Fool's Errand by Chris Quinton

Title: Fool's Errand
Author: Chris Quinton
Purchase through Manifold Press (publisher's online shop ceased for now; all purchase links on the site though)
Purchase at Allromanceebooks
Genre: Mystery/ Fantasy/ futuristic
Length: 40.000 words/ 142 pages
All Formats

First in the Fool’s Odyssey Trilogy - Xavi is a sometime hooker, sometime gigolo, working the rich pickings of wealthy tourists and bored socialites of Barcelona in 2042. His current meal ticket is Sophia Matas, the wife of a prominent politician. Then Sophia is assassinated and he’s the only witness. Within hours, Xavi finds himself in protective custody and in a safe house. His guardian is Andreas, a vampire liaising with the Barcelona police.

Andreas needs to exert control - of himself, his abilities, and his relationships. Now he must keep Xavi safe. If he can keep Xavi in one place long enough. They embark on an affair that will define who and what they are, played out in an deadly dance of kill-or-be-killed danger.

 The Fool’s Odyssey trilogy: Book One

When Xavi becomes an accidental witness to the murder of a wealthy woman he knows exactly what to do – get the hell out of there, fast! Xavi lives on the edge of the law; he and the police don’t exactly mix. Unfortunately the cop who is sent after him turns out to have some rather unusual abilities, so it isn’t long before their paths cross – which is roughly when Xavi begins to realise that getting caught may be the very least of his troubles.

This book was published as early as 2010; I've had it sitting on my TBR forever. Now that I've read this I'm kicking myself why I didn't so sooner...

This book is marked futuristic, but since it's set in a not-so distant future the socio-cultural rules, everyday happenings and character's mindsets still felt familiar to me. Only difference: Vampires aren't a mere legend anymore; about a decade ago, they pleaded successfully before the UN to be recognized as a nation. Now a largely autonomous commune of vampires peacefully farms a stretch of land near Barcelona. This is about the extent of Vampiric worldbuilding we get in this book, aside from the fact that the Vampire society created some kind of police force for themselves, the Wardens; one of which, Andreas Rousakis, serves as a liaison to the Barcelona Police

I often find vampire books off-putting for the elaborate vampiric worlds and societies described; sometimes I feel like I've read similar things over and over with only the slightest varieties ever since I picked up my first Anne Rice book. But nothing of that sort occurs in here. The vampire lore in this book is interesting, but only hinted at; the story is more character-driven, focusing on how Andreas and Xavi find their way together. And yet, Andreas's vampiric nature is an intricate part of both the underlying crime/ thriller plot and the budding relationship between him and Xavi.
 

I really really liked street-smart, no-pushover Xavi. Andreas, on the other hand, remained a bit more inaccessible to me; maybe because he's meant to be a bit of a mystery while yet fulfilling most Vamp clichés in line with expectations (and additionally shows some interesting Werewolf traits...)
 

I loved the writing, it pulled me in from the first sentence onward and never let go. A totally engrossing book that makes me curious about the rest of the series. Five marbles

PS: As of today, 1/23/2015, this book is available for FREE through all purchase links!

 

The Boyfriend Mandate by River Jaymes

Title: The Boyfriend Mandate
Author: River Jaymes
Publisher: Self published/ Amazon
Cover Artist: n/a
Length: Novel (284 pages)
Formats: Mobi

Guest review from Feliz

Stuntman and two-time cancer survivor Memphis Haines excels at beating the odds. When he’s presented with the opportunity to help his ex-boyfriend with a charity event, he jumps at the chance to make up for the devastating way he left Tyler ten years ago. Memphis might have taken the college geek’s virginity, but the former mathelete is now a hell of a head turner. And Dr. Tyler Hall’s cool reserve is a challenge Memphis can’t resist. A self-confessed rule breaker and line crosser, he keeps turning up the heat with one goal in mind: to melt the man’s composure.

Tyler Hall sticks to one simple mandate: no more dating ex-boyfriends. Ever. He certainly isn't interested in hooking up with Memphis Haines, the ex who jumps off buildings, dodges explosions, and poses for designer underwear ads. Ten years ago, falling for Memphis changed Tyler’s life. The man’s abrupt departure turned his world inside out. But he moved on long ago. Besides, he has a clinic for the homeless to run, patients to take care of, and no time to deal with the trouble his ex brings. Memphis, however, seems determined to rehash the past. And his boxer-dropping grin, hard body, and confident charm are resurrecting ultra-hot memories best not remembered, making Tyler’s rule harder and harder to keep...

I enjoyed the first book in this series, The Backup Boyfriend, so I could barely wait for this one to come out.

And I really liked this book too, although not quite as much as the first in the series. More about this later. First the pros:

The writing was wonderful, catchy and smooth (aside from those annoyingly overused expletives--"Judas Priest" and "Jesus Haploid Christ"--ehm, wait, what?) Tyler, whom I didn't care for all that much during the first book, really grew on my during this one. In the first boo, he was a cold, detached asshole, but the details on his backstory revealed here made me understand him much better, made him appear human, and by the end, I'd come to care for him a lot.


Memphis, however....of course he was adorable like he was meant to be, on the surface at least, but he also had some rather unappealing traits. For one, he was manipulative to a fault, not only with Tyler, but also with everyone else around him. He played the "poor me cancer survivor" card a little too often, and even though his remorse seemed real, I though Tyler forgave him too easily. Then again, the two had some real good chemistry between them, too. 

Alec and Dylan from book one made a few cameos, and I loved meeting them again; I especially loved to see insecure Dylan giving and receiving advice from Tyler, of all people. As Tyler and Memphis's relationship grew closer, so did their group of friends. Meeting Julissa was another pro; she's a great female character, so well developed even in her rather minor role that I almost wished she'd get her own book at some point.

However, I somewhat missed Noah. Even though much of the book was set at his place, Noah's presence wasn't as strongly felt as it was during the first book. Since Noah is kind of like the glue that keeps them all together (and my secret favorite of them all, admittedly) I was glad to see a new scrap of development during the epilogue, hinting at Noah finding happiness of his own in the not-so-far future.

It's always hard to come up with a reason for a decade-long separation of "star-crossed" lovers. Although the reasons for Memphis's taking off in the first place took some suspension of disbelief, they were toroughly explored later and explained to a point where I almost--almost could relate... which was the biggest issue I had with the book: the almost, even more so since I couldn't quite put my finger on what actually bothered me about Memphis and Tyler's breakup-and-reunion-trope. IN the end, I guess it might've been a case of it's not the book, it's me, so... as taste is subjective, I think other readers need to find out for themselves.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and commendable read, although I'm looking forward to Noah's story even more now.