Felixitations by Roger M. Kean

Title: Felixitations
Author: Roger M. Kean
Cover Artist: Oliver Frey
Publisher: Reckless Books
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 108,000 words

One Being - Millennia - Destinies Changed

Facilitator and felicitator, to have winsome young Felix step into a man's life is a transforming event: the course of destiny is altered. Emotions are unlocked, hidden longings are revealed, luck changes for the better… and sometimes for the worse. When Felix appears pleasurable fun and deserved pure, dreamed-of felicity or punishment ensue.

Over a span of thousands of years this enigmatic being’s random odyssey affects the lives of men attracted to his mesmerizing persona… yet Felix bears no hidden agenda, does not choose when or where he materializes – all happens by felicitous chance… or does it?

Embark on an erotic journey through time. From Ancient Sumer, Egypt and Rome through Renaissance Italy, modern Europe, Africa, and the Americas to the future above Earth, witness a kaleidoscope of human lives felixitated by this most enchanting being, named Felix.

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This book is unique—not a romance, not even one linear story, Felixitations is a series of vignettes whose only constant is Felix, an enigmatic character who materializes for as long as he is needed.

The stories range in time from the days of Gilgamesh to a future we haven’t seen yet, clustering in the early sixties and more or less current times, but with ventures to other eras where historical figures might interact.


The author has a reputation as a historian, which serves him well here—his knowledge is clear but doesn’t overwhelm, and his writing style matches the period. In one or two instances, this works against the story-telling, such as the vignette set against the Song of Roland, where the not quite prose, not quite poetry had me longing for the sequence to be finished, but even when he’s matching the style of The Epic of Gilgamesh¸ he’s consistent with the period. (You can laugh at the reviewer now—I read Gilgamesh years ago and still have my copy, and yes, it’s pretty clear what he and Enkidu were doing even in a bowdlerized translation!)

Felix appears long enough to interact with those who might need a friendly push or a helping hand, although it’s not always clear until the end who’s the true recipient of his assistance, and woe betide him who thinks he knows a better path. Felix disappears, once his mission in that time ends, only to reappear in artwork or as a jolt of memory. Be prepared to leap forward and back in time—it works.

Some characters show up for a second story; others echo as archetypes from one era to the next using the same names. Few of the stories are exactly romances, though there is always a heavy sexual element, not always pleasant or consensual. The one story where Kean reaches for true love within the arc is the weakest. Much more successful are the sequences where Felix exposes another’s heart to himself, to set the man’s feet on the path to happiness. Felix is the felicitator—he makes happiness possible, once a heart is open to it.

The ending brings Felix around full circle—his own happiness is never a consideration until then, nor is his well-being, and his persona is what the times and his persons to assist require, though a thread of core personality remains. All is sacrificed as needed. The ending introduces a slightly peculiar note into Felix’s bouncings through time, but in a book like this, endings aren’t where events stop. He hasn’t helped anyone in Elizabethan England yet. 4 marbles

A Picture is Worth...

These guys look like they're having a good time! But is it cold water? Anyone who wants to tell the story for us, send your 100 to 1000 words, with cover, links, and blurb me at CryselleC AT Gmail DOT com. And the rest of us will laugh along with these guys and maybe drool a little.

A point to ponder NSFW

One of the lovely bits about reviewing is finding out where one's opinion goes against the mainstream. I've been reading a Regency romance, m/m, and run into one of those situations that makes some readers shriek.

The rest of this discussion is absolutely not safe for work and maybe I should put the adult splash page back up, because there is no squick warning splash page.

The issue is rimming and what comes after rimming.

I'm not sure why writers of historicals perpetrate the most inappropriate rimming scenes.  True, no one had the luxury of daily showers and squeezably soft toilet paper, but missing these niceties did not mean that folks were unaware that unwashed ass smells like unwashed ass. And now some author not only has her character lapping around the outside but sticking his tongue in. Makes me glad the poor fellow is fictional!

Don't get me wrong, a good rimming scene is very hot, but part of the heat is being able to ignore the more usual use of that tract, a suspension of reality, if you will. Farts temporarily disappear from the universe, and all traces of solids must stay firmly out of the story. Is that realistic? No, but this is a romance, and inconvenient things have to stay off the page and out of mind unless they pertain to the story. It's why characters engage in outdoor sex without getting eaten by mosquitoes.

Some things make this suspension of reality easier. A character who's still dripping from the shower. A known close encounter with a washcloth. But when a character in an era of iffy hygiene has been doing hard physical labor all day, has last seen a tub the previous Saturday night, lunched on bean soup, and then gets pushed ass-up to be slurped on, I'm going to call inappropriate rimming.

Okay, lets assume that our characters went into this activity all tidy and everyone's had a good time. What next?

I am not ever going to argue for a cock to make ass to mouth contact if no condom was involved, and I might still flinch a little even if there was a condom. But if someone's been rimming and making his partner feel all good? How about some kissing? It goes with the territory.

