Due to the time of release, Hallowen, and the author, Jordan Castillo Price and her vampires and psycops, I was expecting something "paranormal" from this seasonal novella, and instead, to my surprise and delight, it was a very nice, and normal, romance, with a good love story.Tony was in a bad accident and now, even if he is the younger of the Potosi's brothers, he is also the weaker, the one the other two look after, the one who has to do the less heavy jobs... losing his status of "body", the man who could do everything, is for Tony like losing a bit of his masculinity. Then he does a job for David, the man who bought the old house Tony and his brothers thought haunted when they were young, and when Tony goes there the first time, he doesn't know what to expect. For sure he isn't expecting David, and the sudden sexual sparks the man arise in him and the mutual interest. David doesn't look at Tony like a broken man, he looks at him like a fine piece of meat he can't wait to taste. And Tony is both excited than perplexed. David comes to him in a so strong way, that Tony is almost scared: has David an hidden agenda that Tony can't find out?
There is a little surprising turn in the story, nothing big, but it gives to all the novella a meaning more. Other than that, what I enjoyed was the slightly May/December relationship between David and Tony, and also the reverse play of Top and bottom: David is older than Tony, forty-something against not yet thirty, and he is the one who is straightforward in proposing Tony, actually Tony is the one who asks to step back a bit, to have more time, but when they finally arrive to share a bed, David leaves the upper hand, and position, to Tony. I think that was absolutely necessary for Tony, he needed to prove to another but above all to himself, that he was still "man" enough, that he wasn't broken.
Another thing I liked was Tony's relationship with his brothers Chip and Sal, and their Italian heritage. It wasn't so much developed, but the classical tight-knit Italian family was there, and I wouldn't have minded to read a little more on them, how they deal with Tony's homosexuality, something they know and seem to accept, but that probably was not easy at first.
http://jcpbooks.com/#sympathy
The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/85035
Broken is, as expected, a story very heavy in the angst side but not overtly dramatic. I poured my one tear or two, but basically, I think the story was more sweet than anything else, and I really enjoyed the fact that it was "physical" without being sexy. Let me explain a bit: both main characters, Eli and Alec, are very aware of each other in a physical way, the love between them is both a match of minds than bodies, and all around them there are people who are in different stage of relationships, but the novel never goes down to the details, never once there is a full sex scene, even if, more than once, the men fall asleep together (and you will have to read the book to know what I mean). So yes, the novel is physical, but it's not sexy, we and they are aware of the men and their sexuality, and so no, this is not a "sweet romance" as the old romance rules state (no sex we are English...), but it's sweet since the author manages to maintain it on a balanced level, not too much of that, not to few of this. Eli is recovering from a trauma, his life partner was killed in a gay bashing, and 2 years after his impromptu family, the lesbian best girlf friend of his former partner, and two gay roommates they were living with, think it's time for Eli to come out from the self-imposed "widower" mourning. Ilsa in particular decides to take the matter in hand and rent the attic of the house where they are all living to Alec, an American writer and Psychology professor who is searching a place to live in London, after moving from Chicago due to another one of his "usual" heartbroken. Just from that you can understand that Alec is not exactly the classical psycho-therapist, that let me say, I sometime find boring: when a man has all the answers, I think he is not a nice character. Alec, instead, I think he is a man who learns how to understand and comfort people, since he wanted to understand his own fears and doubts. When one of his relationships fails, he moves to another city to completely change his life; it's a run from reality, but he knows it well. And I think that Alec has also some self-esteem problem, he always thinks that the relationship fails due to some fault from his side... unlikely, but the human mind works in a strange way.
Anyway, when Alec meets Eli, he is the only one who understands that Eli has not the need to be pushed out from his mourning, he needs to be taken by. Eli is almost ready, he only needs to find a reason, and maybe the reason can be a new love, Alec. Obviously when you hide to Eli that Alec is a psychologist, and more he is specialized in after-trauma, well, you also understand that troubles are behind the corner.
Eli and Alec are very nice characters, well developed and likeable. The story between them is nice and sweet. What probably is the best part of this novel is that they are not the only ones to be good characters. They can be the main focus of the story, but all the supporting characters around them, from the most important ones, like Ilsa, Lyle and Tony, Eli's roommates, to Casey, Mirabell, the best girl friends, to even the cameo roles like Dray, Reggie and Ray, they all have an interesting background story, they all aroused my interest and made me wonder about them, about their story and its possible evolution. Broken could be Eli and Alec's love story, but it's also a choral book where all the characters have a very important role.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p
Amazon: Broken
Amazon Kindle: Broken
The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/85035
Cover Art by Paul Richmond
I was really surprised, after reading the previous book and posting about it, to discover that The Katman's Mate was so popular among the M/M romance readers. And no, it was not a surprise due to the fact that the book was not good, as I said in my previous post, despite some typo errors, I really enjoyed that story, but I really thought it was not a story for all. There are some squeack factors that I thought would have taken aback some readers, especially male readers, and instead I have a first hand experience of a male reader who said it loved it... so, maybe, even if I try not to, also I have some preconceived ideas that are wrong.The Katzman's Mate, and Dream Mate even more, are male pregnancy stories. I couldn't say it clearly in the previous post, since the male pregnancy of the main character was the final surprise of that book, but here instead is the central event and even the starting point: Demyan, mate of the Katzmen ruler, Chellak, is pregnant and he wants a doctor from his own planet. Chellak, who dotes on his mate, sends one of his warrior, Trajan, to fetch a suitable doctor. When Trajan arrives on Elquone and sees for the first time Saris, the chosen doctor, he knows that he has found his mate. Saris was a bruter, a genetically changed man who is able to give birth, but he didn't like the side effect, being a property of the sire of the babies, and chose to be a doctor for them, instead. Even if he doesn't like the idea to be the property of a man, also him recognizes Trajan as his mate, since he is the man he dreams at night.
From this moment on the story follows the usual path: the two fall in love, they have to overcome some perils, in between they have the chance to deepen their relationship, even to "mate" a time or two, and then the happily ever after, with full accessories. Again I think the story is very much as an old classic futuristic romance, when I read story like this one, I always think to Johanna Lindsey and her Warrior's Woman, and it's a compliment I'm paying to the books, I loved that old savage futuristic romance.
What struck me is that a story like this one could be of appeal for a man. All right, I can understand the appealing for a woman, seeing a man going through the labor (pun intended) of a pregnancy is like a little vengeance; no, I don't think it's much the idea to "womanize" the man, it's more a thing of "see what it means?". But for a man? maybe the appeal is the idea that, even if in a fictional way, the men are now independent from women, even for that "little" particular that is pregnancy (again reverse pun intended).
What probably it's less "squick" here than in the previous story, is that Saris is a little less feminine; not in body, he is, like Demyan, lithe, small and beautiful, almost cute like Trajan thinks, but at least in behavior he is stronger; he is also more independent than Demyan, he has a strong core that let me think that he would be able to take care of himself even alone, something that I didn't feel for Demyan.
Anyway, again, the story was surprisingly easy to read, and this comes from someone like me that usually is not very fond of Futuristic/Fantasy setting. Truth be told, I was expecting a sequel to the previous book with the two main characters of before as central characters here, and instead this second book is focused on another couple... nevermind, we have still the chance to see what happened to Demyan and Chellak, and from the plan of this story, I think that the author is not yet finished, there are at least 2 other men that could probably be future main characters in other sequels.
http://www.bookstrand.com/product-dreamm
Series:
1) The Katzman's Mate: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/77683
2) Dream Mate
The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/85035
Stone is a 36 yeard old historian professor. He is also an historical fiction writer and he has had a sudden success with one of his novel. He has agreed to do a on the road tour all along US and now he needs a personal assistant, cause Stone is blind.Him and his last partner have friendly taken different paths one years ago. Stone is quite independent when he is at home or in familiar places, but in unknow territory he is lost. So here comes Mason, an ex army soldier and then boduguard, who needs something more in his life. And Stone could be the right man. Since the first day they meet, it's immediately sex and fun.
Mason and Stone are the perfect pair, Mason just a little overprotective and Stone not so sorry to allow Mason the up hand in their relationship. Stone has not the usual behaviour of the man who wants to demonstrate that he can do all alone: he has no problem to admit that he likes to be cuddle and spoilt.
Even if this is a sip, it's pretty long, about 100 pages, but it spams for a little period of time and it's almost all spent in the bedroom. But the sex is hot and the characters are interesting. I like a lot how Sean Michael has decipted Stone and his positive attitude toward life.
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Dona Nobis Pacem is one of those lost pearls that sometime you find; a lost pearl is a book you start thinking to read a nice and good novel (since you like the author and the publisher), but maybe a bit on the average side. You start it maybe on the brink of sleep, already with half mind shut down for the night, and soon realize that you are reading something different, that this is not your usual average novel, that you have on your hand a special romance.Dona Nobis Pacem is an historical western romance; there is not precise time period, but probably it's the late nineteen century. Donnell is a mute saloon owner. He is born mute, the son of a "soiled dove" that died two hours after giving birth to him. People told to those women to let him die, that it would have been a pitiful thing to do, but another woman, Bettina, didn't listen anything of it and raised him. As often happens when you are born in certain places, Donnell has always spent his life in saloon and brothel; he has a clever mind and did a bit of money with gambling. He used that money to buy his own saloon and now he lives there with his "mother" Bettina and an impromptu family made by his employees. Donnell communicates through his hands and the music he learned, he is now the piano man of the saloon, but his music sometime also conveys his moods. Donnell has also soon learned that he prefers men, but it's too dangerous to indulge in his preferences with temporary lovers, and so he swore to Bettina to be careful.
