Chase the Ace by Clare London

Title: Chase the Ace
Author: Clare London
Publisher listing at Amber Allure
Buy at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 24k (novella)
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, prc, Microsoft Reader

Blurb:

Newly single in his late twenties, and looking for more fun than he gets from his boring job, Daniel Cross soon discovers the lure of social media. After a few hiccups, he’s excited at the chance of tracking down his old mates from the Scorching Summer Sports Club of 1990. He lost touch with his “Gang of Four” after that summer, but now he launches a personal quest to find out what kind of man each boy has become.

It starts well with a link to the first boy’s current address, through a mutual friend on Facebook, until Dan realises he’s been chatting online to the wrong man. Nick Carson isn’t an old school friend at all. It’s a genuine mistake, and Nick isn’t offended. He offers to accompany Dan on the trip to find the others. It’s the first step to friendship and something more for both of them.

For Dan, the reunions with the “Gang of Four” range from startling, heartening and disturbing. Nick’s company is a constant support, though neither of them are prepared for the exposure of personal secrets they’d thought were long-hidden. Dan begins to suspect that he’s really looking for a direction in his own life—and the excitement and purpose he craves may be closer to home than a quest with its roots in a boyhood dream.

Review:

After that blurb, there’s not a lot I can say that’s spoilery—the story is now a matter of how rather than “what”, but it’s still a pleasant afternoon’s read.


Daniel’s remarkably social media-inept for someone of his age bracket, which is good for a chuckle or three, even if it’s a bit contrived. Facebook friending leads him to a road trip with someone who isn’t the old sports club pal he originally thought. Nick’s up for an adventure, and since he drives and Daniel doesn’t, it’s a good thing that he’s got enough flexibility to keep going as they gather addresses.

He’s very good company, too, which leavens the encounters with Daniel’s now-grown friends, which range from entertaining with a side of surprise to shocking and painful. In every visit, Daniel finds a new puzzle in himself, in how he could have overlooked things then, and what he wants for himself now. Nick stays in the background during these encounters, but he has some very good questions later, and Daniel uses the answers to grope towards his own true desires.

I was a bit startled to find an old misconception about cross-dressing trotted out, but other than that I enjoyed the read, watching Nick and Daniel find more intimacy than they expected. There’s more to Nick than meets Daniel’s eye at the beginning, and of course, Daniel’s psyche is kind of hanging out for Nick to get to know because of the nature of their journey. And the sex is hawt.

The chemistry between them is good, and we’re left with the feeling that this road trip is only the beginning of something wonderful. 4 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?

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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

Naked Tails by Eden Winters

Title: Naked Tales

Author: Eden Winters

Cover Artist: Shobana Appavu

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press  

Buy Links: Amazon  AllRomance eBooks 

 Genre: Shapeshifters

Length: 234 pages

Seth McDaniel wasn't raised among a shifter passel and has no idea what it's like to turn furry once a month. An orphan, torn from his father's family at an early age, he scarcely remembers Great-aunt Irene. Now her passing brings him back to Possum Kingdom, Georgia, to take up a legacy he doesn't understand and reconnect with a friend he's never forgotten.

As Irene's second-in-command, Dustin Livingston has two choices: assume control of the passel or select another replacement. Unfortunately, the other candidates are either heartless or clueless. Dustin's best hope to dodge the responsibility is to deliver a crash course in leadership to his childhood pal Seth, a man he hasn't seen in twenty years. However, while Dustin's mind is set on his task, his heart is set on his old friend.

Seth's quest for answers yields more questions instead. What's with the tiny gray hairs littering his aunt's house? Why do the townsfolk call each other "Jack" and "Jill"? Do Dustin's attentions come with ulterior motives? And why is Seth suddenly craving crickets?

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That smarty-pants possum on the cover tells you right away that this is no ordinary shapeshifter story.  No wolves, no big cats, and most importantly for me, no insta-luv based on “finding your one true mate.” These fellas have to work to find their HEA.

