Dragon Hatching by JB McDonald

Title: Dragon Hatching (Dragon #3)
Author: JB McDonald
Cover Artist: Alessia Brio
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: fantasy
Length: 57 pages

Becoming a host for a parasitic dragon wasn't part of the plan. Actually, there wasn’t really any plan to begin with, but when the dragon egg hatches, Ashe figures it's time to come up with one.

Katsu's plans are failing miserably. His vast medical knowledge isn't helping Ashe's dragon situation, he's having problems staying detached, and the other mercenaries are concerned about their lifeforce being sucked dry and want Ashe to leave. Katsu is determined that if Ashe leaves, so will he. First, though, he has to make sure that his people aren't killed in battle... something they seem determined to do.

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This is the third installment in JB McDonald’s series with Ashe, the mercenary elf who’s not too clear on how to use his magic, and Katsu, the human medic for the mercenary band, who’s far too grumpy to admit he cares about anything besides a successful healing.

This time, an elven ritual of redistributing the magic wakens more than Ashe could imagine. A dragon egg he kept in his magpie’s nest of souvenirs and pretty things wasn’t supposed to hatch, but next thing he knows, he’s playing parent to the hatchling, who slurps up the deliciousness of elven magic with a side of life force. Getting rid of this unwelcome freeloader is now his and Katsu’s top priority, until the other mercenaries do what mercenaries do, and there are casualties to treat.

The relationship between Katsu and Ashe remains a delight—-Ashe has learned what not to take at face value. What sounds like a chewing-out from Katsu falls like love poetry on his ears, and Katus’s growls about even asking a question have meaning that gladdens Ashe’s heart.

Ashe is a sunny sort, not asking much from life except adventure, which he’s gotten in far greater quantities since connecting with Katsu. He’s still pretty independent, and having to rely on Katsu for staying alive and free as keeps happening is still something he’s getting used to.

Tha pair have been together for two adventures by now; the story works okay as a standalone, though it’s stronger for reading the other two first. The relationship arc is still in the getting solidified zone, but if the readers are waiting for Katsu to declare love in a way that doesn’t have to be translated from “grouchy”, I think we all may be waiting a long time. His actions speak for him.

The issue of the dragon isn’t quite as clear cut: the story ends on an impasse, though the beast turns out to have a few redeeming qualities. Major issues remain, which smells like sequel bait. This and a couple of scenes from the POV of a secondary character who is apparently the designated asker of questions took away from the overall story, but not so much that it isn’t an enjoyable read. I did feel at this point, where I didn’t in the other two, that I hadn’t gotten all my questions answered.

If you’re coming into the series at this point, you won’t be totally confused, though you’ll want to go back and catch up. And if you’re reading along, as I am, you’ll definitely want to know what happens next. 4 Marbles

Bone Idol by Paige Turner

Bone Idol by Paige Turner
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Genre: GLBT, Historical
Length: 86 pages

Love stripped down to the bare bones.

1875. The Bone Wars. Dinosaur hunters will go to any lengths to make bigger, better discoveries—and to see their rivals broken.

Henry is a man of science—precise, proper and achingly correct. When Albert arrives in his life in a storm of boyish enthusiasm, he’s torn between his loyalty to science and a new and troubling desire.

Albert wants to protect his father, and fears Henry means to ruin his reputation in the bone-hunter world. Will he be ruled by his fear, or by his feelings?

As they hunt for dinosaurs and explore their desire together, Henry and Albert find themselves digging up some secrets that could threaten their love—and their lives.

Book one in the Past Perfect Series

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Paige Turner has taken a tumultuous period in the evolution of a new science to place her lovers. With new specimens coming out of the ground every day, the leading figures in the infant field of paleontology were at each others’ throats, racing to publication, and gleeful about catching each other in errors. While some were established scientists who switched fields, many of them started as lucky property owners who dug up something interesting on their land. Bone Idol pits an established scientist against an interested amateur and his son.

Ms. Turner did a lovely job of capturing the excitement of the discoveries, with an opening scene of Albert Boundry and his father, the Reverend Arthur Boundry, working desperately to extract a fossil from the shore before the sea can steal half the bones. Henry Elkington has come to discuss fossils with the reverend, but discovers he has quite a lot more in common with Albert.

The budding and highly illicit interest between the two men runs into a severe snag when Elkington and the Reverend Boundry disagree about the fossil and Elkington is proven right. In an effort to regain his reputation, the reverend takes Albert, Henry, and his financial backers to a dig site in the wilds of Wyoming, where he is sure a grand discovery will restore the luster to his name.