Then a day Donnell sees a man in front of his saloon. Nathan is young and beautiful, with big blue eyes and a stubborn behavior. He has nothing, not even the right clothes to be under the sun, but he is also to stubborn to accept help without giving something in exchange. He wants a job, but he is too dirty, weak and "odd" to find one. He collapses in front of Donnell, and Donnell takes him home, like a stray dog. For Donnell it's love at first sight, maybe also since Donnell is lonely and he recognizes another lonely soul in Nathan. During the day and night that Donnell spends to take care of a feverish and delirious Nathan, the story of the man comes out: he was a seminarist and threw out from the "church" when he didn't pass the last temptation test; Nathan has desires for men and this is the biggest sin.
Nor Donnell or Nathan are really strong characters, at least in a physical way; they both have a strong will, but in my mind I built them more ascetic; Nathan with his latin words, and Donnell with his elegant hand moves, they are a bit of a bohemian artists soiled by the dust of the Far West. Even if Donnell, with his disability, should be the weaker one, it's not like that: both Donnell than Nathan are at the same level, both of them have their own disability, and they compensate each other.
After that, the story is not much more complicated, it's more or less based on Nathan and Donnell's discovery of each other, of their tentative to build a relationship, a relationship that will add the last piece to Donnell's odd family, a companion for himself. As Nathan says, they are both fallen angels, and their love is not a sin inside the strange haven of Donnell's saloon, doesn't matter what happens outside. It's not the purpose of this book to be realistic, to show you that it would have been impossible for Donnell and Nathan to have a life together, even in that particular condition. It's not that the novel underestimates those problems, they are there, just outside, it's only that the author prefers to have a more romance sight on the story, to let you dream and believe that it's possible for two fallen angels to be happy together.
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Cover Art by Rose Lenoir
I bought this book since I read in another post by a friend of mine of a particularly development of the story that I was really interested in seeing, but since I'm mean, and since finding out that development is part of the surprise of the book, I will not say what it was ;-) Yes, yes, I know that I had an advantage on you, but still I'm incorruptible. Apart from that first element, the Katzman's Mate has many traits that usually I like in a futuristic gay romance: first of all the "furry" nature of one of the main characters, even more when it's the top of the situation. Truth be told, Chellak, the katzman, has less "fur" than usual, and he has not a tail, only pointed ears and a bit of more hair on his body than a human. And a cat like nose. And long and thick hair like the mane of a lion... said like that he seems not so handsome, but he purrs, so I can accept that.
Chellak is the commander of a small pride who comes back to his home planet to get rid of the usurper who killed his father more or less thirty years before. Having Chellak a bit of feline nature in him, he is all in all the classical "feline" man of a paranormal romance, all instinct and "you are my mate" attitude: when a Alpha Male katzman finds his mate, he gets in a frenzy mating and he has only one thought in mind... well, to be true, not so different from any other male, feline or not. Anyway Chellak finds his mate in Demyan, a small man from an exotic planet who was a slave of the usurper: Demyan is a beautiful little thing and the villain used him as carrot to his stubborn son; if the "Boy" behaved in a good way, he was allowed to play with his "toy", Demyan, otherwise the toy was put in a cage. From that experience Demyan comes out a bit traumatized and also mute, due to an harsh punishment he suffered to have refused unwelcoming sexual advance from his captor.
This is not exactly a yaoi novel, it lacks of some of the main characterizations (big blurry eyes, blushing virgin and so on), but many of the elements that draw female reader to gay romance are there: the Top and Bottom pair, with clear and precise play roles without shifting; the chick with dick bottom, a boy who behaves mostly like a girl, when girl where demure and shy; the exclusive and strictly monogamous couple. In the end the big "why" I was attracting to this book at first, the one I can't say, but that I know it's a big NO for some gay romance readers (especially the "purist"), but that has some fans among other. If I'm to be sincere, I like all of above, true, not always and not in all my books, but sometime I like it; I'm all for a big bad Alpha Male who can pur, and I like Demyan's character, a mix of innocent and teaser, sometime you wonder if he is dumb, but then you realize he is really only very young and not used to deal with strangers.
So yes, I liked it, and please don't take my following comment like a reason to not read it; I feel to write it only as an advice to the author and the editor: being me not English mother tongue, it's hard for me to notice typos, but I found some, one even in the second sentence of the book, first page. They are quite simple mistakes, I believe most due, maybe, to an automatic proof reader that perhaps changed a word in the wrong way. Most of them probably you can find and correct with a second pass from a skilled reader. Since, as I said and want to remark, the story is good and the characters also, I think it's a shame that a reader is distracted by those typos.
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Amazon: The Katzman's Mate (Siren Publishing)
Amazon Kindle: The Katzman's Mate (Siren Publishing)
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Finding the Words is a nice book since I found that the characters are real thanks to their many faults. Ryan is a speech therapist in an University Medical Center. He is recovering from a broken heart: his younger lover (Ryan is 35 years old, Jeff is 25) for the umpteenth time cheated on him, and even if Ryan still loves him, this time he isn't willing to forgive. The strange thing is that the author manages to not give nor to Ryan or to Jeff the fault of the breakup. On his way, Jeff loves Ryan, only that he is really convinced that monogamy is not for men; even if from my point of view he is on the wrong side, it's clear that the author didn't want to make him a negative character, and after all, from what we are able to see of Jeff, he is really a nice guy. Maybe this is the reason why Ryan is not able to forget and forgive, he is really in love with Jeff and for him love means exclusivity. Again, it's strange, I'm all for Ryan's point of view, but the way he shut down Jeff in a way made me more sympathetic for Jeff than for Ryan. And then, even if with a broken heart, Ryan is more than willing to fall in love again so soon, Jeff's side of the bed is still warm! Well, lucky him that he finds so soon a good man.
Andre is a patient of the hospital; a divorced men with two grown son, at 46 years old he is just getting used to live alone again. And then the health issue that leave him with a body and speech handicap. Apparently Andre is a very nice character, he is almost cute when trying to speak again, and even if he is older than Ryan, he has to lean on the man for almost everything, and this makes him even more cute. But there is something more behind Andre, I'm not totally sure that he is a really strong man, even when he was in full body capacity. Andre was married, but he had doubt on his sexuality; maybe he was not exactly in the closet, he has never had homosexual experience, but he was curious. He even planned to met with a man when he was still married... all right, Andre's wife is not exactly the epitome of nice woman, but still, I don't know if I like so much a man that was willing to cheat on his wife. In a way, Andre is not so different from Jeff, and Ryan decided to leave Jeff.
But maybe between Ryan and Jeff there were also other problems and the cheating was only the more evident. I have the feeling that Ryan always doubted on the possibility to have a future with Jeff, deep inside him he knew that Jeff was not the one. And instead I didn't feel the same when Ryan is with Andre. True, Andre maybe is not perfect, but so is Ryan; as I said the story is interesting just for this reason.
Another strange thing is the apparently lack of sex even if the story is pretty erotic. Ryan is a very "physical" man, he has naughty thing, and he has no problem to take care of himself when he is in need. So we have a lot of solo sex scene, but in the end not even one with Ryan. Ryan's relationship with Andre is very intimate and tender, but not sexy; erotic maybe, but not naughty. All in all the story is not too dramatic, but neither light: being Andre inexperienced with men, it would have been easy for the author to put one or two sex scene with a naughty core, and instead he decided to leave the mood of the story to a more chaste level, almost familiar. In a way Ryan and Andre's love is mature and comfortable, like it's probably right for their age (more Andre than Ryan).
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/romanc
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Amazon Kindle: Finding the Words
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Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey
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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Onyx is a BDSM night club where willing subs can meet good Doms. Ian was one of the first Dom to join the club, but he is now probably tired of the lifestyle... he is not tired of the D / s plays, he is tired to do that in public, he is more for private games. So he returns to Onyx not to find a new sub, but only to look around. Kale is a 24 years old sub who has recently brought with his Master; it's not said, but I have the feeling that it was Kale who ended the relationship. Kale is not a normal sub, he is blind, and this means that he has special needs... are you thinking that he needs for his Master to be gentler than usual? to be less forceful? On the contrary, Kale needs added stimulation, he needs that everything is done with more intensity and he needs variety.
Basically the short story is the detailed narration of the two scenes in which Kale and Ian are involved. They are particularly boundaries pushing, and where some "kinky" play I have already read before (wax and similar), some other were quite new (medical techniques turned in sex games... don't know if I personally would have liked to be involved in them...). Anyway it's not Ian who pushes Kale, it's Kale who asks for more, and so, if he is willing, it's all right. I think that Kale is trying to overcome his disability trying to feel more with all his other senses. Maybe I felt Ian a bit detached, but he is really caring with Kale, also and above all, before and after their games. He takes care of him, and he is sweet and tender.
For being a short story, it has quite a lot on course, and even if not all the past and the reason of the main characters are developed, it's said enough to be not only a way to read of kinky sex. And above all, I'm always interested to see how disability is dealt in a romance, and I think that this time it was done in a nice way.
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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
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Starting this book I was expecting a quite dark and gothic story, and instead the overall mood of this one is light and almost funny.Ryzelmei, Ryzel, is an incubus. He is not a lesser demon like all the incubi, he is the son of Asmodai, and so he has some powers more than usual. In his life out of hell, this turns into him being a very wealthy man, with some thriving nighclubs and poshy hotels, that allow him to live in a comfortable way with only one pursue, find a good meal twice a day. Obviously a meal for an incubus means sex, but Ryzel, in his human form, is a very handsome man, a bit on the pale side, with waist long black hair, so it's not a problem to find willing partners. And lately Ryzel has also stopped to feed to death from his partners, and so his meal leaves him with only a faint recollection of a nice experience.
Then Quinlin, Quin, stumbles upon one of those nice experiences; Quin is blind but he has a gift, he can see auras, and so what he "sees" his a stronger aura that is encompassing a weaker one. He obviously interferes, and knocks out Ryzel with his cane. He doesn't do serious damage to the incubus, but enough to get notice. To Ryzel, Quin appears like a succulent meal and something more; to the incubus eyes, Quin is stunning and beautiful, to everyone else eyes he is quite average... what is between Ryzel and Quin that pulls them together and bonded them in a way Ryzel has never felt before?
