I was all for expecting to like this story, I'm not new to Jet Mykles' pretty boys and her work, where western romance blends with yaoi without being overtly influenced. And I was expecting for it to be fun and light. But I wasn't expecting to be surprise to the turn of event and for the reversed role of the main characters. Yes, I'm true, I was expecting the usual "gay for you" book where a strong alpha male, and supposedly straight, falls in love, after having fallen in lust, for a pretty young gay boy, and then happily ever after. So see, nothing complicated and everything good.But no, the story is not so "straight" (pun intended) as I was expecting. First of all Kevin, the "straight" man, is not an alpha male, far from it. He is more like a lost puppy with melting "puppy" eyes and all. And no, he will not play the role of the sheep fallen in the clutches of the Big Bad Wolf, or of the closeted shy gay boy who was only expecting to be freed by gay superhero. Kevin has all a role, and philosophy of his own. I think Kevin is super-gender, meaning that he likes girls, but has not issue to admit that he can like also boys. Basically Kevin is a man (boy) who doesn't like to take the lead in life, in relationship and in bed. He prefers to be the leaded. So yes, it's entirely possible that Kevin could find a strong girl who will command him in bed, and life, but it's more probable that the role is taken by a man.
And here the second surprise, the above said lead man, Justin. In the conventional scheme of straight Alpha Male meets gay omega boy, Justin has to be your typical flamboyant gay boy, young and pretty. But we have already said that Kevin doesn't fit his conventional role and so doesn't Justin. Justin is older than Kevin, and yes, maybe he is a bit flamboyant, but not so much to outshine poor Kevin. I think Justin was like that when he was 20-25, but not that he is more than 30, he has arrived to a moment in his life when he is looking for Mr Right. And yes, maybe in his mind Mr Right is an older, and wealthier, man, but love has other idea. When Justin meets Kevin by chance, on the street, he is suddenly smitten, and in love.
At first Justin comes out so strongly, that the reader has a bit of trouble to judge Kevin. From the blurb, I wasn't really thinking to like Kevin, I don't know, I had this feeling that Kevin was taking advantage of "poor" Justin. But then, as I said, the reader has the chance to see that basically Kevin is a good boy, that he really doesn't want to hurt Justin in any way, and truth be told, Justin seems a man who is more than capable to look after himself. There is a fine play of balancing, Kevin is the one who needs something by Justin, but Justin is the one who has probably the strongest will, and so I have never felt as Kevin was wronging him.
It's also a pretty sexy story, not so much and so soon as I was, again, expecting. At first it's more kissing and cuddling, more sweet than sexy, but when the sexy part arrives, it's good and fun. Even if Kevin is shy in life, he is not shy in bed, not at all; I have the feeling that Kevin has arrived first to understand his sexual desires than his life-choice ones.
http://www.loose-id.com/Just-for-You.asp
The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/85035
Cover Art by P.L. Nunn
Cooking with Ergot by Luisa Prieto Dominic is a good witch; most of his enchantments are spent to create beautiful haunted gingerbread house he presents during a cooking show in a private television channel. His life is good and happy, he has a soul familiar in the form of a stuffed tiger he animated when he was eight years old. Everything is perfect if not that there is a cooking books author who is murmured to be a witch hunter, and he will be his next guest in his show.
Instead of waiting for Carter to come to search for him, Dominic decides to do the first move and goes in search of Carter. And what he finds is Carter threatened by his cousin Simon, the real witch hunter. And he finds also out that probably Carter is his chosen, his soul mate.
Writing a book like this one it could be really difficult since it would be easier to push on the "funny" elements, and get on the right side of the most romantic reader, or push on the creepiness, and make an enemy of that same reader. This book instead balances very well both elements and even when it's obvious that we are reading the funny side, we are always aware that there is a danger outside, but the danger remains always on the edge and for me it's better, since I'm that reader, or spectator of an horror movie, that hides behind her hands when there are the most bloody scenes...
So talk about the funny things: what about a stuffy tiger as a soul familiar? and a stuffy tiger that when is speaking as an old fashioned English accent and behaves like a real high level butler? Or what about the fact that all the magical stuff turns around kitchen and cooking factors? The witch is a pastry chef and the witch hunter is a cooking book author; and after sex the first thing that comes in mind is to cook!
Speaking of the characters, both Dominic or Carter arrive to me as "little brothers" type of man; they are not domineering, they are not alpha males, they are more the supporting character type more than the full hero one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they are not interesting, but only that they need their cozy habit, made of comfort and warm, to shine; they would be lost in a big bad adventure, they need the coziness of a little book with stuffy tigers and gingerbread house.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-re
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Bittersweet by Maura Anderson Actually there is nothing of "bitter" in Maura Anderson's story: it's really a classical and good romance, and the setting in the middle of a wedding makes it even more sweet.
Brandon is a bad boy type if you only look him, but he is instead a very sweet man; the owner of a chocolatier shop, he spends his days and nights creating sweet treats for his customers and he is specialized in "sexy" chocolate, a thing that goes well with weddings and similar events. But even if Brandon has a lot of love around, he is alone, still mourning the betrayal of a past lover.
David is an happy-to-go guy, good job and good friends, he has not trouble in life. When he meets Brandon doing a favor to his soon-to-be bride best friend (David is the "man of honor"), he falls immediately in love. Like a teenager with his first crush he can't spend a minute without thinking or talking of Brandon, and then finally, finds the courage to come back to the shop... only to be brush off by a skittish Brandon, who can't believe that a successful business man like David is interested in him.
A kiss and a wedding will help the two men to be together, and if not for an hot encounter during the rehersal of the wedding, there would haven't been neither a sex scene in this very romantic story... the sex scene was nice, don't worry, but this story was more romantic than sexy after all.
http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?boo
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The Shape of a Heart by Kimberly Gardner Kimberly Gardner is another of those author who likes to play with stories more centered around the characters than the plot.
In The Shape of a Heart the focus shifts from Zach to Keith letting them have their emotional development. Zach is the mourning owner of a coffee-bookstore (and this gave me a pang in my heart, people who knows me since a bit know why...). Mourning since two years before he lost his lover Jay, and he is still grieving from the loss. Like often in these cases, Zach is basking in his pain and has no intention to let the memories go; who suffered a lost like him, recognizes all the signs, like when you are always expecting for your lover to enter the room, and when you think something, your first reaction is to tell it to him, only for suddenly realizing that he is not there, and to be stabbed again by the pain of the loss. But that pain is almost welcomed, since it's the only sign that you are still alive, that you are not dead like the man you still love.
And since you cling to these feelings like your safe anchor, Zach doesn't welcome well Keith in his life. Keith apparently is younger (apparently since he is really 29 years old to the 38 years old of Zach) and pain-free. He is always smiling, gentle and caring, and for Zach every smile is a stab more. Zach doesn't want to care for Keith, since it would mean to betray his lost lover Jay.
Keith is the new bartender of the coffee-shop. Zach was the librarian and Jay the coffee maker, and so, when Jay passed away, the coffee shop languished away. Now Rhonna, Zach's partner, hires Keith and Zach has no really reason to go against this decision if not that looking at the man is too painful.
As I said, at first the focus is Zach, he seems the only to have a past, and a painful one, but little by little we realize that Keith is not a simple character as he appears. At first it doesn't ring wrong that he is hired to be a bartender, since the reader thinks him to be young, and maybe he is still a student and this is a job to makes the ends meet. But then we realize that he is not so young, and that he is obviously too skilled for the work, and so who is he really?
The story is nice, but as always when the story is nice but not so long, I have a regret: the second part, soon after we are starting to realize that Keith is more complex than expected, it seems a bit rushed. All right, usually I'm not very fond of the fully drama stories, but I really believe that this one would be gain the up-level from nice to very good, with only some pages more. And maybe Keith's character suffers a bit from the lack of those pages more.
But nevertheless, it's for sure above the average of most of the story around, the sex is very good, just that bit of naughty that makes it arousing but not embarrassing, and the characters are also good.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-re
Giving Thanks by Maura Anderson Troy and Derek are lovers since two years and they also share an home full of joy and comfort. They would be the perfect happy couple if not for the fact that Derek is not out with his family and this means that, at every family reunion, Troy has to play the role of the "roommate" with Derek's family. But Troy loves Derek and he would do everything for him, and so he is approaching once again the Thanksgiving festivity with the same good disposition as before.
But this year something changes: it's Derek that can't bear no more to listen to his father complains on his private life and how he undervalued Troy's role in Derek's life; so he snapped the day before Thanksgiving, and since he also works in the family's restaurant, he finds himself at the same time without family and work. But Derek wants to give the best Thanksgiving to Troy, and so we read of all the preparations to have a huge Turkey and everything else around only for two.
I like the story: it's nice and tender. Troy and Derek, despite Derek's reluctance to come out, are a very communicating and supporting couple; Troy never once makes Derek feel wrong for not presenting him as lover to his family, and never once let Derek without his support, even when Derek is stubbornly invading the kitchen with an huge amount of food they can't possibly eat in two. On the other hand Derek is very comprehensive of Troy's work, and how it's very tiring for his lover, and so he tenderly takes care of him in the best way possible: even when he is suffering for his father's reject, he still finds time to take care of his lover and to be always open and "straight" to their relationship. Derek doesn't hide to suffer alone, he shares his pain with a gentle smile on his face.
The story is not very long, 51 pages, but it's a very nice fast reading in the warm atmosphere of the holiday season.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/more-h
Amazon Kindle: Giving Thanks
Devon Cream by Jet Mykles I will not make this a rule, but usually Jet Mykles' characters are always paired with a very self-conscious man and another one that is cute, funny, maybe straight, or at least he believes so (Heaven, Faith...). In Devon Cream I found again that pair, but with some interesting differences.
Steven should be the self-conscious gay man, the one who has everything clear in his life. But Steven is also the mother-hen of the story, the man who can't help himself to help everyone around him, from feeding neighbors to collecting stray cats. Steven is a really nice man, and even if he is alone since eight months, he is not the type of man who I see alone for a long time. He is so nice and generous, that sooner or later someone will snatch him away. So Steven is not the male version of a spinster, he is not in desperate need of love, his love towards Devon is not as it was his last chance to happiness, and for this reason I read it as more sincere.
Devon is the young boy who moved upstair Steven's apartment. Devon is handsome, physically he is also more imposing than Steven, tall and muscular, but he has those puppy eyes that practically melt Steven's resistance. Devon is not used to live alone, he was kicked out from his parents house since he failed college, and now he has to take care of himself, a task that at first he is obviously not ready for. And so Steven starts to take care of him, and yes, maybe he exaggerates in doing so since he is infatuated of Devon. But the things are clear between them till the first day (thanks to his noisy other neighbor Patty): Steven is gay and instead Devon is straight, so no way that Steven could have his way with Devon.
Said that, I don't believe that this story could be classified as a 100% "gay for you" one; there is not tortured decision in Devon, not an almost painful realization... Devon is only really young, and he hasn't had any chance to "experiment", so he is really a "virgin" to love in absolute, both male than female (even if he is not "really" a virgin, mind you). Jet Mykles is really good in planning Devon's slow but sure path towards his adult life, and along the path we see Devon's changes: they are both physical (he blushes less, and he acquires a "feral" look, from puppy to wolf) than behavioral (he starts to do things before people tell him to do so).
Steven didn't set up a plan to seduce Devon, I really think his truly idea was to help a boy in need, but it's like putting a match near the straw, at the first spark the fire is uncontrollable. What I like of Steven is that he didn't hide his feelings, or at least he didn't do that to whom has eyes to see (since maybe, as I said, Devon is too young to read the signs); Steven likes Devon, and he almost accepts his caretaker task as a torment of Tantalus, having near something you can't reach. On the other side, there is no malice in Devon, he didn't parade himself around Steven to tease him, even if he parades and a lot!
This story is a funny sexy romp, the sex is good and just the right dose, Devon has the right dose of cuteness without being a female in a male body and Steven is a believable gay man without being flamboyant. Nice contrast in Devon being the pretty thing of the couple without having the physique du role, he is the taller and stronger in the couple. http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/more-h
Amazon Kindle: Devon Cream
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Amazon: Hot Comfort by Maura Anderson, Kimberly Gardner, Jet Mykles & Luisa Prieto
(print anthology)
Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey
The Deadly Mystery series by Victor J. Banis is probably the only gay mystery series out there where the romance part of the book is good as well as the mystery one. In the four books we saw the evolution of their relationship, from being casual lovers and probably having no chance to be nothing else, to tentative long term partners, to the almost apex of happiness in book 3. Then the abrupt end of that novel, with a Tom, the strong man in the couple, scarred and for the first time weak. And maybe also a bit castrated from the fact that this time, it was not him who saved Stanley. They have their roles in the relationship, Tom is the protector and Stanley the one in need of protection, you can't change that, otherwise Tom doesn't know what is his place. Tom is a simple person, he is a man who reasons and acts more with his gut (and heart) than his mind, he is not stupid, but he is not one to brainstorming too much. If you take away from him his role, what he is for Stanley, what is his added value to the relationship. But as simple as Tom is, it's also simple for him to realize that even if scarred, he is still the same man as before, and that Stanley need him. It's not Tom's trouble to adapt to the new situation that is the focus of this 4th novel, but more the descending phase of their relationship. Don't get me wrong, it's not a negative descending, but more the natural evolution of a relationship fated to last a long time. You can't be forever newly wedded birds in love, you have to arrive at the time when you question if you are ready to take, or maybe respect, the decision to be IN a relationship, with all that means. And strange to say, it's not Tom who questions it, but Stanley. As I said, Tom is simple, he is a man of heart and gut, and when he decided to be with Stanley, he was well sure of what that would have meant. Already before, with the woman who wasn't a woman, Tom proved that he can be tempted, but he is strong enough to not surrender to temptation. Instead I think that Stanley realized for the first time that he has taken a decision for life. Stanley was infatuated, he was madly in love, and he strongly wanted Tom. More Tom resisted and more Stanley wanted him. Stanley didn't have time to think at what would have happened once his desire was granted. That once he had a man like Tom all for him, he has to be a one to one relationship, it's not possible to go off track, neither for a moment. Tom is a very demanding man, not at words, but as a whole: loving a man like Tom is a full time work, and Stanley is probably scared.
