The midforties are that time in a gay man’s life when his major paradigm shifts from sexy to sensible. But when Barry Grooms’s partner of twenty years is killed on Barry’s forty-fifth birthday, his world doesn’t so much evolve as it does explode.

After navigating through the surreal conveyor belt of friends and family, he can’t eat another casserole or swallow much more advice, and so, still numb, he escapes to Key West, then New York. He embraces a new mantra: Why the hell not? He becomes so spontaneous he’s ready to combust. First, he gets a thankless new job working for a crazy lady in a poncho, then has too many drinks with a narcissistic Broadway actor. Next, it’s a nude exercise class that redefines flop sweat, and from there he’s on to a relationship with a man twenty years his junior, so youthfully oblivious he thinks Karen Carpenter is a lesbian woodworker.

Yet no matter how great the retreat from the man he used to be, life’s gravity spins Barry back to the town where he grew up for one more ironic twist that teaches him how to say good-bye with grace.

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

Length:320 pages, 129000 words
Amazon Buy Link:Safe as Houses
Genre: Contemporary Gay Fiction
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

A guest review by Sirius

Summary: I had to persevere through the beginning of the story, but really enjoyed the rest of this wonderful book about families we are born into and families we make.

Blurb:

When Allen Pasztory discovered he was likely to die before his time, he realized that what he could pass down to the people he loved was stories. Stories of and for his families – the family he was born to and the family he stumbled upon and fiercely embraced.

The hearing child of parents raised in the inhumane surroundings of a state school for the deaf, all along Allen knew he and his family were different. His sister tried her best to become ordinary, as if it were possible, but Allen knew better. He would be ready to offer sanctuary when an ordinary family cast out his nephew Kit.

Allen fell for freelance artist Jeremy’s talent and looks, but it was Jeremy’s unanticipated bravery that supported them through the years while they nurtured their new family. Despite hostility from without and threat from within, they created a secure and loving home for Jeremy’s precocious son Toby and, later, Allen’s nephew.

But safety can’t be guaranteed. Ill, Allen must tell himself stories to survive, stories that may explain his life to the boys he’s raised, for “your life is never only your own story, and what you don’t know for sure you must invent, using all the clues you can gather.”

Review:

I really enjoyed Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam by this writer (reviewed here) and wanted to read something else by him. When I went hunting for his other books, I discovered that unfortunately (or fortunately, because he may have had more time to devote to each story ) he seems to have not written that many long works. I purchased Safe as Houses almost immediately, but only was in the mood to read it very recently and decided that I wanted to review it.

I have to warn you that if your reading reactions are anything like mine, I had to force myself to get through first 10-15% of the story on my Kindle (maybe 30-35 pages?), but it eventually got better. I did not feel that there was anything wrong with the writing in the beginning either; it felt lyrical and beautiful throughout the book, but I just did not connect emotionally to the detailed excursion in the young years of Allen and his parents. I understood on an intellectual level why this part of the story was important and necessary to further developments in the book, but I could not help myself — just was not feeling it. Maybe because I connected to the present Allen right away from the very first page? I thought that first page was very moving and I just could not wait to get to his story even if I think I understand what the author wanted to show by giving us so much time with his parents?

In any event, when we get to the story — or stories — of Allen’s life, I really loved it. Even though the pace of the story is quite slow throughout the book, I did not feel that it dragged. I thought the love story between him and Jeremy was very beautiful and sweet, but not saccharine at all. I thought the writer showed their insecurities and flaws very well and still made me like both of the guys. I really loved that we got to know them as complete, fully fleshed out “people,” and I thought that the family they built for themselves was something to root for and believe in. I liked how the writer devoted so much time to show the connection they have with their children, and while I know that not everybody is keen on reading about children in their romances, I loved watching Toby and Kit grow up and enjoyed them as characters as well. The love of a father for his child is something I really enjoy reading about and I thought again that here it was an organic part of the story, since both children, especially Toby, were a huge part of their family, but again take note, if you don’t like kids in your stories this one is not for you.

As the blurb tells us, we meet Allen when he is already sick, so a somewhat melancholic mood is inevitable when reading this one, but I can say I did not feel depressed when I finished the story. I can’t tell you more or predict what you will feel, but this story first and foremost is about love and family, even if Allen’s illness (I think AIDS, but I do not think it is ever spelled out) is a part of him when the story starts.

Recommended

Review Summary:  Set against a high octane, nail biting, hang-on-to-the-seat-of-your-pants murder mystery and action/adventure, this book is aptly named as our heroes try to stay ahead of their prisoner and a savvy and cunning master manipulator who takes no prisoners.

THE BLURB

Left alone in Baltimore after his unpredictable lover bails, Special Agent Zane Garrett takes his frustration out on everything in his path until he is ordered to Chicago to back up an undercover operative. When he gets there, though, he finds himself face to face with his wayward partner, Special Agent Ty Grady. They have to deal with the uncertainty lingering between them while they work to retrieve their intended mark, a retired hit man and CIA wet-works operative named Julian Cross.

Ty, once a Marine and now an FBI hotshot, has a penchant for being unpredictable, a trait Zane can vouch for. Zane is a man who once lived for his job but has come to realize his heartbreaking past doesn’t have to overshadow his future. They’re partners, friends, lovers, and the go-to team for unusual cases. With Cross and his innocuous boyfriend, Cameron Jacobs, in tow, Ty and Zane must navigate the obstacles of a cross-country trek, including TSA pat-downs, blizzards, their uncooperative prisoners, CIA kill teams, a desperate lack of sleep and caffeine, and each other. Ty and Zane are determined to get Julian Cross to DC in one piece, but it’s starting to look like it might be the last thing they do

THE REVIEW

Whenever I pick up a new book in this series I lower my expectations and tell myself not to assume it will live up to the previous stories, which were all standouts for me. This time I was more apprehensive because, for the first time, Abigail Roux was flying solo and I didn’t know how Special Agent Zane Garrett’s character, previously written by Madeleine Urban, would turn out. I’m happy to say that my fears were groundless as I LOVED Armed & Dangerous just as much as the other stories and I thought that it was a fine piece of writing, possibly Abigail’s best work. With regard to Zane, there were a few differences in his characterization – while he’s just as complex and flawed as before, his vulnerability about his feelings for his partner was very evident throughout the book, but he seemed tougher and more resolute although I thought he was a lot more fun.

The first thing I noticed was how romantic the first couple of chapters were compared to Fish & Chips and Divide & Conquer. There were many public displays of affection by Ty (perhaps he was trying to apologise to Zane for leaving him) and expressions of love between the MCs that I rarely saw before. The tenderness when they were in bed was so palpable that it was like a living thing. A few of the love scenes were filled with what I would call an uncharacteristically desperate closeness, which would make sense because this book started only a few days after Ty left at the end of Divide & Conquer, so Zane’s feelings were still raw and he was emotionally bereft.

Although there was no place Zane wanted to be other than in Ty’s arms, he also wanted answers, and Ty tried desperately to make Zane understand why at times he had no control over his actions which would seem irrational to everyone but himself. Here is their first attempt to discuss what happened:

“You just left,” Zane said, and he made no effort to hide his upset.

Ty glanced around the terminal, then looked back at Zane and flopped his hands.
“I had to. I don’t know how to explain it; it’s just sometimes it feels like… like the world is shrinking around me. Like if I don’t get out and away that it’ll catch me and crush me. And I know that sounds stupid, but it’s a real feeling and I panic. I woke up that morning and I just had to go.

“Next time …. next time I need to go, will you go with me?”

