor who was the first lover of Ryan, the main character in Hidden Force. David is the classic closeted case: when he came out with his father as a teenager, the reaction of the parent was so negative that David shut up on his protective shield and denied who he was and whom he wanted. He even married a woman with dreadful consequences. From all of that you understand that David is not exactly a strong willed and independent man; he relies too much on the opinion of other people, he fears his own desire, and he is really convinced that everyone is judging him.
Even if David is the bigger in body, he is the weaker side of the couple. He needs someone good and quite, a strong hand in velvet glove; it's quite right that between Jeremy and David there is a substantial age difference (11 years), since David needs the reassuring figure of someone older. I wouldn't venture on saying that there is a "male" Oedipus complex between David and Jeremy, but for sure David lacked of the comforting figure of a father, and Jeremy fills a bit that role. Probably someone will question if David, once he will arrive to be at easy with himself, will feel the same for Jeremy, but sincerely I believe that he will.
There is a very nice and long introduction scene, most of which spent in a sex encounter; after that, the story sustains acceleration toward the resolution, but I don't feel as that scene weights to much on the story, since it serves to present the characters and to set the basis for their future relationship.
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-7115-hidden-h
Series:
1) Hidden Force: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/18927
2) A Helping Hand: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/37093
3) Hidden Hands
Reading List:
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The Common Powers series is a "strange" paranormal series; as the name says, it's about common men who have some "special" powers, but not so much to make them extraordinary men. In the first installment, Sammi, a young hustler, has the power to hear the thoughts of the people around him, and when he finds his true love, he shares with him a mind bond. Their friend was Brian, a private investigator who has premonitions. In the second installment Brian meets his man, Rush, a true blood cowboy. The special power of Rush is the night vision, but unlike the powers of the other men, this particular power is not something that has a special role in the story, it's only like another body characteristic of Rush, like the color of his eyes...There are two plots in the story: the main one is the developing relationship between Brian and Rush, with their struggle to overcome Rush's insecurities; Rush lives in a small town USA and he fears to come out, the only time he did with his father, he was beaten like an animal and forced to stay hidden or leave. Even if now Rush is alone, he still has not found the courage to come out again with his friends and neighboors. The second plot is Brian's research for Sammi's real identity.
Both Brian and Rush are interesting characters. Brian is an old fashioned man, he believes in Mr Right, and even if he isn't a virgin maid waiting for his knight in shining armor, he still believes in wooing and in having a relationship with his lover and not only mindless and no strings attached sex. He wants to be respected, he likes sex, but he needs something else and more with it.
Rush is a troubled man. He spent all his life in hiding, and when he has some urges, he goes far from home, in the big city where he is a stranger. But when he meets Brian he knows that, if he doesn't change his attitude, he will loose the man. Rush makes a lot of error in this relationship, a less constant man than Brian would give up to him with the first mistake. Instead, since Brian as I said believe in true love, he exercises a lot of patience and tames his skittish cowboy with praise and sugar.
The story is sexy, there are a lot of sex scenes, but all in all it's more romantic than erotic. I should say that I like this aspect of the book, and for this reason, I felt almost as not necessary the last erotic encounter... but well, better too much than not much!
http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=7
Amazon Kindle: Common Powers 2: Rush in the Dark
Amazon: Rush in the Dark: Common Powers 2
Series: Common Powers
1) Soul Bonds: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/32091
2) Rush in the Dark
Reading List:
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
First of all, how can you write a post on a mystery without giving up the mystery? Telling nothing about the story of course! So I will try to focus on the main characters, and for the mystery part of the story, sufficient to say that the author got me fooled and led me to the wrong path as she probably wanted since the beginning. David is an average LAPD detective; he is not an hero, nor in his work or in his private life. He is a cop by the book, he does his work with commitment, and he is still human enough to feel pain when faced with some of the worst aspect of his job. Like now, while he is investigating a serial killer who targets very young gay men in West Hollywood. It's not only the poor bodies they find that make David sick, it's also the knowledge that he is facing something he has always tried to hide or maybe forget, the fact that David is gay. Everyday he listens the nasty comments that his coworkers direct to the gay community, and now maybe he has also the feeling that those poor young boys get less attention and respect from the Police Department since they are gay. So David has a very personal interest in the case, an interest that becomes even more personal when they start to find a path that leads directly to Chris.
Chris is exactly at the opposite from David. Gay and out, Chris is leading an almost perfect life: beautiful home, expansive car and money-making job. There are only some trouble: Chris doesn't like his work as IT in a firm where he is constantly mobbed since he is gay, he is tired of the endless string of one night stands and his beautiful home is empty. So Chris' perfect life is not so perfect as it seems, and he is maybe nearer to David than expected.