It's not a secret, if you read my previous reviews, that I like a lot Tom; I like also Stanley, but truth be told, my favorite is Tom. And so I'm true, I was a bit annoyed with Stanley, how could he have any doubts on his relationship with Tom? didn't he realize how much Tom changed his life to be with him? Didn't he at least be sure of their relationship and not be distracted by some pretty boys who flirt around? But then I understood that Stanley wasn't really interested in any of them, it was only a way to test his love for Tom. And then it was nothing of dramatic or irreparable, only some passing thoughts, and as Tom put it, if you have an itch, you scratch it with your man, and it's everything all right, even if that itch was caused by another man... see? simple and plain my Tom, no painstaking works on an hypothetical "mind" betrayal.
Oh, I forgot to tell you about the mystery... but is it really necessary? There is a mystery, it's good, I wasn't able to find for sure the killer, even if I have my idea on who they was... well friend, you now that, if you want a review on a mystery novel, this is not where you will find it. An "happy" note this time was that neither one of the victims was someone I care of, it was so sad in the previous books to read of interesting characters that were already dead, or soon be dead. I'm still grieving for that young boy in book 2.
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Amazon: Deadly Slumber
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Series: Deadly Mystery:
1) Deadly Nightshade: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/49853
2) Deadly Wrong: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/51713
3) Deadly Dreams: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/67447
4) Deadly Slumber
The Rainbow Awards: First Week results: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/81134
I'm an old romance reader, old since I like the romances of the '70 and '80; I'm not that old of age, but in Italy those romance arrived more or less 10-15 years after their officially release in the United States. And so, when in America the Western Romance was becoming a passed fashion, I discovered it. There is one that was and still is, one of my favorite, Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer, the story of an ex con (framed for the murder of a prostitute) who is hired by a widow with two little sons and a third arriving. It's a wonderful romance and it was later made into a movie with late Christopher Reeves as the hero. But more than Morning Glory, my favorite, that I read and read again, was The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory. Probably to many of you the name Lisa Gregory says nothing, but she is now more famous and read, as one of the queen of Regency Romances as Candace Camp. But sincerely I think that the Rainbow Season, the love story set at the end of the XIX century between the bad boy, and ex con, of the town, with the young spinster who is in love with her brother in law and decides to marry the hired man of her late father, is and will always be her best novel. There is only another one that can compete, Satan's Angel by Kristin James, the story of a lawless who falls in love for the woman he kidnapped, a woman who was traumatized when she was still a child, and now she is maybe too simple, unable to see the evil in other people... but Kristin James is Lisa Gregory, so, you see, it's obvious why I like that romance as much as the other one. Why this long introduction? To pay my compliments to Jan Irving to be able to make me feeling again as the teenager of so many years ago, reading a story that is able to take me in another world, a place where your dreams come true. The Hired Man is a perfect Western Romance, as seldom you find today. The Historical Western Romance are strange, since you can read of a recent past history: you can enjoy an historical romance without feeling too far from their characters, escaping in that world is like taking a short trip over the weekend, you are far from the city, but the city is not so far from you. The feeling is the same, the world at the end of the XIX century had still a quiet pace, it was a world of baking cakes at home and doing chores in the barn, actually not so different from the life you can see in some places in the world.
Bryn is the bad boy of this novel: young and pretty, he had the bad luck to be born in the house of a drunken man who never cares for him, and when his mother died, Bryn was all alone. Nobody wondered when he was framed for raping a young girl and sent to prison. To the great surprise of the townfolks, when his conviction ends, Bryn comes back home. The only person who is willing to hire him is Reverend Ian, a man that even before Bryn always looked upon as a good man. But while Bryn was in prison, Ian changed: his wife killed herself soon after murdering their newborn child, and Ian was never the same after that. He lost his faith, and only the cares of Mrs Robson, his housekeeper, keep him going. Despite that Ian hires Bryn, since he sees in the boy's eyes the desperation of not having anything and anyone in the world.
It's a mutual need that brings Ian and Bryn together: Ian is searching for the family he lost, and Bryn for the lover he always dreamed. Even before going in prison, Bryn had "unclean" thoughts on the pious reverend, and his experience in prison only let him with the knowledge that sex between men is possible, but that is a dirty act. Bryn can't possible believe that the perfect Ian is willing to have a relationship with him.
Actually I think that, from Ian's side, there is more the need to protect and having someone to care of than love; it's strong, I know, but I felt like Ian was more a pater familiae than a lover for Bryn. He wants to protect Bryn, he wants to hide him from the ugly thing that is the outside world, and if to do so he has to be Bryn's lover, to fulfill even that side of Bryn's need, than so it be. There is an hole in Ian's past, something I didn't catch quite well: why he became a Reverend? he was from a wealthy family, from what I gathered he had a strict upbringing, but actually I didn't find in him the fire that usually lit a man of faith, even if that fire is smothered by a tragic event. To me Ian seemed more like a man with an extreme need to love and care for people, but not in a religious way, but actually in a very personally way, he needs the feeling to be part of a family, to be whole again. In a way Ian is too selfish to be a good reverend.
On the other hand, Bryn is eager as well, but not for something he lost, but for something he never had; Bryn wants a family, and at first he is willing to barter his body for that. All he knows is that his body is the only worthy thing he has, and that using it he can have shelter and protection. I really think that, with his behavior, in a way he corrupted Ian. I don't think Ian would have ever thought to that possible evolution of their relationship if not for Bryn's attempt to "pay" him for his kindness. Or at least not so soon. I think it's an obvious conclusion of both men's predisposition: Bryn is gay, and he is young, and he has needs; Ian wants to take care of Bryn, and of Bryn's needs, any of them.
I like also how the author dealt with the townfolks, not like they were living in a fairy land where the good Reverend can do everything he wants. There is not easy acceptance from who find out, but more a resignation, like they understand that is not something they can fight. I think this is a righter attitude than some other quite unbelievable situation I read in similar gay historical romances. Said that, the author is quite conscious that she is writing a romance, and a romance has to be romantic, even if it's not realistic. Again, I think that Jan Irving does know well the art of writing a romance with that old fashioned taste of my teenager memories.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/p
Amazon: The Hired Man
Amazon Kindle: The Hired Man
The Rainbow Awards: First Week results: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/81134
Cover Art by Paul Richmond
You First by Kim DareThis is one of the most nice novella I read lately. And it's strange since usually I don't like BDSM story, but this one is a very slight shade of D / s play, so light that it's more a real "play" between the two men than a real lifestyle.
Luke is 23 years old and he is in love for the first time, even if he still doesn't know it; he is having a perfect relationship with Justin, an 18 years old boy he met in his usual hook up night club. They meet two days per week, on Wednesday and Saturday, and even if Justin in way younger of his usual dominant lovers, he is always able to make their encounter perfect. He is controlled and confident, he leads Luke with a skill that is almost too much for a boy his age; after sex, he is gentle and caring, and he is actually able to have a conversation other than during sex. He cares for Luke's ordinary life, he kindly asks how was his day, if he is tired or worried... Justin is perfect, too perfect.
Luke is a submissive, no doubt about it, but he feels inferior to Justin in everything, not only during sex. It's not right that Luke, older and more experienced, is always the first to come when they are having sex. Luke focuses on this point as the proof that he is not right for a man like Justin. If he is not able to outlast his lover during sex, he is not good to have a real relationship with him. With time, Justin will realize how inferior Luke is, and he will dump him. There are a lot of self-consciousness issues inside Luke that are boiling, and he is not able to overcome them; he is so full deep under them that he is risking the first and only good relationship he is having in years.
Justin maybe is the one that I found a bit too much unbelievable. I don't know, maybe it's only since, from my point of view, 18 years are too young to be so self-confident. Justin is independent, with a good work, a car, a good life, strong basis and positive attitude toward a steady and long term relationship... maybe too much for his age? But there are little chances that he is coming from a good and positive environment, from a supporting family that allows him to grew in the man he is now. If so, it's possible that he is so mature even at only 18 years old. Justin has that aurea around him, the aurea of a boy who is happy and comfortable with himself, an happiness that usually is something you haven't reached but it grew with you. And when the turning point of the story will reveal that yes, Justin is really an 18 years old boy, it's even nicer, since it will prove that he is not some aloof and detached sex machine.
The author is really good in rendering the feeling without making the story full of angst. Luke's issues are real, but he faces them with a light and funny attitude, almost all the time enjoying himself and being good for his lover. If there is a little pouting for not being able to last longer than Justin, it's soon forgotten when Justin cuddles him after sex. Overall the mood of the story is more fun than angst, but fun doesn't mean that the story is not well plotted and good developed; I find it's always a bonus when it happens in a novella, since I believe it's harder to plot and develop a good story in few pages than doing it in a full novel.
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s
Time To Do by Kim DareThis is one of the most romantic love story I have read lately.
Brennan and Rigby are best friends since forever. It's not clearly said, but I have the feeling that they come from middle-class families that probably lived in the same neighborhood and their parents were probably friends. For all their life, where it was Brennan there was also Rigby: schools, holidays and now college, always together and more or less in the same house or room. Even in college they are roommate. Brennan is the wiser and Rigby the happier. Brennan is gay and Rigby is straight. When Brennan came out to his best friend, Rigby said, cool, lets go eat a pizza. Rigby is so comfortable around Brennan that it's not important for him that his best friend his gay; his love for Brennan goes beyond their gender. They love each other so much, that it's almost incestuous to think that something could happen between them.
While Rigby loves Brennan like a part of himself, Brennan is like a brother, better Brennan is a part of his past, present and future, Brennan loves Rigby like a gay man can love another man. Brennan compares every man in his life with Rigby, and every man looses in the comparison. So when Brennan finds a list by Rigby, a "things I have to do" type of list, and he reads that his friend is open to the chance to have sex with a man, Brennan jumps in: he offers to Rigby to be his training ship. Problem is that Rigby doesn't even remember the list, and when Brennan offers himself, it makes Rigby sees his best friend Brennan with different eyes. Brennan has never talked about sex with him even if he has always listened to Rigby's past experiences with girl. Till that moment, Rigby probably has never ever realized that Brennan has a sex life, and that sex life is something Rigby has no part in. It's some side of Brennan's life that he doesn't know, and he doesn't like that: Brennan is him, and he has no right to give himself to someone else.
Now, don't get me wrong, Rigby is not possessive of Brennan in a selfish way; probably if Brennan had a steady relationship with a good man, maybe Rigby could be fond of the idea. But what he is learning about Brennan is about one night stands with strangers in the backroom of some bar. This is no acceptable, Brennan is better than that. Rigby has really at heart Brennan's good, even more than Brennan himself. For example, while Brennan is willing to let Rigby experiment, for the chance to have at least some fond memories, Rigby feels that it's not right for Brennan. What I liked most is that Rigby didn't jump to the obvious conclusion without thinking, he pondered his choice: Rigby had some expectation on his future, a family, children, things that, if he plans a relationship with Brennan will have to change. But again Rigby proves to be more than the happy-to-go guy that he seemed at the beginning of the story: in a way he is way more wiser than Brennan.
The story is a perfect example of two favorite gay romance subgenre of mine, "Friends with Benefits" and "Gay for You". Rigby loves Brennan despite his gender, Rigby is not gay, but he is not even straight; he could be bisexual, but he is planning to have a monogamous relationship with Brennan... so what Rigby is? He is simply a man in love, a man that wants the best for his partner, even if the best for Brennan means that Rigby has to renounce to something he considered important. In the balance of life, Rigby arrives to the conclusion that it's better to follow his heart.
You probably have understood that I'm very fond of Rigby. It's not that Brennan is not a good character, I like also his mix of pretty boy who has the potential to be a strong man; I like how he was always basically faithful to Rigby, if not with his body at least with his heart. I like him above all since he was able to inspire such a devotion in a man like Rigby. But as I said, I think that Brennan is not so wise as he looks, that he really needs someone like Rigby beside him, someone who forces him to face the truth and not to hide; if left alone, Brennan tends to shield against the world closing himself in a ball and not letting anyone inside.
As I said, this is a very romantic story. I like the setting, College, I like how young the characters are, how everything is still possible for them. I like the feeling I had at the end of the story, that this two boys will become happy and strong men, and that probably the life will be good for them.
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Amazon: Perfect Timing Vol 1
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A Rose Among the Ruins is another of those gay historical romance that author and readers have to tag as fantasy to allow the possibility of a man on man love story in medieval time to be possible. But aside the small expedient of the love potion to loosen the reluctance of both men to admit they are in love with another man and the use of an imaginary kingdom, all the novel is a pure medieval romance, there are no more magic, or fantasy creatures or permissive behavior.Rhicer is the Master of Arms for the king of Ageselm. He is also one of the oldest friend of the king and a faithful servant. It's many years that their kingdom is at was with the near kingdom of Mordyn, and finally they have found a truce: Emyl of Ageselm will marry the Mordyn princess and will sign a peace treaty. Rhicer is not so sure to like the idea, he has lost his soon to be bride 20 years ago to the hands of Mordyn warriors, she killed herself after being raped, and Rhicer has no good feelings in his heart for those men. More, the young men of Ageselm had to learn how to fight when they were way too younger, like Kanath, that is now Rhicer's lieutenant.
Rhicer and Kanath are good friends and fellow warriors, but never once it passed in their mind that they can be more. True, Rhicer has listened to some whispered tales of norther barbarians who bond in war with other men, but it's not something he can even consider... and even if he can consider it, what is the mechanism? With a woman he knows, but with a man? Surely it's not possible. But actually those are thoughts that Rhicer starts to have after Kanath stole a bottle of wine from the bride's dowry. Kanath believes it to be a simple bottle, and instead it's a love potion, intended to ease the first night between the king and the princess. When Kanath shares with Rhicer the bottle, everything changes between them.