Fossils by the railroad car load were being shipped out of Wyoming and Colorado during this time (I live near one of these dig sites!), jerked from the ground with pickaxe and dynamite, but Henry and Albert spend some time doing more meticulous excavations and find themselves acting on their attractions. Add some wonderful discoveries and a loathsome villain, and we’ve got a cracking good yarn.

Where the story fell apart somewhat was in the development of the relationship and the sex. Henry, acting like the good Victorian man he is, questions the propriety of pleasuring himself and hopes he won’t really go blind, but once he has opportunity with Albert, he’s down and dirty. They go from “dare we touch one another?” to rimming in one big unbelievable step, and declarations of love fly out with no detectable foundation. Referring to Albert as “the boy” was also off-putting, as was his collapse into the stereotypical Victorian lady reaction to danger.

Aside from the sudden snap into established relationship, Henry and Albert went from scientific antagonists to collaborators, and one hopes that a long and illustrious stream of discoveries and scientific papers followed their names ever after. This looks to be the first in a series, and I will look forward to reading the next story. 3.5 Marbles

A Picture is Worth...

Our amorous tiger picture netted a cute ficlet from Tam Ames, check it out, and the free short it links to. What kid of inspiration might strike for these hockey players? If you have a ficlet or an excerpt from a story, I'll post it with links, blurbs, and covers. Send to CryselleC AT gmail Dot com.

The Psychic and the Sleuth by Summer Devon and Bonnie Dee

Title: The Psychic and the Sleuth
Author: Summer Devon and Bonnie Dee
Cover Artist: Kendra Eggert
Publisher: Samhain
Genre: historical
Length: 237 pages

Inspector Robert Court should have felt a sense of justice when a rag-and-bones man went to the gallows for murdering his cousin. Yet something has never felt right about the investigation. Robert’s relentless quest for the truth has annoyed his superintendent, landing him lowly assignments such as foiling a false medium who’s fleecing the wives of the elite.

Oliver Marsh plays the confidence game of spiritualism, though his flashes of insight often offer his clients some comfort. Despite the presence of an attractive, if sneering, non-believer at a séance, he carries on—and experiences a horrifying psychic episode in which he experiences a murder as the victim.

There’s only one way for Court to learn if the young, dangerously attractive Marsh is his cousin’s killer or a real psychic: spend as much time with him as possible. Despite his resolve to focus on his job, Marsh somehow manages to weave a seductive spell around the inspector’s straight-laced heart.
Gradually, undeniable attraction overcomes caution. The two men are on the case, and on each other, as they race to stop a murderer before he kills again.

Warning: Graphic language and hot male/male sex with light BDSM themes. Despite “Descriptions of Murderous Acts” perpetrated by an unhinged killer, resist the temptation to cover your eyes—you’ll miss the good parts!
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The Psychic and the Sleuth is the latest heir in the genre of amateur investigator working with, or sometimes in opposition to, the steady copper. This time the cop has a personal interest in the case: his pretty young cousin was the victim, and Robert Court doesn’t believe that the man who swung for the murder was the evil-doer.


Late Victorian justice had a way of putting a permanent end on an investigation, and Court’s persistence has had very negative career consequences. He’s working the equivalent of the low end of the fraud squad, crimes that occur when the clever meet the wealthy gullible. Spiritualism had been a movement for some fifty years at the time of this story, and was very popular among those who could pay to receive messages from the “Other Side.” Arthur Conan Doyle himself was a believer, even though his friend Harry Houdini decried it. Houdini spent a considerable amount of time, effort, and money debunking the mediums who crackled, knocked, thumped, and fainted their way into large sums in exchange for kind words and hope for the bereaved. The police occasionally took an interest, particularly at the suggestion of a family member who didn't like the medium's influence or the money drain.

So what happens when the medium is not a fraud? Or not a fraud all of the time? And is terrified of not being a fraud? And has an illicit attraction to the investigator too?

Oliver Marsh has a problem, since the object of his attraction is trying to put him out of business, and possibly into jail. Marsh has had some experience of love and both acceptance of his inclinations and a healthy desire not to suffer for them. Robert Court could create dire problems for Marsh, though as time passes and their relationship grows, he’s less willing to play that threat and more vulnerable to it himself. The accuser could easily become the accused, but Marsh pursues the relationship, not for safety’s sake, though who would blame him? but for genuine affection.