Apparently David and Chris are not a good match. David is nothing special, he is not the hunky cop that could star in Chris' wet dream, but Chris sees something in the quite and reassuring man; even when the police starts to suspect Chris, Chris' anger is never directed to David. On the other hand, David is clearly attracted by Chris, but more than a physical thing, it's a repressed desire, Chris is exactly who David would like to be, someone comfortable with his sexuality, someone who has a job where he can be whoever he wants (even if he has to suffer nasty colleague). As always when two heroes don't match, they end to be the perfect match instead. Chris is probably drawn to David since the man is not asking or denying, David is not struggling to hide him being gay, he simply doesn't live it, and Chris wants so badly to be the man who will ignite that fire. David is drawn to Chris not since he is the "first" gay at hand, but since Chris is someone who could be an equal partner for David; even if in danger, I have never had the feeling that Chris was an helpless man, and that is probably the same impression David had. I don't know, probably David needed to have a proof that being gay doesn't mean being weak.
The style is dry and direct, but it's not without romance. The intimacy between Chris and David is sweet, light and not full of angst, and above all, it's a nice thing that there is intimacy, more often than not a mystery tend to be "cold" since it seems like that allowing to the heroes to be in love and prove that love, is like de-valuing the mystery in the story.
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?boo
Amazon Kindle: L. A. Heat
Amazon: L.A. Heat
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The best word to describe Angels of the Deep is "dark"; it started in the dark, both literally than figuratively, to continue always in the dark. Even when it's daylight, the darkness is there, and sincerely I always had the feel, reading this book, that there was like a cloud covering the sun, and even if the events take place during the day, no real sunlight was allowed in the story. The only light I perceived was the artificial one of neon, a light that was cold, in this way reinforcing the darkness and also the coldness. No sunlight means no natural warm. All in this book was dark and icy.I realized that I concentrated more on the feeling it left me than on the story, but it's also hard to give you a short summary of the story without giving up the end, but I will try. At the beginning of the book Beck is an orphan, a ward in the hand of a priest; unfortunately Beck is suffering an unspeakable hell living with the priest, a pedophiles who calls Beck his Angel. As expected in this situation, Beck is escaping reality building a world of his own, till the day an ancient woman appears and "frees" Beck from his hell. Jump ahead in time, Beck is now an adult, married man and soon-to-be divorced. It seems that he loves his wife, Cat, but not in the way he should love her; Cat is a good woman, but when Beck is near her, I feel more friendship than love passing between them. On the other hand, Beck is feeling something strong for someone he should not, Sean, his partner in the police facility they both work for.
Also Sean is aware of the feelings between them, and he would be willing to try, but Beck is unwilling. He finds all the right excuse, he is married, he can't do that to Cat, Sean is a co-worker... strange enough one of the excuse is not that he is not gay, as if the gender of them is not important... Anyway I had the feeling that the real reason was that Beck is still traumatized by what happened to him when he was a child. Beck is the exactly profile of an abused child, unable to tighten real bond with a lover, reluctant to speak of his problem, ready to lie to therapists when they near the real problem. The only thing that I will not add to the other typical thing is Beck being gay, since, first of all it seems not to be one of his "trouble", and second, as I said before, his relationship with Sean is strange, and being both men seem not to be the real problem between them.
All right, telling you these things, I covered more or less 50 pages of the more than 300 pages of the book, and I can't say more, since from this moment on the reader is plunged inside the story right in the middle of the event and will resurface only in the end. The author don't prolong the broth with water to make it last, but serve the main course and let the reader to deal with it in full play mode. The story takes is direction and goes straight to the end without hesitation and not leaving to the reader neither the time to breath. I was turning the page hoping to find a moment to stop, and instead there wasn't neither one. The book is 300 pages long, but no one of these pages is an embellishment, they are all center stage events.
Kirby Crow is not famous for being sexy, she is more famous to be a teaser (she will never be free of that title after letting me suffer for one very long book, Scarlet and the White Wold 1, for a kiss, and for another even more long book, the second in the series, for a sex scene...), and Angels of the Deep confirms it; even if, truth be told, there is sex in the book (and not only in the last chapter) and there is also a continuous running of eroticism in all the pages, all the characters, not only Beck and Sean, are all very physical, and their body reactions are pretty clear and described. So the only moment that the icy cloak I felt on the story is raised, is when that sexy running surfaces here and there.
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Cover Art by Analise Dubner
The Common Powers series by Lynn Lorenz it's probably the only series were the paranormal powers of some of its characters are less important than the story, so less important that sometime you even forget that they exist.Edward is a full flamboyant gay man from Atlanta. From a wealthy family, that maybe could not approve his "lifestyle", but would never let him live under their social status, Edward has never considered himself worthy of the love of a good man, and so he has always chosen the bad boys, but unfortunately not the "good" type of bad boys. When the last in a string of profiteers, clears out his bank account, Edward's mother, the one who manages Edward's money till his 40 years, gives him only one option: going in Texas and takes care of his ailing grandmother (a woman he has not seen in 15 years), while the scandal fades away in Georgia.