I like Quin's character since, even if blind, he is not at all a weak or dependent man. Usually when you have a disability, you develop some other skill, and Quin develops his strong will. He is a pissy bastard! He is not friendly, he is quite brisk and he likes things done as he wants. He is not one to indulge or mourning, and he is also open enough to recognize his body desires; after meeting Ryzel, he can't deny that his body wants the man, and this doesn't change not even when he discovers that Ryzel is an incubus. It's not quite a problem for Quin, his grandmother, a seer, foretold everything and took the right measures to ensure an happily ever after for her grandson.
I believe there are some yaoi influence in the story, but they are not so strong or strict... Quin is obviously a top from the bottom, he is always feisty and talkative during sex, always giving orders even when he is on the receiving end. He doesn't like to be ordered around probably since he developed an independent core to make up to his blindness, and that attitude is brought on also during sex. Quin is also an hyperactive man, he is always in motion, or doing something, laziness is not a word in his vocabulary... for example, everytime they have sex, Quin is always the first to wake up, and more time than not, Ryzel doesn't find him in bed afterward.
On the other hand, Ryzel, as a demon and powerful man, should be the top in the relationship, but he never fulfils the general expectation. In life he is caught in the middle between feisty Quin on one side, and his powerful father on the other; during sex he always plans great things in his mind, things to do to Quin, and always ends following Quin's wishes... poor Ryzel would be a really frustrated demon, if not for the simple reason that he is a "sex" demon... sex is joyful and playful, and so Ryzel is like that, a man who enjoys the moment, who is able to savor the little things of life, who is willing to try and compromise if the prize of all of that is being good.
All in all Blind Desire showed to be a very nice, light and enjoyable story, with some a real funny core... and I believe the author has something in mind for Haskell, Quin's friend with benefits, and an horse... something I wouldn't mind to read.
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Cover Art by Rose Lenoir
Hershie’s Kiss (Campus Cravings) by Carol LynneAnother little step in the Campus Cravings soap opera. We just knew that Charlie, the supervisor of the all gay KB dorm, and Jack, the retired Marine and now cook, were lovers. And we also knew that, after an hot encounter on the kitchen table, Jack disappeared.
Now Jack is come back, with a fifteen years old son! And Charlie doesn't know if he is ready to be a lover AND a stepfather... plus Charlie has the impression that Jack is ashamed of him: they go pretty well on bed (and actually on any other surfaces) but Jack never once asked Charlie out. And Charlie has had the same experience in the past, with his family, a family ashamed of a blind son... or not? Since Charlie, who was always convinced to be a pure African American man, discovers thanks to Jack, that maybe this is not the real story: green eyes and straight hair don't match good with a pureblood African American. And so Charlie finds out that there is a secret in his past and he needs to go back to Los Angeles to investigate; he also needs Jack's support, but the man can't leave his newfound son alone...
As always, in a Carol Lynne's book, there is a lot of sex, a free enjoyment of life and a big social issue; in this case it's the relationship between a blind man and his lover, but also between a single gay father and his lover. Both problems are dealt with a light hand, not much angst in this story, but as always it's rather enjoyable. And as always we have the chance to meet the next heroes in the series, Theron (the last "straight" standing on the Demakis brothers) and Michael.
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Theron’s Return (Campus Cravings) by Carol LynneIn the fictional college town where Carol Lynne sets her gay soap opera, being gay is the standard and straight men are scarce. And so now it's time for the only straight of the three Demakis to walk on the dark side.
Theron is the older, the wiser and the smaller on the three brothers. He is also the one who self-imposed himself the task to produce an heir for the Demakis family, giving that both his brothers are totally gay. On that matter, Theron is not totally straight, he liked men in the past, but he prefers to take his gay escapades in the closet.
When Michael, one of the residents of the gay dorm founded by Demitri Demakis, is raped, Theron volunteers to be his psychological help. But when the young guy starts to develop a sexual interest in him, Theron runs away: he can't be tempted. Only that for Michael this is a once more rejection he has not the strenght to overcome.
Michael is a young and friendly guy, but for how much big he is in body, he is very fragile in soul. He is also very young, always pampered by his family, and when for the first time he needs to walk alone, he is not ready and falls. He obviously needs a fatherly figure in his life, and Theron is just there, just that figure he needs so much. It's not very fair for Michael to unload a so heavy charge on Theron, but he can't avoid it.
Theron is not so clever as he seems. Being the older brother he takes upon himself the task to be the pater familias, but maybe he didn't realize that it's not necessary, since his father is still very good at it and has never expressed the need to be replaced. In a way Theron hides behind a finger, he tries to substitute his being smaller and less charming than his brothers, with being the wiser.
The story is pretty enjoyable, maybe a bit too simple, since in reality I believe it would not so simple to come out from all the problems (a rape, family pressure, moving in a new place, changing work...). And then I would really like to find a greek conservative family who has not problem in having all of its three son being gay... But well, as I always said, we don't expect reality in the gay soap opera by Carol Lynne.
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Buy from Amazon: Campus Cravings: BK House
Series: Campus Cravings
1-2-3) Campus Cravings 1: On the Field: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/13379
4-5) Campus Cravings 2: Off the Field: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/16506
6-7) Campus Cravings 3: Back on Campus: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/23255
8-9) Campus Cravings 4: Dorm Life: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/30557
10-11) Campus Cravings 5: BK House
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If there is a thing that an author can do to displease me is to ruin my Happily Ever After... and so when I read Surrender Love's blurb, I thought, OMG Mrs Allen, what have you done? But since I'm a faithful reader and I remember that I liked the previous book, Wulf, I bought it anyway, and put it in my reading list... only to see it everytime I opened the reading folder to choose a book to read. The ebook was there and it was beckoning me... read me, read me, you know that you will like me... it was like a Mermaid's song, and I did my best to resist, and BTW the length of the book helped, since I always need a lot of courage to sit down and read a novel plus. Till today I was strong, but then I surrendered.And Kayelle Allen didn't even make my surrender easy! Since not only Wulf and Luc have split after the HEA they had in that book I read, but it was not even a break-up due to an uncontrollable fate, like if Wulf is dead or something similar (look? I can accept if you ruin my HEA, but I'm ruthless if you do that!). No, Wulf and Luc were torn apart by the most common trouble, the inability to communicate. Luc thought that Wulf thought that Luc thought... and no one of them really knew what the other thought. At the beginning of the book, Wulf is running away with his new lover, Alitus, and Luc is mourning the loss... for an handful of days! Then he meets Izzorah, and his everlasting love for Wulf is all but forgotten, and he is hot on the trail of a new lover.
Now you would think that I'm a bit hard with Luc, he is not a bad guy, but probably he is too used to loose a lover that he has a calluses around his heart. Luc is a Sempervian, means that he is immortal, and everytime he starts a relationship with someone, he has always to take in account that his lover will age and die, and he will be near him for all the time. Maybe this time he suffered a bit more since Wulf didn't die, he simply left, and Luc feels betrayed, but maybe one of the reason for Wulf's behavior is that he has never really felt like Luc was totally involved with him. The reason why they split seems so stupid, that you really wonder if they were really good together, but I remember they were, at least in that first book. I haven't read the two books in the middle, and probably something happened in them, but one thing I know: in my old fashioned mind, all those sharing your lover with your friends (since you think he wants that) and turning your sex life in a complicated play scene, well, I don't think it helped at all.
Anyway, it's not use crying over spilt milk, and maybe someone else is interested in that milk... maybe a little nice kittie? Izzorah is a feline man from an aline planet which has commercial agreement with the Tarthian Empire. He is the drummer of a rock band and they have just signed a contract with Luc's business firm. Izzorah is all you can expected from a man with some feline traits, furry ears, some furry in other strategic places, no tail, but all purrs and little cute quirks. Plus Izzorah's planet is a matriarchal one, and he flew his hometown to avoid a forced marriage with a warrior woman: Izzorah is gay and he couldn't bear the idea to be a woman's lover. But Izzorah is not against the idea to be a warrior's lover, since he is a natural submissive... only that for Izzy, a total virgin, submission is a really simple thing: you find a man who takes care of you in all your needs, and in exchange you give yourself to him. For Izzy, submission is not a shadow dungeon or pain/pleasure games, it's more like be pampered and cuddled. And yes, I like very much Izzy, probably even more than Luc: Izzy is a total innocent character and you can't hold against him the guilt to be the "third" man, the one who splits the perfect couple, also since it was not him.
In the end I have two recommendations: if you are a reader like me arriving from the first book, well, probably after few pages you will manage to pass over your disappointment for the lost romance, and enjoy the new one, that probably has more chance to last since Luc has learned from the past; and instead if you haven't read the previous book, well, I will say that probably you can read directly this one, avoiding so the disillusion about the past romance, and fully enjoying the current one.
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Amazon Kindle: Surrender Love
Series:
1) Wulf: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/28888.h
2) Alitus
3) Jawk
4) Surrender Love
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
This is almost a wrap up book; it's the sequel of St. Nacho's and following the loose strand that was Jordan, Cooper's ex. When St. Nacho's ended, there was hope for Jordan, obviously not to be again with Cooper, but at least to build again a life. And Cooper suggested to the man to come to St. Nacho's, a place that seems to heal your soul more than your body. And to St. Nacho's Jordan comes, but he is not ready to be healed; Jordan is still eating alive by the guilt and he doesn't want to be discharged. I have the idea that more punishment you bring upon Jordan, and more he would ask. This is something that was quite clear in the previous book, where Jordan insisted to live in a town where almost everyone wants for him to go away. It was quite clear in his choosing to be the "project" of a young priest, full of good will, but maybe a bit too devoted to his task. And it was quite clear in the places Jordan chose to frequent, places where the BDSM was pushed a bit too much beyond the safe boundaries of a naughty play (but in this second book this last aspect is barely hinted and it's not an important part of the story).In Physical Therapy this destructive behavior of Jordan is brought up front from the first moment, when Jordan applies for a job as masseur in a gym, and instead of exalting his credentials, he tries to shadow them with his con past. Lucky him Izzie, the gym's owner, is not easily mislead, and Jordan finds a work and a friend in the same day... and maybe even a boyfriend. Ken is a guy who was involved in a car accident, he was seriously injured and his girlfriend died on the place. The accident was caused by a drunk driver and so Jordan thinks that, if Ken knew the truth about him, he wouldn't have anything to do with Jordan, and obviously Jordan, self-destructive as he is, tells Ken the truth... and Ken doesn't react as expected.