“I love you. I will always be yours, Zane — no matter where I am or where you are. I promise you that.”

Zane’s response – “You grovel pretty damn well”

Ty has always been my favourite MC in this series and Armed & Dangerous reinforced my affection for him because he’s so out of control, with a myriad of serious emotional issues that he can’t talk about regardless how much he wants to. Zane’s insecurities about whether Ty will stay this time are slowly forcing these issues to the fore because if they didn’t repair their personal relationship they would have to move on. Ty is always dangerous and unpredictable, never at ease, while Zane is his polar opposite – unflappable and in control, except when Ty is injured.

This fifth book was a turning point and a major milestone in the series which was at the stage where it was either going to be memorable or stagnate, and the author made a bold move by giving readers never-before-seen insights into Zane’s and Ty’s psyche and emotions.

Julian Cross and Cameron Jacobs from Warrior’s Cross return as an integral element of the plot. Ty and Zane are dispatched by Assistant Director Burns to find Julian and bring him back to Washington, by force, so that he could save one of Burn’s CIA friends and a former Marine Corps buddy who was accused of murdering many of his colleagues. However, someone is determined that Julian will never reach D.C., and murder and mayhem ensue. Ty and Zane will have to stay ahead of everyone who is intent on murdering Cross, and deliver their prisoner alive to Burns.

I thought that the mystery was well executed and the take-down of the perpetrator was exciting as well as an adrenaline rush. I always knew that Abigail Roux was a good writer but I didn’t realize until this book how well she layers her characters and scenes. Here she leads her readers down several paths to confound them and preserve the mystery until the big reveal.

I have read many books where the characters evolve and grow and this growth is very evident in Armed & Dangerous as Ty and Zane make adjustments in their relationship that are sure to cause ripples in the future. The love between them is like a beacon to which they are irresistibly drawn, and most of Zane’s fears about Ty’s commitment to him are laid to rest as secrets are revealed about what makes Ty the way he is – flawed, restless, driven, always looking in the rear view mirror, short on trust, but loyal to a fault to those who have earned his trust. But maybe some secrets should remain buried.

The characterizations in this story are impeccably drawn and the writing is top notch. There were many highlights but for me one of the standouts was Ty vs Julian Cross. The constant power plays between them to see who would blink first exhausted me. Ty and Cross had so many common personality traits they rubbed each other the wrong way throughout the story, but in the end there was a grudging respect as they went through hell together and came out still standing and breathing. One pairing I still don’t get 3 years later is Julian and his lover Cameron, even though Cameron is a lot less whiny and a little more assertive in A & D. I still can’t figure out why Ty and Zane kept referring to Cameron as “the kid” – he’s their age, I think – maybe it’s a size thing!.

There were countless funny lines in the book, even the unflappable Julian got into the action after one of his bouts with Ty:

“Agent Grady just needed a cuddle. And possibly a piece of my spleen.”

For my money, the success of this plot is due mainly to the author’s brilliant decision to pit Ty and Zane (well mostly Ty) against Julian Cross, a charismatic and tough retired killer who challenged them at every turn. Adding to this strategy are the other characters who return, heightening the excitement and increasing the complexity of the story: Ty’s brother Deuce, Julian’s right hand man Preston who is really hot, Ty’s former Recon buddy Nick who is still in love with him, and Blake – Julian’s friend and former partner in crime. I have to hand it to Ms Roux, she sure knows how to put her characters through the wringer and I’m not talking about their emotions.

My somewhat biased opinion of Armed & Dangerous goes like this: A believable plot; Ty and Zane at their absolute best; an incredibly smart perpetrator who is always one step ahead and will do everything he can, including committing multiple murders, to eliminate the one person who could put him behind bars forever; a charming, suave, enigmatic, street smart former hit man who gave the impression of always being in control of the situation despite being handcuffed during most of the book; a supporting cast of characters who almost steal the show seemingly effortlessly; two vicious cats that were Julian’s revenge on Ty; and a great ending with fireworks.

A worthy sequel to Divide & Conquer.

Highly recommended.

Armed & Dangerous will be released on Friday, May 18.

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

Bring on Book no. 6 – Stars & Stripes. Here’s a preliminary blurb:

Stars & Stripes Prototype cover

Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have managed the impossible; a few months of peace and quiet. After nearly a year of personal and professional turmoil, things have finally settled down. They’re living together with no conflict, their work is going smoothly, and they’re both happy, healthy, and home every night before dark. Anyone who knows them well knows it couldn’t possibly last.

When an emergency call from home upsets the balance of their carefully arranged world, Ty and Zane find themselves dealing with family drama, a perplexing crime, and a helpless victim to save before time runs out. From the mountains of West Virginia to a remote ranch in Texas that harbors more than just Zane’s past, Ty and Zane must face their fears to overcome an unlikely enemy.

A guest review by Jenre

Summary review: This second installment of the Minders series was a tense drama which had me on the edge of my seat.

THE BLURB

Dreams of escape become his worst nightmare…

Minders, Book 2

Two years after Josh McKay captured escaped Minder Kiran Brunner, Josh’s life is in ruins. Desire had a hand in letting the beautiful monster sink psychic hooks into his will, and now he is essentially a prisoner of the agency, his every move watched for any hint of a connection that could lead to Kir.

Unable to stand by and let an amoral Minder destroy his lover, Kir extracts Josh from the agency’s compound and sweeps him away to a secluded cabin to heal. It’s just the two of them, Kir and Josh. Both wounded at the hands of the agency, both struggling to find the will to trust each other through the agency-induced barrier of hatred and fear.

Kir has all the patience in the world. What he doesn’t have is time. Whatever love they have rebuilt may be too fragile to withstand the future they face…

This emotional, angst-ridden story is part two of a three-part story and ends in a cliffhanger. The author recommends they be read in order for maximum m/m enjoyment.

THE REVIEW

*Warning: This review contains spoilers for the first book in this series, Monster*

Zombie is the second book in Minders series which has recently been reissued with new covers at Samhain. I enjoyed book one, but wasn’t wholly convinced about the way the romance aspect worked. This story follows on two years after the end of Monster. Josh has just about recovered from his time with Kir and the other Minders but he’s kept under strict supervision at the agency compound. Occasionally Kir sends Josh an email, and they’ve discovered a way to encrypt a message so that they can correspond without the agency knowing what’s in the messages. As the story begins, Josh is in his office when one of the Minders from the previous book, Brad, turns up. Brad quickly manipulates Josh into becoming his lover and it’s up to Kir and his sister to save Josh from becoming nothing but a mindless zombie to Brad’s unwanted attentions. Kir takes Jake to a remote cabin to recover but Josh is so messed up that he doesn’t know whether he can ever trust Kir again.

The story had a very tense opening and I was quickly drawn into the frightening way that Jake was under Brad’s command.  It’s a shame then that this section provided the main niggle I had about the book.  I presume that the compound where Josh is being held has strong security, with cameras and other measures to protect people from the Minders. However, Brad easily infiltrated the compound, even having a house there.  Also Kir and his sister were able to easily come into the compound to rescue Josh and took him away with what seemed like no trouble at all. I could understand that the Minders were able to slip in past the guards by manipulating them but their powers don’t extend to security cameras. Surely someone must have been wary of Josh’s relationship with Brad, given that he’s under such strict supervision by the agency and questioned it.  This was the only unbelievable note for me in the book. Given that the first section is the set up for the main part of the story which is Josh’s recovery, I decided to let those niggles go and enjoyed the rest of the book.