Where Rhicer has loved a woman before, and knows the feeling, Kanath is still to young. And impulsive. When the love potion starts to work between them, Kanath is both repulsed than attracted by their feelings; but he is also to scared to do something, other than being irrationally jealous when some woman is near Rhicer. It will be Rhicer instead that, with the wise of his older age, will analyze their situation and try to find a suitable solution. And again, when that solution will not work, it will be again him that will find another one painful solution, but the only possible for two men in love in that situation.
Even if it's a fantasy that tends to be more realistic than some historical romance I read, A Rose Among the Ruins manages to still remain a romantic love story. More, it's also a quite naughty love story, once the two men understand how good it can be sex between men. This is only a novella and so the sex scenes weigh a bit on the length of the story, but since they are good, I didn't mind. Actually I think that, with some time more spent after they discover of the love potion they have taken and before they take their final decision, this story could have been without problem a full novel. But even like this, it's for sure above the average of many gay historical romance I read.
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Recently I read a gay romance written by a man and my comment was that it was the proof that men can write romance. But still I think their intake on the romance is different from the one of a woman. Woman are more brainiac, they always did things more complicated than necessary. Like in this case: Boys of Summer is basically a simple story, but all the brainstorming happening inside the mind of one of the character makes it complicated only to realize in the end than complicated is not. Now I'm not saying it in a derogatory way, I like both men in this story, but maybe they are behaving more like a woman would do in the same situation, and so perhaps this is the reason why I can identify so much in Hunter's trouble.When the story starts, Hunter and Max have already realized that their story is something more than friendship, after some years they met, one night at the beginning of summer Max kissed Hunter and their love story started. Only that Max, even if handsome, self-assured and wealthy, is still a virgin to sex (both with men than women), and to finally give his virginity to someone else, he wants for it to be a true gift of love, and he wants for it to be with the right man, the man that will remain in the bed the morning after, the man with whom he can build a life together.
Hunter knows he loves Max, but he isn't so sure that he wants to commit to that level. For all the summer they met every night, they did heavy petting, but Hunter left every morning at dawn on his motorcycle (another quite romance image). Hunter and Max are part of a tight circle of friends, Max's childhood ex-girlfriend Louisa and Hunter former girlfriend Veronica are part of it, and so is Max's neighbor Ben... coming out as Max's boyfriend for Hunter means coming out full front with a lot of people and changing all his life. It's not a simple decision, and they decided to go on holiday together, far from all their friends, to see if their story has a future.
So at the end of summer we find Hunter and Max together, and we read the story from Hunter's point of view. There is no doubt in Hunter's mind and heart that he loves Max, and it's not that the problem. Truth be told, I don't think it's even a problem for Hunter coming out, admitting he is gay. I have the feeling that Hunter's trouble is one common to a lot of people, he fears to commit, he fears to settling down with one person, to do the shift from boy to man. I really don't think it's the "gay" thing the problem, I think Hunter is more a good and friendly boy who reached that point in life when he has to do something right. In a way, this made him even more real, more masculine... the fear to commit, to settle down, is very common in young men, maybe the way Hunter brains over it it's more a woman's thing, but aside that, Hunter is all "man" in his behavior.
When he finally decides that he wants something more with Max, he becomes all "boyfriend" attitude, carrying heavy things for his lover, beaming when Max is doting over him cooking or doing other sweet things. For good part of the book, Max has really a "bottom" attitude, he has even the teasing behavior that usually women have when they want something, he even uses the sex card, denying Hunter till the moment the man surrenders to his desires. I like how the author chooses to give also to Max his mainly moment, to scroll down a bit from him the idea that he was a bit too feminine.
Boys of Summer is only a novella, and the first book I read by this author, but I like it. It's sweet and sugar, a bit of an old fashioned romance, and sometime it's refreshing to go back to simple and nice stories like this one.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/boy
Amazon Kindle: Boys of Summer
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Jonathan Stewart, Jonty for the intimate friends, and Orlando Coppersmith are both young professors in one of the Cambridge's college at the beginning of the twenty century. They are at opposite in work and behavior, Stewart a literature professor and Coppersmith a mathematics, Stewart open and friendly, both with students than colleagues, Coppersmith aloof and always lost in his mind. They also had very different family, Coppersmith now orphan and with two very cold and distant parents, Stewart still surrounded by a loving family.But they are both rather young and so they click together. Jonty has no problem to admit that he has also a personal interest in Orlando, being him not new to feel a maybe not appropriate moving for another man. Instead Orlando is more hesitant, but not since he judges inappropriate that feelings, but since he never before has felt something similar for a man or a woman. Orlando was taught to avoid any personal emotion, to suppress any physical urges, so soon and so strong in his youth that he never allowed himself to disobey that teachings.
When Jonty tentatively tries to introduce Orlando to such physical contacts, Orlando believes that kissing and cuddling is the greatest extent of what two men can do together, not having any knowledge of what happens in bed between man and woman let alone between two men. But Jonty, even if in love with Orlando, can't be satisfied with simple being a little more than a dear friend for Orlando, and gently pushes for something more.
Just when Orlando is letting go a bit, a string of murders targets the students, and all the victims are men who were known to prefer the company of men. To Orlando's inhibitions is now added also the fear of what it could happen to Jonty if someone should know of their "particular" friendship.
The story is a good mix of romance and plot; the relationship between Orlando and Jonty has the lion share on the plot, leaving the investigation on the killing in second line, never interfering with the development of Orlando and Jonty's exploration of love. Even if the relationship reaches and deepens to a sex level, it's never in graphic details, always maintaining a sweet romance grade.
The setting is the same of the previous tale by Charlie Cochrane, the Old University buildings of Cambridge, with its all male atmosphere where women are only seen as intruders.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/les
Amazon Kindle: Lessons in Love
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I think that basically Lex Valentine is an het romance writer, and a good one, and she decided to write a gay romance episode to mount it in a series, Tales of the Darkworld, that again, is basically an het paranormal romance series. The result is good and enjoyable, but clearly aimed to those readers that, before shifting to the gay romance world, enjoyed the classical paranormal romance. I will not be strict, and say "women", since I know there are also men, even if few, who like that genre, but I think that the intake the author has and writes on men, is of a straight man who, for a reason or the other, loves another man, but only that one. Holden, the straight man, is a women's man, but his mate is another man, and the pull of the mating is stronger than his sexual preferences; so Holden is forced to accept Garret as his mate, but this doesn't mean that he stops to like women. Holden has written "gay for you" in his forehead, and the author is very much aware of this subgenre, since she is the first to use, and put in the mouth of her characters, that definition. Holden's family is an ancient dragon clan, black dragons, and Holden and his brothers and sisters reach that age when they have to mate. When Holden meets Garret, thanks to the help of a family friend, from his smell and from the reaction of his body, he soon understands that Garret is his mate. Doesn't matter that Garret is a man, and even less doesn't matter that Garret is a green dragon. The pull of mating goes beyond gender differences and clan old fights. Being Garret a declared bisexual, he has fewer trouble than Holden to accept the unavoidable; and on Holden's side, the first rebuttal reaction is soon forgotten and he is ready to come down to pact.
Holden's behavior is very much what you would expect from a straight man who has to deal with an homosexual relationship; in a way it's like Holden and Garret are forced in an arranged marriage, and their personal preferences don't matter. Holden fears everything he is not able to relate in some way to an het relationship: that his partner can go down to him or that they can have anal sex (with Holden on the giving end), those are things he can understand and accept, but everytime he arrives to the realization that his partner has a penis, he freaks out. But Garret is patient and Holden is like a good little boy who follows the command of his parents, like a virgin maid sent to sacrifice.
The relationship between them starts with Garret letting Holden experiment all the new way they can have sex, and Holden who plays a little the coy virgin girl, refusing to officially "mate" till the moment he is not sure that he can really love Garret, despite the mating bond. Basically Holden wants to understand if, even without the mating pull, he would have been able to find Garret's attractive. Even if they are having a full and very intimate sexual life, Holden doesn't put out, he preserves the "last" virgin territory, till the moment he is not sure of his real feelings for Garret... in a way I find this behavior quite funny, above all since it arrives from a big bad boy like Holden.
The story is a good mix of sex, paranormal and even funny moments (I really like the in dragon form teasing scene, even if they don't arrive to really have sex in shifting form, don't worry). Again, I recommend it to who likes the paranormal genre (all the "mating" related matter...) and my opinion is that it's a story aimed to a female target.
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Amazon Kindle: Fire Season
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This is only a short story and it's basically a boy meets boy, boy does boy and... nothing else :-) But all in all in only 26 pages you can't expect more.The starting point of the story is a identity mistake: Orion, a rapper, is searching for a female model for a video. Among the stock of photos the agency sent him he picks up Darien, a dark haired beauty with long straight hair. In the rush he doesn't understand to his personal assistant who are trying to tell him that Darien is a boy not a girl. When Darien receives the call from his agent he wonders why a rapper, a category that usually is not exactly LGBT friendly, wants him for his video. The day after Darien wents to the shot and realizes immediately that Orion believes him a girl. He tries to leave without further problems, but Orion stops him, and not for doing the shot.
While Darien's character and his motivations are quite explained, it's not the same for Orion. Darien is a model, and as all the models maybe he is also a little vain. He knows that he looks like a girl, but he likes himself; he doesn't want to change his imagine most of all since he loves his image. And in his job, it's not a problem, so he has never had to face that problem. When he meets Orion, he likes him as a man, above all since Orion is so manly and strong, a nice and big contrast to himself. Since Darien is not ashamed of being a boy, he never once thinks to continue with the mistaken, he wants only to go and don't have trouble.
As I said, I didn't frame so much Orion. What it is clear is that he likes Darien, both when he thought him a girl than now that he knows that he is a boy. What it's not clear is if Orion was bi-curious even before; I believe not, I think he maybe had some interest but never acted upon it, and Darien, with his androgynous look is a perfect point to start exploring. On this perspective, I don't know if this will be forever love, but for sure it's a nice romp.
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Amazon Kindle: Dude Looks Like a Lady
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All right, I'm sincere, I don't know if I personally like how the series evolved in the last chapter. Please take a good look to that "personally" word, this is an opinion of mine, and it's totally based on my personal taste, it's not a judgment on the value of the writer or the story.The two cops in this series, Gary and Dan, both evolves in reverse flow. Gary starts like a very troubled man, who is not sure of his sexuality or his life at all. He was a molested child, he denied his homosexuality for a long time, and when he finally admitted his love interested to Dan, he found out that he probably was bisexual, not homosexual. At first both Gary than Dan probably thought that it was a remainder of that denial period, or maybe an hint that Gary was not ready or willing to seriously commit to only one person... but more the time passes, and more Gary realizes that he is not complete with both Dan than Kim by his side. If he is forced to choose, his love for Dan is stronger, and in book 3 he tried to commit to that love only, giving up his relationship with Kim.
On the other side Dan started like a very strong and self-conscious man. He was gay and proud, he was a cop by the book, he knew what it was right and wrong. He was the steady man that Gary needed to heal and flourish... or not? Being Dan so "straight" (no pun inteded), so convinced of his own idea, makes him quite inflexible. To live with Gary you have to comprimise. In the last three book Dan went through all the rollercoast that is a relationship, the happiness, the sadness, the denial of love and the realization that you can't live without. Now it's time for Dan to decide if he is willing to accept Gary as a faulty man, or if he wants to be alone with the icon of a dream man that is not real.
So, this is a menages... no way to avoid the definition. At least the author wrote it as I like it, with the male/male pair stronger, but nevertheless it's a menages. Kim is also a nice character, and in a way, the fact that she really is in love with only one of the two men, Gary, make all the story more real... Kim is in love with Gary, there is no competition inside her, like Dan is in love only with Gary. There is no relationship between Kim and Dan is not friendship... giving that, it's still a menages? Nice point of discussion.
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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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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.
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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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Jack is a 44 years old widower. Since the day his wife suddenly death he had a pretty quite, even if not exciting life: married at 19 years old to have get pregnant his highschool sweetheart, Jack has never had the chance to choice what to do; clever and with a lot of possibilities ahead of him, instead he had to skip college and became a carpenter to bring soon and fast money at home. He doesn't regret having his two sons, and he was fond of his wife, but he didn't love her; actually even that first time with her, when she got pregnant, was due to the fact that Jack was trying to understand his feelings for his bestfriend and buddy of highschool. Now twentyfive years later he is still at the same point, wondering if what he feels for Will is real love or only curiosity. Will is 30 years old and wealthy. An easy life, he passed from highschool, to college, to work always knowing what he wanted and what he liked. He likes men and even if he is conscious that in his life of work his better not to flaunt it, endlessly numbers of one night stand prove that he has not problem to reach what he desires. But Will is in a moment in his life that if he doesn't slow down, he will be burn out soon. He decided to leave his multimillionaire work for six months and see where life brings him, instead of lead his life. And here he is, with a sudden interest for a man that usually he would never notice. Jack is not handsome, wealthy or powerful. He is a simple man who quietly listen to him and always seems comfortable with himself. Will feels good around him and would like to take on the relationship to a step up, but he even knows if Jack is gay or at least bi-curios.
The story could be simple and erotic, being a gay version of the rich woman who has a torrid relationship with the handyman, and instead Clare Thompson chooses to write it as an almost sweet romance, made of tender wooing and gentle encouragement. Jack is not the hot stud of every woman fantasy, he is an almost middle age man with plain feature and an apparently non interesting work. But Jack hides secret, like the fact that he loves beauty and he can create it with his hands; he seems rough but instead he is gentle and caring.
Also Will is a surprising character: I really believed for him to fail to proof of love... oh, yes, I was expecting my happily ever after, but I was sure that it would be Jack to bring it home. And instead Will revealed to be a very good seducer since this time his purpose is not to love them and leave them, but to assure him a man for his life.
And for who is wondering about that sweet romance thing, don't worry, this is a romance by Clare Thompson, and so, yes, you will have also the erotic part, and for me, it is one of the best erotic part I read lately.