Many people, his family and friends, think that the accident deprived Ken of his future as a baseball professional star: he was leading toward success, with a nice girlfriend beside him; he was the first son and obviously the perfect son, of a perfect family; all was lied in front of him and not real obstacles where on the horizons. Then the accident, and all crushed down... but it were Ken's hopes that died in that accident with his girlfriend or those of his friends and family? What is that Ken really wants? It's strange, but I have the feeling that the accident freed Ken of all those constraints, letting him finally free to do what and be who he really wants. And one of the thing he wants is to be with Jordan, even if Jordan does everything to discourage him.
Jordan believes to be the one who is helping Ken to heal, and instead I have the idea that the one who is healing is Jordan, and Ken is only finally reaching for the life he wants: having no more to bear the weight of being the perfect son, the hope of the town, allows him to be a simple guy in love with another guy.
It's hard to be disappointed by a Z.A. Maxfield's book, she has a faithful and growing readership, and I believe that this one is nicely up to the previous one, St. Nacho's, maybe not so angst like that one, but still a book that will move the sentimental reader. And again a nice setting in the fictional town of St. Nacho's, a place I wouldn't have believed possible to exist till last year, when I went in California, and actually visited those small beach village, developed around their pier and where it seems that the time has another pace than the rest of the world.
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Series:
1) St. Nacho's: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/47813
2) Physical Therapy
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
I have some stories that are swirling in my mind that probably I will never fix, and so I was really happy to find this book, that in a way matches with an idea I had: a love story between an apparently "perfect" man, cultured and sophisticated and a "simple" boy, someone who has a special look on life, and a world all of his own in his mind.Dane is a part time janitor in a private college and a semi-professional boxer. He is a little "slow", he was always like that and people never tried to see the world from his eyes, and so he often comes out as dumb or stupid. But Dane is a very special man, with a big heart, and sometime the world is better from his perspective, since he seems unable to see the nasty things of life. A retired boxer, Charlie, took care of him since he was a young boy, and even found him the job as janitor, and through the boxing he is trying to teach him how to be independent and to trust in his own possibility. And so Dane is not a sad man, and he is not really alone, but he misses the companionship of someone special, a "boyfriend". Dane is an handsome man, and if he wants to find easy sex, he has no problem to be picked up in a bar; actually he is so trusting and friendly, that often people take advantage of him. But Dane, even if easily fooled, always realizes when this happens, and time after time, it's becoming more and more difficult to bear it.
Dane decides his boyfriend will be Noel, the little and shy man he always sees studying in the library. Noel is a very beautiful man, but he is crippled, due to an accident he had when he was still a boy, and his leg often causes him great pain. He is living a sheltered life in the care of his father, his only parent alive, but he is almost a captive: his father forbids him to do everything, always telling him that he is too weak. Even if his father is always there for him, he is not a loving man, he is often lead by anger and Noel is missing the kindness of a lover. Giving their background, Dane a boxer and an "experienced" lover, and Noel a scholar and a virgin, you could easily expect the development of their relationship, but here arrives the nice surprise: Dane being so simple and trusting, becomes Noel's protege, and Noel, being for once the one to take care for another, gains a bit of trust in himself. Noel becomes the master and Dane the pet, and doing so, they rebalance their differences in body and strenght.
This is not an easy book to like, there are some points in which my "inner" self was sending me warning alerts, above all, having Dane obviously some "troubles", it was right for Noel to assume the role of the Master in his life? To this my heart replied that Dane has his own perspective in life, and he is well aware of what is wrong and what is right, and he chose to submit to Noel, but still I can't help to feel as if Noel is taking advantage of Dane. The really strange thing is that I never felt as it was happening the opposite, never once I felt like Dane was taking advantage of Noel thanks to his body strenght; it's true, Dane awakened Noel to his physical desires, but from the beginning, he did it in such a way, that it was always like Noel was only waiting for something to happen, Dane never imposed him anything. There is a bit of "gay for you" in this book, since Noel is not really "gay", he is a newbie at sex at all, but how he reacts to Dane's body, makes me think that, as I said, he was only waiting for the right one, and the right one happens to be a man.
The are other minor things that didn't ring right to me, like as they often use the "Daddy" naming for Noel, or when Dane often dismissed Noel's feeling for him, and in doing so, diminishing their story. I'm also not sure that I like how the things evolved with Noel's father and the sudden "revelation" on his past. And truth be told, I always felt "uneasiness" during the sex scenes, but maybe this is due to what I said above.
Now I'm sincere and I said what made me uneasy in the book, but they are all points that made me think, they are not points that I didn't like, and this is an important distinction; on the contrary, I think that they are exactly the points that made this book so interesting. And there are also some points that moved me, almost to tears, especially when Dane was alone and was thinking to his life and how he would have liked it to be. Dane is a very special and wonderful character, and him alone makes it worthy to read this book.
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Cover Art by April Martinez
Cooper is a man in flight from himself, or maybe from a man he doesn't like and doesn't want to be no more. From a good family, a little genius of the music, Cooper had all the chances to be someone good and successful; instead he was a trouble kid and later an even more trouble man. Drugs and alcohol didn't help, but even when he was wasted he still had something good in him, something that prevented him to drunken drive; unfortunately the same thing wasn't in his lover and Cooper was in the car when they had an accident and killed a little kid. From that moment on Cooper is a runaway, trying to be as far as possible from his past. Then he arrives to Santo Ignacio, California; the places is like a little heaven in the hell that is the world for Cooper; and in this little heaven Cooper finds an ever more little paradise in St. Nacho's cantina, a gay club along the beach with a crew that is almost a family. A family that welcome Cooper inside their home and arms. They are so overwhelming and open that Cooperf finds himself delaying day by day his departure, above all since one member of the family, Shawn, has a personal interest in Cooper, even if they are a very unlikely pair.First of all the obvious: Cooper is unable to express his feelings, above all with his body, the only time when he lets go something is when he is playing his violin; Shawn is deaf and he needs the physical touch, sometime he is even forceful when people physically avoid him, since for him is like shutting the only communication channel. Then Cooper is the classical bad boy, leather, tattoo, piercings and bike, he is not at all the reassuring type. Shawn has the face of an angel and his disability leads people to try to protect him, to always pair him with the good boy next door.
But the appearance could lead to big mistake, since nor Cooper or Shawn are what they seem. Cooper is a submissive for nature, he loves to be gentle manhandled and almost to be coaxed to do the right thing; he really needs someone that for once, doesn't let him go since it is the best thing for him to forget, but instead forces him to face his biggest nightmares. On the other hand Shawn is not the docile and sweet man everyone thinks he is; he has a strong streak and he likes to lead and to be a little forceful, but in bed than in life. Between Cooper and Shawn it's not a classical D/s relationship, but for sure it's a power game, a fragile balance of allow and forbid.
The story has a very involving development, with some nice and unexpected turn of event; it has also a various and interesting bunch of side characters, like all the St. Nacho's family member, and Stan, the apparently good priest: watch out as the author turns the man from steady and strong supporter to spoiled baby to whom someone has stolen his latest shiny toy. I like also that the author, in the three books I read by her, has never replayed the same character, always managing to have a different story with its own original heroes, even if they all live in sunny California.
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Amazon Kindle: St. Nacho's
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
This is the first novel I read by Nica Berry (I read only a short story before), even if I heard good things about the previous two books (that I have and probably will read). One of the things that prevented me to read her before, was that I have always had the idea that her stories have an high level of angst, that angst that leave you with the feeling that it will not an easy life for your heroes. I'm happy to say that, in the end, Northern Love is more romantic than expected and so for me was easier, even if one thing is confirmed, the women in her books are not exactly "nice" characters (at least in this book Atka gives to my gender some hope).There are quite few things that were challenging for me: the fantasy setting (a genre I'm not really fond of), the menages a trois (but truth be told is an all male menages, so not many problem here) and the non consensual sex (rape is till something that I hardly find erotic). But the author dribbles among all this issues in a way that makes me overcome all my preconceptions. Emmanuel and Jerek are two orphan boys in a fantasy kingdom who find in each other a reason to live; Emmanuel is the body, the force for both of them, and Jerek is the mind, the cleverness that serve to both of them to survive. Jerek has a dream, to find a mythical citadel in the north, a place where they will be never starving or in danger, and to find that citadel they both embark in a privateer ship. Obviously two young boys in the hands of unscrupulous men have no easy life on board, and Emmanuel, with his beautiful body, but maybe with a not so clever mind, is the first to fall prey of the captain. He is convinced that he is doing what he is doing to not harm Jerek, that if he takes all the "punishment" upon himself, he will save Jerek from the same destiny.
Emmanuel is young, and even if he experimented with Jerek, he is also innocent, and along the way the torture becomes almost a pleasure, and this, instead of soothe him, makes him even more guilty at his eyes. If he was not enjoying the torture, he was not betraying Jerek, but if he finds pleasure in the torture, then he is a traitor. And so when Jerek speaks aloud the words, calling him a traitor, Emmanuel is unable to defend himself, and Jerek goes away believing Emmanuel guilty.
Jerek finds solace in the arms of another man, the shapeshifter seal Piaktok, and he also fulfills his dream to find the citadel, but without Emmanuel his joy is not complete. He says to himself that he is searching vengeance, but instead he is missing a part of his heart, only that, when he finds again that missing piece, his heart is shielded in ice, and he is blind to love, as his past lover is became blind for real. There is a strange parallelism in the story, both Jerek's lovers have a physical disability, Piaktok is mute and Emmanuel is blind, and in a way they represent the inability of Jerek to see the true and to speak his true feelings; on the other hand, Piaktok and Emmanuel, even if mute and blind, are able to understand each other and to recognize the love around them.