Edward takes his red sporty car, his Louis Vuitton matching suitcase set, his little bulldog named Winston (who has a matching wardrobe with his daddy), and drives as fast as he can toward Spring Lake in Texas, obviously infringing the speed limit and being halted by Jack, the handsome chief of police of Spring Lake. To 35 years old Edward, but with a behavior of a teenager, Jack appears as an unreachable man, handsome but too much older, and obviously straight. To Jack instead Edward appears like a forbidden fruit, someone he can't never imagine to have for his own in the small town where he lives. Maybe if Edward was more mainly, able to face the hardness to live in such a context... but no, Edward is lithe and gentle, screaming gay like a neon in the night.
Jack is deeply in the closet, and at 45 years old he has almost reached that phase in live when almost doesn't matter. He is not like so many other men, going in the city when the urge is too much, he has simply became comfortable with his quiet life and his loneliness. But first Winston and then Edward make him realize that he is not at all content with his life and that he wants Edward, and also Winston. Yes, since Winston is a very important character in the story, and I believe that the little dog recognized at first glance the right man for his daddy, and took the right move to be sure that the two got together.
Even if the book is very much focused on Jack and Edward's relationship, the sex doesn't arrive soon. And it's right like that, since it's not simple for Jack letting go years of conditioning and self-deprivation. Here maybe there is the only point of the book that made me wonder: there is obviously some secret in Jack's past, something that pushed him, in a good and bad way, to become the man he is now, but this aspect is not fully developed, remain something vague that we see only through some blurry image of Jack's memories.
On the other hand, Edward is fully developed, and I loved so much when he said that he wanted the fairy tale, for once in his life he wanted a man who loves him unconditionally, for who he is right now, without changing him... it's not only a desire for a dream lover, it's also the desperate cry of a rejected child. On the outside Edward seems sexy and funny, but he is for real a man with a desperate need of love. And Jack has so much love hidden inside, that he is obviously the right match for Edward, when he will decide to let it go.
The story is nice, it has obviously its funny moment, but it's mostly more romantic and sweet than light, and less erotic than expected, even if the sex you find, it's really good.
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Amazon Kindle: Common Powers 3: Edward Unconditionally
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Cover Art by April Martinez
Keta Diablo likes the unpolitically correct characters. I had just a little taste of it in a previous short story in which one of the character was a man who cheated on his lover for fear of commitment; as you all know, for me a cheating man is something I can hardly forgive, even if, truth be told, in that book the man was doing everything possible to be forgiven.In this new book Frank is the most possible anti-hero you can find. A mix of Inspector Callaghan meets Yaoi, Frank is a private investigator who has a little help from the otherworld: he sees dead people... not so original, you will think, there is even a series (Eye Spy by Drew Zachary) in which not only the private investigator sees ghosts, he has even a ghost partner (partner as lover). But let's start from the beginning: when Frank was still a rookie in the police department he was taken under the wing of an older police officer, Quinn; he was like a father for Frank and welcomed him in his home where Frank met Rand, the 17 years old gay son of the man. Since Frank was gay, and Quinn knew it, and Rand was in need of a firm hand, Quinn and his wife encouraged Frank towards Rand, but Frank did the only right thing he will do in all the book, he didn't take advantage of the young boy (even if with he had the consensus of the parents). And, as I said, that was the last time Frank behaved as a good man; soon after Quinn died in the line of duty, and Frank resisted only few months near the widow and her two sons, and then left her alone with all her trouble, even if the woman welcomed him in her home. Five years he acted as he didn't know that the woman needed him and that her son Rand considered him a role model, and loosing him at the same time of his father was not probably for the best.
After five years the widow calls him since her son Rand is disappeared since three months without notice. The woman knows that probably the young man, now 22 years old, is in some trouble and asks Frank to find and bring him home again. Due to his sense of guilty and the respect he had for his father, what do you think Frank should do? find the boy, teach him a lesson and bring him safe and sound at home, right? Oh yes, Frank finds him all right, but also breaks into his apartment at night wearing a hood, chains the boy at the bed, gags him and plays with him using a martial weapon as sex toys, to end all with a thoroughly sex session, the part that remembered me a yaoi manga, whimpers, blushing and tears all together.
So no, Frank is not exactly a private investigator by the book, and Rand is not probably the innocent boy who Frank remembers, but one thing you can say of this book, it didn't play according the rule. And so if you are searching a lot of sex, down and dirty, and a very bad boy character, that is unrepentant till and beyond the end of the book, probably this one could be an interesting and unusual choice. I can't say more on the story since this is only a novella and if I say more on the mystery part, I will risk to give up the book. And then, truth be told, with two long and detailed sex scenes, there is not much space left.