One final note: I was really expecting Jack's confrontation with his family, with his two adult sons, and in fact I was counting the pages to the end to see if and when the author chose to write it. She did, but in my opinion, there is space for more, maybe another book where deepen Jack and Will's relationship, but also Will's relationship with Jack's sons, and why not, that of Jack with Will's world.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/han
Amazon Kindle: Handyman
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Walk Among Us by Vivien DeanI appreciated in the past Vivien Dean's originality, when she gave a twist on an unusual vampire romance. Now she creates another terrific (or horrific...) novel about an former priest who sees demons...
Calvin is back on his hometown near Chicago for his father's funeral. But Calvin is not mourning the loss of his father, since the man was an homophobic who kicked him out when he found his son was gay. But Calvin managed to build a good life in New York as an appreciated artist. Actually he doesn't know why he bothers to come back, since no one in the small town seems to understand his detached behavior. And then during the funeral a sniper killed a man and Calvin sees him perfectly. Matthew is a very handsome man with a brooding behavior and tormented eyes. The artist in Calvin is immediately attracted by this perfect image, and the man in Calvin is attracted by the handsome man.
In an usual romance, you would expected that Calvin is horrified by Matthew's action, but like Calvin is detached by his father's death, he seems to be detached by all the little world around the man. Calvin doesn't know the man Matthew killed, and he is more interesting in Matthew, than in the act he did. Probably Calvin closed something in his soul when his father kicked him out, he hid in the safe of his heart all the emotions, and now he has like a shield around him. A shield that protects him from the demons.
The demons prey on the mourning souls, and this is the reason why Matthew was at the funeral of Calvin's father. Matthew is only a man, not an hero. He is not thrilled by the idea to have the skill to see demons, and if possible, he avoids the crowd, so he has less chance to see demons. But here and there, Matthew's conscience nags him and he needs to do something to stop the demons. So he goes to funeral, the likely place to find mourning soul. But this time is not a relative of the dead who is mourning: Calvin doesn't regret his father's death, and so he is not the target for the demon.
The book is not very long, less than 90 pages, but it's very well plotted. It mixes very well the demon's matter with the erotic part, and the two erotic scenes in the book are really good and arousing. Calvin's character is a bit more developed than Matthew, even if probably Matthew is the most intriguing. All in all another very good book by Vivien Dean.
http://www.samhainpublishing.com/romance/w
Amazon Kindle: Walk Among Us: A Calling of Souls story
If All the Sand Were Pearl by Pepper EspinozaFirst of all the setting: I would say a fantasy world... there are not high-tech elements to make it a futurist novel, and the only "modern" intrusion, is the presence of some plastic dildos... in the past there were dildos but they are made of wood, I believe. So yes, I will go for the fantasy.
Anyway, in this fantasy world, same sex marriage is not forbidden, even if it is not common for the simplest reason: wealthy families needs heirs and in a same sex marriage a natural heir is not possible. Jag is the last son of a once wealthy family; since he was born when all his other siblings were just betrothed or married, he was left with a decision: become a scholar or a priest. He set for priest and he was happy with the decision at 12 years old, but later one thing of priesthood left him "unsatisfied": chastity. Anyway he has never had a chance to be sexually active and so he really doesn't know what he is losing. He only knows that he dreams of the hard body of a man rather than that of a woman. So when financial problems push his family to negotiate an arranged marriage also for him, the only choice he is left is the gender of the betrothed... and he chooses a man.
Jag has never seen before his betrothed and he fears the wedding night. He is not sure of what expecting, and since he is rather young, also the physical appearance of the man is a huge problem for him. And then, is he enough attractive for the other man? Jag is lithe and small, he has the body of a scholar and he only knows that his betrothed is a big man used to work outside. The more innocent problems swirl in his mind, the same questions a virgin maid would have in the same situation.
Brace lost the hope to find a suitable partner long ago. He prefers man and no noble family would allow him to marry one of its son. And now he has a last chance. But he doesn't want to marry a man compelled to take a decision he doesn't like. And so he sends to Jag a gift, a very rare pearl, worthy enough to buy back his freedom and allow to him and his family a comfortable future. With that pearl in his possession, if Jag will decide to marry him, he will do that only according to his real desire.
Brace is a good man; he has no problem to find a willing partner for a one night tryst, but he wants a long term relationship. He doesn't want an husband to fill his nights, he wants a man to fill his days. Brace is true and simple like the life he likes: his horses, his travels... More than a lover he needs a companion.
In the end, you would expected for Jag to be the brooding one, the scholar type, and instead Jag unveils to be a young man waiting to be freed, and Brace could be the key to his freedom.
The story is pretty classic, and in this case "classic" is the right term, since this novel has an old fashioned style, but it's also erotic, the sex scenes are good and explicit, but always in line with the mood of the novel, even if that plastic dildos make them a bit kinky.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/if-a
Amazon Kindle: If All the Sand Were Pearl
No Fear in Love by Jamie CraigThis is the second story I read in the A Calling of Souls anthology by Samhain Publishing, and like the other one is a story about a night which changes forever the life of two men.
Weston and Mark were buddy friends since they were teenagers; from a small English village, they share everything since they both feel stranger among other people. Probably Weston realized before his friend what that strangeness was, he loves his friend Mark, and it's not a friendly love. But Weston probably is more cautious and probably he fears to leave the comfort of his small village life and so he searched shelter in the church and in the chastity: he became an Anglican pastor. He removed passionate love from his life and most of the time he is content with it. Not when he is with Mark.
Mark chose to leave the small village for the big city, for London. He still returns back sometime, mostly to spend time with his best friend Weston. Also Mark is gay, but he has not chosen chastity... instead he tried to search his love in a lot of men, only to realize that he has just found it, and he is Weston. So now Mark is determined to spend a night with Weston, to prove him how it could be between them, and to have at least that night for them.
And so Mark consciously seduces Weston, he destabilizes his friend beliefs, and he puts the seed of doubt in his mind; is the church only a substitute of what Weston really wants? can he risk his comfort life for the uncertainty of a life with Mark?
I like both Weston than Mark, but in both of them I found something to blame: why Weston didn't dare to fight for his love and instead chose the easy way of becoming a priest? if he knew that his friend was gay (and he knew it since he said that Mark went to him the first time he was with a man), why he lied to himself?
On the other hand Mark... perhaps he didn't realize to be in love with Weston before moving to London and realizing that he was searching the man in other partners. I could think so, and thinking in that way, I find him nicer than Weston, since he decides to do something, he decides to risk their friendship in the hope to obtain love.
The story is not very long, 60 pages, and since it's mostly a one night story, there is not much space to develop the characters. They haven't the chance to interact with other people, the issue of Weston being a priest is not so much a problem, if not for him, there is not judgment from outside. There is also no space to develop Mark and Weston's relationship as friends, to let us know how they were as young gay teens in a small village. The story is appealing and I'd like to read something more both before than after the central night.http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/no-f
Amazon Kindle: No Fear in Love: A Calling of Souls story
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Amazon: Calling of Souls
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
Cover Art by Anne Cain
Cover Art by Anne Cain
The lasting impression I have, after reading this book, is of young and sexy, of men that could be on a glossy magazine. It's an erotic dream and the author well know this, since she herself wrote that her characters can be an erotic imagery of both gay guys or straight girls. For gay since it shows two "apparently" straight boys that are hot for each other... it gives hope, isn't it? If the object of your desire is a straight man, reading about two straight men who realize that they can be attracted by another man let the gay guy believe that it can happen also to him, to find a straight man that can be "turned". And instead if you are a girl, it's sexier to read about two real "men" getting busy together; as the author wrote, the male fantasy about two women in bed is never played by lesbian, but always by the male idea of a beautiful woman. Evangeline Anderson also plays along the "gay for you" theme that already explored in "The Assignment": Maverick and Duke are two college students and jocks. They met as freshmen in the same soccer team and they went to live together as roommate. They are real buddy friends, and Mav learned from Duke to be more open and friendly: the son of divorced parents, Duke replaced his lost family with a lot of friends, of every shades, straights, gays and in between. Mav, coming from a conservative family, has never thought to be possible to be like that and he is fascinated by his roommate; from looking to him in a perplexed way, after four years Mav actually respects his friend, and maybe he also envies him.
Duke is also a very touchy feeling guy, one who seems unable to don't couple his words with a hug, a massage or some other touch. Being him like that with everyone, Mav got used to it, and he has no trouble at all if not that lately he is starting to respond. He is starting to wonder how it would be to do something more, to go a step further. They start to play gay chicken, getting always more intimate and daring to other to give on first. At first I had the idea that the "gay for you" character was Duke, it seemed to me that it was Mav that started to question their friendship and to wonder. But then I realized that there was something strange, Duke was always to eager to start the dare. I realized that he had planned a slow seduction of his best friend, and Mav was trapped, and he didn't understand when it happened.
It would have been a perfect plan if Duke wasn't so eager and he didn't rush exactly when he was near the goal... not a right move for a skilled sportsman. Luckily for Duke, this is the romance, and the author doesn't ruin the mood; usually the "gay for you" themed novels have a heavy mood, but not this one, it always remains light and sexy.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/str
Amazon Kindle: Str8te Boys
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The normal level of Changeling Press' books is good but seldom they are "deep". They are nice stories thought for a light break. And so it was unexpected to find such a story like Nights in Pink Satin. Even from the title I was expecting a light tale, and instead it's almost a gothic romance with a touch of urban fantasy. Anyway I should have some hints by the cover, again one of those nice covers that Changeling Press lately reserves to some authors.Vincent is a century years old vampire, and probably he is also bored. He is searching a new satin cloth for his coffin and when he sees a deep pink satin cloth he wonders who is the vampire who made such an order. Obviously he thinks to a woman, and he is so enthralled that he decides to pay her a visit. When he arrives to her flat, he discovers some odd things, like gay porn movie and make up, sex toys and posters on the wall like in a teenager bedroom. Who is the strange vampire who is living there? Before Vincent could realize the truth, Martin comes back home.
Martin is a very young vampire, and he was a very young man. The vampire who turned him didn't teach him as to live as a vampire, and Martin is trying to go on with his ordinary life with some adjustment. But he is very lonely, and so, when he comes back home to find an handsome vampire in his one bedroom apartment, he is all for making friends, and maybe something more. On the other hand Vincent doesn't know what to do with a gay vampire... lately he isn't really interested in sex, and when he feels a stir of desire, he always relates that to a woman. But now in front of him there is Martin, and Vincent is both attracted by the man but also by the "innocent" vampire.
Forced to share a closet for a day (yes, really, a closet, the only place in Martin's apartment where there is enough darkness), Vincent lets it go any reticence, and Martin doesn't think twice to take advantage of the situation. But when the day will be over, and with the night Vincent will be free to go, will he have to courage to leave Martin alone to his fate?
I have the feeling that Vincent is drawn to Martin more since he is bored than for a real sexual interest, and Martin is drawn to Vincent above all since he is lonely and desperately wants to be with someone like him, a vampire. Martin has probably had enough bad experiences of rejection when he was a man due to the fact that he is gay, and now as a vampire he is re-living all of that, now he has another reason, even more scaring, to hide from people. It's so sad to see his life through Vincent's eyes when he is spying in the apartment, all the objects tell a life of loneliness and lost hopes. Even if I was really wishing that Vincent would have been starstruck by Martin at first sight, his reluctance makes for an even more interesting reading, I loved to see the innocent seduction of Martin, and the sex in the closet was hot and "symbolic".
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.p
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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.
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s=p
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.
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?s=Y
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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With the second book in the Moment of Truth series, A.J. Wilde closes a door and opens a gate: Gary and Dan are now together, more in life than as partners. Gary needs to recover to an unhealthy act he did to himself, and above all, he has to make peace with his paste. Problem is that to do that, he needs to close for good that chapter and only a final gesture can do that. At first Gary, alone without Dan's love, thinks that the only way to do that is to close the thing from his side. Dan helps him to understand that he was the victim and not the guilty, and that he is strong enough to face everything.Good you would think, Dan admits his love for Gary, Gary had a strong partner and lover beside him that will help him to go over any obstacle, past and future, now they should be happy together? But life is not simple, and I believe that, deep inside, Gary is not yet recovered by his past drama, and he has not yet reached his full development. Gary is really gay, or he was influenced by his past? He really loves Dan, or maybe he loves the safe nest that he has found in Dan's arms? And when he will start to heal from his past, his feelings for Dan will be still so strong or they will fade?
While Gary is probably going through all this questions in his mind, I believe that Dan underestimated a bit too much Gary's situation. It's not possible to simple sponge Gary's past off removing the cause; the damage is done, and it would have been probably better to deal with it with a specific help. Instead Dan thought that love was the better cure, and that he could have been an happy family with Gary like two ordinary people who met, loved, and moved together.
Choosing the Light moves a bit further in Gary's discovery journey of himself, but it's not yet the final destination.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
Series: Moment of Truth
1) To Serve and Protect: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/56010
2) Choosing the Light
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The Deadly Mystery series by Victor J. Banis is addictive! I finished the first book thinking, well, this was good, maybe with a little more romance... ended the second book thinking, wow, I wasn't expected from Tom to be a so good romance hero, he was nice in the first book but in the second, he is soo good. And now, closing the third book, I'm happy like a duck in her pond, since this is the most romantic of the three books, but also the one where I finally had the chance to see Stanley and Tom as a real couple, partners both in work than life. The third book is a discovery journey for both men, Tom is trying to fit in his new life, and Stanley has to rethink something in his past. Tom is really a good romance hero, but not since he is perfect, he is good since he is NOT perfect. Tom is mostly a straight man, as I just said in the past, he didn't find himself gay all at once, he found himself in love with a person (even if he, as a good tough man, don't use the big word love to define what he feels), and it happens that that person is a man. So, for the transitive law, if Tom loves Stanley, and Stanley is a man, Tom is gay, right? Wrong. Tom is still fighting with this idea, he doesn't like to be tagged, and then, truth be told, he still finds women attractive; I really liked this side of the story, Tom "chose" to be with Stanley, he is more involved with his mind (and I believe also with his heart) than with his body. Actually more the series goes on and more it becomes sexually explicit, but nevertheless, it's not only a physical thing for Tom. But even if Tom is fighting with himself and with the idea to be in love with a man, he never once in all the series, throw in Stanley's face his trouble; Tom is always the perfect romance hero toward Stanley, he is always protective and nice, always ready to listen to him and to change his life to make Stanley's one easier. Can you understand that I like Tom?