And Seth has to work to find his spine. He’s the heir apparent to a band of shapeshifters he has no clue about, and he’s ill-equipped for the task. People run roughshod over him, and it isn’t until he returns to Possum Kingdom, Georgia to discover all he missed in the way of family, friends, and moonlit nights that he starts to stand up for himself.

Seth’s torn between his grandmother, who seems to care about appearances more than Seth’s well-being (although she does raise a small boy by herself when it’s pretty clear this is a major imposition) and his Aunt Irene, who has to balance Seth’s well-being against her passel’s when she decides how hard to fight for a child who’s not in danger of anything worse than living in a city. There are no easy choices, and while the grandmother is not precisely three dimensional, she’s certainly not evil or cruel as much as terrified that the passel will cost her another family member. Irene is a much more loving figure, but she’s cut off from Seth when he’s eight years old.

So twenty years later, when Seth can decide what he wants without his grandmother’s opinions coming first, he’s got to cope with a town of strangers who are all behaving rather peculiarly and his best friend from way back when, who’s never stopped missing him. Dustin’s grown up to be the town doctor and Irene’s second in command become temporary leader, a position he doesn’t want. He can either step up to the pump or find a suitable replacement, and hope he survives the experience either way.

The story spends a lot of time with the possums in their animal form, which is often quite humorous, occasionally dangerous, and sometimes political, and always told in a way that moves the story forward. Seth also needs to learn to be part of the passel, a role he’s thrust into rather more firmly than Dustin could have imagined. Seth hasn’t been shapeshifting all along, but finds he enjoys it once it’s inevitable. “I am the Crickinator!” he exults after a chirpy snack.

In two-leg form, Seth grows hugely as a person, blossoming with the responsibilities that are thrust upon him, but Dustin’s not sure this will be enough to make him a leader. These qualities do lurk within him as dormant as his shapeshifting, but with a little coaching on method, he seems to have a talent for it. Between Dustin and Monica, Dustin’s current second in command, Seth will get whupped into shape one way or another.

The secondary characters are drawn vividly: Monica, Irene, and even the hapless Tiffany have clear personalities. The grandmother’s characterization is heavily tinted by being seen as the adult tyrant through children’s eyes, and it probably isn’t possible for her to be portrayed sympathetically after taking everything important away from young children, no matter what her reasoning. Monica is formidable and not easily won over—she’s a hoot, and I don’t ever want her plotting against me. Seth finds her advice valuable precisely because she doesn’t like him.

The relationship between Seth and Dustin is hugely complicated by the leadership issues, doubts about each other’s motives and sincerity, and the occasional foot planted firmly in mouth. It moves in fits and starts around these other issues. It’s never as simple as “childhood buddies destined to be lovers.” Dustin had to part with his long term lover over shifter politics, which he still regrets, and Seth has an ex who can mess with his mind. Both Seth and Dustin have to learn to see each other as men as much as long ago pals, long term disappointments, and solutions to a problem. No fated-mate handwaving here: it’s a real relationship that has to be built in the current day.

This story is charming for its characters, offbeat shifters, and the author’s clear understanding of small Southern towns, which all come together into a well-balanced read. A couple secondary characters deliver their messages with a slightly heavy hand and a running gag got one repeat past the funny, but that doesn’t keep this story from being a lovely afternoon’s entertainment. 5 marbles

Collusion by Eden Winters

Title: Collusion
Author: Eden Winters
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: contemporary, action/adventure
Length: 275 pages

Dead men can’t love.

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky.

While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals.

When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats.

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Forget sleep, I had to find out how this worked out. With a fast paced and tense external plot plus a relationship moving to a new level, Collusion kept me turning the page until I got to the end. Diversion, the first Bo and Lucky book (review here), did the same thing to me, and this is a more than worthy follow-up. I’d say the story stands alone, but the first one is too good to pass up.