The section that worked really well for me was the time that Josh and Kir spend in the isolated cabin.  Josh takes a while to recover from Brad’s mistreatment, and when he finally gains back some ability to think clearly he is understandably ashamed at being duped by Brad.  He’s therefore wary of Kir and Kir’s motives.  This section of the book moves slowly as their relationship, at first built on suspicion, gradually changes and deepens into acceptance and love.  I thought that this was done in a very sensitive way with Josh’s thought being clearly explained, and also Kir’s feelings signposted through his actions.  I particularly liked the way that Kir used his body language to gain Josh’s trust.  My complaint about the previous book was that I didn’t feel the connection between the characters but here it comes across in spades and led to some very romantic scenes.  It also worked as a piece of drama and much of the story is tense. This meant that I read quickly, eager to know how the story and the relationship would unfold.

The story ends on yet another cliffhanger, but as this is clearly stated in the blurb, I didn’t mind. I have book three to look forward to when the series is concluded and I shall look forward to seeing if these two men, who circumstance brings together only to force them apart, can stay the course and let love win over mind games and violence.

Queerwolf is outrageous comedy, steamy romance, and heart-pounding adventure… with a bite!

When you wake up on a ferry, naked, in a pool of blood, there’s nowhere else to go but up. Up, that is, into the arms of your hunky upstairs neighbor. And so starts the comic misadventure of Blake and Ted as they go from San Francisco to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas and back again, collecting their motley pack, not to mention a whole slew of unexpected surprises, along the way. Will good win out? Can different really be better? And can the Queerwolf keep his new breed of pack together and alive? Read on to find out, but better leave the doors locked because this pack travels on its stomach… and you could be next on the menu!

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

Sarah's dog Hawkeye

Sarah Madison has been published since 2010. According to her website she’s a veterinarian, dog lover and competitive horse rider and in between she manages to write. Where does she find the time? She has five books published which are all fan favourites but my absolute fave is Raincheck, a story about a gargoyle. 

When I asked Sarah for a bio I stressed it had to be funny and this is what she said:

I was the Good Girl.  I did what I was told.  I ate my vegetables with thinly veiled loathing.  I worked hard in school and made the honor roll.  I said, “Yes, ma’am” and “No, sir” and the average parent or teacher would never suspect that deep within my heart, there was a Bad Girl just waiting to come out.

It was lurking under the surface just the same.

When I was twelve, I went to my mother and told her that I’d outgrown my riding clothes—that I needed new boots and a new helmet.  She frowned.  “I’d like to know when you’re going to outgrow this horse habit because it is terribly expensive.”

“Gee, Mom,” I said with all the innocence of a wide-eyed twelve year old, “I don’t think it’s any more expensive than a cocaine habit.”

She took me straight to the tack store and told me to buy what I needed.

I flirted briefly with the idea of being an actress when I was in high school.  I’d starred in a number of productions and won some awards, and it had gone to my head.  It was the adrenaline rush of waiting in the dark wings for my cue, watching the action taking place under the bright lights, and knowing that in moments, I would come to life on that stage.  It teased me into thinking that I might have had what it took to make it in that cutthroat world.

Disturbed at what she saw as a dangerous deviation from the straight and narrow, my mother began posting grim newspaper articles on the refrigerator door for me to see:  Young Starlet Found Strangled in Back Alley with Electrical Cord.

I retaliated in kind: Honor Student Slays Entire Family with Shotgun.

She stopped posting the articles.

I am still the Good Girl.  I work hard at my day job.  I take determined, loving care of my family; I’m a professional and an upstanding member of the community.  I work with animals, so I have a practical hairstyle and wear little jewelry.  I can face down a Rottweiler, free a feral cat out of your ceiling, and drive a forklift.  You don’t know it, but underneath those coveralls, I’m wearing Victoria’s Secret.  I keep my fingernails clean and cut short, but inside my muddy boots, I’m sporting cobalt blue polish on my toenails.  I have a tattoo where only my lover can see it.  And I write porn.

So ask me your questions.  My answers might be full of wild hyperbole and exaggeration for effect, but I hope they will be entertaining for both of us.

Sarah Madison’s Books

Unspeakable Words

Special Agent John Flynn is everything Jerry Parker is not: dangerously handsome, coolly charismatic, and respected by his peers. Special Agent Parker is dedicated and meticulous, but his abrasive personality has given him a reputation for being difficult. When new information on a cold case appears, Parker is assigned to work with Flynn, and the sparks fly as their investigative styles clash. Contact with a strange artifact changes everything when it bestows unusual and unpredictable powers on Flynn… and the two men must learn to trust each other before a killer strikes again.

Buy link 

Crying for the Moon

Vampire Alexei Novik may have the teeth and the coffin, but he’s given up the lifestyle for an old fixer-upper in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Weary of his past, Alex plans to keep to himself, but it seems his sexy, new neighbor, Tate, can’t take the hint—a good thing, since it turns out he’s handy for all kinds of things around the house. Tate even gets along with Alex’s werewolf friends, though one of them pointedly reminds Alex that their friendship is a bad idea.

If a platonic relationship is a bad idea, the growing attraction between Tate and Alex is a disaster waiting to happen. Loving Tate will draw him into Alex’s dangerous world, and Alex is torn between having the relationship he’s always craved and keeping Tate safe. Tate won’t take no for an answer, however, and seems to handle everything Alex can throw at him without blinking. Just when he thinks things might turn out all right after all, Alex’s past catches up with him—forcing him to make a terrible choice.

Buy link

Raincheck

Rodney isn’t like other gargoyles. No doubt it’s because of his fascination with humans and their culture. For decades he’s been content to observe from the shadows, but then a lonely human wanders onto Rodney’s rooftop one night and turns his world upside down. David Marshall is everything Rodney has wanted in all his years of solitude. Rodney manages to keep his crush and his identity a secret until David needs a gargoyle’s protection more than late-night conversations with a reclusive friend. Will David be able to see past the monstrous exterior to the true person within? Time is running out, and Rodney must try to grab onto life—and love—before it’s too late.

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Practice Makes Perfect 

The now-extinct Brill gifted humankind with the technology of space travel, but the implacable Swarm is determined to wipe all humans from the face of the universe. But the human race won’t give in so easily. On board the spaceship Fearless, a team led by Dr. Rhys Aubrey and Major Jim Tanner is tasked with developing technology for the fight and making new allies to trade for whatever edge they can get.

Every day the Fearless ventures forth to new worlds and faces challenges that forge strong bonds of friendship among the crew—and perhaps something more between Rhys and Jim. In a life filled with danger and trouble around every corner, are Rhys and Jim ready to risk their hearts too?

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Scavenger Hunt

While eking out an existence on the edge of the Settled Worlds, looting ships left behind by raiders, Jeff Hawkins comes upon the Dante, just another broken hulk of a spaceship. But this time, amidst fuel cells and ration bars, Jeff finds a survivor in stasis. After meeting Dr. Peter Vale, Jeff will see that there’s more to life than mere survival—especially when it turns out Peter may be worth more to Jeff than a king’s ransom.

Buy link

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

Sarah has free reads on her website and if you would like to check them out here’s link:

http://www.SarahMadisonFiction.com/

Sarah’s email: akasarahmadison@gmail.com

Title & buy link

A guest review by Leslie S

Review summary: Solid, but below the standard we’ve come to expect from this author.

Blurb
London, 1822

Two of London’s most notorious rakehells, Linus Radcliffe and Robert Anderson, are the best of friends. They share almost everything–clothes, servants, their homes, and even each other’s bed on occasion. The one thing they don’t share: lovers. For while Linus prefers men, Robert prefers women…except when it comes to Linus.