But Tom is not the only one that has to face some hard moments in his life. Stanley discovers that his parents, his now dead parents lied to him, and that lie now is resurfacing and it could case big damage to Stanley, but above all to Tom. Where the second book was more centered around Stanley, I believe that the third one is more centered around Tom, and it's strange, since actually the fulcrum of the story, the mystery, is all about Stanley. But I felt as Stanley has yet reached the deepest desires of his heart, he is living with Tom, and it was Tom that proposed, and even if Tom is not suddenly turned in the perfect gay partner, at least when they are in company, he is the perfect man inside their home, and in the tight circle of their relationship. So, yes, I felt as Stanley didn't need anything else, and this time is Tom who needs to do a bit of rethink on his personal life.
I don't want to say nothing more on the mystery of the book, I don't like to give up the story. Let me only say that again I found that Victor J. Banis gave a deepness even to the villain of the story Andrew; he should be the negative character, but there were time during when I was almost hoping in a strange turn, that in a way even Andrew could have a chance to redeem. There are reasons why Andrew is like that, and for those reasons I feel for him... what is that in Victor J. Banis' works that he manages to always make me have feeling for all the characters, from the dead one (like in the second book), to the villain (like in this one)?
http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?boo
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Amazon: DEADLY DREAMS
Amazon Kindle: Deadly Dreams
Series: Deadly Mystery:
1) Deadly Nightshade: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/49853
2) Deadly Wrong: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/51713
3) Deadly Dreams
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This is a classical thriller story but with the hand of a woman in the doing, and so it doesn't lack of romantic elements. BUT this doesn't mean that the thriller part is not strong and cold, but it's a neat cold, not bloody and messy like sometime it's if the writer is a man. Sorry, but I'm really convinced that you can recognize the hand of a woman or that of a man, as I'm convinced that there are "limbo" zones where it's almost impossible to distinct. In this case I felt the hand of the woman when the characters got sentimental, when they share their feelings, when their dreams all in all convoy in having a suburb home with a dog in the back garden. Or maybe this is only the ordinary and the thriller author I read in the past lacked in describing it.Jack is the good guy of the story, probably the only one. He is a surgeon in Baltimore, a divorced man who realized later in his life that he prefers men over women, and he is a so good guy that he managed to get a friendly divorce and rebuilt a life of his own. Now he is quite the workaholic type, even if sometime he indulges in his pleasure. He has not a bad life, and probably with time, he will also improve it, adding the above-mentioned home and dog, and maybe also a partner. But all of this crashed down when Jack witnesses to a murder and he is the only one who can recognize the killers. He is taken into custody waiting for the trial, and relocated in another city... all his life is shattered and he has no hope to regain it.
Enter D, an hit man with a personal code of behavior: he only kills people who deserve it. Since he is the better in the field, he can choose, and what he doesn't want to do he passes on. But this time he can't refuse, he is blackmailed into killing Jack. Only that when D meets Jack, he really isn't able to kill the man, the innocence of the man is clear in his eyes and D is tired to let people die due to an event that isn't their fault. So D turns from enemy to protector, and he appoints himself the only protector of Jack. He kidnaps the man and runs all over the United States with his precious load.
The two men are at the opposite: Jack is open and friendly, without any secret in his past, who he is, is plainly displayed in his face. Jack is not a temperamental man, he is quiet and serene, he is the classical doctor that inspires you trust. Jack is upright and trusting, he doesn't hide his feelings and he is easily hurt since he is so open. But Jack is also unable to hold a grudge and he is the perfect partner for D since he is able to see behind the facade D presents to the world.
D is not cold and aloof as he seems; he doesn't even choose to be who he is, someone else at the beginning of all made that choice for him, and D followed the path it was presented to him. Times ago, D probably had the same dreams of Jack, of an home and a family in some nice places. Then a tragic fate, something he has no guilt of, shattered his world, and D claimed himself an avenger, and in his own particular way, he tries to correct the fate for whom has no guilt. And sometime he kills the one he judges guilty.
Where Jack is gay, and has already made his path out of the closet, D is still in the limbo. He is not actually in denial, since he simply excluded any personal relationship from his life, both with women than men. When he meets Jack, he is more drawn by the innocence of the man than by the man himself. In a way, their relationship is another joke of the destiny, since probably D would have fallen in love of a woman, if she was as innocent as Jack, but since he met Jack, Jack is the object of his love. D becomes Jack's protector, and Jack becomes all D's world, from not feeling anything, D passes to feel even to much, and all his love is poured on Jack.
As I said there is a lot of emotion flowing throughout the novel, and also some very nice sex scenes, but there is also a good level of tension, and the novel is also very long, and so we have also the chance to reach an apex, slowly come down, and suddenly reach another apex, all the time with some new details and events that maintain a fastpacing rhythm.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/current
Amazon Kindle: Zero at the Bone
Amazon: Zero at the Bone
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Cover Art by Paul Richmond
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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Amazon Kindle: The Janitor
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Cover Art by April Martinez
“Kingsley and I Together”, like its predecessor, is not just another m/m erotic romance. “Kingsley and I” was a first point of view so centred around the main voice that the reader had very few change to realize that there was a world outside. The reader was so sucked inside "I"'s body that sometime I felt like captive of him, I was feeling what he was feeling in good and bad: "I" was feeling like his body betrayed him, his body craved Kingsley almost without "I"'s permission, and so was me, that was feeling "I"'s uneasiness. The fact that "I" remains without name is also a right choice since we don't think to ourselves with a name, and since reading the book we are "I", it's not necessary to have a name. For almost all the first book, Kingsley and I remain inside their personal world, without interaction with the outside world, and so we have very few hint of their "public" life; but at the end of the book, they spent a weekend in a B&B along the coast, and they "tested" their relationship... now they need to decide if it's time to commit or to end things. Obviously since there is a second book, and it's called "Together", the decision is to give a chance to their relationship.
From the first book, the reader could have the idea that "I" was entirely dominated by Kingsley, he changed his life according to Kingsley's desires and needs, he becomes the "recipient" (more than the receptive partner) of Kingsley's love and lovemaking, and he considers himself the "female" of their relationship.
Kingsley is gay, yes, but his partner, "I," still considers himself not "gay," and although he is willing to accept the idea of bisexually, truth be told he thinks of himself more like a straight man who happens to love another man...but only Kingsley. "I" has not desire for other men than him. Recalling his past relationship with women, "I" remembers that he was always shy and that he never ignited the relationships or the sexual encounters, even if he appreciated the women and was flattered from their appreciation... and here we start to understand better "I". He considers himself shy, but in front of a mirror, he is the epitome of an hedonist, he likes his body, he likes to take care of his body, and he loves offering his beautiful body to Kingsley... this is not the behaviour of a shy person! We also have another detail on "I" that allow the reader to know him better: he is a professional dancer, and so it's obvious that he likes his body and he loves to groom himself, his body is at the same time his business card and his work tool. So, is "I" really shy or an hedonist in disguise?
And what about Kingsley? What we at first believe was Kinsley's overwhelming persona, that almost crushed "I"'s fragile ego, is not instead a form of worship? Is he, as he at first seems, the master of their relationship or is he actually more like the priest to "I," the God of Love? When "I" so carefully prepares his body for the upcoming sex with his lover, he is so meticulous that all the scene is almost clinical, "I" has total power on his body, but then, when Kingsley arrives, he seems to suddenly loosing that control, he is swept away by Kingsley's forceful behaviour. But at the same time also Kingsley seems to be unable to control himself: Kingsley, "the King," and "I" together are swept up in a greater force that drives them both relentlessly on.
Reading this second book I really changed my idea of “I”, I no more see him like an unsecure man who needs the steady figure of Kingsley beside him to be happy; “I" is a Bermuda Triangle, safe and innocent alone, but deadly when near, and Kingsley and the reader with him, must struggle not to drown in the deep sea that is "I". The more I read, the more I realized that, whether enthralling or dangerous, one cannot remain indifferent to the power of "I" and their growing relationship. I look forward expectantly to the next in the series.
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?boo
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Amazon: Kingsley & I: Together
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Series:
1) Kingsley & I: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/29579
2) Kingsley & I: Together
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First of all I'm shallow, but I was enticed by the cover since the first moment I saw it. It's perfect for the book, a story of a young boy who is starting to discover the BDSM world, but he likes it "vanilla", he mostly likes to be spanked, and what is better than a pretty bum to suggest it?Nick is a young art student who is working for a famous male erotica photographer, Damian, to make the ends meet. Since the beginning he is a brat, always answering back to Damian even for the smallest things. Truth be told, if not for the turn in their relationship, there were no real reason for Damian to take Nick around, even if he is a pretty boy. But then Ashley, a quite strange fairy godmother of the Doms and subs, and good friend of Damian, asks to the man to shot his next catalogue of sex toys and leathers, and thanks to the fate, Nick finds himself to model the first innocent pieces for Damian.
Nick is not gay, or at least he thinks so, and he was never interested in the kinky aspects of love, but seeing around all the things and having the chance to be the center of attention for Damian let him eager of more. To Nick, so young and naive, it seems impossible to satisfy Damian, so hard and precise in his work, and maybe, even before this catalogue work comes around, Nick was trying to find a way to impress his boss. Even if he doesn't realize it, Nick is a top from the bottom, he likes to be in center stage and he likes when all Damian's attention is turned toward him. He wants to be the only man in Damian's life, and if this means being a sub, well, he will try. But truth be told, Nick is a real vanilla sub, he likes to dress like a little girl with her mother dress, and he likes to be spanked, but better if possible with bared hands, or at least with nothing that leaves permanent bruises. More than the pain, what Nick likes, and excites him, is being the focal point of their sexual plays. Nick is a bit of an hedonist, and maybe he also needs a strong hand to control and direct him.
Damian on the other hand, has tried all and now is more or less tired of all. He is not searching for a sub, he is quite content with his work and his life, and probably he doesn't want the burden of an untrained sub, on top of than also so much younger than him. So he really doesn't miss anything when he realizes that with Nick he will have to respect some limits, things that a real Dom will never accept. Actually between the two, the one who always risk their relationship is Damian, he is always questioning if he is doing right, and sometime he is so blinded by his own insecurities that he doesn't realize that he is neglecting his sub. Where Nick is not exactly the role model for a sub, Damian is not at all the strong and steady Dom, even if people around him praise his mastery... I have the feeling that Damian is more an artist of the BDSM world more than a real player. Probably if not for the fairy godmother Ashley, they will never get together for good (and Ashley is a very nice supporting character, I like that also him has his personal love story inside the book).
So in the end I have the feeling that both Nick than Damian are more playing to be Dom and sub, than being the real thing. This also allow to the book to be light and funny, and accessible to all type of readers, even those who have some boundaries on BDSM, as I said, the most you will find in this book is a cute spanked pink bum.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/current
Amazon Kindle: A Strong Hand
Amazon: A Strong Hand
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Love relationship between cops, more when they are partners, are always more intense, probably since to the bond of love it's added also the bond of being colleague and responsible for the well-being of your partner. The "gay for you" turn of one or both of them is usually also justified by that bond, since no one more than you partner can comprehend you and so the step between friendship and love is short. But usually the two men are strong characters, men who take everything inside, that never let it go, if not maybe at night, in front of a beer and in the relative safeness of their partner's company. Oh yes, maybe they have some hidden secrets in the past that are eating them alive, but to the outside world they are strong and invincible.It's not like that for Dan and Gary, or at least they are not like that for the reader. Dan and Gary are cops, partners, not yet lovers, but they are not invincible, and the reader have plenty of chances to see their faults. Gary is running away from a past who saw him a victim, and the drama he lived it's conditioning his present. He is unable to build a serious relationship with a woman, and probably he desires another man since in his mind it's something of unreachable, and so he is not risking to have and loose it. But one thing is the mind and another thing is the heart, and in his heart Gary knows that his only salvation lies in Dan. And so he doesn't let it go any occasion in which he can tease Dan.
I forgot to mention that this is a continuing series of four part, and this one is only a novella, so there are a lot of things that are a bit suspended. One of them is Dan's fully development. We saw his desire for Gary, probably we understand that he is in the closet, since nor at work or in his private life he is living like a gay man out. So his desire for Gary is not something that makes him doubt himself, but more a problem due to their differences: Gary is apparently straight, he is too young for him (a rookie where he was a full grown cop), Dan is the by-the-book cop while Gary seems to be out of 21 Jump Street (and this made me smile, since that was a television fiction I saw when I was very young, and so maybe the author has more or less my same age... even if I was really more a Renegades fan).
And now sorry, maybe this could be considered a SPOILER, so stop here if you don't want it, but since the Chasers of Torquere Press are continuing series, probably it will be not surprise if I say that, truth be told nor of Dan or of Gary we see the fully development, if not for the blossom of their relationship: Gary will admit that he has some unresolved questions in his past, Dan will admit that he is gay and that he is in love with his partner... from that point on, we have to wait for the next chapter. And I will for sure read it, since these are two characters that made me feel for them.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?m
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When I first read the blurb of this book I thought, well another story setting in Hawaii, probably I will find beautiful sands, beautiful beaches, a easy-to-go way of life, a bit of mythology, surf, hula... what else am I missing from the typical Hawaiian postcard? And yes, in Island Song there is all of that but also something more, I really was not expecting to be so moved by the story, and I really was not expecting how easy was to read this book, , the book makes itself read, and you lost the count of the pages to emerge again from the story when it's almost finished and wonder what happens to the last 250 pages? I haven't realized to have read so much.Garrett is the typical mainlander who is searching solace in the loneliness of the island. At first I believed that Garrett was forced to leave his previous life, and instead his story his even more typical, Garrett had all money could buy if not love. Garrett's first lover and only love, Marc, died, and nothing bonded Garrett to the city where they lived, San Francisco. Garrett loves his routine, the Castro district, the Golden Gate Park, the Victorian houses, but every corner of that city is an image of Marc, of how much happy they were together, and Garrett had to run from it. Garrett arrives in Hawaii with the idea of writing a romance book, the love story between him and Marc, and maybe writing it, it will also bury it. When the reader starts to "write" along with Garrett that love story, it seems almost a sweet romance, two young men who meet and fall in love with the easiness of youth. All right, they faced some trouble, they had to move and they lost the support of their family, but they were together. For sure a love like that was broken only by an unmerciful illness, something that nor Garrett or Marc could defeat. For sure there is no blame nor on Garrett or Marc side, and proof is that now Garrett is inconsolable.
