Favorites of 2012

These are my favorites of all the books I reviewed in 2012. Thanks authors, for giving me some great hours with your words.

The Wish by Eden Winters

Title: The Wish
Author: Eden Winters
Cover Artist: Christine Griffin
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 210 pages
Rating:5



At his death, Byron Sinclair left behind more than just his much older partner Alfred Anderson. The couple helped raise their respective nephews, and while Paul Sinclair and Alex Martin are now adults, they still have some growing up to do, particularly when it comes to getting along with each other.

If they refuse to be in the house at the same time, how can Alex be so sure Paul is an opportunistic suck-up with the morals of an alley cat? Paul isn’t impressed with aloof and arrogant playboy Alex, either. Both swear they know all they need to about the other—and about themselves.

Byron’s dying wish is for Alfred to help Paul and Alex see how perfect they are for each other. But when the boys stubbornly refuse to acknowledge what's right in front of them, Byron must get creative—though it’ll be difficult without hands, or a voice, or a body….

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Honest to goodness, I don’t know how Eden Winters does it—she can start a novel in a funeral home, and still produce not one love story but two, plus chuckles, groans, gasps, and tears of the happy sort as well as the sad. By the end of this story I was well and truly run through my emotions.


Byron and Alfred are one love story, though we see Byron as a young and vibrant lover only in the memories of those he left behind. Alfred, his much older life partner, always expected to be the one to go first, as befits a man nearly a generation older. In the thoughts of their nephews Paul and Alex, we see both Byron and Alfred as trailblazers for gay love and acceptance, and as men thwarted in their desire for family by law, the times, and conventions. Still, they manage to be huge influences in the lives of their nephews, though not in the same way for both youths.

Byron is an opinionated man—a little drawback like being dead and incorporeal isn’t going to keep him from achieving a last deed before leaving—such a busy little busybody he is! A few of his wispy little nudges have the possibility of going horribly awry, but that just might get his two hard-headed nephews to talk, something they’re decades overdue for.

Paul and Alex are two of the most stubborn men to walk the planet—Paul is bent on independence to a degree that almost requires a slap and a lesson in graciousness, while Alex can hold a notion so tightly it dies of strangulation before he can reassess it. These two have to knock heads over and over before they can come to any appreciation of each other, but ghostly Uncle Byron has ways of shaking them up that provide some giggles along the way. When they do release their assumptions, they are sweet, hot, and more startling to one another than any manifestation of ectoplasm could be.

We get to look at the cogs turning in Alex’s head and know the tragedies that can accompany a privileged upbringing. He’s the one who changes the most in his understanding of love, and with his newfound appreciation of Paul, he can be a bastion of strength when it’s needed. His numerous wrong assumptions are the grist for the comedy, although Paul has his share of preconceived notions to give up. Paul’s almost a little too goody-goody, until he slangs back as good as he gets.

The style is sometimes bouncy and sometimes serious—it’s a strength of the writing that some very serious notions permeate the work but don’t bog it down. Aging, ill health, death, and surviving loss all play a role, but there’s more hope than gloom, and love absolutely triumphs over everything else. For a wonderful emotional journey, a reader couldn’t wish for better than this. 5 Marbles


Also available at Amazon,  Barnes and Noble, and All Romance eBooks.

Review originally posted at Reading Reality.

Dragon's Lair by JB McDonald

Title: Dragon’s Lair
Author: JB McDonald
Cover Artist: BS Clay
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 82 pages/22,200 words

Being a demon is no fun at all. This doesn't particularly come as a surprise, but his constant escort and rarely seeing his lover does. When Ashe agreed to come to Katsu's land, he did so hoping to spend time with Katsu. Instead, he spends time locked within the palace grounds, ostracized as a monster. This will continue, he knows, until the princess Chieko is healed... or dies.

Dying looks like the greater possibility, and Katsu is already mourning his sister. Then something happens -- something terrible and wonderful. The ground trembles and opens up, and Katsu nearly falls through. At Ashe's greatest need, the dragon responds, saving Ashe's lover. If they can make it happen again, it might just save the princess's life -- and mean Ashe and Katsu can go home.

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I’ve been reading through this “series” and while I’m enjoying the story, I am not so much enjoying the chunks being doled out at intervals. This section comes closest to having a plot arc that can stand on its own, but still very much feels as if it should be directly attached to the section that came before (Dragon Soul) and it doesn’t have a definitive ending, probably because it’s scheduled for release in a few months. I would be less grouchy about this if the publisher and the author were more upfront about the serialization but nowhere is this mentioned at either the publisher or author’s website, nor is correct reading order. Someone coming in cold is likely to flounder around, because none but the first section entirely stands on its own. This one is close, but the beginning is sketchy without the prior installment, and the ending is not exactly there.


When we left our intrepid medic and elf, they had just been notified of Katsu’s sister’s dire illness and summoned back to Katsu’s native land to heal her. A number of revelations regarding Katsu’s background were made, and they follow up here nicely interspersed with the story. He has a complicated relationship with his family and with the local culture, and even Katsu’s relationship with Ashe gets a bit messier because of where they are.

We hadn’t seen much of Katsu’s POV in prior installments, so it’s nice to get deeper into his head here—he’s the guy who makes grumpy into the new charming, and we can see a bit more of why. Now he’s the one who has a place, and Ashe is the outsider, although the dragon Ashe’s bonded to buys him some acceptance.

There are some great interplays between Ashe, Katsu, the dragon, and various figures from Katsu’s past. The queen, his mother, might as well be a dragon, but she has her reasons. Magic is thick on the ground here, and Ashe is the one who can manipulate it the most. Elves such as he have a Moran-given duty to recirculate the magic through the world, which is a special challenge when the jungles are oppressively full of magic. Even the dragon feels overstuffed with magic, to the point of growing fat with it.

I was delighted by how Katsu and Ashe supported one another in many ways, and how this spilled over to Princess Chieko, Katsu’s sister and the pregnant heir to the throne. Some elements of this were wrenching and dark, but even so, led into greater understanding between the couple.

A great many things that have been building through the series have come to fruition here. Several plot arcs combine to make the dénouement possible, and there’s where we are left. The definitive ending isn’t here, so we need to travel with Ashe and Katsu for at least one more installment for total satisfaction. 4 marbles

A Picture is worth...