As another Season nears its end, Robert can’t ignore his growing jealousy. He hates watching Linus disappear from balls to dally with other men. Women are lovely, but Linus rouses feelings he’s never felt with another. Unwilling to share his gorgeous friend another night, Robert has a proposition for Linus.

A proposition Linus flatly refuses–but not for the reasons Robert thinks. Still, Robert won’t take no for an answer. He sets out to prove a thing or two to his best friend–yet will learn something about the heart himself.

Review
Book 3 in the Brook Street trilogy. Each book is interlinked but may be read as standalones. Book 1, Thief, was reviewed by Sirius here and Book 2, Fortune Hunter, was reviewed by me here.

Robert Anderson and Linus Radcliffe have been friends and on-off lovers for over a decade. They share almost every aspect of their lives together, but when Rob asks Linus if they can become exclusive lovers, Linus refuses.

Rob is jealous of every other man that Linus pursues. For his own part, Linus is convinced that, despite their dalliances, Rob prefers women. Certainly Rob chases after a succession of widows, and to the best of Linus’s knowledge, he’s never slept with another man except Linus himself. Both men appear to be commitment-shy rogues, but in fact they’re both afraid of being rejected by each other. Only when Rob works up the courage to go after what he most wants will he be able to make Linus understand that he’s not playing games – he wants forever.

I love Ava March’s work but I have to be honest and say that this book fell below her usual standard. It’s a real shame, because Linus Radcliffe was my favourite supporting character in the previous book and I was eager to read his story, but in Rogues he felt almost out of character from what we’d seen of him before. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d pictured him in a completely different way from the hints of his personality in Fortune Hunter. But once I got over that, I still felt like there was something amiss.

Most of the conflict of the book is internal, and I think that’s where my biggest problem lies. Linus and Rob have been friends with benefits for eighteen years. They lost their virginity together. They wear one another’s clothes. Linus confided in Rob about his fear of his drunk, abusive father. They’re tied together not just socially but their houses on Brook Street are next door to one another (I liked that touch) and Rob has dispensed with his servants because he feels comfortable enough in his friendship with Linus that he simply pops next door and has Linus’s servants see to his laundry and cooking. Rob sees to Linus’s business affairs. In short, they’re practically a couple already, and the only thing standing in their way is that Linus thinks that Rob prefers women.

Now as we all know, men can be a bit reticent when it comes to talking about things but considering how very open and determined Rob was when he’d decided that Linus was The One, and the depth of their confidences regarding other matters in the past, I found it a bit strange that they’d never had that conversation before. Rob chases women more out of social obligation than for lust or love, yet he’s never mentioned this to Linus in all their years of friendship. I just didn’t find it consistent that they could be such incredibly close friends and yet they couldn’t be honest about their feelings for one another either in the past or throughout the events of the book. Although to be fair to Rob, every time he did try to have that conversation, Linus shut him down because he feared being rejected and hurt – but this kept happening and so to me it felt as if the conflict was being stretched out needlessly when it could have been resolved much sooner.

Something else that I felt detracted from the central relationship was the appearance of Norton and Bennett from another of March’s books, My True Love Gave To Me. Norton plays the role as advisor/confidant when Rob is uncertain as to how to proceed with Linus, and Norton’s relationship with Bennett is held up as a model of how to be discreet about things and how to navigate society when you’re in a forbidden union. While it’s nice to catch up with familiar characters from other books, the appearance of Bennett and Norton also threw me off-track and I became more interested in them than in the central couple.

A little more conflict was introduced towards the end over Linus’s feelings towards his abusive alcoholic father, but for me this came a little too late and was resolved quickly. I do feel that the length of this book went against it – at 28,000 words it’s much shorter than the previous Brook Street books – but at the same time, there simply wasn’t enough plot or conflict within this story to justify it being any longer.

I adore friends-to-lovers stories but this just didn’t work for me, I’m afraid. This isn’t a bad book, but neither is it of the usual high standard we’ve come to expect from Ava March, and to be honest I was disappointed that the last book in this enjoyable series was less than sterling. Other readers may disagree, of course, but as a personal opinion, I wish Linus could have had a stronger story.

Sherry S (#4)

Congratulations Sherry! Please email me (Aunt Lynn) at the following email addy: freebooks [at] reviewsbyjessewave.com so that I can forward your information (including format of choice) to the author. Thanks for playing everyone.

A Guest Review by Sammy

REVIEW SUMMARY: Dubious consent, sex for services rendered, and a veterinarian who should have his license removed make for a less than stellar contemporary romance.

BLURB: When Austin Bale’s dog is seriously injured, he has a crisis on his hands. He doesn’t have the money to pay vet Lynton Brooke for Rupert’s treatment. Picking up on Lynton’s interest, Austin offers the only thing he can: himself.

THE REVIEW:

I want to preface this review with a caution.  While some may feel that an author must always pump out one stellar novel after another, I believe that realistically there are bound to be some stories that fall short of the intended goal.  It is when I review such a novel that I like to remind myself that behind the author there is often a body of work that was very satisfying and could quantitatively be labeled as good.  It is with this in mind, that I give you my review of Lonely by Scarlett Blackwell.

Austin, down and out, in a low-paying job, cast out from his family, barely surviving, has one thing and only one thing that keeps him sane, his dog, Rupert. As the story opens, a bleeding and injured Rupert is being rushed into the animal clinic by a frantic Austin who makes the hasty decision that he will offer the veterinarian himself in lieu of paying for the operation to save Rupert’s life. Much to my chagrin, Dr. Lynton Brooke accepts the offer.

Eventually, Austin falls even further, losing his job and his bank account, minimal at best, goes totally broke. He is desperate, depressed and trying to come to terms with the fact that while he is prostituting himself, he has somehow also begun developing a strong attraction for the man who is using him rather blatantly and cruelly. Prior to their first sexual encounter, which culminates in Lynton throwing Austin out the door immediately after sex, Austin tries to rationalize his hasty decision to offer himself so that Rupert could receive medical treatment by thinking this:

“If you went out with a man and he paid for your meals and drinks all night, then he expected sex at the end of it, was that any different from prostitution? No. Austin had offered him a service in exchange for a service and now Lynton was collecting. Such was life.”

This is at the end of the third chapter…and it was then that I knew this novella was in trouble…how big that trouble was going to be was no longer a mystery now, because you see Austin’s convoluted and desperately sad justification was preceded by Lynton thinking this:

“Austin had offered to prostitute himself because he loved his dog so much. And instead of feeling appalled that it would come to that, Lynton had merely fantasized about taking advantage of him in the worst possible way. He turned onto his side, staring unseeingly through the dark. He was the lowest of the low. But he was only a man, after all.”

Oh dear. I had such a difficult time with this section. I felt that the author wanted us to believe that the justification for one man using…oh let’s just call it what it was–the justification for nearly raping another man was somehow okay because, “he was only a man, after all”.

At this point, to be painfully honest with you dear reader, had I not been committed to reviewing this novella I would have firmly placed it on my DNF shelf and walked away. But I remembered that I liked this author–some of her past work was very good, so I plowed on. Some 60 pages later after Austin loses his job, then falls into a deep depression and has several more sexual encounters that were halfhearted attempts at tenderness, then Ms. Blackwell gives us this:

“You’re a wonderful man.

Lynton held him close. “No, I’m not, but thank you.”

Austin’s hold on him tightened. “Yes you are. I knew Rupert was in the safest of hands the first time I met you.”

Lynton drew back, He cupped Austin’s cheek. “So are you,” he said, “if you’ll forget my appalling behavior and trust me.”