Again we’re in Lucky’s point of view throughout. He’s a prickly guy, hurt often enough that he keeps the world at bay with his eternal smart-assery, and he’s barely been able to let Bo under his skin. Sex, fine, eating Bo’s cooking, also fine, clinging to each other in the night because that keeps away both of their demons, extra fine, as long as it’s on Lucky’s turf. Since Lucky would rather cuddle a palmetto bug than admit he’s in a relationship, Bo has his hands full.

Both men are agents of a fictional drug enforcement agency, and we get to see Lucky at work, first busting up a petty diversion ring from undercover, which also shows us the internal department tensions. Lucky’s antagonized everyone at one time or another, repaid in ghastly aliases and atrocious undercover vehicles. The inside of Lucky’s head will make you snort your drink on your reader:

Who in their right fucking mind deliberately painted a car chicken shit green? And not any old garden-variety chicken shit green either, but a fucking ugly-assed, glow-in-the-dark chicken shit green, like a Rhode Island Red ate radioactive corn or something.

Bo and Lucky then go undercover at a children’s cancer center, in search of the opportunists who’d buy up and then resell critical drugs at enormously inflated prices. This part of the plot is unfortunately true, as the author’s forward explains: the gray market is being shut down one tiny step at a time, but these issues are ripped straight from the headlines. Bo is a pharmacist, which allows him access to the internal workings of the hospital’s pharmacy from his new position as assistant buyer, and also lets him do something concrete for the kids with the bald heads and iffy lifespans. His heart breaks for them, and he can’t see why Lucky can step back and look at this problem from any other angle.

There’s fabulous tension between Bo and Lucky, as they work through the gray market and drug supply issues, which turn tragic and dangerous for patients and agents alike. Also a lot of sex, but Lucky has grave difficulties relating to Bo without involving sex—admitting he cares for anyone seems like a weakness and it takes him a while to embrace it. Which is fine—this is hot stuff. (Assless chaps scene=RAWR!)

Lucky’s trademark banter is here in full force, and Bo gives it back good as he gets, until he’s overwhelmed by events. Even though we aren’t in his head, we have no trouble seeing Bo as a man buckling under conflicting demands. The problem he needs to solve is not the same problem his heart demands he solve, and Lucky become the other side of Bo’s coin.

Bo and Lucky aren’t going to completely solve this drug-related crisis: that’s going to take the combined weight of the DEA, FDA, and Congress and hasn’t happened yet, but they are intent on cleaning up their little corner of the world. The author has a deft hand here: the issues are troubling, the danger is real, but it doesn’t go completely grim.

The ending was perfectly in character for both men, and the last line made me laugh out loud. Just perfect for a couple of men who don’t do mush—Lucky’s lines at the end make you want to both squish him in a big hug and smack him upside the head, but Bo knows exactly how to respond.

This is a finely balanced work, with a gripping plot and an evolving relationship. Bo and Lucky are a great team, and this is a great read. 5 marbles

Tristan by K.M. Mahoney

Title: Tristan
Author: K.M. Mahoney
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure
Buy Link:Tristan
Genre: paranormal/shifter
Length: 41k words/138 pages

As one of the top paranormal investigators in his company, Tristan is used to the weird, inexplicable, and downright nasty. His latest case, though, is proving to be more trouble than it’s worth…

Tracking an elusive serial killer has Tristan heading for the one place he would prefer to avoid: Putman County. Between the often-frightening residents and his always-frightening relatives, it’s not exactly his preferred vacation spot. But Putman County is where his latest target was spotted, so that’s where he goes.

From day one, the situation spirals out of Tristan’s control. His target always seems to be one step ahead of him, his brother is mad at him, while his boss keeps calling him a dozen times a day. And one annoying werewolf is looking far too attractive for Tristan’s peace of mind!

