Up and Coming (Coastal Football Book 1) by Andrea Dalling

Title: Up and Coming (Coastal Football book 1)
Author: Andrea Dalling
Genre: Sports
Length: 192 pages
Buy/read on KU at Amazon

An unexpected love could cost him his dreams.

Emmett Cross doesn't have time to date. A college quarterback on a path to turning pro, he can't afford distractions, especially with the academic challenges he faces. When he's blindsided by a growing attraction to his friend Jake, he fights it—rumors that he's bisexual could wreck his draft prospects. But he can't stop thinking about the cute blond twink with the warm heart and gentle smile.

Biochem major Jake Schott has had a straight-boy crush on Emmett since freshman year. Emmett's cool logic is the perfect complement to Jake’s sensitive nature. He’s sure nothing can come of his longing—until a scorching kiss turns desire into hope. Although the tall, sexy athlete with the trim waist and thick biceps denies that there’s a chance for them, his lustful looks and stolen touches tell a different story. Passion ignites between them, but Emmett insists on hiding the relationship.

When their secret threatens to come out, will Emmett give up Jake to protect his career? Or will he risk everything for love?

This steamy friends-to-lovers, out-for-you romance is a standalone novel with an HEA ending and no cliffhanger.

~*~*~*~*~

This one was a mixed bag.

What I liked: the premise. Football player falls hard for another man, coming to realize he's bisexual, and trying to make it work, in spite of the issues related to football and inside his own head. (Not to erase the bisexuality, but he's written to be pretty fixated on only one woman in the time he was with her, and only one man in this book, so he's reading demisexual to me, but if Emmett says he's bi, he's bi.) And his love interest Jake has a lot more going on than just getting together with Emmett: he's headed to a career in a scientific field where he could make a huge difference in people's lives. I also liked having an interracial couple where that wasn't the big conflict. And the sex scenes. Emmett was in new territory, and wanted to explore all of it, not just rush to the big penetration scene.

What I had issues with: the execution.

Present tense is a pet peeve of mine, some people like it, but it makes me work harder to stay in the story. Then I notice other stuff more, like how two main characters from wildly different backgrounds sound enough alike that I had to scroll up to see whose head we were supposed to be in sometimes.

Once great scene where this was absolutely not a problem was Emmett's interview. He had no trouble giving the interviewer some shit, in a voice all his own. I would have liked more of that.

These two took not talking about things to new heights, so things that could have brought them together, like Emmett's reasons for working double hard in classes, were side issues to the get together break up get together break up cycle that repeated a few times too many for my tastes.(I think there were 4. Pulease.)

A few other issues, like Jake's parents, seemed like window dressing and not anything really to do with the story, although they affect Jake quite a lot, and an English major like Emmett might have some practical questions, but those didn't really get asked. Neither did anything resembling "What about a future that doesn't include getting drafted to the pros?" Because a football player is always one injury away from retirement, even if he's the best ever. Yeah, it's a fantasy, but there are some bits of reality that are baked in to the career.

I can deal with the solve the current set of problems, skip ahead to the big happy for the ending. But I was really frustrated with this book, because I wanted to like it so badly, and it was pretty close to a DNF. If the next one is teammate Waseem's story, I'll read it, because he's a good guy and should be happy.

Blind Date by Kate Doherty

Title: Blind Date
Author: Kay Doherty
Purchase at Amazon
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Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Genre: contemporary
Length: 42k (novella)
Formats mobi, epub, pdf

Dekker Callan is content with his life though he knows something is missing. Wanting the kind of love his friends share with their partners, Dekker is talked into taking part in a modeling and dating show as part of a fundraiser. He immediately falls in love with the anonymous, sexy voice on the other side of the wall, but fate has a surprise in store–his mystery man isn’t single.

Slade Gannon wasn’t supposed to take part in the dating show. That spot was for his roommate, Phil, who becomes ill and asks Slade to take his place. Slade has just recently gone through a breakup with his cheating boyfriend, George. Shocked and pleased when he wins the interest of handsome Dekker Callan, before he can go on the obligatory blind date, his ex asks for a second chance. Believing Dekker can’t possibly be as good on the inside as he looks on the outside, Slade agrees.

