With Wings (Dark Angels Book 1) by Z. Allora

Title: With Wings (The Dark Angels Book 1)
Author: Z. Allora
Purchase at Amazon
Cover Artist: P.L. Nunn
Genre: contemporary, rock and roll
Length:
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf

The lights go down and the stage lights up. The Dark Angels have arrived. With his come-hither voice and body made for sin, lead singer Angel Luv draws lovers like a magnet. And when he caresses and taunts shy guitarist Darius Stone on stage, well…it’s an act, right? But every touch lights a fire, and every flirtatious glance chips away at Dare’s certainty that he’s straight. No one else has so captured his imagination.

Temptation beckons. It’s hard not to notice the want in Dare’s eyes, the way he stares when he thinks Angel’s not watching. One wrong move might scare him away, but a work trip to exotic Bali might be the perfect place to let Dare explore his sexuality, with none to be the wiser. But their “friends with benefits” pact has an expiration date, that just might sour their friendship.


~*~*~*~*

This is the second edition of The Dark Angels: With Wings. No idea what the first edition looked like or if this is substantially different, but let me say this: Second Edition Rocks!

Here we have a yaoi-flavored out-for-you story, where Dare isn’t sure at first just what the draw is to this crazy guy who keeps showing up at his little tribute band’s gigs. Angel thinks Dare’s the best guitarist for the Dark Angels, and finds him pretty hot as well. Dare’s slow to warm up to the notion: he has a fair share of the attractive and limber female fans who throw keys, panties, and themselves at the band.


If you want to get all sniffy about ladybits, get over it. There are a couple brief but important to the story sections where a girl’s involved—gay and bi guys very often do have encounters with the opposite sex in RL and in stories too. Dare has to sort out his feelings toward Angel, and Angel’s giving more mixed signals than a drunk traffic cop.

There’s lots of hawtsex between the guys, but their real question is what else is there, and can they keep from wrecking the band while they figure it out. An extended song-writing vacation in Bali takes them away from the familiar things to let them bask in new and different surroundings, and new and different ways of being together. Going halfway around the world for a little solitude seems contrived, but hey,  yaoi.

Besides, the author clearly knows and loves that part of the world, and lets her characters explore and learn this exotic location while exploring the equally foreign landscapes of each other. It’s a great way to have them step away from all that’s familiar, and I challenge everyone to show me any other m/m romance that has a slow loris or even a fast loris in it.

Eventually—and oh I bit my fingernails while they were getting there—some heads get pulled out of asses and some truths shared, and the guys make some great music. Together. ;) The Dark Angels have some more stories coming, which is great, because I spotted some loose ends and I want an encore. 4.5 marbles

A picture is worth...

This pic made me think of a book I recently read, reviewed and enjoyed. Double Up by Vanessa North. What does he make you think of?

If you have 100 to 1000 words for this or any other of my Thursday pics, send it along and I'll post it, and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.  

The Knife of Narcissus by Carolyne Chand

Title: A Knife for Narcissus Parts I and II
Author: Carolyne Chand
Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: unknown
Genre: Historical, ancient Rome
Length: 41k
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf

Lucius Sentius, along with most people in the city of Rome, assumes that the chaotic days of Nero are behind them. Lucius may be only the son of a merchant, but his newly arranged marriage to an older widow will bring powerful connections and a settled life--if he keepshimself on a respectable path. His heart lies somewhere not at all respectable: his lifelong friend Trio, the reserved and serious son of one of the most reserved and pious families in the city. And his new wife, Velleia, has plans and secrets of her own. As Lucius is pushed along the course of duty to family, to his promised spouse, and to Rome itself, he begins to see under the surface of his city, into a net of intrigues, manipulation, and corruption that can carry him upward in status and bring him what he wants...or destroy both him and the people he loves.

Warnings: explicit sexual scenes and language, m/m, m/m/m, some f/m, reference to dubious consent in an historical context, themes of sexual abuse recovery, themes of infertility, non-exclusivity and (consenting and mutual) marital infidelity. And after all that, two HFNs.