It’s going to take every ounce of Tristan’s not-inconsiderable skill to track down a murderer. And it’s going to take every ounce of his courage to admit that he might be falling for the last person anyone would expect.

NOTE: This book is part of the Putman County series.

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I find myself perplexed by this book enough that I need to make a what worked for me/what didn’t work for me post. The whole didn’t hang together.


What worked:
The not-cookie cutter shape-shifters. Tristan is a bear, which was refreshing, I don’t read bear shifter stories every day, and his demeanor was  growly, which should be useful for an investigator for the paranormal. There is also an interesting twist here on the wolves, which added a nice dimension.

The setting – Putman County is a paranormal hotspot for reasons explained within the story. This makes what would otherwise be a quiet burg in the Midwest something of a trouble magnet. The locals are an interesting bunch. A previous story regarding Tristan’s brother and a fae sounds entertaining enough for me to track it down, and is hinted at here.

Some of the relationships – Tristan and his brother have some issues to work out, and this ran through the story in a calling BS way. Tristan had behaved unfairly toward Michael in the past and still had some guilt to work through. A nice bit of head-getting-removed-from-butt work, which seemed to get undone again. Lucas’ relationship with his parents was a good touch; all three parents had gone to great lengths to protect him when he needed it, and let him work it out when he didn’t.

What didn’t work:

Characterization: Lucas is described initially as the unofficial leader of the weres, but he’s much more the cute but geeky misfit with no social skills and he admits that some of the other wolves could take him. The description set up some expectations on my part that were repeatedly knocked down, because Lucas displayed zero leadership and damned little sense, and was in fact, the town creepy stalker. That part of his characterization had some internal logic to it, but didn’t endear him to me.

The relationship between Tristan and Lucas seemed to be based on something as invisible as gravity and as simple as sex, because while Lucas’ desire for Tristan was fairly straightforward, Tristan’s desires past sex didn’t seem to have much basis, because Lucas is pretty irritating, and his best moments happen when Tristan is elsewhere.

The investigation that brought Tristan back to Putman County got short shrift—hunting a killer wasn’t treated as being nearly as important as getting laid and sorting out family issues. Tristan’s ability as an investigator wasn’t evident, and his boss’s frequent intrusions seemed more that he really needed the handholding than pressure from above on a competent agent. He’s busy cementing ties with old friends and family while a serial killer is out there scoping his next victim. Most forward progress on finding the killer came from other directions, leaving me feeling that Tristan was irrelevant to the investigation, and that the investigation was irrelevant to Tristan. The blurb signals that disconnect—catching a serial killer is more trouble than it’s worth?

(I was really hoping that line was a case of “blurbs are hard to write.” It wasn’t.)

So, basically the external plot and the relationship didn’t hang together in any coherent way, nor did the relationship have more going for it than sex and some pity. Lucas exhibited a little bit of growth along the way that was one of the better aspects of the story, but in itself wasn’t enough to make the book an enjoyable read. There are other stories within the setting, and perhaps the next plot will shine as much as the idea of Putman County deserves. 2.5 marbles

Diversion by Eden Winters

Title: Diversion
Author: Eden Winters
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure

Genre: Contemporary
Length: 274 pages

Drug dealers aren't always on the streets; sometimes they sit in offices and board rooms, selling merchandise in official looking bottles instead of little cellophane bags.

When given a choice between eight more years in prison or using his "expertise" to assist the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau's Department of Diversion Prevention and Control, convicted drug trafficker Richmond "Lucky" Lucklighter takes the sentence with the illusion of freedom. Cynical and unwilling to admit he's begun to care about his job, he counts the days until his debt is paid. His sole obstacle to getting his life back is the rookie he's assigned to train before he leaves; a rookie who quotes pharmacy texts, hasn't paid his dues, and has the obnoxious tendency of seeing the good in everyone – including the target of their investigation.

