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Thursday, May 29, 2014
A picture is worth
Tell us more in 100 to 1000 words (drabbles are fine, really) and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Wanting More by Cari Z
Author: Cari Z
Purchase at Rocky Ridge Books
Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: P.D. Singer
Genre: contemporary, short story collection
Length: 15k, 53 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf
After a late-night rendezvous is interrupted by the partner of the man who hired him, stripper and high-end escort Alex Kidman can't get James Fitzgerald out of his head. So when James comes to watch him dance a few weeks later, Alex knows it's time to make his move--but James isn't comfortable with him if he isn't paying for his time.
This short story also appeared in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Sindustry II.
Bonus Story: Favorite Dish
With his lover James away on business for three weeks, Alex does his best to distract himself by keeping busy with his work as a chef, but not even the most elaborate meals can keep him occupied when all he wants to do is cook for two. Fortunately James has the same problem, and can’t resist coming home early to satisfy his hunger for Alex.
This short story also appeared in the Torquere Press anthology Pour Some Sugar On It.
~~~~~~~~~~~
These two stories are so perfect together that it’s a shame they ever appeared apart. Both told from the first person POV of Alex, we’re allowed to watch as dancer and rentboy Alex falls for James, and James falls even more reluctantly for Alex. Then we have the delight of seeing them a year later and finding out what they’ve become to each other.
The two are off to a very rocky start, since they meet while culinary student Alex, in his persona of Cristof the dancer, sits in the lap of a third man. James has enough flexibility that what could be catastrophic is merely tense and horrible, leaving Alex wondering. James comes back to find out for himself what Alex is all about.
The book has a lot of sex, which is probably why the author listed it as erotica at ARe, but make no mistake, it all drives the plot and fuels the character growth. This is truly a romance plot arc, and both men have to grow and change in order to be with each other. They are definitely more than a good time to each other, which the second story illustrates.
Flash forward to a year later, when once again James goes out of the country, leaving Alex home to cook, and wryly chuckle to himself that he’s pining for his lover. Homecoming can’t come soon enough for either of them. Short, sweet, hot. Very loving.
In a way, these two stories read like the first chapters and the last chapter of a larger work, though they weren’t written as such, and if Cari Z wanted to put a middle in, I’d read that in a heartbeat. I’m not much of a BDSM reader, but the very mild bondage scene didn’t frighten me off: it was hot hot hot, mostly because of how much Alex was getting off on it. Less pleasant was James calling Alex “baby” a couple times, which I find a bounce out of the story.
If you’re in the mood for short, sexy, and intense, these two stories will feed your need. 4.75 marbles
Sunday, May 25, 2014
In Memoriam: Ruth Sims
The news has come that the m/m community has lost one of its kindest, sweetest authors. Please join me in thinking of some way that Ruth Sims touched your life.
I met her when I first started reviewing. Her stories, Song on the Sand and The Legend of the Mountain Ash, made me cry, but in the best way, because the stories were sweet, sad, and ultimately not-sad in a way that still makes me sniffle. Pam reviewed Song here because I couldn't find the words, and I reviewed Legend, and Ruth wrote both of us notes thanking us. She was gracious to a newbie, and gave me the confidence to keep doing this new, scary thing.
I am sure Ruth scattered her kindness like petals, without thinking, because that was just the kind of person she was, and I treasure our correspondence and my rereads of her work.
She will be missed.
Her obituary is here.
I met her when I first started reviewing. Her stories, Song on the Sand and The Legend of the Mountain Ash, made me cry, but in the best way, because the stories were sweet, sad, and ultimately not-sad in a way that still makes me sniffle. Pam reviewed Song here because I couldn't find the words, and I reviewed Legend, and Ruth wrote both of us notes thanking us. She was gracious to a newbie, and gave me the confidence to keep doing this new, scary thing.
I am sure Ruth scattered her kindness like petals, without thinking, because that was just the kind of person she was, and I treasure our correspondence and my rereads of her work.
She will be missed.
Her obituary is here.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
The Duke in Denial by Alexandra Ainsworth
Author: Alexandra Ainsworth
Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at Barnes and Noble
Cover Artist: Angela Waters
Genre: historical, Regency
Length: 80,500 words, est 275 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, print
Blurb: Sebastian Lewis never expected to become a duke. But with the sudden deaths of his cousin and uncle, Sebastian’s position changes. He is determined to fulfill his new responsibilities with grace, even if it means remarrying, and even if the attractions of women, so often lauded by poets, fail to interest him.