Something's going on here... If you have 100-1000 words to tell us, send them on.

Compulsion by Clare London

Title: Compulsion
Author: Clare London
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 250 pages

The past always catches up with you. Max Newman should know—he’s been running from his ever since he dropped out of Uni and made a disastrous move to the seedier side of London. Now he’s returned to Brighton to lick his wounds. Though Max believes the club scene is better left behind him, one night he lets his friends drag him out dancing. And suddenly the simple life he’s tried to lead gets complicated.

At Compulsion, the Medina Group’s newest hotspot, Max meets Seve Nunez, a member of the Medina management and a man used to taking what he wants. The sexual chemistry between Max and Seve immediately leads to an intimate encounter in the backyard of the club—just the kind of dangerous behavior Max tried to leave behind. Despite that, he can't help but crave more, and Seve seems just as eager.

But Max soon suspects that Seve may not be the scrupulous businessman he claims. Max has seen the Medina Group at work before, and what he saw got a good friend killed. He's not sure what future he has with Seve, but he'll have to decide whether to trust in Seve’s innocence or keep running. The wrong choice could land them both in mortal danger.

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If ever two men can’t keep their hands off each other, it’s Max and Seve. From their first meeting in the nightclub where Max had to be dragged in, to the climactic scene where everything changes, these guys are all about the sex. They’ve got chemistry, but do they have a future?


They're not so much about the talking, though, which makes it easier to believe that their relationship is only physical, and when Max, our sole POV character, starts to wonder if he has more complicated feelings for Seve, he rightly considers that his mind has been clouded by the edgy sex. For a long time, it seems to be that heady feeling of sex spiced with the thrill of being caught or the bliss of surrender. These two men might well be a drug for each other—the compulsion to be together runs both ways.

Max’s backstory comes out in little intervals between the sex scenes (the book is heavily front loaded with some hawt stuff), making Seve (short for Severino, it’s not a typo) one of the worst possible choices of partner. Maybe. It’s that maybe that keeps Max from running. The baggage Max bought back from London doesn’t make him such a great choice for Seve either, but Mac’s growth in understanding his role in his previously sordid choices let us hope that maybe this will all work out. His is a story of redemption, and one thing that made me like him better toward the end was that he knew the cost of his redemption might include Seve, and he was ready to pay it. His need for redemption was that great, and his reasons are doled out through the story, not plopped on the reader.

Max has a wonderful set of friends running through the story who care deeply for him, little though he feels he deserves it, and each of them is a small bright presence throughout the book. I was especially fond of Louis.

The back half of the book explodes with action, where the front was heavy on the sex, and sex actually plays a huge role in the action, though in a very different way. Unfortunately, the big relationship talk happened in this section, so while Max and Seve were hashing out some important issues, I was mentally screaming Not now! Take care of the problem in the kitchen first!

The emphasis is heavily on the men and their evolving relationship, told in Clare London’s trademark gritty prose, which reads very viscerally. The external plot wraps in one swift chapter with some really handwavy elements, which may not stand out for other readers as much as it does for me. Seve and Max have something more than sexual attraction, and although they and the readers have to go through a lot to get there, it’s a great place to end up. 4 marbles

Happy Holidays to All!

Hope your day is filled with love and that you have a ball. Or take one away. ;D

Acceleration by Amelia C Gormley

Title: Acceleration (Impulse #2)
Author: Amelia C. Gormley
Cover Artist: Kerry Chin
Publisher: self
Genre: contemporary
Length: 192 pages

Gavin Hayes is everything Derrick could ask for in a lover. Gorgeous. Passionate. Great in bed. Derrick finds it very easy to just let himself go, to let Gavin guide him and teach him all the things he missed during a decade of celibacy. In the course of a single weekend, Derrick’s routine is transformed, his mornings and evenings filled with sex. Sweet, seductive, wild, or raunchy, Gavin offers Derrick all the pleasure he’s denied himself for so long.

But learning how to be a lover in bed is one thing. Learning to be one out of bed is another. For Derrick, being alone has become habit. Sharing his confidences doesn’t come nearly as readily as sharing his bed. After so many losses, the last thing Derrick wants is to become dependent upon another person who might not always be there.

And Gavin always being there is far from certain. With an ex-lover lurking in the background, and the question of Gavin’s future health still outstanding, neither Gavin nor Derrick feel capable of asking for anything more than right now. But Gavin won’t be kept on the fringes of Derrick’s life. Can Derrick let someone in before the opportunity passes him by?

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When I finished Book 1 of this trilogy (Inertia, reviewed here) I was ready to spring into Book 2 right away. Fortunately, the author didn’t make me wait too long. (I know, Amelia Gormley is not my bitch. She should write faster anyway.)


These books should really be read in order, because Book 2 picks up where Book 1 left off, and a few things will be confusing otherwise. Derrick is slowly coming to terms with Gavin’s still undetermined HIV status, and is coming to accept that his new lover’s health should not be the determining factor in staying together. Derrick’s been through a lot as a caretaker, and the uncertainty around Gavin is guaranteed to push his worst buttons. It’s not an easy journey, and I bled with him at every turn.

Gavin and Derrick are still a long way from being a solid couple—Derrick’s so used to keeping people out that allowing Gavin in is a herky-jerky process, full of small successes and larger setbacks. Neither has Derrick ever considered how being gay might attract reaction in the larger world, since he’s so new to accepting his orientation. There are people in his world who push back, something he’s ready to assign to isolated nutcases. Gavin has to pop his bubble about how this might affect both of them, and it’s a huge marker about their relationship.

Gavin has his own issues, and comes to rely on Derrick’s solidity in a way he couldn’t have a few months earlier. This is especially noticeable when Lukas, the awful ex who played terrible headgames and exposed Gavin to HIV, turns up. Unready to cope with him even over retrieving stray possessions, Gavin abdicates meeting with Mr. Bullshit to Derrick. This isn’t an easy encounter by any means, and has repercussions, but is ultimately strengthening for them.

The secondary characters who enriched the first book have strong roles to play here, and ground the couple in their larger world. Miss Ingrid in particular has a lesson to teach Derrick; it may take him another book to completely absorb it, but watching the gears turn in his head is fun.