Dekker and Slade hit it off immediately, drawn to each other despite Slade being involved with someone else. They finally get their opportunity to be together when Slade finds out his boyfriend is still cheating, but just as they seem to discover the happiness they’ve been waiting for, George throws them one last hurdle—and this one may prove to be insurmountable.

After that blurb, there’s not a lot I can do to spoil this story…

And I should have read the blurb and backed away slowly.

Because when someone shows you who they are, you should believe them. The first time.

Slade doesn’t. He kicked the asshat George to the curb for a reason, but takes him back, and for no apparent reason. Unless he’s that terrified of being single for twenty minutes, which reads more like 14 year old girl than grown man, because he has this wonderful date scheduled with an apparently wonderful guy that he REALLY REALLY WANTED. But no, instead of going out and having a good time and seeing where it goes, let’s take the shithead back.

And…. It goes downhill from there. Very little Slade did reversed my opinion to make me believe he’s a functioning adult.

Also, Dekker should have been paying attention to who Slade’s saying he is, and backed away fast. Kudos for Slade being a man of his word, and OMGWTFBBQ on everything else.

I didn’t like any of the characters, and I couldn’t buy in to the situations, because things went from irritating to over the top. So while this book had some strong points, like Dekker’s ideas for a date, and the writing style as a whole, I spent far too much reading time yelling at the Kindle. 2 marbles

The Tailor by Kassandra Lea

Title: The Tailor
Author: Kassandra Lea
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Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 10k
Formats Mobi, epub, PDF

Bartholomew is on his way to a Christmas party when disaster strikes, and he finds himself in dire need of a new suit. Thankfully, disaster struck right outside his favorite suit shop, and the cute tailor has the perfect suit to solve his problem—and possibly the solution to a whole lot more.



This story had a lot of promise, where clotheshorse Bartholomew realizes his tailor is his perfect man. It’s one of a series of shorts all themed on suits, and who doesn’t like a sharp dresser?

Unfortunately, the story wobbles all over the place, with the beginning headed in some different direction than the middle or the end. Bartholomew is a very indistinct character, worried strictly about himself, until an outrush of thoughtfulness makes the story charge off in a different direction. Changing one’s mind is fine, it there’s some support for it, which isn’t obvious here.

Walden isn’t introduced until nearly the halfway mark, and he comes off in a very Victorian, dormouse-y way. This adds to the sense of disorientation in time, as Bartholomew also feels like a relic from the past as a Dickensian fussbudget in a rush to kowtow to his boss. Walden at least knows what he wants.

Aside from Bartholomew’s dress sense, there’s no apparent reason for Walden to feel this strongly about him, and there’s no obvious attraction from Bartholomew back. It's “oh, you could come along” not "I really want to be with you.". I get the feeling Walden gets kicked by life a lot. Getting asked out by Bartholomew is actually a life kick more than a good thing.

Basically, I’m not feeling any chemistry, and so the lack of on screen intimacy is a good thing. There’s no support for it.

The premise is cute, and there are a few flashes of charm, but this doesn’t really hold together. 2 marbles

Review: An Erie Garden Party by V.L. Locey

Title: An Erie Garden Party
Author: V.L. Locey
Purchase at Torquere
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Cover Artist: Kris Norris
Genre: paranormal, shifter
Length: 32K
Formats pdf, mobi, epub, html

Spring has finally arrived along the shores of Lake Erie and no one is happier than skunk shifter, Templeton Reed. Now that the snows have melted, he can frolic and play on the grounds of Lupei Manor, the formidable home that he shares with his life partner, Mikel Lupei, the alpha of the Lake Erie pack. What a pity that his joy is short lived.

Not only does a stranger appear to shake things up in the manor, bodies begin showing up on the grounds as well! Could the newcomer to the pack be the one viciously killing innocent humans and shifters? Or is there a more nefarious force at work lurking just outside the boundaries of the ancient manse Templeton, Mikel, and their LGBT friends call home?