Captain William Carlisle, newly returned from India, is elated when he meets Sebastian. Nobody knows of his inclinations, but his harrowing experiences in battle have prompted him to reach for the type of companionship he longs for. He thinks Sebastian might feel an attraction as well, but to his dismay, he discovers that Sebastian is courting his sister Dorothea.
After a semi-arranged engagement and a disconcerting romantic tangle with William, Sebastian escapes London to look after his manor, only to face mysterious thefts, a headless ghost, and the arrival of his fiancée, her brother, and his family. Sebastian’s new estate sits on the south coast, England’s most vulnerable location, and Napoleon has set his sights on conquering the area. Amid this growing turmoil, Sebastian must sort out his feelings for his fiancée’s brother and keep his home safe . . . and determine if he has the courage to reach for his own happiness in the process.
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England in 1804, at war with France, struggling to consolidate power in India, when Georgian ideals of piety and decorum ruled society. A woman’s reputation mattered as much as her fortune, and men could be hanged at the yardarm for consorting with each other.
Of course, all sorts of scandalous things still went on, though people were much more cautious about being caught. Such is the story Alexandra Ainsworth has given us. From a chance meeting while pursuing an errant hat, Sebastian and William have to overcome understanding what it is they want to being able to reach for it without the other taking offense. Because of the delicacy of this dance and the huge amounts of self-questioning, the story moves slowly. The two are thrown together often. Sebastian never expected to inherit the dukedom and the entailed properties, nor to find himself engaged to his cousin/predecessor’s fiancée. It’s a situation where secrets can fall out of closets like improperly stored skeletons, not played for laughs.
The sorting out of feelings, engagements, and mysteries set on the vulnerable southern coast fit well into the period, with no obvious anachronisms and with a lot of period detail in politics, attitudes, and décor. Some social details repeat, leaving me thinking, yes, I did catch that the first four times, and would have been better illustrated than told.
The pace picks up considerably in the second half, when Sebastian abruptly flees for his coastal property and is beset with external problems with staff, thefts, the ghost, and the difficulties of his new neighbor. William has an active role to play here, which enlivens the story.
The sex scenes are few and a little fumbly, which suits the story’s mood and the times, and made me smile. An incident where Sebastian and William find themselves in a quarter of molly houses (brothels with male sex workers) educates Sebastian considerably, but I wondered if a molly boy would persist in calling someone by name, no matter whose.
I was charmed with the resolution: the author finds everyone a happy ending in spite of the difficulties. Everyone needs an Aunt Beatrice. 3.5 marbles
Thursday, May 22, 2014
A Picture is Worth...
Tell us more in 100 to 1000 words (drabbles are fine, really) and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Sideloading Your Kindle for the Tech Impaired Like Me
Because I get books from a variety of sources, they have to be loaded onto my Kindle somehow. I’m not the techiest person on the planet [that hollow sound is my webmistress laughing], and for some reason, drop and drag frustrates me because I can never see how to have everything on the screen at once. When I get files by email, or buy them from vendors that aren't Amazon, I have a couple of choices.
One way is to use the “Send to Kindle” feature. You can download the app from Amazon onto your computer. This page has step by step instructions. Once you set this up, all you have to do is right click on a saved file, which doesn’t have to be an ebook, and click “send to kindle.” Basically you email the file to your kindle’s email address, which is usually whateveryouremailassociatedwithyourAmazonaccountis@kindle.com . The help page linked above will show you how to verify your kindle email.
Two of my favorite vendors, Dreamspinner and All Romance eBooks, now have “Send to Kindle” as part of their service. Yes, buying from Amazon is easy, but it’s not the only easy vendor. Both sites will walk you through the set-up process, which goes like so. You tell Amazon that the vendor is an approved source by going to Your Account > Manage Your Content and Devices > Personal Document Settings. There you add the vendor’s addy, which Dreamspinner and Are give you as part of the setup process. The addies look funny, but copy and paste them. Do it up once and never worry about it again. Worry about your book budget maybe, but not how to get stories on your reader.
You can do this with all books you bought before the Send To Kindle at time of purchase option existed. You can even load PDFs, but they will look kind of choppy, and it's not the ebook's fault, that's just how PDFs look when they've been converted. PDFs are fixed format, Kindle does reflowable text, and they don't play nice together, but it is possible.