Do I even have to mention that the sex is hot? There are elements of D/s here that serve to liberate both men from the ghosts of the past and to solidify them as a couple. It doesn’t all go one way, either—Derrick finds that being able to read, anticipate, and fulfill Gavin’s needs brings as much joy as obeying Gavin’s commands. (Aside: I am not much of a BDSM reader, but I enjoyed this interplay greatly. It’s “no implements”.) There’s a lot of sex in the story, but it all drives the plot and isn’t serving as a mask for “soggy middle”.

There are still unresolved issues at the end of this story, but matters are truly accelerating, and I gobbled up the teaser for Book 3 that the author so evilly kindly included. Book 2 ends on a hopeful note, but it’s a tribute to the writer’s skill that even that hope carries enough foreboding to merit another full book to resolve.

On a side note, this is one of the prettiest ebooks it has been my pleasure to see: the chapter headers have snips of the cover artwork, which is beautiful and evocative of the story. 4.5 stars

Who's Kissing Santa?

Somebody's kissing Santa--what's the story here? 100-1000 words to tell us, and I'll post with your news, cover, and blurb, Full directions here, and meanwhile, the rest of us will giggle and drool.

Brand New Flavor by EM Lynley

Title: Brand New Flavor
Author: EM Lynley
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Genre: contemporary
Length: 144 pages, novella
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

When artisan ice cream maker Jay Brown first meets food writer Cameron Clay at a charity tasting event, they get along like strawberries and chocolate sauce. Jay's unique flavors thrill more than Cameron's jaded palate, but after a delicious encounter in Jay’s delivery truck, where extra-creamy frozen treats are not the only delights sampled, Cameron loses Jay’s contact info—and any hope of a real date.

Desperate, Cameron convinces his editor to host an artisanal ice cream contest in hopes of drawing out the elusive genius. But more complications threaten to intervene. Will Jay even enter the contest? Or will the chance of a happily ever after melt away?

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First off, this story made me crave some really good ice cream! EM Lynley describes the tactile sensations and the flavors in such a way that it was an absolute need to get a bowl of frozen confection, mostly because first choice (of hot guys) wasn't in grabbing range.


Cameron the food critic stumbles on the hottest, or coolest, new sensation of Jay’s novel flavors at a tasting, and also stumbles on the interesting sensation of not being recognized. Most of the folks in the food scene know who he is and fear his opinions, but Jay wants to get down and dirty in the delivery van, not court Cameron’s judgment on his wares—that Cameron even had a widely respected opinion came as a surprise. These hot gay guys consider that a good blowjob is like a firm handshake—do that first and then get to know each other.

If they could be in the same place at the same time, that would work better—and the whole world is conspiring to keep them apart. Every single secondary character has an agenda to stick between them, and only Jay’s good-hearted but manipulative staff oppose them. Cameron and Jay are both stubborn and intrigued, but a few of Jay’s quirks make it even harder for them to get together.

A couple of Jay’s idiosyncrasies seemed a bit over the top—why have business cards in your pocket if you won’t even give your phone number to a regular customer? But there are some explanations for even that, and it’s all good frustrating fun and treats for the reader. With every new setback creating a gasp and every fresh revelation bringing an agreeing nod, this story romps through the difficulties created for and by two obstinate men who really ought to have a chance at each other in fresh, crisp sheets.

The secondary characters, from Cameron’s ex who wants him back to Jay’s former partner and lover, plus other friends and foes with strong opinions, all stir the pot here, and are vividly drawn. One female character nearly went over the top, but ended with some nuance. Jay’s employees are darlings, well meaning if occasionally off based, and more help than hindrance, even if Jay would like to whack them with a ladle at one point. Jay’s so stubborn he’s probably the one who needs the thump upside the head—he creates huge vats of will he/won’t he tension.

I enjoyed this story greatly, and now someone better scoop me a big bowl of Jay's chocolaty lusciousness! 4.5 marbles

A picture is worth...

I couldn't find a menorah picture I liked, so how about a picture with candles? Anyone have a story for this (100 to 1000 words), send it on, directions here.

Extra credit for anyone who can identify one of the bathers.

Current Goodreads Giveaways

I pulled the ones that looked of most interest to m/m readers, though I may have missed some.  A couple of them end very soon!

I can’t believe how many of my favorites are on here—PD Singer, Eden Winters, EM Lynley, Amelia Gormley, Shira Anthony, Heidi…

He Is Worthy by Lisa Henry

Title: He Is Worthy
Author: Lisa Henry
Cover Artist: Petite-Madame VonApple
Publisher: Riptide

Genre: Historical
Length: 28k words

Rome, 68 A.D. Novius Senna is one of the most feared men in Rome. He’s part of the emperor’s inner circle at a time when being Nero’s friend is almost as dangerous as being his enemy. Senna knows that better men than he have been sacrificed to Nero’s madness—he’s the one who tells them to fall on their swords. He hates what he’s become to keep his family safe. He hates Nero more.

Aenor is a newly-enslaved Bructeri trader, brutalized and humiliated for Nero’s entertainment. He’s homesick and frightened, but not entirely cowed. He’s also exactly what Senna has been looking for: a slave strong enough to help him assassinate Nero.

It’s suicide, but it’s worth it. Senna yearns to rid Rome of a tyrant, and nothing short of death will bring him peace for his crimes. Aenor hungers for revenge, and dying is his only escape from Rome’s tyranny. They have nothing left to lose, except the one thing they never expected to find—each other.

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I don’t often read slave-fic, the power imbalances bother me. I do however, read historicals, the more accurate the better. I took a chance on the slave aspect here in order to reach first century Rome through Lisa Henry’s words, and I am very glad I did.


The blurb hints that the need to assassinate Nero and get Rome out from under his pustulent thumb is foremost, and it is. Senna’s function is to tell prominent men that they no longer enjoy the favor of the emperor, a code universally understood to mean “Go kill yourself.” And they did. His last straw was delivering this message to a victorious general, and from then on Senna watched for the right assistant to engage in the suicide mission of taking Nero out. Aenor, the Bructeri slave and Nero’s plaything, still has enough spirit to act.

“Do you hate Nero?” Senna asks, and Aenor can tell him in broken Latin, “I hate him. Hate all of you.”  With reason. The men are together for reasons other than love or attraction, yet something blossoms between them. Loyalty. Respect.