This is the latest in the series featuring Templeton Reed, skunk shifter and lover of the Lupei pack’s alpha, Mikel. Readers of the series will recognize a lot of recurrent characters, such as the grumpy vampire in the basement and the butler, Rugby. The butler was the subject of a running gag, and I admit I chuckled over it every darned time. I can just see Templeton’s eyes bugging out.


Templeton comes across as small and kind of fussy, inclined to describe himself as adorable. He’s a skunk shifter, which in this rigidly hierarchical world, puts him way below the wolves. That he and the pack he’s attached to are all gay is another hierarchical issue, because gays have no place in this shifter society. They’re all tiptoeing around the possibility of being outed, which complicates solving the murders. Getting outed as shifters has its own set of terrors.

Mikel, the alpha, is charmingly primitive in his full moon appetites, and Templeton and he clearly adore one another. Keeping Mikel’s mind on business at hand when the moon is nearly full is a chore. Templeton gets used as a chew toy and a lovey and an ally, strong in his own way. Considering that messing with a skunk is such a terrible idea, he deserves more respect than he gets. Size isn’t the only way to be fearsome.

I’m coming in late to the series, which make the mystery at the heart of the story, the dead bodies turning up at the shore, not entirely fair to the readers, as some clues are in other books but treated as if they’ve been mentioned here.

I was somewhat put off by the style, which is occasionally stilted and formal. Sometimes this was at odds with the characterization, sometimes in synch with it. I found myself enjoying the world and the story and the characters, all while wishing the actual flow of words and the sense worked better. Such as here, where Templeton has just sprayed a strange wolf.

The wolf rolled back its black lips. Canines as long as my petite little skunk arm flashed in the morning sun. I hissed like a doused cat and took a step in reverse. A car door slammed. My head and the rogue wolf’s jerked in the direction of the noise. I made a break for it. Praying it was Mikel and not some poor human deliveryman, I ran about fifty yards before my lover came trotting around the side of the mossy old mansion. He was in his finest fur. I squeaked and screeched in warning. Mikel pranced over to me. I dashed between his long legs and hid there. The rogue walked up to the Lake Erie alpha and licked his face. Mikel began wagging his tail and then jumped on the rogue playfully.

Actually, I’m imagining Mikel chewing out the newcomer for A) messing with a skunk and B) especially messing with THIS skunk. Nobody’s going to lick a freshly skunked pal, I don't care how glad you are to see him, he reeks.

So while there certainly are some enjoyable elements, I’d like the style and logic to work on the same level as the imagination. 2 marbles

This is in no way the author's fault, but honestly, Torquere, this file is a mess.

The Queen's Consorts by Kele Moon

Title:   The Queen’s Consorts

Author:   Kele Moon

Publisher listing:   Loose Id

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Cover Artist:  Scott Carpenter

Genre:  Fantasy, Menage

Length:  95,200 words (long novel)

Formats:  epub, mobi, pdf, prc, html

Blurb: The Queen’s Consorts. Just laying eyes on one is a death sentence. So when Sari, who spent most of her life on the streets, ends up entangled in a steamy relationship with the two most forbidden men on the planet, she knows it can’t end well.

After a brutal attack, Sari’s taken to the Sacred City, exposing her to the secret lives of the Rayians who rule in the long lost queen’s absence. It’s in this darkly sexual world where she first meets the legendary consorts.

Too handsome and talented for their own good, Calder and Taryen have learned to trust only each other in order to survive. Bred to be feared warriors and exclusive companions to a queen, instead they’re slaves to other Rayians desires for them.

Their brutal lives make the two consorts hesitant to care for Sari when she’s unexpectedly dumped in their laps, but they soon discover she’s different from the cruel women they’re used to serving. Drawn to Sari on a soul deep level, Calder and Taryen can’t seem to stop themselves from going back for one more taste of the beautiful outsider… even when it puts the fate of the entire world in jeopardy.

Review:

In retrospect, I should have turned this one down. I’m probably not the target market, because I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy, and therefore have some expectations about world building, like consistency combined with cause and effect.