http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=C
Amazon Kindle: Crossroads
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The Dark Horse was the first book I read by Josh Lanyon... yes I know, I haven't read the Adrien Mysteries series, at least not from the beginning, and I know that is wonderful, too many people keep saying it to me, but at the time, I was more hooked by that story on a movie star and the detective who helps him against a crazy stalker. Probably I was expecting hot sex behind the scenes and the usual media scandals, maybe even the classical Hollywood scene of the red carpet where finally the actor admits his love for a man... and instead I found a couple in the aftermath of something huge, the stalker is already dead, the two heroes started a not simple relationship, and apparently Sean, the actor, is becoming crazy, if he wasn't yet crazy even before.In the previous book we discovered that Sean is not imagining things and that there is another stalker in his life, someone he would never suspect. Dan again becomes his hero, but at the same time he is his worst enemy: Dan is not accepting that Sean is playing the role of the perfect balanced man. Sean has problems, bigger ones, he is in denial; he faces them in his own way, forcing himself to accept things that his mind is trying to refusing, like sex with a man, and running away when faced with the true.
The second book starts with Sean who is another time in danger, but this time he is far from Dan... he ran away, as usual, with the excuse to filming a movie in Galles. Even if before leaving he played the role of the lover who couldn't understand why Dan wasn't accepting, it's quite obvious that it was the perfect chance for Sean to not face again the truth; it was unthinkable for Dan to leave his work for more than three months, and Sean made everything possible to put Dan in front of an accomplished fact. Now in Galles Sean was victim of an accident, or maybe of an attempt murder, and he lost his recent memory; the only thing he remembers is that he loves Dan and he wants him near him, and Dan arrives, without questions or delaying.
Sean is again all sweetness and words of undying love, but Dan this time doesn't buy it all; I like this double face of Dan, strong an unyielding in front of Sean, wanting from him to admit his mistakes and take measures for them, but at the same time protective and gentle, never leaving him alone. One of the fault I probably found in the previous book was that Sean and Dan's outside images were sometime stronger than their private side: this was maybe the reason why I felt the need to read something more on how they met and fell in love, and the reason for why they decided to live together. The second book fills completely that void, giving to Sean and Dan's feelings and reasons a main role, and letting the mystery in the background, almost nonexistent.
During Sean's recovery, he replays in his mind two different timeline of his life with Dan: their first moment together, before the events that took place in book 1, and the aftermath of that book, when they tested their living together and Sean's inability to admit that he needed help. Don't get me wrong, it seems quite like Dan is the perfect knight in shining armor and Sean a shrinking violet who needs a shrink (pun intended); it's not exactly like that, Sean has only had very bad and negative experience with the doctor professional category and he needs time to trust them again. Dan on the other side is the perfect partner, supportive and attentive, with the right dose of protectiveness; maybe he should have more faith in Sean, and doesn't worry too much if the man goes 3 months away for work. But also Dan has to have some faults, a too perfect hero would be too much boring, so he is instead a knight in shining, and a bit cracked, armor, that is even better.
Again the book is not what I was expecting (no big Hollywood scenes) but nevertheless a book that got me hooked till the end. And this time for me it's complete, not loose ends, the love story is full, developed and nicely tightened up.
http://www.loose-id.com/prod-The_White_K
Series:
1) The Dark Horse: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/72908.h
2) The White Knight
Reading List:
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Special Delivery is a short story and probably doesn't want to be more than an enjoyable break. The story is quite simple and the mystery quite obvious: Jeff is an undercover special agent who is playing the role of a delivery guy (like UPS or similar) and has to discover and illegal drugs dealing in a small town USA. They only know that one of the shop on the main street is probably the center of the traffic, and posing as a delivery guy is a good way to find out things.Monte is one of the owner of that shop, but his business is not thriving, and so when he spots the new delivery guy, a friendly and sexy guy, he has all the time to be welcoming. Monte is probably the best thing in the book, I like his quite behavior, that makes him sweet and gentle, really reassuring. It's obvious that he can't be the culprit, but Jeff is a good cop and he knows that appearances can be misleading. And so he swears to be friendly enough to gain Monte's trust, but to not bring things to a more personal level... save that the first time they are alone, Jeff proposes Monte to spend the night together and not to sleep! If not for that sentence, that makes all the book, I would say that this is quite an incongruous turn, but here is the sentence: "A man has a head at each end of his spine, and when one is working, the other isn't". And this is the only reason why I can understand Jeff's behavior, relating it to something more near to the gut than the brain ;-)
Anyway, this is a short story, and taking this in account, managing to have a nice character, Monte, and a nice turn (even if justify only by a sentence), is enough of a success, I believe.
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Sp
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Love relationship between cops, more when they are partners, are always more intense, probably since to the bond of love it's added also the bond of being colleague and responsible for the well-being of your partner. The "gay for you" turn of one or both of them is usually also justified by that bond, since no one more than you partner can comprehend you and so the step between friendship and love is short. But usually the two men are strong characters, men who take everything inside, that never let it go, if not maybe at night, in front of a beer and in the relative safeness of their partner's company. Oh yes, maybe they have some hidden secrets in the past that are eating them alive, but to the outside world they are strong and invincible.It's not like that for Dan and Gary, or at least they are not like that for the reader. Dan and Gary are cops, partners, not yet lovers, but they are not invincible, and the reader have plenty of chances to see their faults. Gary is running away from a past who saw him a victim, and the drama he lived it's conditioning his present. He is unable to build a serious relationship with a woman, and probably he desires another man since in his mind it's something of unreachable, and so he is not risking to have and loose it. But one thing is the mind and another thing is the heart, and in his heart Gary knows that his only salvation lies in Dan. And so he doesn't let it go any occasion in which he can tease Dan.