There is a bit of squirming feelings in the story, when the author ventures to describe Piaktok's physical attribute in shifted form, but she never goes farther on, there is no sex in shifted form, and instead she always dissolves that feelings adding a bit of humor, Piaktok is quite a "funny" lover, always with a smile on his face. And maybe also for this reason, when the nastiness falls upon Piaktok it's even more sad, since of all the characters, Piaktok is the more innocent soul.
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
Once Burned by Emery SanborneThis story really surprised me. From the blurb and also from the title, I was expecting quite an angst story about a "burned" firefighter (bad pun intended) who fights with all his force to not fall in love for the newbie at the station; obviously the fight would be lost since the beginning and if we were lucky there would have been a lot of sex and so on... so more or less a standard story, a right dose of hot romance, but nothing special... and instead it's way more funny than that.
At first Andreas comes out as the good boy of the story, his Uncle Ed, who is also the Chief of the station where he works, asks him to babysit the new man, a "young" boy with the reputation of being an adrenaline junkie. I was just imagining my may / december relationship, with an hot young pretty thing, when Bobby appears on the scene: 16 years as marine and 2 as firefighter, Bobby is at the same level as Andreas, and above all, he is not the trouble seeking they were expecting. Instead, the first time they go out together, it's Andreas who gets involved in a bar fight.
Bobby is plain and direct since the first moment: he likes Andreas, they are both single, why not give a chance to the two of them? No strings attached, no word of forever love, they are two adult men who can be buddy friends with benefits. And it's exactly like that between them, there is an easy behavior, a communion of intent and idea without no one of them speaking the words. It's hot and funny sexy, easy and enjoyable, so easy that Andreas and Bobby slip from buddy friends to lovers to partners wihout even realizing it.
I like the feeling of the story, I like how Andreas and Bobby are both enough adult to realize what they have and don't be scared by that. The squabbles between them are real fun and the story was fun as well to read. Andreas' past burns are so insignificat in comparison to what he found now, that almost slip into oblivion without notice.
A Voice in the Dark by Jamie Craig
When Pepper Espinoza and Vivien Dean write alone, I noticed a trend in their writing, Pepper Espinoza I believe is the light side (even if in The Obsolete Man she proved to be able of a little angst) and Vivien Dean is the dark side, preferring the paranormal side of romance. When they write together they are a mix of both. A Voice in the Dark is not paranormal, it's the classical firefighters story, but it has its right dose of angst, being at the same time light enough to make you smile, see the supporting character of the mother.
In the prologue Anthony and Dan met in the worst possible way, Anthony the victim of a very bad accident and Dan the firefighter on the site. Dan helps Anthony to go through his nightmare being the voice that comforts the scared man. And unfortunately the voices become the most important things for Anthony, since he looses his sight in that accident. The authors decide to not show us all the trial through Anthony for sure was in the year following the accident, probably since this is a novella, and there was not enough space, and probably since they preferred to focus on the romantic relationship.
When Anthony is better, means when he is comfortable with his blindness, he decides to go thanks Dan for being that comforting voice in the dark. Fate wants that both Anthony than Dan are gay and single, and it doesn't take much time to realize that they are good one for the other.
I like that for Dan, Anthony's blindness is not consciously a problem, but that for real he starts the relationship dealing with Anthony in a different way he would do with another man. And I like that Anthony explains the "problem", that he doesn't like to be treated in a different way, without being snarky and without being angry with Dan. Both heroes are so nice that they are almost too good to be true.
Quite obviously Dan and Anthony's sex scenes, especially the first one, are quite heavy in "tactile" details, every movement is described as to provide for the lack of sight of Anthony, and so the reader is on with him for the ride, being overwhelmed, but in a very nice way.
There is not much drama, just the right dose you will expect for a story with a firefighter in it (who has ear to understand, understand...), but overall, this is more a nice romantic story of boy meets boy, boy likes boy and boy lives happily ever after with boy.
Usually I don't like double anthology, I always end liking one story more than the other. Instead in this one, I wouldn't be able to say what story I prefer: they are so different in tone and style, even having similar setting, that are both high in my satisfaction level.
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Cover Art by April Martinez
Every book that makes you cry even once is a book worthy to be read, and A Note in the Margin made me cry from more or less page 50 till the end of all the more than 250 pages of it. And not that mild moving which warms you and predisposes your body to cuddle under a blanket on the couch, but that strong lump in the throat and big fat tears that you can't help falling from your eyes. Someone could think that John is a self-centered man; a man wealthy enough not only to go to a doctor that prescribes him to move near the sea, a sea change, to cure his migraines (and let me say, even if I suffer from migraines, this is an ill that most of the people endure without doing nothing), but to be able to take an year off from his executive job and buy a bookstore with upstair apartment included. John actually doesn't move on with his live for a new adventure, since he is wealthy enough to maintain his work (sabbatical year) and his upper-class condo, he only allows himself an year to see if that strange medical prescription will work.
With the bookstore and the apartment, arrives also Jamie, the son of the previous owner that decides to continue to work for John. Jamie is young and gay, and makes pretty clear that he is interested in John for a friends with benefits relationship. No strings attached, only fun. And John in a way, confirm the first impression that he could leave to a reader, since, even if he has an on and off relationship with a woman, he jumps to the opportunity of a bit of fun with Jamie. It's obvious that John is not interested nor in his girlfriend or in Jamie, but he is not a man without heart, he is only not used to listen to it. There is something in John's past that let the reader glimpses something different and nice in this man, a past that maybe pushed John too much towards the pursue of success and let him forget what is really important in life.
From this first pages, the reader could have had the idea that the main story was between John and Jamie, and instead, like the author said, pay attention since the real story maybe is written in the margins. And the margins are represented by David, an homeless who has taken residence in one of the leather chair in the second hand section of the bookstore; so there are more meanings to that "margins", David lives at the margin of society, David is always present to Jamie and John first approaches, but he is at the margins of them, and David is not exactly a full-figured romance hero, he is more a marginal character that finally takes the full stage. It was not in David's persona to "impose" himself on someone, he instead tries to be as much invisible as he can, but Jamie's mother, the previous owner of the bookstore, saw something in him and forced the man to enter the bookstore and spend his days there. As John, David has a past that influenced his present life and that pushes him to try to disappear. David is not a crazy man who lives in his mind, he is more than aware of who he is become and he is embarrassed by it; but there is something in his past that made him like that.
Both John and David realize that what they are starting to feel for the other man is not a simple interest for someone in need, John cares for David in a way he has never felt for anyone else (for how much relationship he had, John was never in love), and David, with his skittish behavior and his proud, the only thing he has left, cares for John, even if he knows that John deserves someone better, even if that someone is Jamie.
I like as the author presented all the characters, giving to all of them the chance to be the main hero of the story, even Jamie. But the reader knows, from John's behavior, that is final choice will be David. For Jamie, John feels friendship and he is amused by the joyous behavior of the man, but for David it will be real love. Truth, John's first reaction to David was embarrassment, but he soon was able to see beyond the outside look, even before the man cleaned up enough to let him glimpse the man that he was before. The initial embarrassment of John was right and real, I would want to see you if you find a vagrant in your new shop, even if that man is innocuous and shy. But John is able to move on to that initial feeling, and even when he should have more nice thoughts in mind, his worries for David never leave him.
A Note in the Margin is a romance, but it's above all a wonderful novel, and I'm even more glad to see for it a really nice cover that attracts people more than drive them away. And so friends, go and buy this novel and read it in the metro, on the plane, during your lunch break! I for sure love it (even if I'm still in tears...).
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Usually I don't like to give up a story, but in this case I'm allowed... First time I heard of latino man Antonio and his blind lover Gabriel was perhaps two years ago. I read a short story by Laura Baumbach, South of Border, no more than a scene in an hot tube, but really hot (as most of Laura Baumbach's books). I don't know, probably it's a fetish, but I always am fascinated by love stories involving a blind partner... there must be a lot of trust on one side to allow someone near you when you are blind, but if you find the right partner, I believe the resulting feeling are much more intense. And so I was waiting for the longer novel the author was writing with the same pair.The story actually starts at the beginning, when Gabriel is still a sighted San Francisco Police Department undercover agent. During his two years as undercover agent, but really even before, Gabriel, alias Giovanni, only allows himself one night stands and possibly well far from the circle he gravitates in: even if in San Francisco, mafia is not a word which match well with gay. And so when one of his one night stand, Miguel, reveals to be the lieutenant of the Mexican drug lord Gabriel's boss is dealing with, Gabriel is a bit disconcerted. How can he be so attracted by a villain? He should be the good guy and not mixing with the evil guys... But maybe Miguel is not so bad boy as he appears.
The first part of the book is good, I really like the way how Giovanni and Miguel met in a club and that first raw sex scene is almost an housemark for Laura Baumbach's books, but truth be told, I like much the second part; it's all over all pure hot romance, but also mushy feeling, and in some part it almost made me cry. How Antonio deals with a wounded Gabriel, how he manages to pull out all the protective layers of the man, to bare his soul... and how Gabriel leans on Antonio, without for this being weak or dependent: it takes a real man to understand when it's the case to call for help.
So sorry to the thriller lover, but I read this book more like a very good romance. Oh, don't worry, there are also the car racing scene, the shootings in the night, and also the classical scene in the warehouse, but I manage to read them in a bit to hurry to my romance scenes... instead, you, thriller lover, could linger on them as you want, you will have plenty.
As for the characters, Laura Baumbach confirms her love for a good Alpha male, Antonio is the classical type: it reminds me one of that chocolate with the dark and hard exterior but with a sweet and molten inside. Perhaps a bit different from the other Alpha males' mates I was used, is Gabriel, but not too much: it's true that Gabriel, as an agent, is independent and strong, but in his private life he prefers not to be the dominant side of the couple; he prefers to be dominate, he fights against his mate, but then, if the mate is worth of it, he surrenders with joy.