Another way is to sideload. This sounds scary when you’re like me and secretly fear all technology exists only to zap your brains out, but it turned out to be pretty simple. (My operating system is Windows 7. Maybe we can hear from someone else using Windows 8 or Mac.)
For sideloading, your Kindle is really an external hard drive. So, just like your backup drive or a thumb drive, plug the turned-on Kindle into your computer with the USB cable that you use for charging your device. The computer will beep and boop and tell you it’s detected the Kindle. You can minimize the window that opens up.
On your computer, open your Library pane (bottom left corner of your screen, looks like a manila folder) and find the book you want to sideload. Select it, right click on it, and then click on “copy”. Still in your Library pane, select the Kindle, which is probably showing as your E drive, or possibly your F drive, depending on which port you used and what else you have attached. The Kindle files expand into the next row. Select the Documents folder (one click, you don’t have to open it) and then right-click, and then choose “Paste.”
Your book is now on your Kindle! You can load a PDF file this way, and it will look nice but not have all the features a mobi file has.
Disconnect your Kindle properly to avoid possible damage to the files, which you do by “ejecting device.” On the lower right corner of your computer screen, there is an icon to eject, which may be hidden in a group behind a triangle. Click the triangle and choose the icon of a USB plug with a green circle and check mark. A window opens with the choice of Eject Kindle. Click that, and it will give you another message that it’s safe to disconnect.
You just sideloaded your book. Go read!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Temper Sanguine by Lou Harper
Author: Lou Harper
Purchase at: Samhain. Available now for preorder
Purchase at All Romance eBooks : Soon
Cover Artist: Angela Waters
Genre: paranormal
Length: 30k estimated
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf,
One bite won’t kill you. Unless it does.
Sanguine, Book 2
Gabe Vadas’s slayer ancestors would be spinning in their graves if they knew that not only is his boss a vampire, so is his lover. But that lover, Harvey Feng, is cooking something up in his lab that he seems reluctant to disclose.
The secrets they keep from each other and the nightmares they share are driving a wedge between them. Harvey fell off the vegetarian wagon with one taste of his lover’s blood. Except recently it’s been having some unusual—and disturbing—side effects. And he fears their connection has awakened something dark and dangerous.
Sent to New York City to help the new top vamp clean up the mess the old one left behind, Gabe finds more than a few stray feral vampires. A doctor with a dubious history is hell-bent on creating a new race of unkillable bloodsuckers.
The investigation takes Gabe and Harvey across an ocean, and deep into the past. Where they discover demons that have the power to reach across the centuries to destroy them both.
Product Warnings
Contains a tasty Hungarian goulash of dirty boys doing dirty things, bilingual dirty talk, evil scientists, shifty-eyed lab assistants, fun with lab rats, and smexy times in romantic Old Europe. Jó étvágyat!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yay, another helping of Harvey and Gabe! My favorite vampire and vampire slayer couple are back for more narrow escapes and near death experiences. Plus some hot loving.
Apologies for any spoilers to the first book: series make reviewing a challenge.
Harvey was a vegetarian before he was turned, which makes his current nutritional needs a problem. He’s been working on a blood substitute with less than perfect results. Some of his experiments are this side of disastrous. Harvey is tenacious, a good chemist, and as a former nurse, he’s unusually well equipped to understand why unscrupulous (yes, there is another sort) vampires would prowl hospices and nursing homes.
Gabe, who comes from a long line of slayers, has seen his skills improve with time, exposure, and experience. Echoes of the first book in this series are scattered here and there, so coming in here wouldn’t leave you lost, but both Gabe and Harvey are better understood if you read the first in the series. Gabe has an unusual employer with some astonishing contacts and a very clear worldview—this sends the pair around the world on various adventures. They need to get their sightseeing done early, because being welcome to come back: NOT.
This volume is structured as two short but related sections, and I’m not sure why they’re divided up, but okay, the adventures take them from the US to Hungary, where Gabe has roots and can speak the language. Their quarry has evil plans, but both Gabe and Harvey have some unusual skills.
The relationship here is established, but has lots of room for solidification. Gabe and Harvey may love each other deeply and smex each other frequently, but they don’t understand each other very well, and the gap between their prospective timelines isn’t helping. Nor are Harvey’s fears and doubts about himself, rekindled after a bloody encounter and a too-delicious snack on Gabe.