I forgot to mention that this is a continuing series of four part, and this one is only a novella, so there are a lot of things that are a bit suspended. One of them is Dan's fully development. We saw his desire for Gary, probably we understand that he is in the closet, since nor at work or in his private life he is living like a gay man out. So his desire for Gary is not something that makes him doubt himself, but more a problem due to their differences: Gary is apparently straight, he is too young for him (a rookie where he was a full grown cop), Dan is the by-the-book cop while Gary seems to be out of 21 Jump Street (and this made me smile, since that was a television fiction I saw when I was very young, and so maybe the author has more or less my same age... even if I was really more a Renegades fan).
And now sorry, maybe this could be considered a SPOILER, so stop here if you don't want it, but since the Chasers of Torquere Press are continuing series, probably it will be not surprise if I say that, truth be told nor of Dan or of Gary we see the fully development, if not for the blossom of their relationship: Gary will admit that he has some unresolved questions in his past, Dan will admit that he is gay and that he is in love with his partner... from that point on, we have to wait for the next chapter. And I will for sure read it, since these are two characters that made me feel for them.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
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All right, this book is quite a challenge for various reasons, and so you are warned, don't continue to read if you don't like spoilers, since I probably am not able to explain all this book left to me without using a bit of them.First of all please tell me where is the small town USA where the two main characters live; it's a wonderful place, where everyone knows everyone else, where a widow mother brings up not only her two sons, but also another runaway boy. A place where that same mother doesn't freak out when her teenager daughter gets pregnant and she doesn't ever know who is the father, and that becomes her son's best friend when he comes out. A place where a teenager crush could last 15 and more years and could, at last, become the real thing.
Cameron is a photographer and he has a pretty good life, a nice independent house, a loving family and good friends. He is just out an abusive relationship, but he was good enough to realize that it was not good for him and got free; now yes, he has some self-esteem issues, but nothing serious. And so when he has the chance to meet again Jeremy, his teenager crush, he is open and ready to accept him in his life. On the other side Jeremy is finally happy that things happen at the right moment: also him his bringing a torch for Cameron since their teenager years, but for a reason or the other he has never made a move. Now both of them are free and willing, and for Jeremy is pretty easy to convince Cameron to give him a chance: flowers, restaurant and a good night of sex and Cameron is totally convinced. And here is the first moment when I was a bit perplexed on Cameron: for a man who is just out of an abusive relationship, he is quite "friendly", but then, the reader knows that Jeremy is Cameron's first and real love, and so maybe it's better for us not to wait to much for seeing them happy together.
I was almost drowning in sugar, with a perfect picture of family happiness, when a stalker from Cameron's past decides that instead he is not at all happy that Cameron found his true love. And so reader please enter Patrick, Cameron's best friend and the runaway boy that Cameron's mother welcomed in her family. Patrick was the first person that Cameron informed of his blossoming relationship with Jeremy, and he did so calling Patrick at 2 in the night while the man was in bed with another man. All right they are pretty close so at the moment the reader, me, didn't find strange that Patrick was not angry, and then he had the chance to have another round of sex with the man in his bed, that almost made me thing that Patrick and Keith were another couple in the story. But no, Patrick disappeared only to enter again when Cameron is threatened: he is right there for him, he encourages him, and when something very nasty happen, he comforts him while Jeremy is temporarily not available... wait a moment... is Patrick bringing Cameron to bed? Oh no, no, no... ah, phew, no, they are only lying in bed, one under the cover and one on it. For a moment I fear that... NO! now Jeremy is back and they are having a threesome?!? Oh well, Cameron is willing, Jeremy is willing, Patrick is willing (Patrick is a slut, he is always willing!), all right I can accept it... But wait: Cameron went out and he is supposedly in danger, and Jeremy is having sex with Patrick?!? All right, all right, I know that Cameron knows it, and that it is only a way to let it go fear and tension, but still, it's really hard to accept for me.