Parts 1 and 2
Lucius Sentius assumes the debauched days of Nero are over. Marriage will bring powerful connections if he keeps to a respectable path. That seems impossible when he discovers that his heart lies somewhere not at all respectable. As he is pushed along the course of duty, he begins to see under the surface of his city, to intrigues and corruption that can carry him upward in power...or destroy him. (A serial novel in 7 parts.)


~*~*~*~*

Here are the first two parts of a much larger work—I appreciate that the serial nature of the work was disclosed up front. I’m intrigued now and want to read the rest. Parts 1 and 2 are packaged together, the rest are individually sold and eventually there will be a compilation. I may not want to wait that long.


The ancient city of Rome jumps off the page in all its smelly, imperial glory: the author creates a vivid sense of place and also a vivid sense of attitude. What young boys can play at can’t be tolerated in adult men, though slaves can be used and then sent back to work. Lucius, who wishes his best friend Trio would respond to him with the same ardency he feels, is walking a perilous tightrope. Married to a widow who doesn’t entirely care for the straightjacket of her place in society, Lucius has to first decide his desires and then how to fulfill them. What he wants most is something he’s not allowed to have. Trio (the three part Roman names are usually used shortened) has a very strict sense of propriety—his own desires keep him from reaching out in return, and he’s kind of disgusted at some of what his friend has gotten up to.

If you’re looking for a straightforward romance, this isn’t it. Nero’s death is less than twenty years in the past, with the decadence that implies faded only a little, on top of the historical sense that wives don’t impede a man’s pleasures in other quarters. Lucius gets quite a lot of experience in these sections.

The stage has been set for many adventures—the players are established and many tension lines have been drawn. I’m not a scholar of the period but everything feels very real, so read for the historical drama.

I hate to grade on a partial work, so this is a little tough. I will revisit when I finish the rest, but it’s a good solid 4 marbles to get you started.

Coming this week

The holiday weekend got me--but here's what you can expect coming thsi week.

Last week we had the review of P.D. Singer's spectacular cycling novel, Spokes, and a hottie covered in suds for a prompt pic.

Coming this week, in addition to our Thursday prompt pic, we'll have reviews of the historical serial, The Knife of Narcissus, parts 1 and 2, from Carolyne Chand, and a hot rocker novel from Z. Allora, called With Wings (Dark Angels Book 1). I'm a happy girl.

Keep reading.

Spokes by P.D. Singer

Title: Spokes
Author: P.D. Singer
Purchase at Rocky Ridge Books
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: LC Chase
Genre: contemporary, sports
Length: 242 pages
Formats: epub, mobi, pdf, print

Pro cyclist Luca Biondi lives for the race. For the star of Team Antano-Clark, victory lies within his grasp—if he can outdistance 200 other hopefuls, avoid suspicion from race officials, and keep his lieutenant more friend than foe. Luca also has secrets, and eyes for amateur cyclist and journalist Christopher Nye.

Christopher understands Luca’s need to keep their relationship under wraps, but chafes at hiding in the shadows of his lover’s career. He’s ready to cheer Luca’s victories, but he knows too well how triumph can turn to tears. While Christopher’s heart sees Luca the man, his inner journalist—and his editor—sees the cycling world’s biggest scoop.

From the jagged curves of the Colorado Rockies to the viciously steep Belgian hills, Luca can ride out any bumps—except rumors about his loyalty.

A few words in the wrong ear could crash everything. With miles between them, hints of scandal, and Luca’s fierce need to guard his reputation, a journalist might have to let go of the biggest story of his career or risk forcing his lover to abandon the race. Christopher and Luca face a path more treacherous than any road to the summit in the Italian Alps.


~*~*~*~*

This week the last stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is hauling ass practically through my neighborhood, making this the perfect timing to review a cycling novel. Damn but I love this book.


With her trademark in-depth but not overwhelming immersion into her subject, P.D. Singer shows us the backstage of races like the Tour de France and the Pro Cycling Challenge. Her pro cycling MC is being groomed to win the Giro d’Italia, another of the top tier stage races, and he just might make it, unless….