I especially enjoyed the section in Budapest. The author knows this city and the language, weaving details into the story. History, twentieth century and from hundreds of years ago, reverberates through this ancient place and current adventure. Vampire lore is both used and debunked on the very doorstep of Transylvania. Very satisfying!
Also satisfying is who the relationship and the external plot weave together and how one affects the other. One couldn’t have worked out without the other, so good storytelling.
There are also some ongoing story threads that continue from book one, reviewed here, that lead me to believe we haven’t heard the last of Gabe and Harvey. Which makes me happy! 4 marbles
Friday, May 16, 2014
A Sanguine Flashfic from Lou Harper
“Angel, you’re doing it wrong.” Harvey stretched sleepily and the sheets slipped to his waist.
Gabe looked down at his lover still in bed. “Doing what wrong?”
“Your jeans—you’re putting them on. They’re supposed to stay off.”
“The sun’s setting. It’s time for you to rise and shine.”
“Oh, I’m rising all right.” Harvey slipped a hand under the sheets. “But don’t expect me to shine. I’m not that kind of vampire.” His lips parted in a wicked smile and he swept the tip of his tongue along his teeth, from one exposed eyetooth to the other.
Anticipation stirred inside Gabe—Harvey’s frisky mood was pulling him in. He sat at the edge of the bed. “What sharp teeth you have.” The words came from old memories and Gabe recognized their familiarity only as he spoke them.
Harvey picked on them right away. “The better to bite you with, my scrumptious.”
Harvey loved role-playing and Gabe was always happy to go along, but now he was confused. “Wait, are we doing Little Red Riding Hood? Who’s who? Don’t tell me you’re grandma.”
“Grandma moved to Florida. I’m a very hungry and horny Little Red and you’re the Big Bad…Naughty Wolf here to eat me out.” Harvey’s nostrils flared and he reached for Gabe. “Now, about those jeans…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hee, that picture inspired Lou Harper to give us a little taste of Harvey and Gabe from her Sanguine books. Temper Sanguine is available for preorder at Samhain now, and will be available at all retailers in early June. It's the second novel in the series. I reviewed the first book, Spirit Sanguine, a story I enjoyed. And because Lou loves us, there's a free Sanguine story to get you all excited for more Gabe and Harvey. (Barnes & Noble +++ Smashwords +++ All Romance Ebooks +++ Amazon +++ Amazon UK)
Gabe Vadas’s slayer ancestors would be spinning in their graves if they knew that not only is his boss a vampire, so is his lover. But that lover, Harvey Feng, is cooking something up in his lab that he seems reluctant to disclose.
The secrets they keep from each other and the nightmares they share are driving a wedge between them.
Harvey fell off the vegetarian wagon with one taste of his lover’s blood. Except recently it’s been having some unusual—and disturbing—side effects. And he fears their connection has awakened something dark and dangerous.
Sent to New York City to help the new top vamp clean up the mess the old one left behind, Gabe finds more than a few stray feral vampires. A doctor with a dubious history is hell-bent on creating a new race of unkillable bloodsuckers.
The investigation takes Gabe and Harvey across an ocean, and deep into the past. Where they discover demons that have the power to reach across the centuries to destroy them both.
Product Warnings
Contains a tasty Hungarian goulash of dirty boys doing dirty things, bilingual dirty talk, evil scientists, shifty-eyed lab assistants, fun with lab rats, and smexy times in romantic Old Europe. Jó étvágyat!Preorder at Samhain
Thursday, May 15, 2014
A picture is worth
"Lust for a Vampire" is the perfect title for this shot, done by AdroVonCrow (access to gallery here). I can hardly wait for the the ficlet Lou has to go with it. Check out Lou's news and tidbits at her website.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
A White Coat Is My Closet by Jake Wells
Author: Jake Wells
Purchase at Dreamspinner
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Leah Kaye Suttle
Genre: contemporary, medical
Length:344 pages, 139k words
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, ziphtml, paperback
Blurb: Zack Sheldon doesn’t have time to be lonely. He’s in his last year as a pediatric resident, almost married to the job, and busy with the joys and sorrows that come with providing medical care to children. Professionally, he’s confident, accomplished, and respected. But personally he’s too insecure to approach a sexy man like Sergio Quartulli, or even to imagine that Sergio might be attracted to him.