Court also grows in his belief that Marsh is not a dangerous fraud, and that the distressing clues he produces are both legitimate and the trail to the real culprit. As the spiritual matters clarify, the focus changes from the identity of the murderer to how to catch a man for a crime where guilt has been established elsewhere. A pair of secondary characters proves invaluable in the hunt, and are interesting in their own right.

Court’s experiences are of the of the quick, one-off variety; he’s not used to having a conversation, let alone a relationship, with the man he’s having sex with. His domineering tendencies match nicely to Marsh’s submission during sex; they come to enjoy their play more and more. Court can’t seem to keep this from turning into over-protectiveness in the investigation, something Marsh objects to and fights against.

In the end, if justice is not entirely done, then at least the murderer will kill no more, satisfying everyone but the hapless dustman. Court and Marsh’s conflicting needs and converging needs all meet in a late nineteenth century version of a twenty-first century solution, and all are happy, even within the confines of the times.

I wanted to like this story more than I did, and consequently, this has been a very tough review to write. It has a lot of elements done very well, with a good flavor of the late Victorian age, a well executed external mystery and a couple who overcome a number of problems to be together, but something remained flat for me. I could believe in the detective work and in the psychic elements, and I enjoyed the relationship as it relaxed into something both men could enjoy. Court the controlled copper was still Court the controlled and dominant lover, while Marsh could coax him into playfulness from the bottom.

So with all that I recognize that is well done here, this didn’t quite come alive off the page for me. Court’s demeanor is so unrelentingly somber that he loses three dimensionality, and his brief lightness when dealing with his unruly dog (who would probably be a terror to live with) isn’t enough to enliven him. Marsh had more moods, thoughts, and reactions, more emotions in general; his POV scenes were more enjoyable, his dangers more heart-pounding, his happiness more satisfying.

I would still recommend this book for those who like the period or who are fond of amateur sleuth+cop duos. 3.5 Marbles

A Thousand Word Thursday Story from Tam Ames

 

Meat Slut

“Let go, Joseph.” I shook my leg and his hold tightened. “Joey, I said let go of me right now!” Pulling on my leg seemed to have no effect. “Joseph if you scratch me with those claws I swear to God ...” 

::You’ll do what?::

“I’ll ... I’ll ... make sure we eat nothing but lentils for dinner for the next two weeks.” 

::You wouldn’t!::

“I would, if you don’t get the fuck off my leg.” 

::But I don’t want you to go, Freddie.::

Honest to God, he whined. Who thought tigers could whine like that? “I’m only going to be gone over night.”

::That’s one night too many.:: Okay, they could also pout. 

“Well, then, get your ass off the ground, and come with me. You were invited.”

He made an odd little sound I took to be the equivalent of a tiger gasp. ::I’m not going there with you. He will be there.::

“Joey, sweetheart, you know that’s ancient history. It was over before I even met you.” 

::I don’t care. I’m not going to be in the same room as that ... that ... lion!:: 

Apparently tigers can also look down their noses at other felines. “Well, it’s your call. I can’t make you, obviously. I can’t even make you get off my damn leg.” 

::I like your leg.:: He ran his tongue up my shin. Despite my better judgment I felt a shiver go up my spine. That tongue could do amazing things when he decided to shift back. It was still rough, one of the perks I figured of having a tiger for a lover.

I resisted. He knew exactly what he was doing. “I swear I’ll be home before lunch tomorrow. Promise.”

::Will you bring me something?:: The pout was back.

“Of course. I’ll stop at that wild game market by my parents, and pick up some of those elk steaks you love. Maybe some wild boar.”

The hold on my leg loosened slightly. ::You mean it? Really? Would you get me bison if they have any?::

 “Yes sweetheart. I’ll get you bison.” He was such a meat slut, and I meant that in every sense of the word. Did I mention the perks of a tiger shifter? 

He finally released my leg. ::Fine. You can go.::

I rolled my eyes. As if it was his decision. “Okay, shift and give me a proper good-bye.” 

The air shimmered around him, and my gorgeous tiger was standing in front of me. Silky hair like midnight brushing his shoulders, his skin a burnished brown like a polished nut, those big golden eyes giving me the puppy dog look. He’d kill me if he thought I compared him in any way with a canine, but he was working the look. 

“You promise?” 

I knew what he meant; he wasn’t talking about bison or wild boar. “I swear on a stack of t-bone steaks. I have no interest in him, and I’m sure he’s not interested in me. He’s seeing someone else, and I couldn’t tell my parents not to invite him. It’s their party.” 