The book is the first in a new series with the same characters; good thing since they are both really worth of some more books. And then I still have to read about Christmas at Antonio's family.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/mex
Amazon: Mexican Heat #1 Crimes&Cocktails Series
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
This is not at all the novel I was expecting. First of all the characters are much younger than I thought. Ryan is a 19 years old college student and hockey player who, during a game, was badly injured. Now he is in a wheelchair and ahead of him he has many months, maybe years, of therapy for the hope to walk again, but not more skating for him. He has lost everything: he is not a striking guy, not a good student, he is plain and simple, and maybe a little surly, and being the star of the college hockey team was his change to be someone in college. Now he is a cripped guy living with his parents and with no chance in front of him. And he is also virgin, he likes guys but he has never had the courage to near someone, only an interrupted attempt of blowjob during a frat party.
Dante is a 18 years old boy from the wrong side of the city. After high school he didn't go to college, cause he has no the necessary money, and to be true, neither the inclination. He only loves speed skating, he is very good at it, and his dream is to arrive to Olympics. He works to pay his lessons and the fee to the trials. He is a beautiful latino guy, the dream man of many girls, but he is gay. He has had only a lover, a very bad experience with a schoolmate, but he has not given up the hope to find a boyfriend. Yes, a boyfriend, cause Dante is only an eighteen years old guy, and for him love is someone to call mine, someone to hung out with, someone who, like a knight in shining armour, stand up for him and claim to all the world and above all to the men who bother him, that he is his boyfriend, so hands out from him!
The story is very well written and compelling. Dante's trouble to find the money for simple things but also for the month's rent, his daydreams of glory. Ryan's struggle with the therapy, his bad attitude, very right considering his situation, his relationship with his mother. Oh yes, his mother... cause we are speaking of a nineteen years old guy, not a man, and mothers are still a very present costant in a guy's life. And Ryan's mother is a wonderful character, not the perfect mother of fantasy, but a real mother, bothering but loving.
And then there is the sex, that at that age is the most important thing you have, but it is naive and tender. Sex is also a kiss stolen in the shadow, but sex is also something more, you do careless and with enthusiasm. Condoms are a joke, not a life's necessity... they are teens in heat.
Amazon: Power Play
Eric is a famous blind piano concert artist; putting together the art and the blindness, and the man is treated as a china doll from all the people around him. But Eric is not a doll, he has feelings and he likes simple things; he likes how his lover Dave treats him, like a play partner and not like a icon to idolize. But Dave is far and he is since 6 long months, so long that Eric is beginning to suspect that he will no more can back. And then Eric meets Dante, a New York cab driver, funny and easy, and Eric is facing an hard decision: he is ready to move on on his relationship with Dave?The story is short, 50 pages, but I like it: it's very Christmastime, all glittering and sparks, even more since it's setting in a posh New York hotel. Eric's disability is maybe a bit too much underlight, since he was blind all his life and I was expecting him to be more independent, but you have also to consider that he has no steady point in his life, always living in hotel rooms around the country, and so not having reference point to build his world.
Dante is a nice character, but we only "sees" him through Eric's eyes (pun intended...) and so I don't know his reason, I have the feeling that he is young and very much fascinated by the public person that is Eric, but not in a bad way. He can be good for Eric, and being at the beginning of his adult life, he can build it around Eric.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/advent.h
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
When I read the blurb of this book I had to buy it: young devilish rock star in love? shy computer geek who is mesmerized by the lure of the show business? hot sex from night one? yes, it seemed another of that "show business" novel I like so much, full of scandal and spoiled naughty young artist in love... and I was wrong! No, not since I didn't like it, I'm up at 2 at night since I can't give up the book till I reached the last page... I was wrong since this is not a glittering love story for paparazzi.Right, Jordan is a bit of a geek, he is a 28 years old software gay engineering and his target in life is to build a comfy nest for another lovebird... there is the little problem that Jordan's expectation in a partner are quite high and till now no one has measured up to them. But Jordan is willing to wait, he is in no hurry. Have you started to realize that Jordan is not an easily impressionable man? And so he is less than happy when his sister forces him to be her chaperon on the hottest rock concert of the season, a live performance of Tyler Curtis; from what Jordan knows, Tyler is a spoiled badmouthed rock star with a rotten attitude and the habit to sleep with a different groupie every night.
On the scene Tyler is good, but all the circus around him is so tiring that on the following party, Jordan is only searching a way to escape. And far from the crowd he meets Tyler... actually no, he meets Alec, the real "Curtis". Alec is a barely 20 years old man with the behavior of a teen and the innocence of a baby. Due to an health problem, Alec was abandoned by his mother and sheltered by his father; when the father suddenly passed away, Alec felt almost captive of a selfish manager who treats him like a puppet. The real talented Alec was hidden to allow the birth of Tyler, a man Alec himself despise.
Alec is all Jordan's dreamed off: sincere and trustful, naivee till embarrassment, all blushing and sweetness... he is so innocent that "virgin" is not quite enough to describe him. Suddenly Jordan is fiercely protective for the man who seems to be the lovebird missing to his nest. The author manages to turn the tables in all I was expecting: it's not Jordan who is swept away in a world that he didn't know and let him helpless, it's Alec who is the "damsel in distress"; it's not an erotic and naught love story, on the contrary, the sex is almost chaste and always behind closed doors if not for only once time; it's not a funny romp, sometime it's almost a drama.
I was well aware in some part of the story that the author was pushing on the moving button, while reading some scene, I was really thinking, here he is, now he pushes the right button and he is sure to have the reader in tears... and I was in tears! I couldn't help myself. All right, it was only a moment, and after all the story is more sweet and tender than dramatic, but nevertheless I poured one tear or two.
So if you want to read a very unusual gay romance, with a very fresh and young style, The Curtis Reincarnation by Zathyn Priest is on my recommendation list; I don't know how old Zathyn Priest is, but I would bet that he is young, since his novel has a very young feeling.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
This is the second book I read by Z.A. Maxfield and this is the second time that she takes me up at night till the few hours; this time I was not able to finish the book in one session, since it's really long, almost 290 pages all filled up of words. And truth be told, the book deserves more attention and less sleep deprivation, since it's a mix of romance and mystery.Kevin is a former cop, now suspense romance writer. He lives almost like an hermit in Wyoming, in an auto inflected isolation; six years before he was in a car accident, the reason why he is now a retired cop, but with a blind eye and a limp in a leg, he went out from the accident with also another "gift": he has now some psychic powers that he isn't able to manage. Probably the fact that he isolated himself in a ranch and avoids human contact is part of the reason of his inability to deal with people. Actually he is not really all alone: he has a dog and a friends with benefits relationship with his dog's vet, so all in all he is pretty set. Kevin is openly gay, he came out at 15 years old and as stubborn as a teen can be, he believes that his family never accepted him; and since Kevin is now older, but still stubborn, he still believes to not having a loving family.
The only link with his family is his brother in law Carl, a LAPD detective who sometime asks him help. Last time ended pretty badly and Kevin is not willing to risk again, but when is old dog passed away and Carl asks help and it's Christmas season... well Kevin can't refuse. When he arrives at Los Angeles, he is paired with one of Carl's colleagues and friends, Connor. At first Connor doesn't believe in Kevin's psychic skill, but he is tired to seeing missing boys every month or so without having any clue. In Connor's personal story, there is an event that makes him way too involved in this case.
They are a strange pair Connor and Kevin; there is no real dominant character between them. Connor is younger and has some issues with his past, so this put him in a bottom role; but he is also well connect with his own family and also with Kevin's family, and so he has the output strenght from a steady environment. Kevin on the other hand his older (five years more or less) and experienced, both in life and sex; he should be the top, but he is all in all a typical bottom: he likes to be wooed, he relates to his partner in more things other than sex; and then he needs the family steadiness that Connor has.
The setting is very nice: a mix of suspense thriller and Cinderfella story; all Kevin's family and Connor are involved in the police department, with the typical middle class upbringing that derives from it, but Connor is from a wealthy Irish family, and this means big mansion in the hills and private boat on a country club, but also big and obtrusive family environment. Again, like for the two main characters, also the setting is a strange mix that is successfully mixed together.
Last the suspense element... usually I'm not a mystery lover, but I'm quite good to find the villain in the story; but in this case, till almost the end, my guess still was uncertain on two possible endings. Well, I was good enough to have at least one of the guess right!
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-re
Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks
Amazon Kindle: The Long Way Home
Reading List:
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Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey
Henry, a middle class man in his thirties, receives a very beautiful Christmas present from a couple of very dear friends, a gay cruise in the Caribbean sea. His friends, a long-term committed couple of seventy years old, hope for him to find the love they share. Also Henry is full of hopes for this cruise, since he believes in romance and has not lost the faith that somewhere out there there is his soul mate.But when Henry enters the cruise ship, he has a bad surprise: the cruise is yes for gays, but for retired gays! Most of the people around are long-term couple over sixty. Then the first night he meets probably the only single man under thirty, Tim. Tim is a cute and shy guy, gentle and funny, but deeply embarrassed since he is forced to wear a steel brace on his leg. His disability makes him not seeing all the other good qualities he has, and also makes him wonder why another man could be interested in him.
Henry is sincere with himself, in another setting, with a room full of potential partners, he would probably not notice Tim; but here, he has the chance to go behind Tim's facade, and see the man; a man he is interested in knowing better. And since Tim is totally inexperienced, Henry starts a slow wooing that it's very nice and very tender.