Zack spots Sergio from across the gym, and then a chance meeting poolside somehow turns into a date. Before Zack knows it, they’ve become a couple, but Zack’s white coat is his closet at the hospital, and committing to a relationship with Sergio makes it difficult for Zack to continue hiding behind it. On the other hand, he grew up in a small town where being gay was shameful, and he works in an environment that can sometimes be homophobic, so it’s hard for him to open up about who he really is. Before Zack can make a choice on his own terms, circumstances force him to make a decision. He can continue to hide, or he can step out from behind his white coat and risk everything for love.
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I really, really wanted to like this book. I love medical themes and conflicted heroes, and the proceeds going to a good cause was a nice touch. As it turned out, there was a great plot in search of writing to do it justice.
Jake, our first person POV protag, is in the closet at work and intends to stay there since he’s subordinate to people who may well make his life hell if they know. Living a double life is working his nerves, especially after he meets Sergio, a hot Italian waiter with confidence to spare. More a coming out story than a romance, we’re still rooting for Jake and Sergio to make it work. Jake’s confident at work, but really insecure in his private life. We don’t often see the actual male jitters, and what Jake worries about is probably a lot commoner than we’re offered in books
We follow Jake working on self acceptance and in his relationship growth, and in his growth as a healer, where he has to learn to balance his caring with enough detachment to survive practicing medicine. Everything comes together for a bang-up ending. It’s a good arc.
The writing, alas… Or possibly the editing should have been done with a scalpel rather than a pen. As Elmore Leonard advised: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip. That would have slimmed this book down by around 30%. From long, scatological, and ultimately irrelevant stories told over a drink to enough directions in medical procedures to coach the reader through doing them cold, everything was treated in so much detail that the actual story drowned in the sea of text.
Much of the dialog sounds more like textbooks: it's mostly the rotten people who sound real. Sergio has only been in this country for seven years and learned English on the fly, but his speech has the same rhythm, structure, and word choice as his well-educated, native speaker lover. That makes Sergio more background than part of the story: we’re not hearing Sergio as a person, we’re hearing him filtered through Jake’s head and memories.
While I am glad I ultimately finished this book, I wish the execution had matched the concept. 2.75 marbles
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Coming this week
Coming this week, we have reviews on A White Coat Is My Closet by Jake Wells, and Temper Sanguine from Lou Harper. Lou also found me a hunka hunka gorgeous vampire for Thursday's story prompt, and she promised a nice little flash fic to go with it. Do join me for the fun!
Keep reading!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Out of the Gate by EM Lynley
Author: EM Lynley
Purchase at Dreamspinner
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Genre: contemporary, sports
Length: 270 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print
British actor Wesley Tremayne thinks he’s close to hitting the big time—a film career—with his role as a hunky explorer on a popular American TV show. Success should be just around the corner, as long as he keeps his sexual orientation a secret. Wes’s best friend and beard, Julia Compton, forms the other half of a glamorous Hollywood couple that’s merely a façade.
Evan Taylor left his acting career behind five years ago without looking back. He's always been more comfortable around horses than people—especially Hollywood types. His new life training racehorses is a dream come true, but increasing financial problems and an abusive boyfriend have him doubting himself and his choices.
Then Wes and his friends buy a third-rate racehorse—partially for publicity—and send him to Evan’s stable. Wes’s friendship with Evan soon develops into an overpowering attraction he can’t act on. He's never met a man like Evan, but if there’s any chance for a future together, Wes must choose between a career he loves and the man he adores.
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Once again, EM Lynley’s written a winner. We can feel the heat in the horses’ legs, we can smell the fresh-turned earth on the track, hear the roar of the crowds in the last furlongs of the race. Most of all, we can feel the heat between Wes and Evan.
Wes has strong motivation to keep his orientation to himself: he’s sure his career as a budding Hollywood heartthrob won’t survive coming out. He’s aggravated with himself that the one man who’s shaken his resolve already has a boyfriend. Still, he can’t keep away from the training stables or Evan, even if all he can do is learn more about his new hobby.
Being treated like a human being is a new one on Evan, whose relationship with the odious Gary has been steadily disintegrating and all that remains is to blow away the dust. He’s taken in by Wes’s charade with Julia, and cursing himself for finding the straight guy attractive. Being part of the Hollywood scene is another strike against Wes. Honest interest and attentive conversation are a powerful aphrodisiac.