But the island is there to help, and help arrives in the form of Songoree, a very young boy. Garrett rents a little villa from Songoree's grandfather, and the boy is hired as "housekeeping": he will cook and tend the house, and he will look after Garrett. At first Garrett is not so happy to have Songoree around, the boy is too beautiful, and Garrett after all is a man, not so young like him, but still not "dead". I really was wondering on Garrett's behavior, if his love story with Marc was so beautiful, how can he be so ready to be tempted by Songoree, even if the boy is beautiful? And then Garrett is "allowing" himself six months to write this book, bury his lost lover once for all, and then come back to his life in San Francisco... there is something that didn't ring right to me, was I sure that Garrett and Marc's relationship was so special after all? And while the reader again discovers another true through Garrett's memories on the paper, Garrett and Songoree's present relationship doesn't evolve as I was expecting: there is no sudden love, no unresistible passion neither of them can control, they almost settle down in a domestic peace. Where is the passion, where is the uncontrollable force of the natural elements that usually in this setting are reflected in a passionate love story between the two main characters?
And then, when almost the reader is used to the story to have this peaceful pace, the drama arrives both in the past then in the present relationship: through Garrett's memories the reader finally knows what happened to Marc, and it's something that I wasn't expected, not in that tragic way, and not with that resolution. I feel almost like Garrett while writing his past love story was also re-playing it in the present: the meeting of two men apparently not fated to be lover, the blossom of a love which held a lot of promises for the future, the tragedy that struck not once but twice, and then the healing power of love... the only thing that can be change, if the two present lovers want, is the ending.
There is another surprise, for me really positive, in the story: from the blurb, and from past experience with similar stories, I was expecting from it to be a lot more "detached", a mystical story at the edge between mythology and paranormal, and instead the story is quite "normal", with only some events that you can also justify as driven by strong emotions... there is not anything really "out of ordinary". This book is a very nice romance, probably the romance Garrett was trying to write, what Marc wanted him to write, a book that proves that a story between two men can be a love story. It's not overly erotic, actually probably there aren't really sex scenes, but truth be told, for me doesn't matter.
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.p
Amazon: Island Song
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I'm true, I approached this book a bit wary, since I couldn't believe possible to find true romance in a prison story setting. Don't get me wrong, I like prison story, one of my favorite movie is "The Shawshank Redemption" (and no, I was not imagining a slash story between Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman!), but I always found that they are quite angst stories, and usually one of the heroes, if not both, goes through some very nasty moments, that yes, serve him to be stronger, but well, I can't help to feel for him.And so thinking to Daniel, young Brazilian student that is unfairly imprisened after a student protest, I was pretty sure that there weren't good perspective for him. But his fair looks and yes, probably also his well-bring behavior and innocence, arise the protective feelings in Mephisto, a drug dealer who behaves in prison like a maniac perfectionist: everything in his shank has to be in order and cleaned, and you have to behave according to the prison rules, official and unofficial, to survive. He welcomes Daniel in his shack as he would with an exotic bird, Paradise Bird: he nurturers and provides to him like Daniel is a fragile beautiful bird that will not survive in the dark and cold prison otherwise. Daniel is kept away from all the nasty things, and he is allowed to "sing" only for Mephisto's pleasure, and for a strict circle of friends.
Don't get me wrong, Mephisto is not a bad guy, he only wants to protect Daniel's innocence, and in a way, he wants for him to not loose that innocence since when Daniel will be out of prison (and Mephisto is sure that this will be happen), he has to look back to this experience as a passing nightmare, something he can't put behind his shoulder. Mephisto himself will have to be only a memory, and so at first, Mephisto is gentle and caring, but almost detached, he wants for Daniel to feel safe with him, but not to be involved in an emotional level.
And so Daniel's experience inside the prison has almost an easy feeling, at least for him. Daniel is frightened and sad, but truth be told, he didn't go through real "big" trouble, and Mephisto is always beside him. In this way the love relationship that blossoms between them seems easy and natural, and probably a consequence of the situation, but not for that less sweet or romantic. Daniel falls in hell, but a fallen angel soothes Daniel's fall and allows him to not loose his wings so he can fly back to paradise.
http://www.lulu.com/content/4089994
Amazon: Clippings
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Everytime I read a new book by Z.A. Maxfield I wonder how can she manage to write something new everytime, and still be original and better than before. If you pick one per one all the books she wrote in less than a year, and try to compare them, it's almost like they are written by different authors. There is only one thing that is certain, that the two characters will fall in love and that their romance will be wonderful, even if not simple.This last book starts as a funny romp to go through a thriller story and end as a big Hollywood comedy; the middle part reminds me a bit that movie with Cary Grant, North by Northwest, with a simple man that finds himself in a story bigger than him and forced to play the role of an unwilling knight in shining armor. Well to be exact, Rory, our unwilling hero, at first is not so unaware that he is embarking in something big and unknown. From a small town of less than 1000 people, he falls in love with the work of a Japanese artist, Ran Yamane. People who knows him are not surprised: Rory has a big heart and is a very good boy, but he seems to not have the reputation of a very clever man. But he has dreams, and when Katrina upturns down his life and leaves him with nothing, Rory clings to that dreams: he will find Ran Yamane, the artist who draws a comic that is become Rory's only bond to reality, and he will sweep her away in a crazy dance under the moon and she will love him. And they will be happy.
And so when Ran Yamane comes to California for an anime convention, Rory takes all his worldly possession, spends his last money to buy flowers, and stays in line for dazzling the girl with his smile. Only that the girl is not a girl, but a man, a man older than Rory, and way more experienced and not so easily impressed. Yamane is beautiful, no doubt, but Rory is not ready to forget the little details that he is not gay, not even for an handsome man like Yamane.
I like that Rory, without being grossed out or disappointed about Yamane, doesn't either immediately falls at his feet. Rory has dreams, dreams about a girl, and he can't change them without notice when he discover that Yamane is a man; he needs time to assimilate the news and to reprogram his mind on this new turn. But even if he needs time to decide if he wants to go on with his romantic plans on Yamane, he has no doubt on the artist and the man: Yamane needs help, he needs a knight in shining armor, and Rory will be that knight, even if he will not immediately profit of the grace of the damsel in distress. Rory faces this new adventure as if he is playing with a new videogame; he plans his move, he hides his traces, and he for real sweeps Yamane away but not for dancing under the moon, but in a run through the country. As a good player, Rory has aces in the sleeves, means that he has friends scattered all around the country, everyone the face of the state in which they live, from the party girl in Las Vegas, to the mormon in Utah, to the cook in Louisiana, every single supporting character is like a piece in a country puzzle. And when he has not a friend in the place, Rory is ready to tighten new bond of friendship: no one seems able to resist to his southern charm. Neither Yamane.
Yamane is a strange character; at first he probably doesn't believe in Rory, he thinks he is an overgrown puppy, an adoring fan like all the others. And since he doesn't believe in him, he also doesn't believe in their story, and he doesn't fight enough for it. And when their relationship becomes intimate, he approaches it like a carpe diem thing, takes as much as you can since maybe tomorrow it will be over. Again Yamane doesn't trust Rory to be serious. I don't know if Yamane is worried since Rory is too young, too straight, a bit of both... Probably it's also a cultural clash, even if used to live in USA (he is also half American), Yamane is also Japanese, and Japanese man always follows a strict etiquette, in everything they do, and instead Rory is an outburst of energy, always in motion. And then Rory tends to do thing without informing Yamane, and this is not good since, even if he is not aware of it, doing so he is dismissing Yamane as a man and a partner. I really think that Rory is not aware of it, he is only young, and obviously used to having relationship with girls, and above all with southern girls. From what I know, southern girls are really good in making their men doing what the women want believing that it's what the men want to do; they don't talk but they are really good in directing behind the scene. And so Rory is not used to give explanations, but Yamane, on the other hand, is not good in reading between the lines. Even if small and apparently fragile, Yamane doesn't like to be treated as a woman, even if, truth be told, he likes to be the center of of attention.
All right, at this point you have understood that I can go on for thousand of words, always finding something new, some new side, some new perspective for the story. Not only the two main characters are complex and interesting, the book is also full of funny and various supporting characters, don't get me start with Rory's grandparents, or the various police officers, even the evil men have their "positive" side.
http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Drawn_Toget
Amazon Kindle: Drawn Together
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Cover Art by P.L. Nunn
This is another of those little books from an English LGBT publisher, Wayward Books, that between 2000 and 2006 published an handful of very worthy books and then stopped... I'm still hoping that this is a temporary stop, since all the books I read so far are really interesting, all of them with this subtle English humor that would have made worth to be read the book even if it wasn't a gay romance, but the fact that there is also the romance makes them really, really nice.Ryan is a former police officer who took a leave of absence to go back to his University study; now fresh with his shining degree, but no more an innocent man, he has to decide what to do with his life. Ashton arrives to help him take the a different path: he is working for a private investigation firm and he needs a new partner; since he likes Ryan (and no, at first not in "that" way), he puts a good word with his boss and Ryan has a new career in front of him. Ashton is also ready to help him with his private life, always finding not one, but two willing girls at time to spend a good time together. Of the two man, Ashton is the more easygoing, the one who apparently thinks less and acts more, but Ashton has some best kept secret in his past, secrets that he hasn't revealed to Ryan neither after they are partner for five years. Even if Ryan seems the mind of their duo, he is actually a simple soul, and for him the things are always clear, and what he thinks, he does and says, he has no secret for no one, even less for Ashton, who he is starting to consider not only his partner but also his family.
During a drunken night, Ryan and Ashton end in bed together; the morning after both of them feigned a sudden and useful amnesia, but as I said before, Ryan is no a man to keep secrets, and in few time he realizes that this evolution in his relationship with Ashton was the only possible, and that he wants to go further that path. If the alcohol helped them once, maybe it will do also a second time, and Ryan sets things to get again Ashton drunk and willing. But when the things between them seem to get better, Ashton's past make its appearance: Ashton is not a simple man, a commoner, he is the nephew of a Duke, and now his grace wants that Ashton comes back home to help him with a delicate matter. Obviously Ryan, as Ashton's partner, will tag along, but this new side of Ashton adds trouble to trouble: not it's not more only a question of wrong gender, but also of different birth right.
All the book is mostly focused on Ryan and Ashton's relationship, from the beginning friendship to the ending love; I really like as the author deat with both Ryan and Ashton's reaction to this evolving situation: Ryan is almost resigned, he realizes that he likes, and maybe loves Ashton, he understands that he likes what Ashton did to him, and that, even if he never played along that inclination, he was not against the idea to be with a man; and so when the unthinkable happens with Ashton, after the first awkward morning when he first thinks to deny it, he realizes that it's not the end of the world, and then instead it's probably only the logical consequences to their special relationship. On the other hand Ashton has again the easy going attitude that he has with almost everything: he likes it, it is something that makes both of the happy and no one displeased, and so why not? There is no recriminations, no regrets between them; no deny what they are feeling, only the necessary time to be comfortable with it. No angst and no rage, they pass without a break from friends to loves in a very easy way. And the lovemaking between them is always considerate and tender, very, very enjoyable.
The second part of the book is also a nice full immersion in a big and old fashioned all aristocratic English family, complete of a little mystery that lead our heroes to investigate between the walls of an old abbey turned big country estate; a really nice set that reminds me a classical and old fashioned (and English!) sleuthing novel.
http://waywardbooks.com/acatalog/index.h
Amazon: Kind Hearts
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Claire Thompson brings a lot in this new gay romance: the "menage a trois" (fortunately with all male participant), the only "gay for you" attitude of one of the lovers, and finally the all too evident, but seldom faced, problem of the jealousy inside a menages.Tuck is in love with Brendan: the first time he realized it was a year before when both of them where in a research camp with other researchers. But Tuck and Brendan had a special alchemy, something that Tuck finds again one year later when both of them are involved in another research project in Antarctica. But Brendan is straight, he even had a girlfriend or two in the past, and other than seems quite comfortable around Tuck, he never lets it go anything to allow Tuck to imagine that he is gay or at least curious. So now, their six week project is almost finished and once again Tuck is letting Brendan go without saying anything.
Enter Jamie, the young researcher in the same project with Tuck and Brendan. While Brendan is straight, and Tuck bisexual, Jaime is all gay; he doesn't flaunt his preferences, at least not inside his work, and till now he has only fantasize about Tuck and Brendan. They are both very handsome man, and for 25 years old Jamie it's impossible to not imagine an hot threesome between them. But probably he wouldn't do anything to make it happens, since as Tuck, he is not sure that Brendan could be interested, and even if he suspects that Tuck could be, they live and work in the same University town, and it would be embarrassing once they are again at home if things go wrong.
But fate plots to help all of them: a sudden snow storm traps the three of them in Antarctica, will all their fellow researchers gone. At first the charade plays only for two: Tuck and Jamie, the simpler pair, Tuck and Brendan, the romantic pair, and finally Jamie and Brendan, the unlikely one. Why this last pair is unlikely? Since where Tuck and Brendan are obviously in love, and so Brendan has at least an year to realize that he is interested in another guy, he approaches his interested to Tuck as something born from love; the "gay for you" definition applies correctly to this relationship, since Brendan loves Tuck despite Tuck being a man. And then the fact that Tuck is bisexual, in a way helps Brendan, since Tuck is not so "different" from him. Instead for Brendan to admit that he is interested also in Jamie means for him take a bigger jump: he is not only interested in a man, he is interested in a openly gay man and to worst things, he is interested while he is apparently in love with another one.