If I were reading only for the sexxors, I probably would have been happy. Sari, Taryen, and Calder are hot, and if one can dissect out the background, they do well together, moving from attraction with “oh no mustn’t touch” to “oh no but have to touch” to “touchy touchy touch” in what is a nicely paced and rather hot progression. In place it’s m/m, m/f, or m/m/f, elsewhere the action is m/f/m, and no one’s left to be the clap and cheer section. Sex scenes are occasionally marred by stilted dialog.

HOWEVER.

The world building is essential to the story, and it’s lacking.

This is a world that by definition has gone through the kind of cataclysm that should have brought governments crashing, economies crashing, populations crashing, and generally become post-apocalytic. The weather went through an abrupt and apparently irreversible change in such a way as to ruin agriculture and keep it ruined, but hey, everything’s in greenhouses  under lights, no big. It’s nice, orderly, and enough to support the entire population of the world and still have endless acres for flowers. The sun hasn’t been seen in close to 20 years, but only the street urchins seem to be starving and the elite sport tans.

The ruling class, the Rayians, can be identified at a glance, women are outnumbered three to one by men and are considered divine apparently just because they’re scarce, but an elite female can be kept as a sex slave without comment. Not only that but she’s still virgin, even though she’s been the chief instructor for “how men should pleasure women” classes. At apparently age fifteen. Or maybe younger. It's very handwavy.

An elite class woman can appear out of the blue without introductions and antecedents, and be totally accepted, at least at on the surface. Sorry, that didn’t work in the Regency era, and it doesn’t convince me here. This is a small enough group that everyone would know everyone, or know their people, but Sari’s included in the very top levels without a blink. There’s only one obvious candidate of this age bracket, and no one aside from She Who Knows even thinks of it, and she seems to be insane.

Most of them seem to be insane, actually, resulting in an entire flock of the sort of Evil Harpy #2 characters generally reviled in m/m. Their entire thought process seems to be “let’s torture two of the three people who could really, really, get even with us if our grip ever slips.”  Otherwise, not a hint of nuance, and no one actually seems to be running things.  

Everyone finally does get laid, wrongs are righted, political structures remade, the sun finally comes out, yay. There’s a reason the old queen traveled around the realm, but Sari’s fine with sitting in one place licking her wounds for more than half a year while the problems of her people and her country *that she could be fixing* are allowed to persist. She’s traveled the world undetected (!) in her earlier days, seeing the troubles first hand, so she has no excuse for delay. Even Sari describes herself as useless during this period, and she's right. Her consorts have been ruined with their sycophancy training: neither Taryen nor Calder kick her butt into action.

In the name of genre I’m willing to accept some of the more fantastical elements, such as facility of languages, elemental connections, and even, I choke to say it, the soul-mate issue. However, in exchange, I want the ordinary parts of the story to make sense, and plot points that are made to seem important to actually be important. The true heart issue is one that felt tacked on - apparently one needs to be a genetic weirdo to be a kind person on this planet.  Many issues I’ve mentioned and several I have not have been tossed at the story without their ramifications being considered, and I am not one of the readers who will shrug at their mismanagement because the sex is hot.

I actually set this book aside at the 25% mark for several months and would not have finished it except for the sense of obligation.  Read it for the sex and the relationship, and gloss past everything else if you value the fantasy genre without the sex. 2 marbles.

A Little bit of Country by Christiane France

Title: A Little Bit of Country
Author: Christiane France
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure
Publisher Buy Link: A Little Bit of Country
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 16k

When misfortune ended Max Mayler’s career as a singer, he bought The Showtime Bar, an establishment with a long history of giving aspiring artists an opportunity to showcase their talents. It’s where Max got his chance, and he wants to continue the tradition.

Jay Ferman has the exceptional voice and the sexy good looks to make it big, and although he’s been performing every Saturday night for weeks, no one pays him any attention. It could be canned music for all they seem to know or care.