“Okay.” The pout looked much cuter on him in human form, his lower lip sticking out. 

I pulled him close and sucked on that lip, giving his bare ass a pat with my hand. “I love you. I’ll be home tomorrow at lunch. Have the barbecue fired up, and we’ll have your choice.”

His eyes lit up. See? Meat slut. He wrapped his arms my neck and gave me a proper good-bye kiss. “I’ll miss you anyway.” 

“I know. I’ll miss you too.” I pulled out of his arms and headed toward the car. “And Joseph?” 

He blinked back at me; he’d been gazing over at the neighbor’s yard across the fence. “Yes, Freddie?” 

“Leave the damn neighbour’s dog alone.” 

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Hehehe, Tam's done it again! Thank you, and the meat case will never look the same again. Tam has another present for us, this time a free short available through Goodreads.

I Dare You, Back (Dare #3)

Derek has been moody and bitchy since before Christmas, however no one seems to be able to figure out why. When Derek announces that he plans to leave town after he graduates in a few months, his friends know they have to take action now. A blast from Derek’s past makes it all clear, but can a reverse dare really convince Derek that a happy ever after could be his, if he’s willing to give Jaden a second chance?

Download it here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all. Love is love.

Thanks for being patient with me: I've had some health issues that have kept me from posting (or even being able to read) lately, but should be back to my old schedule this week.

Now everyone go kiss someone, or say, "Aw!" to someone getting kissed. Or both.

Comrade Bear by Mary Winter

Comrade Bear
by Mary Winter
Publisher: Pink Petal Books
Genre: GLBT Paranormal
Length: 107 pages

Summary: Trent had always been the outsider on the team. When one-by-one Bjorn, Kjell, Hans, and Mark found mates, Trent knew he'd always stand alone. The European military structure might be more tolerant towards homosexuality; he wondered if his commanding officer and team members would be. Then Vik brings Aleksander back to the team. The Russian is the one man who can prove to be Trent's undoing. But betrayal and uncertainty run deep, and when Aleksander is asked to go undercover with a band of Russian shifters, Trent wonders if he can truly consider Aleksander is comrade, or if the man he's always loved might become his enemy.

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Mary Winter’s paramilitary/shifter series, Nanook Warriors, is up to its fourth installment. Featuring polar bear shifters in clandestine operations, Comrade Bear focuses on Trent, the one gay member of the team.


This European Union based team is up against a shadowy Corporation inside Russia, which is polluting the environment in the Arctic reaches of Russia near the Norwegian border. General Vik and his team have to balance diplomacy, espionage, and direct action against the Corporation, which uses the least savory practices of the post-Soviet era to get ahead.

Aleksander, another bear shifter, was Trent’s lover earlier in their lives, but his loyalties are suspect: he’s already changed sides a few times. Aleks loves his Motherland, although he seems to cherish an overly-rosy view of how things were before the USSR fractured, and he also loves Trent. For Aleks, this mission means defining his loyalties and his love. He’s the liaison to the Russian bear shifters, who are engaged in their own battle against the Corporation, but he looks like a turncoat. Trent loves Aleks deeply, but he was devastated when Aleks left before, and is not at all sure of him now.

There’s a lot going on in this story which would probably be more interesting to readers who have been following the series. Louhi, another team member with her own story in this series, is in communication with Bear Clan Spirits in a spiritual plane, and there are Night Demons who are drawn by the pollution and will fight to get it. They figure heavily in the battle, but since this is a grunt’s-eye view of the action, they are more a shadowy danger.

The shifter aspect was what drew me to the book; one doesn’t get polar bear shifters every day, and unfortunately, doesn’t get them in focus here either. We never see the main characters in shifted state or know what they are feeling and thinking then; Trent and Aleksander think of their bears as separate from them, a thing apart, and only recall being shifted. Even then, instead of rejoicing in catching a seal, Trent had the means to cook it. Perhaps the were-element is stronger in the other stories, but here it’s far secondary to the politics and battles.

I enjoyed how Trent and Aleksander had to work out their relationship, so complicated by Aleks’ patriotism and how he has to redefine it, and the battle was very exciting, but there were enough elements that didn’t exactly make sense that I wasn’t as fully engaged as I would like to be. Why, for instance, would two brothers and a woman be more acceptable to the team’s sensibilities than a gay couple? While I’m glad to have encountered something unique, I think there were some wasted opportunities in the story-telling, because it really didn’t seem to matter that the men were shifters; the romance part of the story would have been little different if the references to “his bear” had been removed.