The atmosphere in this book is incredible. I was absolutely present in the slave markets and in Nero’s pleasure gardens, there with the characters, seeing what they saw, even smelling what they smelled. Small details made the setting come alive—it wasn’t enough to know there were hot and cold rooms in the Roman baths, but more feeling the heat of the water soothing bruised flesh.

This was Nero’s court, and all his excesses jump off the page too, making this book gritty and raw, and in places it may raise the reader’s gorge. None of the history comes in infodumps—it’s all worked in organically and naturally. I was going to say beautifully, but little of the subject matter is beautiful, though ugliness can be very well done. Nero's relationship with Christians assaults Senna's senses in the garden. Not every detail is horrific. “Bructeri, not German,” Aenor corrects Senna, showing his pride and placing his tribe on the map all at once.

The political tension is the greater part of the story, with furtive whispers about what prominent citizen would next declare for Galba, and everyone stepping softly lest the crazed emperor withdraw his friendship. That any kind of relationship can prosper between a man with no hope and no autonomy and a man who’s condemning himself and his accessories to a certain death must be a triumph of life.

Both Senna and Aenor are deftly drawn, well characterized in a small word count. We can feel Senna’s despair as the friend of his childhood becomes the monster that will bring down the Empire.
He wasn’t just planning treason, but the killing of a god, no matter how much Rome would benefit from it. If he needed redemption as a character, he achieved it by being willing to sacrifice all and die gruesomely. However, I didn’t see Senna as the villain, I saw him as the man who fell down the slippery slope. Nero didn’t start out awful.

Aenor has no love to turn to loathing—his tribe mocked the Romans until he learned of Roman rule the hard way. He’s systematically ground down, and the grinding is often sexual and ugly, difficult reading. If Nero hadn’t burned his city nor slain his generals, he’d still deserve his fate for what he did to his pleasure-slave.

This story succeeds beautifully as an historical piece, and that’s why I treasure it, but does it fare as well as a romance? To a degree yes, but when looked at in the cold light of analysis, it’s missing a fair chunk. And you know what? I don’t care. Normally an absent section of relationship development makes me froth at the mouth. Here absolutely everything works so well to make me relieved that everyone didn’t end up dead in the gutter after the political crisis that I wasn’t looking too closely at the transition. After finishing the book I sat transfixed, imagining for myself how the missing sections went, so perfectly immersed that I could continue spinning the story. But the details were not laid out. Connoisseurs of slave-fic might find this lacking. I find it to be more mainstream.

It’s been a long time since a book kept me reading late into the night. The hours of sleep were well spent. 5 marbles

A picture is worth...

This bit of art is by George Quaintance, and there has to be a story behind it. What's yours? (One hundred to one thousand words will do fine, directions here.)

An Excerpt from the Going for Gold m/m anthology

We have an excerpt from "Swimming the Distance" by Annabeth Albert in the Going for Gold: M/M Olympic Anthology.

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“You still want my help shaving?” His mouth asked the question even as his brain knew he should go back to sleep. Avoid reminders of how much he loved Bohdan and how much things were sucking right now. No. Not sucking. He wouldn’t let the Olympics take away everything good they had. He sat up more, shook out his tired muscles. We will make it.

“Please.” Bohdan bit his lip. His haunted expression from earlier was back. He should have been sleeping hours ago, not sneaking out to see Kyle, not fucking, not waking up in the middle of the night. But the naked need in his eyes told Kyle everything he needed to know.

Kyle turned and stroked Bohdan’s arms. Something was wrong — something sex hadn’t fixed, and Kyle felt powerless. He wanted to take away some of the melancholy chasing Bohdan.

 “Into the shower with you. You bring the stuff?”

“In my backpack.”

The first time Kyle had watched Bohdan shave pre-meet, he’d been mesmerized. Bohdan said it was mainly a psychological thing — some swimmers said it made no difference, while others swore by pre-meet shaving. The second time Kyle had been with Bohdan pre-meet, he’d asked to help and from then on, it became kind of thing for them.

 “Thanks.” Bohdan stared at the floor, sheepish look in his eyes.

“Hey.” He wrapped his arms around Bohdan, keeping his voice light. “You know this makes me hot.”

The contrast between fuzzy and smooth was wicked hot. Kyle had waxed his chest a couple of times back in his clubbing days, but he was fair enough that it didn’t make much of a difference. Bohdan, on the other hand, naturally had lots of dark, springy body hair, which Kyle loved feeling rub against him. And removing the fuzz, finding tawny skin underneath? Hawt.

 “Fancy. These razors from the sponsor?” He put the supplies on the side of the tub and shucked his own clothes.

“Mmmhmmm.” Bohdan stood with his face in the spray, letting it pelt him, like a parched desert dweller, not a guy who spent up to eight hours a day in the water.

Bohdan had shaved for trials six weeks ago and for various photo shoots since, so his body hair was sparser than normal. He could have done the job himself in thirty minutes or less. Something pulled inside Kyle’s chest — it meant something that Bohdan had come to him for this, that he needed Kyle for something.

Grabbing the soap, he started lathering Bohdan’s chest and back. Bohdan leaned into him, bracing one arm against the tiled wall, muscles softening under Kyle’s touch. Kneeling, he worked a thick lather up both Bohdan’s legs.

“Totally wish I could have brought you along to rub me down for the stupid photo shoots.”

Kyle bit his tongue against all the reasons why Bohdan would never take him along for something like that. The same reasons that kept them home on the couch instead of out. Out. He’d promised not to argue tonight. Instead, he focused on the task at hand, letting the broad contours of Bohdan’s body distract him.

“Rinse.” He collected the razors and shaving cream. “Everything off?”

“Yeah.” Bohdan stretched his neck languidly. “Leave my balls and most of the pubes, but everything else.”

“Aw. Ball shaving was fun.” He clung to the teasing. It was getting harder to talk around the lump of emotion in his throat and the churning of his stomach. Not gonna think about tomorrow.

“Yeah, but what was fun was you fucking me after. Don’t have time for that now.”

Never enough time, yet time enough to hide. His mind wasn’t obeying commands to stop dwelling.