Max quickly realizes the problem is Jay’s failure to truly connect with his audience. But, as Max tells one of his servers, he operates a bar and not a school for wannabees. He likes Jay, but his performance deficit is none of Max’s business.

But will Max make it his business and give Jay some much-needed advice, especially after the men connect in a very personal way?

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

Max uses his bar as a talent launch, since he got his start here and gives other performers the opportunity. So it’s a little contradictory that he’s so standoffish about actually giving critique to someone who’s got most of what it would take to make it. It’s not explicitly an open mike night, or an open mike place in general, so Max’s refusal to say even “You might want to make some eye contact,” is a little weird. If he’s trying to give folks a start, they wouldn’t be surprised he’s supportive, and since he was fairly successful, he might even know what he’s talking about. Most aspiring musicians would treat this like gold.


Max seems to be trying to blend into the woodwork, and his explanation of why doesn’t ring true. Getting punched in the mouth for an opinion suggests he was pretty overbearing when he gave it, and now he’s willing to let a promising singer fall flat without a word. Big change, and one I wasn’t convinced of.

So I found Max contradictory and hard to warm up to, and since a lot of things were stated two and three times over, in his first person dialog and in the surrounding text, it kept me at a distance.
Jay was easier to connect to. Clueless but willing to learn, he was a warmer character, and was the one to reach out to Max, who’s still pulling away. Jay can take instruction, up to a point, and that point was where it fell apart for me. He misconstrues a helpful comment in a bizarre way, and Max’s rationalizations for it made me grit my teeth. The whole segment was forced, and even though Jay later admits he was wrong, he then proceeds to go overboard in the opposite direction.

And Max goes for it. Instant happy ever after, completely unsupported. This was so out of the blue that I couldn’t buy into it at all, as if the story was missing several thousand words of getting from point A to point B.

The sections of this story I was happiest with were the sex scenes, which didn’t go for too much too fast. Their first time was sweet, for a quicky in the office, and their second was hot and a little fumbly, which made me smile.

The sex wasn’t enough to rescue the story, unfortunately. Between the repetitions in the text and hard to believe plot points, this story didn’t work very well for me. 2 marbles

After the BBQ by Matthew Lang

Title: After the BBQ
Author: Matthew Lang
Cover Artist: Deanna Jamroz
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 9000 words



Trent Gaudeen was going to spend Australia Day alone--on principle, of course. When an invitation comes out of the blue to attend his ex's holiday barbeque, he goes along despite himself. Will he open a can of worms or find the perfect match to his American pumpkin pie?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I like stories with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Here the beginning starts out with the promise of paranormal that doesn’t mesh up with the contemporary middle, which in turn doesn’t support the happy ever after ending. This could have made a lot more sense.


After getting the story, reading it, and wondering what the heck I just read, I discovered that this is part of a series, but even so, this degree of ?? wasn’t necessary. Merely starting the story a few pages later would have removed the paranormal element that went nowhere and let this story stand properly on its own. Just because the paranormal element was front and center in other books with other MCs doesn’t mean it has to appear here.

Once past the red herring, American in Australia Trent meets up with Vijay, a New Zealander of mixed Greek and Indian heritage, at Jake’s Australia Day barbecue. He’s intriguing and sexy, and Trent wants to be all over him. A walk home with adventures later, they’re home, getting in each other’s britches, and all is copacetic.

The HEA happens about 12 hours later. Um, whut? The middle doesn’t support this—it comes out of the blue. The story feels like a slice of life, kind of fun, but not utilizing the “two outsiders celebrating someone else’s holiday” set up and doing nothing at all with the paranormal elements. If you’re a fan of the other Talmor Manor stories, you might follow along better and enjoy this more. It’s pretty choppy, even for those who know the setup. 2 marbles

Just His Type by E.E. Montgomery

Title: Just His Type
Author: E.E. Montgomery
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary, Bittersweet
Length: 28 pages

Daron’s looking for a certain type: he loves tall, slim older men, and he’s sure one of them will be his one true love, even though he doesn’t truly believe he deserves it. His lack of confidence leads him to a series of meaningless encounters with strangers, convinced that eventually he’ll find a relationship to last a lifetime. His best friend and coworker, Rebel, offers Daron the only stable relationship he’s ever known. Rebel is younger than Daron and only slightly taller, so definitely not his type. Daron enjoys the time they spend together, but refuses to allow himself to think it could be anything more than friendship. He’s never bothered to consider what Rebel thinks….

A Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.

********************************

The Bittersweet line from Dreamspinner tends to very high quality love stories that don’t have an HEA. Most of them have an unexpected twist to account for the absence, or have something as basic as not breathing the same element that interferes. Not here though: there is no strong and enduring love. Daron, the POV character, is extremely shallow and unpleasantly delusional. One can only wonder why Rebel persists.


At nearly thirty, Daron feels the need for something beyond casual encounters, but instead of insisting on something as basic as a name before falling to his knees, he hits the concrete yet again in a tawdry semi-public encounter with someone who’s willing to take but not give. Somehow, this convinces Daron that not only is the man perfect for him, but that given enough time and blowjobs, the stranger will gift him with a name and a relationship and things will be wonderful. All evidence to the contrary fails to budge his dreamworld.

The anonymous connoisseur of blowjobs is perfectly upfront about his intentions.

“I remember the way your hair shines in dim light and
the warmth of your mouth.” The tall man shrugged. “Who
knows how long it’ll take me to remember your name.”

This apparently has enough poetry in it to be seen as an endearing quirk to be overcome on the path to true love.

Sensible commentary (“Him? Still? Are you serious? Why the fuck are you doing this?”) plus little hints from Rebel make no impression either. Out and out suggestions of dates get transformed into something work-related.

The parallel of both men yearning after the unattainable fails to make the story any more satisfying—there is no relationship to twist into the bittersweet sighs of something wonderful gone awry. Even Daron’s late realizations fail to elicit much sympathy after he’s persisted in his fantasy beyond rationality, and I was left glad that Rebel had dodged a bullet.

The writing is competent, but the plot is aggravating; there is no love here even to go wrong, only might have beens, and only one character who elicits any sympathy at all. And it’s neither Daron nor Rebel. 2 Marbles

Hunting for Clay by N.J. Nielsen

Title: Hunting for Clay
Author: N.J. Nielsen
Publisher: MLR Press
Length: 24,000 words


Two years have passed since Clay and Hunter met on that fateful morning in Tello’s Diner. Getting passed the fact Clay was stalking Marlowe was the easy part. Clay Montgomery’s life changed for the better the day he found the man who was meant to be the other half of him. Hunter understood him well, and knew how to give him exactly what he needs to be happy. Hunter Weldon knows what he wants, and just how to get it. For two years he has loved the man in his arms and now it was time to up the ante.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunting for Clay follows on from another work which I have not read, although there is enough backstory included here that I didn’t feel lost. Two established couples, Hunter and Clay, who are the primary couple of this story, share a house with Marlowe and Angelo. They’re all friends now, and have a pleasant, easy-going friendship.

Two of the men’s families have serious issues with their gayness, which unfortunately requires much sneaking around for them to spend any time with their younger brothers. Both younger brothers are gay as well, which complicates things further. The subtext of the story is what makes a family? and the efforts everyone makes to spend time with the younger brothers is a large part of the story.


Unfortunately, the theme tends to wander through several subplots that meander through in little snippets, but 80 pages/24K words isn’t enough to explore all of them, so none gets examined in any detail. This gives a “slice of life” feel to the story rather than a coherent plot arc. A large number of secondary characters sail in and out, again, too many to spend any real development on in this length. The overall effect is a series of mostly unconnected events, although the arc becomes more evident in retrospect. But no sooner does one start reading a bit of one character’s actions than someone else waltzes in to take attention.

The style of the writing was making me uncomfortable in a way that took a while to identify: the language is very simple and without contractions in the dialog. This may suit other readers better than it suited me, but I felt like I was reading something meant for middle grades on style, but for adults on content.

Hunter reached down and gave the plug in his arse a twist and relished in the way Clay moaned. “I will be back in a second to help you, love.”