It would be not simple for the three of them to reach a balance, and strange thing, even if Tuck is the mainstay between Jamie and Brendan, who ignites everything and also who has the more active role in the menages is Jamie, the young one, the "freshman" in their work field, but probably the more experienced in dealing with a gay relationship. Tuck and Brendan have both nice roles, but for me the one who comes out better is without any doubt Jamie.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/pol
Amazon Kindle: Polar Reaction
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Cover Art by Anne Cain
Jeff as Commander and Rell as Colonel are fighting together to bring peace in a world destroyed by years of war. Probably tired of the war and of the coldness of nights spent alone, Jeff is looking toward Rell with different eyes, but it's not simple; it's not a question of being gay that is a problem, but it's more a multicultural barrier between them: even if Rell looks like a human, he is not entirely that, and his breed approaches in different way a relationship; love is not part of the equation. And so Jeff has always hidden his feelings, even if they are grown nevertheless, and he can only express them being Rell's best friend. And in Rell's detached behavior, Jeff sometime can see a spark of something, something special only for him, or maybe it's what he wants to see.When Rell is seriously injured in a fight, it's upon Jeff to decide if subject Rell to a therapy that is against Rell's beliefs, but that is the only way to save him. Jeff has to decide if he wants to respect the decision of the man, or if he wants to save the lover he never had.
I like the feeling of this story since I usually find futuristic stories to be a bit cold and detached, and instead this one is more a love story than a futuristic adventure. Sure, the story has also an elegant "tune", it's never really sexy or erotic, if not in the end, when the author launched herself in an erotic encounter that it would not look out of place in a porn movie: it is almost like all the sexual tension that both heroes repressed before blows up suddenly and uncontrolled.
Of the two characters the one who shines is Jeff, probably since it's also the narrative voice; it's not that the story is in first point of view, but it's through his eyes that we follow their story. Rell is a bit in the background, even since he is mostly catatonic (!), but when he acts, well, he is like a lightning in a clear sky, Rell could have few chances to speak, but more than the words, it's his presence that drives all the story, he is like the puppeteer behind the scene. Since Jeff is so clear in love with him, the reader has to like him as Jeff does, we like him even without a direct proof.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/novella
Amazon Kindle: Upside Down
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If you liked Deadly Nightshade, the first book in the Deadly Mystery series, you will love Deadly Wrong. I liked the first book in the series, but it was in some way interrupted: the two main characters, Tom and Stanley, were presented to us, the reader had the chance to feel for them (I, for example, hearted for Tom), but in the end their story was not finished at the end of the book. And in fact, Deadly Wrong begins with Stanley who needs to take some decision in his life.In the first book Stanley was obviously the main hero, but he didn't shine as he does in this second book. More than half the book is about him and his life change decision: should he remain in the Homicide and working with Tom everyday, when the man clearly stated that nothing could be happen again between them? Tom said his goodbye to the man in a very "personal" way, having his first and only anal sex experience with Stanley, baring himself to Stanley in the most intimate way, and then walking away barely saying goodbye. Stanley can't stay around and his first reaction was to quit his job. But then he receives a temporary leave and a call for help from a long time friend: Libby's brother was accused of manslaughter, but he claims to be innocent. Can Stanley come to Bear Mountain and help them to "straighten" the true? Not that Stanley is familiar with straightening things up, and even less with an homicide case, but it's a good way to leave San Francisco for a bit.
An apparently simple case has its root in the small town way of living, and with the murder of a young boy who has never had a chance in his life to be happy. It's strange, but even if Donnie is already dead when the reader meets him, he is one of the most interesting characters of this second book; I found myself wondering how his life could be if someone cared enough for him to give him a friendly hand. Donnie asked in every possible way help, but no one seemed to hear his call if not Carl, the one man that now is framed with his murder. I was already liking the book, even if I had the idea for it to be very sad, when the book took a suddenly, but well welcomed, turn with Tom's reappearing on the scene: even if Tom's mind said goodbye to Stanley, his body has other idea and it craves Stanley. And so Tom arrives to rescue Stanley and to stake his claim on the man. All right, Tom is straight, but he wants Stanley, and the things are obvious for him: there is no much to say, it's time to act.
Again I like Tom's character, he is "straight" (pun intended): he is probably not a man used to mourn a lot on his mind, he thinks and reacts, he is plain in his behaviour as in his feelings. Stanley on the other hand is a man in love, and he is willing to face and suffer everything to be with the man he loves; when Tom changes his mind, Stanley doesn't hesitate a minute to welcome him again in his life, and it's very sweet reading when he attempts to look into Tom's intentions without letting go that he is doing so.
Again Victor J. Banis wrote a real good book where plot and characters mend in a perfect way.
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?boo
Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks
Amazon: Deadly Wrong
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Series: Deadly Mystery:
1) Deadly Nightshade: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/49853
2) Deadly Wrong
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Max is a not so struggling artist who lives as he likes: openly gay he has the reputation to be a good lover but not a constant one, he only does one night stand. So when his sister Jenn comes to live with him and she sets her eyes on Quinton, the CEO of the firm on which Jenn has a big shares, Max recognizes in him a twin soul, only the "straight" version: Quinton is famous in the city to be the most wanted bachelor, but he is never serious with his conquests. Since Jenn is a very nice girl, innocent and sweet, Max will not let Quint treat her like another notch in his belt. He manages to meet Quint in private and he goes all Big Brother with him.First time Quint sees Max, he immediately realizes that he would prefer to have the handsome man in his bed rather than his sister; and when Max threatens him, Quint reacts as only a business man would do, with a private agreement: he will stay far from Jenn (at least from her bed) if Max will be his boy toy. Quint really doesn't imagine that Max will agree to his proposal, also since he doesn't know that the man is gay. And when Max instead simply says "yes", he isn't expecting for him to take the lead role in the relationship. Quint always played the role of the boss, something he learnt from his father; both Quint and his father were good men, with old fashion idea on what is private life and what is work, your private persona should not interfere with your public imagine, and with "strangers" you have always to play the detached and aloof role of the business man... never letting know to your enemy that you have an heart.
Quint took a bit too seriously his role, and now he actually doesn't have a private life; and since he lost his father, his only relatives, he now has no one with whom he could show his true self; he is captive of his public persona, and neither Max, at first, can see beyond it. But when Quint lets for a moment the mask go, Max finds a different man in bed with him, someone who needs tenderness and assurances. It's quite interesting to read the shifting in role between Max and Quint: no one of them is a perfect leader and no one of them is a perfect follower. I believe that both of them built a shield against the world, Quint becoming the cold business man, Max the careless don juan, but behind that shield, they are both men with deep emotions, sometime also easy to be carry away from them; when they are with someone they trust, or when they believe to be alone, they are also men who doesn't fear to prove their feelings even with tears. But even if they cries a lot, I don't have of them the impression that they are weak, in a way they are like all the artists should be: to pass on emotion they need to feel harder than anyone else.
It's a very romantic love story, with an heavy push on the romantic side; I like as both main characters are completely involved in the relationship from the first moment, and as they prove it both with words than signs; I like as they are weak in front of their feelings but not in front of the world; and I like as they take the responsibility for their mistakes and try to righten them.
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Wo
Amazon: The Wolfe Proxy
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First of all a big warning: this is not a menages! Last week I discovered this new publisher, Ravenous Romance and its Panamour line (same-sex romance); they have already some titles available, but at first I bough only the two by Ryan Field, since I knew the author (not personally, I read two short stories before) and reading the blurb and looking the covers, I was sure they were not menages. Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley I almost skipped since it didn't pass my three steps test: 1) tagged M/M: OK, 2) no female in the blurb: KO, 3) no female on the cover: KO (in the ebook version). Two on three and I didn't buy it. Then someone told me it was not a menage, it was a real male on male romance, and so stepped back (see, I can change my mind!). Reading this book I can almost make a sure bet that the author likes the romantic comedy movie. Apart the obvious reference to The Runaway Bride, she even named the movie from the first pages, I find also a resemblance with In&Out: an handsome, and very tall, reporter that arrives in little country village and fall in love with the principal of the local high school? (all right Kevin Kline was not the principal, but still...). There is even a scene that reminds me Sleepless in Seattle... Anyway the story is all it promised, a good and full male on male romance, that covers all the salient points: before, during and after, you will have the full package!
Kieran is an handsome New Yorker reporter for a fashion and entertainment magazine. His main qualification as reporter is to be snarky, and as man to be practically a slut: more nights than not he ends in bed with an unknown body, and sometime he even knows the name. In one thing Kieran is open and clear: he is gay and he likes sex. But lately this seems to be not enough: very pregnant the sentence in which Kieran thought that "he would much rather have woken up in someone’s arms than someone’s mouth" (since in the very first scene Kieran is receiving a blow job from one of those unnamed bodies above). And even in his works he is starting to loose biting, he is not enough evil according to his editor. And so Kieran decides to do a piece on a Runaway Bride, exactly like in the movie, who is marrying for the fourth time (and the previous three she dumped the groom at the altar).
Problem is that, instead of the bride, like in the movie, Kiernan falls in love for the groom. Jaxon is really a good guy, friendly and sincere, and exactly the perfect man Kieran would want in his life and bed, but Jaxon is not gay. At first I thought that the direction of the book was for Kieran to find out that Jaxon was gay and that his marriage with Danetta was a fake one, and instead I was wrong (and I will not say what is really the story ;-) ). The author is very good in not letting go the story and manage to maintain her little mystery for almost half the book: she unveils her secret only when she decides it's time, and only since she needs the other half of the book for something else (and for me better).
It's all about romance in this book, maybe sometime even a bit too much: Jaxon is a bit too perfect, sometime he is almost like a starstruck teen (above all regarding sex); all right Kiernan at first thought of him not nice things, but he is not so far from the reality... Jaxon is really too open and naivee! But well, I like him like that, it's strange, he has this "childish" behavior, this way to approach almost with pliers, he seems always ready to say please and thanks, but all in all I don't find him a weak character, he is only an old fashioned man (but yes, probably he would be not him to wear the trousers at home, even if he married a woman!).
http://www.ravenousromance.com/panamour/s
Amazon Kindle: Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells
Amazon: Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
I think that the moral of this story is that love has not sex... and don't get me wrong since now I will explain why.Evan is a NYPD Vice detective. He is the perfect good boy, a wife, four children, a suburban house. His life is perfect till the day his wife is killed in a car accident. After that Evan is lost: Sherri was his highschool sweetheart, they met when they were 14 years old and there was no other woman in his life; they grew together and Evan was perfectly happy, really. He never regretted to marry at 18 years old and to have soon after his first child. And now at 34 years old he is still young, but he seems to not have any reason to live if not his children.
Matt is a former NYPD Homicide detective. He trod on the toes of the wrong people and he was reassigned to patrol car service in Staten Island. Not suffering to fake his policeman role, he resigned and now he works in a security firm. But he is alone; the police department was his home, he has no family, and he seems to have no any purpose to go on.
Matt and Evan meet in a pub with a beer between them. They recognize the mutual loneliness and they make an unusual alliance; whenever Evan can have a night free from the kids, they meet at the same pub. They talk of work, sport, and whatever else two men can talk, but not of feelings or of the real reason they are together, that they are both alone. When Matt starts to realize that he has feelings for his friend, he is stunned: he has never had the same reaction to another man, he has always gone along well with women.
This is a love story, but I believe that this is also the tale of a deeply friendship. Both men have their reason to seek a gay relationship, even if maybe they don't realize it. Evan was so in love with his wife, that the thought of a new relationship with another woman is impossible, it would be a betrayal, like losing his wife again; loving a man is different, Matt is completely different from his wife, pun intended, and also the feelings and the sex is different. Evan can have both Matt and his wife memory at the same time, without having the feeling to betray one of them.
Matt sees in Evan the family he never had. Since he has always considered the Police Department his family, the fact that Evan is a detective is even better, it's something more that links them. And then Evan has a real family just ready to be picked and loved. Loving Evan in a physical way is easy since with him arrives an heavy luggage that Matt is eager to share. And loving Evan is also a way to re-enter the Police Department family he lost.
There is sex in this romance? Yes there is, but it's the sex you would expect from two apparently straight men who get together: clumsy, tentative, tender and sweet. It's always strange when you read about two men that should know nothing about gay sex, and that from the first time seems that they are playing in a porn; instead Matt and Evan don't know nothing and have also some fears, and you read and understand it. But they try and trying they are so sweet.
It's the first book I read by Tere Michaels, and it's also a very long book, 330 pages, but I hope not the last.
http://www.loose-id.net/detail.aspx?ID=7
Amazon: Faith & Fidelity
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
You know that I'm not fond of fantasy in general, but I can say when I read a good book, and Strongman by Denise Rossetti is a good book. Truth be told she almost convinced me to read a menages not long ago thank to her interesting blurb and the very beautiful cover (Tailspin), but menages plus fantasy setting was really too much for me. So when Strongman came out, I quickly bought it, but for a reason or another, I didn't read it as soon as I bought it. And now I can say that it was a shame, since the story is really nice and the two characters are all I like in my man on man story.Fortitude is a warrior, former mercenary and now roustabout in a circulating fair. Everyone in the fair respects Fort since he is the bigger and the strongest, but actually Fort is not the typical strong man without a brain. Fort knows how strong he is and he doesn't try to have all he wants only thanks to his body, he likes beautiful things, being them a fine china, or an embroidered blanket or the beautiful tumblers he sees everyday while they train. And there is a tumbler in particular he likes, Griffid. But Fort's likeness is purely aesthetic, he would never think to Griff as nothing else as a good tumbler who makes a very good show on stage. Fort was raised Straight Church, a very strictly religion which still considers sodomy a mortal sin, and even if he went far away from his home land, the strictly teachings of his youth still give him nightmares at night.