Joke apart, what I want to say is that I'm not totally convinced that the "sex with all" turn the book took was all of my liking, but this is something that arrives from my gut. Otherwise, the book is quite full of both funny than interesting characters, not only Cameron, Jeremy and Patrick "the slut" (sorry I have to say it, but don't get me wrong, I like Patrick), have their development, but also all the other characters around, from Diane, Cameron's mother, to his niece Emily, to friends Ben and Kennedy, all of them, even till the less important like Jeremy's employees or Patrick's colleagues. And don't forget that I said that I like the "sugary" atmosphere of this small town USA, it's a good place where to live, so also the setting is nice. I'm not disappointed by this book, you can't always read the same story, and probably if Jeremy and Cameron met, made love, and walked toward the sunset in perfect harmony, this would be only another sappy story. In this way, it's different, and maybe better... but still, if I was a man and I had a boyfriend, I would take him far from that slut of Patrick ;-)
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Amazon Kindle: Picture Perfect (Lost Boys and Love Letters )
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Peter is an aggressive reporter... well, not exactly... he is a wanna-to-be aggressive reporter and in the meanwhile he is also a wanna-to-be porn screenwriter, means that he is really good in imagining himself involved in torrid relationship with men that he barely knows and that probably don't even remember his name. And so Peter is outside a building after finishing his sleuthing "nightly" work to uncover the secret of an illegal russian brothel (sound pretty daring, isn't it?), fantasizing about Nick, a reclusive artist who has a studio beside the one of his best friend and roommate. Peter is trying to find the courage to ask Nick out on a date, when he hears screaming and entering the building finds Nick above the body of a dying artist, Shelley. Peter has no doubt that Nick is innocent, even if he is caught "red handed" (literally), and his past is not so "clean".
I like Peter, he is the classical example of unwilling hero; but he has also an "innocence" in him that is charming. When asked by the police, why he was outside the building he has no problem to say that he was daydreaming on the main suspect of the murder. When asked by that same man, Nick, why he is snooping around the building after the murder, he has no problem to admit that he was trying to find a way to ask him out: pay attention, actually Peter doesn't ask Nick out on a date, he says that he would like to find a way to ask him out... speaking of talking your mind.
Anyway Peter has some integrity on his work, but he is not the classic strong and pure reporter who would sell his mother for the truth: Peter has a crush on Nick, and so he is not willing to write something that can harm him. Yes, Peter is really convinced that Nick is innocent, so he is not hiding the true, but still, a "real" reporter would first publish the news and then ask to himself if he has done the right thing.
On the other hand, unfortunately the book is too short to give us a clear idea on Nick. He is an interesting character, very fascinating and mysterious, but not all his hidden secret are unveiled in the end... maybe this is a choice of the author, to preserve his mystery aurea, but still I wouldn't mind to know something more about him.
The love story between Nick and Peter is sweet and romantic, and really "easy"; I believe that the disarming behavior of Peter in a way draws Nick onto his trap: Peter is so open and without defense, that Nick couldn't believe him able to do any harm, and so Nick is more willing to let Peter near him than any other men in his past.
The mystery is good, there are a lot of possible suspects, all of them with a plausible reason, and so, till the end, everyone could be the one. Truth be told, I don't pay many attention to the mystery, since I was more interested in knowing if and when Peter's work would be clash with his relationship with Nick, or if, due to his inner innocence, Peter would escape without harm.
http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Primal_Red-8
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by April Martinez
Joe is flying from Los Angeles to Chicago to help a friend he hasn't seen in 20 years and talked to more or less the same time. Back in their native small town, Joe and Israel got along at first as best friends and then as lovers. But it was always their secret, the small towm was too small to allow them something different, and then Israel was born on the wrong side of the street, he was a love-child of mixed origins, probably with African American blood, but his mother never told. Anyway with the courage that always have kids, Joe and Israel dared their parents and friends and tightened a bond that seemed impossible to break... and instead it was too simple to. Joe went to College, Israel didn't have the means, and after a year Joe stopped to write and then... life happens. This is probably the part I don't like very much, for sure it's not a good image what we have of Joe, a man who practically dumped his lover without a real reason if not that he grew old of his feelings. Or maybe Joe is in denial, even if he is living out of the closet in L.A., he is actually doing so far from his hometown, and far from who really knows him; in this way, he is still in the closet, since he shut out an important part of his life; he conveniently forgot of Israel's existence till the day he read about him on the news.Israel in the end left the small town for Chicago, to follow his son; he didn't marry, but he had a child with a girl who always tried to get him hooked, and when Joe left, she had her chance. But Israel knew that he wasn't in love with the mother of his son, even if he did all he could to help her and the kid. Teddy was a good kid and a very talented artist, but he lived in the wrong side of the city, as his father did when he was young. He ended killed on the street by a street gang, and the leader of the gang was killed some days later with Israel's weapon. For the police is all too obvious what happened, but Joe is not so sure: he can't believe that the man he knew is able of such a thing, even 20 years later.
The reader has to believe Joe, since for sure we have no enough details on Israel's life in those 20 years to have our own idea. The most interesting thing of all the book, and even the most endearing and tender, are the little introduction scenes at every chapter played by young Israel and Joe, that chapter after chapter help us to make our own idea on both Israel than Joe. They help us to decide that, yes, Israel is not a man that could kill a 16 years old boy, even if a murderer, and that yes, Joe is not the selfish man you can think at first. The long ago lost voices from the past are the only reason we have to justify Joe's behavior 20 years before, but also to understand why the same man, now, don't think twice to come in help of his past lover. That same voices, the one so fragile and fearing of young Joe, and the one so strong and sure of young Israel, are also the reason why Israel accepts Joe again in his life without questioning once... it's like Joe only went out of the door hours before, to come back as soon as Israel needs him.