He started with Bohdan’s back, lathering up the broad expanse with shaving cream and then taking his time with long, slow passes of the razor. We. Will. Make. It. Each stroke became a prayer. He repeated the process with Bohdan’s arms.

“Arms up.”

Bohdan crossed his arms behind his head, biceps flexing, deltoids popping.

Kyle had always found the underarm area sexy on other men — exposed, yet hidden. Earthy. Intimate. Hard to tame. Slightly taboo. Shaving it on Bohdan made Kyle’s dick swell and his breath speed up. Down boy. Only your own hand for company later. He rinsed both sides before tracing one underarm with his tongue, nuzzling it, finding the hidden spots that made Bohdan moan or wiggle.

“You trying to kill me?”

Yes. “Trying to give you extra incentive to swim fast.”

Reluctantly, he moved onto the chest and stomach. Both were already pretty smooth — Kyle kind of missed Bohdan’s usual thick arrow of stomach fuzz.

Bohdan’s legs were another favorite of Kyle’s to shave. Strong. Powerful. Kyle ran and cycled and, thanks to Bohdan’s urging, had even signed up to do a triathlon. But his legs were nothing compared to Bohdan’s. From his wide feet to the curve of his ass, Bohdan was solid muscle. Kyle felt like a sculptor uncovering the subtle muscle definition from its covering of soft brown fuzz. He rubbed his face against the now smooth calves, tonguing behind Bohdan’s knees and over his hard thighs.

“Not fair.” Bohdan’s hard dick bobbled in front of Kyle’s face. He couldn’t resist a quick lick across the head. Bohdan rocked his hips forward, trying to press deeper into Kyle’s mouth.

But Kyle grabbed his hips and held him still. “Patience. Can’t send you into battle tomorrow only half done. Spin again.”

Bohdan’s frustrated moan made Kyle’s dick jump. He spun around, placing his arms against the tile wall and resting his head on his arms.

He’d purposely saved Bohdan’s ass for last. Technically, it was covered by the suit and didn’t require shaving. But Kyle was nothing if not thorough.

He did the backs of Bohdan’s bulky thighs, leaving a string of soft bites along the curve of his ass. Then he grabbed a fresh razor and did some serious manscaping. The competitive value might be zero, but seeing Bohdan’s world class ass all bare and porn star smooth and getting to apply his tongue and lips and teeth to the newly bare flesh was priceless.

“Fuck incentive. Wanna come.” Bohdan rocked into Kyle’s tongue.

“Don’t you want the edge of sexual frustration driving you to the finish line?”

“Want the edge of coming home to you.” He turned so his dick was back in front of Kyle. “You rimming me like that and fucking me senseless afterwards can be my incentive. You’re all I need.”

I need more. The thought was right there, before Kyle could push it away. He almost couldn’t do it, couldn’t suck more of Bohdan into him, couldn’t add one more memory of Bohdan all needy and vulnerable, yet bossy and toppy. He didn’t wait for Kyle to move, instead bumping his hips forward and brushing Kyle’s mouth with his dick.

Kyle’s own cock pulsed hard and heavy against his belly. It took over, making the decision for him. He opened his mouth, relaxed his jaw, and let Bohdan set the pace. Conscious of time ticking away, he teased the head, using all his tricks, tickling underneath Bohdan’s balls, scraping against the sensitive skin he’d uncovered earlier.

With his free hand, he worked himself, drinking in Bohdan’s gasps and murmurs. We. Will. Get. Through. This. Each thrust brought them closer, until Bohdan’s thighs tightened and he filled Kyle’s mouth. The salty tang tipped Kyle over, coating his fist in slick fluid. Unfortunately, his churning emotions didn’t wash away as easily. 

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Thanks to editor EM Lynley, who put together this terrific anthology, which reads yummy even without the competition in the background. Annabeth's story was one of my favorites in Going for Gold. Find my review here on site or here at Jessewave's.

Going for Gold: A Gay Olympic Anthology

It's not hard to see the outward appeal of the Olympic Games: watching the fittest and most-accomplished athletes in the world compete---generally with fairly skimpy uniforms. Voyeurism aside, there's nothing sexier than a beautiful body running, jumping, swimming, rowing, and a couple dozen other activities. Who wouldn't take the chance to enjoy the spectacle?

But the Olympics are more than just a chance to watch athletes at the peak of physical perfection. Every competitor at the Games has a story behind why they run or jump or swim, and why they compete. How they got to the Games, and what they sacrificed along the way to make the cut. To spectators, they may perform superhuman feats, but each and every one is human in the same way we all are.

In this collection of stories, you'll find there's a lot more to competing at Olympic level than being the best in one's field. Expectations and pressures from family, friends, coaches and country add up, and sometimes it's only the love of the right man who can make the effort worth it. And sometimes, love is more important than going for gold.

Stories include: Hot Shots by Michael P. Thomas, Into the Deep by Nico Jaye, The Quad by Kelly Rand, Lightning in a Bottle by Sarah Madison, Swimming the Distance by Annabeth Albert, Shooting for Gold by Whitley Gray, Olympic Goal by K-lee Klein, Tumbling Dreams by Kaje Harper.

Fanged Trouble: Halloween Surprise by Winnie Jerome

Title: Fanged Trouble: Halloween Surprise
Author: Winnie Jerome
Cover Artist: N/A
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: paranormal
Length: 29 pages

Unlikely couple Philippe and Adam from "Fuchsia: Fanged Trouble" are back. It's been two years since the zombie invasion, and the glare of publicity has waned. Adam has now traded his nights taunting vampires for nights managing his corporation. The formerly carefree shifter has become someone who's all work and no play.

To fix this, Philippe has planned a Halloween date night. Adam isn't as enthusiastic, and his reluctance touches off a fight. Now Philippe has to win Adam back, even if it means treading where no vampire has gone before -- into the turbulent waters of social media.

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If you haven’t read Fanged Trouble, (reviewed here) you can still enjoy this short. I opted to review because the first one was cute. With a premise of “vampires and werewolves are known to the world, vampires are sexy but behind the times, and werewolves lack couth but rock social media,” there are lots of buttons to push for humor.