Griif is an easy man; he likes better women, but he sometime enjoyed also a man or two, and when he put his eyes on Fort, he is all for the conquest. He woos the man, he teases and plays, he at first thinks it is all a game. But more time he shares with Fort, more he realizes that have the man for a pleasure night is not all he wants. Fort is like an onion, he has many layers, and peeling them Griff risks to have tear on his eyes, but maybe also for joy. Fort is a man worth to fight for, and even if Griff is lithe and pretty, he is a strong fighter, one that never let go what or who is important for him.
I like very much how Fort and Griff's relationship develops, how it's not so easy for them to fall in love, since Fort's beliefs, even if wrong, are still implanted in his mind; Griff has to be patient and clever, ready to push when it's time, but also to back down when it's time for Fort to arrive to some conclusions for his own.
The setting is really nice, a medieval fantasy world that probably is common to the other two previous stories in the series, and so, if you have no problem with the menages or het stories, probably it's worth to try all the three stories together. Probably it would a shame to bond this fantasy world to only this story.
http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.a
Series: Phoenix Rising
1) Gift of the Goddess
2) Tailspin
3) Strongman
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Dev and Lee are both college students. Dev is a jock and Lee is not a nerd but almost, he is for sure a "straight" student like Dev: Lee is gay, he is part of the LGBT circle and he writes gay themed play for the local theatre group. When Lee's friend, Brian, is attacked and sent to hospital by two football players for the only reason that he is gay (even if later in the story probably we realize that Brian isn't a so easy character, and probably is not a 100% victim), Lee decides to vengeance his friend at his own way: he dresses in drag and goes to the pub where the local football team is celebrating a victory and hooks up with one of the jocks, Dev. If at this point someone is wondering how Lee could deceive Dev so much, disguising himself as a girl without no one notice it, well, it's simple, there are no clear elements to tell Lee from a girl, like a breast or gentle hips, if not his male attribute (that he can hide under a skirt), since Lee is a fox and Dev is a tiger. Out of Position is another of the anthropomorphic novels by Kyell Gold, and for me his best so far. As in the other contemporary romance I read by Kyell Gold, Waterways, the problems that Dev and Lee have to overcome in order to have their happily ever after are the same of an ordinary couple, but in this novel there is the bonus that they are both "furry" characters, with tails, and paws and scents... plus there is an obstacle more, they are of different breeds, but this one is not so important as the other big one, that they are gay. Actually at first Lee approaches Dev believing him a 100% straight boy: Lee wants to teach to Dev a lesson, proving him that he can have sex, and enjoy it, also with a man. Problem is that Dev non only enjoys it, he is almost addicts to Lee: Dev can't help to search for Lee even if they are at opposite; Dev is in college with a sport scholarship, he is not a perfect student but he manages to have his credits thanks to his sport success; Lee is the classical perfect student and he and his friends look upon the jocks at college with superiority, like something to suffer since they can't do anything else.
At first Dev comes out like the simple mind guy who discovers that he can enjoy also a male partner; he is not an homophobic, but he has never considered having sex with a man. But if you read with attention Dev's introduction, you will realize that he is not simple as appears; in a world where Dev has the chance to have all the girls he wants, thanks to his jock status, he has a discriminating attitude, he is more for the quality than the quantity. For Dev is not necessary only a willing body, he wants that his partners have also a mind of their own, he wants to be challenged. And so when he meets Lee, after the first shock when he realizes that Lee is a man, he is ready and willing to overcome this obstacle due to the fact that he really likes Lee as a partner, not only as a body to have sex with. Not that the sex is not important, and in the book you will find plenty, so yes, if you can't go through the fact that this is an anthropomorphic novel, be careful since you will have to face a lot of scenes in which the fact that the two characters have furs, paws and tails is clearly in display.
The book is very long and follows the two characters in a long span of their life: not only as two college students that have to hide their relationship due to the homophobic environments where Dev lives, but only as two young man, Dev as a professional football player and Lee as a sport procurator for a professional football team. Strange is that it's not Dev that realizes that living as an openly gay man is not so easy as you imagined in college: it's Lee that has to come to reality, Lee who always though to change the world, and instead now is living and working in an all-male world where gays are not supposed to be. It's Lee that is questioning his beliefs and what he wants to do with his life. What the reader thought at first of the two main characters, Lee the steady one with his future all planned and Dev the uncertain one with no real skills other than being good with a ball, is totally turned up: outside of the secured walls of the college world who has problems to settle down is Lee.
I like a lot how Lee and Dev's relationship evolves: even if they have to face a lot of obstacles, they are always together, and for together I don't mean in the physical way; for work Lee and Dev have to live apart from time to time, but they are always sure of their love, they never question who is the real forever love for each other. They can have problems, they maybe have to change idea on something they thought was the right thing to do, but never, never they think to give up to their relationship. I also like as Dev comes out of the story, how his character develops and deepens to prove to the reader that being a jock not always means being dumb; all in all who makes the most embarrassing and dangerous mistakes is Lee, the one who should be the clever of the couple.
http://www.sofawolf.com/catalog/product_
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by Blotch
This is probably one of the less "dreamy" book I read by Victor J. Banis, means that it's pretty down to earth and direct and open, but probably also among my favorite, Lola Dances still has the first place, but this one is very near. I like Victor J. Banis' style, but one thing I almost always regretted, that in the end the two main characters don't walk toward the sunset together; only Lola did, and this is the reason since she is first on my list. Since Deadly Nightshade is only first on a series with the same characters, well, it's not exactly that you will find an happily ever after in there, but it's really close, and I have to say that the closing scene is quite romantic.Tom is a good homicide detective, but he has not the right skill for the case: a drag queen is killing men around the city, and, well, Tom doesn't know a thing about the dark side of life. And so he is paired with Stanley, that is suddenly promoted detective only for the fact that he is gay. Better Stanley is queer, and he has it written in all he is, small, stylish, intrusive. Stanley never let it go anything, he picks every little fight, he needs to be acknowledge, probably since in his life too many person let him go.
Tom is quite a simple man, not at all the perfect cop... or at least not the perfect fiction cop: divorced (and one of the reason for that is that he was cheating around), disenchanted, not so handsome... let me say that probably he is not a man for whom women swoon. But he has something other than his gruff exterior, an awkwardness, I don't know, like Stanley, probably I think that he is unable to be really bad. For how much big and strong he is, I believe that Stanley could be more lethal.
Anyway Stanley has a thing for him, and he manages to have the man in bed; as expected Tom doesn't protest too much (see what I said above), but it's like he unwillingly surrender to Stanley. Even if Tom likes Stanley, Tom is really straight; in many stories I read where a "straight" man turns gay, he has mental boundaries, but usually his body speaks for him, usually they are attracted from the other man. Here instead Tom can go off with Stanley, no problem, but he is always embarrassed by the fact that Stanley is a man... in a way, Tom loves Stanley, since he IS Stanley, but the main obstacles is that Stanley is a man: having him in a woman body would be better... Said that, it's strange that in the most intimate act they can share, it's Tom that takes the submissive position, but it's another time when Tom proves that he really loves the other man, even if he didn't speak the words.
Probably the main character of the book is Stanley, with his quirk behavior, and his way to investigate, judging a suspect by the way he furnishes the house or chooses the curtains, but who stole my heart is Tom. I'm really interested in seeing how he evolves in the future books.
http://www.mlrpress.com/ShowBook.php?boo
Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks
Amazon: Deadly Nightshade
Amazon Kindle: Deadly Nightshade
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
G.A. Hauser comes back to the show business world that apparently she likes so much (For Love and Money, The Kiss, Love You Loveday...). The starting point is quite similar to The Kiss, Keith, a struggling actor (and not a model like in The Kiss), has the offer of his life, an offer that he can't refuse since it's probably the last chance he has; problem is that he has to play the role of a gay in a primetime cable drama, and he is not gay... or at least he thinks so. There are some hints that the reader can pick up if he wants, like the fact that his girlfriend is esthetically more like a man than a woman, or that he has an instantly attraction for his partner on the scene. Carl, the partner, is a big gay with a good heart; even if older than Keith, and with a successful role in the show business world, Carl is somewhat more innocent than Keith. He is so friendly and open, like Keith he has never had a gay experience in the past, but truth be told he is not against the idea.The problem of them not being gay is soon overcome and the scenes they play on the stage are pretty hot, so hot that both of them start to wonder how it can be if it wasn't an act. Also Keith having a girlfriend is a soon overcome problem, since she eliminates herself from the picture repeatedly refusing Keith and in this way pushing the man toward Carl. Maybe is not so nice that Keith wanted to have sex with her only to prove his masculinity, but she didn't know it, for her is a mix of tiredness due to work and maybe also a bit of jealousy that Keith manages to have an important role while she is still waitering tables.
Of the two characters, the one that comes out (no pun intended) is Keith, he is the one who apparently takes more risk and loses more; he also has a not so nice encounter with his family that let him with the quite clear impression that he will not have their support if he decides to pursue his relationship with Carl. And it's strange, since who has a career to risk is Carl; but Carl seems to worry more for his private life, than of the public opinion: as I said before, Carl is a guy with a big heart, and also in this case, he lets his heart lead him more than his brain.
Acting Naughty is a nice tale, with the usual two main heroes that are a trademark of this authors, very pretty men who maybe are a little too vain (they always seem to love themself as much as they love the partner, and the look is always a great component of said love), but also men that are easy to emotion and that more often than not can fall in tear if that emotion is too strong.
Some recurring characters from Hauser's previous books, Adam and Jack, adds this one to the Los Angeles' saga of this author.
http://www.lindenbayromance.com/product-a
Amazon: Acting Naughty
Series:
1) The Physician and the Actor: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/15468
2) For Love and Money: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/10197
3) Secrets and Misdemeanors: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/18010
4) Capital Games: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/21016
5) Love You, Loveday: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/28889
6) When Adam met Jack: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/30051
7) Mark Antonious deMontford: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/46389
8) Acting Naughty
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Look at that cover: no naked chests, no passionate embraces, no kissing with glorious flags on the background... an old boot and a piece of camouflage cloth. What can you understand from that cover? that this is an hard book without romance? That you will find sex but not love? That the two main characters are all manly and without feelings? yes and no, yes and no, yes and no...Sergeant Alex Turner is a scarred man, not only in body but also deep in his soul. He trusted a person, a woman, his wife and he was frustrated. Coming home from a mission that almost cost him his life, he didn't find a warm embrace and a comforting body, he found the cold refusal of a woman that couldn't see past his marked body. And Alex turned for the embrace toward the Army, a family that never disappointed him, even if he didn't expected to find also the comforting body. Even if he doens't show it, Alex has mental scars that run deeply than the visual ones: he probably thinks to have failed, that he didn't deserve to be still alive, that he now doesn't deserve to have a normal life and to feel pleasure again. These are the barriers he has in his mind, but also his body has some idea for his own: wounded in what are the most intimate and fragile parts of a man, he can't react to a gentle touch, since it's too light for the shield he built around himself, the reaction can only be forced, through a strong and authoritative touch.
Sergeant Tom Warren is Alex's buddy friend, the man with whom he spends all his free time, the one that probably helped him to fill a void. But Tom can't hide no more: he doesn't want Alex as a friend, he wants the man in every way he can. Tom enlisted when he was 16 years old, when he wasn't meat or fish, when he wasn't a man. Growing up, Tom realized that he preferred men, and in way or another he always fulfilled his desires. But now his mind, and body, wants Alex, and Alex's is not available... or so he thinks. When a fist fight with his friend over the discovery that Tom is gay, ends in a burst of unexpected sex, Tom and Alex have to find a way to go on.
Alex accepts Tom's attentions like an unavoidable thing, like something he searches only when he can no more deny his body, a body that has decided to respond only to Tom's. Tom accepts Alex's unwilling surrender like the only way to be with the man he desperately wants. Is it love? maybe. Tom interprets his feelings as lust over Alex's body, better over Alex's scarred body: the scars for Tom are like symbols of Alex's strenght, the testimony that he survived; he almost feels guilty to be so aroused by something that witnesses Alex's pain. In a way Alex, who unlike Tom's never admits to be gay, is more sincere, since he instead admit that it's not Tom's body that turns him on, it's Tom, apart from the fact that he is a man, or gay, or whatsoever.
There is only one thing that I don't like of the book: that it's too short (142 pages in print version)! While reading faster than I can to see what it happened next, I was also thinking, or damn, I'm at mid book, it's almost finished! and I would liked for it to have still more to read. And I forgot to mention that obviously, the military part of the story is convincing and heroic, all male and proud and adventures filled... but well, I'm a romantic at heart and so I was led astray from the romance!
http://www.lulu.com/content/5055168
Amazon: Her Majesty's Men
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Kasey, Mitch and Warren are colleague and best friend, of different age and predisposition: Kasey is 25 years old and bi-curious, Mitch is 30 years and bisexual (even if it came out to me more as gay) and Warren is 38 years old and straight. They plan to spend a weekend in a mountain cabin and a snowstorm forces them to stay inside the cabin and in near quarter. Kasey is an erotic romance in disguise, and when they are forced to find a way to spend the afternoon, he decides to write a bit: Mitch and Warren realize that he is writing a gay sex scene, but Mitch questions the reality of that scene. Kasey dares him to show how it should be done, but not on the paper, but for real. Mitch is willing, but he is worried for Warren, who seems a bit flustered to have an impromptu porn movie acted in front of him. But then the stupor turns in excitement and also straight Warren falls in the trap of curiosity.The story is not very long, 66 pages, and it spans for only a night, so there are no clear answer at the end of it. Anyway, I like very much Mitch's character, so open and friendly; just in the past he was a bit interested in both his friends, but he probably never thought to have a chance with them. I don't believe that in this moment he is searching the true love, maybe he is willing to play and if something follows, he is not against the idea. Kasey on the other hand sees a chance to try his hand in something he probably was interested before, and the possibility to play with two men he trusts is too good to let go. Warren is the more puzzling character... he should be the one that never in the past thought about such a thing, but, truth be told, he is not so skittish to the idea.
We don't know what it will happen next, they could stay good friends (with benefits) or they could build something more, and, maybe, the one who was the less likely, is the one who would be something more for the three of them.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/novella
Amazon Kindle: Snowed In
Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
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