Poor Luca, afraid to be exposed as gay before he’s established himself as a cycling star and a force to be reckoned with. Uncertain how his own team will take the news and wearily convinced how the competition will view him, his attraction to Christopher Nye is something he wants to pursue and still keep under wraps. Christopher is our POV character through this entire piece, which covers an amazing amount of territory. An aspiring journalist and a good amateur rider, Christopher is tormented by Luca’s back away closer reactions, but falls more and more in love with the restless, nervous cyclist.

In a breath of fresh plot air, it isn’t the issue of coming out that creates the biggest problems for the couple. Rather, a mismatch of understandings over questions asked and answered over the snippets Luca lets drop at the gym or over dinner or halfway through a pity ride. Christopher weaves the bits into articles for a cycling magazine, making his reputation and hurting Luca’s. “I asked, every time,” Christopher protests, and he did, but did he ask the right question and did Luca understand the implications? Questionable, and leading straight to heartache. Only the magazine’s confidence in Christopher, built ironically on the very things Luca resented, gets them onto the same continent and in range for a conversation.

Secondary characters like Christopher's riding partner Stu, Luca’s lieutenant on the team, Rolf, and his valet Paolo create frictions, raise questions, and in a way, bring the men both farther apart and bring them together. Some of their scenes made me snort, like Stu’s cheerfully clueless acceptance, or exclaim Ooh burn! at Rolf’s sly digs at Christopher's cycling skills. Others made me cry, and warning, this book needed the tissues. More than once. For a lot of reasons.

Both men had a lot of learning and growing to do, and managed to prod each other into doing so. What were weaknesses become strengths, what was betrayal becomes support, and what could have torn them apart forever becomes what cements them as a couple. These two guys seem destined to be together, even if they have to break each other’s hearts first. Told in some vivid prose, the story brings the Colorado back roads, the cold winds off the North Sea and the brutally steep Hellingen of Belgium, and the carnival atmosphere and horrible roads of Italy’s primo stage race into scenes the reader becomes part of.

A personal communication with the author revealed that a few of the major incidents are based on real events, and that the races are accurate, even if their records don’t reveal Luca’s accomplishments. Bike racing is a lot more than “get on bike, pedal fast” and not only did I laugh, cry, and sigh with Christopher and Luca, I learned something about a sport that I used to only appreciate for the fit guys in tight clothes. Not that a fit guy in colorful spandex is a bad thing. ;)

Christopher and Luca have a road to each other that has as many hard climbs as the race stages through the Alps, and I enjoyed every up and down and the eventual triumph.5 marbles

A picture is worth...

What's he celebrating? What put that smile on his face?

If you have 100 to 1000 words for this or any other of my Thursday pics, send it along and I'll post it, and send your news along too. See How Thousand Word Thursday Works for details.  

Tech idiot strikes again

As some of you know only too well, technology and I don't get along so well. If Pam didn't bail me out of my issues now and then, I'd be off the web completely. For those of you who wondered what the heck happened this last week and a half, I went to a wedding and had some vacation days, secure in the idea that I'd set everything up to run smoothly in my absence.

I came back to find I broke Blogger.

Well, no. Blogger broke me, while I was running back and forth and back and forth trying to figure out what happened to ALL THOSE POSTS. THEY ARE RIGHT THERE! WHY AREN'T THEY POSTED!

Ms. Webmistress takes one look and says, "They're set to draft. Reschedule, all is good." Or words to that effect. I'm pretty sure she didn't use the word dodo-egg. Did you? Even if I am? I am.

So, back to my regularly scheduled stuff. For the remainder of this week, we shall have a Thursday pic of extra yumminess to make up for missing a week, and then the long awaited review of Spokes. Awaited by me, at any rate, since I've been trying to time it for a big cycling race. How I missed a race three weeks long is a mystery, right up there with my untechiness, but the USA Pro Cycling Challenge just went through Colorado, and US rider Tejay Van Garderen of BMC Racing won. Go, Tejay!