Former Marine Bo Schollenberger dreamed of becoming a pharmacist and watched the dream turn into a nightmare of PTSD-fueled prescription drug abuse. Battling his demons daily, he wakes up every morning, wondering, "Will this be the day I give in?" To keep his license, he must now put his skills to use for a diversion control task force, deal with a crude partner with too much attitude and no brain-to-mouth filter, and take down a drug lord who reminds him of his favorite cooking show hostess.

The bad guys don't stand a chance -- if Lucky and Bo don't strangle each other first...

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Once again, Eden Winters has demonstrated why she’s one of my “must buy” authors: I swear Diversion is her best yet. With some plot points ripped straight out of the headlines and shaped deftly into a story that is uniquely hers, and vivid and offbeat characters that riff perfectly off each other, this was a book I had to read more than once.

Lucky’s got pride in a job well done, well hidden under the delight of “sticking it to the man” in a sanctioned fashion, but his cocky attitude and unrelenting banter are the prickles he uses to keep the world at a distance. Lucky is a giant pain in the ass in a banty-rooster body: he carves carrots into penises if asked to make the salad and drinks the wine straight from the bottle. He twists everything, and keeps the heat on Bo, who isn’t shy about handing the guff right back.

What starts out as straightforward lust coupled with “give the newbie as much grief as possible”—Lucky needles Bo endlessly with jabs at his vegetarianism, his education, and need to get laid—morphs over time into feelings that Lucky can’t identify clearly. His “give a shit” button has been broken for so long that he’s having trouble recognizing the symptoms of caring, either for Bo, or for his work.

The story is told completely from Lucky’s POV, which seems uncommon in a romance of this length, but we have no trouble knowing Bo, who has layers of pain and complexity that come out bit by bit. Lucky is also a man of layers: his private sorrows are exposed a fragment at a time, each tidbit building on what we know already, and explaining perfectly why he hates his job and yet is so good at it, and why he keeps the world at bay. That he can let Bo in, a millimeter at a time, is only slightly because of time healing wounds, but even more that Bo can know him, understand him, and accept all the horrible parts without judging. They fit together so beautifully by the end of the book, without losing an iota of the smart-assery. 

The external plot revolves around drug diversion, where prescription pharmaceuticals are removed from the legitimate supply chain and sold to abusers. This is a real and huge problem: Ms. Winters touches on several ways it can be done, from out and out hijacking a truck to real doctors writing real prescriptions for imaginary ailments and enormous, ‘unsuitable for good medical practice’ quantities. She keeps up a fast pace, keeping me highly interested, a bit horrified, and terrified that somehow Bo and Lucky’s sting operation would go wrong.

Lucky and Bo are one the side of the angels now, but Lucky’s criminal past is what makes him so useful  to the fictional agency he works for: the fox is guarding the henhouse because he knows all the ways in and out, but he’s wearing a collar. His descent into crime unrolls slowly as flashbacks, contrasting with his current life, which he’d like to escape as completely as he’d like to escape his past. Bo’s story is a little more conventional, his private demons encouraging him to take solace in the temptations that surround him at work. Neither is in the enforcement end of the pharmaceutical industry because they wanted or planned it: all they can do is make the most of it. (And each other, Lucky would add.)

The secondary characters such as Walter and Dr. Ryerson are fully fleshed and vivid. The villain of the piece is three dimensional—one can see both the desperation that created the situation and the ruthlessness that exploits it. Even a character that never gets face time has a realness to him through Lucky’s pranks, smarting off, and inner dialog.

The ending brought lumps to my throat, and all I can say is I needed that epilog! 

Very highly recommended: this book works on a lot of levels, and, oh yeah, Bo and Lucky sizzle together. Two words: assless chaps. 5 Marbles

Buy here.

The Right Wrong Turn by Heidi Champa

Title: The Right Wrong Turn
Author: Heidi Champa
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Quill
Genre: contemporary
Length: 158 pages


Derek Owen has made a new life for himself in Austin after leaving his hometown of Cedar Bluff years before. In his rush to start over, he left behind his first and only love, Luke McLeod. He's moved up and moved on with a job at an accounting firm and a completely inappropriate relationship with his boss, Ben Dickson.