And there it was…that qualifier–if you forget–not forgive–forget my behavior then you are a wonderful man. Meaning that poor Austin could not be wonderful if he could not forget the degrading sex that had been forced upon him by this man who now was confessing to having fallen in love with him. I really had issue with this story. I wanted to like Lynton, I did. I wanted to forgive the fact that he blamed all his greed, his unkind and cruel actions toward Austin on his overactive libido. I could not.

I tried to think of Austin as more than a doormat–to be used and discarded and happy for any scraps that Lynton would throw his way. I tried to push away the disappointment when Austin was actually grateful that Lynton wanted him–a man who had done what was just short of rape–this was Austin’s hero.

I also could not divorce my feelings that this was akin to a feminist rant on men. indeed, that this was in some ways reinforcing the very wrong belief that gay men are nothing more than sex machines who will do anything and anyone to get off. Perhaps I read too much into this little novella–perhaps.

But, in the end, this story simply did not work for me. I could not come to terms with a HEA for these two men after the blatant misuse of one human being by another in the first two thirds of the book.

So, dear reader, I am giving this novella, Lonely, by Scarlett Blackwell one star. I will leave you with this however. I have read other work by this author and enjoyed them–immensely. So, even though this little novella was a pass for me, I still maintain that Ms. Blackwell has and, I am sure, will continue to give us good reads.

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.”
– The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Greek myths held Oceanus to be a massive river surrounding the land. A Titan, son of sky and earth, he was depicted as a handsome, muscular man whose torso ended in a scaled tale. As the Olympians emerged, Oceanus retreated, his domain restricted to strange and dangerous shores, the realm of sailors’ misfortunes and worries.

So, too, are the eleven tales within the pages of The Touch of the Sea: fantastical, at times eerie, with sightings of mermen, water spirits, and sea beasts (even the fabled “living island,” the aspidochelone) as well as a smattering of pirates. What makes these stories memorable is that they define the masculinity of the sea, the taste of brine on another man’s lips.

Become mates with such award-winning authors as Joel Lane and Jeff Mann — seasoned storytellers ‘Nathan Burgoine, Chaz Brenchley, and Alex Jeffers — and a wide array of coxswains: Brandon Cracraft, Jonathan Harper, John Howard, Vincent Kovar, Matthew A. Merendo, Damon Shaw — under the helm of editor Steve Berman.

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

A Guest Review by Raine

Summary Review: A fine start to this pleasant fantasy somehow dissipated and it became- for me- mundane.

Blurb: Magical species must never mix. According to the rules, Simon Osborne should ignore the children’s cries for help. After all, they’re werewolf cubs, and he’s an apprentice mage. But for once in his life, Simon breaks the rules and rescues the cubs, saving them from a demon intent on draining them of their magic.

Of course, all actions have consequences, and Simon’s bold move earns him the displeasure of his peers and the attention of the cubs’ alpha, a man named Gray Townsend.

The last thing Gray needs is a mage in his life, but Simon did save his son. Since Simon is now a friend of the pack, Gray doesn’t have much choice about it—or the forbidden attraction that goes along with it. Unfortunately for the alpha, he needs Simon’s help to track down the demon behind the kidnappings—before it strikes again. Simon and Gray must join forces to protect the pack, even as they struggle to resist the temptation that threatens to destroy them both.

Review:

I particularly liked the beginning of this book, it placed you right in the middle of the action, introduced a brave sensitive empathic hero rescuing werewolf cubs, there was a little magical society background gently thrown in and I thought – yes this is a going to be a very good read. But then somewhere along the way almost intangibly, it became for me only a mildly pleasant read. I’m trying to work out why.

The world building here was really based around the different types of magic infusing the characters; mind, body or soul magic, which was a nice easy distinction. While some complications with these definitions added to the story’s plot. I liked Simon, our representative of mind magic, and thought his situation as apprentice mage with the cabin, the herbs and the magic was delightful. His occasional struggles with his magic added to his vulnerable charm.

The werewolf society described here felt very organised and intellectually reasonable, this is not rule by blood, tooth and claw. Perhaps it felt a bit werewolf-lite to me. Gray is very much a paternal Alpha, understandable given the strong role of the family in the story. His son Garon and the other cubs adding lots of cute and cuddles to the mix.

The relationship between Simon and Gray worked well enough. Any threats were predominantly physical or magical; there was no real emotional tension here, which might be why I felt it lacked salt. The more I think about it, aside from the man sex, as it developed this book felt rather like a rather young Y/A book, simple concepts, undemanding characters with a pleasant happy nourishing family background. I think Simon was by far the strongest written and most interesting character.The villain of the piece was recognisable from almost the moment he drew breath, but that is often the case and I rarely take offence at that. The mage’s council was very under drawn and I didn’t believe in their responses at all.

The narrative is very linear, we follow the story from point A to point B with no unexpected diversions along the way. Actually, while trying not to sound sound too lit crit here, the writer’s language became very simplistic in the latter stages of the book. Every other sentence included the conjunction “ and  ” in an overuse of this grammatical connection. This led to a very pedestrian feel to the story, that I found really flattened my response to it.

I enjoyed the beginning, the magical society, and the main characters, but somehow the story became less interesting for me the longer it went on. There were loose ends which should have been resolved, but might mean there is a sequel in the making. This is another one I feel other readers might enjoy rather more than I did.

Denni (#24)

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A Guest Review by Feliz

Summary Review: If this had been supposed to be a parody, it would’ve been a good one. Unfortunately, it was likely meant to be taken seriously.

The Blurb: Love heals all scars. Teens are dying and Blaine Wilson, a DC police detective, knows why. The scars on his right leg, left rib cage and left collar bone are a brutal reminder of his past as a teen prostitute, and a key to solving this investigation.

Blaine’s trips to gay bars are reckless but he’s searching for solace for his wounds. When he meets Andy everything changes. Dating Andy forces him out of the closet at work and then he has to admit his past indiscretions to his captain.

Andy falls in love at the drop of a hat and he’s promised his two best friends he won’t fall so easily again. When he meets Blaine he’s helpless to resist the instant attraction.

Andy and Blaine are dedicated to making their relationship work when the killer targets Andy and his two best friends. Can Blaine save his lover and Andy’s friends without losing himself?

Reader Advisory: This book deals with issues relating to male teen prostitution, including non-graphic references to underage sex. It also includes themes of murder and violence against gay men, and occasional scenes from the point of view of a homophobic villain.