For those who have been following the series, which has a variety of pairings, Comrade Bear is a good next book, but for the reader of m/m who isn’t interested in the other relationships and will miss out on the rest of the paramilitary story arc, this may not be a satisfying stand-alone choice.
3 marbles

A Thousand Word Thursday Story from Juniper Gray

Snow Day

Johnny's back arched as Jim's hands slid underneath him. The caress of those fingertips, firm over his hot, naked skin, left him breathless. Jim was above him, heavy weight between Johnny's thighs, hips rising and falling in a gentle, tender rhythm. Johnny pulled the covers tight around Jim's shoulders to shield him from the cold, and Jim smiled against his lips.

Little more than an hour ago, they had been just friends. Best friends, and neighbours for two years. They'd taken a long, cold walk through the snow that had made Jim more miserable even than he was usually, which Johnny hadn't thought possible. The past six months had left a mark of creeping sadness on Jim's soul, and Johnny had seen it, done his best to comfort Jim and get him through it, though almost everything he'd tried had been ineffectual.

He'd loved Jim for a long time. He wasn't one for trite hyperbole, but Jim had stirred something in him the first moment they first met. It had been a summer evening, and the air had been thick with the rich scent of honeysuckle. Jim had strolled up his drive with a couple of beers and a sincere smile. They'd talked for hours. Gotten close. Johnny had always silently wished there could be more, but he'd kept it to himself.

Little more than an hour ago, they'd come in from the cold together, damp in some places and sodden in others, desperate to get warm. He'd made them both coffee. Jim had kissed him, up against the counter. Took him by surprise. Breached the thick veneer of friendship between them when Johnny hadn't known it could ever be broken. They'd looked at each other for a long moment afterwards. Jim had smiled, and suddenly Johnny couldn't feel the cold any more.

Jim's fingers slid between his, clasping them against the pillow. Perhaps Jim merely needed someone to comfort him, but for now Jim's touch and kiss and movement were enough to convince Johnny it was more than just that.

He thought about the walk back uphill through the snowfall, both of them laden with groceries, and smiled. He had the bitter cold and the deep snow to thank for the thaw in Jim's heart.

 

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Thank you Juniper! Those boys sure did need to get warm!  And a little bird told me (looking at that pic, it could have been a snowy owl or maybe a penguin) that Juniper has some more thoughts about snow, love, and a couple of guys, so we'll keep our eyes out for that.

Juniper has a new short out! 

Come and Play:Video Games

Matt Harding is a university student with an open love of video games and a secret curiosity for cock. Things get complicated after he explores this curiosity with his housemate, Rafe, one evening when they’re home alone. Matt must decide whether to fight the attraction he feels for Rafe, or embrace it and find out just where it all might lead.

Find it at Torquere Press.

Keep up with Juniper's news at her website or via Twitter.

This is not right

Elie Wiesel said...
"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Okay, he said that in a very different context, but we're seeing a metric ton of anti-"things I believe in" stuff happening this week, and this  is the most recent. Kari Gregg posted about this, including responses from the organization.

I just came away from reading Heidi Cullinan's blog regarding the Romance Writers' Ink's decision to exclude GLBT romances from consideration in a major contest. Read Heidi's blog post  here. Heidi's take is that this is a wrong thing done more out of thoughtlessness than malice. She may be right. For whatever reason they decided this, it's still a wrong decision.

Many writers who can express their dismay with better words than mine, including Smart Bitches, PD Singer, Anne Tenino, and Kate McMurray, have weighed in, and I'm sure there will be a lot more said.

There is a petition you can sign to express your disapproval which will generate an email to RWI. They need to see the disapproval for their wrong decision. I'm sorry some of their members are uncomfortable with same sex romances. I'm extremely uncomfortable with "he rapes her til she loves him" plots, but that's allowed. Who else sees the problem here?

A Picture is Worth...

It's Thursday again, and I have a fresh pic to inspire you! What do you think is happening here? All the pics are fair game, and I post every story for every pic, because everyone has their own vision. If you have a ficlet 100 to 1000 words, or an excerpt that fits, send it with your latest cover, blurb, and links, so I can post it here for you. And if you have a pic that tells a story, send it to me, I will credit you, because I'm always on the lookout for great images. CryselleC AT gmail DOT com