When Derek and Ben are caught in a compromising position, Derek is sent into exile, ostensibly to do an audit of a ranch near Cedar Bluff that's keen on expansion. Going home means confronting the past, and Luke, who is still living there. Derek soon finds himself tangled up in small-town secrets and lies. And, fighting his old feelings for Luke.

Can Derek figure out the right way forward, or has his life taken one too many wrong turns?
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The narrator, Derek, has left his small town roots and his small town love, Luke, far behind in his search for success in the big city. He misplaces his sense of right and wrong intermittently; it disappears when his cock goes up and manifests when he's flaccid.

Derek's supervisor Ben, theoretically in a committed relationship, summons Derek frequently, in spite of their mutual protestations that they shouldn't be involved. Furtive blowjobs in dank supply closets do not a relationship make, but his spine is a good grade of macaroni; he drops trou at the crook of Ben's finger. This isn't even an office romance, it's office tawdriness, showing Ben in his amoral self-centeredness. Derek doesn't come off much better, and when he's shipped off to pay penance by doing an audit in the boondocks, all he can think of is how fortunate he is not to be fired immediately.

The boonies in question are his old home town, and the audit, he comes to find out, touches his former lover's hopes and future. Luke, who summoned the courage years earlier to tell Derek that he didn't cherish hopes of finding his fortune in the city, is both alarmed and interested in Derek's return. Luke doesn't get a lot of honest answers at first, and by the time he does, he's well on his way to getting his heart broken again.

Luke is the voice of honesty here; he knows what he wants with his life and with his partner, and he's willing to make the hard choices that pay off in the long term. He's still a bit bitter about how things went between him and Derek, but finds enough forgiveness to start crawling through Derek's bedroom window again.

Derek's relationship with Luke, his relationship with the truth, and his job all come together with a resounding smash. Since Derek hasn't shown any great strength of character so far, reading how this shakes out was quite stomach churning. This book had me cussing and muttering instructions to the characters; Derek followed almost all of them eventually, but geeezzzzz (though he missed a chance at a final flip-off to someone who deserved it.).

The writing is smooth, letting the story unfold in first person from Derek's POV. His mental progressions flow, from disbelief to self pity, to resignation, and at last to determination and understanding that what's right isn't going to be easy. The impression that he's the sort of sleaze who deserves a Ben takes a long time to change; Luke's much too good for him, right up to the last few pages. Luke vaults from "I can't trust you" to "I still love you" which should be accounted a gift from God; all the intervening years and Derek's crappy behavior gets wiped away for doing the right thing one time.

The small town of Cedar Falls, is a puzzle; it's big enough to support a restaurant with a French trained chef but not big enough to support two accountants; it's rural Texas but one man hand-feeding another in a cowboy bar doesn't arouse comment. They feel very free to speak of intimate matters in a public place, and while that strikes me as a good sort of environment, it also, alas, doesn't seem very realistic.

The proportions of the story seem skewed—the cock-driven affair with Ben gets a lot of page time; by the time Derek gets back to Cedar Falls, half the book has elapsed. Derek doesn't examine why he's willing to screw around with a slimeball like Ben, whose lover seems ruthless enough to be a good match for him. "Not being over Luke" doesn't explain the self-destructiveness of this affair. It was interesting to read, in a "watch the car crash" way, but Derek doesn't seem to have learned anything from it. The relationship with Luke gets about half that much treatment, including the flashbacks, and quite a bit of important business between them happens offstage or in the past.