The Review:  A former prostitute turned cop? A serial killer who marks his victims in quite the same way said cop had been marked by a still unknown attacker years ago? The cop’s love interest being targeted by the very same killer the cop is hunting ? The concept had me hooked on the spot. The story started out interesting enough too, right at the crime scene, with Blaine the cop on the verges of losing his self-control as he takes in the victim’s wounds and realizes how they relate to his past.
Blaine has only recently transferred to DC, and he’s glad that no one here knows about his homosexuality, or his past as a prostitute.  On top of that, he has to deal with  a serious case of loneliness, which he attempts to drown with frequent anonymous fucks at a gay club, and his meddling female partner, who thinks him morose and keeps trying to remedy that by setting him up with her friends.
Once Blaine realizes his attacker of so long ago ago might actually be the very perp he’s looking for here and now, he realizes he can’t very well keep hiding much longer – which causes an understandable conflict of interests in him. This is why Blaine, at first, buries his head in the sand and says nothing. But then two things happen that force him to reveal his secrets. Nate, a young prostitute Blaine formed a connection with, is attacked and barely makes it out alive, and Blaine meets Andy, a dancer and actor, a man he deems worthy to come out of the closet for.
Once he’s made his decision, Blaine pulls it through, and soon things look golden. He and Andy practically live together with the blessings of Andy’s protective friends, and the murder case starts moving. But then a series of strange coincidences puts Andy’s friends on the killer’s hit list, and suddenly it’s Andy’s life that is at stakes, and Blaine is Andy’s only hope for survival.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Perhaps a bit far fetched, but who cares, it’s fiction after all, isn’t it? And the mystery wasn’t all that bad, actually, even though it required some suspension of disbelief, starting with how a former teen prostitute like Blaine could turn out a cop in the first place, what with security clearance and background checks and such, continuing with the actual course of the investigation (for example with Blaine demanding of Lucy she use her female assets to get a reluctant witness to spill the beans) and not yet ending with the series of hunches and coincidences that had Blaine show up just in time to save his lover’s life.
The taut writing style didn’t appeal to me overly much, but that’s mostly a matter of taste. The same may apply to the multiple POV’s; aside from Blaine and Andy, several other character have their say, including Nate, and Blaine’s partner Lucy, and even the killer, who was a bigoted, megalomaniac nutcase who behaved so erratic I couldn’t help wondering how he remained undetected as long as he supposedly did. Some parts were really well wrought out, particularly the harrowing misery of living on the streets and the day-to-day ordeal of turning tricks for a living. I also found it remarkable that the rent boys were always referred to as prostitutes, never some more derogatory term.

But, the romance – that’s where this story really ran out of the rudder for me.
Andy’s and Blaine’s first meeting in Blaine’s favorite hookup joint (their second meeting, actually, since Andy had already caught a glimpse at Blaine driving by him on the street) had me scratching my head due to the instant connection they formed. It wasn’t the insta-lust that puzzled me, given the location – two attractive strangers in a gay bar, serious flirtation, what’s to expect? Certainly not what actually happened, which would be commitment-shy Blaine talking about their future relationship by the second sentence they exchanged, and adventurous Andy virtuously calling it an early night because of his early start the next day and both of them going home alone that night. Then again, perhaps they were just being mature adults, they’re both over thirty after all, I thought.
However, it went on in the same vein. Andy almost weeped into his pillow from longing for Blaine the same night. Meeting on the street on the next day by chance, Blaine kissed Andy in front of his partner Lucy, effectively blasting the doors of his closet wide open (after having talked to Andy once for less than half an hour, mind!). But the real kicker came once they FINALLY had a closed door between them and the world for the first time (three days after their above-mentioned first meeting). Picture two sexy and horny and insta-enamored guys, hot kisses, condom on, lube applied where it’s supposed to go, and then the following scene happened:

Blaine grabbed Andy and turned him around, then pulled him into a crushing kiss. They were panting in seconds; sweat beaded on Blaine’s chest and the lube from the condom was cold against his belly. Andy was driving him crazy, but he wouldn’t mess up this relationship with a quick fuck.
He pushed Andy away. “No. I’m not doing this right now. I want you in my life for a long time. I want to get to know you.” What the hell was he doing? He could be inside this wonderful man right now. His entire body hurt with desire.
Andy’s face grew serious. “I want us to last, too.”
“We can’t do this right now.”

Sweet and considerate, aren’t they? Epitomes of reason. I couldn’t take anything serious that went on between them after that. It didn’t help that, once they’d established that it was twu wuv for both of them (they all but started picking china patterns shortly after the scene above, after all), Blaine kept agonizing over how Andy was too good for him, how cop’s relationships never lasted, how Andy was surely to be disgusted with Blaine’s past, his scars, his work (all this after Andy had reassured him to the contrary).
And the ending was just over the top, from Blaine’s riding in to Andy’s rescue, literally guns blazing, to the “he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not” going on during their hospital reunion scene. It almost didn’t matter that things smoothly fell into place for both of them, professionally as well as privately, and Blaine’s past trauma was miraculously healed by Andy’s unerring love, and that Nate just dropped from the story somehow after playing such a crucial role for the most part.

This book would’ve made a rather decent mystery without the romance part, and a real nice parody on the m/m romance genre without the serious and sensibly written parts about teenage prostitution. As it was, it went both ways and arrived nowhere, unfortunately.

A Guest Review by Cryselle

Review Summary: A shallow and unsympathetic MC would make me pull my hair out in frustration if I could be persuaded to care that much about him.

Blurb
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.

Review

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 shallow and unpleasantly delusional, and 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 stars

International flight attendant Jake Watson jets from Dallas to Tokyo with his boss and secret crush, lead flight attendant Evan Parker. Evan’s frosty glares and snarky comments have held Jake’s feelings at bay for months because Evan hates Jake. Or does he?

While the plane cruises high over the Pacific, Evan proves Jake’s secret crush isn’t so secret or as unwelcome as he believed. Can Jake’s fire melt Evan’s ice? Their layover in Tokyo is Jake’s chance to sneak past his boss’s defenses and possibly into his bed.

Will Jake crash and burn with Evan or find love at 38,000 feet?

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

On Wednesday, May 16 Sarah Madison will be joining us and you will be able to ask her any questions to which you have been dying to get answers.

This week I’m hoping to post the first of our New M/M Authors Who Rock for 2012.

On Friday Ethan Stone wrote an essay about Realism vs Romance. If you haven’t seen it here’s a link

On the weekend the following reviews were posted: I reviewed Subject 13 by Ethan Stone; Benedetto Casanova: The Memoirs by Marten Weber reviewed by Cryselle; Weregild by Carole Cummings reviewed by Sirius.

Free Books This Week

Emerald Orchid/Scott Sapphire by Geoffrey Knight
Coffee, Tea and the Mile High Club by H.L. Holston
Touch of the Sea anthology – Lethe Press
The Cool Part of His Pillow by Rodney Ross – Dreamspinner Press
Armed & Dangerous by Abigail Roux – Dreamspinner Press
The Wolfing Way by Susan Laine – Dreamspinner Press
Power Play: Resistance by Rachel Haimowitz and Cat Grant – Riptide Publishing

Reviews This Week

Jenre: Zombie by Joely Skye
Leslie S: Brook Street: Rogues by Ava March
Feliz: Selling It by Sarah York
Raine: Mind Magic by Poppy Dennison
Cryselle: Just His Type by E.E. Montgomery; Emerald Orchid/Scott Sapphire by Geoffrey Knight
Lasha: 51st Thursday by Mercy Celeste
Sirius: Safer Than Houses by Alex Jeffers; Shift by Kate Sherwood
Sammy: Lonely by Scarlet Blackwell
Wave: Armed & Dangerous by Abigail Roux

On Friday the boyz will be here.

Till next week, that’s a wrap.

Gigi (#1)

Congratulations Gigi! Please email me — Aunt Lynn — at the following email addy: freebooks [at] reviewsbyjessewave.com and let me know the email address associated with your DSP account so I can forward your information to the publisher. If you don’t have an account with DSP, create one, then send me the email address. Thanks for playing everyone.

Dirk Krause is an asshole of the first degree. His life is a hell of his own making, and he makes everyone around him just as miserable. When he’s injured on the job while fighting a fire, he’s nearly unbearable to the hospital staff, and of course no one from his unit cares enough to visit.

Lee Stockton is the new guy at the station, so he gets saddled with the job of bringing Dirk a sympathy bouquet from the guys at the firehouse. To Dirk’s surprise, Lee sees through him like a pane of glass and doesn’t take any of his crap. Lee’s determined to get Dirk to stop being a dick just to push everyone away. When their fighting turns to fucking, will the fireworks shine brightly on a possible relationship or leave them with nothing but ashes?