Vampires and werewolves have traditionally been enemies in this world, and old notions die hard, even between the lovers. Philippe and Adam’s bonding is partly dynastic and intended to quell the warfare; they don’t always get along even if they are very fond of each other. Which is not at all the same as understanding one another well. I’m not sure it qualifies as a Big Misunderstanding when they clash on an issue in this story, because Adam certainly does say what’s on his mind. Philippe just doesn’t have a clue what it means, and to Adam, it’s too obvious to explain. Finding that clue means the vampire must venture into territory well known to the werewolves--Twitter.

Halloween as a holiday is a trigger for one plot point but not the focus of the story; this would be fun year round. The backstory occupies the first several pages and comes as a fairly complete spoiler for the first tale, but does bring the reader up to date with this couple, using big chunks of exposition. I’m not sure that much recap was needed; the page time might have been better spent illustrating the couple and their pertinent foibles with some current activity. Things liven up considerably when the couple starts discussing their plans to celebrate.

When someone so very sheltered from social media wades into the deep end, there are endless possibilities for trouble. With no idea of the risks he's running, Philippe finds several, all flinchworthy and funny if it’s happening to someone else. The ending is sweet and hot as the couple makes up, and carries one last chortle at the end.

Unfortunately the worldbuilding and backstory was mostly accomplished in pages of infodumps, which took away from the comedy of the actual plot. The story still achieved humor where it wasn’t bogged down, and I did laugh out loud a few times. 3 marbles

Cupid Knows Best by S.A. Garcia

Title: Cupid Knows Best
Author: S.A. Garcia
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 284 pages
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

When it comes to his professional life, photographer Carl Conrad is at the top of his game. He molds impressionable minds at the university by day and jets off to Paris for gallery showings on long weekends. Unfortunately, he pays for it with his disastrous personal life: Carl kicked his boyfriend to the curb after one too many punches, so now it’s just him and his hamsters, one of which he suspects may be a space alien.

Then Cupid takes pity on Carl and hits him where it hurts. It takes Carl all of three seconds to fall head over heels in lust with set design student Marcelino Moya, despite the man’s questionable—okay, deplorable—fashion sense. Convincing Marcelino to give him a chance is the hard part, but Carl is up for the challenge, pun definitely intended.

Marcelino plays hard to get, but he isn’t immune to Carl’s charms. Carl talks him around to dinner, dating, and eventually moving in. There’s just one tiny word standing between Carl and perfect happiness. Why won’t Marcelino say it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is marginally possible that I did not approach this novel with the right mind-set. I am willing to be beguiled with language and scenarios that dance from witticism to feyness, but when it comes on top of the MC, Carl, discussing how traumatized he is by hearing from his abusive ex lover, I will admit to having some trouble shifting gears. It seems that the bruises haven’t quite faded from the most recent incident, but this is left vague enough that friends are urging Carl to move on. Which he does, about seven and a half minutes after the words are out of the friend’s mouth. With a student.

Carl is the only POV character—an extremely talented artist, willing to take refuge in pot smoke and too much wine rather than treat anything seriously, and taking a while to acknowledge that he might have to learn from his mistakes. What touches his surface stays on his surface, and takes a long time to penetrate to the depths where it might do some good. Describing himself as “an old hippie” is part and parcel of his over the top persona, much more flamboyant than most m/m romance characters. At thirty-six he feels old and decrepit, whining about the aches and pains of yoga and wild sex. Perhaps in his universe he is old and decrepit—Carl and his friends trade vicious jabs about aging and creeping unattractiveness, and how disadvantaged a geezer of 36 is with a lover of 24.

Marcelino, an Argentine transplant with eye-searing fashion sense, takes Carl’s photography class and Carl is immediately smitten with everything from his facial hair to his nipple jewelry, and is quite sure that this is love. Cupid is personified, as are Carl’s other advisors Lust and Common Sense, who all take turns advising him. It swings between funny and creepy, mostly because poor Common Sense loses so often, starting with the instance early in the book where Carl hijacks Marcelino off the dance floor and begs him to move in.

This novel has to be described as character driven, and if there is growth in character, it might *possibly* be Carl’s evolution from the frenzy of infatuation to a deeper affection. Marcel (as he asks Carl to call him) is slower to warm up and while he moves in relatively early in the book, he keeps his feelings more to himself, until he explodes all over the page with his fears, past, and concerns, most of which go unhinted throughout the book. The external plot is primarily slice of life, a series of incidents that draw reactions from “That’s nice” all the way to “WTF are you thinking?” and including jealous spats, followed by make-up sex. Most everything that happens is followed by sex. Or is sex. There’s lots and lots of sex.

The abusive ex subplot is the most definite plot arc—Carl does shove him away every time he shows up, but the manipulation continues—ex pushes for forgiveness he hasn’t earned and Carl acquiesces. Marcel has a certain overlap with the ex, but a very different execution.

My lack of connection with Carl, whom I perceived as the self-absorbed creature who never shuts up, really got in the way of enjoying whatever character growth there might be. At one point he compares himself to a “Jack Russell terrier on puppy uppers,” and his incessant inner monologue and flamboyant manners made that apt. You’d think an “old hippie” might relax while stoned or drunk, but no.

Carl’s mental state can be tracked by his waterfall of words—he never uses one when a paragraph will do, and there’s a huge amount of alliteration, which either calms down as the book progresses, or I stopped noticing out of self-defense. The highly dramatic tone maintains throughout the story.

I indulged in a quick muscleman pose and laughed. Relentless sit-ups and yoga had created almost tight abdominal muscles. My insecurity reasoned that if I chased fresh cream like Marcelino, I needed to roam in the same zip code as perfection. Fine, at least I needed to occupy the same county.

My silly debate over my party outfit gave me a headache. When had a critical tween seized my senses? OMG, like, I have nothing to weeeaaaaarrr!

While I ended the story wishing the couple well, I had a hard time staying invested in them because of tone and style issues, and because the growth issues are so subtle that I ask myself if I’m imagining them. 3 marbles

A picture is worth...

Mmmm, hot bods in lycra moving fast. What's not to like? And if you have 100 to 1000 words of ficlet or excerpt to go with the pic, send it along to post here. The rest of us will lick them as they go by. (Directions here.)