The story is really a sweet romance, and despite being short, less than 50 pages, is really a worthy read. It has all the elements for a good Christmas tale, hope, love and also a bit of passion, but not too hot. Both Henry than Tim's characters are also really nice, Henry is an average good guy, but with a good heart, and Tim is really young and tender, a man who inspires all Henry's protective feelings.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/advent.h
Reading List:
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Another tale in the Dragons series by Willa Okati, a gay futuristic series where humans mate with dragons. The strange thing in all the tales, is that the dominant character is not, as expected, the dragon, but instead is the human, usually a former soldier or similar. The dragon instead is young and quite cute, and in his human form is a pretty boy, with a witty behavior, but mostly in need to be protected by his mate. Here Kenth is a former soldier who is chosen by a group of people as their leader; the small group of humans, mostly women, children and elders, leaves the unwelcomed destroyed city to find shelter in an isolated cave and Kenth plays the role of leader, chief hunter and healer. During one of his hunting party he finds a very special prey in one of his traps: a red dragon that changes in a pretty dark haired boy when Kenth tries to free him from the trap. Kenth is not afraid of dragons, on the contrary, he has always admired those beautiful shapes in the sky. And when he frees the dragon, he almost hopes for the boy to remain with him; and when the dragon flies away, he makes a wish for him to return.
Baen, the dragon, is a lonely warrior; after to many wars, Baen is scarred and mute, and he fears humans and dragons alike. But this human, this healer, is different, he is gentle and caring, and Baen recalls all the legends among dragons of human and dragon matings. And maybe he would give a try to the mating.
The Dragons series is made of short tender stories, less than 50 pages, setting in a post apocalyptic future.
Side note: since in the past in the comments of the previous posts in the series more than one person wondered about the image in the cover, all the sexual encounters between the two mates happen when both are in human form...
http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?u
Series: Dragons
1) Dragon's Dare: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/23113
2) Dragon's Delight: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/31134
3) Dragon's Deal: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/35382
4) Dragon's Devotion
Reading List:
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Bax and Jason are buddy bull riders in the professional rodeo circuit. Bax is probably at the end of his career, since he has a bad knee that sooner or later will let him home, and instead Jason is the man of the moment, the winner of the day. In their private life, Bax and Jason have built a family of their own, Bax adopted Jason's mum, and Jason considers Bax almost a brother... or maybe something more. But day after day no one has the courage to make that step more into their relationship.Then Jason is badly injured and now he is blind. Obviously for him is the end of the world; he can't suffer to not being independent, he doesn't want to be a weight on his mum's shoulder. But Bax is there for him, he drags Jason out from his misery, even when Bax himself is again injured at the knee and out of the circuit. With Coke and AJ, two of their best friends, Bax and Jason decide that, even if Jason is blind, he can still ride the bull and they train to reach the goal. Meanwhile their relationship finally deepens to a more personal level.
The story is not very long, 149 pages, and it's only a first book in a longer series. So Bax and Jason's personal story is only at its beginning, but it's a good beginning. The writing style is the same I had the chance to see in previous book of the same author, short sentences, flash of scenes, short chapters, all of it gives the impression of fast paced rhythm. What instead is different is that Bax and Jason's relationship evolves almost in slow motion, they don't jump in bed at the first chance. More than half the book is spent to build the setting and to climate the reader with the two main characters and give right reasons for the two to being together: it's not only a question of sex, Bax and Jason have a the real thing and so it's right that they don't rush all.
The small country town feelings and the rodeo circuit life are described with little details (the morning breakfast, the daily chores, the dogs) that help the reader to understand a life maybe very different from its own; thinking on it, almost all the book is spent in a kitchen or around, that is strange, since usually the main room in a gay erotic romance is the bedroom.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Amazon Kindle: Roughstock:Blindride Season 1
Amazon: Roughstock: Blind Ride - Season One
Reading List:
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The book is not very long and it's more sweet than erotic, but it has also an analytic glare on a very delicate matter.Tony is gay and he is a marine; the best of the marine, since he really loves the Corps. When all his gay friends said that he was nut, he went for his path and enrolled. And when he was sent in Iraq he went and fought... and got wounded. But losing a leg was not the only injured he has, only the most visible. Now that he is no more a marine, Tony doesn't know who he is.
When he was in hospital, he dreamed about his friend and lover George, but also George is a marine, and a crippled lover is not on his plans for the future. So when Tony most needs a loving hand, he is alone. Not all alone, truth be told. He has his sister Claire, and his sister is not a woman who lets go. She pushes him and at the end she hires a physical therapist, Marcus.
Marcus is a wet dream for Tony; he is handsome, tender and caring. He is always there for Tony, pushing him in every way, also in a sexual way. Not that Marcus explicitly hints something sexual with Tony, but having near a so fine man is enough of a spur for Tony to always doing better. Maybe if he is good enough, Marcus will notice him.
As I said the story is not very long, and maybe is a bit rushed in the second part. But all in all I liked it; I like Tony's attitude, true at first he tries to hide, but it's only natural; but then the strong man inside of him, the proud marine, raises his head and also when all seems to crash again around him, he doesn't let go. And this time is not for the feeble hope of love, but for himself.
It's an enjoyable personal story, since all the book is about Tony. Marcus is a very nice character, but he is a side character; we know very little about him, his reasons are only hinted, but not developed. We can only guess that he is very unselfish and easy to be hurt, despite his gruff external look.
http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=8
Reading List:
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Matthew and Daniel are fellow actor in the same tv fiction and also close friends. Matthew openly gay and with a past long term relationship and Daniel an hesitant bisexual; actually for how much things they have shared during their friendship, the matter of Daniel's sexuality was never faced, and Matthew is not sure of his friend's preferences.Matthew broke up with his last boyfriend after having finally admitted that he is sexually attracted by his friend Daniel, but in the last four months he has never affronted the argument with Daniel. He is still pondering if he wants to risk his friendship when Daniel has an accident and becomes temporarily blind. Since the doctors are not sure if Daniel will ever regain his sight, Matthew decides to move on with his friend and helps him to be acquainted with this new reality. Being so near to the object of his lust will soon lead them both to a point where they can't no more hide their feelings.
The story moves pretty quickly and all the events happen one after the other leaving the reader a bit disoriented. I always like the story where friends become lovers, since there is always a deeply intimacy between them, they know each other well and they can face more arguments than normal lovers. In this case it's also quite right since Daniel now depends on Matthew for more things than a normal lover does. Actually if not for Daniel's inability, Matthew and Daniel are very similar characters, with same strenght and independence.
The story is good and flows smoothly, but again, it seems too short. I'd like to read more, since both story than characters were interesting. It would be interested if the author wrote more about the setting and the supporting characters: there are a lot of interesting things, the show business environment, all the friends and co-workers around the main characters, the argument of two actors, public figures, being in love...
http://www.darkroastpress.com/darknessfa
Waiting Reading List:
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Bryan is a 19 years old music student. Orphaned he has always had a guardian who provides for every his needs but never shows himself. In all these years Bryan is arrived to fall in love for Jaden, his guardian, and now he is determined to meet the man.Jaden lives like an hermit in a secluded mansion and Bryan decides to infiltrate in the property. When he meets Jaden, he can't believe to his eyes: Jaden is a very young man, barely thirty, and he is blind. Jaden seems to be pleased to meet Bryan, but still he remains detached and mysterious.
The story is very short, less than 50 pages, and it's the classical alpha/omega pair, even if here the alpha is blind and so takes his strenght also from Bryan, making him his eyes to the world. It's also an erotic tale, since the sex is a great part of the story. There are some points that are not explained, like from where Bryan comes and what is his connection with Jaden (at least not "fully" explained...). Maybe with a slightly longer story all the unanswered questions could be fulfilled.
http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=T
Amazon Kindle: The Guardian
Reading List:
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Sweet Topping (Cattle Valley) by Carol LynneSometimes when Carol Lynne decides to talk about a delicate matter, she does it with so much details that, if not be for her ability to write romance, it could be almost like read a clinical papers. And instead reading this book, I was involved by the characters and not distracted by the details.
Kyle is the young baker of Cattle Valley. He is from a wealthy family but he has left his comfort life after a bad accident which has left him tetraplegic. Even if Gill has proved in every way his interest in Kyle, he is still reluctant to start a relationship with the man, cause he seems not to be able to have a normal sexual life and his day-to-day needs are so embarassing for him, he has no desire to share them with another man.
But Gill is very stubborn and he will not let go until he has not conviced Kyle to give him a chance.
Even if Kyle should be the protagonist of the story, and usually I have a soft spot for the bottom, I think that Gill steals a bit the scene this time. Gill is a big Afro American man, with a big heart, and he is very tender and caring. He is almost too good to be true.
Only one question remains in my mind... why the title, Sweet Topping? Maybe cause Gill is a sweet man?
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s=a
Rough Ride (Cattle Valley 4) by Carol LynneFourth episode in the Cattle Valley gay soap opera. Cattle Valley is the gay fantasyland for all the men searching a soul mate of the same sex (techinically also for women, but Carol voted herself to the manlove romance).
Since the first episode we meet Wyn, the high-maintenance store owner who is just out of an abusive relationship with the former minister of Cattle Valley. Wyn is a little skittish, being a small man; and he is not a young stud, he borders to forty or even a little more. And since the first episode we know that something is going on with Ezra, the big ranch owner. Ezra is almost a giant, 6 feet and 11 inches tall with a unkept bears that makes him the best next thing to a real bear. No one would think that Wyn and Ezra could be a couple, but the two of them seem unable to stay far from the other and when they are near to each other, they seem unable to not argue.
But when Wyn needs to go back home, in his omophobic home town, and the welcome home kid party is not a good one, Ezra like a knight in shining armour, comes to rescue. From this moment on, Wyn and Ezra are a steady couple, but back in Cattle Valley not all the townfolks are happy of this new development.
This episode is a nice one. Not too much drama, two nice characters and a little sexy story. You know from the start that Ezra and Wyn will be a couple, we were waiting three books for this to happen, and so we are ready to be plunged into the real story without much notice.
As always we have also the chance to know the future characters in the series: Matt and the doctors, Richard, also an Olynpic Gold Medal and probably Smokey and Neil. In the past we met also the chef of the only restaurant of Cattle Valley, but in this episode he doesn't make an appereance. So who will be the next? the soap opera continues...