Some readers find this shriekworthy. And I have to ask why. If the guy's butt is so kissable and lickable that his partner has been busy doing that directly, why is it a problem to have the indirect contact? Not doing it actually seems a little hypocritical: you can put your mouth there, but I won't kiss you later.

And for the reader? To get all happy over the rimming but then squeamish about the kissing after? I see this reaction a lot, and I don't understand it. If one activity is a problem, then both parts are a problem. You can't have it both ways.

Out in the Rockies Blog Tour!

Hello, and welcome to Day 3 of the Out in the Rockies m/m Blog Tour! Out in the Rockies is fourteen days of fun and prizes, brought to you by eight Colorado-based authors of gay romance: George Seaton, PD Singer, Caitlin Ricci, Carter Quinn, Marie Sexton, Edward Kendrick, Brannan Black and Michelle L. Montgomery.

Today and Friday, we’ll be here sharing some excerpts and flash fiction. Before we get to that though, we’d like to invite you to check out the full schedule here:

http://mariesexton.net/out-in-the-rockies-blog-hop

At the end of the tour, we’ll give away a $120 gift card to either Amazon or All Romance Ebooks. Leave a comment here to be entered in the drawing.

Red+Blue by A.B. Gayle

Title: Red+Blue
Author: A.B. Gayle
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Genre: contemporary
Length: 325

An Opposites Attract novel
Fresh from backwoods Minnesota, actuarial student Ben Dutoit is ecstatic to land a job with Sydney Sutherland Family Insurance, one of the few companies that offers life insurance to people in the high-risk category. The fact that he gets to work in Gay Central, aka San Francisco, is just the icing on the rainbow-colored cake. Ben sets himself just three goals: be out and proud enough to participate in the Pride parade; seek out the company of like-minded souls in the clubs; and maybe, if he's lucky, fall in love. But the men Ben meets are everything he's not: suave, confident, sophisticated, and sexy. Unlike redneck Ben, they're blue bloods from blue states, born with status, wealth, and the responsibility that comes with the package. Ben's still wondering if red and blue can mix when he discovers what risk really means. The global economy tanks. The job he looked forward to is in jeopardy, and every dream Ben ever had is threatened, especially love, the biggest dream of all.
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The setting of this story is unique—insurance is one of those non-sexy essentials, something we don’t usually think about unless we’re either paying a premium or making a claim. A.B. Gayle gives a behind the scenes look into an industry that runs off math and investing, mostly through the eyes of Ben, the actuarial student—he doesn’t spend much time crunching numbers, and he’s a lot sexier than the usual math nerd. He’s come flying out of the closet once he comes to San Francisco, and dips his pen into the company ink with Jason, who’s much wilder than the usual insurance salesman.

[Review edited because I was a terrible reviewer and made spoilers. Bad Crys! Bad, bad Crys!]


Jason’s handy and randy, but the man Ben’s really noticing is Adrian, the boss. Appearing much older than his thirty-five years, Adrian’s trying to get back into the shape he’s let slip since he returned to the United States to work in the family insurance business. They spend a lot of gym time together becoming friends, which is more than Ben really expects, because, well, Adrian’s the boss. He’s not entirely in control of the company—Adrian’s father may have retired from day to day operations but is still very much calling the shots. If the old man says Laurel will be chief actuary, then by golly, Laurel will be making decisions, and hanging on Adrian’s arm at social functions too.


While I liked both Ben and Adrian as flawed but well-intentioned men, the other characters didn’t come off so well. Jason has some late-revealed layers, and Adrian’s controlling father is at last shown in his self-created loneliness, but the complexity for both comes just before they exit stage left. Laurel, alas, while smart, ambitious, and pretty, has all those characteristics portrayed with spectacular hatefulness, and comes across with little depth.

In the end, each man finds a way to stand up for what he considers truly important, and they find themselves together, again on the brink of establishing a relationship.

I really enjoyed the story, for the personal growth of the main characters—Adrian’s confrontation with his father is an extraordinary scene. The unusual setting, split between the insurance offices, the night life of the Castro, and a vineyard, also enhance the story, as does the inner workings of a product we need but don’t understand much. The author shows us some behind the scenes issues of two different businesses, and provides insight into what an actuary does without beating us with math. While the story would have benefited from streamlining the opening half, I plan to read more from this author. 3.5 marbles

Hard Tail by JL Merrow

Title: Hard Tail
Author: JL Merrow
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
Publisher: Samhain
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 259
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Finding love can be a bumpy ride.

His job: downsized out of existence. His marriage: on the rocks. It doesn’t take a lot of arm twisting for Tim Knight to agree to get out of London and take over his injured brother’s mountain bike shop for a while. A few weeks in Southampton is a welcome break from the wreck his life has become, even though he feels like a fish out of water in this brave new world of outdoor sports and unfamiliar technical jargon.

The young man who falls—literally—through the door of the shop brings everything into sharp, unexpected focus. Tim barely accepts he’s even in the closet until his attraction to Matt Berridge pulls him close enough to touch the doorknob.