The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek by Piper Vaughn and Xara X. Xanakas

Title: The Party Boy’s Guide to Dating a Geek

Author: Piper Vaughn and Xara X. Xanakas

Cover Artist: Aisha Akeju

Publisher: Less Than Three Press

Genre: Contemporary

Length: 270 pages

Ashley Byrne only wants one thing in life: to finish his tattoo apprenticeship and fulfill his dream of owning his own shop. In the meantime, he spends his nights partying, flirting, and having sex. After all, what else is there for him to worry about? Aside from his hair and his clothes, not much. He’s hot, and rest assured no one knows it better than him. He’s also used to getting what he wants—until he meets Felipe Navarro.

Fee Navarro has everything he needs: a great IT job, a nice apartment, and all the high-tech toys his geeky heart could ever want. He doesn’t do casual, and he knows guys like Ash are nothing but. Ash may burn hot for Fee, but Fee isn’t willing to take a chance on a vain, little party boy with too many tats and an oversized ego. He wants someone to share his life with, and he won’t settle for anything less. Too bad Ash has never been the type to give up easily. He has a plan, and he’s not stopping until he proves he’s more than just a pretty face—he’s someone worthy of winning Fee’s heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Party Boy’s Guide is a charming story of opposites attracting, and more to the point, of one of the opposites understanding what’s attractive about the other and why the attraction is worth working for.

Ash and Fee come together while helping Ash’s brother and his girlfriend move in together, and things do not start well. If Ash isn’t putting his foot in his mouth or doing something careless that causes an injury, he’s coming across as flighty, only interested in a good time. Being seen like that stings, even if it’s true—Ash isn’t used to an attractive man not responding to him, and it makes him work triply hard to get Fee’s attention. Used to entertaining himself with any willing comer in the clubs leaves him unprepared to deal with someone more serious.

The gimmick of having a bit of dating manual heading the chapters is funny, but definitely sound as if the advice was ripped from the pages of Cosmopolitan, with some florid “geek references.” It’s cute but the tone really made me wonder about the intended target audience, even if the advice is good and pertinent to the contents of the chapter. The geek references persist in the software manual style table of contents and chapter headings. The joke sustains fairly well. The "cool guy" wandering into geek territory and coming off as the inept one was a comic, if slightly painful, turnaround of the more usual cool/not cool situations. That first book club meeting, oh ow!

Ash remains the POV character through the entire novel, which is unusual in something of this length, and it’s he who is changed most. Not because Fee is trying to change him, but because he recognizes the worth of Fee’s methods, including the go-slow-don’t-rush-into-sex-or-anything else important way Fee allows himself to engage with Ash. Any pushing from Ash makes Fee withdraw, but he will come closer if allowed to choose his pace.

As an apprentice tattoo artist, Ash has some vague plans for the future, but he’s drifting along, saying he wants something but not really working at it. It isn’t until Fee demonstrates what his own efforts have brought him and gets involved in small ways with Ash’s dreams, such as by configuring a computer for him, that Ash stops dreaming and starts making progress toward his goal.

In some ways I liked the leisurely approach the two men take, because Ash has the chance to rediscover that sex can be more important than the random assisted orgasm, but there were a few places I wanted to tap my toe and suggest they move a little faster. Now and then the slow unrolling was a little too slow. At least one side plot concerning Ty, Ash’s prospective tattoo parlor partner, seemed to wander off into nothingness after eating enough page time to seem important.

The story is as much about Ash’s maturing as it is about the relationship, and if he didn’t grow up, he would not have become a worthy partner for a man who actually has his act together aside from a bit of social ineptitude. Fee isn’t that big a geek—imagine him on The Big Bang Theory for one scene to see exactly how much being computer savvy isn’t geekhood personified. But he is the polar opposite of a frivolous party boy, and eventually, so is Ash.

We don’t see Fee’s POV in this story and he’s not terribly communicative, so Ash is left to flounder sometimes and Fee comes off as a little cold. Fee is Hispanic, but his ethnicity is an under-under-under current aside from some delectable food, and may show most strongly in a scene that is not actually on page. His level of “doesn’t get it” on relationships exceeds the believable in one or two places, but it’s very clear that he’s a worthwhile person to be involved with.

The writing is smooth and contains some excellent lines and observations on the human condition, although Ash utters them thinking of the smaller canvas of his life. It’s in keeping with the mostly light tone of the book. I enjoyed the story, even if I wished for a faster pace now and again.

4.25 marbles

Bone: Slip of the Tongue by ID Locke

Title: Bone: Slip of the Tongue
Author: ID Locke
Cover Artist: BS Clay
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: fantasy
Length: 23k words, 74 pages

Ivriah is a Battle Mage specializing in summoning demons to fight for his country, Islafar. He also uses his summoning skills to call male demons to see to his baser needs as same-sex relationships are illegal and ruthlessly punished in Islafar. Incorrect wording in a summons leads to him calling for the Bone Demon, Orajin, instead of the demon intended. While Ivriah finds Orajin very attractive, the fighting demon is far too cheeky for Ivriah’s bedroom tastes.

Orajin is thrilled to finally be called to Ivriah’s bed as he’s been secretly in love with the mage for years. Orajin does his best to show Ivriah that they are very compatible in bed and sets out to prove to the mage that they are perfect for each other. In a sneaky move, Orajin gives Ivriah a bone spur as a “token of affection” that is actually a symbol of engagement among Orajin’s people.

Their developing relationship and Ivriah’s safety and life are threatened when the authorities are alerted to it. Orajin swoops in to the rescue and offers Ivriah a chance to have his heart’s desire if he’s brave enough to take it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This story commences after a battle. Ivriah the mage is horny enough after battle to summon a demon for some sex, but tired enough to muddle his spell and then be flummoxed by the demon when he finally appears. The banter is funny and a little appalling—Ivriah could have summoned something far less well-disposed towards him, and he loses the battle of wits on every turn. It’s a loss he ends up not minding much.

This is definitely the high point of the story, because the war is told in infodumps and exists mostly as background. Who is fighting and why is irrelevant. How and why Ivriah gets emotionally attached to the demon is offscreen, somewhere in the nine months that gets mentioned as the duration of the war and their sexual relationship. Orajin’s fondness for the mage was a done deal before he was ever summoned. The relationship is basically a given, and the first half of the book is their first sexual encounter. Witty in spots, and somewhat driving the plot, but not substituting for plot.