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s=a
Amazon: Cattle Valley (volume 2)
Series: Cattle Valley
1-2) Cattle Valley 1: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/21160
3-4) Cattle Valley 2
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by Anne Cain
Aidan and Zane had an open relationship. Zane is like a gypsy and when he feels the need to wandered, Aidan can't hold him back. So for seven years was like that for them, blissful periods together than Zane left and when Aidan didn't expect him, he returned in Aidan's life, expecting him to be ready to reopen his arms for him.But last time Zane left, soon after Aidan had a terrible car accident, and now he is blind and horrible scarred in body and soul. He no more is expecting for Zane to return, cause he can't convince himself that someone could still want him as a partner. But Zane returns and he still wants Aidan. More, he now has realised that he has almost lost Aidan for good, and he doesn't want to risk it again. The only thing he has to do is convince Aidan of the same.
The story is not very long, less than 60 pages, but it's very enjoyable. I like these two and the relationship they had. It's a relationship that can exist only if there is real love, and a truly comprehension of your partner's needs. And if before was Aidan that had to comprehend Zane's needs, now is Zane that should put apart his gypsy soul, to love and live with Aidan. But Aidan is not a weaker man in needing of a caretaker, he is still a proud man that only need a sparks of hope in his life and a reason to fight again and again.
http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.a
Waiting Reading List:
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Lexis is a vampire kept captive in a lab. He was betrayed by his coven and blinded and soon after the Institute of Evolutionary Divergence found him and used him as a guinea pig. Lexis knows that there are other supernatural beings in the lab with him, but he has no reason, of force, to fight back.
Bryce takes the matter in hands. A strong werewolf, but with a big and good heart in him, he destroys the lab, and when Lexis shows no willingness to escape, he takes him. If Lexis doesn't want to fight, Bryce will fight for both of them. And so begins this strange relationship, between a bulky werewolf who likes to be a puppy in bed, and a weak vampire who like to be a top. Bryce will help Lexis to reawakens his desire of life, and Lexis will find that having a werewolf on the leash could be very interesting.
Lexis is a very proud man. He hates to be depending on the others, and even the smallest prove of independence makes him happy. Bryce is very good in waiting and being ready to take full advantage of Lexis, when the man is riped to be pick.
An Unnatural Worth is a smooth tale. A right dose of romanticism, funny and sexiness. It's a light book, that appeals those seeking a paranormal erotic tale to spend a lazy night without worries.
http://www.loose-id.net/prod-An_Unnatura
Reading List:
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
Gordy is a young tech geek with a problem with coordination. He is not an awful man, but he is so shy and outspoken that seems that all his dates end up in the wrong way. And now he has a date with Wheels (Brian), a guy he has met online. Wheels is a lot fun online, but Gordy fears to meet him for real. But the day of their date, Brian sends an email to him, telling that he is on a wheelchair. Gordy is a little surprise, but maybe this is a way to make the things go right: if no one of them is perfect alone, maybe together they will be perfect.But when he sees Brian, Gordy has some second thoughts: Brian is a very handsome and attractive man and seems to be at comfort with himself and with the world around: is it possible that a guy like that wants to be with a geek like him?
The story is very tender and romantic: how they meet and fall in love is smooth and nice like a blanket in winter. It's cosy and warm. A brief story I reccomend to who wants to believe in the forever love and that every one has his soulmate somewhere.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart
Waiting Reading List:
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This are two brief tales about Taylish and Daniel.Daniel is a former hustler now blind and married to a cop, Taylish. We don't know how he manages to build his new like (maybe there is another book I have not found) but he is pretty happy. Only he wants to prove to Taylish he is no defenseless and he can protect himself.
Taylish is an hard detective, used to the horrid life of the world and he wants to build a safe alcove for Daniel, a place where his lover can be safe. But he has to admit that trying to cage a bird is like kill him.
The love between Daniel and Taylish is hot and sexy, but I really want to read the beginning of this story: like this I feel the lack of something. Maybe the problem is that Nix Winter's works was epublished by Venus Press and now you can only find it in the second hand market. Loveyoudivine is re-released some of these works, so maybe in the future there will be the chance to read all about Daniel and Taylish.
A note: in Knights and Cookies by J.J. Massa there is a supporting characters, a detective named Taylish, but the looks of this last is not the same of the Taylish by Nix Winter...
http://www.amazon.com/Theater-Emerald-Te
A beautiful and arousing anthology, I have problem to say what story I like more.
Blind Faith by Kiernan Kelly: Jules and Devin, both college professor and gay. But not lover. Cause Jules is blind and Devin is too apprensive. And Jules doesn't want a partner who thinks he is not equal to him. Then Devin want to experiment how lives a blind man (for he is a writer and need to write about a blind character) and Jules agrees to help him, and when finally Devin will understand that Jules is not a dependent man, Jules will show Devin how exciting could be sex when one sense is lost
The Gift by Jodi Payne: Ian and Jeff are old time lovers, but lately Jeff has had some personal issues, and Ian wants to give him a birthday gift. But he has no money and maybe the best birthday present is to give himself totally to Jeff, and a blindfolds will help Jeff to forget even if for only one night all his problems and enjoy a simple but hearth-given present.
How I Came to Meet Him by Willa Okati: a little tale how a Master has met his Pet. No name, only some hints of physical characteristic, cause in a Master/Pet relationship doesn't matter who is older or who is bigger, only matter who pleases whom and if that pleases him. Despite the matter, there isn't a game of pleasure/pain, it's only a question of behaviour and willingness to submit. And Pet is a beautiful beast to tame.
Very short stories, but they are not only merely sex scenes. Every one has interisting plot and complete and complex characters. In every story, blindfolds is equal to trust, trust in your partner, faith he will not harm you, but only bring pleasure.
http://www.torquerepress.com/
In a futuristic world, a mix of medieval and eighteen century eras, Toby is a blind guy who lives with his family. He is from a wealthy family and his family wants a good marriage for him (it seems that same sex marriage is a common thing in this world). But every time someone sees him and his blindness, the betrothal never happens. Then he meets Derik, a good man, not so wealthy like him but gentle and caring. But Derik is orribly scared, scars he has suffered during a captivity in enemies hands. Love blossoms soon, but Toby's family is not so happy to see his only son with that ugly man.
A short story very tender and heartbreaking. Toby is not totally blind, he can see shadows and colors, and so he matches voices and sounds with colors. For him Derik is dark colors, but at the same time warm colors. And Derik is shy to love Toby, cause he is a beauty. But they are a perfect match, and not cause Toby is blind and Derik is ugly, but cause Toby enlightens the shadows in Derik's life.
I'm waiting for Torquere Press to re-release this short story by Mike Shade, and I'm very happy to have a chance to read it: it's simple and cozy, a very warming reading.
http://www.torquerepress.com/
This is a collection of five episodes on the Pet Series by Nix Winter.The main characters are Alyx and Tristan. Alyx is a pet, a man born in a community genetically created to be sex toy to the aristocracy. Tristan is a space captain who has lost his pet and his crew thinks to gift him a very special birthday present, Alyx. Alyx's people thinks all aristicrats are gods, but Alyx is not of the same idea and he doesn't want to submit to a master, he is a harper, a musician. But his body betrays him and when he is claimed by Tristan, he can't resist to the sexual hunger.
Valentine is a vampire and Tristan's friends. He pushes Alyx to claim his independence. Poison is Valentine's lover. This is the couple I appreciated less in the series.
Evander is a pirate. He has had many pet in his bed but noone he has taken forever. And then he found Squirrel, a blind pet, but very clever and handsome, and maybe he for the first time has found a pet that can please him in and out of bed.
The Series is very interesting. In the end I was a little lost in all the political details and have skipped some pages to read about the master/slave relationships between the characters. But overall it is a very arousing series, very imaginative. But I have to adivice you: if you don't like the uke/seme relationship, the pleasure/pain lovemaking, this is not your story. It has many and deeply details of forceful sex, and it can be seen has not polically correct.
http://www.loveyoudivine.com/
Amazon: The Pet
Kay is an hustler young, skinny and gentle. He is 19 years old and has not special gift: not beautiful, not clever but with a gentle soul. So a social worker thinks to offer him a works with his brother: a 50 years old blind businessman who needs someone who reads for him and sometimes takes him out.After a year living with Barn, Kay is in paradise. Barn is loving and caring, he makes him feel special. And Kay now wants something more, wants also the love of Barn. But he doesn't dare to ask, cause he thinks himself not worthy of that love. And Barn on the other hand, has no courage to ask cause thinks himself too old for Kay and fears that Kay, after his experience on the street, doesn't like the sex.
But one night all the fears are put apart, and Barn and Kay find a common path and begins a life of laught, sex and tender caring. But still Kay can't understand why Barn wants him when he can have whoever he wants.
The story is short but extremely romantic. It's like to plunge in a cloud of sweetness. Even if is Barn the character with a physical impedment, he is him that seems to give the strenght to Kay: the strenght to leave a tormented past behind and reborn to new life to be able to love again, or maybe, for the first time. And his love this time will be not bertrayed.
http://www.torquerepress.com/
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Ryu is a young and rich japanese-hawaian businessman who wants to take his lover to Bali for a one week vacation. Thomas, his lover, is a little older blind american professor.
Ryu and Thomas are on the opposite site: young and old, rich and not so rich, active and quite, strong and weak. And their relationshipis is still on prove: but during this holiday they learn how to trust the other.
It's is a strange a beautiful short novel. Strange cause we don't read how this two opposite characters met and how deeply are the diversities between the two. Beautiful because you can feel the love and the trust.
Although different, Ryu and Thomas are both wonderful characters: they also play a some of BDSM, but unusually the older Thomas is the sub and the younger Ryu is the master; but with his japanese heritage I can imagine well Ryu in a master's role.
I'm curios to know if there is more about this two charcaters, in particular something that tell us how they met.
http://www.torquerepress.com/
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