There’s only one problem with the loveable klutz: his bullying boyfriend. Tim is convinced Steve is the cause of the bruises that Matt blows off as part of his risky sport. But rising to the defense of the man he’s beginning to love means coming to terms with who he is—in public—in a battle not even his black belt prepared him to fight. Until now.

Warning: Contains an out-and-proud klutz, a closeted, karate-loving accountant—and a cat who thinks it’s all about him. Watch for a cameo appearance from the Pricks and Pragmatism lovers. May inspire yearnings for fresh air, exercise, and a fit, tanned bike mechanic of your very own.

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For every door that closes, another door opens. For Tim, the dissolution of his marriage and the evaporation of his job let him step back from the cookie cutter corporate “happiness” that his life has become. Redundant at a job that he was good at but didn’t love, and redundant too in a marriage that was peaceful but not passionate, Tim has a chance to find out what he really wants.

Much to his surprise, it’s Matt, the klutzy bike mechanic at the shop Tim is managing temporarily while the owner, his brother Jay, is laid up with injuries. The longings sneak up when Tim isn’t looking—he never really questioned his orientation, and then denied it, and now, because of the irrefutable evidence, has to examine it.

JL Merrow unrolls Tim’s story with her trademark humor—Tim pokes gentle fun at himself even while he’s pondering a complete remake of his life and his perceptions of himself. Assisted in the chuckle department by a demanding feline he dubs Wolverine, Tim examines some difficult issues without devolving into total angst. When his newfound friends in Eling encourage him to live a little, Tim finds himself falling out of the closet like an improperly stored skeleton. It’s sweet, and if his experiments with Adam aren’t destined to be more than a few nights of groping, they do at least convince Tim that he’s on the right course at last.

Matt has to find a new path, too. Much of what he endures we see only in his demeanor and condition after the fact—he’d rather blame every black eye and bruise on cycling accidents than admit more than that his boyfriend is a trifle controlling. The clues add up to bad things happening. Finally asserting his right to being treated with respect turns Matt into a single man, but one on the run, and it makes sense that he turns to Tim, who has a roof to share and nothing but kind words.

Much of the action is low key, as Tim ponders what to do with himself in all ways, especially regarding Matt, whom he regards as off limits as long as he remains with the terrible lover. Tim feeds the cat, learns the joy of cycling, and sheds a marriage like a snakeskin. His relationship with his family gets some good long looks too, and part of this fell apart for me. Tim has always been the overshadowed child, doing well but getting far less attention or credit than the flamboyant brother, who manages to turn Tim’s big revelation into something that’s all about him. Funny in a way, but the response from the family didn’t make sense, given the entire rest of the dynamic.

Once Matt is no longer off limits, he and Tim can be together, and they get together with a thump as audible as when Matt trips through doorways. The speed is understandable but still a little offputting, since Matt has about 20 milliseconds between good-bye ex, hello forever love. Still, we readers know he’s far better off in Tim’s gentle hands, and forgive most of the warp speed.

And Wolverine? He surely owns both Tim and Matt.

4.25 marbles

Firenze by Barry Brennessel

Title: Crossroads: Firenze
Author: Barry Brennessel
Cover Artist: Deanna Jamroz
Publisher: MRL Press
Genre: contemporary
Length: 3100 words

Brandon Meier's academic year in Europe takes him far beyond museums, castles, and classrooms. When he embarks on a month-long rail journey, his sightseeing includes an edgy French boy, a Carravagio-esque Italian, a rich Swiss lad, a Croatian heartbreaker, and an Indonesian beauty in Amsterdam, to name but a few. These are lessons no textbook can ever teach.

It's not long before Brandon realizes that the best sightseeing is almost always off the beaten path. From sultry nights in saunas, to midnight strolls in seemingly endless parks, chance encounters in sleepy seaside towns and nights of wining, dining, BMW convertibles and penthouse apartments, Brian's year in Europe is anything but "by the textbook."
Next stop: Firenze


Review

Sometimes you have only five or seven minutes—this series of stories is meant to fill that need. A few thousand words isn’t much to build an entire story with, and this is really more of an interlude.


Firenze is one stop on student Brandon’s itinerary, and he isn’t in the city more than an hour before he encounters a gorgeous, willing Italian man to enliven his sightseeing. He’s not planning to be in Florence even twenty-four hours, so this is not a relationship to last. This is one in a series—Brandon’s visiting a lot of cultural centers.

We really don’t get more than the highlights of Brandon’s sightseeing and the brief tumble he takes with Stefano, who is everything Caravaggio would love in a model, from fine skin to wavy hair, and is sweet in bed. Brandon thinks of him as art more than as a person, until the very last moment.

When I say that the story is travelogue with sex, I do mean that it’s a great deal more than what I usually encounter in this microscopic size—it manages to be thoughtful about a passing encounter and not try for a grand passion in ten pages: PWP with art history does fit into the space. It’s a petit-four of a story: tasty, with layers, and a mere mouthful. And sometimes a mouthful is all you want. 3.5 marbles