Once we skip ahead nine months and almost all of the relationship development, we get a bit of plot. Ivriah’s country is extremely homophobic and now he’s in trouble for his proclivities. Under questioning by the authorities, Ivriah considers his prospective lifespan to be very short. Summoning the battle demon who’s deeply in love with him doesn’t seem to be a viable option for anything other than sentiment.

Moment of thought here. Battle. Demon.

There are some nice touches here, like a peek into the true meaning of “demon” and what are his home life and his most private thoughts, which are both tender and sometimes amusing. There are also some very heavy handed treatments. This story contains a lot of repetition, as if readers won’t recall a bone demon is bone colored, or that demon blood is purple as Ivriah’s hair were we not reminded periodically. Ivriah is occasionally reduced to thinking of himself in the third person, which becomes yet another instance of infodumping. Orajin, were he not a battle demon, would make a good pop psychologist: he worries about inflated egos and repressed trauma.

Ivriah certainly has on screen trauma; his inquisition by the authorities is sexually sadistic and qualifies as a rape. The scene is likely to be triggery for some readers. The aftermath invokes the trope I found distasteful: while at first the story seemed sensitive to a victim not feeling entirely sexual, it whisked past that quickly. There was a plot reason for doing so, but the execution did not maintain the sensitivity, and it became “sex heals rape.” The best that can be said here is that while anal sex is mentioned and negotiated about, it doesn’t occur.

While the story certainly had witty moments, they are overwhelmed by the infodumps and strange tone, veering from Freudian to skater punk in the same character’s voice. In moments that require action, the characters stop for long stilted speeches. The external plot presents mostly as sexual torture or extraneous issues, and the relationship development shows only the moment of mutual attraction and the explosion into HEA. There are very few plot points not mentioned in the blurb, and I was left feeling like I’d read half a story. 2.25 marbles

A Thousand Word Thursday Story from Amelia Gormley

Lessons

It began with Gavin showing off. A sweltering afternoon in the park walking Chelsea had resulted in a chance encounter with an ice cream cart. Derrick had got his usual cone, but Gavin had opted for a popsicle.

Cherry, he said with a sly smile. In honor of Derrick’s blush.

He’d done things with that popsicle. Suggestive things. Obscene things. Things that really shouldn’t have been anatomically possible. Derrick hadn’t quite believed what he was seeing until Gavin got him back to the house and onto the bed, at which point he’d wrapped his red-stained mouth around Derrick and proven that yes, he really could do that.


So now Derrick sat in his kitchen with an orange popsicle trying to figure it out. Chelsea sat on the floor, watching him with her head cocked curiously to the side, trying to understand why Derrick kept teasing her with the popsicle and not sharing, even though he clearly wasn’t eating it.

Instead, he was trying to make himself sick with it. It melted on his tongue, tangy and sweet, as he slid it toward the back of his throat. Immediately his throat closed and he began to gag.

How the hell had Gavin managed it?

He discarded the melting popsicle and consulted the internet.

Clench the thumb of your left hand in your fist and squeeze tightly, one article advised. Derrick wasn’t sure what his thumb had to do with his gag reflex, but he fetched a new popsicle from the box in the freezer and tried again. The cold, molded juice went into his throat without making him gag the first time, but when he tried to repeat the motion, it didn’t work.

Just relax. Don’t think about doing it, the anticipation will make you tense. Just do it.

Well, that was spectacularly unhelpful. Derrick turned off the computer with disgust. How the hell was he supposed to do it if he didn’t think about doing it?

More than ever, his twenties seemed like a total waste. Why the hell couldn’t he have picked someone up from time to time who would have shown him these things?

Well, the thumb trick should be good for at least one pass.

That night in bed, he came close to humiliating himself all over Gavin’s junk. He lay with his head on Gavin’s thigh, swallowing back the urge to choke and laughing helplessly at himself.

“I cannot figure this out,” he confessed, shaking his head wryly.

“You don’t need to impress me,” Gavin said, stroking his hair with a tender smile. “I like what you do just fine.”

And maybe Gavin did, but that didn’t mean Derrick intended to stop trying. It might take weeks or months, but he’d get it down. He’d learn. He wanted to learn it all.

He didn’t know how to explain to Gavin that his efforts hadn’t been so much about impressing Gavin as they’d been an attempt to take it all in, to experience everything he’d denied himself for so long. Like a starving man at a feast, he wanted to glut himself on pleasure.

Intent on that goal, he crawled up over Gavin’s recumbent body and moved on to other things.

He’d get back to that particular lesson later.
*************************************
Ooh! Thank you, Amelia!

Gavin and Derrick are from the Impulse series, and Book 2: Acceleration, will be out at the end of the month. Inertia was good (there's a review right here) so Acceleration is going on the TBR pile ASAP. And nobody lick the art!

Acceleration on GoodReads

Gaining Momentum

Gavin Hayes is everything Derrick could ask for in a lover. Gorgeous. Passionate. Great in bed. Derrick finds it very easy to just let himself go, to let Gavin guide him and teach him all the things he missed during a decade of celibacy. In the course of a single weekend, Derrick’s routine is transformed, his mornings and evenings filled with sex. Sweet, seductive, wild, or raunchy, Gavin offers Derrick all the pleasure he’s denied himself for so long.

But learning how to be a lover in bed is one thing. Learning to be one out of bed is another. For Derrick, being alone has become habit. Sharing his confidences doesn’t come nearly as readily as sharing his bed. And after so many losses, the last thing Derrick wants is to become dependent upon another person who might not always be there.

And Gavin always being there is far from certain. With an ex-lover lurking in the background, and the question of Gavin’s future health still outstanding, neither Gavin nor Derrick feel capable of asking for anything more than right now. But Gavin won’t be kept on the fringes of Derrick’s life. Can Derrick let someone in before the opportunity passes him by?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia C. Gormley may seem like anyone else. But the truth is she sings in the shower, dances doing laundry, and writes blisteringly hot m/m erotic romance while her five year old is napping. When she’s not writing, Amelia single-handedly juggles her husband, her son, their home, and the obstacles of life by turning into a everyday superhero. And that, she supposes, is just like anyone else. Her first novella from the Impulse Trilogy is available through Amazon, Smashwords and other retailers.

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