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

A Guest Review by Cryselle

Review Summary: A witty and informative memoir-style novel, marred by breaks in style.

Blurb
No doubt you have heard of Casanova, the famous womanizer, and maybe you have seen the movie, or read the account of his life. But did you know he may have had a gay brother?

Benedetto, a few years Giacomo’s junior, was pressed into service of the Church to follow the famous lover of women through the courts of Europe. On the way he had amorous adventures with countless men, but, unlike his brother, fell in love and kept alive a romantic relationship with a strapping German soldier over time and distance.

His “memoirs” were discovered only in 1881, when an English traveler rummaging through a private library in Rome found them glued to the pages of a book. They were written in Italian and have never before been published in English. Marten Weber delivers a wonderful “translation” of this challenging text, full of linguistic cunning and his usual talent for breathtaking eroticism.

Review

The set-up of this novel mirrors historical memoirs after the scholars have had a chance to translate, annotate, and comment. The ruse is extremely well done: the book could easily be mistaken for a real memoir, complete with forwards and translator’s notes, and little breaks in the text where “a fragment of a page” has been lost. The style is chatty and a bit rambling – Benedetto more or less follows the course of his life, stopping to make pithy observations of the human condition, the Church, the treatment of men of “his species,” politics, or a fine dish of rhubarb.

His adventures are many—Benedetto is recruited by the Church to follow his more famous brother around, spying on his activities. Italy is not a united nation at this time in history and the Papal States are a political entity, not a philosophical organization. Who allies with whom matters greatly to the Pope’s political sway, and Giacomo is feared to be organizing political upheaval.

The famous womanizer seldom appears on the page with Benedetto, who is having a great time on the Pope’s payroll, although they do interact indirectly, whether it’s chasing through Venice or Benedetto’s secret assistance in springing Giacomo from prison, a good deed that goes completely uncredited, as Giacomo “rewrites history” to take all the credit himself. One can hear the irritation and the pride over the famous brother’s exploits everywhere but with the ladies. He contrasts his brother’s sexual escapades disdainfully with his own: relations between men are purer in his eyes for not carrying the baggage of titles, money, social position, or children.

Mirroring Giacomo’s memoirs, Benedetto frequently mentions his exploits with the legion of men who are willing to break with convention—seldom do six pages go by without at least a mention of a handsome shop boy or a willing soldier, although a few of his chosen companions stay with him for months or years, and he is fond of them and their talents. Benedetto claims to love, but conflates it with sex, although he clearly can perceive a more emotional attachment. Anything resembling constancy to one lover, no matter how dear, simply does not happen in this story: he’s far more likely to have a third, or a fourth, man join him and his beloved.

The endless gossip and rubbing elbows with the movers and the shakers of the day comes with catty asides which range from hysterically funny to scathing to revolting, and feel in the style of Samuel Pepys. It’s engaging: we see with the eyes of history but Benedetto just had a conversation, and sometimes his conclusions are entertainingly wrong, such as his dismissal of Handel’s music in favor of Porpora. His observations on daily life run the same range; one feels immersed in the period. Unless…

Where I was less than pleased with the book was the typography of the dialog. The book is very light on dialog, relying instead on exposition, which suits a memoir of the “period.” What little there is uses nothing as mundane as a quote mark, relying instead on dashes to set off the lines. Ignoring modern convention may have been a nod to the eighteenth century, but it is an unpleasant jolt for the reader, and the periodic drops into modern slang break the spell entirely. The French are “touchy-feely,” a prospective partner “shakes his package,” and the reader is forcibly reminded that this is a novel after all. The “translator’s note” at the beginning indicates that this is intentional, but I do not thank the author for it; it feels sloppy.

My reservations aside, this was an enjoyable and amusing read, with a side of education slipped in, and even incorporates a romance, allowing for the proclivities associated with the name “Casanova” which Benedetto possesses in full measure. I think the blurb’s claims of “breathtaking eroticism” are overblown, but it was good fun. 4.25 stars

Review Summary: Although I liked the MCs I thought that the plot was confusing and its execution needed some work.

THE BLURB

Luke Kincaid’s life is exploding all around him. First his lover leaves him to marry a woman, then childhood nightmares return with a vengeance.

Luke’s friendship with Ben Skinner and relationship with Kyle Morgan helps him heal his broken heart, but the nightmares, which are actually repressed memories, threaten to destroy the peace he has found.

Soon, Luke’s investigation into his past puts his life—and the lives of the people he cares about—in danger. But he refuses to give up, not even when he finds out he is connected to a massive government cover-up…

THE REVIEW

As if his life didn’t suck enough with his lover of eight years dumping him for a woman, Luke Kinkaid’s world is complicated by vivid nightmares triggered by repressed memories from his childhood.

The same day he buried his mother, Luke’s lover Shane told him while they were in bed together that he was getting married to a woman. Luke was heartbroken and even tried to stop the wedding but his best friend Ben, the bride’s brother, saved him from himself. The story got even stranger. The new bride Elaine sought Luke out and told him she wanted them to be friends; she even gave him permission to continue having sex with her husband (apparently she knew about the affair all along) so that she, Shane and Luke could be one big happy untraditional family.

Luke decided to remain in town after the funeral and his first priority was finding a job as well as a place to live. As luck would have it, Ben had a spare bedroom in his house and offered to share his home with Luke until he found his own place. After living with Ben for a few days Luke realized that he was attracted to his straight friend, but since he didn’t have a chance with him he found another man to satisfy his sexual urges, hot looking Kyle whom he could dominate as payback for the way Shane treated him! However, when he was alone with Ben he was getting strange vibes from him; it seemed that although he had a girlfriend he wasn’t as straight as he appeared. Ben was very conflicted and he eventually told Luke he had been attracted to him since high school but when he realized that he and Shane were an item he decided to pursue women, which didn’t work because his attraction to Luke never diminished.

Luke’s repressed memories and the burgeoning romance with Ben ran on parallel tracks as they were together a lot when they weren’t working, so they joined forces on the investigation. Apparently Luke’s nightmares were tied to the deaths of his parents. A mysterious virus and biological weapon had been tested on unwitting human subjects decades ago. The test went horribly wrong and resulted in the deaths and/or murders of most of the residents of a secure commune, including Luke’s parents. The majority of the survivors were children at the time these experiments took place; when they grew up some of them showed signs of being affected by the virus, so the perpetrator decided that the only way to get rid of the evidence and elude detection was to kill the survivors who were sick.

The worldbuilding and plot of Subject 13 reminded me a lot of Area 51, the US government top secret airbase and testing facility in the Nevada desert that has been the subject of many movies and books for years. The one thing I can always depend on Ethan Stone for is imaginative, fast paced and complex plots, and Subject 13 has all of these elements, but the romance appealed to me more than the mystery although I had issues with both. The mystery was very complicated and IMO it lacked excitement until the end which made up somewhat for what I perceived as a deficiency earlier on, but I did wonder where all the guards at Oasis were once the action started.  I didn’t guess the identities of a couple of the major perpetrators until the story was about three quarters of the way through, but maybe that was because the plot involved too many secondary characters who had roles in the original disaster or in covering it up. As for the romance, the story was told in Luke’s voice and that was the reason I liked most of it because he had an unusual way with words and he seemed to be vulnerable at times, although not always the brightest bulb.