Bad boyfriend Gary, a filmmaker on the documentary end of the movie industry, does get the boot, but lingers like a bad smell given his half ownership in one of Evan’s horses. Evan can’t afford to lose any more paying customers, since several of his owners have taken their horses away. Gary’s filly, Jet, could be one of the stars of the stable.
The relationship between Wes and Evan is a lovely dance of interest and self-denial until they can finally come together. After that, we get to watch them solidify as a couple who has each other’s backs. Really well done, and when they have to confront the mystery that runs like a shimmery thread through the story, it’s explosive.
I love this author’s way with creating a fully formed setting that’s nearly a character in itself, and making it absolutely real. The needs of the stable affect Evan and Wes almost as much as they affect each other, making this one of the most three dimensional books I’ve read in a long time. Add in the baggage each man carries and their need for each other, and the story is beautifully well rounded.
Out of the Gate was a smashing read, and anyone who ever wished Dick Francis wrote gay characters ought to pick it up. 5 marbles
Thursday, May 8, 2014
A Picture is Worth...
Tell us more about Ganymede in 100 to 1000 words (drabbles are fine, really) and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.
Zeus isn't going to stay in eagle form, you know. ;)
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Poster Boy by Anne Tenino
Author: Anne Tenino
Purchase at: Riptide
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: LC Chase
Genre: contemporary, New Adult
Length: 100k words
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, html, print
It's all fun and games until someone puts his heart out.
After being outed to his hockey team and then changing schools, Jock figures he’s due for something good—like the sex he missed out on in the closet. Toby, the hot grad student he meets at a frat party, seems like a great place to start, and their night together is an awesome introduction to the fine art of hooking up.
Toby’s heart takes a bruising after the near-perfect experience with Jock leads to . . . nothing. He’s been left on the outside as his friends pair up into blissful coupledom, and he’s in danger of never completing (or starting) his thesis. Can’t something go right?
Then Toby’s coerced into chaperoning a Theta Alpha Gamma trip to France. Not that he’s complaining. What better place to finish his thesis and get over that frat boy? Except Jock’s outing is leaked to the press, turning him into an unwilling gay rights martyr, and he decides France would be a great escape, too. It’s a break from reality for both guys, but they soon find their connection is as real as it gets.
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This book is billed as both #5 in the Theta Alpha Gamma universe and as a standalone. There were gobs and gobs of backstory, enough that I wasn’t lost coming in cold here. In fact, there was enough backstory that someone who’s up on events might feel overly-memory-refreshed.
There’s reason for the cast of thousands, but starting at the beginning properly might have made me care more about them. Or maybe leaving out the constant reminders in this book that Hey There’s Other Books And You Should Read Them. I felt quite bludgeoned with that, because frankly, the fire in the frat house did not matter a tinker’s damn to this story aside from the awkward living arrangements, but we got a rehash anyway. Every few chapters. We also got a quick recap of every other couple's stories.
The story couldn’t quite make up its mind about being an ensemble piece or focused on Jock and Toby, and if the rest of the crew wasn’t necessary for getting the frat + Toby to the South of France, I would have cheerfully done without them, with the possible exception of Tank and Danny. Beer Terrorism? Really? Brought back every unpleasant memory I had of frat parties, where the brothers alternated between fuck and run and spilling beer down your back. This motley crew didn’t seem to have appreciably different quantity of brain cells, so perhaps that’s props for accuracy.
I liked Jock most of the time: he’s conflicted, swirling in problems of his own making, and trying to find a way out that includes getting what he wants. He’s nineteen and drowning in the media hoopla surrounding a compromising picture, and he has to decide what he wants and how he feels about it. He’s fond of Toby, but he also has a head full of nonsense that requires the entire story to purge.
Toby’s twenty-five, but still a bit unclear on the concept of accountability, which makes him read younger than stated age. It’s his arc to grow up and take responsibility, and he does help reorganize Jock’s thinking while maturing his own. He has to balance Jock’s need for adventure with his own desire for permanence. Jock (or anyone) at 19 doesn’t strike me as great permanence material but I was willing to believe by the end.
The age gap seems substantial in some places, mostly because Toby has a well-populated sexual history, and non-existent in others, because Jock can be reflective beyond his years, or Toby can act like a hormonal teenager. I think in a lot of ways all the characters are good reflections of the immature but technically adult, ie, passionate but still pains in the ass to their elders.