That said, I liked this story quite a bit more than its flaws would suggest: Heidi Champa somehow writes around them in a way that is a pleasure to read. The Right Wrong Turn is more about Derek's moral evolution than the romance. 3.5 marbles

Amor Prohibido by Ellis Carrington

Title: Amor Prohibido
Author: Ellis Carrington
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Quill
Genre: paranormal
Length: 127 pages


 Jacob Freehan has no job, no man, and no motivation. In pain both from ending a long-term abusive relationship and a severe back injury, he escapes to the sunny seaside town of Puerto Morelos for a little yoga, a little R&R, and possibly a place to quietly end his own life.

Pakal is a centuries-old immortal Mayan spirit guide who has been charged with getting Jacob on the path toward healing. Romantic involvement with a spirit charge is strictly forbidden, and it has never been a problem...until now. Pakal sees something special in Jacob, but failure to keep a rapidly growing attraction at bay could result in Jacob losing his life and Pakal being condemned to the Underworld forever...
_________
Ellis Carrington has given us a story with some fascinating and diverse characters, some serious problems, and a vivid setting. Woven into a page-turning whole, Amor Prohibido was a single sitting read for me.


Jacob has recently terminated a long-standing abusive relationship with Danny, who has been Jacob's one and only relationship throughout his adult life. It's left him hurting on many levels; Danny didn't hesitate to use violence or emotional manipulation. Jacob's head is clearing slowly; he's grieving the lost years and the wasted opportunities, and while he knows he's much better off without Danny, it hurts enough that the little bottle of pills looks like a very good friend to have around. Bringing them along when his best buddy Kelly drags him to the Mayan Riviera to a yoga resort, Jacob is anything but sure he wants to find out what life has in store next.

The spirit guide Pakal, charged with healing Jacob and other tattered souls, has managed a thousand years of duty without endangering his status by getting sexually involved. Like any good therapist, he's meant to help and guide, not entangle. However, the mystical connection he feels with Jacob convinces him that the relationship will be healing and thus part of his task. Big *GONG* for a modern therapeutic situation; anyone whose credentials come from getting ritually drowned in a cenote still can't--and the punishment is far more severe.

Even knowing, Pakal is willing to make this sacrifice- something in Jacob calls that strongly to him, and that's where things get really sticky. The gods are displeased, but not so much so that there isn't some kind of out, albeit with a really huge stinger.

The author has done a really good job of using the mystical elements; while I can't speak to the accuracy of the Mayan lore, it's consistent and vivid, good story-telling. Her sense of place is also vivid; the sun burns your neck, the cenote wraps cool fingers around your body, and the Underworld has to be experienced to be believed.

I had a little trouble with Jacob – he's been abused for many years. That he was willing to trust so rapidly might be waved away as the mystical connection he feels to Pakal, which is a lot deeper than him being the first good-looking man to treat Jacob decently, but it still seems to happen very fast. Still, Pakal's had a thousand years to get good at healing people... Details of Danny's temper and actions dribble out, building a real three dimensional history; what's happened to Jacob should not happen to anyone, and that he found the strength to get out is a cause to cheer. This is a man who deserves his HEA; every obstacle the gods threw at him and Pakal made me writhe in frustration of the very-involved-in-the-story sort.

The other source of frustration is that a major plot development falls on the page with no foreshadowing – Jacob produces the items he needs and some bizarre skills to use them just at the moment he needs them most, and that made the results seem unsupported. I did have to chuckle at the way he MacGyvered some lube, though.

The few stylistic glitches, such as multiple references to "the larger man" or "the thinner man" (okay, this is a pet peeve of mine, but people don't think of themselves and each other like that so it feels like a POV slip) and a few places where one person's actions fall in the same paragraph with another person's speech (which also feels like a POV slip) weren't enough to keep me from enjoying this story thoroughly. I delighted in a wonderful show of strength on Jacob's part towards the end, and in the resolution, which had a very joyous symmetry.

This is the first story I've read from Ellis Carrington, and I’m going to be on the lookout for more. 4.25 Marbles and now I need more graphics for Jessewave rankings.

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