The contrast was jarring, and was not improved with numerous proofing errors, enough to become intrusive. I can cope better with constant endearments if the rest is done correctly.

The Aussie slang was fun, I now know what “full as a goog” means, and it helped to give a nice sense of place as well as characterization. (A goog is an egg, and the saying implies you've eaten or drunk too much.)

The element of BDSM-lite didn’t feel consistent, because while Hunter and Clay trotted out the toys, Hunter “couldn’t live with himself if he ever hurt Clay,” which was said in the context of getting out the nipple clamps and ball gag.

The ending is very happy – it all comes together in one huge celebration that resolves absolutely everything in the story, from the big family issues to the relationship. It was cute but hasty, and involved much handwaving on some major problems.

The story was certainly ambitious in what it was attempting, but with a main couple, two secondary couples and some strays looking like they’d get paired off, and some absolutely enormous issues, all in 80 pages, this is a sweet rush-through with little depth. 2 Marbles

Nathaniel by Jan Irving

You and your son have the saddest eyes.

Young cowboy Happy Nathaniel is struck by a need to reach out when he first meets Aaron King and his son, Samuel, so he helps Aaron find a haven at the Rocking M, far away from their strict Mennonite community. Once Sam is settled in the country school, both men seek something to spur him to speak again. But most of all, Nate also sees Aaron’s loneliness, and a single kiss is the spark Nate has secretly craved. But he’ll put his attraction on hold as long as needed, knowing there is a time for all things and that, one day, Aaron will want to dance again.

A spin-off of Luke and Sylvan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For a mixing of oil and water cultures story, this combined a lot more like coffee and cream, with a big spoonful of sugar.

Aaron, for a man who has spent his life in a plain community, apparently splintered from the Mennonites, seems a bit technologically backwards, not sheltered from the world. He plows behind a horse not as the only way he knows, but as a choice. Finding porn on the internet seems to be one of his other tech accomplishments. For someone with a heavy duty religious background, it all seems very far away, as if he shed a lot of thoughts when he left the community.

His eight year old son Samuel, who is mute by choice, is Aaron's reason for leaving the community, he says. The boy, who recently lost his mother, has refused to speak since then. Samuel carries his own burdens, but after the initial scenes from his POV, he's much more of a supporting player. There is a big change for him, but it comes out of the blue, not out of any real development.

Nate, Happy Nathaniel, the out and proud cowboy who would like to change the sadness on father and son's faces, is the only truly vivid character here -- he'll pick a child out of a ditch without offering stupid advice, he'll dance if he's happy, and he finds the newcomer to the modern world intensely attractive.

This is good, because Aaron comes flying out of the closet with an intensity that only startles one of them. No introspection about it -- Aaron displays the sort of single mindedness  -- See! Want! Grab! Mine! normally associated with the less cerebral varieties of shapeshifters. He needs some coaching on technique, but there is no question in his mind of rightness, strangeness, if, maybe not, or frankly of anything short of the logistics of getting Nate moved in with him and his son. Hate to say it, but this wastes a lot of potential, and Aaron comes across as half a character. He doesn't question anything, least of all his own motives, because really, is the best thing for a recently orphaned, traumatized child taking him away from every single stable, familiar thing in his life?

The one working hardest to make this a story is Nate. I wish he'd gotten some help, because this could have been really good.



Buy here.

About Damn Time by Elizabeth Jewell

Troy and Jason have been best friends forever -- or at least since first grade. Lately, though, Troy wants more. A drunken make-out session makes him think Jason might want more, too, but Troy is afraid to push things for fear of ruining their friendship.

When a vintage Mustang enters the picture, though, Troy makes a hasty bet with Jason that will change their relationship forever. Are they ready to take the leap from friends to lovers?
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Friends to lovers story here, not completely satisfactory or believable.