The story is cute in places, thoughtful in others, infuriating in between. Again props for accuracy but swats for unpleasant accuracy: being the girl is probably something young gay men trying their wings worry about, but really now, can’t we get past girl=bad? The evolution of thought in places is really good writing. Who am I and how do I fit into the world are major questions for this age bracket. Toby is still working on his answers, though not as much as Jock is.
Once Toby and the frat boys get to France, the setting becomes warm and vivid. The author clearly knows and loves this part of the world, and brings us along for the guys’ discovery of it without being guidebooky.
Reading an ARC is probably adding to my irritation with the book as much as being the wrong demographic: my copy is billed as unedited, and given the approximately 15k of bloat, I would agree. Which is way too unedited for this reader’s taste. The beginning is especially choppy with introducing the large cast and at least part of the background. There’s a saying about not showing a fool a half-job, but an ARC means I’m supposed to estimate the finished project from an uncertain midway point. I can conclude there’s a good story in here 3.5 marbles.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Coming this week
Coming up: reviews on Poster Boy from Anne Tenino and Out of The Gate by EM Lynley. My horse won at the Kentucky Derby (gloats!), so do I need a better reason to read a horse race story? Also watch for the Thursday prompt pic. And----I feel a rant coming on. I am a girl with opinions and right now I'm ready to pop.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Butt Ninjas From Hell -- Anthology
Author: Shae Connor , JP Barnaby, Kage Allen, Ally Blue, Eden Winters, Kiernan Kelly, Jevocas Green, TC Blue
Purchase at Wilde City Press
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: unknown
Genre: depending on story: humor, fantasy, paranormal, contemporary
Length: 89K words
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf,
Porn stars, holy emissaries, demons, and even just plain humans—ninjas come in all forms and from all kinds of Hell in this erotically charged comedic Wilde City anthology! Whether it’s the world of second-rate television, fluttering ninja stars, obsessions over a bronzy-olive toned soldier, or magic backsides, your authorial guides will take you where few readers have ever dared to go…without protection.
Kage Alan, JP Barnaby, Ally Blue, TC Blue, Shae Connor, Jevocas Green, Kiernan Kelly and Eden Winters bring you…Butt Ninjas from Hell.
You’ll Never Hear Them Coming!
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I love anthologies, I get to read new to me authors, and in this case, a couple of my favorites too. Everyone’s got a different take on what it means to be a ninja from hell, and from the coffee-snort title to the last line, this was fun. Apparently there’s a companion volume called Butt Pirates From Space. Excuse me while I clean my keyboard.
Cleanup on Aisle Me--Shae Connor has hell-beasties erupting into a costume store: her clerk Johnny doesn’t quite believe the ninja forces can battle them, but they’re very efficient at disposing of the pieces after. Do not hold liquid while reading, especially the ending.
Sheathing His Sword – JP Barnaby gives us ninja porn stars attempting a stealth shoot for reasons that make the producer look kind of pitiful. Cute, probably cuter if you like porn stars more than I do.
Twink Ninja Tiger, Flaxen Buns of Fury – Kage Allen plays with all the ninja tropes in every cheesy movie when he sets a twinky emissary with a serious case of “doesn’t get it” to the sacred ninja training post for inspection. Definitely do not be holding liquid. Warukatta. Or bless their hearts. Or both. Cause I’m still giggling.
Twerk It – Ally Blue gives a humorous nod to a series I think needs to be mocked more often, with her demon slaying ninja on the trail of the sex and mischief demon who’s creating issues for the purveyor of porn. I never knew there was a demon dedicated to making sure I’m dressed like an old laundry basket. :D
Hell is Where the Heart Is – Eden Winters has a demon with mommy problems- as in the Big Fucking Deal of Level 6 has Life Plans for him. Vik has to find his own solution to her demands. Which spawns other issues. HEHEHE.
Ninja Vanish – Kiernan Kelly’s second rate TV ninjas take on real ninja issues in a deal that looks like agents really are the spawn of Satan. I would like to see them dressed in their Hell Ninja suits. Loved the plotting in the end.
The Soldier and the Vagabond – Jevocas Green has a sort of yaoi story, where the POV character reads very, very young, as in too young to read this book, no relationship development, and a microscopic plot to go with the dub-con. Yes doesn’t happen until after asking is irrelevant. There is a Ninja, there is a mention of Hell, and other than that I don’t know why this story is in this book. Yes, it hit my dub-con hot button which not everyone has, but the other issues are problems.