On the negative side, I thought that there were way too many movie and television references sprinkled throughout the book and clichés like “balls to the wall,” product placement such as “new book by Carter Quinn” and gay stereotypes – pink furniture in Kyle’s apartment – how is it that his Navy buddies didn’t figure out he was gay? and phrases from Ben’s mother like “icing on the big pink cake.” Conspiracy theories abounded especially around the mysterious DG, the mastermind who gave us his perspective at the beginning of every chapter. I also thought that there were too many coincidences and the solutions to problems that could have been huge stumbling blocks were simplistic e.g. the password for a high security, secret safe that was incredibly easy to crack.

Luke was flawed as are all of this author’s MCs, and he used Kyle just as Shane used him. I don’t know if he did this unknowingly or if it was a way to restore his self esteem because of the mental abuse he suffered at Shane’s hands, but I thought he treated Kyle badly, although Kyle seemed to like it because he, too, had low self esteem as a result of issues early in his life. Kyle sure got over his anger and hurt feelings very quickly after being dumped for Ben which seemed a bit strange since he professed to love Luke, but this is fantasy and not reality.

Since this is a book by Ethan Stone there was a lot of hot sex which his fans love.

It appears from the epilogue that there may be a sequel to this book although I don’t know what’s left to tell. However, I’m not the author so I’ll wait to see what new adventures await our heroes.

Subject 13 is a departure from his usual type of story but if you’re a fan of Ethan Stone’s In The Flesh series, I definitely recommend this book – it just didn’t work for me on all levels, but YMMV.

]]> http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2012/05/12/subject-13/feed/ 6 http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2012/05/12/mlr-press-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-book-may-11-%e2%80%93-winner/ http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2012/05/12/mlr-press-%e2%80%9cfree%e2%80%9d-book-may-11-%e2%80%93-winner/#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 13:11:51 +0000 Aunt Lynn http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/?p=71873 Yesterday the MLR Press free book was Lost Soul by Karenna Colcroft. Randy dug deep and the winner is…

monica (#27)

Congratulations monica! Please email me (Aunt Lynn) at the following email addy: freebooks [at] reviewsbyjessewave.com so that I can forward your information (including format of choice) to the publisher. Thanks for playing everyone.

There are always strange sounds to get used to in a new house, but this is a step beyond creaks and groans. Maybe Tom doesn’t notice the banging that comes from beneath the bed at night, but Jonah, his husband, sure does. Of course, he doesn’t discover the fantastic world down there until after Tom is kidnapped.

Underbedland defies Jonah’s imagination and excites his senses. He soon meets Jock Strap and his boyfriend, Peter Heater. In his search for Tom, Jonah also meets Penny Tration, a sorceress who reveals that her sister, Selma Granma, took Tom to live with her on an island in the middle of the Inky Sea. Unfortunately, the only way to get to the island is to stow away on the Wet Dream, a pirate ship crewed by blue pygmy pirates—the very pirates who kidnapped Tom.

But Selma Granma doesn’t just want Tom, she wants freedom, and she’ll do anything to get it. Before they can catch their breath, Jonah and his friends take on another mission: replace the power source that keeps Selma Granma confined to the island. The liberty and happiness of the residents of Underbedland hang in the balance.

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

Chelle (#20)

Congratulations Chelle! Please email me (Aunt Lynn) at the following email addy: freebooks [at] reviewsbyjessewave.com so that I can forward your information (including format of choice) to the author. Thanks for playing everyone.

Sorcerer Joel Turcotte fuels his magic with pieces of people’s souls—and now he has found the strongest soul he’s ever encountered in Lanny Hollister.

Sorcerer Joel Turcotte fuels his magic by stealing pieces of people’s souls during sex. Since he caused the death of his lover a decade ago, he’s careful to only take small pieces, but he regrets each one. When he meets Lanny Turcotte, he finds the strongest soul he’s ever encountered, and one that’s almost impossible to resist. Although Joel is reluctant to become involved with anyone, he and Lanny begin a relationship.

But Joel isn’t the only sorcerer who wants Lanny. Can Joel protect his lover from other sorcerers—and from himself?

For a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on the post.

Ethan Stone loves to ask your opinions about controversial topics in M/M romance. This one is REALLY touchy, although it’s humorous. I know what I think but he’s more interested in  YOUR opinion.

Today I’m talking about realism versus romance regarding sex in books. I want to clarify up front this isn’t about the m/m genre getting it wrong because the het romance books do the same thing. And it isn’t about authors getting it wrong. We know sex in real life isn’t always like it is in the books. And it certainly isn’t about male writers doing it better than women writers.

Sex in books is always hard and rough fucking or sweet, romantic love making. The men spew like geysers and hardly need anytime at all to go at it again and again. It’s not that guys can never have orgasms close together, but most can’t do it every time. My ex-boyfriend was a rare exception, even at 46 he could still shoot multiple times in a night and do it again the next night and the next night. Unfortunately that’s about the only good thing I can say about him.

In real life there are things that occur that are not romantic or sexy at all. Anal intercourse can be messy. Forrest Gump said it best ‘Shit happens.’ And it can happen before, during and after sex. Is this something readers want in books? Personally, it’s not something I want but there are others who might like the more realistic approach.

In Dance with Me by Heidi Cullinan one of the MC’s, Laurie, thinks about the messiness of anal sex including lube leaking out of his ass when his partner pulls out.

“This was the part he had resented, he remembered now. The mess. The slight squickiness of sex, the sometimes serious squickiness. The awkward part where everyone cleaned up, where he’d stand and find himself involuntarily expelling the air that had gone in with his partner’s cock and then, inevitably, had to come back out. His first time with anal sex had seen him padding across the plush carpet of another dancer’s bedroom floor, face flaming as he farted his way to the toilet. This was the messy part of sex, and it was, he admitted, the reason he’d worked to avoid it.”

The mention of Laurie farting his way to the toilet grossed me out and took me out of the story but others raved about the realism of it. A reviewer at another well known review site liked it because it was “real, it’s true, and it’s a far cry from the romanticized, fantasy anal sex in m/m romance we usually see.” The author said it was a nod to a friend who had that happen. “It always resonated with me, the realism of it. For whatever reason I was all over that for that book,” she said.

Does that mean readers want to read what happens if a man isn’t totally clean when he gets poked. I don’t think so, but you never know.

When it comes to oral sex I like it when the characters aren’t perfect at it. Because that is realistic. I’ve had guys who are brand new to the gay scene and are awesome at giving head and there are guys who have been having gay sex for years and years who can’t do it well at all. It’s all about the teeth, guys, watch the teeth.

But there are other things that can go wrong during oral sex. What happens when the blower zigs and the blowee zags. Years ago I had a friend who showed up with a black eye one time. She was hesitant to tell me what happened but I got it out of her. She was giving her boyfriend a blow job and he was going so fast that when he pulled back and then pushed forward he poked her in the eye.

Another friend was sucking his boyfriend and using a dildo on his ass when the boyfriend fell asleep. What a downer that would be.

Fuckus Interruptus is something that has happened to me a lot in real life, but is something you don’t see too often in m/m. When I was married our kids seemed to know when we were going at it because that was when they needed something. Even nowadays it’s right when I’m in the middle of my private time when my son decides he needs to tell me something very important—like he needs batteries for the remote control.

In het romantic novels the women never have yeast infections, wear granny underwear or have random rogue hairs near their nipples.

Real life sex involves spilled lube and leg cramps. In real life men have trouble coming or even staying hard. For me nerves play a huge part in sex whether it’s with a long time boyfriend or a one night stand.

How often are these things seen in novels? Is this something readers want more of or not? Enquiring minds want to know.