The story itself is rather sweet -- friends since childhood, openly gay at least with each other, and supportive in a hands off kind of way, Troy and Jason live rather ordinary young men's lives, Jason as a mechanic who also welds sculpture he lacks confidence to market, and Troy as a bartender whose casual encounters never include Jason. Rebuilding a '68 Mustang becomes not just Jason's project but a way to bring the two together as more than friends. One drunken make-out session becomes the springboard to getting the car finished and some sex to celebrate.

Unfortunately, the story is told from the less interesting character's POV. Troy's drifting through his life, doing nothing much at all, although the description of one of his encounters did make me laugh out loud. Jason has more going on; he builds, rebuilds, creates, and agonizes, which we can see only through Troy's much less than focused gaze.

But I honestly don't see how these two could muddle through years of teenagerhood, six months of half-assed smooching, and then, when the big pay-off is in sight, they both neglect to fill their pockets properly. Or risk the paint job on the pride and joy, except for dramatic flair. A fifteen year or more friendship could certainly explode into more, but why it hasn't earlier, especially if they are aiding and abetting each other's casual escapades, is never really delved into. A vague bit of possessiveness on Troy's part is the only real hint of emotion, he seems to barely exist on the page.

There's a substantial amount of telling going on, so when a small explosion of showing happens, it's noticeable, and not enough to rescue the story. I really wanted to like this story, it's set local for me, but the few bright bits in a sea of ho hum aren't enough. 2 Marbles

Gently Down the Stream -- Connie Bailey

Heading to his country home after a long week of work, Matthew Janssen meets a young man on the train – a startlingly handsome young man named Albin, who claims he can read Matthew's mind and show him his most hidden desires. But when he wakes at his stop, he's alone. Leaving the terminal, Matthew dismisses the incident as an erotic daydream – until he collides with the same young man, who's just missed the last train. Albin insists he's never seen Matthew before, but Matthew isn't about to let him disappear a second time.

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Fans of twu insta-wuv will probably like this better than I did. I tried reading it as a fairy tale, but the absence of a quest plus language that bounced from the self-consciously lyrical to normal to crass (cum is not a romance construction, really)spiked that.

I tried looking it as a fantasy, which probably worked better, given the mind-reading aspect and the complete and total insta-love, but it kept being a fantasy of the one handed read variety, not the plot type, because the plot basically ended at meet, fall in love, sex, total elapsed time, 1 hour.

A story that features phrases such as 'quivering arousal,' 'yearning cock,' and 'anus' has me using both hands to cover my eyes, so that didn't work so well, either.

It seemed like a good idea when I bought it.






Late note -- after looking at how I planned to rank stories more thoroughly, I decided I'd been too harsh and upgraded to a 2. Apologies to those few, those happy few, who were with us on St Swithin's Day.

Beautiful C*cksucker II What a Good Boy

For too many years, career obligations and cultural expectations cost Mikisaburo Nabeshima the possibility of love.

Now older, wiser, and infinitely more alone, personal business takes Miki back to New York where another chance encounter with another handsome policeman rouses suppressed desires.

David Kirkland is a brash young cop who grew up on New York’s meanest streets. When the man he believes killed his foster mother is set free, Dave vows revenge. If he needs to leave the country and go undercover with a sexy but infuriating older man then so be it, though he never expected the business arrangement to turn personal.

As Dave confronts a deep-seated need he’s never fully acknowledged, the killer they're after proves more deadly than they anticipate.


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A few too many headdesk moments to really enjoy this. Why does an administrative level Japanese policeman on holiday, out of uniform, and WAY out of jurisdiction, not to mention in a time and location where you have to pass through a metal detector, have handcuffs with him? Why does a woman get killed in a way highly specific to the role of the other victims of this method when she has absolutely no connection to the reasons for the others, except to draw the other protag into the story? Why is it a good idea to rely on the judgment of someone who's getting extreme mindgames played with him? Why is all of a sudden it's a good idea to make what has been a big and career-breaking secret part of the investigation on home turf? When the Churchlady invades a story saying, "because it's conveeeeeenient!" it kind of spoils the read.

The sex was hot and plentiful, but plot is not the dull stuff between sex scenes.

Buy here.

Rated 2 of 5 on Goodreads