A Ninja Walks Into a Bar – TC Blue has the longest story in the collection, running approximately 1/3 of the word count, and it’s worth every word. Dallas has been abducted to Hell by the demon Lord Nikita’s ninja, Akira, who falls for his prisoner. Dallas is darling, running at the mouth and not seeing why Hell shouldn’t conform to his wishes, which turns out to be a strength. Ki ends up rethinking everything. Nicely done.
As with all anthologies, quality will vary, but here, aside from one very questionable inclusion, it’s varying in a high, narrow range. Three of the stories are biter-bit, my favorite kind, though to tell you which three and how would be spoilery. Comedy is hard to sustain, but most of the authors managed it consistently, so applause for that too. Much fun aside from the nasty jolt in the middle. 4.25 marbles
Friday, May 2, 2014
A Thousand Word Thursday story from Jean Nygard
God, it feels good when he does that!
From the first time we met, there’s been this way that he has been able to just push his head up in under my jaw, rubbing up under my ear—back and forth—that just overwhelms me. It rubs my fur that little bit the wrong way, you know? Then, if he follows up with a smooth arc up to my ear and starts licking the edge of it—I’m just helpless! The tingles ripple the whole way up and down my spine until I have a ridge of hair standing up all the way from my mane to my tail. Of course, it doesn’t really matter which form I’m in—even as a human it feels much the same.
I’m glad we were cats when we met though; people look at you a little funny if you go up to them the first time you meet and start sniffing and rubbing your face along theirs. I can’t imagine if I had met him in some office environment, shaking hands, being polite, unable to smell whether he was aroused by me at all. It amazes me some days that humans ever manage to mate. They work so very hard to separate themselves from one another! It’s sad, really.
When I met Gazi, the scent was like magic! We’d both been out on the savannah for some time, young, evicted from our birth prides. It’s a lonely, hungry time as a young male, and it was unlikely to get much better for me, as I had no interest in undergoing the efforts to build my own pride. I hadn’t made an alliance with another young male yet, but I needed to—it’s too hard to bring down food as a lone hunter out here. The leopards manage, but they’re loners to start with. I’m not. I need the love and attention of another to feel complete. Gazi does that for me. God, he’s strong. He doesn’t fear anything, yet he will come in under my jaw as if I somehow warrant his obeisance.
That first morning, I had just taken down an injured impala, when I detected a slight movement in the tall grass. Still downwind of me, there was Gazi, moving in from my right. He was stunning! His fur rippled and shone in the early light; his mane blew up in an undulating crest that caught the first rays of the sunlight as dawn crept over the far rise; and the scent! The scent of him was all about attraction. Even though he was also hungry, and the smell of the blood from my kill must have been driving him mad, his eyes were on me, his musk strong with desire. I stood there in shock and wonder as he came up against me, rubbing and sniffing as if he belonged in my space. I can still feel the short hairs on his forehead brushing up under my chin, tickling and enticing, as he made his way up along the sweep of my jaw, until he started to groom me, licking the edge of my face, and finally my ear. I had never wanted something so badly in my life! I had heard my parents discussing males who would stay in their youth partnerships for love of one another, never forming a pride, but I wasn’t sure I was willing to believe it. Now, here was the most beautiful, affectionate creature I had ever encountered, and he wanted me!
The second surprise carried in his scent was that he was another shifter. There aren’t that many shifters that still follow the traditional life patterns like our pride. Most of the young males, for example, take human form and go into the cities for the years after eviction from the pride. I was astounded to find Gazi out here in the wild with me, following the ancient patterns. I had assumed that I would need to partner with a pure lion for hunting purposes—we do sometimes—but Gazi’s presence changed all that in an instant.
It’s been two years now since he joined me that morning. We’ve been inseparable: paired as mates, successful as hunters, we are the best of friends and partners in both our forms. Occasionally, we visit one of our families, usually in human form. It’s still hard for the fathers to respond non-aggressively to adult males in cat form, even though nobody still thinks we are a threat to the females of either pride. Right now, though, Gazi is doing that thing under my chin, and I need to go spend some time with my mate!
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Thank you, Jean!
Jean is a reader here on the blog, who found one of the Thursday prompt pics tickling the muse and the hair under a lion shifter's chin. With this much imagination, we can hope for more fiction from her pen!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
A picture is worth...
Tell us more in 100 to 1000 words (drabbles are fine, really) and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.
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