And so I don't know if I like so much who is Joe now, but I vouch him thanks to his old voice, hoping that the voice is stronger than the adult man, and that will lead him toward the right direction.
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/St
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
This is another of those little books from an English LGBT publisher, Wayward Books, that between 2000 and 2006 published an handful of very worthy books and then stopped... I'm still hoping that this is a temporary stop, since all the books I read so far are really interesting, all of them with this subtle English humor that would have made worth to be read the book even if it wasn't a gay romance, but the fact that there is also the romance makes them really, really nice.Ryan is a former police officer who took a leave of absence to go back to his University study; now fresh with his shining degree, but no more an innocent man, he has to decide what to do with his life. Ashton arrives to help him take the a different path: he is working for a private investigation firm and he needs a new partner; since he likes Ryan (and no, at first not in "that" way), he puts a good word with his boss and Ryan has a new career in front of him. Ashton is also ready to help him with his private life, always finding not one, but two willing girls at time to spend a good time together. Of the two man, Ashton is the more easygoing, the one who apparently thinks less and acts more, but Ashton has some best kept secret in his past, secrets that he hasn't revealed to Ryan neither after they are partner for five years. Even if Ryan seems the mind of their duo, he is actually a simple soul, and for him the things are always clear, and what he thinks, he does and says, he has no secret for no one, even less for Ashton, who he is starting to consider not only his partner but also his family.
During a drunken night, Ryan and Ashton end in bed together; the morning after both of them feigned a sudden and useful amnesia, but as I said before, Ryan is no a man to keep secrets, and in few time he realizes that this evolution in his relationship with Ashton was the only possible, and that he wants to go further that path. If the alcohol helped them once, maybe it will do also a second time, and Ryan sets things to get again Ashton drunk and willing. But when the things between them seem to get better, Ashton's past make its appearance: Ashton is not a simple man, a commoner, he is the nephew of a Duke, and now his grace wants that Ashton comes back home to help him with a delicate matter. Obviously Ryan, as Ashton's partner, will tag along, but this new side of Ashton adds trouble to trouble: not it's not more only a question of wrong gender, but also of different birth right.
All the book is mostly focused on Ryan and Ashton's relationship, from the beginning friendship to the ending love; I really like as the author deat with both Ryan and Ashton's reaction to this evolving situation: Ryan is almost resigned, he realizes that he likes, and maybe loves Ashton, he understands that he likes what Ashton did to him, and that, even if he never played along that inclination, he was not against the idea to be with a man; and so when the unthinkable happens with Ashton, after the first awkward morning when he first thinks to deny it, he realizes that it's not the end of the world, and then instead it's probably only the logical consequences to their special relationship. On the other hand Ashton has again the easy going attitude that he has with almost everything: he likes it, it is something that makes both of the happy and no one displeased, and so why not? There is no recriminations, no regrets between them; no deny what they are feeling, only the necessary time to be comfortable with it. No angst and no rage, they pass without a break from friends to loves in a very easy way. And the lovemaking between them is always considerate and tender, very, very enjoyable.
The second part of the book is also a nice full immersion in a big and old fashioned all aristocratic English family, complete of a little mystery that lead our heroes to investigate between the walls of an old abbey turned big country estate; a really nice set that reminds me a classical and old fashioned (and English!) sleuthing novel.
http://waywardbooks.com/acatalog/index.h
Amazon: Kind Hearts
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Eye Spy (Eye Spy 1) by Drew ZacharyDB is a private investigator of not much success. But he has something no other PI could have: his partner is a ghost, Jesse.
They share a pretty simple and quite life: resolve cases not so complicated, play chess and discuss a lot. They have never spoken of the private life of DB, cause Jesse has no private life, obviously, and seems neither DB.
But when DB discovers that Jesse is gay, like him, their relationship changes a bit: sex with a ghost seems a little weird and complicated, but DB can't deny the sudden passion he feels for Jesse. And Jesse wants badly to feels again a physical passion and to have the chance to share it with something else.
In the end the case on which DB and Jesse are investigating slip in second side and the struggle of Jesse to understand how he can have sex with DB plays the main role. Jesse is the engine of the story, DB is almost the let-the-things-flows type of characters. It is also a tender story and not creepy at all; maybe you will be a little sad for the two but you will have an open happy end to image how a ghost and a man can build a relationship together.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon Kindle: Eye Spy
With My Little Eye (Eye Spy 2) by Drew ZacharyJesse and DB from Eye Spy have to solve two cases: a professional ones, the murder of a 8 years old girl, and a professional ones, the fact that they can't have sex together, since being Jesse a ghost, he has a too "ethereal" physic, and everytime they try to touch, DB passes through Jesse like Jesse does with a wall.
The book is a light comedy: the awful plot, the murder of the little girl, plays only a secondary level role, and almost all the book is voted to Jesse and DB's relationship. The two are like two male cats in the same house, both of them want to dominate and to have the last word. But they are also in love and maybe Jesse arrived to this conclusion before DB, and so now he is the most eager to find a solution.
DB is the classical PI: detached and negative, but also with a big heart well hidden behind his rude behavior. He is always ready to blame Jesse for bringing him "ghost" clients, since they are not paying customer, but then he can't never deny an help.
But as I said, is not the suspence part of the book that characterized the plot: it's more the erotic exchanges between Jesse and DB, and since this is not at all a "normal" relationship, all the erotic scenes have always a funny side, a creepy funny side.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon Kindle: With My Little Eye
Something Green (Eye Spy 3) by Drew ZacharyDB and his ghost lover Jesse are coming back with another story where mystery mixes with humor. In comparison to the previous book, Something Green is a little more funny and light: DB and Jesse have finally found a way to be together also in a physical way. They are all in all a couple, and like a real couple, Jesse is starting to get jealous, since he is the "invisible" part of the relationship and he can't stake his claim on DB in a very evident way. Even if the author really never described DB or Jesse in a physical way, I believe that DB is a cute man, and now he has also an admirer, a cop that started to wonder why DB is always in time on the scene of a crime, and one that is willing to believe that is not only lucky or something illegal.
Joe, the cop, has a sad story on his past, that almost makes the reader wants for him to be happy, but in no way he can be between DB and Jesse. But despite this, Jess has to face the fact that he is incorporeal, and that he can't do things with his lover like going out for dinner or chatting in public; things that Joe can do. What I like is that the jealousy stunt is all on Jesse's side, DB never once lets his interest on Joe to become something more than friendship; even if in love with a ghost with whom he is having sex, DB is really a quite normal guy, with simple taste and desires: he accepted the fact that his soul mate is a ghost and now he is passing on, no more doubting of the decision he took; he is enjoying the moment and he doesn't question the future.
As I said the book is more funny, without any angst nor in the mystery case or in the relationship between DB and Jesse, and it's also more "physical", since DB and Jesse are having regular sex, and once they went on the weird thing of having sex with a ghost in the previous book, in this one they are only happy and content with what they have and they profit plenty of the chance. So the sex is only happy, and there is no regrets of "if" pending between them.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon: Eye Spy
Series:
1) Eye Spy
2) With My Little Eye
3) Something Green
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Sammi is a young sex slave. Abused child at 10 years when he was in a foster house, he became an hustler at 16 and at 20 he was picked up by an older man, Donovan. At first Sammi thought that Donovan wanted him for his own pleasure, but soon he was used as a whore and also taken in captivity. Now Donovan plans to sell him to the highest bidder, and Sammi can't have it. So he runs aways, and after some nights where he trades sex for a shelter, he meets Mitchell.Mitchell is a simple man with a simple life, an ordinary work, a small but neat apartment. Sammi turns all it over. Since the first time both Sammi than Mitchell know that what they shares is more than a one night stand; Sammi has some psichic powers, he can read the emotions of people, and the voice of Mitchell in his head is strongest than all the other voices... Mitchell is the soul mate he is searching.
But life is not simple if you are a valueable good for a slave trader. Donovan has no intention to let him free, and he starts ruining Mitchell's life to convince Sammi to cooperate. And Sammi, even if deeply in love with Mitchell, will do anything it takes to not damage him any more.
The story is pretty good, the paranormal element not very strong, I would not define this romance as paranormal, it's more an angst romance, the sad past of Sammi is a stronger element than his psichic power. Even if the story is not too short, more than 160 pages, I still feel like all the event were happening in a too fast way: Sammi and Mitchell encounter is good and also their suddenly passion which continues for a bit, so much that they seems always horny, but how Sammi reveals his powers, and how Mitchell accepts them, it's all too fast. After all Mitchell's life is turned upset down from Sammi, and he seems too passive... maybe love is blinded him. And also the resolution of Sammi's problem... all too soon and all too simple, even if, usually I'm not one for prolong the ending too much.
I like the characters, even if we have the chance to know better Sammi and not so much Mitchell. Also Mitchell has a past, also a late lover he still misses sometime, and he also seems to have a supporting and loving family, but in all the story we have only little bit of info on him and not a full profile. About Sammi we know something more, and I found really interesting Sammi's visit to a free clinic and his "coldly" approach to his sex life seen from a medical point of view. It could sound strange, but I probably found it the best scene in the book.
In the end, easy reading, I finished the book in few time, but I see some lost opportunities in it and I'd like if the author considers to write more on these characters.
http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=7
Amazon Kindle: Common Powers 1: Soul Bonds
Amazon: Soul Bonds: Common Powers 1
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by April Martinez
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